The perfect name

When you find out you're expecting, choosing the perfect name can feel like a monumental task. I wanted a name that was beautiful and sophisticated that could grow with our baby girl as she got older. A name that sounds adorable as an infant, but also respectable as an adult. When I was pregnant with my son, we were able to choose his first name the very same day we found out he was a boy. This time around it took us a little longer, ok actually a lot longer, to agree and find a name we both loved.

 I scoured baby name sites and tried to seek inspiration from family and friends but one name just kept coming back to me and I knew it was the one. My husband on the other hand needed a little more convincing, so I kept giving him other options. After about a week or two of this he said, "You know what, I actually think I like this name best..." and I was so happy because I absolutely love the name we chose. We have yet to decide on her middle name, but our baby girl's first name will be Addison. I am in love with her name and can't wait to meet our sweet girl. How did you choose your baby's name?

Hello again

Well, I did it again. I fell off the face of the earth as far as my blog is concerned. I have no idea if there is anyone still even following my blog, with how little I've written over the past year. I miss it so much. Sometimes before bed I have so many thoughts running through my mind that I think to myself, "I should write this down..." but most nights I'm just too exhausted to, so instead I say my prayers, count my blessings and snuggle with my beautiful baby boy.

 So much has happened the last few months and I can't even believe it but somehow my son is already seven months old. And did I mention he is crawling already? Yes....oh how fun that has been! It has been so exciting seeing him learn new things each day and watching his little personality develop. He makes me smile and laugh more than I ever thought possible, but he also tests my patience and pushes me to be a better mama each day we spend together. I know I don't always tell my husband this, but I'm extremely grateful for the chance to stay home with him and witness all his firsts. It's something my mom never got to do with me or my sisters so I don't take it lightly.

Other than staying home and taking care of my little man I have also been trying to find us a house. We are getting ready to pcs here in October and are moving down to Jacksonville Florida! I am very excited for the change but also sad to be leaving so many wonderful friends behind. The military lifestyle is very bittersweet sometimes...

We really wanted to do base housing but only had two months notice for these orders. The wait for housing is 6-9 months so it looks like we will have to rent a place out in town. I am amazed at how much house you can get for your money out there though. You can rent a three bedroom house for the same amount or less than what we pay here in Virginia Beach for a one bedroom apartment! It's pretty crazy, but I am so looking forward to getting out of this cramped apartment and getting us into a nice house.

Husband's house hunting leave just got approved so we are going to drive down to Florida next weekend and look at a few places. I really hope we find something nice in our price range not too far from the base. Wish us luck! Well that's all for now but I will try to be better about keeping my blog updated. I really miss writing everyday. Hope everyone has a great weekend. :)

Flashback Friday: Newborn

Today's flashback Friday is all about Jeremiah when he was a newborn. 

Aahhhh....I just can't stand the cuteness. ♥

I love how small he was back then and still remember how special it was holding him for the first time and kissing his sweet face. I can't believe my baby boy is almost four months already. 

Time sure does fly.

 For all the mamas out there, what special moments do you remember from your baby's newborn days?  

Happy Friday everyone! 

xoxo 

Flying with baby

I'd be lying if I said the thought of flying with a 3 month old didn't frighten me, but to my surprise my son was an excellent little flyer! :) 

Bubby & I on the plane :)

The flight out to LAX was horrible. We were supposed to just stop in Atlanta to pick up some more passengers, (which is exactly why we selected this flight) however when we landed in Atlanta the flight attendants nonchalantly informed us we had to get off the plane and get on another one. There was also a two and a half hour delay until our next flight would be leaving. Needless to say it made traveling with an infant even more exhausting! 

We settled into our new plane only to end up sitting next to an entire basketball team. Oh how lovely that experience was. They were loud and obnoxious to say the least and I had to resist the urge to backhand them on several occasions. My mama bear instincts were kicking in since they kept waking up Jeremiah with their loud music blasting on their iPods. Some people just have no common sense or courtesy towards others! 

We ended up landing in Los Angeles around 10:30 pm (1:30 am to our bodies which were on east coast time) and it took us three hours to get home! There were a bunch of exits closed for construction and we couldn't even get on the freeway we needed to take. At that point I was so exhausted and could barely stay awake. 

My little munchkin got up bright and early at 7 am on Friday so that was fun! Ok, I'm being sarcastic here if you couldn't tell. ;) But even though getting to California was not an easy task my son did so well! He didn't cry at all and just nursed and slept the whole time. The flight attendant and several passengers commented on how well behaved he was. 

One woman told me "It was so nice not to sit behind a crying baby! I just have to compliment you on your son's behavior." I was such a proud mama. He did just as well on the flight back to Virginia and again we received more compliments. I am so thankful everything went smoothly with him. :) Have you ever flown with a baby?

xoxo 

Getting ready for baby

The last few days have been so busy around here & I've finally been able to get some important things done. Last week I ordered the invitations for our couples baby shower next month & I am so excited with how they turned out! I custom designed them on storkie & they are so adorable! :-) 

Although I'm excited for the shower it's also a little bittersweet because I'm so far from home & don't have that many friends out here in Virginia. I do have a few great friends here & my coworkers from the bank but I am really sad that none of my family will be able to come. I have really been missing my mom & sisters a lot during my pregnancy, even more so lately. 

 

I am just hoping the few friends I do have here are able to come. It was a little tricky choosing a date to have the shower since my husband will be going underway a few times next month & the thanksgiving holiday is coming up. We are doing a couples shower so people can bring their so's and also because I always hated the traditional baby shower. 

 

I was never a fan of passing around the diaper with a melted candy bar inside it and trying to guess what kind of candy it was. Or the oh so fun "who can drink from a bottle the fastest" game. No thank you. ;) I just want to hang out, eat some good food & celebrate the blessing of our baby boy with good friends. I still have quite a bit of planning to do with our lovely hostess Megan, and it should be fun to put the shower together. :-)

I also had the pleasure of taking the dreaded glucose test last week & throwing the whole thing up right in front of my doctor. Fun times...

At least I was able to keep it down for 45 minutes & they still took my blood for the test. Next week I am getting my tdap shot so that should be fun as well.

I also scheduled our 3d/4d ultrasound for next month & I am so excited to finally see some more pictures of our little boy. We haven't had an ultrasound since I was 19 weeks and that was already 10 weeks ago! This one should be interesting as well since we will be able to get a better look at Baby Taylor & hopefully see some of his facial features. ♥ 

Along with the ultrasound I also scheduled our lamaze classes & am anxious to attend them with my husband. Being that this is my first baby, I am really nervous about the whole labor/delivery part & would love to get some tips & information so I can at least feel a little more prepared.

We still have a lot to do in preparation for Baby Taylor but I am beginning to feel a little better since I'm making progress on my to-do list. He's not even here yet & I am already realizing that being a mom is a lot of work but the best job in the world. ♥

Baby Bump-date Week 27

Hello Everyone! I hope you're all having a great week so far, I know I am. :) I can't believe I am already 27 weeks along. It seems like we just found out we were being blessed with a child and now we are almost done with this pregnancy. There's only 91 days left until my due date! I know my third trimester is going to fly by with all the holidays fast approaching. Anyway, I am feeling good overall just a few little bumps along the way. 

I have officially switched and already seen my new Doctor and I am so glad I did. I have the dreaded glucose test next week to determine if I have gestational diabetes or not. I am not too worried about it but am not looking forward to having blood drawn again. I had to spend three hours at the doctors last week for my first appointment. That included a urine test, blood work, a flu shot and of course a full exam. Baby Taylor's heartbeat was strong and he seems to be doing great. ♥ 

I love feeling him move and kick, and lately I have been able to feel it a lot more! It's an incredible thing and pretty indescribable. My back and feet have been hurting more frequently now, but other than that I am still able to do most things with no problem. I'll admit getting out of bed and off the couch is a lot harder than it used to be but I know it will all be worth it in the end. I keep joking with my hubby that he needs to invent some sort of device to make these things easier, like a pregnancy cane! Haha. 

I am wearing pretty much all maternity clothes at this stage in my pregnancy and am so glad I invested in some maternity jeans. I have been lucky enough to find some that fit great and aren't too long since I'm pretty short, (Thank you Motherhood!). As for tops Target has seriously been a life saver for me. They carry extra small tops and have such a cute selection. I just got a few new sweaters yesterday at our brand new Target here in Virginia Beach ♥. 

I have been cooking and baking a lot more now that I am staying home and it has been so nice to have time to do these things for my hubby. As far as cravings go, my love for Mexican food has returned and I am craving it all the time! I have also been wanting ice cream after dinner nearly every night, and thank goodness we don't keep it in the house all the time, otherwise I'd probably gain 100 pounds. Other than that nothing too unusual. 

We still have a lot to do to prepare for our little one, like tour our hospital, take a birthing class and register for our baby shower. I am a little behind on all this and it's starting to stress me out but we plan on getting a few of these things done this weekend. Overall I am just looking forward to the next few months and meeting our son! :) 

Here's the info on our little boy this week. It's so interesting to know what's going on in there. ♥ Happy Thursday Lovelies. 

Baby Size

14.5 in

cauliflower

Baby Weight

2 lb

Baby

This week your baby looks like a thinner, redder, more wrinkled version of what he will look like at birth, but in the next few weeks more fat will fill out his appearance. Your baby's immune system is continuing to mature as are your baby's lungs which are still practicing breathing amniotic fluid.

Body

Just when you were getting used to your second trimester, you may find new uncomfortable symptoms beginning during your third trimester. You may notice more leg cramps due to the pressure of your uterus on your veins and nerves running from your torso to your legs. Remember to stretch and move your legs to ease or prevent cramping.

Activities this week

Now is a great time to sign up for a breastfeeding class. If you are a first-time mom and planning to breastfeed your baby, it's a good idea to take a breastfeeding class or sign up with a lactation consultant. Ask your doctor or midwife for a recommendation or call La Leche League who can help you locate breastfeeding resources in your area.

Goodbye Prime, It was nice knowing you (not really)

Yesterday flew by in what seemed like a flash! I had a doctors appointment in the morning and had to get my medical records printed out since as of today I am making the switch to tricare standard. I can not tell you enough how happy I am about this. Tricare prime is free (other than the allotment they take out of hubby's check each month) but the standard of care, at least in my own personal experience has been horrible. It took me a year after moving to Virginia to even get into the clinic closest to my house, and I almost died when they tried to force me to go to Langley Hospital which would have been a 45 minute drive or worse in traffic. Umm, no thank you!

Once I was finally able to be "squeezed" in and started trying to schedule appointments I could never actually get in to see my PCM (primary care manager or basically my regular doctor) and to this day I still have not had a visit with my actual doctor. I have seen others, but never the one I am supposed to see. The whole system is flawed and extremely impersonal. I literally had two appointments within four days of each other last year and the doctor I saw both times didn't even remember seeing me!!

Now don't even get me started on my  experiences during this pregnancy. It has been a nightmare! The clinic I go to doesn't accept sick appointments or have an urgent care so anytime you are actually sick & don't have a scheduled appointment you can NOT get in to see your doctor. Instead you have to drive all the way to Portsmouth Naval Hospital and go to the emergency room. Can anyone else see how this doesn't make sense? If I have a severe cold & need a doctors note for work I am not going to go to the emergency room. It would be a waste of time for myself and the people working there! Or say for instance when I was suffering from severe morning sickness at all times of the day and night, but didn't have my first appointment scheduled for another month, I had to go to the ER just to get some anti nausea medication.

I found out I was pregnant at about 6 weeks along and didn't have my first actual appointment until I was 12 weeks! Before that the only thing they did at my 10 week appointment was make me pee in a cup & draw some blood. They also made us sit in a group and listen to a power point about being pregnant and blah blah blah. It was a waste of my time! My friend who is pregnant also & about two weeks behind me, is on standard & she was able to be seen at 8 weeks! Her doctor did an ultrasound and actually checked her out. I had to wait until I was 12 weeks to even get that kind of care! From then on she was being seen every four weeks or about once a month. Up to this point (I am already 6 months!) I have only been seen every six weeks.

So finally I have had enough and did the research on costs and what I need to do to switch. I've gotten myself a new doctor and am so glad I don't have to have my baby at Portsmouth Naval and worry about not knowing who the heck is gonna deliver my baby. I can make a birth plan and will have my own doctor who knows me and I can get in to see if I am having an issue with something. I feel like it's such a relief and I should have done this so long ago! Anyway, I'm off to get ready for a walk with my friend Megan & her adorable son Cody. I am trying to walk as much as possible to help me prepare for labor and not get too out of shape since I can't do a lot of other physical activities while I'm pregnant. I hope you all have a great day & sorry for the healthcare rant! ;) xoxo!