38 weeks

Here's my 38 week picture:
I had my 38 week OB visit this morning, and all is still right on target. I'm only 1 cm dilated, but she said that can always change rapidly. But when I left she said, "We'll likely see you next week!" I don't think Baby has dropped yet either, and though I still have Braxton Hicks contractions every now and then, I don't really feel like things are imminent. That's okay - my mom comes on Sunday, so anytime after that we'll all be ready for him to come!

I've had a new symptom these past few days that I never had with Micah. I've felt slightly nauseous, or just "not right" when we get around meal times. Even if I feel full when it's time to eat, I still feel that way. (I'd expect it more if I felt really hungry.) So sometimes I don't think any food sounds good, which makes it interesting to eat. But once I eat, I feel fine. It's just weird!

I know the end of pregnancy is in sight now, which is a relief! I'm so excited just to get my body back. :) My friends assured me this morning that I'll feel so much better as soon as this baby is delivered. Can't wait to meet him too!

37 week picture (a little late)

Here's my 37 week belly shot:
I've been too tired at night (the only chance I have to do a blog post) to upload this and write a new post! This week has been very tiring, and it seems that the exhaustion just hit suddenly once I turned 37 weeks. My OB appointment went well and everything is still right on target. I don't think the baby has dropped yet, so I'm not expecting labor to start any minute, but I know it could be just a matter of days away too! We got all of the baby things out of storage, I've washed all the clothes, and pretty much everything here is ready. I still haven't packed my hospital bag, but that's my goal for this weekend. :)

I'm very much looking forward to Mother's Day this weekend! Last year was my first Mother's Day and we were visiting my family in Texas, so we weren't able to go to our own church and celebrate at home. This year we're home (since I don't want to be too far from here at this stage!) and I'm really looking forward to my first Mother's Day at our own church. During the two and a half years we were trying to get pregnant, we skipped church on Mother's Day. That was such a hard day for me and even remembering that pain now brings it back in a fresh way. I'm praying this weekend for all the women out there who are struggling through the pain of not being able to get pregnant, or who have experienced a loss. I now have such joy as I celebrate having my precious son in my life, and as I anticipate the birth of my second son. But I think I'll always have a special place in my heart for those who are hurting on this weekend.

Here's a family picture my dad took (he was here for two days this week) at Lilacia Park in Lombard, IL yesterday. It's one of my favorite places to go in May! So gorgeous. If you want to see a ton more pictures, I have an album of them on my Facebook page. Ask me for a link if you aren't on Facebook. :)

36 weeks and a skinned knee

Here's my 36 week belly shot:
I had my 36 week OB visit yesterday and my Dr. said that everything is perfect and right on target! I'm thankful to have had such a healthy pregnancy and that I've made it to this point! Only a few more days until I'm considered full term. :) I'm definitely ready to have this baby - physically and emotionally anyway. We still haven't gotten our baby stuff out of storage, but it's on the to do list for this week. There's really not that much to get ready, so I'm not too worried about it. We bought our double stroller this past weekend, a second changing pad, and a diaper pail (both for our room, where Baby will be sleeping/nursing). I'll be glad when everything is set up, the newborn clothes are washed, and all the little details are in place. I suppose I should pack my hospital bag soon too!

I've noticed that I'm becoming more easily irritated lately, and I'm SO ready to have the baby and get rid of that. My patience is wearing thin, especially with Micah, and I'll be glad to be done with that too. It's strange to recognize issues like that during pregnancy, when I'm not usually that impatient or irritable otherwise. I know Steve will be glad to get his "normal" wife back too. :) My body is holding up pretty well, but I'm just really tired overall. Getting up 4 times a night to go to the bathroom doesn't help with that either. :) All this to say, I'm ready! Let's get this show on the road! I can't wait to meet this little guy!!

One note on Micah - he got his first skinned knee yesterday. I keep meaning to take a picture of it since his little knees will never be the same again. :) It's not a bad one at all, though. We were outside since the weather was really nice, and he was walking around our front walkway. He tripped and fell, scraping his knee a little bit (he had shorts on). He cried for a minute or so, but then went right on walking. He loves being outside! Here's a cute picture of him from last weekend (we were at Steve's parents') in one of his new summer outfits.

Micah's 18 month checkup

Micah went to the pediatrician yesterday for his 18 month well visit. His Dr. said it's always one of the hardest visits because the kids realize where they are and don't want any part of being examined. That was definitely the case with Micah! :) He did pretty well in spite of it all, but his favorite part was when she wanted to see him walk, so she let him take off down the hallway. Of course after that taste of freedom, he had a complete meltdown the rest of the appointment! Oh well. :)

He's up to 32 in tall (50%), 29 lbs 4 oz (75-90%), and his head circumference is 19.5 in (90%). She was very pleased with his growth and said it's great that he's been on the same growth curves in all three areas since he was 9 months old. I was curious to see what types of questions she would ask about behavioral accomplishments, etc. He seems to be right on track with all the things he's doing. She asked if he had any words yet, and I said, "He says a bunch of words!" She asked if I had a rough number for how many, and since I've been writing them all down, I said, "40 to 50." She said that was exceptional for his age! I didn't know how many words an average 18 month old could say, so I had assumed that he was just doing what they all did at this age. But wow! He was behind the norm by a couple months in almost every physical milestone along the way, so it's kind of fun to be ahead with the words. :) The Dr. said we should get him some books with big letters of the alphabet, since she thinks he will learn the alphabet quickly.

It's been such a privilege to watch Micah grow and accomplish new things over the last year and a half. It makes me really look forward to watching his brother do the same! I'm amazed at how the Lord created children to enter the world as tiny, helpless babies and that within the first couple of years they grow, learn, and develop quickly into amazing little people!

34 week belly pic

As promised, here's my 34 week belly shot:
I also wanted to make note of my newest pregnancy necessity: Breathe Right Strips! I use them for sleeping every night since my nose gets congested every time I lie down for bed. It was driving me crazy to wake up every morning with a dried out mouth since I couldn't breathe through my nose during the night. These things have saved the day! I don't remember having this issue while prego with Micah. Maybe it's because it's winter this time around and the house is extra dry??

The last couple days I've had a new issue - nasty upper rib pain. I definitely didn't have this with Micah! I did a little looking online and found that it's pretty common at this point in pregnancy, and that unfortunately, there's not much you can do about it. It feels like my rib muscles are bruised, and there's really no comfortable position that helps. Last night even sleeping was painful! I read that some people found some relief with treatment from a chiropractor, so I'm thinking about looking into that.

Six weeks and counting... :)

Oh, and here's a picture of Micah and me on Easter to leave you with. I love my little boy!!

Today's appointment

I'll be 34 weeks tomorrow and had my OB visit today. Everything is right on track. I was glad to find out that Baby is already head down! I asked my Dr. if he was likely to stay that way, and he said they usually will at this point, but that they can still flip. But he said it's definitely a good sign to have this little guy head down already. My next appointment is in two weeks, then after that it will be every week until he is here!!

On my way out of the office I saw my favorite doctor across the room (she wasn't the one who did my visit today). She saw me (holding Micah) and said hi. She said, "How many weeks are you now?" and I said, "34." She said, "Wow, you look big! How much did he [Micah] weigh at birth?" I told her 8 lbs, 3 oz. She says, "Oh, I bet this one's going to be 9 lbs!" Wow, do I really look THAT big?! (Check back this weekend for my 34 week belly shot.) I guess I'd rather have a baby on the bigger side since they usually sleep and eat a bit better, but it still scares me about the delivery a bit. :) And I guess I do feel bigger than I did with Micah. I'll have to ask the Dr. at my next visit to see if they'll give me a guess at the baby's size.

We're getting excited to meet our little guy soon! :)

Micah is 18 months old!

Today Micah turned 18 months old - I can hardly believe it! We've been working with him off and on for a little while to try to get him to use a fork at meals. Well, today he decided to do it! He ate some french toast for breakfast using his fork, then some pasta at dinner. I captured the pasta on video:



Yesterday I took Micah to get another haircut. I think this was #4! His hair just seems to grow so fast. :) I expected him to scream through it like he has all the other times, but this time was great! The lady who cut his hair was very patient, took her time, and did her best to distract him with interesting things. She told me from the beginning that she wanted to give him a "good" haircut experience, and that's what it was! I was shocked that we got through the whole thing without any fussing, and we'll definitely be going back to see her again.

Poor Micah has been dealing with an intestinal bug for a week now. It's been constant diarrhea and a nasty diaper rash, but thankfully he hasn't been throwing up. He's doing well overall, still playing and acting normal most of the time, which I'm thankful for! The nurse I talked to about it said that this bug is going around, and that it's usually done in 5-7 days, but could stick around for up to 2 weeks. Yuck! I'm praying that it will be over soon so I can stop doing so much laundry, spraying the house with Lysol to help with the smell, changing nasty diapers, and feeding Micah the same bland foods at every meal. He seems to be just slightly better today, but we're not getting too excited yet...

The pregnancy is still progressing fine! I'm 33.5 weeks, and my next appointment is on Friday. I've been really exhausted the last two days. I think taking care of Micah and the messes the last week has finally caught up with me. I'm so thankful for Steve who has been great and is trying to help me out as much as he can! What a wonderful Hubby!

32 weeks and "beep, beep"

Here is my 32 week belly shot:
We had my checkup today at the OB, and everything is right on track! I had a bunch of questions for my doctor today about how I've been feeling the last few weeks, but apparently my swelling, braxton-hicks contractions, feeling huge, and various muscle pains are all normal for where I'm at. I did have all of these symptoms with Micah, but they started MUCH later on, so I just wanted to make sure it was okay that they were starting now this time around. It definitely makes me more ready to have this baby! I start going in every two weeks for visits now. I can hardly believe that we're already at this point in the pregnancy. It's exciting, and as each week passes we look forward even more to meeting this little boy. :)

Micah has continued to pick up new words each day. Steve and I took a great vacation to Phoenix for five days last week while Micah stayed with Steve's parents. It sounds like he (and they) had a great time together, and Steve and I really enjoyed getting away! Micah picked up some new words at Grandma and Grandpa's house since there were new things to see and learn. Today he learned how to say, "beep." We went to Wendy's for lunch, and we could hear the beeping noises when the fries were done cooking, or the microwave finished, etc. Each time this happened, Micah looked over there and imitated the noise, saying, "beep, beep, beep." It was adorable! When we got home he was still doing it to imitate the microwave and stove timer, so we got it on video.



He had his bath and stories tonight, and then Steve put him to bed in his crib. About five minutes later I heard him "beep"ing away to himself in there. :) He is constantly cracking us up lately with the cute things he does. Just this morning he grabbed Steve's cell phone and ended up holding down one of the numbers that was set up to speed-dial my cell phone. I heard my phone ringing, and when I grabbed it, saw that Steve was calling me, and saw Micah standing there holding Steve's phone, I put it all together. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time and called Steve over right away to join in the laughter. :) He checked his phone's call history to make sure Micah didn't call anyone else, and luckily it was just me. What a silly boy! We love him SO much. :)

30 weeks and a sweet little boy

Here's my 30 week belly shot:
I'm definitely feeling the discomforts of the third trimester now! My belly button has popped out (a few weeks ago!), the stretch marks are starting to show up, and even sleeping can be painful when my leg, hip, or arm falls asleep. I remember all of this from before, but it started much later. With Micah I remember feeling like I could be pregnant forever I loved it so much. This time around, well, I don't think I'd quite say that. :) It's still fun, and I do enjoy it overall, but I have no doubt that I'll sure be ready when labor day comes!

Micah has been such a delight lately. :) I feel like he's coming into his own and is just bursting with learning every day. His vocabulary increases all the time, and he seems to be a bit more content in general. I'm really enjoying how sweet he is. He has a great sense of humor and laughs whenever the people around him are laughing. His "real" laugh (when he finds something REALLY funny) has evolved now into a hilarious, infectious laugh that we can't get enough of. Here's a video of that laugh:



Here are some of the new words he's saying: garage door (believe it or not! this is his favorite right now), button, bottle, baby, book, diaper, car, hello (when he holds a phone to his ear), lunch (just "ch" - this is for all meals), and Goldfish (the snack - just "sh"). There are probably more that I can't remember at the moment, but we're just so impressed at what he's saying right now! It's so much fun to communicate with him when we actually know what he's saying. :)

As the weather has been nicer, I've been taking Micah outside to play in the afternoons as well. He absolutely loves it! Today we went to a local playground (normally we just walk around the neighborhood) and he had a lot of fun. He went down the slide on his own and walked all around the equipment, climbing up and down the stairs, going across bridges, etc. I enjoyed being able to do this with him, after so many months of being cooped up inside! Praise the Lord for nice weather. :)

28 weeks

Here's my new 28 week belly shot!
I had my 28 week OB visit, and everything is right on target. The glucose test came back normal too, which is always great to hear. :) I enjoy my sweets so much that it would be awfully hard to have to change my diet for the rest of the pregnancy! There's not much else to report - I'm feeling good and think I'm finally just about over my cold! Woo hoo!