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My name is Kara, I'm 36 and SO thrilled to be pregnant :)
I was married to my first husband and had 2 boys with him who are now 13 & 9. We separated when I was pregnant with the youngest and later divorced. 5 years ago I met my current husband and we married April 7, 2012 on our 5 year dating anniversary. I tell him that I'm making his anniversary gift (the baby) so I hope he's working on mine too. ha! Baby just may be born on our anniversary too! DH also has a girl who is 9 making our 9 year olds 7 months apart, mine being the older. He'll turn 10 in May.
10 YEARS since I've had a baby! I've told people that when I was pregnant before that life was normal and I was just pregnant. Now I'm pregnant and trying to live life. Pregnancy is so different this time, I can't ignore any of the symptoms and it leading/shaping my life right now. I'm sure not taking any of it for granted.
When DH & I found out it was a boy within minutes he said we could have another one. I was shocked because I never thought we'd "get" to have a baby. With the other kids being "older" we just talked and talked about how a baby would change our lives and "reset" our worlds back to baby land and give us 18+ more years of kids in the home. Just after we got married our hearts changed and we started trying for a baby.
My 13 year is very excited for the baby. He kisses the belly and talks to it more than the other 2 do. He talks about coming home from college and playing football with him! My 9 year old one night while I was at a meeting took it upon himself and set up the pack 'n play in his room to "help get ready for the baby". I thought it was so sweet. My 9 year old step-daughter bought the baby a stuffed animal and a fleece blanket for Christmas. So everyone is looking forward to this and I'm so glad, I was concerned how they would react.
I plan on EBF and I'm hoping all goes well. Again, I think just from the time lapse I'm nervous. I had zero problems really and pumped for over a year and we weaned just after his 3rd birthday. I hope I'm just as successful this time. I've read so much more this time and one thing that has me worried is it says to buy several types of bottles because you don't know what baby will take/like. Well, before I bought Advent and that was it. Period. I sent him to daycare at 6 weeks and he took the bottle. *shrug* So I really don't like the idea of buying several brands to "try" but I know "they say" every baby is different. Right now the only bottle I have planned on is the Medela so I can pump directly into the bottles. I was a prolific pumper before, pumping 24oz+ a day so I ended up an exorbitant amount of frozen milk that I ended up throwing away. Something else I will watch so it doesn't happen again.
I'm also doing cloth diapers again and hope I *enjoy* it was much as I did last time. I honestly think I looked forward to nearly every diaper change because I loved CD so much. Laundry wasn't an issue for me 10 years ago and now with my health I dread stairs and of course the washer & dryer are down 2 sets of stairs. Diapers have changed *so* much and I hope I am successful again.
I've read that now people wash different types of diapers on different wash settings. Ugh!
I will still have to work full-time afterwards and will go back with baby is 6 weeks. I'm sad about that and hope I cope better than before. It was miserable both times before and I cried for weeks at work. So far in 13 years of parenting, daycare has been the hardest for me to deal with. I've always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and it just hasn't panned out. It does look like that in a couple years I'll be able to go part-time and I'm focused on that.
Pregnancy is going fantastic. First trimester about did me in from the fatigue - it was debilitating. Second tri has been so much better and I hope the third is just as good although I'm expecting to be physically uncomfortable due to size. (Oh, I'm a fluffy gal already (6' and started at 245# but I've only gained 9-10# so far! I'm shocked.)
I have an auto-immune disorder so I'm was getting echocardiograms for the baby with sonograms every other week from week 16-26. Now I'll just do monthly growth check - he's clear of any heart issues! It's been fun getting to watch baby grow and change over the weeks. Of course I wouldn't have opted for that many sonograms but since we were watching baby's heart it was necessary.
Another plus for this pregnancy has been my symptoms from the AI has disappeared 100%! It's been fantastic as far as that is concerned however it is common for a flare to come after I give birth. Ugh. Not looking forward to that. I wanted a "fun, 6 week vacation".
Lastly, I'm an only child and my mom has small-cell lung cancer. She's done 3 rounds of chemo and has recently decided not to do anymore. Her quality of life is so poor while on chemo she wants to enjoy the time she has left. She was diagnosed Nov 2011 and we're all dealing with it fairly well. She was given 6-18 months and she is "running out of time". Her goal is to life to summer so she can enjoy baby for a while before she gets sick.
blah, blah, blah. I think I typed enough LOL
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom! It's so hard to watch loved ones deteriorate and I hope that she stays comfortable during the next several months! I'll definitely keep you in my prayers!
Your children seem precious! How fun it will be to have such a wide range in ages!
Have you decided on names for baby? Do you plan to do anything differently after baby comes that you didn't do with your other kids?
Your excitement is so palpable and sweet to read.
How did you meet your husband?
I agree with the others, your excitement comes across so well in your post!
Do you have any pets?
What's your favorite color?
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom! It's so hard to watch loved ones deteriorate and I hope that she stays comfortable during the next several months! I'll definitely keep you in my prayers!
Your children seem precious! How fun it will be to have such a wide range in ages!
Have you decided on names for baby? Do you plan to do anything differently after baby comes that you didn't do with your other kids?
Thanks Bambi. It has been tough and I'm afraid it is about to get worse. Now it just depends on how fast the tumors grow and how quick she declines. She just wants to have some time of feeling good and enjoy life (me, grandkids).
I think we're getting closer on a name but it's been tough (and fun). I have a 'sticky note' app on my phone screen and whenever we think of a new, possible name we add it to the list. At one time there were 20 names on the list! We cross names off as we decide 'no' for sure but we added one back on this weekend. ---> Oliver. It's a fairly popular name and I don't want that but I do like it and 3 out of the 5 family members do LOL Our other names include: Dodge (one of my top fave's), Carson, Owen, Briar Dean, Orson Lee, Roman, Edmund, Wayne, Issac, Sawyer... see too many names! I like Oliver Dodge but using Dodge at the middle name makes it sound like a car dealership although I know if we use that combo then we'll get over it and the baby will eventually 'own' that name. DH likes the name Sullivan and to call him Sulley like from Monsters Inc. We're predicting a large baby/large child so he thinks 'Sulley' is a good nickname. Kitty! haha
I'm doing belly pics in early March (when I'll be as big as I can possible be making my front bump bigger than my side bumps) and I want to do something like this:
Your excitement is so palpable and sweet to read.
How did you meet your husband?
I was friends with his childhood friend for about a year when I needed my van towed. I had just started going through my divorce with my ex-husband and he's a mechanic and refused to do any work on my van so I needed to get it towed and repaired on my own. I mentioned it to her and I forgot she worked for a tow company and she said "Hey, I'll ask if I can get it towed for cheap or free for you!". She asked and it was arranged for my now-DH to go to my now-ex-DH's shop and tow my van. (Love it when stuff works out like that!) While I was work during the day he towed the van to my house and I had friends coming Saturday to fix it for me. While my friends were there on Saturday fixing it, he stopped by to see if I needed any help. We talked and ended up agreeing to join our mutual friends at a local bar. (He was intrigued by me from what I had in my van (Cub Scout book) and how clean it was, haha!) We met up that night and talked until 3am and that was on April 7, 2007. We married April 7, 2012 - 5 years later.
I agree with the others, your excitement comes across so well in your post!
Do you have any pets?
What's your favorite color?
We have a cat we adopted though a farm we visit/use in 4H. Actually, we adopted 2 cats but in September we one was hit by a car and we lost him. We're waiting until we can replace the carpet in the house with solid flooring before adding 2 more cats. After getting 2 cats at one time, I think we'll always add in pairs. We also have 3 fish. A beta and 2 fish from my 13y old science project LOL I love animals and used to have a zoo but when I got sick several years ago I downgraded because I wasn't able to take care of it all (rats, turtle, 50gal fish tank, rabbits, dog)
Most shades of blue I'm drawn to. I love the color of my Ford Focus.
Love the name Oliver! When I was a child, I went through a phase where I named EVERYTHING Oliver! my hermit crab, my baby dolls, any bug that I could catch and shove into a plastic container! Haha...
We thought about Roman as I think it's super precious, but my tattoo artist is named Roman and we have become close friends so that may seem a bit odd! Ha!
Oh, I'll be biased because ds1 is Oliver.. great pick!! In his 5 1/2 years we've only ever met 1 other Oliver. Even though the charts suggest it's becoming more popular, I think it's a bit skewed sometimes since there's so much more variety in names nowadays. (hence my screenname; I'm always referred to as "Oliver's mom", since he and his name are just that unique) The name has always brought up the image of a mischevious playful, free-spirited little troublemaker, and at least my ds has certainly grown into his name, so beware!
Oh, I'll be biased because ds1 is Oliver.. great pick!! In his 5 1/2 years we've only ever met 1 other Oliver. Even though the charts suggest it's becoming more popular, I think it's a bit skewed sometimes since there's so much more variety in names nowadays. (hence my screenname; I'm always referred to as "Oliver's mom", since he and his name are just that unique) The name has always brought up the image of a mischevious playful, free-spirited little troublemaker, and at least my ds has certainly grown into his name, so beware!
Oliver is climbing the ladder at our house and it the #1 pick now - actually Oliver Dean. I've had 2 dreams now where I call him OD/Odie. *shrug* I really want to settle on a name but also want to be sure. I didn't have that much resistance naming my first 2 so it didn't seem near as difficult. My husband & mom threw out my first & second picks and agreed with my third. We've looked at over 50 names with this one!
I love reading your introduction! I'm sorry to hear about the decline of your mother and hope she is able to enjoy some time with the new little one. Do you have any big hobbies or passions?
I love reading your introduction! I'm sorry to hear about the decline of your mother and hope she is able to enjoy some time with the new little one. Do you have any big hobbies or passions?
Sadly, no. I used to sew, I used to knit & crochet, I used to garden, had a water garden but I either can't find time for most of it or I don't have the energy. Physically I'm just the same person I was. I still love to cook & bake and I've always hated cleaning the kitchen but now after making something I'm usually exhausted and leave the mess which doesn't please anyone in the house.
I did sew up 6 slings this last weekend for me, DH & some family members and it was fun and so enjoyable. I used a friends machine (and we completed them together) because my machine is older than I am and needs some TLC. I just can't justify buying a new one right now. No dedicated spot to sew either.
I'm passionate about birth I think 
. I've attended 3 births and is was awesome. I'm glad I can give that "gift" to a couple friends for my birth.
I can relate on the feeling of "used to" be/do/etc. It's so strange how our lives change as we grow up and have children. I had a bit of an identity crisis for a while but I think I'm coming back into my own. I would probably benefit from finding some new hobbies eventually but it will have to wait until this little one is a bit bigger.
I do wish I could sew! I have a sewing machine here but never have the time or motivation to set it up and give it a whirl. Now that my mom lives locally, maybe I'll talk her into teaching me some tricks.
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