Pregnancy Update - 23 weeks

Prompted recently by a sister who shall remain nameless, I have been, ahem, "instructed" to take a belly picture and tell about what's going on with baby #2.  She's right.  It's time for a little update.  It's not that I'm not excited, but this pregnancy has been so smooth it's flying by.  Plus, anyone who has another kid knows your time is already consumed.  Nonetheless, I will not neglect blogging for my second kid.  

I'm surprised how close I got the new picture to look like the one from my first pregnancy.  Picture #2 confirms what I thought:  I am definitely showing more this go around.  My belly button has already popped a little too.  My dark line (linea negra) down the center of my stomach did not go away after Lailey was born and was still visible when I got pregnant again.  However, it is now ironically fading as my belly stretches out.  I find that interesting.

Again, prompted by the nameless sister (That's starting to sound hilarious to me.  Okay, maybe I'm just tired.) I am supposed to answer the following questions...

What you are craving?  Lately, jalepenos, spicy stuff, salsa and chips, cottage cheese, sliced strawberries and bananas together, hard-boiled eggs, sushi, chocolate chip cookies from Chick-fil-a.  I'm pretty much just hungry all.the.time.  It's crazy.  I love food.  Healthy or non-healthy, bring it on.  You'd think I'd be gaining a ton of weight but so far it's been nice and steady.  I will admit that gaining weight during pregnancy always makes me a little anxious just because it's a lot more weight than I'm used to.  But obviously I'm not worried enough to stop eating.  Unless I start gaining a ton, I feel like it's my body's way of telling me I need to consume extra calories.  A couple of months ago I had it BAD for Chick-fil-a chicken biscuits and sweet tea.  Like, more than a few times a week bad.  But oh, it was heaven.  I'd almost have a worship service eating it!  After confessing this to my midwife to see what she thought about how bad this was, she suggested I add a protein shake to my breakfast since the protein in the chicken biscuit was helping give me such a good jumpstart at the beginning of the day when nothing else seemed to fill me up (also contributing to the craving).  So now my morning routine is a wheat english muffin with crunchy natural peanut butter and a tiny drizzle of honey along with a protein shake.  (Of course, that's just FIRST breakfast.  Second breakfast could be any number of things.)  Super delicious, lots of protein, and so far it's done the trick!  I've only had CFA twice, I think, and it's been a few weeks.  Neither time was a "have to have it" moment. More like "it's Saturday morning and I've done well all week, how 'bout Chick-fil-a, honey?" [re-reading this paragraph suddenly made me quite hungry]



How far along are you? 23 weeks, or a little over 5 months

Has Davey slipped up and told you yet?  I can't remember if I mentioned this in a previous post or not.  But Davey really really wanted to find out the gender of this baby.  Having loved the surprise with Lailey, I really really did not.  So, on the drive to the ultrasound, we compromised: he'd look and I wouldn't.  He has not slipped up yet to me, and as far as I know, has not told anyone else.  And nobody is allowed to bug him about it, you hear?  

How is Lailey reacting to your belly getting bigger?  Lailey frequently mentions that "Mommy have baby."  She is starting to notice my stomach more with clothes on and will point and say "baby."  The other day she "tickled" the baby and then spontaneously kissed my belly.  So cute!  She also calls her crib "baby's bed" now and seems to understand that it's no longer hers.


Any other normal preggo information people would want to know:  I have been more tired lately, but I'm taking liquid iron since I'm a bit anemic.  This happened with Lailey too so it must be something that happens to me when I'm pregnant.  Mostly I feel pretty good.  No major aches and pains.  I can still see and reach my toes.  I am having more moments when I "feel" pregnant, but it's not bad.  I can still sleep through the night without having to get up to pee.  I make up for it during the day however.  The baby is starting to move a lot more and I'm feeling movement in larger areas.  I have also seen my belly move now.  Davey has felt it several times.  My next MW appointment is in a week, and I have to do the gestational diabetes test.  Not the funnest thing in the world.  For those that don't know this is the "fast for an hour, drink the really super sweet glucose juice, get blood drawn" test.  At least it's only an hour that I can't eat.  I seem to remember with pregnancy #1 having to not eat all morning or something.  I would not survive.  (see above paragraph on FOOD.)


That's all I can think of for now.  

Almost...2!

Her "cheese" face, in full glory

When people ask Lailey how old she is, I will usually prompt her with "You're almost..." and then she replies with an emphatic "Two!"  The girl may be short but she's definitely not short on personality, and we're seeing it come out in all different forms these days.  My "Kids Say the Darndest Things" jar is starting to get more full.  (sidenote: I think at one time I had intended to blog about that little project, but I can't find the picture of the jar now so...you'll have to use your imagination.  It can be any old jar.  I made mine cute with a little ribbon.  Basically, when your child says something funny, write it down on any scrap sheet of paper, then throw it in the jar later.  When you need a pick me up - or your kids are driving you nuts - you go back and read all the adorable things they've said and then you find them that much cuter.  Or at least you find yourself a little less eager to send them away.  But I digress...)

Anyway, here are some cute pictures from the last couple weeks, punctuated by some of her funnies.  Enjoy!

Mommy: "Lailey, you're hilarious.
Lailey: "No, I happy."
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Lailey: "I like your shoes, Mommy."
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Lailey: [yelling to a random group of people at Wal-mart outside the bathroom] "I go tee-tee on potty!"

The beauty of using tv very sparingly is it works wonders when you have a big Saturday project.  Here's Lailey enjoying Toy Story from her "special seat."

Lailey: "Daddy tooted."
Daddy: "No I didn't."
Lailey: (giggling) "Daddy stinky!"
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Lailey: "Give me high five, man!"

Lailey: "Mommy, whassat?

Mommy: "A pipe" [a drain pipe]

Lailey: "Hi pipe. Bye pipe.  See ya later, pipe."

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Lailey: "Mommy go tee-tee on da potty.  Mommy get M&M."

Watching the thunder and hail storm last weekend.

Lailey: "Mommy, put your clothes on." (I was wearing a tank top but had taken another shirt off earlier)

Lailey's latest thing is telling us what to do.  So smart, yet so precocious.  It's hard not to laugh most of the time.  The other day I stopped at a red light and she said "Mommy, go." We had a good discussion after that about red lights and green lights.  Then last weekend she handed me the Swiffer duster (which she enjoys using) and said "Mommy, dust."  Haha.  Well, at least she knows what it's for.

3D Butterfly art work by me.  I may still add something to it, but it's mostly finished.

I am having a blast doing the final decorating touches for her room.  I'll try to post pictures along the way.  I love a good project.

Lailey's Baby Book

So, it's about time right?  I started Lailey's baby book on Shutterfly.com soon after she was born and worked on it occasionally throughout her first year.  But I kept finding excuses not to spend the money to order it.  Thanks to a gift certificate and some Christmas money (I take a long time to spend Christmas money) I finally have no more excuses.  I can't wait to get it in the mail!

Click here to view this photo book larger

First Haircut

It's been a time of lots of changes for Lailey.  Potty training (update: now in underwear all the time except naps and nighttime, yay!), a big bed, a new room, and now a haircut.  I've resisted as long as possible but the ends were just getting too uneven and I wanted it to grow nice and straight.  And her 2nd birthday was coming soon, so I figured now was as good of a time as ever.  We made it a family affair last Saturday, well-equipped with the camera.

Getting entertained by Daddy while we waited.

Unruly locks.

"I don' wan' it"

Sitting on Daddy's lap perfectly still.

Making silly faces at Davey

Daddy making silly faces back.

Hooray!

Lailey with her "cheese" smile

More cheese

The promise of a sucker after her haircut was the incentive for putting on the cape.  I think it worked (see the blue?)

I didn't think she'd freak out about a haircut, especially since it was Aunt Beth who cut it, but she was exceptionally good.  Very content and still - not typical almost-2 behavior.  She fully deserved the blue sucker.  We were very proud.

Big Girl Room, part 2

It's been over a week now, and one of the biggest "firsts" I have been concerned about - switching to a big bed - has proven to not be so bad after all.  In fact, Lailey has done fantastic.  Lailey loves her sleep almost as much as I do.  My concern came from the fact that she was so happy in her crib and such an excellent sleeper that I was afraid to rock the boat (or the bed, in this case).   The first night, she didn't get up even once.  Every once in awhile she gets up, but it's usually just one time.  I joked with Davey the other day (after she ran out to find us in the living room just minutes after putting her in bed), that it's as if she's just saying, "Are you guys SURE about me staying in the bed?  Just checking!"  

First morning after sleeping in her big bed

Sleepy and still smiling

Playing at her art table next to the awesome storage bin system from Ikea.

Ikea bookshelf and bed.  Last time we'll see it this neat.

I am now working on some canvas art to adorn the lovely but currently plain violet walls.  Oh and curtains too.  Well, it's a fun ongoing project.  I'm probably having more fun than she is.

Big Girl Room!

The time has come.  Our old guest room/office/storage space/laundry explosion overflow room has now been transformed into a purple space just for Lailey, a big girl room for the big-sister-to-be. When I think of how little room Lailey first took up in her crib, it's really hard to believe she's in a twin bed now.  These pictures were taken yesterday before the painting was finished, hence the strip of yellow still visible.  I found the bedding at Target on our long day in Atlanta (day of our ultrasound too), and it was literally all the EXACT colors I had wanted, plus it had butterflies on it!  It was like they made it from the plans in my brain.  Crazy!  When I say the exact colors, I mean I have color swatches on my computer desktop and it matches perfectly.  I am pretty excited to say the least, and Lailey seems to like it too.

On Saturday morning after seeing it painted purple, she ran in to wake up Daddy saying "I like it, Daddy!"

Learning to climb in the big bed

This weekend has been extremely productive.  We had two weekends to finish her room, and we got it almost all done in one.  Here's what has gone down in our house this weekend (more pictures to come later):

- Yellow guest room painted "New Violet," selected by Lailey herself (okay, I gave her two choices of purple, one a shade lighter than the other, and she picked the one I wanted anyway.  But hey, it's still fun to say she picked it.)

- New sheets washed and bedding put on the bed.

- Ikea bookcase put together by Daddy and Ikea storage bin system for toys put together by Mommy.

- Old dresser sanded, primed, painted, and fitted with new knobs that look amazing

- Old headboard sanded, primed, and waiting a final coat of paint 

- All her toys and books made the final migration out of our living room or her room and into her new space.  Yay!  We have a living room again!  Just in time for baby stuff to take over again, of course. 

- Guard rail installed on twin bed.

- Kid in the big bed for the first time, along with Teddy and Sammy the Seahorse.  I can't believe it, but she hasn't made a peep since the lights went out and is now sleeping soundly I'm sure.  

My new favorite bookcase from Ikea

We had originally planned to do the big move closer to her birthday, but we were able to finish things much faster than anticipated so we figured why not.  I thought for sure with all the bouncing and wiggling she did on the bed while we read her a book and during prayers that she'd be up 20 times tonight, but once the lights went out, she was fine and laid down happily just like she does in her crib.  We'll see how it goes throughout the night.

I still plan to make her curtains and do a lot of fun decorating on the walls and such, but for now the basics are done and we are so happy with it.  I will take pictures soon and post them since it's just too cute not to share.

First Baby Picture (20 weeks)

What a long day!  We had an ultrasound this afternoon, then a midwife appointment with a very long wait (one MW is out right now so they are quite backed up), and then to top it off, we went shopping in Atlanta at Ikea and finally Target.  But, we did get to see our baby!

If you're not good at figuring these things out (like me), you're looking at the baby's profile in the middle and his/her body to the left.  The dark spot, if I remember correctly, is the heart.  I never stop being amazed at seeing that little heart beat.  Everything looked great on the ultrasound, and we are truly thankful for a healthy pregnancy.

All the shopping was for Lailey's big girl room which is in progress and will hopefully be finished around her birthday.  I can't believe it's coming so quickly.