Baby GIRL!!!!

I am officially half way done with this pregnancy!!!!  Last week we got to experience my favorite part of pregnancy (other than when it's over and we actually get to meet our baby) - the ultrasound!  I LOVE ultrasounds!  It puts into perspective all the discomfort and annoyances of pregnancy and reminds me that there is an amazing fully formed life growing inside of me.  

This year I came across the idea that Adam would be the only one to find out the gender at the ultrasound and could be the only one to know for a little while until we all found out.  Well he kind of loved the idea.  I did slightly regret coming up with the idea the day of, but I'm glad it was fun for him.  The next morning we had some family over and ate filled cupcakes to reveal the gender.  Chocolate chip cupcakes with an actual cookie in the bottom to be exact, which were amazing!

Pink filling = baby girl!

We are having another little girl and I am SO excited!  I could really see the benefit of having a boy or girl.  However, Amaia has been hoping very much for a sister and I am so excited to give her one!  I guess we will just have to give it another try to give Haddon a brother :)

Family of FIVE!

Amaia and Haddon are pleased to announce that they have a brand new baby sister or brother of the way!!  Actually, Haddon has no idea what is going on at this point, but the rest of us are very excited!  Amaia is hoping for a sister, mostly based on her love of Frozen I think and she thinks we should name her future sister "Block", which is definitely not happening :)

I am 13 weeks along now and my official due date is January 13th! I have been feeling VERY tired and somewhat sick for a couple of months now, but I can tell that I am starting to have a lot more good days than bad days.  Oh how I love the second trimester!

We were able to have an ultrasound a couple of weeks ago to date the pregnancy and just make sure everything was going well.  Amaia and Haddon came with and it really seemed to click with Amaia after that what was going on.  She asks all the time now if she can see the pictures of the baby and when we get to find out if the baby is a boy or girl.  I love ultrasounds anyways, but I loved even more how it made her understand so much more what is going on with her mommy.

We are so excited to have another little baby in our family and I'm also so excited to give these two precious kiddos another sibling to play with and be crazy with for the rest of their lives!

38 Weeks: Ready & Rearin' To Go!

Today I am officially 38 weeks along and to be honest I have felt ready to go for a couple of weeks now :)  We are just waiting for baby boy to be ready to go!  When I was pregnant with Amaia, I remember being more than okay staying pregnant past my due date.  I must have been anxious about the changes that were coming.  This time around I am already quite impatient!!  Oh dear, not a good sign :)

However, I have been thankful for more one on one time with my favorite big girl and for more time to get our home clean and organized.  

In an effort to freak Amaia out slightly less when she meets her baby brother for the first time we took her on a tour of the maternity ward at the hospital I will deliver at.  We got to see all the different rooms and a baby in the nursery.  She seemed slightly interested :)  I don't know if it will make a difference for her or not, but it was worth a shot and it was actually a fun little family night out.

I have also been trying to be more intentional with Amaia in talking about her baby brother.  We have the book "God Gave Us You" and pulled it back out at Amaia's request last weekend.  We haven't read this book in months, but we came to this page and for the rest of the night she was pointing to my belly saying "baby, heartbeat, papa".  I am confident that she understood and remembered the times she has been to the doctor with me (and her papa) to hear her baby brother's heartbeat.  I am so amazed at the things she understands sometimes.  She is a smart little girl.

Other than that I have just been prepping the house.  Our house is all decked out with Christmas decor and I have most of our gifts purchased and wrapped!  Today I also finished ALL of the laundry and cleaned ALL of the bathrooms, which is kind of a lot for this pregnant lady.  At my last doctor's appointment I was 2 cm dilated and the baby is low and in correct position, so it really does feel like any time now.  The sooner the better in my opinion :)

Hopefully my last pregnancy update this time around....

How Far Along:  38 Weeks

Maternity Clothes:  ALL maternity clothes all the time

Gender:  Boy!

Movement: Lots of movement and I can tell that the baby is very low now

Sleep:  Not sleeping super well at this point.  I get up every two hours for a bathroom break and have been having lots of headaches in the early morning hours for some reason.  

What I miss:  Being able to run around and do all the things I am used to doing

Cravings: No specific cravings, just craving to meet the little guy!

Symptoms:  I can do very little these days without my body being VERY sore.  It is a bit sad.  Oh and I have a very large belly - that is a pretty big symptom!

Best Moment this week: Adam and I had a "last hurrah" date last night.  We visited "our" restaurant, Thai Flavors and it was glorious.   AND I think we even decided on a final name....still subject to change of course, but I think we made progress :)

32 Weeks and growing

We are reaching the end...or at least at feels that way.  I am now going to the doctor for baby boy checkups every other week and soon will be going every week.  I really, really want to be one of those women who loves being pregnant, but I am just not.  I do love the end result of a beautiful baby, but I can't say that I enjoy being pregnant.  This pregnancy has seemed harder on my body, but it really does help to look at Amaia, know how much joy she brings and know that I get to experience that all over again.

29 Weeks (baby the size of a butternut squash)

Lots of people have asked me if I think Amaia understands what is about to happen.  I tell her about it often and ask her if she wants to have a little baby come live at our house.  She likes to play in baby brother's room and try to climb in the bouncy chair that she is far too big for.  If you ask her where mommy's baby is she will point to my belly and often times try to lift up my shirt too :)  I know that she often understands more than I give her credit for, but I don't think it is really possible for her to to understand how her world is about to change.  I am hopeful that she will enjoy having a baby brother from the beginning, but I know it doesn't always happen that way.  However, I know she will love having a brother and constant playmate so much as they both grow older.  She is becoming more and more affectionate with us and with her dolly and other stuffed animals the older she gets too.  She likes to rock her dolly, and hug and kiss all her little stuffed friends.  I can already see her sweet, motherly instincts kicking in.

32 Weeks (baby the size of a large jicama - whatever that is :))

How Far Along:  32 Weeks

Maternity Clothes:  All maternity clothes all the time.  Thankful that I haven't had issues with swelling yet though, so I haven't had to break out the maternity wedding ring yet :)

Gender: BOY!!

Movement:  Lots and lots of movement.  This baby still seems more active than I remember Amaia being in the womb.

Sleep:  Sleeping fairly well, but it is just becoming harder and harder to be comfortable.  I am a back sleeper, so I can't wait to be able to sleep on my back again.

What I miss:  My body being "normal"

Cravings:  No too specific or pervasive craving.  Last night I did really, really want corn pops cereal and Adam provided for me.

Symptoms:  Lots of aches, soreness and organs feeling cramped.  This pregnancy is proving more uncomfortable than I remember it being last time, but that might be because I am carrying around a sweet, yet heavy little girl much of the time.

Best Moment this week: babymooning!

The Big Reveal

Yesterday was my favorite day of pregnancy - ultrasound day!!!  I love having ultrasounds so much! They make you forget about all of the inconveniences of pregnancy and focus on the fun part and the real part- we get to have another sweet little baby!!!  It made me so much more excited for everything to come and our littlest one is looking great and measuring exactly on my due date, December 14th.

Adam and I wanted to find out in a fun way if we are having a boy or girl, so we basically copied and idea from our friends Matt and Allie :)  We ordered a custom ice cream cake and had a blueberry filling if it was a boy and a raspberry filling if it was a girl.  At the ultrasound I had the tech write down on a card in an envelope what we are having and after our appointment I took that card and showed it to the folks making the cake.

Let me tell you it was HARD to not peek at the results.  This envelope holding the answer sat in my purse ALL day long and keeping surprises are not my strong suit.  To give you an idea, I have been looking up the Olympics results online all week long because I just can't wait to find out.  Also, I tend to read the end of books first, so that I know what is going to happen. I am honestly surprised that I did not peek, but I made it all day long.  

We asked everyone to dress in something that would signify their prediction.  You can't see in this picture, but my dad was wearing a pink bracelet :)  And Amaia and I are not pictured, but we both predicted girl.  That is 6 for boy and 5 for girl.

The cake was really yummy.  Coldstone is the best.

And....the big moment....

(scroll down if you don't want to watch the video)

That's right it's a boy!!  Obviously we are excited!  I was predicting girl, but I have to admit I did have a "boy" vibe after our ultrasound this morning.  If anyone has any boy related advice for me, please do tell, because I feel like I have no idea what to do with a boy!  Ha :)  But I am excited!  I think knowing how much love I have for Amaia and just how happy she makes the both of us, makes the anticipation even more exciting. We do want more children in the future, but this already feels like our family is complete.  Let the shopping begin! 

20 Weeks with Baby #2

Today is actually the last day that I am 20 weeks, so I thought I better get this post up!  We are officially half way now - woot!!  I am not one that particularly enjoys pregnancy (love the outcome, but not as much the process), but I think I have actually had it pretty easy.  I have been feeling very good for the most part ever since we entered the second trimester and mostly I just can't believe that we are over halfway now.  It has gone by SO fast.

How Far Along: 20 Weeks

Maternity Clothes: It has been 90-100 degrees almost every day for what seems like all summer and thusly I have been on a mad hunt for maternity shorts.  However, I have yet to find a pair that I like well enough to purchase and it is August, so I am giving up.  I have one pair or pre-pregnancy shorts that do still fit, so at this point I am just pining away for fall, cooler weather and more clothing options.

Gender: Still a mystery to me!  But we are (Lord willing) finding out next week!

Movement: I have been feeling lots and lots of sweet little baby flutters.  I feel a lot of movement at the end of the day while I am laying on the couch watching the olympics.  If my memory serves me correctly this baby is much more active than Amaia was at this time.

Sleep: Sleeping great!  I do have to get up at least once to go to the bathroom, but I get back to sleep right away.  This also might be because I am TIRED! :)

What I miss:  I don't know of much that I miss other than having more clothing options :)  Maybe this is weird, but I am already missing or anticipating missing one on one time with my Amaia.  I already feel bad for the shocker that she is going to get in December and I "miss" being able to give all of myself to her, BUT I know that she will love having a sibling so much once she gets used to the idea AND it will so good for her.  So....I'm working on not thinking that way.

Cravings:  So far this time around I have been all about cheese & crackers.  Weird! This might be partly due to the fact that Amaia LOVES cheese.  It may even be her favorite food of all right now, so I always have it on hand.  Other than that....I crave specific things, but what I am craving is always changing.

Symptoms:  Tired, tired, tired, hungry, hungry, hungry

Best Moment this week: Starting to feels lots of movement and planning to find out baby's gender!


And just because she is beautiful....

Garage Sales and a Baby Bump!

So far this has been the summer of garage sale finds for Amaia and I!  Many Friday mornings we have stopped by a garage sale or two in our neck of the woods and we have found so many good things!

It all started with this awesome bed!  We were just driving home from Grammie's house one Saturday morning and stopped by a garage sale that we passed by.  I had just found out that I was pregnant, so I was not at all actively looking for Amaia's big girl bed, but knew that we would be needing one relatively soon.  I loved this bed and it's price the minute I saw it.  It looks brand new, it is low to the ground and fits a twin mattress.  All that for only $10.  Score! 

The next week I was on the prowl for an Amaia sized stroller and I found this one at the first place I stopped along with a really nice set of wooden puzzles that I didn't get a picture of.  Amaia loves pushing her stroller around, but she does need to mature in her mothering skills.  I tried to have her push her dolly in the stroller and push her around, but she took dolly out, threw her on the ground and continued pushing her stroller :)  

We have also found some very cute clothes for miss Amaia - even some with the tags still on.  I only have a picture of a couple of them from my phone.

And some really pretty glass vases.  I thought they were beautiful!

And now to completely change subjects....my baby bump!  

When I was pregnant with Amaia, I remember wondering if I would ever look pregnant.  Not this time, my bump is already is full force.

I am 14 weeks along now and I have been feeling much better in the nausea department for the last week or two, which is so great.  We had another doctor's appointment and everything is looking and sounding great.  I scheduled my ultrasound for early August, so we will get to find out (hopefully!) if Amaia is going to have a baby brother or sister then. Adam and I both feel like the baby girl, but of course this based on basically nothing.  I love ultrasounds so much though!  And I can't wait to get a glimpse of our next little one!

New News

WOW.  I have not blogged much at all lately!  I have two very cute things to share right now though.

Reason # 1 I have not been blogging is that I have been TIRED!  Every spare 10 minutes I have had over the past month or so has been nap time for mommy.  I am sure that 99% of those reading this already know this, but Amaia has a little brother or sister on the way!!  It was deemed "medically necessary" for me to have an ultrasound already, because I did not have a very clear idea of how far along I was.  I measured 10 weeks at this ultrasound and it made be so excited for our new little one.  The pictures don't do what I saw on the screen justice.  I could see all his or her arms and legs and head so clearly and he or she wiggled around when my belly was poked.  It was as a cute as an ultrasound can be :)  Needless to say, Adam and I are excited!  Amaia really has no idea what is going on, but I know that she will love having a sibling!  The due date is December 14th.

Reason #2 that I have not been blogging lately is that this little girl keeps me on my toes and isn't super interested at pausing for the camera - surprise, surprise :)

I have been really wanting to try pig tails in Amaia's hair lately and we had success today!!  They are a bit uneven (I had to work fast to get them in), but I think she looks pretty darn adorable.

Goodbye mullet hair!

I love my little girl!

Squished

I just want to meet this cute face already!!!!

 

We had a non-stress test and an ultrasound today just to make sure everything is going okay in there and our baby girl is doing great.  Heartbeat is good.  Fluid level is very good - which could be part of the reason that labor isn't coming very quickly.  And our baby girl is still a a girl :) Yea! Also, she is not small - probably about 8 pounds right now.

We are extra excited to meet her now!!  And believe me I have been walking every night after work, eating eggplant and spicy foods, and all kinds of other things.  I am hopeful that something will happen tonight or at least this weekend.  I will keep you all updated!! 

Still here!

Yes, I'm still pregnant :)   We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little one.  I say anxiously, but I really am content with waiting until she is ready.  I have been feeling well for the most part.  I have the swelling and a sore back, etc….the normal end of pregnancy woes I guess, but all in all I have had it pretty good.  I will say that I am getting really eager to meet her, see what she looks like and learn about her personality.  It is still so amazing and exciting to me that she is parts of both Adam and I and am excited to see how that plays itself out!  Plus, I would mind having the whole labor portion of this process behind me.  My main prayers have been that labor would go smoothly, that our little girl and myself are both safe and healthy through it all and that I would not need to be induced!!  I have a dr. appointment this afternoon, so hopefully I have made some more progress.

Although I am ready to meet this girl, it was such a nice weekend of sunshine and nice weather and fun things!! On Friday night Adam and I were able to go to a couple's night at church, that was wonderful and I was really hoping to go to.  I also got to go on several walks this weekend in some gorgeous weather.  Yesterday, Adam and I celebrated Valentine's day by conducting our own chocolate tour around town.  I so wish that I would have taken my camera on our excursion, but I failed at that!  At the end of our journey we decided that chocolaterie stam is by far our favorite and next year we are only going there!!   I'm not entirely sure how Adam has been married to me for 2+ years and has only recently discovered his love for chocolates, but I think he is now a fully converted chocolate lover :)   It was just really reminded this weekend of the wonderful man that I have for a husband.  He is so good at loving me, so fun to be with and I definitely consider him to be the greatest blessing that God has placed in my life.  It was so refreshing to get to spend some extra time with him before our lives get a little crazier very soon.

39 Week Update

So here is what Adam looks like at 39 weeks ;)

 And here is what our family is looking like these days...

 Okay, I just had to post these pictures.  We had our last labor class last night and I will admit that I was looking forward to the empathy belly since signing us up for class.  After getting slightly freaked out by the 500 million things that can potentially go wrong during birth, this was the perfect thing to lighten the mood.  It was just so funny to watch the dads put this on and try to tie their shoes, turn over while laying down, etc.  I was nervous that we weren't going to be able to get through all of our classes, but we have officially graduated and can have our baby now!!
I am feeling sort of "ready" though.  At least I feel about as ready as one can be for such a big life change.  I'm just excited to meet this mystery girl already!

36 Week Update

Take a look at my growing belly!

View # 1

 View #2

How Far Along: 36 Weeks

Maternity Clothes: Maternity is now the only thing that fits me.  I do wear some big t-shirts at the gym, but my belly likes to peek out occasionally.  I think I should probably be embarrassed by that, but I'm really not.

Gender: Sweet baby girl

Movement: I have been feeling her a lot, all day, everyday.  It is a really fun part of pregnancy.  I also think the lining of my uterus or skin or something of that nature is thinning out, bc I can feel a little hand or foot sometimes.

Sleep: Sleep is starting to not go so well for me.  I can't even remember how many times I got up to go to the bathroom last night and it getting more difficult to get comfy or turn over while I am laying down.  I am thankful that I get to go right back to bed right now though, soon that will not be the case.

What I miss:  I honestly can't think of anything that I miss right now.  I am excited to be able to work out harder and get my body back into shape in a few months! 

Cravings: Baked potatoes sound really good to me lately!  And I still am all about oranges. 

Symptoms: I have cankles :(  I am battling against swelling, but I have been able to manage it fairly well by working out and resting my feet.  And eating or walking up one flight of stairs makes me out of breath.  I promise I am not really that out of shape!

Best Moment this week: :Labor class.  I am really enjoying learning and having Adam learn everything about labor and delivery.  Our bodies are so complex and amazing.  It is very comforting to me that my body has been designed to give birth and knows what to do all on its own.

Baby Brain??

Earlier this week I went downstairs in the morning to make lunches for Adam and I and to start the coffee...typical morning routine.  Shortly thereafter, Adam suggested that coffee is usually better when you actually put the coffee into the filter as opposed to just running water through the coffee maker.  Oops! I blame baby brain.

I am so thankful for labor classes! We have been to two of our five classes now and they really are making me feel less scared/nervous and more confident in the fact that my body has been designed by God to do this!!  

It makes me really happy to watch Adam interact with little kids and I am pretty sure that I am going to be about 10,000 times happier observing him with our little girl.

We decided on a name!!  99% at least.   And now I really, really want to tell, but I will resist.

I am learning that in pregnancy everyone has had a totally different experience and I am not sure that it even makes sense to worry about things that were difficult for other people.

I will be full-term on my birthday.  I really don't want to give birth on my birthday, #1 because I want to celebrate my birthday and #2 because I don't really want to share it.  Yikes, I am selfish. 

The simple act of eating now actually makes me feel out of breath - ha!  How sad it that??  I mean...I understand that it is because my lungs are getting cramped, but it still sort of makes me laugh :)

35 weeks and trying not to count

So…5 weeks from tomorrow is our due date and I am kind of freaking out over here!!!  That is normal right??  I'm just going to go ahead and attribute all of the emotions to the extra estrogen my body is producing to prepare for the labor :)  I am finding myself a lot more scared of a whole list of what is to come lately, but I'm trying to remind myself what an amazing, God designed process growing a little life really is. Did you know that in late pregnancy antibodies from my blood pass through the placenta to the baby to protect her from illness once she is out in the world? And that continues through breastfeeding.  I just think all the little details like that are really amazing.
 

I am finding myself more and more tired/uncomfortable as the days go by yet also feeling like there is a lot still to be done, so we have ourselves a little conundrum there.  Really though…the things still to be done are my preferences of being decorated, prepared, clean and organized.  All of the essential tasks are done. I have been wanting to post pictures of our nursery, but I am ashamed to say it is not put together enough for me to feel proud of yet.  Plus, I still need to go on a fairly serious Target run for the things we still need.
 

Adam and I are starting our labor classes tonight.  I am so excited to learn more about labor/delivery and hopefully feel better prepared. (Can you tell that I like to feel prepared yet?? :))  I am excited to get to meet some other couples going through the same thing too and maybe make some new friends! I am excited for Adam to learn more about all of this too.  I was trying to imagine what I think he will be like during labor and I decided that my prediction is that he will be stellar, even-keeled supporter and helper for me during labor until she is born, then I think he will cry.  I can't wait for that moment…meeting her, not Adam crying :)

More Baby Shower Pictures and 31 Week Update!!

I failed at taking any pictures of my own at my shower, but I just got some more pictures from my friend Allison.  So for my own memory keeping and your viewing pleasure :)  more pictures!!!

Here is a belly shot of me at the shower.  I was 30 weeks along.

 Here is a picture of the "fire" aka a video of a crackling fire.  How fun!

Everyone chatting and eating yummy food

More friends chatting.  Notice my friend Julie in the red cardigan.  She had her baby yesterday!!!

I just love this owl pillow.  I registered for it, so I guess that is obvious, but I was very excited about it :)

 The tray of baby necessities....one of the games we played at the shower was to try to remember everything on the tray.

And a little update for my 31st week.  I saw this little survey on another blog and I thought it would be fun to fill out for the next few weeks until she arrives!


How Far Along: 31 Weeks

Maternity Clothes: I did find one pre-pregnancy shirt that still fits me this week.  Other than that all maternity clothes other than sweatpants and Adam's t-shirts to lounge around home in.

Gender: Sweet baby girl

Movement: I have been feeling her more and more lately.  I am supposed to start doing kick counts, but have failed at that so far.  Mostly, I just try to make sure that I can feel her being active everyday.

Sleep: I'm sleeping very well this week, but....I think it's mostly because I am starting to be exhausted all of the time again

What I miss:  Okay...this sounds really vain and probably is, but my CLOTHES!!  I really miss having more than a couple options of what to wear everyday.

Cravings: I have been craving everything orange flavored lately.  I bought a big bag of oranges to eat, had an amazing orange flavored dark chocolate at work, I bought orange/cranberry muffin mix to make, and I have been enjoying orange flavored teas at various coffee shops.  Ha.  

Symptoms: I am starting to swell.  I was really hoping this wouldn't happen to me :(  My ring is getting a bit tight and my shoes are noticeably tighter especially towards the end of the day.  Other than that...normal stuff.  My back hurts if I am on my feet for a long period of time.  Really though I think I have it pretty good.

Best Moment this week: I am pretty sure that Adam and I agreed on two different baby girl names today.  That is serious progress!