36 Week Ultrasound

This picture is not great. Unfortunately, all we could see of our baby was the back of his head(the big circle to the left) We were never able to see his face or even his arms. We did see his feet and sadly they are going straight down. This means that the baby is considered footling breech and we will most likely not have a regular delivery. Due to the type of breech and the location of my placenta, I am not a candidate for an ECV (when the doctor turns the baby herself). I am pretty dissapointed about the news and have a couple of exercises that I can do at home that could possibly help him to turn. My doctor has scheduled a C-Section for Friday, July 15th, but believes that I will deliver prior to that date.

The baby is otherwise progressing nicely and is much larger than Nolan. He is already measuring 6 pounds 8 ounces by ultrasound estimate. This can be off by about a 1/2 pound and our little guy is expected to continue to grow a 1/2 pound per week. Nolan was only 6 pounds 4 ounces at birth, so it seems that his little brother isn't so little!

I am excited about his arrival and know that it doesn't matter how he gets here. I just feel pretty sad about the whole thing and I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will flip and we can have a regular birth. It was the best day of my life when I delivered Nolan and such a bonding experience for us. I am sad to not have that experience with this one and to not be the first to hold my baby. The good news is that the latest he will be here is in 3 weeks!!

Classroom Baby Shower

I have had the sweetest class this year and many of them for two years! On Thursday they had a baby shower for me in the classroom. I did not get a single picture. I promised myself that I would document every part of this pregnancy just like I did with Nolan. I really want to make sure that our second baby has just as many memories to look back on as the first. I haven't really done that great of a job so far. So, when I got home I took a picture of all the presents so I would at least have one memory from this shower. The kids had a really great time and there were 3 stations of really cute baby shower games for them to play. Nolan was even given a big brother gift. He was so excited!! He saw me take it out of one of the bags and then ran over and said, "more presents". He thought maybe there were more toys for him inside. He also saw the diaper cake and wanted to "have cake". He loves his Spiderman car and even asked to sleep with it that night. The new baby got so many wonderful gifts. I am a very lucky teacher!

Week 31

Team Shower

My first grade team held a little baby shower for me last week. It was really nice and super sweet since technically I shouldn't be getting a shower for baby number 2! The new baby got some new clothes of his own and Nolan already discovered the monkey hooded towel and has decided he will "share" it with the new baby.

Nolan's terrible twos seem to be calming down a little bit. He is very independent and it really helps to give him choices and allow him to try to do things on his own. For example, getting into the car is much easier if I remain patient and allow him to climb in by himself. He has stayed a great sleeper at night, however getting settled down for nap was so frustrating(for me, not him). Nolan would jump on the bed and play in his room and take every piece of clothing out of his dresser. He would entertain himself for two hours but then I was left to clean up the mess! I just couldn't figure out why he never did this at night.

Finally, I decided that it could be that it was darker at night and maybe that made it seem like time to sleep and not time to play. So, I went out and got black-out curtains. It did the trick! At least for now, he goes right to sleep just like it is nighttime. I hate to have the shades because it seems like somewhat of a sleep prop and could make it difficult for him to sleep anywhere other than his room, but I was running out of patience. I got really, really tired of putting all his clothes back into his dresser over and over. Ever since we got the black-out shades Nolan sleeps like a little teenager and often is upset to find that it is wake-up time. During the week, Deric will come open the shades to give Nolan a little to time to wake up happily. Deric said last week he opened the shades and went downstairs for a minute. He heard walking in Nolan's room and thought maybe he was up. By the time he got up there, the shades were closed and Nolan was back in his bed sleeping. He cracks me up!

Week 24

Our Little Boy

Here he is!! Those are his feet above his head. It isn't as clear as what we were seeing. We could see all the bones in his fingers moving around trying to grab at his feet. It was so cute! The baby is measuring 4 days ahead of schedule but our due date of July 22nd will stay the same. The doctor also believes that he currently weighs a little over a pound.

We have not decided yet on a name but we have one that we have really liked since I was pregnant with Nolan. We are keeping ourselves open to new ideas and still searching for a middle name.

Snips and Snails

Deric and I decided to find out the baby's gender after all. We decided that it would be fun to experience it both ways. We are thrilled to be having another boy. I had been hoping for a boy but really thought that it might be a girl since this pregnancy is so different from the last one. I thought it would be really nice to have two children of the same sex and just couldn't stop smiling after she told us the good news. Now all I can think about is all the fun our two little boys are going to have together. Deric, on the other hand, is thinking about all the trouble two boys can get into when they are that close in age! We have an ultrasound picture that I will post soon. He was adorable and was holding his toes over his head for most of our visit.

My doctor said that it is normal for me to feel like I am carrying lower than last time. She said that my muscles are not as strong this time around and won't give as much support. I also found out that my placenta has attached in the front and it not near the cervix like last time. This is great news! I am glad not to have to worry about that this time around. The baby is healthy and everything looks great! I just can't stop smiling. I just love having a son and now I get to have two!!

Week 19

Week 19 With Baby #2

Week 23 With Nolan


I took this picture to compare to last time because the baby feels so low. The pictures look pretty much the same so maybe it is just my imagination. It just feels similar to how I felt with Nolan closer to full term. Maybe we can see what is going on when we get our Ultrasound on March 7th.

15 Weeks

12-Week Ultrasound

This visit was so much fun! It was the first time that the image looked like a real baby. The baby was rubbing his/her face and kicking so much. The baby was very active and the doctor had a hard time getting the images that she needed. The visit was to check for down syndrome which is why the picture is of the baby's back and spine. The baby is looking up, but it really wasn't a good shot compared to what I was seeing. The baby looked so big to me and this was the first time that I heard the heartbeat. The baby is measuring five days bigger than expected and the measurement indicated that we are clear of down syndrome worries. I am looking forward to my next ultrasound at 20 weeks!

9 Week Ultrasound

This was from December 20th. I will have another ultrasound on Monday! The baby is doing well. I have been feeling terrible and more than just tired...exhausted. I was diagnosed anemic and began taking that medication yesterday. I feel like a new person. My energy is back and I am so thankful that the complete and total exhaustion I was feeling wasn't normal. I am still tired, but able to eat dinner without falling asleep! My hormone levels are double the average for this point in my pregnancy and maybe that is the reason for many of the side effects that I have been having. The doctor says that is why she wondered if I was carrying multiples, but the high hormone levels will not hurt the baby. Hopefully things will even out soon. I am excited to see the baby on Monday!

Our Early Christmas Present

I wasn't sure when I would actually post the news, but I haven't been very good about keeping this secret.
I have been feeling very sick, just like I did with Nolan. It is all worth it though! I have read that feeling sick is a good sign that all is going well. If that is true then everything must be going great!