{20 week bumpdate}

Wow.  We are officially halfway!  Twenty weeks.
Can't even believe it.   {Here was last pregnancy's 20 week post.} No fancy photo shoot this month.  Just me, Cormac, and the self-timer, in the master bedroom, which I didn't even bother to clean.

Rants {the crappy stuff}:

Sleeping. Is. Hard.  Well, only if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night.  Then it is impossible to get back to sleep.  Literally, it will take hours to fall back to sleep.  I have slept on the couch various times just because I am such a light sleeper and any little shift of position or snore {or just heavy breathing} from my Hubby will wake me back up.  And I am really, really crabby if I get woken up in the middle of the night.
I have to pee a lot.  Well, not a lot in volume, but in frequency.  I can make it through the night without getting up, but I am sure that will change soon.
That's it -- hard to complain in the glorious second tri!  I'll take any symptom over nausea, so this is heaven.

Raves {the happy stuff}: 

Feeling really, really fit and strong this pregnancy!  I love my M-F gym workouts, which haven't really gotten less intense.   Still doing pilates once a week, and this week even enjoyed an extra weekend yoga class.  {Ow, I am sore.} Now that I am eating slightly healthier {no food aversions and can cook in a functioning, non-chaotic kitchen}I feel this crazy sense of power.  Like the pregnancy is no longer controlling me, but I am in control of it.  I like being in control.  A lot. :D

Another bonus - when random people (always women) come up to me in random public places and tell me, "You look SO cute!!!!"  They don't say specifically, but this never happens when I am not pregnant, so I guess it is the bump. :)

The ultrasound!  

I'm halfway there!  I wish I could say the time is flying...but...at least I am halfway!!!!  Hurrah!

cardi,leggings,belt -f21//tank-lizlange/target

Weight gain: 11 pounds.  No new weight gain, which I am pretty proud of considering we just went through the holiday season of constant noshing.  I might have eaten 100 snickerdoodles on Christmas.

Nausea:  None - hurrah! 

Skin: Um, not great.  I'm pretty sure any 'glow' I ever have this pregnancy will be the result of bronzer.  Plus, experiencing chest and back breakouts - ick!  

Boobs:  Not as sore anymore.  Probably should go up to a 36, but I am too cheap to buy new bras.

Cravings:  Salads - specifically with strawberries, mandarin oranges, pecans, and blue cheese.  So I bought the goods to make one tonight.  But nothing I absolutely need to eat immediately.

Aversions:  None.  Nothing sounds bad.

Exercise: Same as last month - not much running happening, but been consistent with my 5 days/week at the gym doing cardio, squats/lunges, and free weights.  Also still loving the pilates/yoga class.  

Dreams: No new baby dreams.  Last night I dreamt I made out with Joel Mchale from The Soup.  He was an awful kisser - lots of drool.  Maybe the drooling was baby-related????

Clothing:  All maternity pants.  No new ones, though, as I am too cheap to buy any.  (Sense a theme here?) After I put on a pair of what I thought were "transitional jeans" (my normal size but cut looser/wider) and I ripped a huge hole in the crotch, I decided I better stop kidding myself.  The maternity pants still look ridiculous on me, all saggy and droopy so I have to constantly pull them up!  The bump needs to get seriously bigger for this look to work.  Oh, and my two pair of black leggings are getting a workout as well.  So comfy!  All tops must be maternity at this point - or at least one size bigger and of the billowy sort.

Heartbeat: 143

Baby movement: Yes!  Lots!  Started feeling them right before Christmas, in week 17.  Actually first felt them the night I spent vomiting due to a 24-hour stomach virus.  (I kept thinking, Poor little baby in there!)  Now I feel a lot more attached to baby.  Feeling him/her move around, especially when I feel it from the outside makes me very conscious of the life, the human, someone other than myself, inside me.  Coolest thing ever.

Gender speculation: My guess is now, very staunchly, boy!!!   When I felt really crappy during my first tri it was easy to blame it on it being a girl, since the pregnancy was so much different.  Now that I feel awesome, like I did with Cormac, I again feel this must be a another baby boy to add to the brood.  Although my blog poll to the right, as well as the old wives' tales all point to 'girl!'  Have you voted yet???!!!!

Baby names: Both boy and girl first names chosen a while ago - as in practically during last pregnancy.  The girl name is actually NOT the name I had picked out since I was twelve, although i still love that name.  The 'new' girl name I love just as much, is more uncommon, and goes better with our last name.  Here is this months hint:   neither name begins with a vowel.  I know - really helpful.  Again, we will do the same middle name whether a boy or a girl.  It is decidedly more of a "boy" name than a "girl" name, but is cute with both first names.

Hubby feels: More out of "out of the loop" this time around. I guess this pregnancy I don't read out of the week-by-week books each Sunday night like I did when Cormac was in my belly.   Now that I'm not nauseous I don't complain to him as much about being pregnant.  Plus, he hasn't felt the baby move yet.  It hasn't really become real yet, I don't think.

Bump progress:

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preggo vlogs #5 and #6

Another two installments of preggo vlogs - weeks 13 and 17 (I don't do them every week...just when I think of it!)

This is the 'one where I growl like a bear' - week 13 when I talk about gender {ignore what I say though...we are NOT finding out the gender ahead of time!!!} and also get sidetracked by my sweet son and various animal noises....

And week 17, the 'one where I look like my mom, and it freaks me out' and I talk about all the lovely things you should enjoy while pregnant.  Or not pregnant.  :)

Ultrasound tomorrow!

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10 resolutions

1. Buy/wear more cute shoes.  I'll admit it.  I was a huge shoe lover pre-babies.  I spent eight years working in the shoe biz, so wearing fashionable footwear was a requirement that I relished.  After having Cormac I started seriously slacking in the stylish footwear department.  I have barely purchased any new shoes in the past two years, never mind cute ones.  More like comfortable and practical.  I still sometimes put on a pair of cute heels, but I'm now five months preggo, so it doesn't last long.

Source: vogueandcoffee.tumblr.com via Greta on Pinterest

2. Have a natural birth.  You can read about my first birth here.  I wanted to go naturally, but if you have had a baby you know that plans can change.  This time I will be armed with an experienced doula and more realistic expectations on how long labor can take.   This girl is preparing for 20+ hours of hard labor.  Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised with 12-15?

3. Drink more water.  Yep, it's on the list again. I guess I need to quantify this.  How about 5 bottles (um, the smallish ones) a day?  Even that sounds like a lot...but here we go!

4. Gain less than 35 pounds this pregnancy.  I gained 38 last time, which I was fine with, and lost.  However, 35 sounds like a much nicer, more even odd number.  :)

5. Do yoga throughout my entire pregnancy.  I think I can do this one.  Been doing pi-yo each week and despite my burgeoning belly have managed to remain doing all the poses asked of me.  Except the one where we are supposed to lay on our tummy, reach back and grab our feet, and rock back and forth in the stretch.   I do child's pose during that one so I don't squash my, um, child. 

6. Bake more.  This Christmas I was such a good girl I was given a Kitchenaid mixer!  I didn't technically ask for this, even though I have wanted one for years...so it must be a sign. I really have to get my bake on.  Be prepared for plenty of posts on those adventures!

Source: jotpress.com via Greta on Pinterest

7. Run a half marathon.  I am planning on doing one that occurs here in late September.  I'm an avid runner (the consistent, 3 mile a day kind) who has done plenty of 5 and 10K races...but never a half marathon.  Excited!
8.  Be more patient with Hubby.  Sometimes I feel like I can be really patient with my toddler, but then my poor Hubby gets the brunt of my impatience.  Especially when it comes to the renovations on our house.  We are going on 11 weeks without a kitchen.  However, I am promised by the end of today, I will be able to cook dinner with operable appliances and clean countertops.  We shall see.  If not, then I will just try to be more patient.  {ps - it happened!  I cooked dinner for the first time in months!}
9. Decorate our master bedroom!  Since moving into the 'dream home' I haven't really decorated. {Hubby renovates, I decorate.}  Nothing looks very personal because we have walls to patch/paint, flooring to redo, bedrooms to move around, and all the little items that make a house a home {art, family photos, accessories} seems to be packed away in the basement.  BUT...the master bedroom will stay where it is, and it is already painted a color I love...so...new bedding, art to be hung, new rug, window panels/hardware, and accessories are in the works.  Reveal to come!
10. Host a baby shower!  (Not my own, don't worry.)  I've never hosted any type of shower before, so I am pretty pumped and thankful to my sweet friend for entrusting me with this honor.  Can't wait to share how everything turns out with you!

So what are your resolutions this year?  They say the best way to make a goal turn into reality is to write it down, share it with others to hold you accountable,  and journal about your progress...so...perhaps you will start a blog if you haven't already?  :D

Linking with Lauren and Tiffany...

Happy New Year!
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ten reasons I'm afraid to have a girl

It's official.  We are having...
. . . . 
 . . . . 
  . . . . 
   . . . . 
    . . . .
to wait until the birth to find out the gender.  
Sorry!

I'm excited and petrified all at the same time.  I like to be super mentally/physically prepared for everything as much as is humanly possible, and waiting on the gender of our second babe is sure to be a challenge.

Hubby wants to wait - and am I now officially on board!  Er, as much as a control freak can be.

I figure we did it my way the first time, and it will be interesting to change it up a bit this pregnancy.

As I've been pretty open about, I've always pictured myself as a 'boy mama.'  I see myself as the 'alpha female' in the house.  I've loved my experience with Cormac, who is more and more 'boy' the older he gets.  Climbing on everything, jumping on everything, letting out gutteral boy yells constantly...and yet so, so, so affectionate and sweet.  He is a kisser, a hugger, a snuggler, a total lover.   I would adore another little boy.

However, there are things I could get really excited about if it is a girl, though, too.  I love girl clothes, girl decor, and almost all things girlie.  I know little girls who seem sweet, balance and normal.  Plus, from all I have heard girls are much easier when they are little {albeit harder when they reach the pre-teen/teen years.   But all in all, having a girl worries me more than it excites me.  Just being honest.

So we'll see.  God knows better than me what will be perfect for our fam.

'Til then, here are some girls and things about girls that scare this lil mama...

1. Honey Boo Boo.  So they say that having a girl 'steals the mother's beauty.'  Hmmm...

Source: imgfave.com via Jessica on Pinterest

2. Snooki

Source: google.com via Jessica on Pinterest

3. This picture.  I think it is supposed to be cute and make you want to have a little girl.  It has the opposite effect on me.  Makes my skin crawl.  Can we just let little girls be "kids" and not "miniature women?"  Eeesh.

Source: etsy.com via Lauren on Pinterest

4. The cost of prom/homecoming/dance classes, etc. etc. etc.
5. The cost of weddings.
6. The teenage years.  This is when I will have to get used to my baby that I birthed telling me how much she hates me and I "don't understand" which I probably won't.

7. The 'mommy issues' she will surely have.  I'm sorry, but even those who claim their mother is 'perfect and amazing' have 'mommy issues.'  Their issue in particular might be 'delusion.'

Source: someecards.com via Audrey on Pinterest

8. Watching her get her heart broken by boys I know are not worth her time anyway, but can't tell her that because it would only make her despise me. 'Nough said.

9. Being suspicious of every man that looks at her.

10. Mean girls.  Hopefully she wouldn't be one...but surely she will have to deal with them.

The only thing that restores my faith in having a daughter is reading Little Women or Jane Austen novels.  Surely my daughter will turn out like Jo March or Elizabeth Bennett, right?

Riiiight.

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{christmas cousins}

I had written a whole post about Christmas traditions.  It was beautiful and enthralling.  Then I got hellaciously ill, then Christmas happened, then post-Christmas happened...and the moment for that post past.   Sigh.  Next year.  :)

So instead, I'll just share one of our new traditions - the 'cousin pic'!  Now that there are two sweet babies around during family gatherings, with more surely on the way, I really want to be able to look back and see how they grow throughout the years.

And remember their sweet Christmas pajamas.  Jammies.  Cozies.  However you say it in your house.

So here are the two babes we have so far - Cormac and Emmie.  

Aren't her cheeks amazing?

And just because I feel this photograph encapsulates the aftermath of Christmas celebrations for toddlers...here you go:

Merry Christmas!
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one year ago : christmas

I love looking back on how much changes in only one year.

I can hardly believe this tiny thing was my baby boy 

just last Christmas!

He couldn't help me decorate the tree, but he seemed intrigued by the lights...

One of these were supposed to be our Christmas photo last year...but I  was a major slacker and never actually sent one out.

Doesn't my bald baby look thrilled to be wrapped in lights?  Pretty sure this is one photo idea he will make fun of his mama for years down the road...

And this year.  

He was able to clomp around in the mud while we cut down our tree. 

Oh, and he ate some mud, too!  

Despite the mud and the lack of pretty Christmas snow, our traditional tree-cutting outing was still really fun!

Hubby did most of the work.

Not our official Christmas photo...but I swear we got a couple good ones and I actually did order cards this year.  Maybe they will get mailed by New Years???

Cormac also "helped" me decorate the tree this week.  It was cute to watch him try.  Now to train him to not pull the ornaments off the tree...

Hope everyone is having a fun and {mostly} 

stress-free holiday season so far!

g

{16 week bumpdate}

Sixteen weeks.  I feel, concurrently, like I have been pregnant forever and that I don't have nearly enough time until this baby gets here.   It is an odd feeling, but I am trying to just enjoy this second trimester, as I have heard that the third trimester of your second pregnancy is more brutal than ever. 

Rants {the crappy stuff}:

I feel huge, I have heartburn a lot, my back aches constantly, and sleeping is difficult.  Going through the same sleep issues I had last pregnancy, in that I like sleeping on my back, but am not supposed to while pregnant...so I wake up on my back various times a night and feel guilty and flip to my side.  It is a vicious, un-restful cycle.  Plus, despite being in my second tri and having more energy, I still feel completely exhausted at the end of the day, like I need about twenty hours of sleep to catch up.  I frequently wonder how I am even surviving the day.  Accomplishing all that I want to accomplish during the Christmas season, especially with the kitchen still a construction zone, is very, very difficult while pregnant and raising a toddler.  It will probably take me all week to decorate our tree, which we just cut down yesterday.

Raves {the happy stuff}: 

I just love it when Cormac insists on lifting up my shirt so he can kiss my bare belly after I ask, "Where is your baby brother or sister?"  It is the sweetest thing.
Heard the heartbeat again, and all else checked out well at my sixteen week appt.  No reprimands about my weight gain, thankfully.
Loving that people aren't afraid to ask about my bump anymore!!!

sweater and lace cami - target // leggings - f21 // nothing maternity...just one size up!

Weight gain: 11 pounds.  Surprisingly, I weighed the same at this point in my last pregnancy...which makes me feel slightly better about myself.  Pass the ice cream, please.

Nausea:  Still the occasional bout of dry heaving...but so, so, so much better!  

Skin: Still fine!  No crazy bad breakouts, itching, etc.  No real glow yet...however one of my friends told me I no longer look "green."  :)

Boobs:  I sometimes walk around in public with my bra unclasped.  Thankfully that bra is so dang tight it doesn't move an inch.  Finally understand the whole "18 hour bra" thing.  Need to go up another size.  That is all I will say about all that.  

Cravings:  Just loving all sweet things now!  Never was a die-hard dessert girl until this pregnancy.  Last night I ate the largest piece of cheesecake ever.

Aversions:  Nothing - can eat just about anything now, praise the Lord!  Although smells really get to me.  I have walked out of several restaurants solely based on how they smell.   I also have doused my husband {and surrounding areas} with Febreze on various occasions.

Exercise: Still doing pilates/yoga mix class once a week, and upped my gym visits to five days a week.  The weather has not been great for running outside with the baby/dog, but is essential for me to get out and do something, considering the chaos in the house due to the kitchen renovation...oh, and considering how much food I am eating.
Dreams: Had my first baby dream!  I dreamt I went to the hospital, which looked suspiciously like a nail salon, to have the baby, but then I blacked out and couldn't remember the labor or delivery.  I arrived back at the nail salon the next day, all spacy asking if I had had my baby and where was it?  The nurse/manicurist pointed to one of the pedicure chairs, in which sat a beautiful baby with huge blue eyes, just staring at me expectantly.  I knew it was my child, but wasn't sure if it was a boy or a girl.  So I walked over and unwrapped the blanket it was swaddled in, revealing...a girl!  

Clothing:  I have started to wear some of my maternity jeans...but they are still too loose and hang off my butt.  It's not cute.  So lately it has been a lot of leggings because I don't want to squeeze into my regular jeans anymore.  Shirts need to be either maternity or one size larger than normal.  Or extra long and stretchy.

Heartbeat: 140. Hmmm...much lower than last month.  

Baby movement: Nothing distinct.  I would be concerned except we heard a strong heartbeat this week as well as what the midwife said were "movements" (weird, quick swish sounds now and again) on the Doppler wand thing.  She thinks my placenta might be on the front of my uterus (???) which would make it harder for me to feel much movement.

Gender speculation: Oh gosh...now I think boy.  My motherly intuition is completely messed up.  I guess I have no intuition on this baby.  He/she will be a total surprise, even though all the old wives' tales seem to point to 'girl.'  So will we find out the gender at our ultrasound next month?  Initially I really wanted it to be a surprise at the birth...then I totally changed my mind.  Now Hubby wants to wait until the birth to find out.  AH!  I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO?!?!?

Baby names: Both boy and girl names chosen a while ago - with the middle names now decided on.  We will do the same middle name whether a boy or a girl.  

Hubby feels: Went from excited to finding out the gender, to wanting to keep it a surprise.  Getting a ton done on the kitchen (it's nearly all operable!) so he is feeling less stressed about getting all the planned pre-baby renovations accomplished.

Bump progress:

                 
                    Yup...I just posted a bikini baby bump shot.

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