Baby Shower Sneak Peek

Here are a few snap shots from my baby shower. Amy took all of these with her phone. Girl has mad phone photography skills. I had such a fun time. 

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Pregnancy Recap

Hey- remember that time I was pregnant. You should. It was like 3 weeks ago. While I'm not sad about loosing the belly it is fun to look back at the pictures. Here is a little recap of my pregnancy with Rosanna Catherine.

• weight gained- approximately 30lbs. I don't really remember my exact pre-pregnancy weight so I can only give you an approximate. 
• favorite clothes- elastic waist jeans and jean shorts both from kohls (and neither maternity) and long and lean tank tops from target and the thrift (also non-maternity). I don't really have anything against maternity (although I've found them to be spendy and a little too modest for my taste) these are just the options that worked for me.
• cravings- red meat. And lot's of it. Burgers and steaks galore!
• aversions- soda pop. The syrup was too much for me and made me feel like I was on a sugar high!
• morning sickness- no! Praise God! No barfing for me- except for once that involved some Mexican food.
• stretch marks- not on my belly...

Overall, I have nothing to complain about! Plus, now I get to look at this cute face all day long:

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Maternity Pictures: Family

These pictures are my favorites. I just love my little family so much! We took this set in our back yard which is really a testament to Jordan's talent because my back yard is a MESS! That picture of Lilly with the huge/crazy smile makes me laugh so hard. There are so many like that in the proofs. I love being her mommy. 

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Click these links for part one and two of my maternity pictures.

Maternity Pictures: Rose Garden

Our second location was at a rose garden right down the street from Sassafras. See a theme here? hint: it's Rosie. Jordan took pictures with of me with a stargazer lily when I was pregnant with Lilly so I wanted to carry on the tradition. We even managed to find a rose and a lily. Oh, my heart. I have totally embraced the fact that I have become one of those people who have a theme for their kids names. A garden of babies! Don't judge. I'll share the last set of pictures with the whole family tomorrow.

♥

You can check out the first batch of pictures here!

Maternity Pictures: Sassafras

My sweet friend and amazing photographer Jordan took some maternity pictures for me last weekend. I shouldn't say some, I should say a lot of maternity pictures. So many that I will be sharing my favorites in 3 separate posts- one for each location we shot at. I love them so so so much. If you are in central Florida and need pictures taken do yourself a favor and check Jordan out.

Our first location was so much fun. Sassafras Sweet Shoppeis a local vintage inspired candy store. They sell every kind of candy you can imagine. We ran with the retro theme with a Rosie the Riveter look. I thought it would be hysterical to take some pictures with my big bump and candy cigs too- very Betty Draper and so wrong. I'll share more pictures tomorrow. 

♥

34 weeks

Yesterday at Dunkin Donuts the guy behind the register told me my button had popped. That is a true story. In case you're not familiar with the term- it refers to a button stuck in a turkey that will "pop out" when it is done cooking. Yeah. I mumbled something awkwardly and took my donuts to my seat. 

I haven't given a real prego update since 28 weeks so here are some of my current feelings about pregnancy in random order:

WARNING: sometimes pregnancy is gross at this point. If you don't want to know- scroll down past bullets.

• Nose bleeds. I am sitting with a tissue stuffed up my nose as I type this. I got my first non-injury induced nose bleed while pregnant with Lilly and did not have any between Lilly and Rosie. Fun.
• Still plagued with indigestion. Super fun. You know the saying "I just threw up in my mouth a little bit." It's like that. At least once a day.
• My nips have started leaking. (warned ya.) It is just the colostrum at this point but is still pretty annoying. I have the "let down" sensation and then my ta ta's just leak a tiny little bit. It could definitely be worse- but still isn't my favorite.
• I could feasibly have this baby in two and a half weeks. 37 weeks is considered full term. I have declared May "get this baby out" month. Since my c-section is scheduled on June 7th I'd prefer to get her out on my own- in May. The sooner the better.
• I'm so so so so excited. A new baby! Baby coo's, new baby smell, a mini hospital vaca (seriously, my hospital is amazeballs), tiny clothes, baby wearing. Sign me up! (I know I may have selective memory about what a new born is all about but don't rain on my parade, ok?!)
• Aside from the above things- I'm feeling pretty great. I doing good enough keeping up with Lilly. I am still sleeping pretty well. I'm pretty comfortable most of the time. I'm totally not complaining (and hopefully not jinxing myself). 

Safe to read again!

So those are my thoughts. I'm ready! Except for one thing- my blog. I'd like to get some guest posters lined up for after Rosie's arrival so if you'd be interested let me know and I will love you forever! 

sara.stofferahn[at]gmaildotcom

Hope you are all having a fantastic week so far!

♥

Currently

very pregnant with Lilly. Photo credit: Jordan Weiland

Currently:

• obsessing over- My hair. Again. I am re-reading this post from last month (here) and I was obsessing over my hair then too. Well, I finally got around to perming it... and I don't love it. I have had several "body waves" before but this one was a little tighter the I hoped. I know I should just be patient and let the curls relax. I am just getting impatient. Pregnancy has made me even more impatient then I already am and I am just tired of feeling frumpy! Today Ben suggested that I cut it all off again and now that idea is stuck in my head. I have always had a love/hate relationship with short hair. 
• working on- uhhh.... growing a baby? Haha. To be honest I have had a hard time getting back into the swing of things after last week's beach vacation. I did knit a few toy bodies while at the beach so I guess you could say that I am working on getting those wrapped up. 
• thinking about- having a baby soon. Like way soon. Only 10 more week and that is if I go to 40 weeks. I started having contractions around 34 weeks with Lilly and had to restrict my activity to carry her until my cesarean at 38.5 weeks. If the same things happens this time around that could cut that 10 weeks in half! Yikes. I better get on the ball.
• drinking- lots and lots of water. I got a little dehydrated over the weekend and that left me feeling less then great. I'm not interested in feeling that way again any time soon.
• wishing- I had either more energy or more hours in the day. Or both. I feel constantly both tired and behind. Oh, pregnancy. 

What's going on with you right now?

♥

(as always- this post was inspired by Dani)

VBAC vs C-section update

So waaaay back in December I posted about the impending decision of VBAC vs c-section (you can read it here). Since then we have made choices and signed papers so I thought I'd give you a little up date. 

The consent forms for a VBAC have been signed and I am feeling very positive about it. I know every pregnancy is different but with Lilly I had to take measures to stop myself from going into labor before my c-section. I was having contractions and started dilating at 34ish weeks so I was put on restricted work rest (all sitting no walking) and had a pill I took to stop the contractions. It wasn't true labor but they didn't want it to develop. That is why I'm feeling positive about going into labor on time with Rosie. What do I mean by on time? Where here is the catch to getting to attempt a VBAC. Due to the risk of rupture my doctor won't let me go past 40 weeks. I have to schedule my c-section at my next appointment and hope that I go before then. So I am praying that it will happen. And like I said, I'm feeling very positive about it.

Even though my due date is June 9th I will be scheduling my surgery for the 7th. So we can just go ahead and call that the new due date (or D Day). The reason I am scheduling it a few days earlier is to insure my doctor is the one who does the c-section if it comes to that. The fact that she has already been in there (there being my belly) and knows what to expect is a big deal to me. As I mentioned in the previous VBAC vs c-section post, this doctor discovered that I have a lot of internal scarring from my previous c-section so it is comforting to me to know the person who is performing surgery to safely deliver my sweet baby has experienced what she is up against. Does that make sense? Maybe I'm just being a crazy control freak but it's the decision I've made. 

Of course, things could happen to void the VBAC option between then and now but I am trusting that God's plan is best no matter what it is. So that is! If you're the praying type I would appreciate some. ;)

Thanks friends!

♥

Pregnancy Update // 28 Weeks

Holy sheetrock. Did you know that the 28th week is the beginning of the 3rd trimester?! I didn't realize it until my pregnancy app informed me. Ha. Here are some unorganized thoughts about this stage in my pregnancy:

• Thank Jesus for Pepcid AC. My heart burn had reached the unbearable level. I was waking up several times a night to take tums and that was with three pillows propping my head up. I talked to my pharmacist (who is also pregnant) and she recommended I speak to my doctor about Pepcid which she was taking. So I did. Ah- sweet relief.  
• Lilly's new big girl room is all set up and ready to go. She slept (semi-successfully) in it for the first time on Sunday night. Now I just have to get the old nursery things out of the closet and set back up and we are ready to go!
• We've decided on a name! Unless we have a drastic change of heart Lillian Elouise's little sister will be named Rosanna Catherine.
  
  ♥ ♥ ♥ Lilly and Rosie. ♥ ♥ ♥
• Several people have told me "You look so cute! Sorry, you're probably tired of hearing that." Nope! Most of the time I feel pretty un-cute so please don't apologize. Keep those compliments coming. ;)
• Have I mentioned how ready I am. I'm so ready. Only 12 more weeks!

Thoughts

.... what day is it? Seriously.

These past few weeks have been such a blur. I have so much to say and nothing to say at the same time. Ha. For now I'll just share a few of my thoughts:

- I really need to working on loving Lillian better. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 has been on my mind a lot recently. "Love is patient. Love is kind"... oh... 

- I am so thankful my MIL is in town. She is such a big help to us. 

- We have almost settled name for the new baby. Very exciting.

- The price of maternity clothes. $40 for a pair of jeans I'll only wear for 3 more months?!?! um. no.

- There is a pretty sweet giveaway coming tomorrow. :)

Hope you are having a good week friends!

♥

20 Weeks

Well, technically I am 20 weeks and 3 days. Things are still going very smoothly. Like I said before, time seems to be flying by during this pregnancy. I remember feeling like it was the longest wait to find out if Lilly was a girl or boy and we already know with this one! (girl) I also feel waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay huger (more huge?) then I did at this point last time but I suppose that goes with the territory the second time around. I had a friend over last week who is a few days shy of 40 weeks and she said, "Sara! My belly button is already half way popped out!" 40 weeks. My belly button gave up about two weeks ago. It isn't all the way out but enough that you can see it through shirts and makes it appear that I have a third nipple. le sigh. I have struggled emotionally a little this week. My fuse is very short and unfortunately I've lost my temper with Lilly a few times. I am so thankful that my husband is willing to pick up the slack on the days I am easily overwhelmed and that he continues to encourage me to be better (even though I can have a hard time being reasonable while he is attempting to encourage me).

Overall, things are going swimmingly. I am anxious to name this little girl so I don't have to call her "little girl" anymore. This could be a bit of a daunting task considering how long it took Ben and I to agree on a name last time... I'll keep you update. 

♥

VBAC VS Cesarean

I have been avoiding blogging (and thinking) about this but I'm running out of time. At my last doctor appointment I was told that I need to make a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarian) vs elective ceasarian decision. To be honest, I was surprised my doctor even gave me an option. I thought I'd have to find a specialists to allow that but I was wrong. Here is what my doctor says:
- I'm a good candidate for a VBAC since I didn't have a failed labor with Lilly. I had a scheduled c-setion because she was frank breech.
- The risk of rupture (my uterus rupturing during labor that is) is less then 1% which is good but if it does rupture the result could be devastating. Not good.

Here are some of my thoughts on a cesarean. My doctor says that my ectopic pregnancy over the summer was probably a result of scar tissue that had built up from my c-section with Lilly. So if I have another c-section will that increase the likelihood of another ectopic if we have more kids? I also have a lot of internal scaring from that was discovered during my surgery over the summer. If I have another c-section will I get a bunch more? Some positives from having another c-section is that they would be able to remove a lot of that scar tissue and (a biggie) I would be guaranteed MY doctor. The office I go to is a group practice so if I choose a VBAC I'm not guaranteed my doctor. I will just have whoever is at the hospital at the time. So my planning loving brain is not a huge fan of that.

More thoughts about a VBAC: I've always felt a strange sense of loss that I didn't get a chance to even try to give birth to Lillian. I have also never been comfortable say that I "gave birth" to her. Because I didn't. She was surgically removed. I know that I carried her and grew her in all that but I still have trouble with that one detail. Obviously, a VBAC is not major surgery so it is less of a risk for me and healing time should be less. I vividly remember how standing up for the first time after my c-section felt and I am keen to avoid that. My biggest problems are the risk of rupture and not being able to have my doctor. Less the 1% is a pretty good statistic but the fact that it would be devastating if it happened scares me. We're talking possible loss of baby and/or uterus. I'm not sure I'm ready for a hysterectomy at the age of 26. And my first thought with not being able to have my doctor was what about being induced. Well- turns out they don't do that for VBAC's. In fact they don't do any sort of alterations to labor. And that could actually be a good thing since a lot of induced labors end in c-section.

I've been spending a lot of time praying for this situation. I have had a hard time trusting God with this. Pregnancy makes me very self protective so it's hard to give that over to him. I know his plan will be best and that it is completely ridiculous to even think that I could do any of this on my own. I have until the end of January to make my decision. I plan to spend lots of time praying and trying trying trying to give this to God. I'd love to hear from you too if you have any experience with this.

Sorry if this post seems a little disjointed- that is how my brain has been working lately.
♥

The First Trimester

reused pic. i'm bad at taking belly pics.

First and foremost- the first trimester is over! Thank God! Here is a recap of my first trimester with baby number two.

Same as pregnancy with Lilly:

- exhaustion (duh)

- food aversion aka I didn't want to eat anything. 

- baby brain to the max! I think I sent a text to the wrong person at least once a day. And that is just one example.

- best nails ever. Thanks you prenatal vitamins. My usually craptacular nails have been made into super nails. They grow super fast (maybe a little too fast) and are super strong. I mean it's not hard to be stronger then my regular nails (once I bent a nail back digging through the laundry) but it's still awesome. 

New pregnancy symptoms:

- red meat! When I did want to eat I pretty much only wanted red meat. (I say that like it is past tense. It's not.) I make steaks at least once a week. Also- more cheese burgers then is acceptable. 

- NO COFFEE!!!!!! I didn't really start drinking hot coffee (cappuccino) until after Lilly was born so this wasn't an issue that time around. But I literally could not stomach coffee for the past 2 1/2 ish months. I had no desire for it and it didn't taste satisfying. It was such a bummer.

- super speeding time. I'm sure this is simply because this is my second time around but things seem to be moving at warp speed. I remember feeling like it took me forever to show with Lilly. Not the case this time. 

- excitement level. Lilly was a surprise so it took me a good four months to adjust to the fact I was pregnant. We had just moved and started new jobs so I wasn't in the most secure environment to begin with. 

food baby + real baby = big belly.

Basically I am super excited. We get to find out the sex of our new baby at my next appointment (at the end of January). I also have to decide whether I want to try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) or opt for another cesarean. But that is a whole different post. ;)

Hope you are well!

♥

Mommyhood Monday (on a Tuesday night) // News

Here is a special message from Lilly:

Could you understand that? It's the real reason I've been to sick/tired/slacker blogger... 

Little Miss Lilly is going to be made a big sister in June! We are so excited! I've been trying to remember to get a cute video of her saying she would be a "big seester" for a while but you know what they say about baby brain. She asked about Emily (my SIL) in the video because we facetime with she and the rest of Ben's family a lot. I love her uber emo reaction to me saying no. That is kinda the norm around here these days. Silly girl. Anyhoo- I am almost out of my first trimester so hopefully things will be picking up around here. I'm super happy to finally let the cat out of the bag because all day long I want to tweet/post/ig etc. about having zero appetite or a weird craving or whatev. So expect that now too. Eep! 

♥