First Comes Love...

Well, here we are on the evening of your due date.  I'm sitting on a birth ball as I type, swaying my hips in time with the constant contractions I've been getting for about an hour now.  I'm not really in labor yet, and I'm sure I'd be jinxing myself to call this early labor, but I can assure you, you are doing your best to make progress and join us very soon! I went to my 40 week appointment today and you are head down again (yay, and thank you!) and I'm about 2.5-3cm dilated, so that was all good news.  I'm so excited to meet you soon and am so ready.  Like I've mentioned, I had a huge to-do list that I've pretty much completed, so I'm feeling very comfortable and settled at this point. These bigger Braxton Hicks contractions began on our way up to Bellingham a week and a half ago and have been pretty consistent most days.  I was sure while shopping with Grandma last Monday afternoon that I was going into labor walking from Nordstrom to ...

This past Tuesday marked 37 weeks for my baby boy, and as the title says, he's full of energy! With all this energy has come some excitement.  For one, he decided after being in a breech position and kindly going head down again at 36 weeks, he would flip back this past week.  I went in for my appointment on Tuesday, and unbeknownst to me, he was transverse. Grrrr.. My doc has been super laid back about interventions, unnecessary testing, ultrasounds, etc, but we decided it was best to help him find his way back down.  Just in case of early labor.  So off I went to L&D that afternoon to have a version (the same thing I had with breech George ).  I could hear him moving everywhere on fetal monitoring for the first 20 minutes.  When Dr. Howard arrived she decided to take a quick ultrasound peak before beginning.  Low and behold, what was once a head sticking out my left side was now a head just inches from vertex.  So instead of a full ve...

We are cruising right along, baby boy! Lately I've been going to store where little boy outfits catch my eye and fill my heart.  I can't wait to hold you in my arms and cuddle you.  You already strike me as the cuddling, loving type- I hope I'm right  :) This month is a BUSY one with the August Birthdays (Abigail, mine, and Dad's), but next month will be all about you and George!  We've had such a hot summer, so I'm really looking forward to some Fall weather; a time of snuggling up and getting to know you. While you were in a transverse position last month, you are head down now, so that's one less thing to worry about.  There was however a little glitch in your heart rate at your last appointment, so I was hooked up for a NST to make sure everything was fine.   Usually I have a small cup of coffee in the morning with breakfast, but on the morning of your appointment I had slept in, eaten a quick breakfast with my coffee before leaving, th...

Boy oh boy have we been busy! Somehow I expected summer to be a laid back time for all of us, but between our growing family, appointments, summer camp, and various summer outings, these weeks are flying. Things are going well, though.  I had a doc appointment yesterday and you sound great!  You have however been moving around a bunch and yesterday you were tucked in breech (not technically considered breech at 32 weeks, but you're a mover!)  However, I'm pretty sure you're back to vertex today; I don't feel like I have a head coming out one side of my abdomen, and a butt poking through the other side anymore  :) Also, Braxton Hicks have started pretty regularly now, but mainly when you seem to be laying sideways, so it's probably something to do with the big movements. Sleep is still a premium.  I borrowed a friends pregnancy pillow (I never used one before) and while I thought it was helping, last night I ditched it for the standard pillow under my le...

Another month, and more growing bump! Wednesday I turned 28 weeks, which puts us in the 3rd trimester and the thought of being on the home stretch has me so excited to meet you! I have yet to go through your brother's clothes, take out any baby stuff to examine or fix, or even start shopping for the new car seat we need (the one I used with Abigail and George molded in our new shed...Grrr).  But it doesn't discount how excited I am to hold you in my arms  (in what I hope will be) a mere 12 weeks! The fatigue has not gone away, but I haven't been sleeping great (lots of achey hips at night; a lovely side effect of subsequent pregnancies) so that may be a big contributor.  I just ordered a 2" memory foam topper and I hope between that and massage therapy, I am able to get some relief. Massage therapy...oh, the things us Moms have to endure  ;) In pregnancy related news, I was reading the blog yesterday and realized I had posted about the end of my 2nd Trime...

Hi Bun,  Welcome to your first Month of Bump post! To think you will be here in 14 short weeks blows my mind (I'm late writing this).  Each pregnancy moves along faster than the last, and needless to say, yours has been a flash before my eyes.  Every two week appointments start this week (usually not until next month, but since I need a shot of Rhogam at 28 weeks, we're starting early) I'm feeling great but have been tired.  Usually my desire for naps subsides around 16 weeks, but at 25, going on 26 weeks, I find myself tired most days and in need of a nap or extra sleep at night.   Old age, I guess  ;) However, I still have opportunities to feel young when out and about without your siblings.  Other Moms will often give me that enjoy-this-time-before-that-bump-becomes-a-baby look or sweetly ask, "is this your first?"  Each time I try to contain my giddiness as I say, "nope, it's my third!" I'm feeling older, but I must loo...

Yesterday Kevin and I went to our 20 week ultrasound.  Everything looked great and the two questions still lingering in my mind were confirmed. 1) Yes, it's a boy! 2) Nope, I'm not having twins  :) I've heard it a million times: with each pregnancy you pop a little sooner, but when I was in maternity pants at 12 weeks, I thought surely there must be two in there... Here are some pictures, if you'd like to see. During George's 20 week ultrasound Kevin admitted he'd almost fallen asleep, so I will admit: I had a hard time staying awake this time  :) But we did get to see him in 4D ultrasound which we've never done before, so that was really cool. So fun! After our appointment we went to breakfast at Salish Lodge and took my first Month of Bumps picture. (cue shrills of excitement from everyone eager to see belly pics for the next 4 months!) Before taking the picture I (lovingly) assured Kevin that yes, we would be taking...

Baby Boy! Here we are a week into knowing your gender and things are starting to feel so real and right. I had a doctor appointment on Friday and everything is going really well.  You were moving around a ton (the nurse kept moving the doppler to find you again!) and your heart rate sounded perfect around 150. This week we received our first congratulatory card and I put it on the mantle.  It's a darling reminder of your pending arrival and makes me excited each time I see it. We haven't told George about you yet (he's still so young, so we'll probably wait until late summer), but Abigail adjusted perfectly to the news of a baby brother. "Oh!  A brother? Okay!!" And when I asked her if she had any name ideas, she suggested Papa. Thankfully she's not in charge of naming you :) As I mentioned, we're about 95% sure we will be naming you Benjamin, so I've begun calling you Benny when talking to Abigail.  She can't say it clearly, s...

We had a delightful time celebrating Easter this year and two things in particular made it extra special: Hosting our families, and surprising everyone with a gender reveal! Since Spring isn't a busy season for us, I found it really relaxing and enjoyable.  We had baskets waiting for the kids when they woke up, made it to church early in our Sunday best, and had lots of time to prepare for family coming in the afternoon. We decided a while ago that finding out the gender of this baby would be fun to do in front of all our family.  And since we knew we wanted to start the traditional of hosting Easter, it was the perfect time to share this news. As some of you may remember, we're notorious for Easter surprises :) So I talked to the baker at our local QFC who took the sealed envelope we'd received from our doctor to made gender reveal cupcakes for us!  The idea is that you bite into the cupcake, and on the inside is a huge dollop of pink or blue frosting. ...

The news is spreading quickly, so it's time to announce it officially: I'm pregnant and due September 8th! We found out New Years Eve morning and are beyond excited to meet our newest little one.  We will be finding out the gender soon but would be thrilled either way. I would adore having another baby girl (I suppose that's my preference), but I think having two boys close in age would be pretty amazing, too. And I can't wait to see what George will be like as a big brother (he adores babies!!) Some friends of ours had a baby last August, and even at 11 months old, he loved going up to her to make silly faces or rock her in her car seat as she slept.  I know people say that being a middle child is a tough gig, but I think it's pretty cool: you have a big sibling to look up to and a younger sibling who looks up to you; a perfect, and very important, sandwich position. As for Abigail, she's really excited this time.  She constantly asks how baby i...