Embrace The Legging

    You've probably seen the pictures that say something along the lines of  "leggings are not pants " or maybe you've just thought it yourself. Well I'm here to tell you something that might be shocking; legging wearers don't care.
    I'll admit at one point I was on the fence about leggings as pants.  After all leggings aren't "technically" pants. At the same time though, that's the beauty of leggings, they're not pants but they can take the place of pants.
    My love affair with leggings was a slow burn you could say. It started with wearing them under skirts and dresses in the middle school years. I treated them as merely a thicker form of tights. Who remembers that trend? Cropped leggings anyone?
    Then it transitioned to tunics and long shirts. Somewhere along the way I was a full blown leggings and a sweater girl.
   Perhaps I started getting braver about my unabashed love of leggings in my pregnancy. After all leggings are an expectant mother's best friend. Yes I did wear the good ol' maternity jeans, but most of the time I was in black leggings. And after I had my son leggings were the perfect wardrobe staple to make me feel put together, and not like I was still transitioning between my pregnant body and my before baby body
    Now I don't bat an eye about going out in leggings and a regular hem shirt. Why would I? I've never shied away from wearing a bathing suit at the beach or pool, and even the most conservative bathing suits show more than a pair of black leggings do. I have nothing to hide, and neither do you. Embrace the legging.
     For one thing, black leggings go with everything. They're the perfect canvas to work around.  I don't worry in the morning about whether my pants go with my outfit, because they always do. Bonus: I never have to worry about ironing them. Leggings are basically a girl's best friend, sorry diamonds.
    Let's face it. Leggings are just more comfortable than most pants. I don't need to tell y'all that when you feel comfortable you are more confident. And of course when you're feeling your most confident good things shall happen. Or at least you're more likely to be open to them.    
    So the next time you're wondering whether someone will judge you for stepping out in your leggings, just don't wonder. Instead enjoy the complete free range of motion you'll have in your leggings. Embrace the legging.

P.S. Full disclosure, as I'm writing this I'm wearing jeans. All my leggings are in the wash. I feel like a traitor.

Miller's NICU Story

  Hey y'all! On my last post I touched briefly on Miller and his medical condition, but I felt it deserved a more detailed post.
   You might remember the term HIE(hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy), otherwise known as oxygen deprivation. Basically that means that for a period of time before Miller was born his oxygen supply was cut off therefore causing injury to his brain. HIE does not go away, it is a permanent condition of the brain. We have no way of knowing exactly when it happened. Now HIE can happen after birth but the way Miller's HIE presented it was pretty clear that his injury was prior to birth. Miller was very blessed in the sense that a lot of babies born with this injury can have organ failure, but he didn't. In fact at birth he presented fairly well, he was only taken to the NICU as a precaution with his lungs.
   The only sign and the way we found out that anything was amiss came a few hours later when I was holding Miller for the first time. I looked down at him in my arms and something seemed off. I can't even really remember exactly how it looked, but I knew right away. "Is he having a seizure?". The neonatologist took a look at him, and said no and that it was normal newborn behavior. I didn't even think about it later, taking what he said for face value.
   Fast forward to the next day, we were taking my aunt and cousin back to see Miller. We had just entered the NICU when the same doctor from the day before rushed over to us and asked if he could talk to us in private for a minute. It turned out it was a seizure. They knew because he had a few more that day. I was shocked. The whole pregnancy I had been concerned about him even getting the chance at life, I never even thought about this being a issue. I thought once he was out I could breathe easy.
    They called in the pediatric neurologist and ordered a EEG and a MRI. Over the next few days it was confirmed, it was HIE. The big concern at that time for getting him home would be feeding. That was his biggest hurdle. For the time being he had a NG tube(a feeding tube that goes through his nose), but he couldn't go home on a NG tube. The feeding specialist started working with him on his feeds. Unfortunately that was one of the areas that his HIE had affected. His swallow was out of sync causing silent aspirations after 7cc. After 2 swallow studies that had the same results it was finally time to make the hard decision to allow them to put a G tube in which would require surgery. After that it was just a countdown to home.   
    When I look back at Miller's time in the NICU it feels like another life entirely. The worry, the waiting, the what ifs, the second guessing. I remember the agony of knowing that if he had presented as severe(which his HIE presented severe on his MRIs) he could have had a cooling cap that has been used in the last few years to help babies appearing to have HIE hours after birth. I can recall waiting for him to come out of surgery strangely calm, then as soon as it was over questioning whether it was the right choice, even though the hospital said I had no other choice.
  I share this all because of the other parents that are maybe going through this right now, or have gone through this. Because I can remember sitting there in the hospital Googling every medical term I heard, reading every blog written by a parent who went through this. If we don't talk about this, who will?

Waiting for Miller's arrival!

Miller James is born!


 

His 1st picture in the NICU

The 1st time I held Miller

Chillin' under his bilirubin light

Headed for another test

His 1st Halloween was spent in the NICU, he also turned 2 weeks old that day!

Miller headed for PCN(Progressive Care Nursery, it's a step down from the NICU) the 1st time!

Right before his G-tube surgery

Well This Is Awkward

  Hey y'all! It's been a while. So much has happened in the last few months since y'all have heard from me. The biggest and greatest event to happen was the birth of my 2nd child! Miller James was born on October 17th 2015 at 6:37am, weighting 5lb. 9oz. It was definitely the best day of 2015.
   After my last post in August something happened very unexpectedly the same day as my last blog post. My husband left me. He was in another state for 2 months, and didn't come back to town until Miller was born. When he came back I naively thought we would eventually work things out, but my husband had other plans. I could go on more, but there isn't much point in that. My only reason for sharing this information is to explain my absence from this blog. After he left I knew I couldn't just post here as if nothing had happened, but I also wasn't ready for everyone to know, although our friends and family already know.
   Well now that that slightly shocking bit is out of the way, back to the star of my show these days, Miller. You probably already figured out by now that he was a little early. About 4 weeks early. I was in labor for about 24 hours, which compared to the 36 hours with James felt like nothing.
   When I heard his first cry it made me cry. Because that was something I never experienced with James. After I held him for a few seconds they whisked him over to the NICU doctor and nurses and prepared him for the NICU. While I was in labor my doctor assured me that he probably wouldn't be in the NICU much longer than a day or two, but of course be prepared for a longer stay. Fast forward 38 days and we finally brought him home. Miller has what is called HIE(hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, basically oxygen deprivation), which caused him to need a g-tube and be fed with a feeding pump. The prognosis isn't great, but he is doing much better than anyone could have expected. HIE can have many varying degrees of severeness. I plan to elaborate on Miller's condition later, but I just wanted to bring y'all up to speed on our life since I last blogged as I have had very sweet messages from my blogging friends.
    I can't blog without mentioning that this day last year was James's due date. I actually had found out a few days before that I was pregnant with Miller. It's shocking how different my life looks now a year later. I had no idea the joy and sorrow that the next year would have for me and my family. The unexpected turns my life would take. The people that would come and go. It's true what they say about it's better we don't know what life has in store for us. It would be like reading ahead in a great book, you can't possibly focus on right now while you know what the end result will be.
  I plan to keep this blog's title. For one thing y'all all know me from this blog. But also because it truly is after the honeymoon...

Baby H #2 Update: Weeks 25 & 26

   Happy Tuesday y'all! Or 'A' day for Pretty Little Liars fans(I'm probably way too excited about it, but hey it's been 6 years!). It's not raining like it was yesterday, in case you haven't been outside yet. Which made it nice for going to and from my doctor's today. I don't know anyone who enjoys going out in the rain haha. If you're one of those people who enjoys being out in rain, let me know!
    So I had my weekly doctor's appointment today, yay! Seriously, I feel so blessed to have such a kind, genuinely concerned doctor as well as his staff! It makes this whole scary process so much better.
    Today's visit was also for my glucose test. Now with James I actually never got around to doing this test. I think I had it scheduled for the next appointment that I didn't make it to, but honestly I can't remember. Blame it on the pregnancy brain. So this was a whole new experience for me. I asked my girlfriend, who's due any day now, about what to expect and that really helped. Not only was it helpful to know that she fasted, but it also eased my fears about the ordeal test. Most people act like it's the most horrible thing you'll do during pregnancy, but I can now let y'all in on a little secret. It's not nearly as bad as they tell you haha.
   For starters, the drink doesn't taste that bad. I went with the fruit punch flavor(my friend's suggestion!) and it tasted pretty good at first, after a while though I was ready to be done with it. It's actually clear now, which surprised me. Good news for the pregnant ladies with dye allergies! One downside is it's more to drink than I thought. It's about the size of a small water bottle. I did have an upset tummy afterwards, but no nausea. Then about an hour later they tested my blood and I was done! They don't even have to test your blood beforehand. I should find out my results tomorrow, so please say a prayer for me!
 

Here's Baby H #2 at 25 weeks and a day!

And again! I think his nose will be a cross between Dillon's and my mom's!

   When I went to my doctor's last week (25 weeks) I also saw the specialists. Baby H #2 weighted 1 lb. 10 oz., and according to my pregnancy app he should weight more than 2 lbs. this week and be 14 inches long. His eyes are starting to open around this time, and he can even sense light in there. Which seems crazy to me that he can now tell that. At this point most of his development is all about putting on weight and height. If you need a visual of where he's at you could equate him to....

I don't think I've ever heard of this, but the Parisian bakery theme is my favorite. Probably because I'm always hungry...

So cute!

    I am curious as to how I'm going to expand any more to accommodate Baby H #2. At this rate at 9 months my stomach will be entering a room 5 minutes before I do. People still wanna know if this is just one. Even if they have asked before haha. One lady I know thinks it could be 2 or 3. She's serious.

The bump at 25 weeks and a day last Tuesday!

The bump today at 26 weeks and a day! Man, I wear a lot of dark blue!

   Symptoms are just the same, no decrease and no increase. I go back this Friday for an ultrasound. I had a little concern over his lack of movement during the glucose test, which if you didn't know sugar usually makes babies move a lot. My nurse and doctor did a non-stress test, and everything looked great for a 26 week baby. But my doctor still wanted to see me Friday as a precaution. Oddly enough he started moving quite a bit towards the end of the appointment and after. Go figure! I'll keep y'all posted on the glucose test! Thanks for reading y'all!

P.s. Don't forget to 'like' my Facebook page for the latest updates!
  
June Is Busting Out All Over!

Baby H #2 Update: Weeks 4 To 22

Things I'm Using In My 2nd Pregnancy

Baby H #2 Update: Weeks 23 & 24

Baby H #2 Update: Weeks 23 & 24

   Hey y'all! I hope everyone's week is going well. I went to see my doctor yesterday for our weekly visit and everything looks good! So my week is going very well so far. Happy baby, happy mommy!
   I'm 24 weeks as of this past Monday. Baby should be measuring about 13 inches long and about 1.5 lbs. When he measured my belly yesterday I was 26 cm, which is good because you're suppose to be a cm for each week you are pregnant. So technically I'm ahead of the game haha!
   Speaking of how big our little boy is, I just noticed on my Ovia pregnancy app that they now have the option to change what they equate your baby's size to. Usually it's fruits and vegetables, but they now have the option of fun and games, weird-but-cute animals, and Parisian bakery. So he's now the size of a....

 

This would be the Parisian bakery theme!

  

Fruits and vegetables!

Fun and games! If a G.I. Joe came out of me I'd be slightly frightened to say the least.

Finally, weird-but-cute animals! I wonder how the puffin feels about that distinction? Definitely a backhanded compliment  to me!

    I've been feeling pretty good. I'm tired a lot(big surprise), my indigestion has picked up a little, and I'm noticing a few more stretch marks. But if that's all I'm dealing with, I'm happy! I did have another time when I went to see my doctor before my scheduled appointment last week. Everything turned out fine though. I was super shocked when this week's appointment rolled around and I hadn't been to the doctor before my scheduled appointment. Another win! Don't get me wrong, I love my doctor, he's so nice and never is bothered by my coming in before my appointment even though I see him weekly. But no one wants to go to the doctor twice in a week.

Here's the bump at 22 weeks and 5 days on July 18th!

Here's the bump again at 23 weeks and 4 days on July 24th!

   While I was writing this it hit me. My last appointment with James was at 25 weeks. At first I thought it was at 24 weeks, but it was 25. I had an appointment with the specialists, they released me, I saw my doctor after, everything was fine. I was measuring 2 weeks ahead as well. I have an appointment with the specialists and then my doctor afterwards next week. 25 weeks. It's hard not to be uneasy about different points and dates in this pregnancy. All I think about is getting pass 29 weeks. Every week feels like some sort of countdown to 29. It's still hard to believe that's all the time I had with James. I'm very hopeful about things but it's still a struggle to remember that I'll have more than 29 weeks with this little one. This is my second pregnancy but in many ways it's like I was never pregnant before. Sometimes it just feels like one long pregnancy. This journey hasn't been what I expected from motherhood at all so far, but then again I guess motherhood has a lot of surprises, both bad and good. In spite of all the fear and worry though, I'm incredibly excited to meet our second child. Not a day goes by that I don't take time to remember how blessed we are to be having a second child.
   On a lighter note, I think I felt my first ever baby hiccup last week! I had never felt any with James. Then I was talking to my friend who's like 37 weeks and she was talking about funny it feels and I asked her to explain it to me. Well baby must have heard because about 20 minutes later he had a little hiccup. So funny!
   That's about it right now. Thanks for reading y'all! Don't forget to 'like' my Facebook page and 'follow' me(on the right side of the page) as well!

Things I'm Using In My 2nd Pregnancy

    This pregnancy has definitely been a different experience than my last pregnancy, at least so far. More doctor visits, more ultrasounds, more things I never even worried about with James. But that's for another day and another post. Today I thought I'd share with y'all some of the things I'm using with this pregnancy that I didn't use with my first one.

• Body Pillow

    I never had any issue getting comfortable enough to sleep until about 26 weeks with my first pregnancy, so I never got a body pillow. With this pregnancy I was uncomfortable at about 8 weeks haha. We got this one at Walmart for $10, which is way better than paying $60 for one of those pregnancy pillows. The body pillow also comes in handy as a barrier between me and hubby since he like to roll over on me in his sleep. Not fun.

• Fetal Heart Doppler

    This has been such a comfort to have. I use it every morning. I ordered it off of Amazon for about $45. It requires batteries but you don't have to change them that often. I just bought some lubricating jelly to use with it, although it did come with a small tube of jelly. If you're planning to buy one you can bring it to your doctor or midwife and they can show you how to use it. But there's also a ton of videos on YouTube where they show you how to use it, which is what I did. I was able to hear Baby H #2's heartbeat with this at about 9 weeks. If I could only recommend one thing to someone newly pregnant, this would definitely be it!

• Water Bottle

 

   Now I drank plenty of water with my first, but as most of you know I'm sure, they just had a huge recall on bottled water. Yay(not). But I still need to drink plenty of water. So I got this^! I found it at Target in the dollar section for $3. It holds about 28 fl. oz., which equates to a little over 3 servings of water. I also love my Brita filter pitcher. I would have included it on this list but I was using it before both pregnancies. It was a wedding present from one of Dillon's aunts. We didn't even register for it, but it has become something we use everyday!

• Up & Up Prenatal Gummy Multivitamins

    I was looking through the aisle of vitamins at Target, specifically prenatal vitamins, and was at a loss. There's just soooo many options. With my first I had such horrible indigestion, partly from the vitamins I was taking. So I switched to Flintstones gummy vitamins. They definitely helped with some of the indigestion I was having, but I wasn't sure I wanted to continue them with this pregnancy. So back to the vitamin aisle. I was still looking when a mom with 2 kids, one of them under a year picked up these^ vitamins. I asked her how she liked them, and she said she loves them! She used them with both of her kids and they never made her feel any different. Score! I picked some up and I have to say, she was right, they're great! They're basically the same as Vitafusion's prenatal gummy vitamins. Only these are $7 instead of $10. There's 90 in here, and you take 2 a day.

    I hope you enjoyed reading about what I'm using with this pregnancy. Happy hump day y'all!

Baby H #2 Update: Weeks 4 To 22

   Hey y'all! I hope everyone's having a great Tuesday. I'm not ashamed to admit I'm most excited about Pretty Little Liars being on tonight. I was extremely disappointed to remember it wasn't coming on last week only an hour beforehand. I thought I'd give y'all an update on me and Baby H #2. But since I wasn't blogging from the beginning with this little one, let's start all the way back at 4 weeks.
    I took a pregnancy test on March 8th 2015 since my period was due any day then, but it was negative. Then just a few days later, on March 11th, I took another, and that test was positive! Of course being the girl I am I kept doing tests for a week. They were all positive. I'm OCD, so sue me!


This test is a week after I first found out.

5weeks 4days. (This is mostly bloat)

   I didn't have any symptoms before I found out since I was only 4 weeks and 2 days along. My first symptoms showed up around 5 weeks in the form of cramping, breast pain, headaches, and nausea. No actual throwing up, just constant, annoying nausea. Which in my opinion I'd rather just throw up.


   My 1st doctor appointment and ultrasound was at 7 weeks and 4 days on April 3rd, Good Friday! Everything looked good, but my doctor said he'd like to see us back the following Friday just to be super careful. In the first ultrasound all you could really see was the yolk sac but just a week later Baby H #2 was starting to look more like a fetus!


Here's the bump on April 6th at 8 weeks.

Here's Baby H #2 at 8 weeks and 4 days!

Here's the bump on April 14th at 9 weeks and a day. I popped really fast!

 

    We finally told everyone I was pregnant on April 23rd at 10 weeks and 3 days. We pretty much waited as long as we could but as you can see above, I was showing quite a bit haha! We did tell later than we did with James, with him we let people know at about 6 weeks, although I thought I was 8 weeks.

                             

Here's the bump the day before we told everyone. Yeah there was no more time to wait!
 

    After that the next big thing to wait on would be Baby H #2's gender. We opted to do a new test that tests for different conditions early in pregnancy but it also had the benefit of finding out the gender at only 12 weeks. For a long time I felt like we were having a girl, but for a week or two before we found out I just knew it was a boy. I get the call on May 4th, and I was right! Dillon says he knew it was a boy too but I remember him saying in the beginning he thought girl, but whatever you say honey....


The bump the day after we found out it's a boy!!!

The bump on May 8th at 12 weeks and 4 days.

 

The bump on May 16th at 13 weeks and 5 days. This was my mom's birthday and the day before mine!

 

   It was pretty much smooth sailing around this time, not too many aches and pains. I started to feel movement around the latter part of the 16th week, no full on kicks, just fluttering. But now he's progressed to much bigger, harder kicks!
   Then at 17 weeks and 4 days Baby H #2 and I had our first ER trip. I was sitting in the living room around 6pm and I started experiencing some cramping and tightening of my belly. It kept on so to the ER we went. Everything turned out just fine, it was only Braxton Hicks contractions, although it was a little early to get them so they put me on bed rest for a few days.


Here I am at my doctor's office the next day, clearly relieved!

 

Baby H #2 at 19 weeks and a day.
 


   Our 2nd ER visit came at 20 weeks and 6 days due to spotting. I was taken to labor and delivery to be monitored. Unfortunately they had no one there to read an ultrasound. Okay. So my doctor(LOVE HIM) called and said he'd see me in the morning for an ultrasound in his office. Everything was fine, no early dilation and I had no more spotting.

20 weeks on June 29th.

 

20 weeks and 5 days on July 4th.

21 weeks and 3 days on July 9th.

   I did have a slight issue yesterday(I sound like a broken record haha) where I thought I could be leaking water, which is obviously bad. Thankfully my doctor could see me and was able to determine my waters were intact. So fingers crossed I have no more scares!
   I saw my doctor again today and the specialist(this appointment was scheduled weeks ago) and everything looks great! Baby H #2 is growing as expected and is already weighting a full pound!!! As for me I've been having major back pains since last week, nothing to be alarmed by though. Oh and indigestion started to rear it's ugly head at about 18 weeks. It's still here.
    Sorry for all the pictures, there was a lot of bump updates to include. Thanks for reading, and please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
  

22 weeks and a day today!

 

June Is Busting Out All Over!

   Hey y'all! I can't believe I've been out of blogging for 2 months!!! Maybe I got a little burnt out or uninspired after blogging every day (except Sundays) in April with the A to Z Challenge. Anyhow I'm hoping to get back into my blogging routine, I've missed it. But first I guess I should share some exciting news...I'm pregnant, again! And it's a little boy, again! Most of y'all reading this probably already know this. As of Monday this week I'm 20 weeks along (halfway there!!!) and I'm due on November 16th! A little Thanksgiving and Christmas baby.
   Dillon and I are so happy, as well as incredibly nervous given our first child's passing. But we're somewhat put at ease by the fact that my doctor will be keeping a very close eye on me and our child. I've also been seeing the specialists since about 12 weeks along. We would greatly appreciate y'all's prayers.
    Not too much other news in our household right now. The past 2 months are kind of a blur of doctor appointments and a little home improvement. Oh wait! We did go on a short vacation to Nags Head, which was great since we haven't been since our honeymoon and my parents haven't been in about 6 years. So it was really nice to go back, lots of family memories there! Plus it was neat that we ended up staying in a house our whole family had stayed in about 12 years prior.
    Here's some pictures from our trip, pictures of Baby H #2, and some of the home improvement hubby has done! Have a great Tuesday!

I was about 15 weeks along during our vacation! Baby H #2 was the size of  an Avocado!

Dillon put in a new floor and toilet! He actually ended up doing the same in my parents bathroom, and all because he tried to change a faucet haha! We try to improve and everything just starts to fall apart....

  

And finally here's our little boy at 19 weeks 1 day!!! He about the size of a zucchini here. Is it weird to equate our children to fruits and veggies?... 

Dinners, Deals, & Doctors

   Hey y'all! I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving! We celebrated with my parents, my grand-daddy, and my brother and sister-in-law, and nieces on Thanksgiving night over here. Then on Friday we went and celebrated Thanksgiving and my mother-in-law's birthday at my in-laws and brother-in-law house. So we had a very nice holiday! Lots of food, lots of family, and a few good deals on Black Friday.
   Here's our table for dinner over here:

   As for the good deals I found here's one I can share(since the others are Christmas presents).

 

 

   I found these curtains at Walmart for our bedroom. I've been wanting to find something new for our windows, right now I have lace curtains that I picked out when I was 13. So I was thrilled to find these! They were on sale for $5 for a 2 panel pack. I remember last year they kept quite a few of the items on sale at Walmart after Black Friday, so you might be able to still find them!

    Last week Dillon and I put up our Christmas tree.

    Here's Baby H's very 1st Christmas ornament:
 

 

 

       And here's the finished product:

 I just love the glow of a Christmas tree!

   
    Sunday Dillon and I lit the 1st candle of the advent season at our church. The Hope candle.

  As we go through all of these traditions I can't help but get excited thinking about next year when Baby H is here to celebrate with us. Each ritual and event brings a whole new meaning to me this year.
   Speaking of Baby H, I just had an appointment with my doctor today! I'm 25 weeks on the dot, he's 1lb 9oz. and is the size of a napa cabbage. He probably has a hair color at this point, which I'm guessing will be very dark since Dillon and I have dark hair. He can also tell which way is up and which way is down, at least that's what my app tells me haha! I'm suppose to see my doctor again in exactly 4 weeks(December 30th) to have my glucose test. Eeek! I'm praying that all of my numbers are in the normal range, I'd appreciate y'all's prayers as well.
  Here's his pictures from the appointment:

 

    Here's his profile! So precious!

    Here's his foot! They told me it's measuring just under 2 inches which to me is pretty long!

    Sorry for the overload on pictures. There's just so many things I wanted to share! It kinda feels like forever since I've done a post. Thanks for reading y'all!