Baby #2: 38 Weeks

{Hello belly button!}

How far along: 38 Weeks

How big is baby: A pumpkin. The last bits of vernix caseosa and lanugo are slowly shedding into your amniotic fluid. Baby's head is about the same circumference as her abdomen, and her head could be covered in an inch or so of hair.

Weight gain/loss: I want to say we're closer to the 40lb mark now. I've only gained 2-3 lbs in the past month or so.

Stretch marks: Still not sure, but nothing is glaring at me.

Sleep: Pretty terrible. Mix a cold in with the general uncomfortable feelings and it kind of sucks.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: I've lost my appetite a bit. Not much sounds good. Though I'm still enjoying sweets more than salty.

Movement: Slow and steady. I'm getting a lot of the "lightning crotch" feelings and pressure as the baby is dropping but he/she is still wiggling away in what limited space is left.

What I'm worrying about: Going into labor while I have a cold! That sounds miserable. It's pretty minor, but still.... Just things in general. Praying for a safe delivery and a healthy baby. And, if I can have the perfect labor and delivery I'm envisioning to go on top of it would be great!

What I'm loving: The snow that has forced us to take a few slow days. I was pretty busy for a few weeks and I'm enjoying some time at home and trying to rest a bit.

Symptoms: Indigestion, SPD, gall bladder pain. I had this weird pain in my leg this week but it has subsided. Actually, overall things have lessened in the past few days. My gall bladder isn't burning all the time. The indigestion is waning. My ribs aren't aching horribly. I think that can all be contributed to the baby settling down low. Of course, that means a lot of pressure down low, but what can I say? 

What I'm looking forward to: Summer! Trips to the zoo. Babywearing. Remembering to enjoy the little things and not letting myself get caught up in an overwhelming feeling of what's coming!

Best moment of the week: FINALLY settling on both boy and girl names for good. I hope. We kind of suck at making decisions. I think Rob is in denial. 

#2: 37 Weeks

How far along: 37 Weeks - Full Term!

How big is baby: A winter melon. Baby has reached full term! That means he's developed his most crucial functions. Of course, he'll get even healthier and stronger over the next few wees, so don't get too impatient.

Weight gain/loss: Around 35 lbs. Not too bad so far after a rough start! I am still below my final number with Evelyn's pregnancy though.

Stretch marks: Still not sure, but nothing is glaring at me.

Sleep: Every day is different. Some days I sleep well and others, not so much.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Again, I feel like I'm wanting a lot of what I was craving with Evelyn's pregnancy. Fruit, sub sandwiches. Though I'm still loving some chocolate.

Movement: It's slowed down a lot. Baby is definitely running out of room! I do think he/she is anterior though instead of posterior like Evelyn was.

What I'm worrying about: Not a whole lot. Of course I have some moments where I worry about a safe labor and delivery but at this point I'm kind of accepting that it's out of my control. Getting anxious about what's coming but so looking forward to having another little one!

What I'm loving: Having some last hurrah family adventures with the three of us before we become a family of four!

Symptoms: Indigestion, SPD, gall bladder pain. I just keep on keeping on! I think I've dropped a little and my hip/pelvic pain is getting steadily worse. I'm becoming very slow, which if you know me at all is very unusual!

What I'm looking forward to: Watching Evelyn's reaction to the baby.

Best moment of the week: Family weekend. Rob and I took Evelyn to the Butterfly House and the Carousel afterward. We've just been thoroughly enjoying ourselves and Evelyn's last few weeks as an only child. Makes for some sweet memories!

Evelyn Being Evelyn

I was finally able to capture some video of Evelyn. Usually when I get the camera out she becomes obsessed with it and I don't get much beyond her fingers in the lens. But, this time she was just being herself. A little glimpse into the life of my sweet toddler!

#2: 36 Weeks (Baby Says Hi!)

How far along: 36 Weeks

How big is baby: A honeydew. Baby's skin is getting smooth and soft, her gums are rigid, her liver and kidneys are in working order, and her circulation and immune system are good to go. Her lungs are the only organs that still need to fully mature, but every day she gets a little closer to breathing on her own.

Weight gain/loss: Around 35 lbs. Not too bad so far after a rough start!

Stretch marks: I'm not sure at this point. It looks like there are a few popping up around my belly button, but I only see them in a certain light. I've still got some time (hopefully) for them to really appear.

Sleep: Every day is different. Some days I sleep well and others, not so much.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Again, I feel like I'm wanting a lot of what I was craving with Evelyn's pregnancy. Fruit, sub sandwiches. Though I'm still loving some chocolate.

Movement: Slowing down and more patterns, but sometimes this kid just goes to town! See for yourself!

{Yes, that is the baby moving, not me moving my belly!}

What I'm worrying about: Not a whole lot. Of course I have some moments where I worry about a safe labor and delivery but at this point I'm kind of accepting that it's out of my control. Getting anxious about what's coming but so looking forward to having another little one!

What I'm loving: Thinking about snuggling a newborn again and that sweet newborn smell.

Symptoms: Indigestion, SPD, gall bladder pain. I just keep on keeping on!

What I'm looking forward to: Weird as it sounds, experiencing labor and delivery again. I'm praying that it goes as well as last time, but I am looking forward to that rush. The whole thing was just so indescribable. I'm getting ready!

Best moment of the week: My meeting with my doula. I'm so happy already that we hired her again. She came over and we talked a lot about things and my expectations. She gently reminded me that I'm 36 weeks which means I might want to start thinking about packing my hospital bag (yikes!) and she brought me a really nice little bag of goodies including an herbal sitz bath and some tea and breastfeeding necessities. It was also nice to talk to a mom who just went through L&D a few weeks ago herself. 

Moving to the Big Girl Bed

This post has been brewing for some time and will probably be long! Don't say I didn't warn you!

In June of last year, right after Evelyn turned 1, we found out we were pregnant with baby #2. We were super excited. It definitely happened a little faster than we expected, especially after our fertility issues the first time around, but we truly were thrilled. Upon getting that positive pregnancy test, I did two things: I calculated my estimated due date - March 11 - and I calculated how old Evelyn would be - 20 months.

This created a bit of a conundrum, seeing as how I hadn't really planned on moving Evelyn out of the crib until she crawled out or significantly outgrew it. But the cheap side of me really questioned buying another crib when I had a perfectly good bedframe I could use. So, after discussing it with Rob, we decided that 20 months - while young - was an okay age to move her up.

I had lots of fun decorating and I'm very anxious to reveal it to you but... sorry. Evelyn's kind of been sleeping in there and has successfully pulled things off the wall and dresser which means that it doesn't look anything like it should and I didn't take pictures before she got to it. I'm going to try and get it back together this weekend and take some pictures.

I had a goal date in mind of February 1. Baby #2 is due on March 11 and I wanted to give time to adjust. February 1 would give me at least a month and also some wiggle room in case the baby comes earlier than expected. We hit crunch time when I finally had to start threatening Rob to get him to move furniture out of the room so I could do decorating. We finished it including bed, wall decor, storage, closet, clothes moved, etc. on February 1st and just went ahead and moved her that night.

I didn't really know how to approach it. We decided not to do a bed rail for two reasons. One, I wasn't sure if we could get one tall enough as her mattress is pretty thick. Two, I just didn't want to deal with it. It's a full size bed (only because the frame is full size) so we put one side against the wall and I put a body pillow under the sheet on the other side with her crib mattress on the floor for some padding.

Then we just jumped in with both feet. I had everything prepared to do her nighttime routine. We put her pjs on, brushed her teeth, she came in and turned her music on, we nursed and rocked on her new bed, I laid her down and left. The first night was okay. She got up several times and I tried consistently going in and putting her back in bed. That didn't work at all. I tried going in and nursing/rocking again, no luck. Finally, we had friends over and my girlfriend went and laid down with her and she finally went to sleep. Thankfully, after getting her to sleep, she didn't get up until morning.

The next night was better, but she didn't take a nap that day and was exhausted. She went down on the first try after falling asleep while nursing and slept till morning.

The third night was worse. A repeat of the first. She again, didn't take a nap again and was over tired. Finally, she went to bed around 11 and slept till morning. I was beginning to question our decision. Neither her nor I could function on her sleeping this little. It was turning bad quickly.

The fourth night was when we hit rock bottom. Over and over again, we put her down. She cried. She'd get up and bang on the door. I'd try again. Then she completely lost it and had a utter melt down that lasted 45 minutes and involved LOTS of crying from her and me. I was exhausted. She was exhausted. She was crying herself to the point where I thought she would throw up and nothing I did would calm her down. Finally, I guess she wore herself out, climbed in the bed with me, nursed again, and went to sleep at around 11.

Then, I had an epiphany. The next morning, I looked in her mouth. BINGO! She was working on not one, not two, but THREE teeth! The only symptom we ever have of teething is sleep and every time I figure it out way late.

She's been napping terribly for a couple of weeks and throw everything else on top of it was a recipe for disaster.

So, the fifth night (after a nap at my moms in the pack and play, THANK GOODNESS), we did our routine on time and this time I gave her some teething tablets. She nursed/rocked, I laid her down awake, and left. I heard her in there a little bit. She got out of bed and was wandering, but was quiet. Within an hour I stopped hearing anything and went to check. She'd climbed back in bed and went to sleep! She's done this for the past three nights and slept all night long!! Her taking an hour and fidgeting/playing is totally normal so I think we may have found some success and it was all thanks to her ridiculous teeth!

Top that off with her taking a three hour nap today and I am one happy mama! Granted, I've had to hold and sway her to sleep for her nap, but I'll take it if we can just get her back on her good sleeping schedule.

I'm not calling the move a success just yet, but we've definitely made progress and I'm feeling much better. I have not worries anymore about her falling out of the bed and she has proved she can easily climb in an out of it (we have a little box for her to climb onto and I showed her how to step on the box spring to climb the rest of the way up) so I know that even if she gets down she can get back up. Also, it seems that she knows she is supposed to sleep in her bed and not on the floor. Hopefully this trend continues and we will have the worst behind us!

Here's my big girl sleeping in her big bed! I guess she's not a baby anymore... :(

#2: 35 Weeks

{Yes, I do exist outside of my pajamas. I promise!}

How far along: 35 weeks; 35 days to go (actually, since this post is a day late... 34!)

How big is baby: A coconut. From now on baby's growth is mostly in the plumping department - though he won't get much longer, he'll put a pound or more of baby fat on before birth. His hearing is totally developed and if he really is a "he," his testes have probably completed their descent.

Weight gain/loss: At least 30lbs. Between the different scales, I'm not sure of the exact number but I'm looking at about 35lbs right now. I only gained 1lb between my last two appointments (two weeks apart) so I'm not feeling too bad about this right now!

Stretch marks: I thought I had one emerging below my belly button but it hasn't gotten any worse. Maybe I won't add to my stretch mark collection this time? I think I just jinxed myself.

Sleep: Terrible. Between the intense discomfort brought on by my development of SPD and Evelyn moving to her new bed, I'm exhausted. 

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: I'm starting to lean toward fruit a little more these days. Sounds like Evelyn's pregnancy!

Movement: Slowing down a little I think but he/she definitely reminds me he/she is in there often!

What I'm worrying about: Getting Evelyn to bed easily. It's been rough. It's only been 4 days but she is testing me for sure. Once she is actually asleep, there are not problems, it's getting her to sleep that is the hard part.

What I'm loving: Still nesting! Though I am really tired. 

Symptoms: I've had a pretty tough week. My OB diagnosed me with SPD - Pubic Symphysis Diastasis. The pain I've been having are attributed to that and they've been getting progressively worse. I'm still hanging in there, but I find being up and moving around is a lot better than sitting too much. I've had a lot of pain in my pubic bone and joint including popping and grinding. Sounds awesome, huh? Sleep is probably the worst. It's pretty painful to roll over, but I can't sleep on one side all night or my hips will get really sore. Also, my gall bladder is acting up, but that's par for the course from last time. I'm just on the border of that mental state of "I can't take this anymore." I love being pregnant for sure, but I won't say there aren't things that get me down!

What I'm looking forward to: Settling in as a family of 4. Seeing how Evelyn interacts with the new one. She is so sweet with her baby dolls, I hope she is as sweet to the new one!

Best moment of the week: Though it was rough, finally making the move with Evelyn. That opens the doors for me to get the crib and nursery back in newborn shape! I washed all my newborn diapers! 

Tidbits

• Oh dear. I am way behind. I was talking to Rob today to reminded me that it is currently February 2. WHAT!? So, not only have I neglected to take pictures of Evelyn's big girl room after completion (more on that in a minute), I also have a weekly bump post due in two days and I'm late on Evelyn's 19 month post. 
• I can't believe my baby is 19 months old. And I completely forgot about it. I feel like the last 2 weeks haven't even existed as I've literally been pouring every spare ounce of time and energy into completing her room for the big move this weekend.
• Speaking of her room, we officially made the move meaning that it is done. Not necessarily to my vision, but some of it I realized just isn't really possible with the age she is right now. I'm going to write a whole post about her room before and after and all the logistics of everything, but I'm pretty happy with it overall!
• Evelyn's first official night in her new bed was last night. It started pretty rough as she just didn't want to stay in bed (not surprising), but finally my good friend asked if she could lay with her and lo and behold, she fell asleep! Dallas managed to sneak out and Evelyn slept the rest of the night. She didn't even get up before she normally does! Look closely and you can see Sweet Pea sleeping in her big bed!

• I wish I had slept as well. My body slept but my mind didn't. You moms out there would understand. And, as soon as the sun came up I was wide awake just waiting for her to wake up early. Totally unnecessary, but oh well. Maybe I'll sleep better tonight.
• I finally got my official Christmas present today! Rob got me a second band for my wedding set, but he got the wrong one. So, today, we went and made the exchange. I'm pretty much in love. Hopefully I get to wear it a little before my hands swell too much!

• I have been nesting. Bad. Cleaning non-stop, working on Evelyn's room, working on the nursery to revert it back to "infancy." I even did my first load of laundry for the baby. Diapers and washing things like the Boppy and Rock N' Play covers. Yikes.
• I gained 1 lb over the last two weeks putting me at around 35lbs gain. Things have definitely slowed down!
• My next OB appointment starts my weekly visits. Oh dear. It's coming. FAST.
• Evelyn has not been napping well. It's frustrating me and her. She gets super cranky, but I'm not sure what to do. It's even worse now that she can climb out of her bed. At least I can say that moving her to her new bed didn't ruin her naps. They were bad already. But I'm sure it won't be helping the situation.
• I'm done with winter. It hasn't even been that bad this year either. But, I'm ready for leaves on the trees and adventures to the zoo and the swimming pool! And walks! I can't wait for spring!
• I really hope this summer is a mild one. The last two have been brutally hot and I'd love to spend a lot more time outside this year. Evelyn will be at a great age for the park and the new little on will still be nice and wearable, I think.
• We've been attending a new church. I'm still getting used to it, but I really like it. I love the messages and the worship. Seriously, the guy can teach. And I like it when I'm learning and being taught, not always preached at. If that makes sense. My biggest struggle is the size of our new church. I've always attended small churches (200 or less) and this church is very large. It has multiple campuses and multiple services per campus. But, I think with some effort on our part to get involved, we can call it home. That's what I'm looking for, home.