19-20-21 Weeks

Here's the bump at 19, 20, and 21 weeks:

How far along? 21 weeks and 5 days

How big is the baby? The size of a spaghetti squash - 8 inches long and about 1 pound.

Are you in maternity clothes? Oh, yes! I have realized that many of my non-maternity shirts

are just not long enough anymore. :)

How do you feel physically? For the most part, I feel good. The occasional heartburn has started and I feel twinges of my round ligaments stretching every now and then. 

My spider and varicose veins are hurting some so I've been wearing gradient compression

stockings daily (sexy!). But those are totally minor complaints in the scheme of things!

Sleep? I feel well-rested most days when I wake - even since we've moved

Max to his toddler bed. (For some reason I was expecting that transition

to come with lots of sleepless nights.) I am not taking advantage of my ability

to nap during the day like I should...I'll work on that though. :)

Miss anything? Energy! But I think that is something I will always

want more of, especially with one - soon to be two - boys running around!

Feeling movement of the baby? I can really feel Baby Brother moving these days! 

It is so fun. He is especially active in the evenings - or maybe I'm more still then 

and more aware of his ninja practice.

Food cravings? Anything salty and savory.

Gender of the baby? It's a boy! We are so excited for Max to have a little brother. :)

 

Mood/ thoughts? I have been thinking a lot lately about what Baby Brother's personality will

be like and what his unique contributions will be to our family. Will he be athletic or bookish?

Will he like to sing or have difficulty keeping time? Will he always draw a crowd or prefer to stay away from them? I cannot wait to meet this little man and see what he is like!

20 Months

Y'all.

I had this realization recently

that Max is TWENTY MONTHS OLD (yes, I was a little late)

which means that he will be two in just four months!

I really cannot believe my boy is getting so big. :(

Max weighs about 31(ish) pounds and measures 35 inches tall.

We are in a serious growth spurt right now

(just minutes after breakfast he is asking for a snack).
So check back with us in a week or two
and I'm sure our little man will have sprouted another inch!

We seem to have passed whatever vegetable aversion stage we were in
and now this kiddo just can't get enough of anything on his plate!
In fact, the other night Max asked for some of the spinach salad
with balsamic vinaigrette I was having with dinner.
I was hesitant to give him any, but he gobbled it right up. Crazy kiddo. ;)
He had his first donut hole this past month, and now often asks
for them - or cookies or "dake" (cake). It only took one time, of course!

He still sleeps about 11 hours a night (8:00pm-7:00am),
though we have had a few glorious mornings where Max "slept in" until 7:30 or 7:45! 
 (Those are usually after a night of frequent wakings, so we needed some extra shut-eye.)
He is still napping about 2 hours each afternoon.

It is finally confirmed that Max's second year molars are poking through.
Seems like we've been dreaming this for ages. :)
Here's hoping it's downhill from here and these teeth
will finish inflicting their pain (and sleepless nights) very soon!

Little man's vocabulary has just exploded this past month
and he is starting to put more words together.
It's pretty hilarious the combinations his little mind creates.

He is also parroting a lot more words that he hears us say,
which is always unexpected - and funny!
(The other night Max repeated the word "arrogant" - yikes)

Max can regularly recognize the colors pink and orange,
count to three, and walk "backards."
He can reach the power button on the TV and
is just tall enough to pull things off the kitchen counter, much to our chagrin.
(Don't worry - we are working on it!)
He loves to chase our neighbor's cats, collect rocks (still),
and point out airplanes on our walks.

This month Max discovered his pants pockets,
and gets very disappointed if I dress him in anything without pockets.
He will often walk around the house with his hands stuffed in
(which makes his pants sag), proudly proclaiming "Pockets!" as he goes. :)
Sometimes he has a hard time getting to his pockets,
like when he's sitting in the carseat, so we're learning that
you can't always have your hands in your pockets.

Max has also discovered that he can remove his diaper when he wishes,
which usually occurs after he has soiled it. :(
It seems he mainly does this when in room time (which is by himself),
so I just have to make sure I'm watching the monitor!

We have been talking some about the baby brother in Mommy's tummy,
though if you ask Max he'll tell you it's a baby monkey. :)

It is so fun - and exhausting - to watch this kiddo grow!

The Wait Is Over!

We are finally ready to announce...

 

 

 

 

 

I know it's hard to tell in the pics, but that silly string really is blue!

Our sono on Wednesday revealed a healthy baby with all his boy parts. :)

 

 

We couldn't be happier to add more blue to our family -

even if it means I am vastly outnumbered!

(A mom's votes count for triple, right?)

16-17-18 Weeks

Here's the bump at

16, 17, and 18 weeks:

How far along? 18 weeks and 4 days

How big is the baby? The size of a mango - 6 inches long and about 1/2 a pound.

Are you in maternity clothes? Yes, but I'm still hanging onto quite a few non-maternity items.

Thank goodness for elastic!

How do you feel physically? I feel good, but still tire very easily. I am totally wiped out by the end of the day, even if I take a nap. Just last night I was dozing off while Clay and I talked - at 9:00pm! (And he wasn't boring me, I promise.)

Sleep? Seems like I've discovered how to get comfortable - but I still get up

to attend to little man at least once every night or so. (We think he's teething.)

Miss anything? Sushi. And cookie dough!

Feeling movement of the baby? I felt what I think were a few flutters about 16 weeks.

It isn't very regular yet so it's hard to tell.

Food cravings? Still Mexican food, especially nacho salads from Rosa's with lots of jalapenos. :)

Gender of the baby? We find out TOMORROW!!! It is sort of strange to think 

that we will know the gender of this baby (though I have heard plenty of stories in the past few days to remind me that sonographers are not perfect!) but exciting too.

 

Mood/ thoughts? I feel like I have been really focused on Max lately and some upcoming

transitions for him (moving to a toddler bed in a few weeks!), so this baby is not getting the attention

that Max did in utero - not that I was hooking up Belly Buds or anything. :)

I know that this baby is just as special, but it's a lot easier to focus on the busy toddler 

running circles in front of me than the little jellybean in my tummy. Maybe after we know a little more about this baby (boy or girl!), it will help me picture our future family

and focus a little more attention on this bundle of joy!

Photo A Day: January

I went back and forth for a while, trying to decide

if I'd continue the Photo A Day Challenge in 2013.

Since I'm already in the habit of taking pictures daily 

(most days - ha!), I figured why not?!!

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder what fun February will bring... ;)

Baby No. 2: Pink or Blue?

After much deliberation, 

I have finally decided that we ARE going to find out the gender of Jellybean #2!

While it was super-fun to be surprised with Max,
the planner in me just could not wait another 20 weeks (or so)
to find out who else will be joining our family. :)

So, what are your guesses?
Will we be seeing some pink in our future - or more blue?!

Some fun facts to help you guess:
I had a dream not long after we found out we were pregnant
that I was holding a brand new baby girl.
However, the heart rate of this baby has measured lower just like with Max.

We find out one week from today! :)

13-14-15 Weeks

Seasoned mothers have said it to me many times,

but I never really realized just how different each pregnancy is!

 The list of differences is (already) endless...

but I'm slowly learning that I don't have to compare every little detail

(like how cute and perky I looked in the belly pics last time).

It is definitely true that you start showing earlier!

Here's the bump at 13, 14, and 15 weeks:

 I am going to copy this little questionnaire from my friend Katie,

which she used while she was pregnant. Otherwise, I tend to ramble. ;)

How far along? 15 weeks and 4 days

How big is the baby? According to my pregnancy tracker app, this little jellybean

is roughly the size of an avocado, so about 5 inches long and 4 ounces.

Are you in maternity clothes? Some of both, but maternity pants for sure!

I am trying to hang onto normal clothes as long as I can. Plus, I think they're more flattering 

on me right now (case in point: the middle pic above. yikes!).

How do you feel physically? Much better than I did in the first trimester! The constant nausea

seems to have passed, for which I am grateful (and so is Clay, because that means I'm cooking more)!

I still tire easily, but for the most part I feel good.

Sleep? I try to nap most days when Max does. At night I usually have trouble getting comfortable,

even with my giant Boppy preggo pillow! But I usually only get up once to pee,

and I'm thankful there are no other interruptions. :)

Miss anything? An occasional glass of wine with dinner, especially when Clay and I go out.

Feeling movement of the baby? Not yet, but it should be any day now!

Food cravings? Mexican food or anything savory/ salty. Sweets generally gross me out.

Gender of the baby? We don't know yet! And we're still not sure if we'll find out this time.

The sonogram is scheduled for February 6th, so we have until then to decide!

Mood/ thoughts? At my appointment last week, I got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time!

(130-140 bpm, the midwife said.)  The pregnancy is not really real to me until I hear that heartbeat - and what a beautiful sound. :) These days I am also trying to savor each moment with just Max, and at times it makes me sad to think this baby will not get the same kind of attention from me. I am definitely cherishing this time I get to spend with Max - but I'm also looking forward to getting to know this jellybean and forming a special bond with him/ her. :)

19 Months

I have had this dilemma for a while now:

is Max still my baby or is he my little boy?

 

 

 

 

These pictures seem to confirm it: he is more boy than baby!
(After all, cute little babies don't have boogers hanging out their nose. 
 Also, what is up with this new weird cheese face?!!)

At 19 months, little man weighs in at 30 pounds and measures 34 inches tall.

At our visit with the endocrinologist earlier this month

(who apparently has some kind of program to predict adult height), 

we were informed that we will most likely be looking UP to our 6-foot son

(once he's done growing and all)!

I'm sensing some basketball in his future... ;)

Our appointment with the endocrinologist didn't reveal anything specific.

We are increasing Max's meds and will go back in six weeks for another blood test.

Hopefully this will help us get to the bottom of his high TSH levels.

ASIDE: I absolutely hate going to take little man to get his blood drawn - 

and he does too! He starts crying as soon as he sees the chair, poor kiddo.

At his last blood draw, I overheard myself saying, "Mommy, it's okay,"

instead of "Max, it's okay." I guess I needed some reassuring, too!

Max's eating seems to have rebounded (in some ways) this month.

Sometimes he still doesn't eat everything we put on his plate,

but at least he's trying it before he refuses! Eventually we'll get there.

It is so funny to me that Max loves bikes so much

but only wants to ride his for 10 or 15 minutes at a time.
Especially since the first word we usually hear him say in the mornings is "bike" -
and he talks about bikes all day and wants to read his bike books over and over.
But this kiddo is easily distracted by a neighbor walking their dog or a passing car,
so we usually don't get too far before he wants to turn back.
I'm sure that will change in time!

We have started having little man sit on the potty before bathtime in the evenings,
just to get him a little more used to the idea.

  He has only successfully "used" it a handful of times, but we praise him anyway!

We have also started incorporating room time into our daily routine
as playpen time was, well, not working as you can see here:

Little man is still learning how to handle this extra freedom but is doing really well!

Max is really curious about the things that Clay and I do,
and often wants to do exactly what we are doing.
So we have started putting a "makin" (napkin) in his lap for mealtimes.
It really does nothing to contain the mess as you can see here

but it makes Max so proud to point out "Mommy's makin"
and "Daddy's makin" and "Mac makin." :)
He also knows to fold his hands to pray before we eat
and always adds an enthusiastic "amen!"

As I mentioned before, Max traveled quite a bit this past month and did really well in the car.
(When you have a carload of personal entertainers, that makes it much easier!)
He also started Thursday school this month and loved his first day!

These days Max is into bikes (of course), buttons, books, dinosaurs, trucks, and rocks.
He loves to listen to The Laurie Berkner Band,
and is really good at doing the motions to some of the songs.
It is hilarious is when he puts out his hand and yells "minute!" (as in "wait a minute").

I am amazed at all the things our little man is soaking up. He is truly a sponge!

It is a joy and a wonder to watch him learning about the world around him. :)