Will Sweet Pea be a He or She?

I'm 17 weeks now; 17 weeks, 5 days to be exact :)

My milestone days are Sundays. This coming Sunday I will be graduating to 18 weeks and am very excited about this coming week.

Gender ultrasounds can be done anytime between 18 and 20 weeks. It can not be done any earlier as it's too hard to detect the exact gender before this time.

As posted early in one of my entries, my next scheduled ultrasound was originally set for Tuesday February 10th; however, that date has changed to Tuesday February 3rd and I'll tell you why.....

Sadly, in Canada, technicians are 'legally' not allowed to tell you the gender of your baby at the ultrasound. They are responsible for doing the ultrasound and submitting the patients file to the patients Dr with the gender revealed inside. The patient then has to book an appointment with their doctor the following week to get the results.

Some of you may ask 'why is that?'. The reason being is that many cultures today do not want a girl; they want a boy to carry on the family name, traditions, etc. With that being said, many couples will actually go to the extent of aborting their child if they find out its not a boy. Believe it or not, this is disturbingly true.

Due to the growing increase in the diversity of cultures in Canada, it has been made illegal for technicians to share such information with a patient. It is at the discretion of the family Dr to share the gender news.

In any case, I have built a good relationship with one of the technicians at the clinic I go to for my ultrasounds. I have had the privilege of having her for all my ultrasounds with Nya, and for my first ultrasound with Sweet Pea. She knows me quite well and is quite aware of my Christian faith and my excitement regarding each of my pregnancies. In fact, she has laughed at me both times, with Nya and Sweet Pea, when I have cried at my ultrasounds out of shear joy. lol

In fact, she didn't remember me, but I remembered her when I walked in with Nya for Sweet Peas first ultrasound. When I saw her, I was thrilled! She was so incredibly sweet and kind with me when I was pregnant with Nya; sharing laughs together, stories and even sneaking me a few extra ultrasound pics; BONUS!!! lol I made sure to remind her of our previous meetings when I was pregnant with Nya and how thrilled I was to have her again; a means of buttering her up to hook me up again this time around!!! lol

My 'buttering' worked! lol She was very appreciative of my words and a guard was removed. She lightened up and was the social, friendly technician I had remembered in the past. And in case you are wondering.....yes, she hooked me up again with more ultrasound pics of Sweet Pea. lol

Ladies, a smile and kindness goes a long way; it can be used to your advantage sometimes!! ha ha

Anyhow, loooooong story short, (as my husband would say, 'nothing with you Devin is ever short!!!' lol) I have been praying that I get her again for my next ultrasound in hopes that she will 'secretly' spill the beans to me on my little ones gender. I have known many technicians to do this if they know the patient well enough.

Now if for some reason I don't get her (I have no say or choice in who I get unfortunately) or if she's not in the mood to share, I will have to wait until the following week to get it from my Dr :(

I more recently found out that my mom will be leaving February 20th for vacation and not returning for a good 3 weeks. Now this plays as a bit of a problem as I wanted to do my 'Gender Reveal' with our families the week I find out.

I don't want my mom to be left out and not apart of the big announcement; it wouldn't be the same without her there! But, I also know that it would be nearly impossible to keep the gender to ourselves for a month; that would be torture!!!!

Seeing that the next ultrasound is like a game of Russian Roulette, you just never know how its going to go, whether I'll find out right then and there or not, I couldn't take the chance in my mom not being there to share in this wonderful time with us; I had to somehow find a way to get my date changed.

I took a chance in the dark and called the clinic this week to see if there happened to be a cancellation or opening next week to get me in for my ultrasound. Well, God is good!! She said there was an opening next Tuesday, February 3rd at 3:50pm. Would you know I jumped at that slot right away and said "Book it babe!!!!". lol Just kidding... I didn't call her babe. ha ha

Sooooooo, my gender ultrasound is now this coming Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cant believe it. When I called my husband at work to tell him he was like "Really? Next Tuesday? Like, this coming Tuesday??". lol He was pretty excited.

I will be sure to drink plenty of water and set a reminder in my phone to NOT use the washroom before hand like last time; I don't want to play around with this ultrasound! ha ha

Now that the date has been changed, I don't risk the chance of my mom not being there for our Gender Reveal; whether we find out on the 3rd or have to wait a week :)

I purchased the paper and ribbon from Michael's yesterday with Nya and started on my Gender Reveal invites last night. The reveal will be done with my family at our house and then with Dennard's family at their home on a separate night. 

The reveal is already planned, supplies are bought, invitations started....all that's left is the gender and a date for the reveal :)

So, will Sweet Pea be a He or She? At this point, your guess is as good as mine! lol

 

First Ultrasound-11 Weeks Pregnant

Monday December 15th at 5pm I got to see my precious Sweet Pea for the first time!!! I am officially 11 weeks pregnant.

I took big sister Nya with me so she could see her baby brother or sister with me. I wanted her to be apart of such a special moment.

Silly me, in a rush to get the daycare kids off and out to my appointment in time, I foolishly used the washroom right before I left; literally after drinking a ton of water that was needed for my ultrasound.
This is a good place to smack forhead! Duh!!!! lol

I filled another water bottle up and chugged it back the whole way to my appointment.

Nya came with me to the clinic and we waited anxiously outside in the waiting room. My name got called and we made our way to the ultrasound room. As we turned the corner, the nurse looked at me, looked at Nya and asked if she was coming in with me. I told her yes, and with a heavy breath of annoyance she asked if Nya would be able to sit as I got the ultrasound done.

I reassured her that Nya was a very good girl and wouldn't cause any problems. I let her know that she wasnt a wild two year old and knows to sit quietly.

With hesitation, she took me to my room. when the door opened, Nya immediately hopped into the chair beside the bed and sat quietly; she didn't say a peep. The nurse was quite taken back at her behaviour and commented on how shocked she was at how well behaved Nya was. Awww proud mommy moment!! That's my girl :) lol

I lay still on the bed for a few minutes as the technician did the ultrasound. Fortunately I had a full enough bladder for her to do the ultrasound.

I tried so desperately to get a glimpse of the screen, but she had it facing away for only her to see. She told me that once she was done doing her measurements and calculations, that she would turn the screen to me to see.

As the technician did her job, my precious Nya was sitting beside her, quietly singing to herself. She had both myself and the technician laughing. I began to tell Nya what the technician was doing and that she would soon be able to see the baby and hear the heart beat. She gave me a great big smile, nodded her head in agreement and went back to singing. lol

After a few short minutes, the screen was turned to me and I saw my Sweet Pea for the first time. I began to cry with joy as I clenched my chest with both hands and said aloud to the screen I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!

My heart was swelling with love. My eyes are teary eyed right now as I write this, re-living that incredible moment.

I asked the technician if everything looked ok, if the baby had two arms, legs, feet, hands, etc. With a chuckle she reassured me everything looked great.

I could see Sweet Peas little profile and little paddle hands. Sweet Pea was as still as ever. It actually concerned me as I didn't see the baby move the whole time I was watching the screen. Through tear filled eyes I asked why Sweet Pea wasn't moving!!! She again chuckled at me and told me the baby was probably sleeping.

Well, as any mother would know, hearing that is not good enough. I want to SEE my baby MOVE!!! Just when I started to get concerned, I saw my Sweet Pea move and jolt their little body. I said allowed Thank you Jesus!!!

What an incredible sense of relief, let me tell you!!!!!!

She then put the speaker on so I could hear the baby's heart beat. As soon as the wonderful WOSH WOSH WOSH sounds came over the speakers, I looked at Nya and her eyes were like saucers. She was looking at me with wonder and excitement. She was the first one to hear the baby's heart beat and the first to see the baby. What a special bonding experience and memory to look back on.

I am so grateful she was there to be apart of it all.

This is not just my journey and her dads.....its hers as well and I want her to feel every bit apart of it :)

Dennard was waiting back at home for us when we got home. We sat together on the couch as a family and looked at the ultrasound pictures together. Explaining every detail of each picture, we sat in awe of this little gift in our hands, truly feeling the love and gratitude for this life we have been given.

 

 The second picture  at the bottom makes me laugh; looks like Sweet Pea is smiling :) lol

Merry Christmas- We Are Expecting!!

Merry Christmas!!

Today we share our wonderful news with family and friends. Its been a long three months of keeping Sweet Pea a secret, but now we can share it with the world :)

A few days before Christmas, we booked a family photo at a photo studio with Dennard, Myself, Nya and our first baby ultrasound. Our first family picture; awwww!!! ha ha

This was going to be our way of announcing our wonderful news in a unique and fun way.

It was our plan to somehow present this photo to our families on Christmas and see how long it would take for them to catch on we were expecting.

How we told my family:
Christmas Eve I popped over to my dad`s after dinner to share our baby news and let him in on my plans to tell the family Christmas AM.

My plan was to ask my dad for his help in executing my announcement plans to the rest of the family so that no one would suspect anything.

Note: All of those close to us know that we always wanted our children 3 years apart. We knew that friends and family would probably be expecting an announcement sometime around Christmas, so we wanted to at least throw our families off

My dad and I were sitting at the dinning room table chatting and I nonchalantly  pulled out the envelop with our family Christmas photo enclosed. I informed him that it was our annual Christmas card and that we just got them printed.

He opened the envelop, starred at the picture and commented on how nice a picture it was. He at first didn't read the print at the bottom of the card or notice the ultrasound picture in Dennard`s hand in the picture. lol After looking at the picture for some time, he asked what Dennard was holding. I asked him to read the bottom of the card which read:

The best gifts in life aren`t found under the tree, our family is growing from a family of three. Baby Bynoe arriving July 2015.

Once he read that, it clicked! He looked up with a big smile and said `well congratulations sweetheart!!` got up and gave me a great big hug. He then said `Jenn had a feeling you were pregnant; she figured you would be announcing a pregnancy this Christmas!`. lol

I was shocked; how could Jenn have known!! lol He went on to explain our whole 3 year plan and that Christmas would be around the time that we would probably be expecting. Call it sisters intuition or just great calculating on her part, but she was dead on! ha ha

I told him about my uncertainty in how I was going to give everyone the pictures on Christmas without them suspecting something. His words to me exactly were `leave it up to me...ill figure something out! I`ll come up with a way to do it!`.
And that was that; I left the plans in my dads hands and went home excitingly anticipating the big announcement Christmas Day.

Christmas morning we all met at my dad`s house like we do every year; my mom, my sisters and their family`s. Before we even got to opening the first of the gifts, my dad came out with a magic trick book and began to explain this neat book he had and how he had a trick he wanted to try on all of us. I, like everyone else, was totally in the dark on his plans and thought he was really trying out a new trick on us. lol

He had Ryan, my nephew, pick a card out from a deck of cards and pass one out to each of my sisters, my mom and myself. He told us to memorize the card and then had my nephew recollect the cards from us. In exchange he gave us each an envelop. My dad instructed each of us to open the envelopes to see if our card was inside. Once the envelop was in my hand, Dennard and I looked at each other and realized in that moment `this is not a trick! this is our announcement`. We played dumb and played along opening our envelopes.

Cheryl was the first to open her envelop and let out a shrill. She immediately got up and congratulated us and gave us a big hug. Not even half a second later after Cheryl`s shrill, Jenn shouted out `I knew it!!!`and immediately came over to us with tears in her eyes and gave us both a hug. My mom on the other hand wasn't quite sure what was going on. She was looking at the same picture in her hand as everyone else, but wasn`t sure what was causing such a reaction. She said `Devin, what`s going on!`. I told her to read the print on the bottom of her card. She didn't have her glasses with her, so she wasn`t able to read the print very well. As she was squinting to read it, she said `what`s it say....`. Jenn at this time shouted out `she`s pregnant!!!!!`. My mom immediately started crying. It was so sweet.

Through tears of joy she said `Oh Devin!!!!! Im so happy for you guys!!!!`. She got up and gave each of us a big hug and went back to starring at her picture asking questions along with my sisters on how far along, when we found out, etc. She began to explain how she was looking at the picture and wondering at first what Dennard was holding in his hands; while she was looking at it, everyone started reacting to the picture and she was confused. lol

It was a very special moment for us :) Everyone was pleasantly surprised by our announcement and over joyed with our news.

A Christmas we will always remember :)

Telling Dennard`s Family

Dennard really liked Nya`s `Best Sister Ever` shirt and wanted to have her wear the shirt to his family`s house on Christmas to announce our special news.

He wanted to see how long it would take everyone to notice her shirt and catch on that we were expecting.

We walked into his parents house and all the ladies were sitting around the dinning table while the men sat in front of the TV; minus Dennard`s younger brother Drew who was in the basement with their cousin.

I took Nya`s jacket off and she immediately went running in to greet everyone. She went over and sat on Dennard`s brother Duane`s girlfriends lap, who in seconds noticed Nya`s shirt. I saw Kaiden starring at it and then looked around to see if anyone else saw it. She made eye contact with me and I played it off like I didn`t notice and kept chatting. I wanted Dennard`s mom to noticed the shirt first, so I didn't want to say anything. I watched as she kept looking at Nya`s shirt and then said out loud `I like Nya`s shirt!!!`.

The table went silent for a second. I said `Marita, did you see Nya`s shirt`. Kaiden turned Nya around and faced her to Marita, Dennard`s mom. She looked at the shirt and said `Its nice`.

I chuckled and said `did you read Nya`s shirt...`. She looked at it again and said `Its a nice shirt`.
All the ladies at this point saw and read the shirt and were laughing. His mom hadn`t realized that it was announcing Nya as being a big sister. She looked at it again and I said `Congratulations!!! We`re pregnant!!!!`. Just then, Kaiden says allowed `And so are we!!`.

I wasn`t sure if it was a joke, if she was serious, what was going on. lol Dennard and I were totally taken back! The table broke out into a frenzy of laughter and confusion.

As it ends up, Duane and his girlfriend are expecting a baby two weeks before us.

We are due July 6th and they are due the second last week of June.

Looks like it will be a busy summer for Dennard`s family! lol

Our Christmas Card/Announcement Photo 

 

16 Weeks Already; Where Has The Time Gone!!

I need to pinch myself; I am 16 weeks already!! Where has the time gone!

This past Sunday night I came home and was indulging in a bowl of my family's much loved and fought over Raisin Bran. lol No, its not just for old people....lol

I have to say, I have never felt Sweet Pea so active. I don't know if it was the sweetness in the raisins or if the baby was hungry, but there was a full blown dance party happening in my tummy. lol
I enjoyed every precious moment feeling every little flip, flop, flip, flip, flop :)

I never mentioned it in my last few posts, but I haven't been able to look at, touch or eat chicken since the night my husband bought me Sunrise chicken in my 6th week of pregnancy. That was the last and final night I could touch it. After that, everything changed! Even the mention of the word chicken would send me running to the washroom!

I am happy to say that at 16 weeks, I have overcome another hurdle in the road and am back eating chicken once again. lol

I've been watching a lot of cooking shows on YouTube lately; my new guilty pleasure. lol I cant seem to get enough of them. Maybe its because I've lost all drive to cook, so I'm living vicariously through each of the chefs. lol  They've been preparing quite a few chicken dishes, which you would think would have me closing the screen as fast as possible; however, much to my surprise, the last week or two, the dishes have really made me desire giving chicken another shot.

My husband took me out for dinner this week and I thought Id be adventurous and give chicken another chance; living on the wild side, I know!! ha ha ha ha

I ordered the Chicken Parmesan with bowtie noodles, tossed in a rose sauce. Let me just say, my taste buds were awakened and my stomach held its own. I not only had no problem looking at it, but I was able to eat and enjoy it!!

The next night I had chicken again and did so for the next two nights after. I was on a roll and was going to make up for lost time not eating chicken. lol

I also finally have my appetite back. I have had NO desire to eat the last three months. I have literally had to force feed myself to eat three square meals a day. Not because I was feeling sick or turned off foods, but just because I really haven't had an appetite.

I feel cramping every now and then which is completely normal; uncomfortable, but normal. Its my uterus expanding to make room for my growing Sweet Pea.

I get out of breath really easily now. Just walking up the stairs sends me huffing and puffing. My body is using up so much energy to make my little baby, that it doesn't take much to tire easily when walking up stairs or carrying things.

Lets see.....what else has been happening....

We've started on the nursery already getting all of Dennards office stuff out, emptying the closets and building a new closet organizer in there. The room was freshly painted two years ago, so we are going to keep the colour as is. Its a light, creamy, hot chocolate colour; almost like a tan. Its very neutral and can work with any gender and also grow with the child.

The next step will be laying down a new area rug, replacing the light fixture, installing a dimmer, and moving the nursery furniture in once Nya's big girl bedroom set arrives in March.

I like to sleep on my back and have been trying to break myself of this as its not recommended when pregnant. I go to sleep on my left side and almost always wake up on my back. I remember having the same problem when pregnant with Nya trying not to sleep on my back; memories! lol

I feel the most movement at night when I'm laying in bed. Because I'm so active in the day, I'm literally rocking the baby to sleep all day with my busyness. At night when I'm finally sitting down and still, Sweet Pea is up and wants to party! ha ha

My nails are super strong since being pregnant. I use to have weak, brittle nails that never could grow past a certain length, but now they are long and strong. Nya's not use to seeing me with nails; the other night she took my hand and said Mommy, you need to cut your nails! I couldn't help but laugh as she knows I'm always cutting her nails when they get long.

The hair on my legs take forever to grow; loving that!!!! lol I hardly ever have to shave!
I have no stretch marks or black tummy line; never had them with Nya and hope to not get them this time around either.

I absolutely love the smell of freshly brewed coffee. I will take deep inhales when I wake up in the morning to Dennards freshly brewed coffee permeating through the house. lol

Ive noticed my eyes have been getting really dry and sore. I looked this up online and its a very common symptom of pregnancy.

I also get sharp pains in my tummy if I get up too fast or in a strange way. It takes a few seconds and the pain goes away. Its almost like a pulled muscle type of cramp.

I've been feeling the tingling in my chest now of my milk coming in. I remember this feeling with Nya; just not this early on.

At the end of my 16 weeks, my tummy literally just POPPED!!! People at church couldn't believe how much my tummy had grown from Wednesday to Friday night. It was like an over night growth spurt! lol

Good-bye week 16, welcome week 17!!! It only gets more exciting :)

Stay tuned.....

Hello Second Trimester!!

I am now 15 weeks and going strong! The baby at this stage is 4inches long and the size of an apple.

Morning sickness is officially done and over with; glory to God!!!! lol I wasn`t sure if it would ever end!!

I have been feeling little flutters from the baby over the last few weeks; the coolest feeling in the world!!! It feels like little butterflies fluttering around in your tummy :)

Sunday January the 4th at 14 weeks, I felt the first real `flip flop` from Sweet Pea on the way to evening service. I was in the car indulging on some delicious strawberry rhubarb pie, that my mom had so graciously dropped over (my fave!) and felt the first major movements from my little one.  I was so taken back that I let out a shriek of excitement!

Our much adored townhouse has been perfect for our little family. We were newleyweds in this home, brought our first daughter home to this house and now our second little one will be coming here as well :)

We have three bedrooms, three washrooms, a finished walk out basement, spacious living area, etc. Sounds a little like a Real Estate ad doesn't it. lol It has been perfect....however, they didn`t design the master bedroom with a big enough closet for both myself and Dennard, or maybe the problem is,  I have too many clothes....nah....I`ll go with the latter of the two. lol

Anyhow, I have always occupied the master bedroom closet and Dennard has occupied his office closet; the spare bedroom beside Nya`s room. Now that his office will soon convert into Sweet Pea`s nursery, we had to find a solution for what was going to happen to all of Dennard`s clothes.

 A) Throw them all away and keep just the essentials
 B) Cram it all under the bed
 C) Keep his clothes at my dad`s house in my old closet

I am just kidding about the solutions above, although option A sounds a little enticing to help declutter our home! ha ha

My handyman, do it all, jack of all trades father came to our rescue :) Strangely enough, our linen closet is twice the size of our mater bedroom closet and has more space than any household really needs for a linen closet. Its a double door, spacious closet that can hold all the essentials of a small Bath and Beyond store. We decided to convert this closet into Dennard`s closet and keep some space at the bottom for a mini linen closet.

This has worked out amazingly!!!! It was a genius idea of my dads that has worked out better than we thought. Now that Dennard has his clothes out, its time to fill the nursery closet with freshly washed, teeny, tiny clothes very soon :)

During the renovations, Nya and I sat on the floor watching my dad work his handyman magic. At one point, Nya looked over at me and asked if the baby could stay in her room  :) With my heart melted into a puddle on the floor, which happens often because of the sweetness of my Nya, lol, I began to explain to her how the baby will have their own room, but that she and the baby will be next door neighbors and can visit each other any time. She was quite excited about that! It was really cute.

One thing Nya is very adamant about is the gender of Sweet Pea. She is convinced that Sweet Pea is a girl. She always refers to the baby as her sister. When asked what the baby is, almost always she will say a baby girl. lol

Everyone in my family thinks we are having a girl, expect Cheryl who says boy, but admitted deep down she thinks its a girl. lol It has been tradition in my family that what ever the gender of the first child is, the second is the same. My grandmother was one of 6 girls, my dad was one of two boys, my mom one of two girls, I am one of three girls, my older sister has two girls, my middle sister has two boys; the tradition runs deep in my family.

If we have a boy, I will be breaking Pepperall history!! lol
I like that all bets are on me right now to see if the tradition continues or if a new one begins; it is kind of fun to think about :) lol

Most of our friends and church family on the other hand say we are having a boy.

Truthfully, I have NO idea what the gender could be. I felt it was a boy at the beginning of my pregnancy, then I felt girl and now I feel boy again. It really varies week by week. lol

As cliché as it might sound to some, my husband and I have absolutely NO preference in a gender what so ever. Some think that because we have a girl, we must want a boy. They think that because Dennard is a man, he must desperately want a boy. Truth be told, they couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact, we are just so grateful and thankful to be able to have another child, male or female. The gender doesn't make the family, nor does it complete it. We will be just as thrilled to have another girl as we would to have a boy.

With that being said, as of Tuesday February 10th, at 19 weeks along, we will officially know what we are having! I am sooooooooooooooo, soooooooooooo, soooooo excited!!!!!! This will be my ultrasound where they check the size and weight of the baby, brain, lungs, heart chambers, etc. It is at this time that they can also determine the gender, so..... with fingers crossed, we are hoping and praying Sweet Pea doesn't choose to be modest and a gender will be revealed :)

We always said that for our first pregnancy we didn't want to know the gender, but for our second we would find out. We wanted to have the best of both experiences of not knowing, and knowing :)

Sweet Pea at 15 Weeks

Big Sister Nya at Second Prenatal Appointment :)

January 12th 2015 @ 15 weeks pregnant





 

3 Months Pregnant

I'm officially in my third month; 9th weeks to be exact :) Woo hoo!!

I started showing last week which is super exciting!!! As with Nya, I couldn`t wait to start showing :)

For the last several weeks I have been dealing with morning sickness. I never experienced this with Nya, so this is all very new for me. My prenatal vitamins are really what triggers it for me in the AM. Literally within 3-25mins after taking my vitamin, I`m awfully sick.

I`ve been sick for my whole second and third month. Various times throughout the day I`ll be fine one second, and then without warning, the next second I`m gagging or physically sick. My gag reflux is so super sensitive right now; anything can trigger it to go off at any given time. lol It can be a smell, looking at something like a food item, changing a stinky diaper, brushing my teeth or even just walking into the kitchen. lol Sometimes nothing at all triggers it and out of the blue I`m gagging.

Fortunately, I`ve never had a gagging episode in church (which has been a big fear of mine!) or in public; aside from one time in the men`s department at Target. lol Now that was interesting!

Dennard has gotten use to the `false warnings` and ignores them now. For the first few times he would run and grab me a bag; then after several false alarms, he just leaves me until the gagging episode subsides. lol

Nya on the other hand is totally opposite. She runs to my aid every time without fail. She just melts my heart!!! Dennard has recently put a grocery bag for `emergencies` hanging on our bedroom door for me, lol. There have been several times where I`ve been getting out of bed and felt like I was going to be sick. Nya seeing that I wasn`t well, has run to the bedroom door, grabbed the bag and come running back to me saying `here mommy!!! you need this!. lol

Times where I have been `gracefully hugging the toilet`....lol...Nya has stood behind me rubbing my back. She`s refused to leave my side no matter how many times I`ve urged her to leave or continue playing. She`s even run down to the kitchen to grab me bottles of water! She will be a fantastic mommy one day :) She has such a sweet and caring heart.

I had my first prenatal appointment at 10 weeks. I was so excited, as was Nya. I plan to take her to all my appointments and ultrasounds so she can be there for every experience :) I let Nya know that morning that we were going to the Dr`s that evening after daycare to check on the baby. The whole day she kept asking me when we were going to the `baby`s appointment`. lol I don`t know who was more excited; Nya or myself!

My Dr checked my weight, my blood pressure, my heart rate and took a urine sample to check all my levels. Sadly she said I wasn`t far enough along in my pregnancy to hear the baby`s heartbeat on the dopler. She said that its not until around 14 weeks that the heartbeat can be detected.

I will be seeing my Dr every three weeks from now on until farther along in my pregnancy when I see my OB at the hospital where I will deliver; Credit Valley.

Surprisingly, Nya hasn't spilled the beans regarding the baby to anyone. She has known about our pregnancy from day one; however, I told her it was a secret. Low and behold, at only 2 years of age, she hasn't said a thing!! lol I really took a chance!

There was however one time at church when I thought she may have let the cat out of the bag, but.... sigh of relief........ no one caught on. lol Natisha at church was talking to her about them being like sisters. When Nya heard her say the word `sister`, she put her hand to her chest and said `I am!!!`. I quickly changed the subject and no one suspected a thing; fewfh!! lol

I`m still dealing with pregnancy acne which started in my second month-boo!

I find that unlike with Nya, I crave sweets this pregnancy. Desserts, chocolates and candy`s are all very appealing to me. I eat very healthy when I`m pregnant; avoiding all sweets, caffine and unhealthy snacks; howeverrrrr, I will on occasion treat myself to a few chocolate covered almonds or peanuts :) lol

I`m hoping that as I leave my first trimester and enter my second, I will be away with the morning sickness and get my appetite back again.

Here`s hoping!!! lol

Big Sister Nya at First Prenatal Appointment :)

 



 

7 Weeks Pregnant

I'm at the end of my 6th week now and still very tired! I use to spend my lunches cleaning up, prepping dinner and preparing the afternoon craft and/or lesson for the kids. (I currently run an in home daycare where I teach Nya and three other children between the ages of 2 and 4). Now I use that time to lay down on the couch, close my eyes and rest.

I'm not very hungry anymore. The thought of food turns me off sometimes; I have to literally force myself to eat. And chicken....UGH!!!! The thought of chicken bothers me. We had chicken the other night for dinner and I really had to mentally prepare myself to eat it.

The other night I made tuna casserole for dinner. It wasn't until I was just about to serve and eat it that I decided to look on line first to double check to see if I can eat tuna while pregnant. Well, low and behold, to my research, it is advised that pregnant mommies stay clear of tuna :( 

By this time, it was late and I was so hungry and out of ideas as to what I could make for myself. My sweet husband bundled up for the cold and drove to Sunrise for me and got me my beloved BBQ chicken, rice & peas and ox tail gravy. He is honestly amazing! The rice and ox tail gravy was like manna from heaven! Lol The chicken however had to be forced down with will power! Ha ha 

I have been eating a lot of vanilla yogurt mixed with cranberries and sunflower seeds. Very good for me and the baby :) I try to have peanut butter at least once a day; whether on toast for breakfast or with apple slices. Peanut butter is fantastic for the brain development of babies.

I've also been drinking milk like it is going out of style; we can't keep it in our fridge long enough for it to even get close to its expiry date. lol Between Nya and I, we go through three bags of milk every 5-6 days.

Nya is beyond THRILLED and OVER THE MOON to be a big sister. It's like she has been waiting for this moment since she was born; lol. Some have asked if she really understands that I have a baby growing in my tummy and that she is going to be a big sister, and shocking to some, she fully understands. She talks about the baby all the time and kisses my tummy every chance she gets. She loves to tell people she is going to be a big sister and rhyme off all that she plans and intends to do to help when the baby gets here.

 

When asked 'who is going to be a big sister?' Nya responds excitingly  'Nya!' :). When I ask her where the baby is, she'll either say 'in mommy's tummy or 'in my tummy'. Lol She'll lift her shirt up and rub her tummy laughing. lol

The other night Nya was crawling all over me and I said 'be careful of the baby'. Nya leaned down to my tummy and kissed it; my heart just melted!! I can never get tired of the tummy kisses and snuggles; it's like she's loving and bonding with her sibling already :)

One thing I do with Nya everyday is have her pray alongside me. I pray first and then we pray together. I have been having her pray for her baby brother/sister with me each time. She lays hands on my tummy and we pray together for the baby. One thing I have really been contending for in prayer is that Nya and Sweet Pea will be the best of friends. I pray that they will have a bond and closeness like no other :)

 

It is such an overwhelming sense of joy to be pregnant again and to be able to incorporate my sweet Nya into everything we do for the baby.

 

It`s so important for me to have her apart of everything so she feels apart, so she can get excited and to help prepare her for the big changes ahead :)

 

 

Sweets.....We're Pregnant!!!!!

Tonight I told Dennard about our pregnancy :) Thursday October 30th

Just as with Nya, I wanted to plan it out and announce it to him in a special way. It's not everyday you're pregnant, so when you are, you want to make things as special and as fun as you possibly can for you and your spouse.

Earlier in the week I took Nya and the daycare kids for a walk through a forest by our house with lovely walking trails. With me I carried a pair of my shoes, Dennard's shoes, Nya's shoes and a pair of little while baby shoes I had bought earlier in the week.

I already knew what I wanted to do, I just had to find the perfect place and spot to do it! I had been on Pinterest researching different ways to announce a pregnancy to family and friends. I came across this adorable idea and a great keepsake; it was a picture of the mommy's shoes, daddy's shoes, siblings shoes and a pair of baby shoes with a caption that read "Our Family Is Growing By Two Feet". 

I loved the uniqueness in the idea and the play in words. 

The day for our walk couldn't have been more glorious.  The sun was shinning, the air was crisp and there was a sea of coloured leaves, freshly fallen and laying all over the ground. It was the perfect landscape and day to take this precious picture.

I came across this amazing, rustic bridge in the forest with a lovely stream below. I knew right away that that was where I was going to set up our shoes and take the picture.

After taking several shots, with the shoes in several different positions and in several different locations....lol....I found the perfect picture!!!!

That night Nya and I took the picture to Walmart and I worked my magic; editing and adding text.

I brought the picture home, sealed it in an envelope, stamped it and addressed it to Dennard as if it was a piece of mail that had come in for him.

I set the envelop aside and hid it somewhere where he'd never find it.

The next night I took Nya to Carter's and I bought her a shirt that read "Best Sister Ever". I had my mother-in-law with me that night doing some shopping to help her redecorate her living room; however, it was my only last free night before Thursday to get the shirt. 

I told her I had to run into Carter's really quickly to get Nya a shirt and that I'd be back in a giffy. Car running and Nya and my mother in law in the car, I ran into Carter's, grabbed the shirt, purchased it and off we went. Mission accomplished in a matter of 5mins :) lol

Now that brings us to today, Thursday October 30th.

After dinner, I took Nya upstairs and snuck her "Best Sister Ever" shirt on her. I grabbed my envelop addressed to Dennard and stuck it in a pile of other mail I had collected that day.

Nya and I came downstairs and pretended to 'sort' the mail together in the living-room. At this time, Dennard was sitting with us on the couch reading up on some news. Nya and I went through the mail in which at one point I asked Nya to give daddy the envelop that I had addressed to him (I even tried to mask my handwriting on the letter! lol). With her "Best Sister Ever" shirt on, she skipped over to her daddy and said "here daddy!". He open the envelop and within seconds of seeing the picture inside, his eyes opened wide. He looked up at me with this boyish type grin and confusion in his eyes. He kept looking at the picture and at me.  I could tell he knew exactly what it meant, but because I had told him a week earlier I had tested and it read negative, he was totally confused. lol

He looked up at me and said "really?? really??". I said "What does Nya's shirt say?". I called Nya back into the room (she was dancing around in the kitchen, lol) and told her to show daddy her new shirt. His face lit up so brightly!!! He was like "You're pregnant!!! Really!!!". I laughed and said "Sweets....we're pregnant!!! You're a daddy again!!". 

He was so excited. To see his face so lit up and so happy made my heart swell. 

We laughed together and then he started at me with a million questions "didn't you say your test said negative?" "when did you retest?" "when did you find out" "how far along are we?" lol

It was such a special moment. 

I captured the whole thing on video. He had no idea I was taping him until after he clued in we were pregnant....he he 

After we watched the video, laughed, chatted and kissed Nya a thousand times in excitement that she was a big sister, lol, I took some pictures of Dennard with Nya in her new sister shirt :)

The announcement picture I took and used to tell Dennard and the picture of him with Nya after is attached below. Special memories that will last us a lifetime. 

We plan to wait until we are three months pregnant to share the news with family and friends. We will announce it at Christmas; just like what we did with Nya :)

Our Family Is Growing by Two Feet!
Baby Bynoe #2 Arriving July 2015



 

Announcement Night!!!!

October 29th 2014

(You can see the excitement on Nya's face; I absolutely love it!)

 



 

 

4 Weeks Pregnant

I am 4 weeks pregnant and my chest is already really sore, I have been noticing some acid reflux, I'm forever hungry, even waking up in the middle of the night hungry, and my face has been breaking out.

Love, love, love and have always loved being pregnant. Ive always said that if I could be pregnant forever I would because I love it so much; HOWEVER......I could really pass on and do without the pregnancy acne. lol The only downfall to my pregnancies seem to be the dreaded pregnancy acne.

I pray that I won't have pregnancy acne like I had with Nya :( I started getting it with Nya around my 6th month; for this pregnancy, it has started really early.

I seem to break out in the same areas all the time; my chin, around my mouth and on some parts of my cheeks. Sadly, make-up doesn't help conceal these 'wonderful' little 'blunders' very well.

Unfortunately, its all hormonal and apart of pregnancy, so there isn't much I can do but grin, bare it and pretend it doesn't exist...as much as it, or 'they' stare me right in the face; literally!!. lol

Fortunately, it goes away a few weeks after the baby is born when my hormones start to balance out again :)

I saw my dentist last night and had to tell him and the hygienist cleaning my teeth about my little Sweet Pea as I didn't want to put my baby at risk of anything they were going to give me or do to my teeth. So, aside from Nya, my dentist and hygienist are the only other people who know about Sweet Pea.

My hygienist said that she could tell right away I was pregnant by looking at my gums; even if I hadn't had told her. She said I had the typical 'pregnancy' gums: red, swollen and easy to bleed.
Who knew that at only 4 weeks, by body, including my gums, is already showing signs of pregnancy?! I thought that was pretty cool. It goes to show you how amazing the human body is and how quickly things start to happen once you get pregnant.

Im still experiencing back pain hip pain. I didn't experience this until my third trimester with Nya; I'm hoping I won't be this uncomfortable my whole pregnancy.

So far no food turn offs, nauseousness or cravings. I do however want a lot of fruit, veggies and milk; very similar to my pregnancy with Nya.

The bottoms of my feet hurt all day; as if Ive been walking in heels. My energy levels are up and down. I find that I get tired around 10/10:30pm most nights. I usually don't get tired until around 11:30/12am.

I'm already up every night to use the little ladies room. My baby is only the size of an apple seed right now and I'm already a chronic restroom visitor. lol

I plan to tell daddy about our pregnancy this week!!! Possibly Thursday or Friday when he isn't so busy. I can't wait to tell him!!! Stay tuned....... :)

First Morning 'Officially' Pregnant!

Sunday October 26th

Nya was up at 8am this morning. I brought her into bed with me and we snuggled together like we do everyday :) One of my absolute favourite times of the day; snuggling in bed with my rosebud.

Daddy was in the shower getting ready for church and Nya was laying, snuggled on my chest. I whispered "Nya, can I tell you a secret?", she popped her head up and said "yes!". With a big smile I said "You're going to be a big sister!!!". She opened her eyes big with excitement and said "Oooooooo!!!!". I said "Do you want to be a big sister?" and she responded "sure!". lol
It was so cute!

Between services, we were having lunch together at the dinning room table. Nya out of no where said "Big sister! Sister!!". Daddy was sitting right there, so I played it off and said "you want to be a big sister eh Nya? I wish that for you as well." I chuckled a bit and then switched the topic right away.

Fewfh!!! Close call!! lol

And it's......POSITIVE!!!

As with Nya, we knew we were pregnant before the test even read 'positive'. Call it parents intuition or just immediate symptoms, lol, we just knew.

Both our children were prayed for and planned. With Sweet Pea, we really wanted to have a July baby and God answered our prayers.

I knew I was pregnant the very next day. As funny as it sounds, growing up my mom always told my sisters and I how she knew the next morning when she was pregnant with my older sister. My sisters and I have chuckled and laughed countless times hearing her share this story thinking 'how is it possible to know you're pregnant the next day?'. Its almost impossible...right? Well, I always thought so until this pregnancy. My mom came to mind the very next day as I lay on my couch, feeling horribly ill and in quite a bit of stomach pain. I was even contemplating closing my daycare for the day as I could barely move from the couch I felt so ill. 

I called my husband at work and without hesitation he said 'your pregnant!!!'. I didn't think it was possible to 'feel' pregnant the very next day, so I laughed and pushed it off as if maybe it was something I had eatin the day prior.

The next few days carried on as normal; the pain had subsided and life was back to normal; however, 

I noticed a strange increase in my appetite. I was literally hungry all the time.

Roughly one week later, I started getting major period like cramps. Being hopeful that I was pregnant, I refrained from taking any type of pain medication. 

The cramps soon led to even stronger cramping coupled with very bad lower back pain; so bad that I couldn't sleep at night. I tossed and turned, laid on the floor, tried stretching, etc. Nothing worked to alleviate the pain especially in my lower back and right hip. This lasted for two weeks.

Into week three my appetite was still very large; however, I also started to notice I was getting heart burn; something I've only ever experienced in my pregnancy with Nya. 

I started testing for pregnancy two weeks after conception, which is really 3 weeks into my pregnancy. For those who aren't aware, this is technically two weeks too early to test; you really should start testing closer to the date of your expected period; however, I was far too anxious to wait. I bought three tests from the Dollar Store; yes, believe it or not Dollarama sells pregnancy tests, lol.

The first morning I tested was October 20th. The test came back negative. I was so disheartened. I was so excited to do a test that I was up at 3am. When I saw the negative result, with a heavy heart, I returned back to bed. When I woke up, I looked at the test again to see if I was dreaming; I really wasn't sure as my dreams have been so crazy and vivid since I actually became pregnant. Anyhow, when I looked at the test, the test line now showed positive. My heart leapt!!!! I couldn't believe it!! I started talking to myself, which I never do, lol, and saying things like 'oh my gosh! I'm pregnant! I am actually pregnant!!'. Nya, hearing me talk to myself and knowing it was out of character for me, came into the room and looked at me and said 'what's that mommy?'; figuring I must be talking to her. Lol She's so cute!!!
 

I grabbed another test right away and tested again. As I was waiting for the test to finish, I called Nya into the bathroom and in a squeal said 'Nya! Do you want a baby brother or sister?'. She looked at me and said 'ok!!!'. Lol I embraced her so tightly and said with my eyes a-lit and face beaming 'Nya!! Your a big sister!! Your going to be a big sister!!!'. She looked at me, smiled and said 'ok!! Sure!' And off she went back to playing. 

When the test finished, it read negative...again! :( I was in total disbelief. I thought to myself  'No!! This can't be right?!  The other test said positive when I woke up?!'. My heart again fell heavy. Everything in me said I was pregnant, but my test was telling me something different. I looked at the test over and over and OVER again. Every few secs and mins, I'd pick it up again and check to see if my eyes were right or if anything had changed. Nothing :(
 

I continued getting ready for work questioning back in forth in my head how one test could say positive and the other negative?!?. I kept going back to the tests and comparing the two over and over again. I even picked up the box the test came in and read it over and over again. I couldn't help but think that if the first test said 'positive', I must be pregnant! But how then does the second say negative? Starring at one of the boxes in my hand I noticed some fine print that read "results after 5mins are not accurate". My hopes and excitement of being pregnant hit a wall.

For the rest of my day I wrestled with the whole thing, questioning the changes with my appetite, body, etc. I was so convinced in my heart that I was pregnant that I made sure to start drinking lots of milk, I started eating 3 solid meals a day, healthy snacking in between, etc.

My husband and myself were leaving for our annual church marriage retreat on the 23rd. Anxious to test again to see if anything had changed, I tested while Nya was in the bath and my husband was still sleeping. I starred at that test with my face literally inches away from it praying that a line would appear. I didn't care about the boldness of the line, even the slightest, lightest line indicates one is pregnant. I starred and starred; nothing :(

After a minute or two with no changes, I tossed the test in the garbage and went back to playing with Nya in the bath; but my heart wasn't content.

I kept going back to the garbage, looking at it again and putting it back in the garbage. Lol

After about 3mins I could see a teeeeeeny tiny little dot in the corner of where a line would form. I held on sooo tightly to the hope that that dot would soon connect into a line. Soon, I could see the absolute FAINTEST line appearing. It wasnt even a full line.

It was so faint that I was nowhere near convinced it was a line. Disappointed, I tossed it back into the garbage.... again. lol 

Literally seconds after, I went back to the garbage AGAIN, picked it up and starred at it. Lol
I thought 'Is it my eyes? Are my eyes tricking me to think a line is appearing because my hopes are for one to appear? Is the line I think I see just a line where a positive line would show if one was pregnant?'

 I held the test up to several different backgrounds to see if the line would show more apparent against a darker back drop; lol. Nothing changed and a line never appeared. I later
told my husband, through tears, that I tested again and a negative appeared. He looked at me, hugged me and said 'You did babe, really?'. I began to explain my hopefulness and disappointment. He was very encouraging and sympathetic to my feelings that morning.

The whole time at the marriage retreat I was thinking about when I could test again. Lol
 I wasn't satisfied with the past three results.

While at the retreat I watched everything I ate and drank. Call me crazy, but I even bought a gorgeous maternity top across the border at The Burlington Coat Factory. Lol

When we got back from the retreat, I picked up Nya from my dads and headed over to Walmart to get two pregnancy tests. I had made it up in my mind I was going to test Sunday AM; the 26th.

Journal from Sunday October 26th
I woke up several times this AM anxious to test. Once at midnight, another at 1:30am and another at 2am. When I woke again a final time around 3:15am I said 'enough is enough, Im testing now!!!'. Lol

Between all these time breaks I had countless dreams of testing and seeing a negative result. On my way down the stairs to the main level washroom, quiet not to wake my husband, I walked down the stairs with the test in my hand talking to myself in my head saying 'this is not a dream. I'm really walking down the stairs to do this test'. Lol

I placed the test on the counter in the same spot Nya's test sat almost 2.5years ago. I couldn't bare the suspense, so I just starred at the test and waited for my results. I prayed another time and asked God that I be pregnant and for a positive test to reveal itself. Within seconds, a POSITIVE blue + appeared. I picked it up, dropped the test on the counter, sat down for a sec and picked it back up again. I thought my anxious eyes were playing tricks on me; however, there was no doubt, in my hand was the most perfect, bold blue +. I was/am PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I starred at it for a while and again, started talking to myself. With hands over my face I said out loud with a quiet squeal 'I'm pregnant!! I'm really pregnant! I can't believe Im pregnant again!!!'. Lol 
 

I immediately placed my hands on my tummy and began to thank The Lord for my beautiful child, giving Him thanks for the little life growing inside of me and I began praying for my child. I've actually been praying for my child since Oct 9th as I was so adamant I was with child. 

I am so grateful to my Lord and Saviour for entrusting yet another one of His precious children into my hands and honouring our prayers. I pray that I will be a Godly example to my children, wow...childREN! lol And that my children grow up in the fear and love of Christ.

One thing I prayed over my tummy this AM was "God, I commit my child into your hands, may they grow in Your ways always, never departing from You, living for You and serving You all the days of their life. May their life be used to bring glory to Your name!".
 

After praying, I tip toed back to bed, hid my test in my jewelry box and slipped quietly back into bed; snuggling up tight with my husband and wrapping my arms around his warm sleeping body. I said in my head 'you're a daddy again babe!! :)'.
 

So here I am now, 5am in the morning, over the moon and too excited to sleep. I've been surfing the internet researching '1 month pregnant' pregnancy articles. I've actually been reading these articles a few weeks before us trying as I was so excited to get pregnant again. I've even been researching names!! Lol

After a half hour or so of surfing I decided 'well, now I can officially begin my pregnancy journal for my precious baby that I already love sooooooooo much!!!!!!!

I've been planning on how I'm going to tell my husband about this exciting news and have researched ideas for weeks already. Now I can officially move forward with my plans and execute it; woo hoo!!!

At 3:20am I found out I was blessed with being a mommy again and now at 5:21am, I'm still awake and excitingly writing this journal. I really must get some sleep as I have to be up in a few short hours for church.