Baby

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Baby 2: Twenty-Four Weeks

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How far along: 24 weeks and 1 day

Sex of Baby W: A little lady! Her initials are DCW, but we aren’t publicly sharing the name just yet.

Weight gain: I have gained a total of 3 pounds.

Size of Baby W: ear of corn or a puffin.

Maternity clothes: All the time. My last pair of regular pants this week decided to be too uncomfortable to make it work.

Baby items: I bought a pack of headbands. We have also gotten several hand-me downs from friends.

Stretch marks: I have a couple stretch marks on each of my hips. Bummer.

Belly button in or out:  It’s still in.

Sleep: Either I have to wake up to pee, or George starts stirring around 3 or 4 am. I generally don’t get back into a good sleep after that. We are adjusting George’s nap (he was still at 4 hour naps), and that seems to be helping with him snoozing a little later over night. I slept really well at my conference though!

Best moment the past few weeks: The conference I went to was really good, and it was really nice to have some time to myself before we become a family of four. We also started construction on our addition to our house.

Worst moment the past few weeks: I haven’t really had anything bad the past couple weeks.

Miss anything: Not really anything right now.

Cravings: I have been wanting chocolate baked goods. Bring on all the donuts, cake, and brownies.

Movement: She moves the most after dinner, but I am starting to feel her a lot more during the day. Tom has felt her several times, but George never stays on my belly long enough to feel her.

Symptoms/how I am feeling: I have been feeling pretty good.  I did have a little morning sickness on the flight back from my conference.I have a lot of round ligament pain on my right side. I have had some cramping too. Thanks growing uterus.

Looking forward to: Seeing our addition get further along. I need to blog about how it all came together. We should be under roof here in the next couple weeks!

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George knows that Sister is in my belly. We give her kisses and hugs every day.

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Here is George at 24 weeks.

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And We’re Having A…

It feels like just yesterday that we were finding out about George.

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And here we are finding out about our little Miss!

George is already a sucker for his sister!

He has been calling my belly and any baby doll “sister” for the past couple months, long before we knew about our lady. He refused to say brother, so apparently he knew.

We are all very excited about Sister!

Except when he realizes he may have to share…

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Old Wives Tales…True or False

I think these old wives tales are fun to go through. I did it with George, and I found it pretty humorous to do. I got these from this site. Some of them were kind of odd, so I didn’t use all of them.

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  • Rumor has it that if you are carrying your baby high, it’s a girl. Carrying low? Stock up on blue. Similar tales say if you carry in front, you’ve got yourself a little boy, and if you expand horizontally, it’s a girl. I can’t really tell on this one. And from the comparison of my photos with George, I feel like I look the same so far. I have only filled out in front a little, so I am going to say BOY.
  • Legends say that if you are having a little girl, she’ll steal your beauty. So, if you’ve got acne and other not-so-pretty skin blemishes, you’ve got a little princess coming your way. Dry hands and cold feet are signs of a boy. So, if you’ve got these ailments, break out the baby blue. My acne has been no where near as bad as it was with George-So on this BOY.  My feet have been dry but they aren’t anymore than normal during the winter months-So on this GIRL.
  • Your baby’s heart rate might be an indicator of its gender. If your little one’s heart rate is under 140 beats per minute, you’re having a little boy. If it’s over, get ready for your little girl! The heartbeat has been between 144-154 every appointment. GIRL.
  • Craving sweets? According to some, that means you’re going to have a little girl. Salty and sour cravings indicate a boy. I have craved meat, cereal, chocolate, and eggs. Salty has been kind of a turn off for me. GIRL.
  • Chinese Predictor It comes up GIRL.
  • The Mayans used a similar method. They looked at your age at conception and the year your baby was conceived. If both are even or odd, it’s a girl. If one is even and one is odd, oh baby — it’s a boy! At conception both Tom and I were 31, and it was 2016. BOY.
  • Morning sickness means pink. If you’re stricken with a queasy stomach during your first trimester, think ribbons and bows. If you sail through your pregnancy with nary an upset stomach, it’s blue all the way. I was pretty much nauseous through the whole first trimester. GIRL.

So according to most of these “predictors” we are having a girl. Last time around, most of them said girl too, which is why I find these funny.

We’ll be sharing later on this week to let you know if these are right or not. (I know, it’s pretty much only baby posts lately…)

What do you think we are having?  (Family and friends who already know keep quiet!)

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Baby 2: Twenty-One Weeks

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How far along: 21 weeks and 1 day

Sex of Baby W: We know, but we aren’t sharing publicly yet.

Weight gain: I came back up to my initial weight and just a little more. I am at a 1 pound gain now.

Size of Baby W: a carrot or a least weasel

Maternity clothes: I am fully embracing the maternity clothes, and people now realize that I am pregnant. The bump is full on now.

Baby items: We have gotten a few items for the room and a few newborn clothes. I am on the search for a good double stroller.

Stretch marks: Still stretch mark free.

Belly button in or out:  It is flattening out, but it is still in.

Sleep: Prior to this week, the past couple weeks were rough. I was waking up to go pee around 3, and then I wasn’t able to go back to sleep. I also could not get comfortable thanks to two huge dogs. This week I changed up my tactics and basically baricadded myself with pillows to keep the dogs away, and also keep myself from laying on my back. It really helped to get some full nights of sleep.

Best moment the past few weeks: Finding out the sex of the baby and narrowing down a name. It’s so great to be able to use a name instead of “it.” It was also great to have Tom at the appointment where we found out. Baby is growing perfectly and right on schedule. Nothing bad to report!

Worst moment the past few weeks: The second day of potty training was the absolute worst. I felt like the worst mom and a huge failure. Plus cleaning up a million messes of pee is not an ideal way to spend a Saturday.

Miss anything: This week I have missed sushi and a feta covered gyro.

Cravings: I have been craving Mexican and beef. Bring me all the steak fajitas. Most vegetables are still hard for me to eat, but I try to even if it is begrudgingly.

Movement: Little baby is moving more and more now. Tom actually got to feel a kick this week. I can’t wait until George gets to experience that.

Symptoms/how I am feeling: The heartburn has gone away these past couple weeks, only to be replaced by severe bloating and cramps. I feel like my belly is a balloon that is about to pop. My legs also are cramping up a lot more and feel like heavy weights. I know I need to walk and stretch more to help with this though. Other than that, I am feeling really good. I wish the weather was a little better to do some walking outside because I have the energy now to do it!

Looking forward to: Nothing to do with baby, but I am traveling for a conference here in a couple weeks. While I have never been away from George for more than 24 hours, it is going to be great to have some me time and work on my professional self for a little bit. I’m also looking forward to sharing the name of this little nugget here soon!

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You can read about George at 21 weeks here.

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You Want a Girl, Right?

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“Do you want a girl or a boy? Are you hoping for a girl? Do you want one of each? No seriously, you do want a girl right?”

These are the most common questions that I have gotten since the day we announced we are pregnant. People just can’t help themselves. I get it. There is some curiosity. I am not at all offended.

Because I do want a girl. I have always dreamed of being a girl mom. I used to write lists of possible girl names in my diary when I was in elementary school for my future girl children. I envisioned braiding her hair and talking about books and nonsense giggling over a Friday night movie.

But that isn’t really all that parenting is, is it? (Since I am in the trenches of teaching someone how to not pee in their pants, I guarantee you that school-girl dream is not the gist of parenting.)

Anyway. Yes, I would love the chance to be a girl mom.

But here is the thing.

I love being a MOM. I want any baby God is going to gift me with. This is a BIG lesson that God gave me when we had George. I would be lying if I didn’t say that there weren’t parts of me that weren’t sad about the possibility of a girl slipping away, but God knew exactly what I needed when he gave me George.

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And I believe he knows exactly what I need with this next baby.

And not only me but what our family and what our world needs.

Never would I ever look at George now and say I wish you would have been a girl. I love him so desperately, and I know that he was made just for our family. There is no way I would love him more just because he came out a girl.

Babies are babies. I am going to love this kid no matter what sex it is.

I believe in God’s plan for this child and our family. Whatever we are blessed with, I am going to be grateful and love it with all that I am.

I already do.

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Would I love the chance to be a girl mom, absolutely. I would love to see George with a sister, and Tom doting on a daughter. I would hope to raise a little girl in this world of uncertainty to be brave and imaginative and break barriers that I couldn’t. I would want to bring her up so she can have the confidence to do great things, not because she is a girl, but because she is a gift from above.

Here is the deal, even if I have a girl, I have no idea who she will be. In reality I may miss out on all the “girl” stuff anyway. She may hate bows and princesses, and want to just wrestle with George in the dirt. George may continue his love affair with shoes or want to do dance, so I can live out my dreams of being a dance mom. And that is ok. I will love whichever way the tide rolls for my kids. There is no reason to say I can’t experience these things we say are “girly or boyish” with either sex.

They will be different because one is George and one is Baby Dubs, not because one is a girl and one is a boy. And they won’t be the same because both of them happen to be boys.

What I want is to be a parent of two bright, funny, caring, overwhelmingly grateful people who are able to share love in this dark world. I don’t need girls to have kids who are compassionate. I don’t need boys to have kids who are brave.The sex shouldn’t matter, it matters on how we treat them once they are here.

And that is a gift that I am eternally grateful that God has blessed us with.

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So how can I not just be happy that THERE IS A BABY IN THERE?!? I know I am. A real miracle.

Would I love a little girl? Yes. But I also would love another little boy. I honestly just want the experience of being a parent in whatever way it comes. I will love what I have and dote on this kid just as much as I do on George.

(And hopefully there will be as many pictures)

I have trust and content that there is a greater plan than mine.