Week 12

Hey hey hey! Week 12 is here. With Declan, I woke up on the day I hit 12 weeks and felt like a new human. This baby is giving me a run for my money (hopefully not a foreshadowing!) and I still feel sick as a dog. I'm going to try a new medication today and am hoping that it will help.

We made our social media announcement this week. We cannot thank everyone enough for the love we felt with the announcement. It was incredible. Baby 2.0 is due in the middle of the spring semester, 2 years into my 4 year doctoral program, so keep the love and support coming as we make that major transition! Here are a few of our favorite shots from out family shoot.

We also had our first trimester screening today! Babe looks great!

On to the stats:

How far along?  12 weeks

Total weight gain/loss?  Up 2- all I can stand to eat is JUNK which is killing me. Especially after the drastic lifestyle change that Kevin and I went through in April. I just want to eat a vegetable.

Maternity clothes? I bought a new set of Belly Bands and they're saving my life.

Stretch marks? Nada

Sleep? My adorable preschooler brought home a cold, so sleep has been rough with a runny nose and sore throat... on top of sore hips. Naps are also less frequent because school is picking up and I need to use Declan's naps to get work done on days he's not in pre-school.

Best moment last week? Social media announcement and seeing little babe :)

Movement? Every once in a while I think I feel a flutter. And realize it's gas hahaha

Food cravings? No no no no no. I hate food.

Labor signs? Wayyyy too early.

Belly button in/out? Way, way an innie

What I miss: Keeping my food down (I'm keeping this from last week)

What I am looking forward to: hitting the 2nd tri and hopefully feeling better (Keeping this, too!)

Week 10

Hey all!

We're just a few weeks away from our social media announcement, and part 2 of this blog going live. I'm so excited!

I skipped posting and taking a picture on week 9 because I was SO sick. I'm still really sick, but at least I can look at a computer screen this week.

Today I made the sign that we'll use in our family photo shoot in a few weeks. Here's Declan modeling it sans pants.

Here's the week 10 "bump," or "blump" (bloat & bump) as I like to call it.

How far along?  10 weeks

Total weight gain/loss?  Down 2 lbs

Maternity clothes? Nope! Although, my shorts are getting a little tight.

Stretch marks? Nada

Sleep? I cannot get enough sleep. I sleep all night (minus getting up for the bathroom about 3 times a night) and try to get a nap in every day. Luckily, D still naps about 2 hours a day, so I can usually get one in.

Best moment last week? Declan telling me that he was going to give the baby some of his toys <3

Movement? Too soon!

Food cravings? Omg, no. Starting at week 6 I've had constant nausea. I started on medication for it around week 8. I get sick 4-5 times a day still, and have another appointment tomorrow to hopefully talk about stronger meds. Poor Declan keeps saying, "why is the baby making you so sick?"

Labor signs? Wayyyy too early.

Belly button in/out? Way, way an innie

What I miss: Keeping my food down

What I am looking forward to: hitting the 2nd tri and hopefully feeling better

Week 6!

We've made it to week 6 and the infamous morning sickness (better known as all day long sickness) has finally set in. Declan has been a trooper, and has given me lots of extra love because, "Mommy's belly hurts."

On Sunday my family had a huge reunion/ birthday celebration and we told my parents. They were completely shocked!

Let's get on to those weekly stats!

How far along?  6 weeks 

Total weight gain/loss?  Nada yet

Maternity clothes? No maternity clothes, but lots of comfortable pants/sweats.

Stretch marks? Nada

Sleep? Sleep was okay this week. As long as I can sleep through the night, I'm good. If I wake up I get smacked with nausea and it's hard to fall back asleep.

Best moment last week? Telling my family.

Movement? Too early!

Food cravings? Nope. More like food aversions. I have to force myself to eat! Unless it's S'mores... I would like S'mores, but I haven't been able to convince Kevin to go get what I need to make them. It's probably for the better :)

Labor signs? Wayyyy too early.

Belly button in/out? Same ole belly button.

What I miss: Just being able to play and hang out with D like I normally do. I feel so sick that I'm much slower and don't run around like I used to. I feel so bad, but he's a trooper!

What I am looking forward to: Ultrasound in T-minus 2 weeks!

Milestones: No real milestones this week!

And then there were FOUR!!

That's right! Kevin and I are expecting Baby Monahan 2.0 sometime in late February, 2017! We are SO exited. In November of 2015, we decided we would like to grow our family a little more and started trying for another baby. Seven long, long months later we found out we were expecting.

I was at a conference for UConn in early June. I came home that Friday *knowing* that I was pregnant. I could not get home fast enough to take a test with Kevin. We got home and went to dinner with Kevin's mom. As soon as we were able to, we took a test and those two little lines took absolutely no time to pop up!

We took pictures at 4 weeks (obviously) so here's a side by side.

(The picture on the left should say 2012 but I'm too lazy to change it...)

This weekend we told Kevin's parents by giving them a little gift from Declan... even though he has no idea what's going on.

 Today (6/21/16) I hit the 5 week mark and Baby M 2.0 is the size of an apple seed. So teeny!  On to the weekly stats :)

How far along?  5 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I'm starting this pregnancy at 146 (10 lbs above where I started with D), but am in MUCH better shape than 4 years ago!

Maternity Clothes: nope

Stretch Marks: nope

Sleep? It's been a little rough in that I'm up to use the bathroom a few times a night, but I also have a toddler who thinks 3am is "wake up time," so I'm used to running on broken up sleep.

Best moment last week: We found out a little over a week ago, but I'm going to go with that moment. After trying for 7 months, I cried like a baby!

Movement: nope

Food cravings? I wanted brussel sprouts so badly last week. So I got them and have eaten them boiled, roasted, sauteed, and shredded raw. SO GOOD.

Gender: No idea!

What I miss: Wine. I miss my wine. But I would trade the wine for this a million times over.

What I'm looking forward to: Our first ultrasound (probably 8-ish weeks)

Milestones: Finding out!!

Declan is here!!

On April 19, 2013, we welcomed our precious baby boy into this world. He was perfectly healthy, weighing in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and 20 inches long. Kevin and I are absolutely over the moon with excitement, love, and sheer amazement for this little life we have created. Here's our first picture together as a family...

Many people don't know the story of Declan's big entrance, so I thought... What better place than the blog?

A few weeks ago my doctor diagnosed me with Cholestasis, which is a pregnancy related liver illness in which my liver wasn't functioning correctly. On Monday, April 15, the doctors sent a sample of my blood to be tested. The problem...? The test takes 2 weeks to come back! The problem with Cholestasis is if babies are carried to full term there is an increased risk of still birth. By the time we got the results back to confirm, we would have been full term. This left Kevin and I with our first big decision as parents.... Wait until full term or induce early? We decided to induce; the chance of still birth, no matter how small, was nothing we wanted to mess with.

Tuesday, April 16 at 8pm we were admitted into Yale for our induction. We spent the night trying to get my cervix to dilate (I'll spare you details!) When we woke up, I was 3cm dilated so we started the pitocin to induce labor. By the time 5 rolled around, I had not made any more progress and it was decided to stop pitocin for the night and try again in the morning. Thursday morning the pitocin was started again and the doctor broke my water. HELLO, LABOR.

We labored through the day on Thursday and overnight. Kevin was the absolute best husband and father I could have dreamt up throughout the entire thing, He never left my side, fielded text messages and calls from both our phones, handled the doctors and nurses for me, and gave me more love and support than I could have ever imagined possible. He is a rock star :)

I labored through the night, and finally the early morning hours of Friday hit. We pushed for almost 4 hours and Declan literally made no progress!  Our midwife knew how badly we wanted to avoid a c-section, but after 20 hours of labor, Kevin and I made the decision to let the doctors perform a c-section.

At 7:58am Declan Jackson Monahan made his big entrance into this world. I'll never forget hearing him cry for the first time, or the look in Kevin's eyes as we both realized our long journey was finally over and our son was here. The doctors gave Declan to Kevin to hold and this incredible amount of love overcame me as I spent my first moments with my family.

Sitting here writing this blog, I had to stop and think fairly hard abut how to word that last paragraph. The way I feel about Declan and Kevin is too surreal for words. Nothing I say could adequately describe my love for them. I thought I was the happiest woman alive when I married Kevin.... But now I see how much more love I have for him and it blows my mind...



Welcome to the world little man. Mommy and Daddy love you.

Today I thought I would change things up a little bit and put my amazing husband on spotlight.

A Letter to My Husband

Kevin,

From the moment you spoiled me at that fancy dinner on our third date followed by a random trip to Walmart, I knew that you would one day be my husband, and ultimately the father of my children. Somehow, I was blessed enough for my initial thoughts to be true and I could not ask for a more supportive husband and loving father of our first baby. As of today we have been married for 164 days and our first child is due in only 51.

The last three years have been a beautiful chaos; from Norwich to New Orleans, and back to Connecticut; from the jobs from hell to satisfaction at work; and from riches to rags... I wouldn't trade a thing. It simply amazes me how connected we've become, and how I could not only survive, but genuinely enjoy, an entire year in a strange new place with one person. We have really become a unified front, ready to tackle life.

When I think about all of the things I admire and love about you, the one that stands out the most is your unwavering drive to support me. No matter what life has thrown at me, you have been there 100%, giving me tough love when I needed it, a shoulder to cry on, a shove in the back when I needed a push, and the love and encouragement to be a better person. Since we found out about Declan, I have seen an even deeper commitment from you in how much you sacrifice to provide for us (emotionally, financially, and physically). I want you to know that Declan and I appreciate everything you do more than you will ever be able to understand. Thank you for being the husband and father you are.

As far as I'm concerned, Declan is THE luckiest little man in the world because he has you for his father. I know you are going to be an incredibly supportive dad, who guides Declan through life's craziness. We won't be able to protect Declan from everything-- in fact, there will be little that we can actually protect him from, but together I know that Declan will have a home that he feels safe and loved in... Because of you, and the person that you help me to be.

So, here's my thank you. I will thank you and tell you I love you every day, support you in any way that I can and give my everything to make sure you and Declan are happy in life.

Declan and I love you more than words can begin to express.

Love,
me

31 Weeks!

Hi all :)

As I've proved in the past, I'm awful at updating this blog, so sorry for the huge gap yet again!

Today's picture was taken at 31 weeks and 3 days. Just a little under 9 weeks to go!

Two weekends ago Kevin and I moved to Clinton! We're renting an adorable condo right next to the marina. I can't wait for warmer weather and for Declan to get here so we can go for walks in the new neighborhood together! We're finally able to use one of our wedding gifts! Thanks, Skizz :)

After 2 exhausting weekends, we're all moved in and even finished painting Declan's nursery! We've decided on a "Vintage Airplane" theme!

We had a growth ultrasound on February 19th to check on Declan's growth, since my belly was measuring a little on the big side. He was a perfect 3 and a half pounds! Right on track! We're really  excited, except this means we're officially done with ultrasounds unless something else pops up. Hopefully the next time we see the little guy, it will be because we're holding him!

Declan has been moving around SO much and my stomach is doing rolls all of the time. It's really cool to see. Other symptoms I'm having are some SERIOUS heartburn (ouch!) and lots of aches and pains. Luckily, my husband is absolutely incredible and has stepped up a lot.

I thought it might be fun to put together some of the Bump pictures to see the progression. It really brings out the growth in my cheeks and arms... oh, and the bump, too! Haha

On to the stats!

How far along?  31 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss?  Last appointment was 166, taking us to 22 pounds gained!

Maternity clothes? Maternity clothes are my only clothes haha except, of course, sweats :)

Stretch marks? Still nothing!

Sleep? ...What's that? Declan is getting me ready for motherhood! I wake up a lot during the night and have trouble getting back to sleep... Mainly due to heartburn. I sleep like a champion during the day, though. I'm pretty sure I napped through our entire Saturday.

Best moment last week? One of my students is making me a keychain that says Declan on it in one of her classes. Corny, but it was a highlight of the week when she told me :)

Movement? Outrageous amounts of movement

Food cravings? Tomato and cheese sandwiches... In fact, I'll probably make one as soon as this post is done.

Labor signs? Wayyyy too early.

Belly button in/out? No more innie here. This belly button has popped!

What I miss: Sleeping on my back... and wine. Oh, wine.

What I am looking forward to: We'll start birthing classes next week!! We're hoping for a natural, medication free birth (unless Declan or I are in danger, then the doctors can do what they need to)

Milestones: No real milestones this week!