heartbeat

heard the heartbeat last night for like 2 seconds. i guess when it's your 2nd kid you don't get the extra attention since we've been through it. but mike came to the appt to hear the heartbeat and he barely heard it. poor guy and i have all of 2 seconds to ask any questions and i usually forget what i'm going to ask. maybe i should have become an ob - they can't do the ultrasound for some reason and all they do is the heartbeat. not sure what we're paying her for. they even forgot to do my first rounds of blood work so last night i had to fill up 6 or 7 of those tubes. i felt whoozy. maybe i'll need to find a new ob. the delivery was good though - so i guess i can't complain. i'm just lucky to not be a high risk. starting to gain a few lbs. i'm sure i will double up those lbs soon like i did when i was pregnant with haley around 6 mos.

today we'll make an ultrasound appt and hopefully by next week we'll know if we're having a boy or girl. yay.

18 wks

baby is the size of a bell pepper and maybe 7 oz. we'll get to hear the heartbeat thurs and hopefully soon get an ultrasound and find out the sex. can't wait. we might even be able to start thinking of names.

the other night the baby kept rolling around. also during our friend's rehearsal dinner when the word meat was uttered - i got a nice little bump in my belly. so ate lots of meat :) good thing because it was a brazilian steakhouse. it was good.

17 wks

approximately the size of a turnip and 5 oz. amazing how fast we go through these foods. :) feeling good. starting to be at that odd size where my normal pants could fit if i wanted to make them, but too small for maternity clothes. where people aren't sure if you are pregnant or just chubby. a few more weeks and we will find out the sex and hopefully be able to really start thinking about names.

which means some organizing for me is ahead. we have sooo many clothes for haley. i'll have to clean out her closet and start getting a big girl room set up. pretty exciting.

i did pull out some of haley's teeny tiny newborn clothes and diapers. :) we can't wait for a new little one.

question of the pregnancy

was it planned?!

it is amazing how even strangers ask us if our pregnancy was planned. yea we had a few people ask us that with haley. but i just can't believe that almost 75% of the people when told we are pregnant ask if it's planned. do they think it's their business? it's so weird. one of these times i kind of want to say no - it's hard to talk about. geez. it's just an odd question. like what if i asked a rude question that wasn't my business back - like well how often to get some? or did you plan to be overweight? did you plan to be so nosy? if it wasn't planned do you think i'd tell complete strangers? it's just odd.

YES this one was actually planned. maybe not as calculated and precise as haley was, but we were ready to have kids, but weren't to the point of overly trying (like checking temps and clocks and stuff) but still do people really want to hear that stuff? we wanted to have our kids close, but 19 mos apart still gave my body a decent break and i'm so excited to have two kids by 30. i think it will be great that haley still really doesn't know she's an only child and she'll just love having someone to play with. haley has just brought us so much joy and we are just so excited for another baby. after haley was 3 months old i was totally ready for another one, but needed to give my body a little break. and needed to give mike time to agree to another :)

oh and by the way - usually those people that ask that question are also the ones who say i'm getting huge or comments like that. it makes me feel oh so good about myself. but i love that we are blessed to be able to have children. yes i'm pregnant and i'm going to get HUGE. get over it and you don't need to tell me. i know - i know when i'm huge when i can't see my feet or when i swing wide i knock everything off the counter. ha ha. when i feel like i'm sitting super close to the steering wheel. it's like pointing out i have a huge zit on my nose. like i didn't notice it brushing my teeth this morning. come on. i see my belly growing.

ok there's my rant. i'll blame it on hormones.

belly laughs

ok so instead of putting all the details from babycenter.com for each week. i'll just stick to what size our little munchkin 2 is and maybe even my size. so right now we have a little avocado. we love avocados. most likely our baby is a little smaller than an average avocado. the odds are against the little baby - being asian and jewish :)

as for my belly - it's growing a bit more each day. not quite the size of a watermelon, but feels like it - ok maybe a cantaloupe. ok it's too hard to describe my tummy. let's just talk about the baby.

so people talk about the pregnancy brain - i just feel so scatterbrained when i'm pregnant. i can't focus. can you tell? i guess it's a good excuse to be a little out of it. plus for some reason my hormones get messed up and i don't sleep when i'm pregnant.

so when the baby comes - i feel like i'm getting more sleep than when i was pregnant.

these 16 wks have gone by fast. considering i missed 5 of them. but i'm sure it will start slowing down once i get bigger and more uncomfortable. right now i'm just happy i can still see my toes, shave my legs and cut my toenails. :) the best part of being pregnant - is feeling the hiccups, flutters and knowing all the joy that's coming.

haley makes me laugh almost every minute. and she laughs at my jokes. :)

16 wks

How your baby's growing: Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double it's weight and add inches to it's length. Right now, the baby is about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. The legs are much more developed, it's head is more erect than it has been, and their eyes have moved closer to the front of it's head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of the scalp has begun, though the locks aren't recognizable yet. It's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, the heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

baby cohen #2 -14 wks

first photo and hopefully not the last since haley has millions.

Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, it measures 3 1/2 inches - about the size of a lemon — and it weighs 1 1/2 ounces. The body's growing faster than it's head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, it's arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of their body.

We have been able to feel hiccups and some flutters already. It's a lot earlier than with Haley. And I'm still in my regular pants, but I am much more comfortable in some sweats. Who isn't though right.

So far feeling great. Not so tired as the first trimester and keeping up with our little runner.

Just had a doctor's appointment and the heartbeat is strong and doing well. Starting to do all the blood work.

Oh yea - we find out the sex in a little over a month. YAY. We can't wait.

congrats to annie, matt and their new baby nora! and congrats to 5 of my pregnant friends - it's nice to not go through this alone! always open to advice.

day 3

all haley pics will now be at haley's new site.

haley abigail cohen is home!!

haley was born fri the 13th at 5:35 pm. she was 6lbs 7 oz 18.75 inches. healthy and a full head of black hair.

more details and photos to come

going to the hospital

water broke this morning. on our way out the door to the hospital. after i grab a quick bite to eat. yay. we'll keep you posted!!!

39 wks

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! She continues to build a layer of fat to help control her body temperature after birth, but it's likely she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of her skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Your baby's weight and height have probably increased only a little from last week (and your overstretched skin is probably grateful for that). But her brain is still developing rapidly (a pace that continues during the first three years of life), with changes you'll be able to recognize firsthand as your baby's skill-packed bag of tricks expands almost daily.

Heard that babies cry a lot? There's definitely truth to that rumor — as you'll find out soon enough (and usually during the middle of the night). But what you may not have heard is that tiny babies don't produce tiny tears when they cry, since their tear ducts aren't open for business yet. While you'll be consoling your crying baby right from the get-go, it won't be until sometime after the first month that you'll be wiping tears off those chubby cheeks.

Your baby's skin has now finally changed from pink to white (no matter how dark-skinned he or she will be eventually; pigmentation will occur soon following birth). That's because a thicker fat layer has been deposited over the blood vessels (making your baby's cheeks — both kinds — pinchably and kissably round).

no baby yet, BUT

any minute now. just found out i'm 4 cm dilated. for those who don't know what that means. it means we're close. you dilate to 10 cm to have the baby. everyone is different. some people start contractions and their water breaks at 1 cm. so i'm just a bit farther, but have no contractions yet. so once contractions start or my water breaks - we'll head to the hospital. pretty exciting.

so can't be shy now - at the doc's office she wasn't going to check if i was dilated, but i kind of was curious. so i asked. so she checked and she got all excited. it was cute. she peaked around my legs and belly with a big smile and thumbs up. said i was 4 cm dilated already and could go any minute. she was also excited because she is on call tonight. so that would be nice if we did go tonight. i like her a lot. and then she got her intern - she had never seen or felt someone that dilated so they got excited. they asked first - i was like - what the hell - go for it. they kept apologizing because it is uncomfortable, but i figured - this is going to be nothing compared to what's to come. so good practice. usually i get really embarrassed and hate that stuff - but i was just so excited and at this point i'm like - whoohoo - as long as they are happy and things are good - then do whatever you want. ha ha. it was like some scene out of a movie. i haven't seen knocked up yet, but this would be a good scene in one of those movies. :)

we'll keep you guys posted. we have a phone tree and email list ready. so be patient with mike - he'll try to let everyone know asap. :)

baby gadgets

ok i'm the dork who likes baby gadgets. we got this today. this seems like it might be good for us new parents. it's a little gadget that keeps track of when you last changed a diaper, how long ago you fed your baby and which side you ended on also keeps track of how long your baby has slept...pretty interesting. it also has alarms so it will wake me when it's time to feed. instead of keeping it in your head or writing it down - you have this little handy gadget. it's pretty cheap and might be worth it. we'll see. i'm thinking with lack of sleep and taking turns and grandparents, etc...this thing might help us keep on schedule, not waste diapers or time trying to figure out how long it's been since we changed diapers or fed our baby. it might be a waste of money too. but that's why i love registries. :)

late night snack

so now that i have become more nocturnal dinner with mike has become my lunch. then i have a snack later - usually fruit or yogurt. the other night i had a craving (which - by the way i haven't had many out of the norm cravings) for smores. we have the marshmallows and the graham crackers and the hershey bars were in the fridge. while getting them out they slid down the side and got stuck behind some drawers. now this is when you realize how pregnant you are and desperate, etc...so for about 40 min i tried tongs, forks, a bunch of other thingies to try to get the candy bars out with no luck. i finally gave up. i felt sooo pathetic and i was laughing so hard at myself i thought i would wake mike up with the noise of my gadgets and laughter. so i had some yogurt and granola instead. which is much healthier. tonight i mentioned it to mike and he laughed at how cute i was. which is sweet. so he took all of maybe 3 min and got the candy bars out. i should have woken him up last night. i guess my craving wasn't that crazy and i wasn't that desperate. so there is my confessions of a pregnant woman late at night. oh - i just made one in the microwave. not the same as over a fire, but you have to make some sacrifices and compromises when it's 2am :)

bye bye belly button

today my belly has grown - believe it or not. i can tell by my belly button because it has gotten very tiny now. she is pushing it out. i'm carrying really low and out now. it is getting harder to reach over to even type this :) haha. another sign that we are getting closer and a good sign that hopefully she is still gaining some weight. glad she's not huge, but not liking thinking about the weight i have gained and knowing that not much of it is on the baby. oh well. as long as she is healthy that's what is important. we will have lots of fun walks ahead and it will be good to get out of the house. i tried to go for a walk today and i really don't make it far or long. it is pretty entertaining i'm sure. :)

we were at a friends tonight for dinner and i was walking outside and their neighbors just had a baby. the family was like - ooohh you are almost ready to pop huh. i told them our due date and i guess their son was born three weeks early. joey thinks she still has some cooking to go. we'll see.

wow

i guess i'm pretty lucky. the ticker makes pregnancy sound horrible... i am big, but not as big as a house - maybe a car - ha ha. and i don't have the other symptoms. our main symptom is anxiety. this whole waiting game is not really my thing. i guess who does like to wait for exciting things right?! i know the grandparents/great grandparents to be and friends are super anxious - so imagine how we feel :) i slept for 6 hours - yay. i feel well rested. her hiccups woke me up. that's a pretty good rest for me considering the last 38 wks. we actually laid out some clothes today and we got copies of my medical records. so we will have some stuff ready to go to the hospital. i kind of feel like if i pack a bag entirely then we will be waiting the whole three weeks for sure. :) yep - trying to live on the edge. ha ha. have a good weekend.

38 wks

the last 37 wks went by fast, but now that i am full term - i have a feeling things will slow down with my anxieties picking up. we are both on edge with excitement and nerves :) plus i'm getting slower and if i drop something now - it stays down there. i knocked something over the other day in the store. it took me a good few extra minutes to pick it up. a friend said - it's bad when you have to use your toes...my response was - it's bad when you can't see your toes to use them. :) ha ha. at least i have a sense of humor and can laugh at my big pregnant self. i am definitely gearing myself up for lots of walks after the baby is born.

today we went to the doc. things are good - she is healthy and the doc was thinking she is probably 6 lbs now. still down in place and she'll make her appearance when she is ready. so they won't make me go longer than 3 wks - so by end of the month we'll be parents. yay.

How your baby's growing:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs between 6 and 7 1/2 pounds (boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls), and she's nearly 20 inches long. She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? (i'm thinking her eyes will be brown since we both have brown eyes, but we could be wrong) You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

During the next two weeks your baby will gain weight, as fat is stored to help maintain body temperature and glucose levels. Your baby might still have vernix (that creamy coating that protects the skin), but it is mostly confined to skin creases and folds and the back and neck. Your baby has a firm grasp reflex now. If a light is shown on your belly, your baby will now turn towards it. This is called the "orienting response."

Your baby may weigh six to six and one half pounds at this point or he or she may weigh eight pounds or more! At around 18 1/2 inches long, he or she would look very well developed if born today. Your baby would not need any special care at this point.

The "lanugo" or fine downy hair that covered most of your baby's body in the second trimester is mostly gone now, or present only on the upper back and shoulders.

2 wks

wow - so two weeks til our due date. pretty close. i've heard pregnant women complaining about stuff during their last month. and now i get it. i mean i'm still feeling ok. but i'm definitely grumpier and more on edge. probably more due to not sleeping. and we went out tonight - happy birthday jessica - and i didn't last as long as i thought. it's just too uncomfortable sitting in restaurant chairs and then going to a smokey bar. but not bad - going out at 38 wks. i'm pretty proud of myself for at least trying to get out of the house. it is a lot easier hiding out though. but i do want to see people and hang out.

the other day i went to get the dry cleaning like i do every week. and the lady looked over the counter and was like - whoa - when did that happen. i laughed i was like 9 months ago. (and she is just noticing now) i guess she never looked over the counter. she got all excited. she is this cute little asian lady. she pulled out her grandkid pics and said asian babies are the cutest. she was really excited.

got my haircut today - trying to get things out of the way since i probably won't be making time to get my hair cut etc...but the lady chopped my hair off. and i - the emotional pregnant woman i am was pretty upset at first. but now i'll just deal. hopefully i can still pull it back for the 'mom doo' quick and easy look :)

so to those of you who have been reading my blog...thanks for putting up with me. through my stories, week by week info, grumpiness and emotions - it's been a fun ride and we can't wait for the next step of our adventure.