2012: the year in review

January: In January we got official orders to Fort Stewart. Due to the PCS and the deployment that would come with it, we decided to stop trying for baby #2. However, we were pleasantly surprised that we were already expecting! We also lost a Chris's uncle unexpectedly and were unable to go home, but found ways to celebrate his life from afar. Chris ran his first half marathon in his memory. He also made points for SGT!

February: We had our first baby appointment and got to hear our little bean's heartbeat for the first time. My in-laws came to visit us!

March: Chris was finally pinned SGT. Unfortunately, they decided to do it at zero dark thirty, so Conner and I were unable to be present for it. On St. Patrick's Day I started having issues with feeling very faint and passed out in the middle of Wal*Mart, prompting a hospital trip and countless tests.

April: Continuing my crappy luck, I landed myself in the hospital again with what I had thought was an appendix about to burst. Turned out that I was having contractions. They called it a threatened miscarriage and had to stop the contractions. Bean was just fine.

May: We found out that TRICARE would not let me have the 20 week anatomy scan a week early since we'd be travelling when I hit 20 weeks, so we paid for an elective to find out the gender. Boy! However, the picture she gave us did not show boy parts! We had to pay for a second elective. Definitely got the shots we needed to prove it at that one. I had an El Paso baby shower, a final farewell with all of my friends. Cleared housing and stayed at a hotel for a week. Chris's aunt Kari flew down on Mother's Day to drive back up with us since I was on no driving orders due to the fainting episodes. We stopped in Oklahoma City for the night. Had a family baby shower in Illinois. Decided to go ahead and drive to Georgia. Stopped in Nashville overnight. By far the most exciting thing (aside from finding out the gender) was closing on our house and becoming first time homeowners!

June: Father's Day came around and I surprised Chris with his (and Conner's!) first trip to the ocean! We went to Tybee Island. We also started having bar-b-que’s for his squad to get to know some people before the big D.

July: In July, we welcomed our furry baby, Sirius, into our home. He was way too thin, had mange and was covered in fleas. We gave him lots of TLC and he was loving on us in no time.

August: In August, I met my doula, Angela! Chris and I spent a lot of time discussing exactly how we wanted this birthing experience to go. Chris's company had a competition on Tybee Island. We also had a cocktail party for the battalion.

September: Conner got an awesome paint party a month early so that daddy could be there. We spent the first few weeks finishing up preparations for Lucas. We also spent a ton of time preparing for deployment. I started having lots of contractions, but they just messed with me until the night before my due date. We welcomed Lucas, completely natural except the hospital setting, 13 minutes into his due date on September 20. I by far preferred this labor and delivery experience over the one I had with Conner! Then it was lots of family time before D day.

October: Conner turned 3 and that same day we said "see you later" to Chris. We decided it would be best to just drop and go. I did really good holding it together until my sister called to wish Conner a happy birthday. We hadn't told anyone when he was leaving for safety purposes, so she had no idea why I was so upset. I kept super busy with appointments. This is also the month I begged the pediatrician to get Lucas into an ENT because I thought he had a tongue tie and breastfeeding was TERRRIBLE in the way that I was in pain all the time. We we trick or treating with a bunch of the other Bravo Co wives and their kiddos. Conner was Spiderman and Lucas was a football.

November: Officially had to stop breastfeeding to let myself heal. Hands down the worst I have ever felt about myself in my life. Turned 24. Election day. That was.. interesting. I was happy with the outcome. Others, not so much. Angela introduced me to HM4HB and between her and I, we got a ton of breastmilk donations for Lucas. Unfortunately, even nursing through pain, pumping, taking placenta pills and other herbs.. my hormones and body were so out of wack that I stopped producing milk. I decided I would still comfort nurse. We still do occasionally. I took Lucas on his first road trip. We visited Susie and Bill in Fort Campbell for Thanksgiving. The way there was great. The way back really sucked the last 3 hours. the boys were so tired of their carseats. We also found out that Lucas has a milk and soy protein allergy due to him having terrible reactions to both regular and soy formula. He was switched to Alimentum and is doing wonderful on it.

December: They finally got Lucas in to see an ENT, who confirmed that I had been correct. He did have a tongue tie and that was definitely what caused our latch issues. Breastfeeding was a lost cause, but I don't have to worry about future problems like speech issues. I ran, well.. walked and jogged, my first 5k. I finished, and that it what counts! It was a color vibe. So much fun and I got to meet some awesome ladies. Conner and I did all the Christmas decorations. Christmas was great, although we were missing a huge part of us. Daddy Doll was a stand in. Conner and Lucas both made out like bandits and I got some neat stuff, too! I have a lot of big plans for 2013. Bring. It. On!