Happy November!

Another month has passed, and here we are in the middle of Fall, only 5 or 6 weeks away from adding to our family again. Wow! On Saturday, we met up with my moms' group for a Halloween party for the kiddos. Owen was the cutest elephant I've ever seen! Here are some pictures of our big guy, who just came down with his third cold in the past four weeks. Poor kid!

Elephants need pets too:


He found the donuts...


There was an unplanned zoo theme at the party this year:






The elephant with his zookeeper, elephant trainer Dad:


And with his jack-o-belly Mom:


Happy Halloween! (34 weeks, 1 day pregnant)

Another Ultrasound

We had an ultrasound today to check on this new baby's size, and he's a big guy like his brother! At 33 weeks and 5 days, he is estimated to already weigh 6 pounds 12 ounces. Yikes! That's 2 and a half pounds bigger than "average" at this point and we have 6-ish weeks to go. He could easily be bigger than Owen at birth (9lbs, 12oz). All of the measurements had this kid being at least a week or two bigger than his gestational age, but his head is measuring 4 weeks ahead. Ouch! We'll be discussing our options with our doctor next week, but I'm still hoping to try a VBAC. I guess part of that will be based on when Number Two decides to come.

Here are a few pictures from today. The tech did a "4D" ultrasound, but it was hard to get a face shot since he has his head buried in the placenta in my pelvis. Oh well...we'll see him for sure in December (or November?).

Ear:


Hand:


Face:

33 Weeks Pregnant with Baby Boy 2

I'm now 33 weeks pregnant with bouncing baby boy numero dos. We had a routine check-up on Wednesday, and he's gone through a bit of a growth spurt over the past couple of weeks. So far, I'm up 29 pounds this pregnancy, so I'm gaining at about the same rate as I did with Owen.

Since I now work from the comfort of our couch, I don't have the insane swelling in my hands, legs and feet that I did when I was pregnant with Owen and sitting behind a desk all day long. I'm even still wearing my wedding ring, which I hope I can keep on my finger this time instead of wearing it on a chain. I guess we'll see how the next 7 weeks go.

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

We'll have an ultrasound on Wednesday to make sure the placenta is clear of my cervix so I can try a natural birth again this time. The ultrasound will also help estimate the baby's current and projected birth weight. Dan thinks I'm nuts for even wanting to try a normal birth, knowing that this kid is probably bigger than Owen was (9 pounds, 12 ounces) and that another c-section may be inevitable, but I want to at least try. I don't love the idea of being cut open again, and I'd like to know that the baby is ready to be born rather than picking a day before I go into labor. I do have different expectations this time though, so it won't take 26 hours of labor to make the call this time!

Here is a picture of me from Wednesday at 32 weeks and 5 days pregnant:



For comparison, here's one of me at 34 weeks with Owen:



I think the pictures are pretty similar, but I may be a tiny bit bigger this time. Either way, I have some more growing to do as this kiddo doubles his weight in the next 7-ish weeks. I'll keep you posted!

Amazing

If you read any of my posts on here, it's pretty clear that Dan and I think Owen is pretty much the most amazing little boy to ever live. He has grown so much, is so fun and active, is so smart and funny...it's kind of unreal, and we find ourselves smiling every night after he's in bed, talking about the new things he did that day, or the funny face he made, or the unbelievable amounts of food that he ate. He changed our lives forever and we couldn't be luckier! So, for today's post, I'm going to try to list some of the things he's doing right now so that we don't forget when he moves onto the next set of incredible things he's going to do next!

He is talking up a storm, and as of today, is talking in almost complete sentences! "Want more grapes," "want more juice," "I get you!" Some of our favorite words right now are: teapot, tickle, kitty cat, meatball, goldfish, whale (pronounced as two very distinct syllables - way-yul), oh no!, concrete truck, monkey, ocho, hamburger (pronounced like a Japanese samurai would say it), zebra, thank you, mooooocow, "chocmo" (chocolate milk)...man the list goes on and on, especially with food. He knows several different bugs: bee, butterfly, caterpillar, beetle, ant, ladybug. He loves trucks and can go through his truck book by memory (and name the 20 different trucks).

Owen loves to sing songs, including "All Aboard the Choo Choo Train" from the Disney channel. He'll walk around singing it and dancing too. He loves Handy Manny and can name his 8 tools (his favorite is Felipe - "Fee-pee"). He can count to 10 easily, and then every number after that is 13 or 15. He asks to sing his ABCs - he helps with ABC, HI, QR, TUVW, and Y. He can build some pretty amazing towers with his blocks, and LOVES when they fall over. Owen loves swings and being chased. He can read and re-read his books all day long. He has started fake sneezing -- "Achoo! 'Neeze!" and he likes to spin in circles until he falls down.

And, boy, can our kid eat! Most mornings he'll eat two scrambled eggs, a veggie sausage patty, a banana, and then help me eat my bowl of cereal (which he is convinced is always "Fah Fake" -- Frosted Flakes). Then he'll snack on goldfish crackers or graham crackers until lunch/naptime. For dinner, he'll eat an entire hamburger or a piece of "a-pizza" or half a box of chee-no (cheezy noodles - mac & cheese). Or he'll help us with whatever else we may be eating - chicken, steak, Thai food. He even likes broccoli! We're not sure where it's all going though. At his 18-month appointment, Owen weighed 25 pounds, which was only the 37th percentile. But he's in the 90s for height (34 inches) and head circumference (49.7 cm), so he's a tall, smart, skinny dude.

Owen seems to be finally appreciating sleep now, though he does like to get up early. I guess when he naps well and sleeps 10-11 hours straight at night, he can't really be expected to sleep much longer. But he doesn't put up much of a fight any more, and enjoys his bed with his alligator, polar bear, green bear, moose and kitty cat to keep him company. He's even managed to keep a decent sleep schedule as his first 4 molars have come in. That brings him up to 12 teeth now!

He likes to color with crayons (and snack on them), and flip light switches on and off. He spends a lot of time running around, and a lot of time trying to figure out how things work (the bath tub faucet, the baby gate, our computers and their cords, his monitor). Right now he's running around with a banana, trying to get it open by himself.

And we're only 8-ish weeks away from adding to the amazement! Our next little guy is almost 4 pounds right now, and around 17 inches long. He really likes to get his feet up under my ribs, and is very active. He gets hiccups a lot, just like Owen did. He moves when he hears Dan or Owen, and I never have to wonder if he's okay in there...he never sits still long enough to worry! From here on out, he's just got to gain some weight and keep practicing his breathing. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone already, but I also can't believe there are two full months to go. I'm excited to see Owen as a big brother. I'm sure he'll be amazing at that too.

To sign off before the pictures, and to quote our amazing 18-month old, "See y'soon!"

Just Pictures

28 Weeks Pregnant

I entered the third trimester of this pregnancy yesterday, passing the 28-week mark.

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world. (babycenter.com)

I would like to add that he likes to kick and punch and dance all day and all night long, much like his big brother did, and he's also been getting hiccups a lot.

I'm really tired these days, but some of that is due to Owen's never-ending energy and his teething moodiness. I feel like I'm as big as I can get, so I'm scared to see how much bigger I get in the next 12 weeks. Oh, and my belly button is starting to pop out! It got flat with Owen, but never popped. Pregnancy is a crazy thing!

The Third Trimester

That's right, folks. Today marks 27 weeks in this pregnancy, and the beginning of the third trimester. Owen's baby brother is around 2 pounds and 15 inches, or the size of a head of cauliflower. He's also a breakdancer who needs no rest...ever! And I'm betting on a full head of hair too, because I could breathe fire with the heartburn I have all day and night. So far, all of our appointments have been uneventful, which is the best we can hope for, and starting with our next one, we go every two weeks until Mr. Man makes his grand entry into the world.

In Owen news, he has two top molars now, bringing his tooth count to 10. Unfortunately for Owen, he's got 10 more to come. We can tell more must be on their way because he is a super duper grumpypants these days. Luckily, though, he is eating and sleeping like a champ most days.

We went to the Puyallup Fair today with Grandpa Louie, but I think Owen's still just a little too young. He wanted to run around and touch everything and every animal, which we couldn't let him do in such a crazy, crowded space. On top of missing nap time, it was definitely a recipe for disaster. Hopefully next year will be more fun for all of us.

Here are a few (okay, a bunch -- it's been a month!) pictures of our 17-month old cutie pie: