28-30 Weeks

I can't believe I am 30 weeks...the countdown is officially on! We have been busy bees around here. Over the last few weeks we have started to get things ready for the baby. We also purchased Jackson's big boy bedding! It took FOREVER to find something because he is going to be using Justin's childhood furniture, which includes a queen size bed. We didn't realize it would be such a challenge to find toddler queen size bedding. Part of the problem was that most full/queen's were to small. We needed a true queen sizing. Here is what we found at PBK and we love it!

We weren't looking specifically for monkeys, but he loving Curious George right now, so it worked out great. We are most likely going to put up a few of the wall decals and we found a cute lampshade to match on etsy.com. We also rearranged the bedroom furniture to make the space bigger and hopefully we will start transitioning Jackson to his new room in a week or so. Then Justin will put the crib back together and we will get the nursery ready for baby boy.

We also upgraded our swing and bouncy seat to the new Fisher Price snuggabunny line, since they now have plug in options. With Jackson, we went through a ton of batteries! Let's see, we picked out a new infant car seat (we hated our old one and sold it immediately after Jackson outgrew it!) and it works with our existing stroller to make a travel system. We also purchased the matching double stroller for times when we need both boys in strollers. Here it is:


Other than that, we have so much of what we need already, which is really nice! My longtime good friends Camy and Ginny are throwing me a baby shower in a few weeks, and I am looking forward to it! Justin and I had a "day date" as we like to call it last week. I took off work and we made a registry at Babies R us and Target, ran some errands, and then had a wonderful lunch at Mustard Seed before picking up Jackson from preschool. It was a great day!

Now, on to this pregnancy....So far, things are looking really good! I am feeling good, other than getting a little more uncomfortable by the day. My heartburn has kicked it up a notch or two, so that has not been fun. It still seems better than it was with Jackson, though. My OB visits are happening every 2 weeks and the baby's heart rate is still hanging out in the 140's. Last week asked my OB if my fluid was low b/c it is crazy how much I feel this baby moving all of the time. She measured my fundal height and said I was measuring just about a 1/2 week behind, which is totally normal since the measurements aren't perfect. She asked if I would feel better getting another ultrasound and to get some cute 3D shots of the baby and OF COURSE I said yes! haha So I have an ultrasound scheduled on Thursday to see our sweet baby again. I can't wait to see how big he has gotten. As for me, I feel like a huge cow, but I am still doing well weight-gain wise. At 30 weeks, I am up 22 lbs. This is still about 5-6 lbs less than I was with Jackson at this time. Hopefully if things stay as is, I will only gain between 30-35 lbs...My OB thinks I am obsessing about my weight too much, but I just feel big. She said I am well within normal limits. The good news is that I know breastfeeding is going to take most of it off and then it is up to me to tone it all up! Thankfully I am not swollen yet and I am still able to wear my wedding rings just fine.

As for the way I am feeling, I am definitely starting to feel more excited as time goes on. I think it is finally sinking in that we are going to have a newborn in a couple of months. It has always seemed so far away to me, but I think getting things ready for baby is making it more real. When we were registering, I was looking at all of these teeny tiny baby clothes and diapers and I can't believe Jackson was that small. I know how fast it goes, so I am going to really try and enjoy the newborn phase this time around instead of being so nervous. All of my friends who have recently had 2nd babies have said that there are challenging moments with 2, but that they are much more laid back this time around. That is about it for now. I will update after Thursday's ultrasound and post some belly pictures soon. I haven't taken a single one in weeks!

Jackson updates!

It has been awhile since I posted some updates about our sweet Jackson. This boy just melts my heart everyday! He continues to be extremely affectionate and clingy to both me and Justin. Now, he is able to verbalize his feelings, which makes it even better. He will say things like "I love you so much mommy and Daddy" or "I am so happy. Love you forever and ever". The other day I walked in the room and he said "Mommy, you so pretty". I think my heart doubled in size :) Justin says he told Jackson to say it, but I'll take it anyway!

We are talking more and more with Jackson about becoming a big brother and my mom got him a book about it. At first, Jackson refused to read it and threw it on the floor, but now he likes it. He knows there is a baby in mommy's tummy and he will love on my belly and lay his head on it. Sometimes, though, he says "Mommy, I no like baby brudder". I always tell him that he may not always like his baby brother, but he will always love him and he will be such a great big brother. I know there will be some normal jealousy issues once the baby is here, but both Justin and I will be sure to have lots of special time with our big boy too. My hope is that our boys become the best of friends one day.

Jackson is thriving in preschool. He has really come out of his shell there and enjoys going every day. He loves playing with cars with his friends, doing arts and crafts, and reading stories. He comes home at noon every day and tell us about his day. His teachers said his vocabulary has taken off and we have to agree! He talks non stop and I can't believe how great his memory is. Also, he has begun using the potty at school-yay! That is a step in the right direction.

Jackson is so full of life and energy and I love how excited he gets about things. He gets really excited go to the park, playground, and play in his new playroom. He says "Alright! and Come on!" Christmas this year was just so much fun. I can't believe how much he got into it this year. He is still talking about Rudolph, Santa, and elves. He loves when we get down on the floor and play toys with him. He gets the biggest smile and says "I love you mommy and daddy!". We are so thankful for such a happy child.

We finally converted our 3rd floor into a big playroom and it is wonderful! We reclaimed our living room-hooray! We still have a bin of toys/books/art supplies downstairs, but they are confined to a small area. Jackson is absolutely loving his new playroom and asks to go up there all of the time.

He is still way into cars and trains. He loves all of his little cars and spends a lot of time zooming them all around the floor. He also loves to rough house with Justin and chase him around. Every night before his bath, Jackson strips down naked and says "I wanna RUN!" and then proceeds to run all around the second floor like a wild banshee while Justin hides and jumps out at him. Jackson absolutely loves this game and laughs/screeches at the top of his lungs, BUT it gets him riled up before bath and bedtime. Ahh, I guess boys will be boys!

He is getting so bossy! He tries to demand what clothes/pajamas he wears, he wants to choose what plate he eats off of, and he tries to choose which car we drive on any given day. The worst is that he thinks he dictates where we drive to, so he pitches a FIT when when get on the interstate. We just ignore him as he cries "I wanna turn around!" and he finally calms down. If he wants us to go right, but we turn left, he will fuss. He will learn soon enough that he doesn't call the shots when it comes to that :)

The tantrums have decreased a bit for now, which has been nice. We still have the occasional nastiness, but nothing like the wild animal fits. He really does listen pretty well for the most part. He is spending much less time in time out, so hopefully that is a sign that time out is working well for us.

His new thing is "driving' with Daddy. When we get home, if he has been a good boy then Justin will let Jackson sit on his lap while he pulls the car into the garage. Jackson can turn the car on and off, turn on the windshied wipers, work the turn signal, and flash the lights. He also then wants to carry Justin's keys inside and ring the doorbell. Jackson loves this time with his Daddy!

I love this boy so much and everyday is an adventure with him. He has an awesome sense of humor and he is so much fun to be around. Now that he is talking so much, I love our little conversations. He is in such a sweet phase and we are relishing this time with him before baby boy # 2 rocks our world!

25-27 Weeks

Well, here I am officially 27 weeks pregnant and into the 3RD Trimester! Wow, that is hard to believe! This baby boy should weigh about 2.5 lbs already. I can tell because I am definitely growing. He continues to move all of the time, which is a good thing. At my dr. appt last week, his heart rate was 140 bpm and I also took my glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes. Good news-I passed with flying colors! My dr said everything looked great and my weight gain was much better for the month. I am up 17.5 lbs at 27 weeks. I got my weekly pregnancy updated email and it said I should have gained between 17-24 lbs by this time. Although I feel like a giant cow, I guess I am doing much better weight-gain wise (so far!) with this pregnancy. I remember with Jackson, I was always on the high end of my expected weight gain for each week. Lets not forget I was about 46 lbs (some due to excessive swelling!) when I was admitted to give birth to Jackson. I have gotten back to the gym a couple of times this month and have been trying to get some exercise in.

While transferring birthdays/important dates onto our new 2012 calendar, I realized that this baby is due on the day before Easter. He really is our little Easter bunny! We are hoping that he comes on 4/4 b/c that is our "dating" anniversary. We started dating on 4/4/04, so that number/date has always been special to us. Also, since Jackson was born on 8/8, it would be cool for this baby to be born on 4/4. We'll see! He continues to be a really active baby, and I think he knows Jackson's voice. I guess that makes sense because Jackson is always clung to me and he does occasional lay his head on my belly (the sweetest thing!). I am working on a blog post about Jackson updates next. Justin and I have begun collecting some items that we need for this baby. We had sold a couple of things that we wanted updated versions of when the next baby came (ie swing, carseat, etc). Also, we recently purchased a double stroller. We have started clearing out our guest bedroom in preparation to move Jackson over soon and begin putting the nursery back together. It is definitely starting to feel more real! I will try and take a belly picture soon to go with the next update.