My husband has been deploying overseas for his job since our first son was born. Former Air National Guard he now works as a civilian defense contractor. While his deployments are a little bit different than a strict military deployment, it’s still hard on our boys and navigating them can be tricky. Over the years we have found a few things that help them understand that no matter how far away Daddy is they are still very loved by him.

Understanding a deployment can be hard on a child. A major issue that children have during a military deployment is the void that opens when they lose their parent’s daily affection and love. Recordable teddy bears, along with other battery-powered devices such as recordable storybooks provide reliable comfort no matter when or where their parent is deployed.

Here are 5 ways to keep kids connected during a deployment.

1. Skype or Facetime.

Our children are fortunate enough to grow up during a time when technology does just about everything. When the internet allows we try very hard to connect via skype or facetime chats. My boys love showing Daddy what they have been up to at home and get the biggest kick out of him interacting with them. After the initial hellos and updates I just follow them around the house with the video and let them just do what they would normally be doing. It’s fun for them, and very heart-healing for Daddy. He loves seeing them play, dance, put on singing shows, or show of their latest stunt moves.

2. Books

There are a few ways we use books during deployments. We have a few recordable books that the boys have easy access to and they can pull them down and listen to their daddy read to them. We also have some books that we read on nights when they are just really missing Daddy. Here are a few of our favorites:

• I Love You Near or Far – Written from a child’s point of view this sweet rhyming story about how no matter the distance you are always loved.
• Night Catch – A story about a father and son playing catch with the North Star while Dad is deployed.
• The Invisible String – Tells kids that no matter who they are missing whenever they think about them it tugs on an invisible heart string and keeps them connected.
• I Wish Daddy Was Here – A simple book about continuing life while Daddy is away. Teaches children it’s okay to do the things that they usually do with Daddy and it’s okay to miss him anytime.
• For Mom’s Who Deploy – My Mom Is Going Away – It’s not just Dads who deploy. If you know a child with a mom deploying this is a good book to help explain why they are gone and how to keep in touch.

3. Videos

Videos can be helpful for kids, but also for the deployed parent. We’ve done weekly recap videos where I take the time to put short little clips from our week together and upload them to YouTube. We’ve done message videos when my boys just really want to share exciting news and can’t wait for a phone call. I’ve also take video of important events… Baseball games, graduations, swimming lessons etc. If you can’t send them via email or your phone you can upload them to a private YouTube channel and send the links to only the people you want to have them.

4. Countdowns

Depending on the length of a deployment, countdowns can be super helpful to children. Visually seeing the days tick off on a calendar help them understand that Daddy will be coming home sooner. If you have a longer deployment I suggest celebrating milestones. Maybe each month you have a mini celebration where you show your kids the calendar and celebrate another month closer to coming home.

I know families that have counted exactly the number of days the parent is to be gone and filled a jar with marbles. Each day that passes the child gets to move the marbles over to another jar. It gets real exciting when there are more marbles in the second jar than the first. When you get close to their return date doing a countdown chain also helps to ease anxiety in children. 30 days is usually what we do. My boys love creating the chain, and then tearing it down as the days get closer.

5. Recordable Bears

My husband actually made my boys bear for me when we were dating and he was on a military deployment. It says “Hi Babe, I love you and miss you. Goodnight.”  Back then technology wasn’t as great so hearing his voice was few and far between. But even now there are times in a deployment where the internet is down or they simply aren’t allowed to communicate back home. This recordable heart can go into any animal and won’t delete the recording for a battery change.

Recordable deployment teddy bears are great for helping fill this void. Recently I saw a commercial from Duracell that featured a . When I saw it – I was a mess. My boys have each taken turns sleeping with Air Force Bear and listening to their daddy’s voice as they fall asleep. for me it was so much more than a commercial…

My boys are just two in millions of American children who have had a deployed parent.  Like us many of them have seen multiple deployments:  3, 4, or even 5 family separations.

In honor of all of the families who stand beside our troops, Duracell wants to power more comforting moments for loved ones through a donation of $100,000 to USO’s Comfort Crew for Military Kids. Continue the conversation by sharing the film and find out how you can donate to the cause through the USO at http://www.uso.org/donate.

Follow Duracell on Facebook and Twitter for even more information.

I hope my tips were helpful for you. If you have more tips – let me know in the comments below.

5 Ways To Keep Kids Connected During a Deployment #TheTeddyBear #ConnectDuracell #spon
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This post was made possible by iConnect and Duracell. I was provided compensation to facilitate this post, but all opinions are 100% mine.

If you looked at my race schedule (before today) you won’t see the Las Vegas Veteran’s Day 5k run scheduled. I’ve been sick for the past 2 weeks (which has totally put a damper on my half marathon training), and I hadn’t planned to do another race until my first half marathon Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas.  However, my 5 year old son has been BEGGING me to let him run a race with me, so when I saw the living social deal of an $18 entry for this run I couldn’t pass it up.

I bought the living social entry on Tuesday night, and while I wasn’t feeling great yet I thought I was on the mend from the sticky crappy horrible head cold I had been dealing with. I was still planning to get at least 8 miles in on Saturday, so I thought we’d walk most of this race and let my son enjoy his first race experience.  The Veteran’s Day run was a perfect race for this, as my husband (who is currently overseas as an aviation defense contractor) is a Veteran and served 2 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a nice way to honor him and all the others who have given service to our country.

Saturday rolled around and instead of feeling better I was feeling worse. After getting on the treadmill and attempting to get my training miles in, it became very clear I was a lot worse. My sinuses, head, ears… All hurt bad! I got a slow 3.1 miles done before calling it quits and deciding I had better go to the urgent care. I ended up with antibiotics and steroids for a sinus infection AND an ear infection.

I wanted to cancel the run on Sunday, but I had already told my son about it and he was SO EXCITED. So from the urgent care we headed over to the packet pick up.  For some reason our registrations weren’t showing (I had registered both boys for free in the 12 and under category). The Race Director was super nice, and after seeing the confirmation on my phone, she gave us all our numbers and finisher pins. K was so excited to get the pin.

Thankfully we’d just gotten the new BOB Revolution Flex Duallie jogging stroller (aka a double jogger) to review. I was so excited to bring it to the race. With my husband overseas I knew that with a double jogger I’d have no excuses not to get in training miles, but also that it would be perfect for family races. K is 5, but still under the weight limit for the stroller so I knew he could run, and when he got tired he would have a place to sit.

We got to the park where the Las Vegas Veteran’s Day 5k, 11k, and 1 mile fun run was being held, took out the BOB Flex Duallie. Even with both boys in it, I was surprised at how maneuverable it was. You can hold up to 100lbs inside, and my boys combined weigh 83 lbs so we were putting it to a good test. There was no way I could tell that I was pushing a total of 117 lbs around, although I wish I had stopped and added air to the tires because with both boys inside they were a little flat.

After the national anthem was played, the color guard presented the flag, and we thanked all the running Veteran’s and those currently serving it was time to run. I have to admit I got pretty emotional during the beautiful ceremony. Like so many there I know those who have lost their lives, and I also know the toll that service can take on a family. It truly is a sacrifice we should all be more grateful for.

The race was an 11k/5k/1m fun run. The 11k’s went first. Both boys started the race in the stroller. I tried to get K out, but I think he was feeling a little overwhelmed with the crowds. Once we’d run around the corner he realized other kids were running and he wanted out and he took off.

I’d planned to walk most of this race as I was still not feeling very well, but that was out the door. Turns out K kept us on a pretty good slow and steady pace. He ran the first 1.5 miles with no problems. He’d sprint ahead of me and then sit on the park benches as I caught up – LOL! (I’m a slow runner with a jogger on a good day.)

Every time we were passed by the return runners (some serious runners on this course) they would cheer him on with a kind words. It was a very friendly group of families and it was cool for him to have so many people encouraging him.

At the turnaround he was asking to get back into the stroller. I told him we could walk, but he wanted to get back in – so we did. This also happened to be the main incline of the run. Once we got done with all the inclines, he decided he was ready to get out and run again!  He kept asking where the finish line was and was ready for it to be over with until he saw the finish line. I had thought we’d hold hands and all cross together – but he had a different idea!

He took off for that finish line. Threw his hands up in the air when he crossed it, got his medal (VERY cool that they gave him one), and asked me when we could race again.

Baby D loved the jogger, but was not happy when the race was over.

Since he was registered he too got a medal, and once he was free to play in the grass he was happy again.

I am so proud of my 5 year old. I can’t believe he pretty much ran almost the whole 5k. (I’m guessing he ran about 2.5 miles). This was his first race, and he did great. He’s so proud of his medal. He even took it to show and tell this week at school.

The race was one we will for sure run again. Although, we will have to register way earlier. I don’t know if it’s because we weren’t in the computer at the packet pickup, but when I went to check our times we weren’t in the results field at all. I think we crossed at just over 46 minutes. I didn’t even remember to stop my watch I was so caught up in taking my son’s first finish line picture!

As we left, K went over to the soldier who was emceeing the event and thanked him for his service. He was super kind to my son and told him he did a great job. K was beaming.

When we got home, I tucked my son in for his nap (yes, I know I’m lucky he still naps…) and I asked him if he’d like to do a weekly fun run with me. He smiled huge, and asked if we could go do one after his nap. I foresee lots of family fun 5ks in our future!

Check out this site for more information on this run here in Las Vegas, as well as many other cities and they even have a virtual run! Proceeds from the 2014 races went to Operation Gratitude.

Operation Gratitude annually sends 100,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment, hygiene and hand-made items, plus personal letters of support, to Veterans, New Recruits, First Responders, Wounded Warriors, Care Givers and to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed overseas. Since its inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude volunteers have shipped more than 1.1 Million Care Packages.

Happy Veteran’s Day. Thank you to all families and military members for your time, sacrifice, and service.

It’s the end of yet another exhausting day doing the single parenting thing while my husband is overseas for his job.  The constant demands, playground interventions, tantrums, and all in everyday things that need to happen can be super draining.  I have been thinking a lot about how I am not the parent that I dreamed of being.  Recently my blog friend Hanan wrote on her blog about people not always having things together and how life on Facebook and Instagram are often far from what a persons daily existence is.  That post stuck with me enough that I finally decided I wanted to write about the life behind my social media curtain.

Parenting two very young boys while my husband has been deployed for his job as an Aviation Defense Contractor has been anything but easy, and at times it felt as though I was going to completely crack under pressure.  This deployment has been so much harder than anything I thought it would be.  Partially because I now have two little boys to care for 24/7 without more than a few hours break here and there.  Partially because my older son is at an age that involved daily limit testing, boundary pushing, and more meltdowns than I can count.  Partially because my youngest son at 7 months old nurses like he is a newborn and is up at the minimum of 6 times a night.  More recently because I have had issues sleeping at night again.  Whatever the reason, this deployment has tested me as a mother in ways I wasn’t expecting, and made me realize that I can’t be the parent I dreamed of being.

I dreamed of being the perfect attachment parenting mom that would only feed her children organic meals, would never raise my voice – let alone yell at my child, and would settle tantrums with the perfect blend of reasoning, timeout, conversation, and hug sessions.  I would wear my infant while cleaning my home, blog during naps, and spend the end of the days laughing outside while the sun set on another perfect stay at home mom day.

I would never be the mom in the class whose child was running around uncontrollably, and I certainly wouldn’t ever joke about selling my preschooler to the highest bidder for a few hours of peace and quiet.  My home, while never perfect, would always be within 20 minutes of being “guest ready”, and the beds would be made daily.  I would never use bribery to get good behavior.

And yet, the other day – a particularly challenging day where my son couldn’t seem to listen to save his life, split his brother’s lip open after playing and loving too aggressively, and making messes galore, I found myself at my wits end.  I put my son in time out in his room for the umpteenth time picked up the phone and cried to my mother.  I had progressed beyond frustrated to completely frazzled and had no idea how I was supposed to make it another 4 weeks without my husband to step in an offer relief at the end of the day.

The truth is this.

• My home is almost always 2-3 hours away from being “guest ready”, the beds are rarely made.
• My blogging is squeezed in during breakfast and after bed, because often times I need a nap or quiet time when the boys do.  (Yet is is still done because I love it and need it.)
• My baby is up at all hours of the night often screaming, and my son is up at the crack of dawn with untold amounts of energy.
• K has watched more TV this deployment then I’d like. Sometimes I need just to be able to get things done and it provides 30 minutes of peace to pickup the house or even nurse the baby.
• K is at the age where he has opinions on things and he is going to let me know about them.  His negotiations often turn into full blown meltdowns.  The art of compromise is a lost art in his world.
• He also has seemed to lost his ability to hear me.  I have yelled more this deployment than in the four years I have been a mom.  (That hurts me to even type it.)
• I have yet to be on time to ONE single place or outing since my husband left, mostly because I am asking my son for the 20th time to please put on his shoes already.

In some ways that mommy meltdown really helped me to be a better parent by acknowledging I had to stop dreaming of the parent I wanted to be and start living as the parent I need to be.  I have had to let go of all of my dreams of what being a parent would look like and simply hold on and pray to get through the day.  Don’t get me wrong, the good times still out weigh the bad, and I would take a million bad days over never having the privilege to be my sons mom.

Being a parent is a privilege to me.  While I am hoping to finish out this deployment without another massive mommy meltdown I have to start each day reminding myself that they will only be this little for so long.  To hang on to the crazy ride while praying I remember to open my eyes long enough to remember how blessed I am.

I hate HATE yelling at my child, but it has happened and I can’t take those moments back.  I can only hope to do better.

At the end of the day:

• My boys know they are loved.
• In between all the craziness, the baby gets worn and snuggled.
• I play an insane amount of cars and dinosaurs with my son, and we could start our own library with the amount of books we read.
• They get time and attention.
• They are insanely loved.
• The meals aren’t always organic, but they get made and are balanced.
• Bribes happen.
• Hugs are plentiful.
• There are more “I love you” s than tears.
• My house is still a mess, but it does get clean.

I am so far from the mom I thought I would be, but I am happy with the mom I am becoming.  The moment my son was placed into my arms I knew that I would hold no higher job title then the title of mom.  It was fine to dream about the mom I wanted to be, but the truth is no parent is perfect and it is through the experiences we are given that we become the parent we are meant to be.  Don’t forget, no one’s life is what it seems like through Facebook and Instagram pictures.  I know for me the pictures I share tend to be the ones that give me then energy to get through the rest of the day, put a smile on my face, and remind me how lucky I am to be a mom – even on the days I haven’t showered.

What does your REAL MOM look like?

This deployment has been anything but easy.  I have to admit one of the things that has fallen through the cracks are the little letters and notes I like to send my husband.  When we were dating and he deployed, I went to the store and bought a ton of cards to send.  I filled them with little notes letting him know he was on my mind.  Today those notes still sit in old deployment boxes.  He brought them home and kept them. (Love him.)

Welcoming him home! 2006
Sorry so grainy– I have no idea where the original is.

Now 8+ deployments, a wedding, and 2 kids later I am horribly ashamed to admit I only sent out 1 care package and no notes.  While I am sure to update him nightly via email on our daily adventures and have a Facebook photo album called Daddy’s Daily Smile for him to check out his beautiful boys, it isn’t the same as sending off a card.

If only there was a way to save time, and still send off a loving card…

Now there is!  The Windows 8 app Hallmark Go Cards helps this mama stay on top of my love notes as well as other birthday, thank you, and just simply thinking of you cards.

With Hallmark Go Cards I can pick and personalize cards right on my laptop, and send them as soon as I am done.  The app is free, but the cards still cost money.  They are a little pricier than cards from the store, only because they include the price of a stamp.

It’s easy to find the cards you are looking for, from Congratulations, Birthday, Just Because, Wedding/Anniversary, Expeciting/Baby, and more they are all right at your finger tips!  Since my husband is deployed thousands of miles away I am particularly fond of the Love & Flirts category!

Once you select your card, personalization is super easy!

You can include your own message, or pick from their suggestions.

Don’t forget to SAVE!

Once you have saved and approved your design, you will enter your addresses.

If you don’t have an account, you can create one on the spot.  You can also enter your crown card reward number!

Other Great Features:

• Add photos from your camera roll, or snap one in-app
• Access the Message Library for inspiration and ideas from Hallmark’s writers
• Add your signature with your finger or stylus
• Save your favorite cards so they’re easy to find, personalize and send again

I was so happy with how quick and easy it was to send a personal note.  This will be a huge time saver for birthdays and other events.  I may have some Thank you cards that still need to go out from Baby D’s birth that I might actually be able to finish now!  This is the perfect personalized time saver for this busy mom!  I know my husband will be happy to get a little note!

You can find Hallmark Go Cards and other awesome timesaving apps in the windows 8 app store!

I am part of the Windows Champions Program.  As a Windows Champion I received loan of a laptop and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity.

My husband has been deployed now for over 2.5 months.  There isn’t a day that he is gone that he doesn’t long to see the kids.  For his job as a aviation defense contractor my husband has deployed 5+ times since our first son was born. (We have actually gone through so many deployments via Air Force and this job that I have stopped counting.)

When it was just the two of us, Skyping was a treat.  A way to stay connected during deployments.  I still look forward to our Skype dates.  Now that we have two boys our Skype dates have become family affairs.  My son is tickled to pull the computer up to his lap and talk to my husband, the baby smiles so big every time he sees his Daddy on the screen.

This deployment my husband’s work schedule is our night time, so Baby D has certainly had more Skype time than his brother has been able to.

Skyping with Daddy on the Acer S7.

A lot has changed with Skype since I first started using it years ago.

The Skype app has a lot of great features:

• Once you sign in, the app is always on without draining your device’s battery, so you can take calls any time.
• Exchange instant messages with all your Skype, Messenger and Outlook.com contacts.
• Call any phone quickly and easily from Skype.
• All Skype-to-Skype video and voice calls are free.
• Your messages are delivered straight to you no matter what you’re doing.
• Snap Skype left or right and do more while you IM, video call or keep an eye on your home screen.
• Share photos, videos and files of any size over Skype.
• Send rich video messages whether your friends are on or offline.

I love that we can now share videos over Skype regardless of size. Often times I take videos and can’t send them to him because of size, or even if I can, he can’t see them.   I had no idea until Windows 8 that I could do that.  Since I only just figured that part out I haven’t tried it except to send a video to my husband of our 4 year old being crazy.  From here on out I plan on taking advantage of that with this deployment and all of our future deployments.  Maybe I will turn our 4 year old loose on the computer and have him send video messages to Daddy since he is so often sleeping during our Skype dates.

This particular deployment we have been having a lot of connection issues.  We have in the past deployments used another chat platform to talk, but this time it seems like we have a much easier time and better connection with Skype.  If nothing else, the clearer picture makes it easier for us to connect.  I have no idea how military families got through deployments prior to video chat.  It is so nice to see his face along with hearing his voice.  It sure makes the months go by a lot quicker.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a deployed loved one though, we use Skype just as much if not more with the kid’s grandparents. All of our children’s grandparents live in different parts of the country so Skype has helped them to stay connected to the boys and watch them grow.

I also just downloaded Skype to my mobile phone which is great because it is one Skype account across all of my devices.

We can now Skype on the phone, TV, or computer.  I really don’t know what I would do without it, it is easily one of my favorite apps on my computer.

Still not on Skype?

No worries – you can download it today in the Windows 8 app store.

You can follow me on Instagram to see more #SkypingInMyCrib photos – that hashtag was too fun not to continue to use it!

I am part of the Windows Champions Program.  As a Windows Champion I received loan of a laptop and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity.

We were supposed to go to the zoo that morning.  We’ve visit MN several times, but this time I really wanted to take him to the zoo.  Since it was pretty much raining our whole trip there, I knew K was chomping at the bit to get out and he was still wanting to play.  Yet there we were. The kids were both loaded into the car.  It was my last chance to make the call to go to the hospital.

I called my mom.  She asked if I could see him breathing in his throat.  Yes, I could.  I could hear him wheezing, coughing, not being able to sleep, and yet I still worried that by bringing him in someone would think I was over reacting or being “that mom”.  My sister in law Mindy (whom I love and couldn’t have asked for a cooler sister-in-law) said to me if it was something that had me worried it was better to get checked out.  It’s funny, I’ve been a mom for 4 years now, worked with kids for much longer, and yet here I was still questioning myself.  I thought about the bill, I thought about spending our whole day in the hospital, and then I looked at K – he just looked awful.  I knew my initial instinct to go to the ER was the right one.  So we headed to Children’s Hospital.

Once we got there, K stopped playing.  He wanted to, and tried, but he was pretty much not resisting sitting down (which if you know my son you know that’s rare).  Even while we were there the doubt crept into my head.  His breathing had settled a little bit, most likely due to the fact that he was still sitting down.  I shut it down.  We were there.  He would be seen.

I knew having grown up with asthma that sometimes even with the rescue inhaler, the preventative inhaler, the allergy meds, and the extra allergy meds, asthma can sometimes creep up and be really hard to get a handle on. I knew watching him struggle for sleep the night before, and then get wound up the next morning on lack of sleep and too much medicine that he needed more that what I could give him.  I watched him struggle for breath and remembered how helpless I felt when I was little and struggling for air. I knew we needed to be there.

I’m glad we went.  While is oxygen level was good, he was really struggling for every breath.  K ended up needing prednisone and two breathing treatments.  He perked up quickly and was anxious to go home.

I wish I could say I won’t second guess my mom instincts again, but I know that isn’t true.  This isn’t the first time I worried about making the best choice for my child, I know it won’t be the last. I will always question every choice I make for my children again and again.  Perhaps that even makes me a better parent?  Who knows?  I’m just glad I was able to get him the medical attention he needed when he needed it.

FYI If you are ever in need of an ER in the St. Paul area I highly recommend Children’s Hospital.  It was probably one of the best ER visits we’ve had, I mean as far as good hospital visits go.  The staff was incredibly nice and everything was very efficient.

When I visited NYC, the place I was most interested in seeing was the 9-11 memorial.

I have spent the past 11 years seeing images of that day and ending up in tears every single time.

That day changed my life in many indirect ways.  While I didn’t know anyone personally who perished that day, I have known soldiers since who have given the ultimate sacrifice, and felt that sacrifice every day my husband deploys.  While he is no longer military, we did have 2 military deployments together and many many civilian deployments since, and I have seen many a friend through a deployment.

For me, seeing the 9-11 memorial was an extremely emotional experience, but at the same time it brought me peace as I am sure it does many others.

I will never forget September 11th, 2001.  I will continue to honor the many men and women that gave their lives that day, and the many soldiers that have since sacrificed for our country.

When we found out we were expecting our second child, we knew that Daddy would have to deploy during the pregnancy.  The good news was his deployment was scheduled for the best possible time to be gone during a pregnancy. (You know, if there is a best possible time…)

He was home for 95% of the first trimester, and is scheduled return just as my third trimester is getting uncomfortable.  For me, and many other pregnant women, the second trimester is the time when you have the most energy and you are feeling the best.

While it is the best time for him to be gone, it is also a time when there is a lot to celebrate.  Baby’s first kicks, celebrating a growing baby bump, and of course finding out the baby’s gender!

I want to make sure my hubs is as involved in this pregnancy as possible even though he is overseas.  So what better way then to take some special pictures to let him know what the sex of our second baby is!

Love my little man’s expression here!

“Hey! There is a baby brother in here!” – Squishy

My mom caught my surprise as a balloon popped due to heat!  Also, is it me, or does that look like a Mickey Mouse on the ground!!

I am so happy with how well our pictures came out.  I owe a huge thank you to my mother who dealt with a mini mommy meltdown when all the balloons got tangled thanks to the super high winds we had today.  It didn’t help that it was also 114 degrees outside.

Thankfully we were able to get some great pictures that I know my husband loved! I skyped with a teary eyed hubby of mine after I sent him the pictures. Pulling this maternity photo shoot off without telling anyone wasn’t very hard. I may have fibbed a little bit to him and told him that our appointment was later than it was so that we could get the pictures done.

Part of dealing with deployments are finding little things that connect your family.  We didn’t do anything like this with Squish.  I didn’t do maternity pictures, there was no special gender announcement. I am glad this all came together!

Check out my article on Parents.com about how to deal with a long-distance pregnancy either due to deployments or general work/life travel.

Did you announce your baby’s gender in any special way?

I can hardly believe that as of Thursday I will be 17 weeks pregnant!  Where on earth has the time gone for this pregnancy?  Since my 12 week pregnancy update a lot has changed.

My husband deployed overseas and will remain there until close to I’m about 32 weeks pregnant (or around there).  I miss him incredibly, and so does Squish.  Thank goodness for modern technology, video chats, and the phone.  I am trying to keep him as updated as possible with baby bee!

I don’t know if it is because he is away, or what but he was never so cautious with my last pregnancy.  He is always reminding me to listen to my body, and not to try to do too much.  Maybe he just realizes how hard chasing after a 3 year can be.  I do love that man!!

My belly has definitely started to look pregnant as opposed to fluffy!  My sister in law laughed at me, when I went to Disneyland she said in the 3 short days I was gone I came back sporting a baby bump!

To give you a little idea of what exactly my sister in law was laughing at, here is the 12 week vs 16 week comparison!

I didn’t take a 16 week picture with my son, so other than a picture from a trip we took around that time, I don’t have much to compare it to, but I know for 100% fact I wasn’t this big this soon.  Guess you really do show sooner with your second baby.

In a little over 2 weeks from today my mother is coming into town, and with my husband deployed I thought this would be the perfect time to have our gender ultrasound done.  I am really excited to share that with my mother especially since she lives so far away.

As far as finding out the gender goes, I didn’t want to find out what we were having this time around, but my husband really REALLY wants to.  So I asked him to agree that if we have another baby we will keep that a surprise until the end.  Now that I know I am finding out, I am getting pretty excited for it!  Any suggestions of unique but quick way I can share this surprise with him overseas?  I’d love to do something creative, but he has made me promise to let him know ASAP!!  (He isn’t very patient! LOL!!)

How far along? 16 weeks 5 days

Total weight gain: +3-4??  (My last appointment was at 14 weeks and I was up 3)

Maternity clothes? Yep, I find them so much more comfortable.

Stretch marks? Nothing new. Just the ones left over from my 10lb 2oz baby boy!

Sleep: The exhaustion has finally abated a bit, but I would still nap pretty much every day if I could!

Best moment this week: Sharing my 16 week picture with my husband overseas.

Miss Anything? Ibuprofen.  I know that sounds silly, but I had a really sore lifting session the other day and wished so badly I could take it!

Movement: Flutters and kicks – very small, not super frequent yet.

Food cravings: Cheese, Mexican food, eggs, and anything grape flavored!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Chicken, Meat in general…

Fitness: Yes! I am finally back working out 3-4 times per week and lifting again! I am loving it, but still monitoring my heart rate and exertion levels.

Labor Signs: Nope! (not for a very long time I hope!)

Symptoms: So tiredness, headaches daily (I think due to neck pain…)

Belly Button in or out? It’s still in.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy, but missing my husband. Learning to accept the hormones that make me cry daily at nothing!

Looking forward to:  Hearing baby’s heartbeat again at my 18 week appointment, and sharing my gender ultrasound with my mother at 19 weeks.

Next big task is going to be tackling the office and getting it turned into a nursery! Oh my goodness that room looks like an episode of hoarders – NO JOKE!!

My next post on Baby Bee Bump Watch will include a gender reveal – Any guesses?!?!

Dear Squishy,

Your daddy has deployed for his job again, and he already misses you something crazy.  I hope you know how much your daddy wishes he could be here with you all the time, but he is doing his job for our family.

I can’t believe we are already on our 4th deployment since you have been born!

Your daddy is your biggest fan, and there isn’t a day that goes by that he isn’t thinking about you.  I love the relationship you have formed with your dad.  Even when he is gone he is still your favorite hero.  You two are just too cute together!  I love watching both my boys and your special bond.

Don’t forget no matter how long daddy is gone, he will always come home.

I look forward to sharing the welcome home pictures when he returns!!

Xoxxo,
Mama

*Dear Squishy is my version of (a less than) Wordless Wednesday where each week I write a letter to my son.