32 week checkup

I had my 32 Prenatal checkup this past Wednesday. Everything is good. The Dr. checked my cervix per my request because of the amount of pretty intense Braxton Hicks I have been having for many months now. I think I started feeling them before I was even 3 months along! At this point it is hard to walk through them because they are so uncomfortable and my belly gets soo hard. The Dr. said with a second pregnancy that is pretty normal, but checked me anyways. I am 1 1/2 cm dilated already! I go back in two weeks for my next checkup, at 34 weeks.

Even though I am feeling large - I have so far gained 14 lbs less than at this point with Emerick, and I also don't have the crazy swelling in my face and especially my feet, ankles and legs like I did the first time. It makes such a big difference. My "fundal" height measurement was right on this time, and not ahead by 2 weeks as it was last month at 28 weeks. I will have an ultrasound at 36 weeks to check the baby's position and size, and also to estimate the weight. I am predicting that this baby will be smaller than Emerick was, just based on the fact that I feel like my belly is quite a bit smaller than it was with Emerick around this stage of pregnancy. I am guessing somewhere around 8 1/2 lbs at birth. But, who knows! Here is a cell phone pic taken at 32 weeks!

Smiling in 4D

Here is a little video clip of Baby Brother Smiling in 4D :-) Too cute.

Precious Preview

Today we had a 3D/4D ultrasound done to get a peek at what Baby Brother looks like. He smiled for us, and appears to have a little dimple on his right cheek! Here are some photos from the scan, taken at 29 weeks & 3 days.

28 Weeks

I had my 28 week checkup yesterday, even though I am officially 28 weeks today. Everything looks good. I've gained 10 lbs less so far than at this stage of pregnancy the first time, so that is good. I am measuring at least 1 week ahead, so no surprise that it will be another big boy.

Here is a video taken this evening at exactly 28 weeks. The baby usually has his butt sticking out just to the left of my belly button, which you can see him sticking it out and stretching in this video :-)

Carnival

Today we played in the Bulle Rock Pool, and then took Emerick to the Carnival downtown Havre de Grace. He got a blow up Spiderman that he insisted be strapped in next to him on the little car ride. He had a blast, but all I had was my cell phone with me to take pics. Here is a picture of him on the cars ride, along with a video and also video of him and Daddy going down the big slide.

Belly Photos

Taken Father's Day - 25 weeks & 4 days

Emerick Funnies

I realized that I hadn't been writing down the random silly things Emerick says/does and that I need to start before they fade from my memory :-( I will add to this post as I think of more...

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Emerick's response to me asking him why he had thrown his toy on the floor and broke it:

"I don't know! I go insane!"

Apparently he outgrew his recent pair of play shoes, he kept taking them off saying "ouch" so I asked him what hurt:

"My shoes are hurting my socks!"

Driving through Bulle Rock, we saw a Bride and Groom being photographed, Emerick turned his head and upon noticing them yells out:

"Ohh! A Princess!" (we didn't even realize he knew what a Princess was!)

***updated 8/1/11***

In the dressing room with my Mom and me as we are trying on skirts he says to my Mom..

"Grammy? Are you a Princess?!"

After he fell onto his bum he yelled to me...

"Mama! Kiss my heiny!"

2 1/2 Year Photos (finally!)

25 weeks

This pregnancy is going by very quick. I am taking every day one at a time, and unlike my pregnancy with Emerick - I am in no hurry to deliver. I am enjoying the last of our weeks together as a family of three. There is no need to rush because I know Baby Brother will be here before we know it!

Preparing this time around has been easy and inexpensive. I went through all of Emerick's clothes, from newborn - 1 year and organized them, putting away all of the tiniest clothes in the baby's dresser/closet, and the rest are waiting in storage bins. We don't really have to buy anything except for diapers which I am stocking up on ahead of time. (we already have a bunch!)

All of my checkups have been quick and uneventful, as they were with Emerick. I am blessed to have easy uncomplicated pregnancies.

I started to feel this baby move at around 16 weeks, and he was not really all that active until the past 3 days or so, he has been moving A LOT. I can watch my belly move around, and I can tell that he is laying in there diagonal with his feet on my left side. Two nights ago I felt his hiccups for the first time!

We are planning to have a 4d ultrasound in July to get a sneak peak at what this little guy looks like! I will also be induced once again, and will most likely deliver sometime around the 21st of September! That means Emerick and Baby Brother's Birthdays will be less than 2 weeks apart. Another huge plus of having another boy - shared birthday parties! ;-)

Here is a quick bathroom mirror self belly shot!

24 weeks + 4 days

Two & a Half

This blog post is long overdue - Emerick turned 2 1/2 on April 2nd :-)

He is suddenly very tall, and becoming quite lean. I am sure by the time he is 5 he will be a scrawny thing like his Mama and Daddy were. He loves the water, and we recently bought him a water play table to play with which he loves. We plan to enroll him in swimming lessons again this Summer. He is currently obsessed with superheroes and doesn't play with his Buzz and Woody toys as often :-( He says he wants to have a "Batman Bicycle" (translation: Batman motorcycle aka Bat Cycle) Birthday Party this year. He is talking in little sentences that are becoming more and more understandable to strangers, and not just those that are around him daily. He is excited about "Baby Brother", although I don't think he really understands that there will actually be a baby living with us in less than 4 months! He says his Baby Brother is going to sit in the very back of our car, not the seat next to him. He also picked out a pair of itty bitty Spiderman socks for the baby, and he talks about this daily - he is very proud! I can't wait to see Emerick become a Big Brother!

He weighs about 36 lbs and is about 36 1/4 inches tall. He mostly wears 3t pants/shorts, 4t shirts, and size 8 shoes.

He still doesn't let me take proper photos of him, so this recent snapshot of him passed out on our bed after a long Memorial Day playing outside in the water with his cousins will have to do! Proper recent photos will hopefully come soon!

18 weeks

Wednesday I had my anatomy scan at exactly 18 weeks. Everything looks good, and he is still a boy! Is it just me or is this a really weird "boy parts" shot?

Here is a self portrait/bathroom mirror belly shot. It will have to do for now.

"I ride!?"

Spring is here

We are finally seeing some sunshine and experiencing some warmer temperatures, and Emerick is soaking it all up. You would think he has never played outside in his entire life! Actually, it has been a long winter and he has probably forgotten the times we played outside last year. He loves to swing, but most of all he loves to climb the rock climbing wall, and go down the slide over and over and over! He giggles the entire time and says "happy, happy!"

Not shy...

15 weeks & 3 days

And we found out the sex.... ;-)

Cast your Vote!

Is #2 a BOY or a GIRL?

• BOY
• GIRL

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"Angle of the Dangle"

At our 12 week ultrasound/First Trimester Screen I asked the technician if she ever predicts gender that early. She said no, "because the penis and clitoris are the same size at that stage." So I left it at that. Being the crazy person that I am, a couple of days later I noticed that in one of the ultrasound photos she gave us, the baby's genital tuber is visible. For fun I started looking around the internet for ways to predict the gender based on that. I came across the "Angle of the Dangle" theory. You can read about it HERE. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page)

After you read about the theory and see confirmed images of boy and girl "nub shots" you can take a look at our ultrasound photo below, and take a guess for yourself if you think this baby is a boy or a girl based on his or her "Angle of the Dangle" !!

I would love to hear what you think, so leave a comment!

(click ultrasound photo to view larger)

Belly Beats

When I was pregnant with Emerick we rented a doppler so that we could listen to his heartbeat at home. This was very reassuring for me before I could feel his movements, to know that he was okay in there. So this time we did the same thing. For the past 4 weeks or so we have had the doppler at home, and every evening I lay in bed for a minute or so and listen to the baby's heartbeat. Emerick has seen me do this once or twice, and tonight he found the doppler in my night stand drawer and came out into the living room with his shirt lifted, doppler on his belly.

Baby Details

We found out on January 19th, 2011 that baby #2 is on his or her way. The due date is September 28th, 2011 which is just 4 days before Emerick's 3rd birthday! This pregnancy has already been a lot different than with Emerick. I was sick! The last couple of weeks I seem to be getting better as far as the morning sickness (all day sickness really) goes. I am already showing, but it is more of a beer belly than a baby belly ;-) Emerick says he doesn't want Mama to have a baby, but if you ask him "is the baby a boy or a girl?" he says "GIRL!" or if you ask the other way around "is the baby a girl or a boy?" he says "BOY!" haha! The baby's heartrate ranges from the 160's - 170's, so if you predict the gender based on that old wives tale, this baby should be a girl. Emerick's heartrate was always in the 140's, and the tale was true for him being a boy. We will definitely find out the sex in a few weeks, but we will keep the baby's name to ourselves until he or she is born :-)

First ultrasound - 7 weeks & 5 days (baby measured 7 weeks & 3 days)
We gave the baby the nickname "Gummy Bear" after this ultrasound

Second ultrasound, baby's profile - 11 weeks & 5 days (baby measured 12 weeks & 3 days)

Big Brother

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." ~ Marc Brown