How I'm feeling:  Same as last week, really.  Not a whole lot is changing lately, and I don't feel like I'm getting THAT much bigger these past weeks.  I feel like I'm bigger sooner than I was last time, but am not growing as fast anymore, so maybe I won't end up being that huge at the end of it all??  But I could be wrong.  I've been struggling a little bit with how I look this pregnancy, I feel I just look so much bigger than last time (even though I weight pretty much the same), and I think it must be because in New Zealand, we only have 2 mirrors in our entire house, and neither of them is full length.  In fact, they are pretty much only chest height.  Here I feel like I'm surrounded by full length mirrors, which really lets me see how my body looks.  Can't say that I'm loving it, but I know it's all worth it in the end. 

Weight gained:  Since I messed up last week by not weighing myself, I don't know what I gained this week either, but I am now at a total of 8 pounds gained.

Cravings: none really that I can think of.
Aversions: none. Boring, I know.

Movement:  Lots of movement these days, especially noticeable in the evenings when I'm relaxing on the couch.  Still can't feel or see it from the outside, so Mark hasn't been able to feel anything yet.  I'm excited for him to be able to feel it because I think it really makes the pregnancy more real for him.

Exciting things this week:  I heard the heartbeat for the first time!  You might be thinking, wow, that's pretty late in the game to be hearing it for the first time, and you're right.  At my last 2 doctor's appointments my OB tried to hear the heartbeat for maybe a total of 2 seconds, and then was like, eh, we'll just do an ultrasound.  We could see the heartbeat (and baby, obviously), but didn't actually hear it.  So this time she heard it right away, a strong heartbeat of around 160.  I'm thinking we're having another girl, but we'll find out next Wednesday!!  And I'm trying to come up with a fun way to share it with you all, so get excited!

I'm not really a big fan of sharing bare belly shots, but I wanted one from the front, and you couldn't really see anything with my black shirt on, so this is the closest to bare belly you'll probably see.  Can you see my little bruises (they look like red dots sort of) on either side of my belly?  That's from the lovenox injections.  Those bruises are actually the smallest ones I've had since I started these injections, so that's a plus!

Wow this pregnancy is FLYING by!  It's funny, the first time around, I was dying to meet my little girl.  To hold her in her arms, to sing to her and kiss her face and just snuggle with her for hours and hours.  And obviously I'm excited for that again, but I don't want the time to go too quickly.  I want to cherish my last months with just Riley as my baby, because after baby #2 gets here, everything is going to change!  So for now, I'm just trying to enjoy my little Riley baby, while patiently waiting for her little brother or sister. :)

Alright friends, I'm trying something new.  Or maybe a few new things.  I've recently been thinking about the different blogs I read, which ones I really like, and which ones I just skim over and look at the pictures without really ever reading a word.  You know the ones...  and hey, maybe my blog is one of those for you, who knows!  But anyway, a couple things I've found very useful lately on other people's blogs is when I get new ideas of things to do with Riley- things that I might not have otherwise thought of- ideas for new toys, games, activities, book recommendations, those sorts of things.  I like reading blogs with detailed monthly updates not because I necessarily want to compare my baby to yours, but because different mamas teach their babies different things, and sometimes I get ideas of new and  fun things to teach Riley, and I love it. I'm a stay at home mom, I have the luxury of spending all day with my little bug, but sometimes, I just plain old run out of ideas, and get bored of doing the same. exact. thing. over and over and over!

So, I'm going to be doing a little more of the above on this blog- sharing some of the fun activities I do with Riley, or maybe her current fave toys (in case you're in the market for buying some new toys), or her current fave books.  Maybe you get some ideas, or maybe you are already doing all the same things, who knows!  Plus, I think I might like to look back and see what some of Riley's favorite things were when she was just a wee thing!

So today, we start with her top 5 favorite toys RIGHT NOW, at 15 months.  This may change next week, or she may be in love with these much longer, who knows.

(1) PUZZLES...

Holy cow this girl loves puzzles.  We have 5 wooden puzzles, 4 of which are Melissa & Doug brand.  She will sit and play with puzzles with me for like and hour (or until I get bored!)  She loves to pull all the pieces out, then hand them back to me to put away.  She is learning how to put the pieces back herself, but prefers that I do it for her. :) Almost all her puzzles (except 1) are animal puzzles, so she is really learning her animals this way, since we say the animals and what sound they make every time we take a piece out and put it back in.   Her other favorite puzzle I bought for $1 at the dollar store and it's all numbers, and it's pretty cheap (hence the $1 price tag), but she loves it!  I try and point out all the numbers to her, although right now, she thinks every number is "nine." :)

(2) Melissa and Doug geometric rainbow stacker

This thing rarely ever has all its pieces on it.  As soon as she sees it all put together, she pulls every single piece off!  Then once they are all off, she asks me to help her put them back on.  She can put them on herself (slowly), but prefers to just take them off (see a trend here?). This is a good, easy way to teach her colors and shapes (there are circles, squares, and hexagons in every color) and she actually repeats all the colors when I say them to her (except orange, that one she doesn't say).

(3) Touch and feel flash cards

We have 3 different sets, and these are AWESOME!  They're thick, so she can't destroy them, and as the title would suggest, each one has some part of it that is textured and fun to touch.  She loves to pull them all out of the box, look at pictures, and carry them all around.  We don't actually use them as flash cards, but whatever one she's interested in we'll talk about and point out the name, colors, shapes, etc...  And if all she wants to do is play with the box, then we forgo the whole flash card aspect altogether and just play with the box! 

(4) Melissa and Doug alphabet tower

This was a birthday present, and she loved it from day 1.  It's so much easier to make a tower out of this than out of legos or any of those other blocks.  It take about 5 seconds and you have a tower taller than her, which is helpful if you have a baby that just wants to knock down towers over and over and over!  She can also build her own tower without getting too frustrated.  And, it has lots of bright colors and pictures, and the alphabet!!  Oh and added bonus?  They are nesting blocks so they stack into one another and take up very little space when put away.  Definite win.

(5) Books. 

This one is sort of cheating, and I think in the future will be its own separate category, since I'm pretty sure books will likely always be one of her favorite things.  But the exact books she likes does change, so here are her current favorites.  She loves the Dr. Seuss flip-the-flap books as well as the "Hide & Seek" flip the flap books (not pictured).  Those have been favorites for quite a while.  Some new additions to the favorite category include "Where is the green Sheep?" by M.E.M. Fox, and "Where is Baby's Belly Button" by Karen Katz.  Green sheep is a fun book of opposites, and the Belly Button book is a flip the flap book about body parts, which has caused Riley to become obsessed with her belly button.  She also likes the "bright baby" series of books, which are just simple books with one word, one picture per page that are fun to flip through and identify new colors/object/animals.

So those are all of Riley's current favorites! 

How did we get here already??  Fifteen months, I can't even believe it. This month brought all kinds of new and fun changes.  Riley contemplated dropping down to one nap, but then decided she really actually still needs two naps a day, so we're mostly sticking with that schedule.  I think it won't be too long before she's ready for just one a day, but then again, who knows?  But speaking of naps, this month something totally outrageous and un-riley-like happened... she actually WANTS to take naps.  Like, if she's get cranky, she might lay her blankie down on the floor and then lay down on it, and if we ask her, "do you want to take a nap?" she grabs her blankies and a paci and marches into her room and to her crib to go to sleep.  She practically dives into her crib!  Never ever thought I'd see the day!

This month she picked up some new words, some new animals sounds, and some new body parts (she pretty much knows all of those now, and she loooooves her belly button).  I won't bore you by listing them all anymore, but my favorite new words of hers are turtle (which sounds like tur-dur) and goggles ("gaga").  She also loves to say "hi" and "bye bye" to everyone and anyone that moves, and even formed her very first sentence: "Hi dad."  She's said it quite a few times now, when Mark goes "Hi baby,"she responds with "hi dad."  That might be the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life.  She also is really excited about ducks, and says "quack quack" if she sees one.

She's still OBSESSED with doggies.  Her faves are golden retrievers, and don't ask me why, I have no idea.  She loves petting them, laying down with/on them, kissing them, and being licked by them.  She loves their wagging tails and thinks it is so funny when they sneeze and roll around on the floor.  Her other new favorite things are flowers.  She loves flowers- touching them, picking them, but most of all, smelling them... and occasionally trying to eat them.

She now signs please for everything (accompanied by a little "pf" sound which apparently means please).  We had a big food milestone this month- Riley voluntarily and happily ate a whole bunch of peas one night!  And again the next night!  She's not really a big fan of veggies, but I plopped a bunch of peas on her plate, and guess what, she ate them all!  She's also decided she only likes cheddar cheese, no other kind of cheese will do... but really, her eating habits are day-to-day.  What she loves one day, she may refuse the next, we just never know. But if all alse fails, she will always eat Life cereal.

Right now she LOVES dancing, swimming, and playing with puzzles and flashcards.  She LOVES to do puzzles with me.  She also loves taking things apart or pulling things out of boxes/bins/bowls/wallets, and then putting them all back in.  She goes through stages of mild separation anxiety, but mostly I think she just hates when Mark or I leave her behind just in case she's missing out on something fun.  She's got 12 teeth with more definitely on the way, it's just way too dangerous to explore her little piranha mouth.  She is learning to blow kisses, and makes a big 'ole smacking sound when trying to "kiss," she just hasn't quite got the hand motion right yet.

She's started running this month, and can climb onto things we thought were totally out of her reach.  She LOVES playing with wallets, and will sit and play happily with one for a really long time.  She is learning how to get in more and more trouble as well- she can open the front door, and climb under the baby fence we have blocking the stairs at my parents' house.  Her newest thing is to do something naughty WHILE saying "no no."  Like, she'll go to grab my camera, look at me, and say "no no." 

Happy 15 months to my little Riley Bug!!

I am a little behind on this post since I was out of town all weekend, but better late than never.  Unfortunately I didn't get around to taking a picture, but that's alright.  Anyway, here goes:

How I'm feeling:  Overall, I'd say I'm doing pretty well.  Still tired all the time, but I think that's just going to be a given when pregnant while raising a toddler.  I'm done with morning sickness for the most part, but for some reason this week I have been really sensitive to smells.  Seriously changing Riley's poopy diapers is next to impossible!

Movement:  Yes.  Definitely feeling it.  I haven't been sure the past couple weeks, but now I'm sure.  It's just that I remember the huge strong kicks from the end of my pregnancy with Riley, so these are so little and delicate that I kept second guessing if it was real!  But it definitely is, I'm sure of it now.

Cravings:  I really wanted a steak from outback steakhouse one day.  I've also been really wanting salads or veggies with ceasar or ranch dressing.
Aversions:  None really.

Weight gained this week: 1 pound?  I didn't actually weight myself, so I'm not totally sure. 
Total weight gained: also not sure... 7-9 pounds?  I'll get an accurate number for next week.

Things to look forward to: OB appointment on Wednesday, then the big ultrasound next week!  Can't wait to find out the sex of this little baby!!  Oh yeah, AND, my birthday is next week!  Woohoo!

Other symptoms: none!  Still no heartburn or swelling or headaches or any of those potential nasty pregnancy symptoms.  Id like to put those off as long as possible!!

I am currently hanging out in Connecticut with my sister, doing wedding-related things.  And for the first time, I left Riley behind.  She's home in California with her daddy for 4 whole days, and I was already going through withdrawals before I even boarded the plane.  Luckily, Mark understands this, and promised to send me some pictures of their daily adventures.  This is what popped up in my inbox...

No babies were harmed in the making of this little photo collection.  Although from what I hear, Riley thought that ring pop was the best thing in the whole entire world.  I love my husband and baby more than anything in the whole wide world!!!

When I was pregnant with Riley, I was determined not to be one of "those women" that gains 50 pounds.  I also had all these plans for how I was going to get back in to shape after the baby was born.  Well, I accomplished my first goal by gaining under 30 pounds (can't remember the exact number, maybe 27 pounds?)  I gave birth to a healthy 7 pounds, 6 ounce baby girl, and I was ready to accomplish goal number two.  I had read all these women's reports of how breastfeeding made the leftover baby weight just "melt off" and I was excited!  Ha.  HAHAHAHA.  There were just so many things I was not prepared for post-baby that presented HUGE challenges to getting back in shape.

Here are things you might not consider when you are trying to lose the baby weight.

(1) Your baby might be a horrible sleeper.  In my head, I had visions of doing some of my workouts while the baby slept  (you know, workout DVDs or strength exercises indoors).  Well, Riley would ONLY sleep while she was being held, which meant that there was no working out while the baby slept.  And, because she woke up multiple times per night, in order to be a well-functioning mama, I needed to use her nap time to get some shut eye myself.  So workouts during nap time were out.

(2) Your baby might be the only baby in the world that HATES the stroller.  Every baby likes going for walks, right?  WRONG.  Riley hated going for walks in the stroller.  She started screaming before we even reached the end of the street.  It wasn't until she reached about 6 or 7 months that she started to semi-tolerate the stroller.  So going for walks as a form of exercise became more like baby torture, so that was out.

Riley totally not excited about going for a walk.

(3) It might take you longer than you think to recover from birth.  6 weeks is like the magic recovery number.  After 6 weeks (even earlier if you feel good enough), if you get the all clear, you can resume working out and all normal activities.  HA.  It took me a LONG time to feel "normal" again.  If I did anything even semi strenuous (fast walking, or god forbid, jogging), I would be in so much pain that I wouldn't be able to sleep at night, it felt like I had been kicked in the pelvis.  I honestly considered going to see a doctor to see if it was possible I had fractured my pelvis or something, because it was that painful.  And since my sleep was so precious, anything that kept me from sleeping (i.e. pain in the pelvis) was not worth doing.  It took a good 4 months for me to feel fairly normal again.

(4) Breastfeeding might totally F things up.  You read all the wonderful health benefits of breastfeeding your baby (to both mom and baby).  But there are lots of things you maybe don't realize.  And every woman is different, so I know some of these things were pretty unique to me, and may not have happened (or won't happen) to you.  My milk supply took 6 MONTHS TO REGULATE.  So I had an abundance of milk, which meant lots of soreness, lots of leaking, and lots and lots of pain when exercising, even with 2 sports bras.  And I could ONLY even think about exercising if I had just fed Riley or pumped, otherwise it was just way too uncomfortable.  And then, once my milk supply did regulate?  Too much exercise would cause my milk supply to drop.  I seriously could not win!!  And I couldn't just cut back on calories because again, milk supply would drop. 

(5) When you finally wean the baby and can actually maybe get back in a fitness routine, you might already be pregnant again.  Vicious cycle, I tell you.

I get more nervous about weight gain this pregnancy because I know now the challenges I faced in losing the baby weight last time.  And don't get me wrong, when I got pregnant with this time around, I was at my pre-pregnancy weight (before Riley), so I did actually lose the weight.  But it was so much harder than "just breastfeed, the weight will just come right off."  Here's to hoping it's less challenging this next time around.

Riley is obsessed with dogs. Every time she sees a dog, she gets so excited and squeals and wants to run up and pet it.  And we don't have a dog, but my parents have a black lab named Baley that Riley has fallen in love with since we've been in the states.  Every time we get to my parents' house, Riley marches straight to the back window to see if the dog is outside.  And if she's not, then she runs to the garage door and bangs on it until I take her into the garage to get the dog.  And she gets so excited every time she sees her for the first time.

Riley loves to pet her and kiss her and snuggle with her.  Riley will lay her head right on Baley's back and just lay there, happy as can be. 

She LOOOOOOVES doggy kisses. :)

Looks like we're going to have to get this baby a dog! Although not for a while since we're going to be moving between countries, but once we find a permanent home, I think a dog is in the cards for this little Riley Bug.  I mean, if there's something that makes her THIS happy, how could we not get it???

Yep, we'll do anything for our little princess.

We'll start with some photos:

How I'm feeling: Fine, mostly.  Still tired, of course, but I don't expect that to change for a very, very long time.  :) Other than that, feeling fine!  No heartburn, no back pain, no cramping, no nothing, really.  Sleeping decently, aside from getting up to pee 2-3x per night, which is always annoying. Oh yeah, and aside from Riley deciding randomly to wake up multiple times all week long.  She's had a low grade fever and has been unusually irritable, so maybe it's teething?  Not sure, but I hope she gets back to better sleep habits soon!!

Movement:  I don't know anymore.  Maybe I've been feeling it, maybe not.  I would be surprised if what I was feeling was actually not movement since I have an anterior placenta this time around, but who knows.

Weight gain this week: Another pound
Total weight gain:  I think that puts me at 6 pounds.  That's more than I had gained last time around at this point, but not by much I don't think.

Cravings: strawberries, jello, juice, frozen yogurt, these weird veggie cracker things, pizza.
Aversions: none that I can think of.

I am so excited to find out the sex of our baby.  I don't know why, but knowing the sex makes everything seem more real to us.  We can start thinking of names and buying clothes (well, only if it's a boy since we already have so many girl clothes).  We will hopefully find out in about 3 weeks if baby cooperates during the ultrasound!  We've had 3 ultrasound so far, and couldn't tell in any of them, so we really have no idea!  I'm thinking girl (even though I've had 3 dreams that it's a boy), and Mark is thinking/hoping/praying it's a boy.  Of course, I'd be thrilled if it's a boy, and Mark would be thrilled if it's a girl, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. 

This week I also went maternity clothes shopping with my mom, which was... okay.  I did end up with a few things, some I actually really liked, some that were just okay but will probably be needed as I get bigger.  I did find one really nice pair of jeans from "A pea in the pod" but we only bought then because they were on sale- everything in that store is way too expensive!!  I also ordered some stuff from old navy online, but it's totally hit or miss if any of it will fit correctly, so I guess we'll see.  I'll be sporting all my new clothes in upcoming weekly photos, so get excited!!

I've been trying to tell Riley all about her new future brother or sister, but it's so hard because she's still so little, I have no idea how much she will understand!   But before we both know it another little bubba will be entering our household, and I'm sure she'll get the picture then!  This pregnancy is pretty much flying by, hard to believe we're at 17 weeks already!!

Riley is getting to the age where it's lots of fun to do activities specifically geared toward her.  I mean, when she was younger it was all fine and good to try and go on "adventures," but she didn't really have an appreciation for it, and it was a lot of effort.  But now I feel like she's finally at the age where taking her on half day outings are actually going to be worth it.  Going to the playground is more than just a sensory experience of eating the dirt/bark/rocks.  Swimming is more than just a dip in the pool.  Going to a museum or the zoo is more than just exercise for me.  While this is obviously a good thing, it means I need to start getting new and more creative ideas of things to do with my little one.  And not always some grand adventure of course, there's a time and a place for those, and it's definitely not an every day thing.  I'm talking more simple kinds of fun.  And I would say we accomplished that this week.  Big time.

See there was the day that, on a whim, I decided to buy FIVE HUNDRED ball pit balls off of craigslist.  I didn't really have a plan, but I knew I could make something fun happen with a purchase like that, so I went for it.  But see, I felt like they needed to be wiped down or washed or something before I gave them to Riley, and I was not about to hand wash each and every one.  So we stuck them in the dishwasher and Riley thought is was about the coolest thing in the whole world, and helped me unload them one by one into a big pink bin.  And then we reloaded, and unloaded, and reloaded.  Hours of fun.

Oh and those balls in the dishwasher?  They filled the entire thing, top and bottom racks, and that's only half of them.  Riley was (and still is) in HEAVEN.  Best $20 I've spent in a long time.  Then there was the coloring/playing with crayons, which was pretty funny to watch her try and get all the crayons in one hand.  She was so determined, and would get frustrated if she dropped one, and then would throw them all and try and do it all over again.  It's funny to see her little mind work- to watch her purposefully set out to do something, and keep at it until she accomplishes her goal.

Then there was the sensory jello experience, which made Riley one very happy baby.  She loves jello, but on this particular day she did NOT want it on a spoon.  So we handed her the cup, and let her go nuts.  Which is exactly what she did.  Her fingers were literally orange for the rest of the afternoon.

And we spent a solid hour at the library today playing with puzzles, stuffed animals, an abacus, a 20 month old named Oscar, oh and the occasional book too.  Then we had outdoor picnics with favorite books and snacks.  We gathered and ripped up leaves and watched for birdies and doggies, and waved to anything that moved, and said bye bye when it went away.

Then tonight, I dubbed Riley assistant chef, and we went to work making dinner, and then dessert.  She "helped" me measure ingredients and pour them in their respective pots/pans.  She helped me stir non-dangerous things (i.e. things not on the stove).  And when all was said and done, she sat on the counter and "helped" me do all the dishes.  Yes it took longer than usual, since I had to make sure everything was safe for her, and that she didn't go flying off the counter, but it was 10x more fun for her, and was way easier than listening to her whine the entire time I cook!  Of course she was NOT happy when all the dishes were done, she liked that activity the most!

All in all, I think it was a fabulous day.  And I think Riley baby would agree. 

Oh and please note the abundance of hair behind the ear.  It's about time!

...on a Monday afternoon with my favorite music-loving, crazy dancing, cheddar cheese eating, silliest baby!

I honestly don't know how it's possible for her to get any funnier.  She loves music, and will bust out her best dance moves if you start singing.  My once oh-so-obedient baby now thinks it's hilaaaaaarious to bolt in the other direction when you say "come here" or "give that to me."  She signs please for every. single. thing.  She wants to read her same, favorite story 10 times in a row (it's a random curious george book we bought for 50 cents, in case you were wondering).  She likes to climb into an empty kitchen cupboard, shut the door, and then gets mad if you open it.  She's figured out how to take her clothes off all by herself, and chants "off off off" while she's doing it.  Diaper included.  She's my crazy, silly, sweet, and cuddly little girl and I just can't get enough of her!!!