9 Month Bumpdate {Thomas Dean}

We are officially in the home stretch of our 2nd annual pregnancy!

Bump at 38 weeks

It's pretty wild to think we'll be bringing our baby boy home so soon. In fact, we'll probably be in labor by the weekend, so please send your prayers! I had a check up yesterday and learned I am 3 cm dilated, 50% effaced. My doctor is on call all weekend so I'm going to see him on Friday morning for a little membrane stripping fun and hopefully be making our way to the hospital shortly thereafter!

Thank goodness last weekend we finally crawled into the attic and got down the Boppy lounger, Rock n' Play Sleeper and boxes of other newborn things. We also packed my hospital bag (using my list from last time), purchased an additional convertible car seat for Caroline, set up the pack n' play next to our bed for a diaper changing station, sterilized bottles and pacifiers, assembled the swing, prepared the guest room for our parents and accomplished lots of other random tasks.

WE ARE READY! 

The final update:

• Sleep: Hit or miss. The last few weeks I've been up coughing all night with Bronchitis, but thankfully Robitussin and a z-pak has helped get me through stretches of sleep. 
• Movement: Movement is constant and feels so different from my pregnancy with Caroline. My belly is SO hard, round, full and every movement completely transforms the shape of my belly. I swear it feels like I'm carrying a 12 lb baby. I've also had so many strangers look at me and say "oh! definitely a boy!" Apparently huge basketball bellies are obvious giveaways.
• Cravings: The usual - orange juice, watermelon, cookies, ice cream, pickles, turkey sandwiches, cereal and ice.
• Labor Signs: Yep.Thomas has dropped, is head down, I'm experiencing loads of pressure and I've had a few contractions each night at bedtime. I can't even begin to describe how dang excited I am about LABOR although my biggest fear is Thomas coming too quickly and missing my epidural window. I had such an amazing labor last time and hope that this time is exactly the same. Pushing a baby out of my body was one of the most incredible experiences of my life and I am counting down the DAYS to do it again! (Caroline's birth story here).
• Symptoms: Again, so different this pregnancy! I am not nearly in as much pain and discomfort as I was with Caroline. I vividly remember being confined to the couch by 35 weeks with multiple heating pads and a belly support belt, crying and complaining about the terrible shooting pains up my back, down my legs and across my ribs. This pregnancy, despite crawling around the kitchen floor several times a day cleaning up the aftermath of Caroline's meals, bending over the tub at bath time and carrying around an 18 pound toddler, I am grateful to have very tolerable (lightening, round ligament and lower back) fleeting pains.
• Best Moments: 90 minute prenatal massage,all of our June fun and celebrating Matt's birthday.
• Looking forward to: A spa pedicure at the Ritz...and going into labor.
• Weight: Up 25 lbs. 

 

9 Months Pregnant with Caroline: 36 weeks // 37 weeks // 38 weeks // 39 weeks // 40 weeks

8 Month Bumpdate {Thomas Dean}

{bump at 33 weeks pregnant}

Hello month 8! It's been a crazy few weeks but we are trucking along nicely (and quickly) at 34 weeks pregnant! I am so grateful to feel pretty good still despite all of the aches, pains and not so lovely pregnancy symptoms that accompany the 30's. I said it last pregnancy and I still firmly believe the 20's are the very best (and my most favorite) weeks to be pregnant! Once I hit third trimester it just seems to get a little more uncomfortable and exhausting each week. You can find me complaining most when I'm unloading the bottom rack of the dishwasher (thankfully Caroline helps with the silverware basket these days), getting in and out of bed, lacing up tennis shoes and bathing Caroline (not often, daddy mostly does this). Outside of that, my pains haven't been nearly as terrible as last pregnancy when I was basically confined to a heating pad all day. So yes, very thankful too! Maybe my body is used to it by now or I just don't have the time to notice.

With less than 6 weeks to go (I'm convinced he's coming a week earl), Matt and I sat down and put 4 rounds of golf on the calendar for him and a hair cut, pedicure and prenatal massage for me! It's incredible how different this pregnancy has been compared to the last - no monthly prenatal massages, or regular pedicures or fancy dinners out. Nope. Those things are now very rare luxuries as we enjoy our weekends most when we are all together as a family! Anyway, first time moms, soak in that freedom (and the extra spending cash) before baby!

A little nursery update - Thomas's crib arrived (finally) and Matt and his dad assembled it. I held my breath and crossed my fingers that it would fit on that back wall and thankfully it did, with a few extra inches to spare! Hallelujah! Another second time mom story...I spent less money on the bed skirt, mattress, mattress cover and bumper combined than I did on Caroline's sheets alone. For baby #2 I haven't been shy about shopping consignment sales and accepting hand-me-downs. The only thing left to do in here is replace the dresser with something a little larger since Caroline has monopolized all 5 drawers and have a matching print made for Thomas to go over his crib.

Hoping two babies in one room works out. Caroline is clearly thrilled about her upcoming slumber parties...

Other pregnancy updates:

• Sleep: For the most part I am sleeping okay in between lots of bathroom trips. I honestly don't know how I would sleep without my Bump Nest though.
• Movement: Oh yes. Thomas is currently breech. Actually, he is flat out horizontal which makes for super awkward movement and positioning in my belly. If he doesn't turn by my next appointment my doctor says he will want to see us every week instead of two. Caroline turned at 31 weeks but Thomas already feels so much bigger so I'm hoping he flips soon so I can stop worrying.
• Cravings: Popsicles, orange juice, watermelon, broccoli, pickles, hash brown potatoes, Mexican, fruit snacks, cookies and candy.
• Symptoms: Foot cramps, heartburn, colostrum, lower back pains, exhaustion, etc.
• Best Moments:  Our Folly Beach family vacation and Wells Fargo Golf Tournament!
• Weight: Up 20 lbs.

8 Months Pregnant with Caroline: 31 weeks // 32 weeks // 33 weeks // 34 weeks // 35 weeks

7 Month Bumpdate {Thomas Dean}

 

No surprise that I am super behind on my bumpdate for month 7! I am officially 31 weeks along and had a great OB appointment today. Thomas is looking healthy and happy in there. Hard to believe we are going in every 2 weeks now for check ups. Getting so close to the finish line!

Pregnancy updates:

• Sleep: Depends on if Caroline feels like sleeping or not. 
• Movement: All the time!
• Nursery: We've had a lot of busy weekends lately and a few busy ones to come but I'm starting to get antsy about preparations. Liiiiike, I need to get our crib and make sure it actually fits in our nursery. I called Pottery Barn a few days ago to check on the delivery status (it was supposed to arrive over a month ago). Turns out they managed to cancel my order and now the crib is on back order. So that's awesome.
• Cravings: All about the popsicles these days!
• Symptoms: Foot cramps! If I dare to wear wedges to work I pay for it all night. My back pain also started up this past week and is accompanied with worse round ligament pains.
• Missing: Walking without a waddle. I also have no maternity clothes for this season since I had Caroline during spring and now we're well into summer. I just can't bring myself to spend money on maternity clothes with less than 8 weeks to go. I'd rather save my pennies for new clothes after baby to motivate me to lose the extra weight! 
• Best Moments: My surprise baby shower, passing my glucose test and celebrating Mother's Day!
• Weight: Up 17 pounds and am carrying much lower this time.

Months Pregnant with Caroline: 27 weeks // 28 weeks // 29 weeks // 30 weeks

5 Month Bumpdate {Gender Reveal}

I am 19 weeks pregnant and the time is flying by. In fact, I wish it would slow down just a bit because we have done absolutely nothing to prepare for baby M2 except for signing up for the daycare wait list. Anyway, let's get down to the most exciting update...the gender reveal...

We officially received gender confirmation at my anatomy scan last week. To reveal the news to our families we gave them confetti poppers and an envelope containing the name...

Baby M2 is a...BOY! 

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome a little man to our family. And I am so hoping that he is a total mama's boy since Caroline absolutely favors her daddy. We'll see!

We knew we wanted to use another family name for our little boy and both of us agreed it would be so special to honor both of our dad's, so we chose Thomas Dean Marcellino. Thomas is Matt's dad's name (and also Matt's middle name) and Dean is my dad's name. We love the name Thomas Dean and both of our dad's were so excited and surprised when we told them. I also think "Tommy" is a really cute little boy name although Matt adamantly says he'll be called "Thomas". Oh, and although it's a total coincidence, Matt and I also met at Thomas Street Tavern (you can read that story here). Other less exciting pregnancy updates...

• Sleeping good and feeling good for the most part. There are definitely nights of pregnancy insomnia and days of extreme exhaustion sprinkled in but for the most part I am reminded of how much I love the second trimester, minus the lovely round ligament pains.
• The flutters have begun and I forgot how much I love feeling movement in my tummy!
• Craving carbs (bagels, pastas, french fries, etc.), ice cream and candy these days. I have also created a million excuses for not working out these past few months.
• I'm officially up 7 pounds and my regular clothes are no longer comfortable so I pretty much only wear dresses these days. While unpacking my box of maternity clothes I realized 60% of my wardrobe from my last pregnancy consisted of leggings. So I decided to purchase these, these and these on sale from Destination Maternity last week. 
• "Pregnancy brain" coupled with "mommy brain" is no joke. I forget a lot of things these days, feel scattered all the time and have done my fair share of dumb things lately.
• Lastly, we have decided we're going to let Thomas and Caroline share a room and see how it goes. This may be the worst idea of all time but we're going to give it a shot. Plus we would only have to buy an extra crib instead of furnishing an entire new nursery. Any mama's with room sharing experience, I would love to know your thoughts!

And for fun - 19 weeks pregnant with Caroline (post)!

4 Month Bumpdate {Baby M2 Details}

Thank you all so much for all of the sweet comments on our pregnancy announcement. You all are truly awesome! We are due on July 19, 2015 and Caroline and Baby M2 will be 14 months apart. We are are really excited about it, a little terrified, but mostly excited. We always wanted our kiddies to be close in age (my siblings and I are each a year apart) but we definitely aren't naive to the fact that we have some tough diaper-filled years ahead!

Anyway, some answers to the most common questions I've received since sharing our news...   How far along are you and how are you feeling? I am 15 weeks pregnant and the first trimester was exactly like my last pregnancy - terrible. Fighting through nausea, frequent dizzy spells and extreme exhaustion while chasing around a very mobile baby has been tough! But thankfully I am feeling better these days now that I am in my second trimester.   How did you find out? Even though I stopped breastfeeding a few months after Caroline was born my cycle was all out of whack. I began tracking, charting, testing, temping, etc. for a few months to see if things were getting back to "normal" and they definitely were not. So a few days before my routine mammogram {I get these very often due to my family breast cancer history} I took a pregnancy test - negative. When I arrived to my appointment the technician must have asked me a million times if I was pregnant and I assured her that I had just received a negative pregnancy test but that we were in fact "trying". She made me sign a waver stating I wasn't pregnant, informed me of all of the terrible risks associated with radiation exposure to a fetus and then decided to dress me with a lead apron just in case. I knew I wasn't pregnant but felt very nervous throughout the entire screen and even throughout the next few days. She really scared me. By the weekend I ultimately decided to take another pregnancy test. POSITIVE.We should have been jumping for joy but were immediately crippled with fear thinking about the mammogram I just had 5 days earlier and the warning from the technician. I called my doctor first thing the very next morning and he squeezed me in on his lunch break for an ultrasound. Despite a positive pregnancy test the ultrasound showed NO baby and we were devastated. A few days later we went back in for another ultrasound - still no baby but my uterus appeared to be doing something. We continued to go in for ultrasounds every few days to check on the progress and were getting really discouraged (no fetal pole, growing too slowly, not progressing, etc). The doctor informed us that there was some risk that we could lose the baby in the coming weeks due to the radiation exposure from the mammogram. We spent a lot of time in prayer during the weeks that followed. Finally, after 8 long weeks of doctor's appointments and ultrasounds my doctor informed us that he was confident that the baby was healthy, was safe from any radiation exposure and confirmed me for a July 19, 2015 due date!    Will you find out the gender? Yep! In fact, we already know! At 13 weeks my doctor referred us to a specialized maternal-fetal medicine physician who told us with 80% confidence the gender of baby M2! We will receive confirmation at our 18 week anatomy scan and then I will share the news!    Do you have a name? Yep, that's picked out too and I can't wait to share.    Are you going to post weekly bumpdates? Oh heck no. And you're welcome. I barely have time to keep up with the blog as it is and towards the end of my last pregnancy I was so sick of writing those things (and taking pictures)!  I still can't believe I posted 28 updates on my pregnancy with Caroline. Twenty Eight! I will try to scratch some highlights down on a monthly basis this time around just so #2 doesn't feel neglected but nothing nearly as detailed as the first time around. Six updates is much more manageable.   Will you return to work after #2 is born? Sure am! Although the thought of a second daycare payment is nauseating, I really enjoy being a working mom and contributing to our family. Also, we love Caroline's daycare (and so does she) and I love my job so this works out perfect for us. More thoughts on this subject here.    Nursery plans? Haha.     Will you do anything different this time around? Oh yes. Here are the top 5 things that come to mind...   1. I'll throw in the towel on breastfeeding much earlier. I wanted to exclusively breastfeed Caroline so badly. For months I experimented with every single recommendation from friends and bloggers, old wives tales from the internet and guidance from doctors and lactation consultants in an attempt to breastfeed. It was exhausting, disappointing and extremely frustrating. I even committed to pumping at work despite only getting an ounce or two {at most} each time. Finally at 4 months I threw in the towel and I was a better mom for it. I'll give it another shot this time around but I'm not going to kill myself over it again.

  

2. I'll splurge on the very best SIDS monitor there is. Feel free to send recommendations. I'm leaning towards the Snuza since it's portable and has rave reviews.

3. I won't feel guilty about co-sleeping. Everyone does it but no one admits it. For us, it was a life changing decision and we bed-shared with Caroline until she was two months old. Our doctor and lactation consultant also recommended co-sleeping.

4. I'm going to try my hardest not to gain a million pounds. I am really hoping not to use the "but I'm pregnant" excuse to fuel bad donut habits again. My baby weight didn't magically melt off like it does for some. It took me 6 long, hungry months to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. That being said, the day I found out I was pregnant I ate a box of pop-tarts...so...

5.  I'll give myself grace.

Did I cover everything? Any lingering questions?

Some Exciting News...

Caroline is going to be a big sister! Baby M2 coming July 2015!   We are over the moon! Of course, I promise to fill y'all in on all the details really, really soon!