18 weeks!

How far along? 18 weeks now!
Weight gain/loss: 116.0 is what my scale tells me. So I guess a half a pound!
Maternity clothes? No but I Totally feel like I have muffin top!
Stretch marks? None
Sleep? For some reason I can't get comfortable! I am already finding it to be hard to sleep on my belly.
Best moment this week? Being told I have a bump now!
Food cravings: I want to eat everything! Gender: Unknown still
Belly button in or out? Still in
Movement? Yep! I feel little kicks here and there!
What I miss? Good sleep!
What I'm looking forward to: Having a cute round belly again!

Fun Survey about my first Pregnancy

[About Mommy and Pregnancy]]
Mommy's Full Name: Anna Marie Kirk

Age When Pregnant: 25 to 26

Current Age: 27

How Far along were you when you found out?: I think I tested at around 5 weeks.

Still with the father?: Yes


What was your first reaction when you found out you were pregnant?: Excited! We wanted to have a family. I wanted to have a baby and here we were!


How did the Father react?: Seemed excited and shocked it happened a lot faster than we thought. He totally thought there would be a lot more "baby-making time" HA!


How did your parents take the news?: Excitement all around


How did you feel about your first ultra sound?: I only got ONE ultrasound and I was SOOOOO excited! I couldn't wait to find out the gender of our little one.


When I heard the heart beat for the first time?: At 10 weeks, I rented my own fetal doppler because I wasn't going to hear or see anything until 12 weeks. I couldn't wait that long and was freaking out that something could happen.


What month did you find out the sex of the baby?: In December, towards the end of December. I had hoped maybe we would know before Christmas but my ultrasound wasn't scheduled until after.


Where you happy about the sex of the baby?: I was happy about my baby period. We had an inkling and I guess secretly hoped our first would be a boy and that's exactly what we got!


What were your cravings?: Sugar everything! I wanted everything sweet! Cake, doughnuts, brownies, chocolate. And of course just wanted to eat everything in general but mostly it was sugary-stuff.

Did you exercise when you were pregnant?: No, I probably should've but I never can find the motivation to work out. Pregnant or not pregnant.


How much weight did you gain?: Almost 50 pounds. A little more than what I probably should have but in the end it was all worth it.


Did you get morning sickness?: In the first trimester yes. It was mostly just feeling nauseous but once I would eat some toast or something I'd be fine.


Did you enjoy wearing maternity clothes?: I was definitely excited to start wearing them and then to my chagrin realized that I didn't fit any of them until after like 6 months.


What books did you read when you were pregnant?: What to Expect, The Pregnancy Journal


Did you attend any pregnancy classes like LaMaze? I went to almost all the classes offered at the hospital. Breastfeeding and a Labor class and a how to take care of baby class.


Overall...Describe your pregnancy?: Easy. I had a fairly easy first trimester, great second, and while the third definitely was the hardest it was all worth it!


[[About the Delivery]]
How did you know you were in labor?: I started to feel these cramps like every so often on May 19th in the evening.

Did your water break?: My water broke later on when I was on the toilet of all places!


What were you contractions like?: At first they felt like light menstrual cramps and progressed as my labor progressed to a lot more intense like.


How long were you in labor?: This one still confuses me. Is labor just when you start getting contractions? Or when you actually start pushing? Both? Just one? Anyways if we count it all I was in "labor" for 18 hours altogether with like 2 hours of pushing.


Epidural?: I tried to labor as long as I could naturally but by 11am I was so exhausted working through the contractions that I needed something. They checked me at 6cm and then came again to see if I had progressed and when I hadn't, they came back with the Doctor.


Who was in the delivery room with you?: Just Andy


Was it an easy delivery?: I don't feel like it was because I was really working on getting through those contractions. Perhaps if I had gotten an epidural right away it would've felt easier? Then when I started pushing it felt like forever!


Did you cry during labor?: At one point when the contractions were just non-stop and I was sooo tired, that's when I got the nurse to get me the epidural.


[[About the Baby]]
Baby's Full Name: Wilson Thomas Kirk


Birth Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010


Time Born: 3:23 pm


Gender: Boy


Lenghth: Officially as 21.75 but our other record says 21.5 inches long.


Weight: 7 pounds and 11 ounces


What was the first thing you said to your baby?: "Hi little baby." It's all I could think of. Here he was finally!


Who visited you and the baby at the hospital? Lots of people, our parents, my brother and his girlfriend, friends, and some other family.


Did you breast feed?: Yes, it was sooo nerve wracking though because I wasn't expressing anything and I don't think Wilson was getting anything. I wish now I had at least supplemented even at the hospital. He wanted to eat right away.


What was the first night being a parent like? Sooo tiring, now I have this little baby to take care of! What was I doing?!?


Did you get sleep? Not much.


When did you go home?: I think it was Saturday evening.


[[Present Time]]
How old is your baby now?: 13 months old


Still with the Father?: Yes


Who does your baby look like know?: Mostly me with maybe a sprinkle of Andy? Everyone says he is definitely my child.


Your baby's current milestone achievement?: Uhh.. teething? We are still working on walking, stubborn boy!


Whats your baby's favorite thing to do? Get into everything! Climb whatever he can.


Whats your baby's favorite toy? That's hard to say, he plays with all his little toys, but I guess his pal, Scout. This stuffed animal toy that plays music and sings.


What is it like being a parent?: The most insanely crazy thing you could ever possibly WANT to do to yourself. It's amazing how one little person is your whole world.


Ready for another one?: I'm already on it! haha!

Milspouse Friday#2

Are you a different person than you were five years ago? submitted by Sisterly Thoughts

Of course I am! Isn't everyone slowly changing little things about themselves consciously and unconsciously? One big different thing is I used to bite my nails really really bad and I made the effort to quit. This took a lot of willpower because I had been biting my nails for as long as I could remember. Another thing is as I got older I learned to curb my pottymouth. I realized that the words that were coming out of my mouth weren't giving me respect or letting people see me for me. Don't get me wrong a curse word still will come out my mouth every now and then, but mostly if something drops on my toe or if something I didn't want to happen, happens.

If you could go on Amazing Race, who would you take with you as your partner and why? submitted by Thoughts from a Poekitten

I probably should say my husband right? Only I don't think we would travel well together! I just don't think he would do well on the show, but I've not watched too much of the show to know really what they do except a lot of traveling? I would say I would take my best friend Shawna because she LOVES The Amazing Race so I think she at the very least would have that advantage! Plus I would love to spend the time with her.


Does Facebook or Twitter actually bring more stress or good in to your life? submitted by Just an Arizona Girl

I would say it brings more good, but it does bring some stress. Well not really stress, more like insecurity. You can't help but realize that you are gone from everyone you love, and who loves you. And friends you thought were friends, now just live their lives and move on. I love keeping my family and friends who care enough to check my stuff, and see how Wilson is doing, see how I'm doing, and knowing that I'm making them miss me just as much as I miss them! So I would say the good outweighs the bad any day.


June is National Soul Food Month- what’s your soul food? submitted by NH Girl Displaced

I love love my homemade Mac -n- Cheese. There is something sooo comforting about just cheese and noodles. MMMMM... I would also say Korean food would be my comfort food. I never get enough of it and really should learn to cook it for myself. But when I do get to eat it, it really brings me back to what I was raised on and gives me that sense of comfort. Not to mention how healthy it is for you!!

If you could live in any other era than the current, which one would it be & why? submitted by Sugar in My Grits

Oh wow! I love this question! With Gone with the Wind being one of my favorite books and movies, I would have to say the 1850s. Wouldn't want to be stuck going through the Civil War but that would be interesting as well. I would really like to see what really went down about slavery. I totally feel like, we had this great CIVIL war because people wanted to KEEP African-Americans as their slaves. It boggles my mind how people could justify keeping other people in bondage and forced servitude. I would LOVE to speak to a slave-owner from that time and really see why they thought they were okay with it.

Plans...

I think for the month of July I will try to do a 30 day photo challenge. My best friend did one on facebook and I really loved going through it!

I'm going to do it on the blog though instead. Now let's hope I can remember starting July 1st to do it!

In other news, I felt the baby kicking last night! 3 good little nudges/kicks.

I feel my belly getting rounder although I don't seem to be looking any bigger yet. Just give me some time!

Our ultrasound is scheduled for July 19th, so in less than a month we will find out if we will be adding another little boy to our family, or a little girl!

I still have no inkling at all about if this baby is a boy or girl. I'm completely at a loss! With my pregnancy with Wilson, before I knew he was a boy, my intuition was telling me boy, so I wonder why I have no inkling or intuition with this new little one.

I just know I can't wait to have another sweet, snuggly, little newborn again. It's so crazy how big Wilson is, even though he is still a "baby." I miss how I just used to hold him, ALL the time!

My first MilSpouse Friday Fill in!

1. Underwear Parties, how old is too old? submitted by Wookie & Co.
I'm not really sure what an underwear party is? I went to a pajama party around college age and instead of wearing something sexy like most other 20-something year olds did. I went to good ol' Meijer and found the most ridiculous Adult Footie Pajama.

2. What was your favorite class in high school? submitted by Adventures of M-Squared
My favorite class was probably Yearbook, my elective class that I did for 3 years. There were a lot of things about it that I really enjoyed. Figuring out layouts, writing stories or captions, really becoming good friends with the people you worked with, and then having the yearbook at the end of the year.

3. Have you ever convinced packers/movers to pack something they aren’t supposed to for a PCS? submitted by Ground Control to Major Mom
I have only moved once so far and I wasn't even there for the move so I have to say no! I wonder what I would try to convince them to move for me though?

4. Blogging plays a growing roll in the media. If you were asked to embed as a blogger with a deployed military unit, would you go? What do you think your blog would be like? submitted by To the Nth
Well if I weren't pregnant and had a child, I would do it. But as it is, I would have to say no. First off, I wouldn't leave my child for however long the deployment would be. If I did go, as a childless person, I imagine my blog would be very interested in the goings-on of the local community and people. Whereas if I went now, all I would be blogging about is how much I miss my baby.

5. Do you think kids should attend year-round school? submitted by Marrying the Navy
My baby is no where near school age yet, but after reading some articles that say that year round schooling helps children retain what they learn better, it is something I would seriously consider, if the schools where we would be at would offer it, I would probably enroll them in there.

Hmph.

So Wilson is teething. He's got at least 3 teeth coming in, all of his first molars.

He's got the one on top right broken through, and two huge bulges on his lower jaw ready to erupt any day..

We have had fevers, grumpiness, lack of appetite, runny noses, drool, and just over all not happy baby.

I can't imagine how sore his mouth must feel, or what it feels to have to go through teething anyways, but I can tell it's no fun.

His sleep is still well although we had a wake up last night, but I think sometimes it's because his room gets so cold!

With the teething comes one sweet thing, lots of cuddle time. On his roughest day we sat in our rocking chair and just cuddled for a long time. He just laid his sweet head on my chest and sighed, and it was the most adorable and pathetic thing ever.

It really is hard being a baby, I guess. Hopefully the rest of these molars will hurry up and erupt so that we can start focusing on being a big boy and trying to learn to walk!

16 weeks!

How far along? 16 Weeks
Weight gain/loss: 115.5 going to actually put the number because I didn't last time so I have no idea. I would say none so far again. I guess those stairs and chasing after Wilson is keeping me skinny!
Maternity clothes? Wore my belly band with a pair of shorts that are a little too snug haha.
Stretch marks? None
Sleep? So far not bad, I'm tired a lot though, but it is very hot here now and once again Wilson keeps me on my toes :)
Best moment this week? Looking like I have a belly-ish.
Food cravings: I want to eat everything!
Gender: Unknown still
Belly button in or out? Still in
Movement? Not quite yet.
What I miss? Nothing much yet. I guess that I was starting to finally get skinny and then got pregnant so I'm going to miss the body I had.
What I'm looking forward to: Having a cute round belly again!

Downside to living in Mississippi.

BUGS BUGS BUGS!

Ants, spiders, termites, and everything else has decided to hang out in MY house! ACK!

Seriously, with a little one year old who is NOTORIOUS for leaving crumbs everywhere, the ants are slowly taking over.

I'm at a loss at what to do. Do I try to find some All natural pesticide to try to keep them out?

I'm worried about if Wilson were to some how get into it if I were to spray ANY in the house..

I'm thinking about buying this stuff because from what I read it's safe if eaten...

St. Gabriel Organic Indoor/Outdoor Insect Dust

I'm not really sure if I want to spend the money to buy it because since it is dust I would also have to buy a dust applicator...

The only thing that I am leaning towards it is because I can use it outdoors which would hopefully prevent the bugs from coming indoors.

It says I can even vacuum it on the carpet to keep the buggies away...

AHHH! I just don't know how much longer I can stand living in a house that is so bug infested!

I'm a HUGE wuss when it come to bugs period. The killer is spiders. Of any size. Even the itty bitty ones that I could kill with my pinky, I freak out about.

I'm gonna have to talk to Andy about this. I'm not sure if our house is so bad that we could get the Military housing to fumigate it for free for us, but I'm pretty sure there is an ant mound in our backyard and one in our front yard.

So maybe that would be enough I guess I need to call them and see what they say...

Meatball Stew

This is perhaps one of the most tastiest stews I have ever made and it's super easy!

I made some last night but didn't take any pictures and I don't want to show you a picture of it left over because well that's not very appetizing right? So here is what you need:

1 14-16 ounce bag of frozen meatballs (I used Armour Turkey Meatballs)
1 can of Tomato Soup
1 can of Beef Gravy
2 packets or cubes of Beef Bouillon
1 Onion Soup Packet
3 medium potatoes cut up
1 lb. package of either baby carrots or regular carrots
1 onion
1 cup of water

Directions:
Cut up your potatoes, onion, and carrots if you bought regular carrots. (Baby carrots can just be rinsed and thrown in there)
In your slow cooker or stock pot, mix your 1 cup water, tomato soup, beef gravy, beef bouillon cubes, and packet of onion soup mix, mix them all together
Add your carrots, potatoes, onion, and frozen meatballs to the mix.
Cook in your slow cooker on low for 6 hours, or in the pot on low for 4.


I serve mine with a loaf of yummy french bread!

I've actually tried to buy beef stew meat instead of meatballs but I wasn't impressed with the quality of the meat so it didn't taste any better to me.

Believe me it tastes soooo good!

14 Weeks

1. How far along - 15 weeks (the picture I'm 14 weeks though)
   
2. Total weight gain - So far none. Either my scale is wonky or I'm just not seeing it go up yet.
   
3. Maternity clothes? - Nope
   
4. Sleep - Sleep is never the same once you have a baby. So far between the waking up to go pee, or get Wilson, or wake up from my hubby's EARLY morning PT days, I rarely get a wonderful night of sleep.
5. Best moment this week - Pregnancy related, so far nothing! But the other night Wilson ate a bug. Wasn't the best moment but definitely the most memorable!
   
6. Movement- Not yet! Although I swear I thought I felt something, but I think it was just me digesting food.
   
7. Food cravings - I always have food cravings. I just have to watch tv for a little bit and I want to eat something.
   
8. Labor signs - None yet
   
9. Belly button in or out - Still in! I'm curious to see when it pops out this time
   
10. What I miss - Not feeling so icky. I always feel just somewhat icky. Not terrible but enough to make me want to just curl up on the couch.
    
11. What I'm looking forward to - Finding out if we will be having a little brother or sister for Wilson!
    

Oh little one.

Once upon a time you were this little!



Look at how much you have already changed from then!

I love you as you grow everyday but wow do I miss the little you!

I have been slacking on new videos of you, mostly because it is hard to capture you just doing whatever. As soon as you see the camera you make a grab for it and stop doing whatever cute little thing I was trying to capture you doing!

Right now at this very moment you are eating your lunch of chicken, pears, and some crackers. You are watching me and I keep turning around to watch you shove some piece of chicken in your mouth. You LOVE having a mouth full of food. Little dainty bites are not for you.

You still only have 8 teeth, I've been wondering when the rest are going to come in!

We've been having napping/sleeping issues with you lately as well. The whole just laying in you crib and going to sleep on your own was working for a wonderful short while. You as of recently, want to be cuddled. Which I LOVE some of the time. The time I don't love it is over like last night at 12:30 am.

Daddy thinks you are going to figure out this walking thing really soon. I'm excited and dreading it. I want you to learn and be independent and be proud of your milestones, but I also want you to stay my little one and you are slowly becoming a little boy.

I'm so glad I have kept up on taking pictures, blogging, and posting videos of you. I constantly look back at when you were my little one.

Being an Airman's wife.

It's very interesting to me how my life has now become very simple and yet very hard at the same time.

Being a military brat, I grew up seeing my own mom be a homemaker, but she was Korean, and surrounded herself in a Korean community that was not really interested in being a part of Military life.

She didn't do play dates with other military wives that lived on base. She did Korean bible studies and us kids would play together, but it was never a "playdate". My mom didn't have any fellow military wife friends unless they were Korean.

So far I have gone to some play dates and tried to get to know fellow military wives. It's easier now to see why my mom only stuck to her Korean friends. There's just a sense of friendship there.

Making friends with military wives is more like an interview, you meet fellow moms and try to figure out if your ideals, parenting styles, personalities, will match up.

I can tell right now that not everyone I will ever meet will automatically become my friend. Or that it will grow into a friendship that I can count on and treasure.

I still welcome every opportunity to meet other moms, for one thing to get out of the house, and to let Wilson meet other babies/children.

So in one way it's simple: I stay home, take care and play with Wilson, we will run errands, fight to change diapers, attempt to take naps, and have playdates with other military mommies.

On the other hand it's hard: I stay at home, the house always needs cleaning, sometimes it gets lonely, sometimes you wish you had a babysitter!

I can't imagine how it might be for me if and when I might have to face Andy deploying for 6 months. Especially since our stay here at Keesler is not for long.

I'm glad that I had the experience of being an Army brat, I think it has prepared a little for this life. I'm used to moving, I'm used to putting myself out there and making friends.

But as a military wife, I'm not used to how lonely it can feel. As a child I had way more things to occupy my time. Toys, playgrounds, school, etc. As a wife, it's different, I have responsibilities and sometimes it feels like I am doing it on my own!

That's actually probably a good thing for me, but it does take me out of my comfort zone.

In another month we will hopefully know where we will be stationed at for 2 years. It will be interesting to see where we will be going for our temporary home.