Baby Bump - 35 weeks

Whew, that baby is sure getting big.  And believe me, I am fully aware of my size every time I *try* to roll over in bed, or attempt to get up off the floor after playing cars with Brooks.  I can honestly say that I love being pregnant though - even though I'm in my last month of pregnancy and it's been crazy hot here the last few weeks.  I figure I'm only going to be pregnant for a short time in my life and I better enjoy it while I can. 

Here are some pregnancy related highlights to catch you up on what's going on:

•  This baby really doesn't have a nickname.  Once upon a time we called him/her "guy", but that seemed to confuse people.  "Oh, so you're having a boy?"  Um, no we just picked the name at random - we don't know what we're having.  And since Brooks just refers to my growing bump as "baby", that's what we do too.
• This baby has been sitting WAY lower than Brooks ever did.  In fact, at this point in my pregnancy with Brooks I was icing my ribs after work everyday because he decided that shoving his butt under my rib cage was grand ol' fun.  Not this kiddo.  He's made a comfy little nest right on top of my bladder and pressing against my lower back/hips.
• Because of baby's position, I have had persistent lower back & hip pain.  All I can say is THANK YOU Dr. Marsh!!!  My chiropractor has allowed me to sleep well at night, sit & stand without constant pain and pretty much allowed me to enjoy this summer with my boy!  And with just a few weeks left until D-day, I'm seeing him on a weekly basis.
• Probably the most interesting thing about this kiddo is how much he/she moves.  And I'm not just talking about kicks and stretches.  Oh no.  This baby will start breach, flip to transverse and land head down .... all in the same day!!  Only to repeat this pattern the next day.  And the day after that.  And the day after that.  This has been going on for weeks ... probably months.  Even my midwife and chiropractor are amazed at how much this kiddo is still (literally) flipping around inside.  I'm just praying real hard that baby decides to end this gymnastics routine soon and will eventually land in the head down position - oh and not tangled up in the umbilical cord!
• We're working harder on preparing for birth now.  We're doing relaxation on a regular basis and have even done a labor rehearsal in our living room.  And I'm so impressed by my husband because he's been the one to initiate most of these preparations.  I teach this stuff for a living, but he's still reminding me to eat my eggs every day (because I totally forget otherwise), and practice relaxation and to keep doing my kegels and pelvic rocks.  He's such a fantastic husband and labor coach and the best daddy our kids could ever hope for!!! 

That's about it.  I have a feeling these last five weeks or so are going to go by really fast and really slow at the same time.  I'm just tyring to enjoy my last few days being pregnant before we become a family of four!!!

20 weeks & an Anniversary!

Well folks, we're half way through this pregnancy!!  HALF WAY!  Where has this time gone??  I mean, D-day still seems like forever away, but to think we're halfway through already seems kinda crazy.  And with summer coming, I'm sure the second half will go just as fast.  Yesterday we had temps in the low 70's and I thought "summer is finally here!"  But alas, today was back down in the thirties with rain and plenty of wind to accompany it.  Oh, the joys of living in South Dakota.

Ok, enough whining.  On to baby news.  Shortly after my last post, I finally felt the baby move.  In fact, it was on Friday, March 25th to be exact.  Yeah, I wrote it down :)  The kiddo is still pretty small and so are his/her movements, but I LOVE feeling them just the same!  Now this pregnancy is starting to become more real to me.

We have decided to keep this kiddo's gender a suprise!  How exciting, right?  But like I said before, we're not even going in for an ultrasound, so we can't know anyway.  I get mixed reactions when people hear that we're not finding out, but even more so when we tell them we're not getting an ultrasound. 

"Why no ultrasound?" 

"Are they not safe?" 

"How can you plan without knowing the gender?"

"Don't you want to see your baby?" 

"Is something wrong with you??" 

Ok, I haven't been asked that last question, but the reason is simple.  This is a low risk pregnancy, and there's nothing to check out.  So we're not doing an ultrasound.  Makes sense, right?  Good.  Glad we're all agreed on that. 

Now the only trouble is that we'll have to think of TWO names.  And I have all sorts of lovely girl names swirling around in my head (seriously, we could be having quadruplet girls - and we're not by the way - and I'd have them all named) but absolutely no boy names.  Which according to Murphy's Law means .... we're having a boy.  Ok, I don't know that but I'm just guessing it to be true.  But keeping with my gut instinct we've decided to nickname the baby "Guy".  Yep, just Guy.  Little Guy is fine.  Baby Guy works too.  But this is our Guy.  And well, if it happens to be a girl ... she'll never know the difference :)

Oh ... I almost forgot to write about the Anniversary!!  It truly was a big day in our house.  April 12th marks the 1 year anniversary of when I began my new job as a full time mom!!  Hooray!!!!  Again, this year has gone so fast, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything.  Brooks is growing up way too fast already and I'm so glad I was around this last year to see all of it!  And I'm excited for this year to come. Brooks will turn 2, we'll add another kiddo to the family (making us a family of four - eek!), I will continue teaching my Bradley classes.  I love life and my family and I only have God to thank for it all :)

17 weeks

Well, I'm a few days late but here's the first bump picture for baby #2.  (This kiddo still needs a nickname, so I'm currently taking suggestions)  I had planned to start taking pictures earlier in this pregnancy, since the kiddo "popped" out around 12 weeks or so.  But my bump hasn't changed size since then, convincing me it was more of my "maternal stores" than actual baby.  No one needs to see a bumch of belly fat, so I waited until now to post.  (no need to thank me :)

This pregnancy has been right on track compared to being pregnant with Brooks.  I went through the usual "I'm starving and exhausted" phase for about 6 weeks and now I feel great.  No really, I feel awesome!!  The only difference is that I had to pull out my bella band and maternity clothes sooner with this one.  But to be honest, I'm so busy chasing around a toddler all day that I sometimes forget I'm pregnant. 

We've heard the baby's heartbeat twice now, but I'm still waiting for that first movement.  That's the best part.  Well, until the baby gets so big that he's kicking me in the ribs constantly.  But even that's ok.

Our biggest decision coming up is whether or not to find out if we're having a boy or girl.  We found out with Brooks since I'm a super over-planner.  But this time around I'm leaning toward waiting until the baby's born.  I've always been slightly jealous of those who can wait.  The suprise seems like so much fun!!  And since we don't even have an ultrasound scheduled (and won't unless it's absolutely necessary), we won't be able to find out anyway.  Just feels more natural to me.