Bi-Monthly Visits

We've hit the point in this pregnancy where I now go to see my midwives every two weeks.  Where did the time go??  Although I know it's flying by, I am at the phase where I feel like I will be pregnant forever--the "this is my body now and I will waddle until the day I die" feeling.  I am doing really good right now though, so it's also not a bad thing to feel like that...until I get up for the 4th time in the middle of the night having to pee. 

Baby boy is kickin', punchin', and swipin' his way around in there...it puts a smile on my face every time.  Jake is fascinated with my belly.  He lifts up my shirt all the time to poke it and I'll say, "Say hi to little brother, Jake!" And he just shakes his head.  He doesn't get it yet, but I am very confident he will be all over it when the baby does come.  He is such a good helper.  He loves to help me around the house with laundry and whatever cleaning I am doing.  I know he will be eager to help when his little brother makes his appearance.

Nesting has hit and I couldn't be happier.  I have a few (ok...like a zillion) items on my to-do list before the baby comes and getting in this nesting mode has helped me cross quite a few off my list.

The weather has been gorgeous lately, so we have been outside on the bike nearly every day for the past week or so.  Jake loves the seat we put on my bike and always loves to go for a bike ride.  We've gone to the park a few times and on Saturday we went hiking at a state park near by and plan on going again tomorrow.  It feels so good to be able to get off the couch and get out and enjoy myself and to work my body and to get a tan...hopefully I will be less pasty by the time this baby comes.

Jake is such a little boy.  He loves playing outside and getting in the dirt.  He loves playing with his dump truck, motorcycles, and cars.  He is busy, busy, busy, but he is still the best sleeper and I thank God every day for that.  I have not felt sleep deprived this pregnancy which I know is a huge blessing.

Here are some pictures!

Halloween 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

January 2012

Loves to play in the dirt

Why I Haven't Blogged for Four Months...

The day before we left for Alaska, I decided it would be a good idea to take a pregnancy test so I could know in case we wanted to do something I shouldn't while being pregnant...

Ta Da!  Two very positive pregnancy tests.  We had been trying for a few months because we wanted to get an early start in case it was going to take us a little longer like it did with Jake, but no way!  This baby decided he didn't want to wait as long as his brother did.  It took me a good, long time to really wrap my head around the fact that I was pregnant.  The whole time we were on our cruise, we would talk about it or mention something about it and it would just feel totally surreal--like we were just pretending instead of it actually happening.

It started to "feel" real once we got home and week 6 hit.  Wowza.  Any foul smell that hit my nose (foul smells are quite abundant when you have a bionic nose and a one year old in diapers running around) and I hit the ground running to the nearest spot with a drain to "expel" all the contents of my stomach.  Poor Jake watched more TV than I should care to divulge and poor Jason had to say good bye to any bit of attractive part of his wife (vomiting all day long and living with a constant surge of hormones wreaking havoc on the mind would turn anyone into a beast, I am sure of it).  The upside to being sick for four months straight?  Great weight loss!  However, not a diet I would recommend to anyone.

I thank God every day for a tiny little pill called "Zofran" because that is the only thing that worked to help ease my nausea and get rid of the multiple trips to the sink/toilet every day.  My "morning" sickness (Who named it "morning" sickness???) finally abated last week (week 23 of my pregnancy) and I have been four days without Zofran as of today. 

I am just now wrapping my head around having two little boys running around.  I am grateful the gestation period is 9 months because I definitely need that time to adjust to it.  I am so excited to be having another one, especially a boy to be best buds with Jake, but having two kids is going to be an adjustment (obviously) and saying good bye to just Jake and I time will be hard, but worth it I know.  The longer time goes on, and the closer I get, the more excited and less anxious I am. 

Baby boy is healthy and kicking up a storm.  I think he is going to be quite the mover and shaker.  We have had a few ultrasounds so far, the first when he was 8 weeks, the second when he was 19 weeks (when we found out he is a he) and then the latest one when he was 21 weeks.  They found a cyst in his brain at the 19 week ultrasound and wanted to investigate further to see if their were other signs of possible disorders.  The 21 weeks ultrasound revealed that he is a very healthy and strong baby.  We got some of the 3D sonogram shots from that and those are sweet.  I always found them a little creepy before, honestly, and some of the shots were still a little creepy because he doesn't have a lot of baby fat yet, but seeing his face and just seeing a live person in there was really amazing.

The boys will be 20 months apart.  Some people I tell that to look at me like I am crazy, but I think it will be good.  Not saying it won't be hard, but J and I always wanted our children to be close.  My brothers and I were close in age and I really liked it.  I am sure it was hell on my mom for awhile, but I asked her about it and she said she wouldn't have had it any other way.  

Here are some shots of the little guy.  The ultrasound tech thought it was hilarious how he flashed off his goods to the world, but was givin' us a hard time of getting a good shot of his face.

Alaska Part 2 (Yeah...4 months late. I know.)

So basically, I am not going to provide a lot of explanation to these pictures.  Four months of blogging to catch up on = little time for talk.  So if you have questions, go ahead and ask and if you want to see

more pictures, go ahead and come over! :)

    

(Not part of the Alaska adventure, but I had to include a picture of the "Stache" for posterity's sake.)