34 Weeks

Baby is the Size of a Quokka

New for baby this week?  About 18 inches and 5 lbs., lungs, brain and central nervous system reaching finals stages of development, baby is using Mama's immune system to build their own up, peeing a pint a day

Total weight gain/loss? 25 lbs.

Sleep? Pretty good.  Getting up more frequently to pee.  Had my first charlie horse the other night.  I forgot how terrible those were for me at the end of my last pregnancy.

Best moment this week? Valentine's Dinner with Joe

Miss Anything? Bending easily.

Movement?  I am surprised how different movement feels with this baby.  It is probably due to my anterior placenta acting as a cushion. Movements, although frequent, just aren't as large and visible from the outside like they were with Bran.

Food cravings?  Oreos and milk

Labor Signs? I have some Braxton Hicks contractions pretty much every day.

How is mama feeling? Really good, even better than a couple weeks ago honestly.

Looking forward to?  Getting as much rest and relaxation as possibly.  I have been taking advantage of napping when Bran naps on my days off. 

It has been a pretty uneventful last couple of weeks. I am still working 3 days a week, so between that and keeping up with Bran it keeps me busy.  At my last checkup with my OB I got some interesting news.  Apparently she tore her hamstring a few weeks ago when she had fallen on some ice and it is going to require surgery.  Although she will be back in the office in a few weeks, she is unfortunately going to be out of the hospital/OR for 6 weeks until she can get off of crutches.  We are both kind of bummed this runs right up to my due date, but she is hopeful she will be able to deliver for me again.  Of course there is always the chance of having a baby in the middle of the night and getting another doctor anyway.  So fingers crossed! I am just thankful I will at least get to see her at my last few weekly appointments. And now I have to see the other two OB's at my first weekly appointments, which already start next week, yikes!

Nesting is in full swing.  I got all of Bran's old clothes sorted and labeled (in case we have another boy) and dug out of all the gender neutral items. The amount of clothes they go through in the first year is insane!  I didn't realize just how many clothes we had until I dug them all out at once, and I feel like I don't even get that much stuff for Bran. And the newborn clothes are so tiny! I can't believe we are going to have a tiny baby home with us again in just 6 short weeks.

Dada is also "nesting", or maybe he is just playing into Mama's nesting?  I really want to get the entryway painted, so he has been hard at work getting all of the trim and molding fixed up and painted.  I would love to have it done before baby gets here, but we'll see?? Projects just don't go as quickly around the house these days with our little helper. 

I had Valentine's Day off and spent it goofing around with my little man. Bran got gifts from his first little Valentine's this year, Frankie and Maddie.  He is going to miss them so much when he switches to daycare this summer.  Joe and I also got an adult night out and had an excellent dinner at Oscar's! Hopefully we can sneak out for another adult night before Baby L 2.0 is here. 

The other night Joe and I were just hanging out watching tv when we heard a big thud.  I immediately assumed it was one of the dogs, but they were both laying right by us sleeping.  I look on the baby monitor and apparently Bran had fallen out of bed.  Funniest part is by the time I saw him on the monitor he was already up and climbing right back into bed, he didn't even cry or yell once! He is so tough, he really amazes me.  He must really love his new bed.  But how this little boy managed to wiggle around enough in this big bed to fall out, with a rail, is beyond me. He is also so cute in the morning because I will hear him on the monitor when he wakes up, "Mama, where are you?!". Sleeping son, it's 6 a.m.! haha.

While I was cleaning out the nursery I came across the Old Wives Tales answers from Bran's baby shower. I ended up having 10 girl and 5 boy predictions, which obviously ended up being wrong. 

So lets see how my answers add up this time:
Heart Rate- girl (but not by much, just over 140 just like Bran's HR)

Legs- girl

Moody- boy

Chinese Chart- girl

Clumsy- boy

Sleep Side- both, but more boy

Carrying- girl

Craving-girl

Hubby Gained Weight- girl

Morning Sickness- girl

Skin- boy

Feet- girl

Dreams- ????? none so far

Headaches- girl

Mayan Gender Predictor- girl

So that makes 10 girl and 4 boy predictions for Baby L 2.0.  Will the Mayan's be right again?! 

Photo Ops

We are now Friday regulars at the Dublin Rec Center preschool open gym. Bran loves it!

"Tea party" with friends.

Dinosaurs need crackers too.

I guess he thought they needed a bath?

My sensitive pouting when the babysitter said he had to wait to get home to have crackers after a trip to the grocery store.

Still "helping" feed the dogs...

32 Weeks

Baby is the Size of a Naked-Tailed Armadillo

Joe and I snuck away from work early for a kid free (not counting Baby L 2.0!) lunch to celebrate 32 weeks, or maybe we are just trying to sneak in some one on one time before we become a family of 4?!

New for baby this week? 18 inches and 4 lbs., sucking their thumb, full sets of fingers and toe nails, breathing and "swimming" like crazy

Total weight gain/loss? 24 lbs. Wowza.  Here goes the crazy third trimester weight gain. 

Maternity clothes? A necessity.  My "baggy" non-maternity pajama shirts are officially too short. And some of my not-so-stretchy maternity shirts are getting too short as well.

Stretch marks? No

Sleep? I switched to a different maternity pillow, it has made a huge difference in my comfort! I have been sleeping great.  Well until 5:30 a.m. when my early bird (Bran) has been getting up lately. 

Best moment this week? Bran's birthday party

Miss Anything? Being able to bend easily to tie my shoes

Movement?  All the time

How is mama feeling? My back is starting to get very tired if I am standing/walking around for long periods of time. Also getting much harder to breathe.  I feel like baby is crowding my lungs and ribs (although kicks to the ribs have not been painful yet). Joe has noticed I am walking slower on our way in and out of work.

Looking forward to?  Digging out some of Bran's baby clothes to do some inventory and see what we need for Baby L 2.0.  I feel like nesting!

All is still well with Baby L 2.0.  As my OB said she always has a short (maybe non-existent?) list for me at appointments. Baby is hanging out head down still, so lets hope he/she stays put.  I did get a look of WOW from my OB when she came in this time, apparently I have really popped out the last couple weeks.  I must say, I agree!

I am super excited because Callie was able to get a group of us tickets for the Justin Timberlake concert.  It is on May 7, so Baby L 2.0 will only be about a month old. I will be exhausted but it will be worth it, and a great excuse to get out post baby!  It will also end up being Joe's first time home alone with two kiddos.  Stories to come, haha!

We met up with Nikki, Chris, and Greer for a little lunch date while they were in town for Disney on Ice.  Bran and Greer look all innocent and sweet in the pictures, but two toddlers can be quite challenging, especially when it should be nap time!

Nikki and I need some babies with our dark hair!

Brannock's room is officially done.  All of the decorations are up, and everything is moved into his new room. He loves the new bed.  And although bed time has continued to be a bit challenging (I swear he is just testing us), it keeps getting a little easier. He actually went to bed tonight without getting out of bed once and didn't scream at all.  Maybe we are finally back with the bedtime program?!

With Bran's second birthday approaching we decided it was time for another haircut before his party.  They used clippers this time and gave him a real "big boy" haircut!  I love it, even if it does make him look so much older.

So a couple days before Bran's birthday he decided to take a huge interest in potty training (on the big potty, he has zero interest in the little training potty I bought him).  He spent two days pretty much asking us to "peek" (his version of pee or go potty) as needed and would go hours with a dry diaper.  He got really into the M&M rewards.  Unfortunately it was a short lived interest.  In true Bran manipulative fashion he became more interested in the process (climb on potty, pee, wash hands) earning him the treat than actually keeping a dry diaper.  A few meltdowns after we denied him an M&M when he wouldn't really go potty, I made the executive decision that he just is not ready and decided to back off.  I think we are going to need a different approach (potty chart with rewards spread out??).  He's so young, I just don't think he is ready to commit.  So we'll stick to "peeking" at bath time for now.  Looks like we'll definitely be having two in diapers, at least for a little while.

We had a no pants morning.  This stressed Joe out and he wasn't even home haha.

Bran's second birthday fell on a Thursday.  Joe was on call that night so I took the day off so we could celebrate together in the morning.  We put a few gifts together in a box for Bran to find when he came downstairs.  He was definitely most excited about the balloons!

Minion undies, for when is ready of course.

Playing with his new choo choo.  His furry siblings are never far away. They all love each other. 

A new Cookie and La La. Now they live in his bed.

Bran and Mommy had ice cream on an oreo with dinner.  Mommy sang a solo "Happy Birthday". He loved it!

That weekend we celebrated Bran's second birthday with family and friends.  We had a Cookie Monster and Elmo (La La) themed party for Bran, he was so excited about the decorations and balloons, especially the big Cookie. We had donuts, breakfast casseroles, and fruit.

Bran did not like opening presents, which was not surprising.  He hated opening something he wanted to play with then being told to put it down to open another gift.  It was torture for all of us!  We plowed through, and Bran had a much better time playing with all of his new gifts with his friends after everything was open.

Bran LOVED everyone singing "Happy Birthday!" to him.  He is such a ham.  I think Joe had to relight his candle 3 or 4 times because he was so excited and kept blowing it out before we were finished singing.  It was so enjoyable to watch him.  Definitely one of those moments I wished I could freeze time.

Ready to help Dad with home projects.  He was so excited to get tools just like Dad's.

Bran learned from Lily very quickly how to ride him new scooter that Great Grandpa bought him, and made sure to do so safely! Silly Mommy didn't think he'd be able to do it until this summer.

I love our little (growing)  family.

Unfortunately beyond Abigail getting pictures for us, I was terrible about taking pictures at the party. I feel bad I didn't get more pictures of Bran with family, but to be honest he spent most of the party running around with his little friends.  He is always on the go, it is so hard to catch him sitting still for a photo op. He played so hard that once all of his party guests left he crashed hard.  Mommy and Daddy soaked up the snuggles.  Our increasingly independent little boy never falls asleep with us.

I am so proud of the little boy Bran is growing into.  He is charming, sweet, loving (oh he gives the best hugs and kisses), ornery, silly, smart, adventurous, outgoing...just wow what a great kid.  I couldn't imagine life without Brannock and can't wait to see him blossom into the best big brother.  This was our last big event prior to Baby L 2.0's arrival. 8 more weeks to go, it is getting real!!!

Photo Ops

Riding the tricycle inside on a cold day at Jennifer's.

Bran now likes to wait with his foot in Izzy's bowl when we are feeding the dogs.

My boys.  Bran LOVES his Daddy.