Baby #2

I realized that in all the craziness I haven't written much about baby #2.  I could kick myself for not writing more about my pregnancy and first few weeks after Mason was born and I don't want to miss out this time around.  So, the following post is more for my memory and future reference.

It is hard for me to believe that I am already 26 weeks into this pregnancy.  It is flying by so much faster than with Mason.  When we we found out that we were expecting on October 4th, June seemed so far away!  I originally thought that my due date was going to be June 2nd, but when I went for my first ultrasound they informed me that the due date was actually June 17th.  That would have been slightly disappointing seeing as I thought I was close to the end of the first trimester but the fact that June 17th is my mom's birthday made it better.

Since I was having bladder issues, that eventually landed me in the ER on Christmas Eve morning, I had to have a couple of extra ultrasounds.  The 13 week ultrasound pictured below is when I first thought, "this is probably a boy."  Reason being that he, at only 13 weeks, was kicking up against the side of the sac and stretching his legs out.  I thought that was so funny and also amazing.  We had to quit looking at him to check on the bladder and when we came back to see what he was doing, like 1 minute later, he had turned upside down and gone to sleep.  This cracked me up and I just thought that was a very "boy" thing to do, playing hard one minute and sound asleep the next.  I remember thinking, "Yep, this is probably a boy."

Coming up with a name has been much more difficult this time around.  I have multiple friends sending me name suggestions, which I welcome and appreciate.  I do believe that we have narrowed it down but I am not quite ready to say we have made a definite decision.  

As far as pregnancy symptoms go, this one has been very similar to the previous one.  My nausea was a bit more pronounced and frequent but I was rarely sick.  I also had more food aversions this time. (This increased nausea and food aversions is what made me think this could possibly be a girl.) I actually still like coffee this time around (with Mason I could not stand it) and I drink less milk shakes and mochas and eat less french fries (score!).  I love watermelon like I did with Mason and have definitely bought it more this time around.  I have been all about some deli places and cheese dip/nachos.  

I feel like the heartburn started earlier this time around, but it is hard to remember.  I am back to sleeping on four (or more) pillows at night but have not yet resulted to eating tums like candy.  I felt like I have been more tired this time but I credit that to living with a toddler (and probably lack of sleep).  I get short of breath so easily and feel worn out after the smallest thing (like bending down to pick something up).  That has been really frustrating.  I feel like over all I have enjoyed being pregnant more since I know what to expect. I am also much more excited about the baby coming... not that I wasn't excited about Mason getting here, I couldn't wait, but I don't have the apprehension of not knowing what to expect when it comes to the birth, breast feeding, taking care of a newborn etc.  I do wonder what it will be like balancing my time between two.  

I know that Mason is going to be a great big brother.  He loves babies and when he sees the ultrasound pictures he says "baby!" He also prays for baby brother every night before bedtime.  It is so sweet.  I feel like he will be at a great age to have a sibling because he is so busy and plays well by himself.  I am looking forward to the two of them getting to play together one day.  Of course, I am not wishing it to come quickly.  I want for them to both be little as long as possible!  I try to savor every minute because they just go so fast and you can never get them back.  

Speaking of having two, we have decided to leave Mason in his crib as long as possible and let #2 use my old crib from when I was a baby (until Mason is ready for his big boy bed).  That was quite the dilemma in my mind so I feel relieved to have it all resolved.  I knew that surely as I purchased a new crib that Mason would start crawling out of his, but I didn't want to force him out of the crib when he sleeps so good in it and hasn't tried to get out yet! I want to make the transition for Mason as smooth as possible and keep as much of his stuff as I can the same.  So, using an old crib solves that problem and all I have to do is get new baby bedding!  Mason is still using his, obviously.

Here are some swatches that are my favorite so far... I really like muted and softer colors but I also like some of the browns in the second choice. 

I doubt I will use a, but love the other  4. C and D remind me of Mason's.

Not so much a fan of j, h, and d on this one but really like the others.

I have to tread lightly with Ben when it comes to spending money.  I showed him some Pottery Barn Baby bedding that I liked and it was around $350.  This custom bedding (which I prefer) is significantly less, so Ben is on board.  My friend, Kellie, generously made Mason's bedding for me and did an amazing job!  The only problem was that I had a few emotional breakdowns while trying to pick out what fabric I wanted to use.  So, in order to eliminate any future breakdowns over decor, I am going to avoid stores with mass quantities of fabric selections and just pick out something already put together.

Baby #2 will be born sometime around the 10th of June.  He will be here by c-section about one week prior to the due date, but we haven't set the date in stone yet.  Cara has requested that I not have him on the 11th because she has a huge event at work scheduled with houzz.com (which is truly awesome).  I received a text from her that said, "I think I've just booked an event with houzz.com at the showroom on June 11. Hold that baby in!!!!!"  Literally, five exclamation points.  I'll see what I can do. Her text message two days later reads, "Update your blog. I said good day!"  Ha Ha!

I am having a repeat c-section because, you may recall, Mason was born by emergency c-section just a few hours after I checked into the hospital, expecting to be induced the following morning.  God clearly had his hand in that situation because I had no idea I was having contractions or that Mason's heart rate was dropping extremely low with each contraction.

My doctor told me that he would let me try a natural birth this time around if I wanted, but that he didn't recommend it due to risk of the uterus rupturing due to the previous incision.  I was like, um, bring on the c-section.  And while I am not looking forward to the surgery part and the recovery, I am glad that I will know what day baby is coming and exactly what to expect!  Hopefully there will be no emergencies this time around.  I don't know if my nerves can handle a "part two" of that experience.

Only 13 more weeks to go!! (And so much to do.....)