Pregnancy Update

Will trying doing one of these updates at least once every 2 weeks.

1.    How far along are you now? 13 Weeks

2.    When is your due date? 8 July 2014

3.    What has been your preggy high this week? Excited that I am officially in the 2^nd trimester and looking forward to our next scan later today

4.    What has been your preggy low this week? Extreme tiredness and still struggling with nausea most days

5.    What is your current over-riding emotion? Excitement  

6.    What is on your list of things to do in the next month re prep for baby? Will wait till we know the gender before I start any shopping.  Will still be buying nappies every month, as Hayley is recently potty trained so we are already in the habit   

7.    When is your next appointment? Today

8.    What is your current craving? Salad – yeah for healthy food after craving breads and baked goodies for weeks

9.    How are you feeling physically? Exhausted and huge for 13 weeks

10.  How are you feeling emotionally? Feeling sad and lonely, hormones are really playing games with me at the moment

11.  How is your partner dealing with the pregnancy at this stage? Great, he really supports me well.

12.  Do you know the sex of your baby yet? No, hoping I will know by end of January

13.  Will you be trying for Natural or Caesar? Caesar

14.  Which hospital will you be having your baby at? Krugersdorp Netcare

15.  How are you feeling about the pregnancy at this point? I love being pregnant.  It really is an amazing journey and I am trying to enjoy every moment of this pregnancy as it will probably me the last pregnancy.  I can’t wait for the first movements

16.  What is your Tummy measurement? Don’t know

17.  How much does baby weigh/ measurement at the moment? (Or at last scan). At last scan baby was 2.25 cm at 9 weeks

18.  How much weight have you gained to date? No idea, too scared to know

19.  What is your nursery room theme? Will only decide once we know what the gender will be

20.  What is the best preggy advice you have been given? Listen to your body

I'm Pregnant :-)

On Friday, 8 November 2013 I got a positive result on a home pregnancy test.

I was so shocked!  Even though I’ve been experiencing tender breasts and tiredness for a week or so I still could not believe the 2 lines when they appeared and had to get hubby to make sure!

We are over the moon and Hayley is so excited.  She recons I have a brother and a sister in my stomach.  I don’t think she really understand what is happening, but she does get excited and always respond with a brother and sister in mommy’s stomach and when asked and when you ask her what is in anyone else’s stomach she will tell you ‘food’.

So far this pregnancy has been totally different from my first.  I am more tired, experiencing food aversions and nausea and I am very moody.  My poor little family.

We had our first scan on 3 December 2013.  I expected to be between 7 – 8 weeks and it turned out that I was exactly 9 weeks then, our due date being 8 July 2013, which means I will be 13 weeks tomorrow and officially in the 2^nd trimester.  I am really hoping that the nausea, tiredness, moodiness and food aversions will then start to ease off.  Our first scan went really well.  Baby D2 looks healthy and doctor is happy with everything. 

Our next scan is tomorrow and I can’t wait to see our baby again.

My very positive pregnancy tests:

Our baby D2 at exactly 9 weeks

:

The Worst Blogger 2013 Award

… has to go to myself!

One of my goals for 2014 will definitely be to blog more often.

Here is a looooonnnngggg overdue update on us.

Hayley:

At 2 years and 9 months we are truly enjoying the stage she is at now.  She talks a lot and has so many things to tell us every day.  She eats well, can keep herself entertained for long periods at a time and enjoys helping me around the house.  She listens well and we have had very few terrible 2 issues.  I can’t believe that we will soon be planning her 3^rd birthday party.

She still does not sleep through in her bed at night, but we have accepted this and now take things as they come.  She is fully potty trained and has been of the night nappy for about a month now.  We still have the occasional accident, but she is doing really well and making us so proud.

She enjoys books; especially the ones where we ask her the names of objects.  We read together every night and then Hayley will do a prayer before we kiss her good night.  Most nights she thanks Jesus for being able to laugh.  Cutest thing ever! 

She loves watching Lollos, Carike and Ghoempie, Mickey mouse Clubhouse and Barney.  She enjoys signing and can sign a few songs like Twinkle Twinkle, Wielie Walie, Handjies Klap and most of the songs on her Lollos and Ghoempie DVD’s and CD’s.  She plays with dolls for hours and is so motherly and soft hearted.  Recently she also discovered dresses and will take her clothes of and dress herself in the dresses in her cupboard 100 times a day.  After putting on a dress she will come and model it for me and daddy.

She is doing well at school and we are proud of the yearly report we received from the school recently.  She also had a school concert, and just like her mommy she was very shy on stage and just stood there, but performed really well in the Monkeynastix routine they had before the break.  I was so proud and I am really happy that we decided to let her start Monkeynastix this year.

We also recently went down to Rheebok (close to Mosselbay) to visit my parents for the first time since they moved and it was also Hayley’s first time at the ocean.  She was so amazed with this big, blue ocean.  Her face when she first got out of the car will be engraved in my memory for ever.  She loved the sand, but was a bit weary of the water.  She would go close and as soon as a wave breaks she will run back screaming and laughing.  By the 2^nd day she was sitting in the water playing with the sand.  It was so nice and she really amazed us on the long car journey, keeping herself entertained or sleeping.  I am such a proud mommy. 

Below is an overload of photos taken over the last few months.

Me and hubby:

We are doing really well, 2013 was both a really tough year for us but also a good year full of blessings.

I am still married to the best man on the universe, he always helps in and around the house, helps a lot with Hayley and absolutely lives for his little family.  He is gentle and kind and I love this man more and more every day! 

In 2014 we will also be introducing a new addition to the family.  Yes blog friends, I am pregnant, but more about that in my next blog.

My beautifull princess:

Family Photoshoot August 2013:

December 2013 Holidays:

Hayley was so good on the long road home:

Hayley and her cousins:

Hayley and the love of my life:

 

 

Me and the love of my life:

A legend turns 30!

Saturday, 17 August 2013, marked the 30^th birthday of a very special person in my life, my dearest husband.

We had about 30 people over on the day to celebrate with him.  He chose a 80’s dress up party theme and what a fun night we had. 

Pictures really speak louder than words.

 

The Lion and Rhino Park

Sunday DH took me and Hayley to the Lion and Rhino Park just outside of Krugersdorp.

 

What a stunning little gem to escape to from the busy city rush.  We first took the drive through the park.  Saw a lot of bucks and even saw a Rhino with a little one.  Rhinos are such amazing creatures and being so close to them on Sunday I cannot understand why anyone would hurt them.

 

Then we went into the closed camps where they keep the cheetahs, wild dogs and white lions.  We were lucky enough to catch the white lions just after feeding time so they were still eating.  Got some very nice close up shots from my old reliable ‘mik en druk’ camera.

 

Afterwards we went to the animal crèche and reptile park.  There is a huge braai and picnic area and you can then walk through the animal crèche where they have loads of younger wild animals.  You can also pay R30 per person to go into one of the enclosures to hold one of the young animals and also take photos with them.  The line was just very long for this so decided we will plan the trip better next time and then go into the enclosures with some of the animals.

 

Afterwards we had a light lunch, on a wooden deck overlooking the whole area.

 

As we left we noticed another restaurant with a huge play area for children.

 

It was an awesome day but now know what all they offer we will plan a bit better for our next trip. 

 

Next time we will go earlier, stop to have some coffee and then go into the animal crèche before it gets too busy.  Afterwards we will go on a drive and then return around lunch time to have either a picnic or a nice braai before we return home.

 

I can definitely recommend the Lion and Rhino park for people looking for something to do over a weekend.  It is close to home and Hayley really enjoyed the outing and at the same time it is an educational experience as well.

 

Looking forward to the next time we will be visiting the Lion and Rhino Park.

 

 

 

A typical Weighless day

One thing I have to say about Weighless is that you eat a lot!  They divide the total weight that you need to lose by 10, thus giving you 10 mini goals.  For each goal you get a Step.  I am currently on Step 1 and each step has its own specific eating plan or menu.

 

I’ve never had a day where I feel hungry since starting Weighless, and I think that helps to keep cravings away for chocolates and sweets.

 

A typical day looks something like this:

 

Breakfast (before 8 am):

 

30 g Rye Bread

Fish Paste

175 ml yoghurt

 

Morning Snack (10 am):

 

200 g Apples

250 ml Skim Milk

 

Lunch (between 12 and 1):

 

100 g Pasta

120 g Tuna

100 g Tomato

100 g Onion

Gherkins

 

Afternoon Snack (around 2 pm):

 

120 g Orange

 

Late Afternoon Snack (between 4 – 6 pm):

 

30 g Whole wheat Bread

50 g Pilchards

 

Supper (before 8 pm):

 

50 g Pasta

90 g Mince

100 g Tomato

100 g Onion

40 g Tomato Paste

 

Sometimes I can actually not believe that I’m going to lose weight eating like this.

 

Supper excited to reach my first mini goal so that I can see what Step 2 has for me.

All about Me...

My only resolution for 2013 was that this year will be all about me, what I want and what makes me happy.

 

My first big change was finding a new job.  A place where I could really be happy and be seen for what I am good at.  I managed to start at a new company in March 2013 and I’ve been really happy ever since.  I feel that it is important to have a career in a company you really are happy in.  You spend so much of your days at work and it really is the worst thing ever to be unhappy.

 

Secondly I wanted to change the way I feel about myself.  I’ve succeeded in doing effort almost daily with my hair and make-up.  Although I am know expert when it comes to this, it does make one feel pretty when you know you’ve done some effort with yourself.  The second part of completing this journey is to lose weight.  I’ve been very down in the dumps about my weight and I’ve been jumping around from one eating plan to the next.  Following the one diet to the next.  Losing a few kg’s just to pick them all up again.  Last month I officially reached the highest number on the scale ever.  I did not even weigh this much when I went in for my C-section with Hayley.  It was really an eye opener and I decided to join Weighless.  I officially joined them on 6 July 2013.  My goal is to lose about 22 kg and I am proud to say that so far so good.  I’ve lost 1.6 kg with my first weigh in and I’ve not felt this motivated in a very long time to succeed in something and I know that I will be at my goal within the next year. 

 

The only thing I still need to get motivation for is exercise.  I leave home before 6 in the morning and only return after 6 at night.  Traveling between 2 – 3 hours to and from work a day.  When I get home it is such a rush with cooking, packing lunches, sorting out Hayley and also getting some quality time with DH, but I suppose this all is just one big fat excuse and certainly something I need to get my mind around, but at least I’ve taken step one on my weight loss journey.   

 

I look forward to make this journey part of my blog, not only to record it and look back on days I feel like giving up, using my blog as a reminder of how far I’ve become, but also, hopefully to motivate and uplift someone else that needs it.

 

Below is some motivations I found browsing the net, wanted to share it on here as I plan on referring back to this on days I feel like I am ready to give up.

 

Chat again soon

 

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

A beauty contest

Once again I’ve been MIA from my blog.  I will most likely win the Award for the Worst Blogger Ever 2013.

Things have been very busy at home.  So much happening and it does not really help that I work far from home, so I normally leave when it’s dark and return when it’s dark.

 

Today’s blog is actually a bit of a brag post.  The past weekend my DH had to work the whole weekend as they had a huge name change launch nationally for their company.

 

Saturday I took Hayley and we went to visit Daddy at work.  They had jumping castles, sweet packets, clowns and face painters for entertainment. 

 

At 11:00 they had a beauty pageant with 4 judges and Bokkie from Idols was the MC.  Hayley was not allowed to participate as the ages was from 4 years up but we were told that she can join in for the fun as she would properly be too shy to go onto the stage in any way. 

 

So the first time we had to go on stage she refused that I put her down so I had to carry her on the stage.  As we stopped in front of the judges she all of a sudden got out of her shell and started smiling and waving at the judges.  They then calculated the scores and called out a top 10.  I was really surprised when Hayley’s number was mentioned.  She then had to go back on stage to be scored in the 2^nd round again.  As we were waiting in the line-up she pulled away from me running towards the stage telling me she wants to go on.  I picked her up and explained that she needs to wait for her turn.  When her turn arrived she went on to the stage all by herself.  Walked up to the judges, stopped and smiled and turned around and walked back to where I was standing. 

 

I was so shocked!  Clearly we have a little performer on hands and we will definitely look at enrolling her to modelling school or maybe look at something like gymnastics to boost this confidence she already has.

 

She went back onto stage with the rest of the top 10 for a line up.  Stood between everyone like a big girl and smiled and waved at daddy and mommy proudly sitting in the crowds.  She was then given a special award where she won a tiara and an Edgars gift voucher.  One of the judges told DH afterwards that according to her scores she was supposed to be 1^st princess but it would have been unfair due to her age.

 

It was such an unexpected but proud moment for us and it is something that I felt I wanted to share with the rest of the world out there.

 

Thanks for reading and sharing this moment with me.  Hopefully I will be back sooner next time.

 

 

A tribute to my husband

Seeing as June is the month of honouring Fathers I thought this would be the perfect time for doing a post on my husband. 

I could not have asked for a better husband and father for my child.  I’m one lucky lady to have a husband who is caring, loving but can also be strong and firm as the head of the house.  He is such an amazing hands on dad and has been since the first day.  He gets up at night when I am to tired, helps with nappy changes, bathing and dressing.  Spends time with Hayley and takes her of my hands when I need a time out.  Not only is he such a hands on father but he is also hands on when it comes to housework.  Preparing meals, cleaning, making beds, spoiling me with a cup of Milo before bed time and giving me days to lie in after a hard week at work.  Above having a full time job that he excels in and where he really works really hard he still is always busy with extra jobs that he runs out of his little side line business and this is money he uses to spoil me and our daughter. 

 

He loves surprises and is always surprising me with a trip to the flea market, shops or restaurants as he wants to treat me, although every day married to this man is the best gift I could ever have asked for.  I often get spoiled with flowers, chocolates and gifts and I love the way he will try to support me when I am on one of my many diets, but at times it will come out wrong, like when he buys me a Muesli Chocolate and says it’s healthy because of the muesli, or gets a vegetarian pizza, thinking it’s healthy because it’s vegetarian.  Or when I can choose myself a gift because the price of delivering flowers to my work will be too expensive.

 

I truly and honestly love my husband!  I am one special person knowing that he chose me as his wife and the mother of his daughter.

 

Thank you my darling husband!

 

Love you for ever and always,

 

Your wife

 

xxx