16 Weeks

How far along: 16 weeks
Total weight gain: ?
Favourite clothes: New maternity jeans from mom
Sleeping: Pretty good. Pulled out one of my old maternity pillows and it's seemed to help
Best Moment: Designing the kitchen was a blast!
Worst Moment: I basically did a 20 minute squat to rinse hair dye out of my hair. I thought I was going to die.
Miss anything: Wine.
Cravings: Phish food. I can't keep it in the house because I eat it too quickly.
New symptoms: Baby is definitely moving around
Looking forward to: Easter with James' family
Crafting: Finishing up the gnome outfit, then I plan to finish the monster pants and I found a crocheted teething ring I want to try to make.

We went to a first birthday party last Monday that was really fun. The birthday boy was a friend's son and it was great to see them. G enjoyed the different selection of toys, though there was too much going on for him to eat much. He especially loved chasing the cat, who ended up taking refuge in the garage (poor kitty). It was fun to see a cake smash; I think that's my absolute favourite part of first birthdays, and good to meet some more people/parents in the area.

James has bee so busy at work with summer camp prep. Camp is going to be a crazy time and there will be a lot of changes around then too. We'll move to camp for the summer since James will have late nights, and G is switching daycares then too. He won't go every day, and he'll only be there from 9-1, so it'll take some adjusting for us both. I think it'll be good, and G will enjoy "participating" in camp in the afternoons, I'm sure.

On Friday we went to Pensacola with a trailer to pick up the flooring we got for the house. Even though it won't be installed until summer, they were having a sale, so we went ahead and got it. We also stopped by a cabinet place and ended up designing the entire kitchen. It was so fun, and good to get some numbers to work with. There's a lot to think about, but looking at the projected end result is exciting; I can't wait to have a nice, open style kitchen! We still have to think about downstairs, but there's been a huge difference just by removing the popcorn ceilings and getting paint on the walls. We're planning on moving in Wednesday, when James' dad, brother and brother-in-law are coming to help us move furniture. We haven't really packed much, though James did use G's nap on Saturday to pack up the books and some other things. The kitchen is the biggest thing to pack, and we need to divide what we want to keep out and what can stay packed until after the remodel (wine glasses, blender, stand mixer, etc). 

We can't wait to move in and hang paintings and start really feeling at home. I can't wait for us to all start feeling healthier, because I'm convinced the mold has been the cause of our congestion and coughing and feeling icky all over. It'll be so good to be less isolated and I'm really looking forward to being able to walk downtown or go down to the pier to crochet (with plenty of bug spray of course!) 

In other news: The baby has been moving around. I can't feel her/him that much (only 2 weeks til we find out!) but s/he feels like a goldfish swimming around, though there was that one night that I definitely felt some jabs. G has been doing so well! It seem like every day he learns new words and he's very talkative. Hes been loving the tofu nuggets and the toy slide we pulled out again. He's also been consistently going potty, so I have hope for potty training, maybe before sibling arrives!

16 Weeks: Baby 2 is the size of an emperor penguin egg

Bump

18 Months

Challenges: Tantrums continue to plague us, especially while cooking. He's also been grabbing my glasses, hitting and kicking when he's upset.
Triumphs: Feeding himself with a spoon! He's been pottying on his potty seat! (see below) Brushing his own teeth!
Words: "Aww duh" (all done), "baw" (ball), "joosh" (juice), "shuzz" (shoes), "guh guh guh" (go go go), "doggy". Daycare says he knows "duck" and "pig" as well, "ticka ticka ticka!" (tickle tickle tickle), "pat, pat, pat" and pats his lap along with Little Einsteins, then raises his arms up in the air , "nummy" (yummy?)
Favourite toys: He's enjoying playing with his fake food, especially putting it in and taking it out of the shopping cart he has. He's been obsessed with books lately; sitting down is fair game for having a book brought to you. Toy slide--he can do it himself!

3/23: G was wet, so I asked if he wanted a diaper change. He headed down the hall as usual, but instead of finding him at his bedroom door, I found him leaning against the bathroom door. I figured it couldn't hurt to put him on the potty seat. He ended up peeing! He's gone potty a few times on the seat now. We aren't skipping any diapers, and we're definitely not "training" yet, but positive reinforcement isn't going to hurt. He claps for himself when he's done. Its kinda adorable.

We had gumbo one night this month, and G ate two bowls full, consistently and (pretty) accurately using his spoon for the first time! He's been on and off with the spoon since then, but he's doing way better with it than he used to! We're still working on drinking out of cups. That's been a challenge for sure.

Ms. Carol told me that he ran after a chick they had for picture day, yelling "duck! duck! duck!" I had no idea he could say "duck" and she told me he can also say "pig," make animal noises, wiggle his fingers and count to two, do Head and Shoulders, and the hand motions for Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. He's one of only two kids who can communicate with words, and one of two active participants in their circle time. She said if she could have a class full of kids like him, she'd have no problems.

He's started patting his lap with Little Einsteins and lifting his hands into the air when they say "Blast off!" He also loves to dance when there's music on the TV. He could care less about the shows or the dialogue, but it's adorable to watch him dance to music. He kinda bounces up and down, and does big claps, throwing his arms wide and then clapping.

James brushes G's teeth after his bath, but a week or so ago, he grabbed the toothbrush himself and started brushing his own teeth! How is he growing up so quickly?? In other growing up news, he points at his arms when we say arm/s, and we can now say "clean up!" and help him clean up his toys. He'll still fuss when we then take him away from the toys, but it's a step in the right direction.

Our other big news is that we are getting G a twin bed! We don't want to switch him out of the crib right before the baby arrives, so we figure we should start early with getting him used to his big boy bed. We'll probably start with the mattress on the floor to minimize any falling/can't get back in bed after getting out, but we think we've found a bedroom set on Craigslist that will work. It's so exciting!


Update: 4/22: G is 31" tall (10th percentile), 21 lb 10 oz (3rd percentile) and has a giant head in the 75th percentile :)

LOOK AT THE SUIT!!!

He loves the beach!

He's hard to catch nowadays

15 Weeks

How far along: 15 Weeks
Total weight gain: -7
Favourite clothes: A pair of gray yoga pants from target. Black shows too much dog hair
Sleeping: Decently, though it was difficult to sleep with James gone and a sick baby
Best Moment: Hearing the heartbeat it always a highlight for me
Worst Moment: Sometimes I just get down in a funk and feel really lonely and like the friends we have don't like us. I had a night like that this past week and it always make me just want to curl up in bed and cry.
Miss anything: Just the usual off limits things
Cravings: Sweets, BLT (still), salmon, nectarines, blood oranges
New symptoms: ACNE.
Looking forward to: April 28, ultrasound to check out all the organs and the baby's sex!
Crafting: Most of my crafting supplies are packed up right now, which is making me crazy because I want to make something! But I'm still working on the gnome outfit and the monster pants

Monday: We had another OB appointment Monday. I ended up being late because as I was driving to the appointment, I saw a dog on the side of the road. As I passed, he tried to run up to my car. I pulled over, thinking there'd be a tag on his collar, but no luck. He looked like his leg may have been injured at some point--he was walking kinda funny, and sat funny too. I called animal control to take him to the humane society and waited with him while they came. He was such a sweetheart, but would not get in my car for anything, not even animal crackers. I even lifted him in, and he jumped right out. Eventually, two guys who live down the road came out, and brought some rope for me to use as a leash. They ended up taking him so I could leave for my appointment, and I got a call from the guy who was picking him up about a half mile down the road--he'd seen the guys with the golf cart and dog, so I know he got picked up ok. I really hope they find either his owners or a new family for him because he was a sweet dog. (I was late, but the doctor understood; I had called ahead of time to explain)

Tuesday: I was running some errands and ended up in the yarn section at Michael's. A woman was there with her 2 year old son, who had just as much understanding of "indoor voice" as G. He was adorable and we struck up a conversation. Turns out she lives right around the corner from our house, so I've already met a nearby mom! We exchanged contact information and she told me to call her once we get settled. Hopefully I've found a playdate for G and a mommy date for me!
I got a call after this that G had a fever of 101 and had to be picked up. Luckily, James was able to leave work and get him (I was 45 minutes away). Poor guy was pretty hot and congested when I got home.

Wednesday: G couldn't go back to daycare on Wednesday, so I kept him home for a sick day. We watched too much TV and rested a lot. He developed a pretty nasty cough that kept him from getting much rest and we're still dealing with it now. His fever broke, and he felt much better by Thursday. The congestion and cough got so bad I ended up confronting my irrational fear of a pillow in his crib and putting one in. The only difference it seemed to make is that his bed head is now way worse. He moves around so much he hardly stays on the pillow anyways.
It might be teething. Fever, tummy problems, biting, lack of appetite...only time will tell if those molars are coming in because I'm definitely not getting my fingers anywhere near his mouth nowadays.

Thursday-Saturday: James hosted his first conference at Beckwith this weekend: Adults Who Work with Youth. Thursday we went to Pensacola to pick up his guest speaker, tacking on a trip to a hardwood flooring store and Sam's to pick up smoke/CO detectors. Since he'd be coming home after 11 pm and would have to be there by 8 am, he decided to just stay at camp, which meant two nights and three days without Daddy. G is all about Dad right now, so it's been difficult, and taking care of a sick baby who's not getting much sleep means a lot of stress and sleepless nights for me too. He ended up peeing on the floor of our bedroom right after I took him off the potty, and then I picked up a dead frog, thinking it was a dust bunny. I scared G because I screamed, loudly, for about a full minute. I wanted to wash my hand in bleach, but had to deal with it on my own. I joined the conference for lunch on Friday, and even though it ended Saturday morning, James didn't get back until 4 or so. Gee, I can't wait for summer camp.

Other than G's cold, it's been a pretty good week, although I'm realizing that the fatigue I indulged in with the last pregnancy was a true luxury. That just doesn't happen now. Not only is there a demanding little Tasmanian devil running my life these days, but even when he's not home, I need to use that time to empty/load the dishwasher, prep food, clean up after him, do laundry, run errands, get groceries, etc. His naps have gotten so short that I barely have time to shove food in my mouth and unload the dishwasher before he wakes up, so I can't get as much done during nap time now.

ALSO. I MAY have felt the baby kick Thursday night. I know it's really early, but it's only about a week and a half before last time, and it definitely felt like kicks. Yay!

15 Weeks: Baby 2 is the size of Nemo!
(Ignore the floopy hair)

Starting to feel like a little goldfish is swimming around in my belly too! :)

14 Weeks

How far along: 14 weeks
Total weight gain: -7 lb

Favourite clothes: My love/hate relationship with maternity jeans has begun again. Love the comfort and fit (mom got me new skinny ones!) but I hate that they don't stay up

Sleeping: Not too badly, but I still can't seem to get comfortable

Best Moment: Closing on our very first house together! It's so exciting! And taking G to the park in Fairhope on Saturday was so fun!

Worst Moment: Sunday was a long, tiring day. James worked from 10-7 and I tried to run errands with G, but we were prone to tantrums

Miss anything: A glass of wine after a long day

Cravings:Sushi, satisfied with a grocery store crunchy roll. Candy; lots and lots of candy. Phish Food Ben and Jerry's ice cream

New symptoms: Nothing new, just intensified. I'm sick of dry heaving every morning and the acne is driving me nuts

Looking forward to: Vacation: warm weather, beaches, family and food! Also, no working for James!

Crafting: I'm still crocheting the newborn outfit and I need to finish those monster pants

This was a long week. We closed on our first house on Thursday, which is so exciting! We are really looking forward to making it our own and finally being able to put up pictures and decorate and finally feel at home and settled. Our contractor is working on scraping the popcorn ceilings, painting them, painting the walls and building a baby gate to keep G off the stairs. We chose a pretty green color for the baby'sroom; we'll find out the sex in another month!!

The weekend was what was really exhausting. James was conducting interviews for summer camp positions all weekend. In fact, on Sunday he had interviews from 10 am to 7 pm! Saturday, I took G to see the house; he had a blast running around his room and hiding in the closets. We headed down to the pier, which has a little park and two small beaches as well. G was OK in the stroller for a while but he got out and wanted to go look at the waves hitting the wall. I definitely had to keep a good hold on him, but he loved watching the waves and having them splash up in our faces. He laughed each time. Eventually he wanted to get down, so we went down to the little beach. I had not planned for this, but I had an extra onesie and a blankie to use as a towel. He had so much fun! He got soaked and incredibly sandy, but didn't get in the water too much because it was chilly. I found quite a few pieces of sea glass and G had fun grabbing handfuls of sand and little sticks. We ended up waking up and down the pier, and G was so exhausted by the end that he passed out for an hour as soon as we got in the car.

Sunday was difficult. G slept late, but we had errands to run so we left pretty early for Target. I went for dreft and ended up without about 20 other items of course. G was fussy, but was fine until I grabbed a gift for a birthday we're going to. He wanted to play with the toy, and totally freaked out when he couldn't. I mean full on screaming  tantrum. Nothing I did helped and I couldn't hold him and push the cart so we hung out in the cereal aisle for a while. He calmed down a bit but by that time he was exhausted so we continued to have little tantrums. He finally walked, flopping down on the floor for a tantrum once, and picking up every single thing on the end caps and walking down every aisle picking up everything within reach. While checking out, I had to chase him down about 5 times but we both survived. He fell asleep at his high chair and didn't even wake up when I changed his diaper before putting him down. I was beat; I haven't had that exhausting a trip out since he was an infant. Then we went to the grocery store. It went remarkably well considering that I always have to walk the store about 4 times to find everything and he usually freaks out. We used the cart that looks like it has a little car so he could play with the wheels. It took ages but he was very well behaved, only freaking out when he couldn't reach the toy he dropped by his feet. By the time James got home I was pretty much asleep on my feet. 

It was a pretty good week. We're looking forward to my OB appointment on Monday; it's always reassuring to hear the heartbeat plus we get to schedule the big ultrasound appointment! My friends are also coming to visit this week and I can't wait to see them and catch up and see how much her boy has grown. James has a conference next weekend too so we'll be pretty busy again!

14 Weeks: Baby 2 is the size of a sea urchin

I had to use the self timer, so I'm sorry they're not great photos

Homeowners!

We're so excited to tell you all that we closed on a house yesterday!

With the keys!

We are so grateful to St Peter's in Bon Secour for offering us their rectory to live in, but we really needed to find a space that was closer to James' work and G's new daycare. The house is in the exact are we were looking for, only .5 miles from Fairhope's downtown district and even closer to the elementary school. The school ratings are fantastic and I'm really looking forward to having sidewalks to walk around on, and living closer to amenities.

There is work to be done: we're having the ceiling scraped and painted, the walls painted and a babygate/bookshelf built and installed before we move in (the bookshelf is necessary to support the babygate; currently there are only metal railings on the sides of the stairs). Then we move to camp for the summer, we'll be doing some serious renovation on the kitchen and downstairs, which will become a master suite. It will be a beautiful home for our family, and though I know it'll take a while, I can't wait to be all settled in and finally unpack those last few boxes.

We'll probably be moving in mid-April, whenever the initial work is done. Then we'll move to camp, put G in a big boy bed, move to the house and bring home a new baby! There are so many big, scary and exciting changes going on this year!

We have a mortgage now...is this being all grown up?

Here's the front of the house; the garage is on the right

Here's the entryway; the bookshelf will go along the side on the left, and attach to the babygate

OMG the wallpaper! The cabinets and counters are very low

13 Weeks

How far along: 13 weeks
Total weight gain: ?

Favourite clothes: My sweatpants. It's been a comfy week

Sleeping: Not too badly

Best Moment: Irish dance

Worst Moment: Tuesday at PT was a really difficult, exhausting day

Miss anything: Sushi

Cravings: BLT. On a croissant. The only thing that could've been better is adding avocado

New symptoms: The acne from last time is back, headaches

Looking forward to: Seeing the doctor next Monday

Crafting: Gnome newborn outfit, monster pants

Monday was St Patrick's Day, but like the weekends and any days James has off, the weather seemed to be conspiring against us with a gray, gloomy day. We picked G up from school early to take him to the passport application (both parents must be present to get a minor's passport). The woman at the post office had no idea how to use a camera and kept taking pictures of the floor, we ended up with a picture that made him look drunk and were charged $15 for it. But the application is in. We also took him for his first haircut! Yes, the curls are gone, but his hair was getting out of control and it looks so much better now that it's shorter. He did very well--no screaming and no fussing til the very end. 

We've been fighting with Verizon and after spending two nights in a row on the phone with them for 3 hours (pretty much all of our adult life per night) we were just done. It has become more hassle than it's worth. So James ordered some unlocked phones and we're switching onto AT&T as soon as they arrive. The phones have been working well so far, and I'm pretty happy with them. They're really fast and the battery lasts a long time.

Tuesday was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Basically the physical therapy and acupuncture haven't helped my hip pain at all and may have been aggravating it. It's not the normal pregnancy hip pain, and it's stumping the PT, who said he's never met someone for whom acupuncture has had no effect. I can't sit on the floor with G, I am almost constantly uncomfortable (if not in actual pain) and I've been told to not exercise since moving probably aggravates the joints. The pain has been problematic for close to 2 years, and though it diminished after G was born, it didn't go away. Some days it's so bad I can barely walk. I'm frustrated with how I look and feel, but I can't do anything about it because of my hips. The current theory is that I'm too flexible: my hip flexors/soas are tight, but the hip capsules are stretched out, letting my hips slide out of alignment and I don't have the muscles to hold them in place. But I can't exercise to strengthen the muscles. Nice catch 22, huh? It was just too much that day with added billing issues (yay insurance), and I ended up crying most of the morning. It was an exhausting draining morning. But the world goes on and I try to keep upbeat. Lots of people have given me suggestions so I'm looking into those as well. 

Crafting, on the other hand, has been going great! I finished a newborn set I was making for a friend and even though the hat was my own pattern, it turned out pretty cute! I'm excited to send it off to them! (I'll post pictures later--it is a surprise!) I'm working on another newborn set and when that's done, I'll finish the monster pants. The more crocheting. I'm having a blast with these newborn sets! They're fun and cute and quick!

On Saturday, James took G to camp in the morning so I could go to an Irish dance class I found in Mobile. I had so much fun, and my hips haven't been reacting too badly. I haven't been so sore since my first Irish dance class ever, but it was totally worth it for my emotional and mental health. It was so good to exercise, and especially to dance again. If only I could find my dance bag with my real shoes in it; for now I'm wearing ballet flats and dance sneakers. We ended the night with a nice dinner with good friends, G staying up way past his bedtime (but doing pretty well). Unfortunately, he fell into a hole on the porch, but he seems to be no worse for wear. He just loves to explore and get into everything and everywhere, which results in some bumps and bruises sometimes. He still had a great time and it was a wonderful end to an emotionally hectic week.

13 weeks: Baby2 is the size of a Mandarin Fish
(Please note the amazing drawing...I have no artistic skill, so it's amazing)

Oh hello, baby bump. You're about four weeks early...go back.

Cuddles with a fork

12 Weeks

How far along: 12 weeks
Total weight gain: -10 lb
Favourite clothes: Yoga pants. Don't hate.
Sleeping: Horribly. I'm getting up to pee like 8 times a night.
Best moment: Having friends over for dinner/playdate and very successful stew and homemade bread. Seeing a turtle crossing the road on my way to daycare.
Worst moment: The car ride from Panama City. G was pissed the entire time, and traffic wasn't great.
Miss anything: I really, really want everything I can't have. Especially raw sushi, beef carpaccio and steak tartare
Cravings: Subconscious ones that I didn't recognize as such until I ate it: falafels, sweet potatoes
New symptoms: Pretty much all the standard pregnancy symptoms with a good dose of hip pain thrown in
Looking forward to: The doctor said we can find out the sex in a couple months! Wheee!!! Names!
Crafting: Still working on G's monster pants, a few other crochet projects
Baby projects: Doctor Who onesie, shark socks (? need to buy pattern), crocheted set once we find out the sex

I missed last week! Sorry! Still waiting for a shirt to arrive so I can get the maternity calendar shirt done for this time around!

The past two weeks have been fun! I still haven't felt very pregnant yet, but I am starting to show already, much earlier than last time. I'm feeling pretty good, though my nausea is still there. However, without the added stress of a new job with a verbally abusive boss like last time, I am feeling much better and have been having fun cooking! I realize that the fatigue I indulged in last time was a true luxury; this time around there's still G and stuff to get done during the day so I can give him my attention when I pick him up. James has been great about getting him in the morning, but I still have to be up to do shoes, jacket and drop off.

We went to Panama City for my brother in law's birthday last weekend and had a lot of fun! It was great to see James' family and we enjoyed being out on the boat two days in a row! G had a blast at the beach the second day, though he was ticked off he couldn't get in the water (it was too cold! Brr!!) He wasn't too thrilled with his lifejacket or the boat, and managed to give himself a little goose egg when he pulled away and didn't quite have his sea legs yet. We had a nice time, and even got to go out for a dinner on our own. We also had a delicious lunch the day we left; my falafel wrap was fantastic!

I saw a PT for my hip pain, and we tried acupuncture. It was an interested experience, but so far hasn't been very effective for the pain, though it is moving around (can feel it in the back of one hip now). I also saw an ENT and it turns out my ear drum burst at some point and is still healing up. He said the culprit was probably allergies, but there's not much to do until I'm not pregnant anymore. Personally, I think it's the mold, but we're working on that.

Other than that, it's all been good and we're looking forward to a lot of changes this year! In chronological order: we're moving G to a big boy bed, probably just a twin mattress on the ground, we're moving to camp for the summer, taking G on his first international trip to take a vacation in Jamaica and then by the time we move back home, the new sibling will only be a few weeks away! I'm just so looking forward to everything that's coming up in the future!!

A HUGE thank you goes out to my friend Rebecca, who is helping me figure out fetus size comparisons to marine animals instead of the typical fruit ones. I knew I wanted to do something different this time, and this is way more fun for me! I can't wait to share more of them!

Please note the baby handprints around the word "Baby"

Showing a lot earlier, just looking chubby