23 weeks

I figure it's time to post a belly pic, since I really haven't given much of an update on my pregnancy with Baby M II. I'm 23 weeks today, and I actually dried my hair for the first time in probably three weeks this morning. So, that calls for a photo.

The belly is definitely bigger this time around, and I'm pretty sure it did most of its growing last week. The entire week I felt stretched and pulled, as if my skin possibly couldn't spread any more. And I have potentially 17 more weeks to go. Oy.

For the most part I'm feeling pretty good. It's such a different experience the second time around. I'm not worried about every little ache and pain, nor am I reading a massive stack of pregnancy books like I did the first time. And I actually feel like I'm sleeping better this time, but that probably has to do with how unbelievably tired I am at the end of the day. Chasing a two-year-old adds a whole new level of fatigue to this whole pregnancy thing. I'm definitely not eating as well as I did when I was pregnant with Maribelle. Fruits and veggies?

Ha.

Hahahahaha.

Ha.

Not a big part of my diet unless I come across them at the bottom of a bag of chips or Dairy Queen starts pureeing them into their ice cream or something. So sad, but it's what the baby wants these days. (FYI, I just ate a bowl of strawberries. So it's not dessert ALL the time.)

We haven't lived near a DQ in seven years, and now we have one about 10 minutes away. I'm making up for lost time and enjoying a Banana Cream Pie Mini Blizzard as often as possible. Maribelle is more of a chocolate-vanilla swirl girl.

I've been getting progesterone shots weekly to hopefully (fingers crossed) ward off the pre-term labor I experienced with Maribelle. Other than the hassle of going to the doctor's office every week, it hasn't been so bad, and I actually think the extra boost of hormones has made certain aspects of pregnancy easier.

In terms of preparing for baby, we haven't really DONE anything yet. We've had maybe one conversation about baby names (my least favorite part of the whole process, for reals. So. Much. Pressure.), we haven't done any crib or baby furniture shopping, and the baby's future bedroom and closet are filled to the brim with junk. But we've got some guests who will be crashing our pad for a few weeks in July, and I'm hoping to put them to work (ahem ... Laura and Jake). Hopefully we'll be able to make more progress soon!

Settling into our New Digs

So it's time to report on our big move, which happened almost three weeks ago now. We said goodbye to our very first house, which was our first major purchase as a couple and the home we moved into as husband and wife. We had our first child there and really launched our family life within those walls. It was a good house to us for seven years, but townhouse living just wasn't for us anymore. And our family is growing, so it was time to move on.

Enter -- "Moving Day." After weeks of packing and anticipating our move to a single-family home (and OMG, the stress!!), we completed two closings and a move all by 4 p.m. in one day. We couldn't have done it without the amazing help and coordination on behalf of my dad, who managed the movers while we were away at the closings, made countless trips back and forth from the old house to the new house while lugging our junk in his "Beast"/Excursion, and who also pretty much single-handedly cleaned the old house from top to bottom before the new owners moved in. We are so grateful he was able to make the trip to help us for a few days, because I don't know what we would have done without his help. Lucky for us the closings and move went smoothly, and we spent our first night in our home surrounded by piles of boxes.

We've made great progress in comparison to the photos above and we pretty much only have boxes left in our basement (which is going to be a massive job that I'm choosing to ignore at the moment). In an ideal world where we had lots of leftover money, time, and didn't have to worry about a pregnant mama, we'd be doing some major painting, landscaping and finishing of our basement. But, such is not the case. So we're living with most of the paint colors for the moment (or the next few years) and just making our current furniture fit. We're trying to do little things on our own (like powerwashing the house and deck, re-grouting the master shower, and replacing the countless window screens that have holes in them), so fingers crossed all those projects go off without a hitch (because we are soooo not the handy type). We're loving the relaxing atmosphere of our new surroundings, and Maribelle is absolutely loving the backyard, or what she refers to as "the park." 

We'll post updated pictures soon as more of our rooms are completed!

Day of the Dad

This little girl and her Dad ... oh, the fun things they do together.

He plays his guitar and sings silly songs, while she dances, jumps and shakes her booty (and sings into anything that closely resembles a microphone).

They water the flowers together and play in the dirt.

She rides on his back while he gives train rides.

She loves, loves, loves to color with him: "Hey Daddy! I know what we can do ... let's color!!"

They play hard and love hard ... the perfect Daddy-Daughter combo.

Up Close and Personal with Baby M II

Last week we had my 20-week ultrasound and got to check in on Baby M II. I've been telling Jeremy that this baby is much more active than Maribelle ever was at this point, and Baby M II  proved my point the minute the ultrasound tech flipped on the screen. Once the shadowy image of the baby came into view, we could see that Baby M II was practicing a little thumb sucking, and was repeatedly trying to find his/her mouth. It was so amazing and adorable to watch, and I'm pretty sure I fell in love right then and there. It just blows my mind that all of that was going on right there in my belly. It truly is such a miracle.

With the stress of taking care of a two-year-old, everyday life, selling our house, moving, etc, etc, I've felt a little disconnected from this pregnancy and have found myself MANY times just plain old forgetting I'm with child (and then I walk in front of a mirror and my growing belly quickly reminds me that SOMETHING is going on in there). But the magic of the ultrasound and the amazing detail that we could see and witness just made everything sink in and seem much more real. In a few short months, we're going to be a family of four!

Lucky for us, my OB office uses 4D technology as a regular feature of the 20-week ultrasound, so we got the added benefit of seeing Baby M II in greater detail than a normal ultrasound. Take a look at this sweet face!

I know, it's slightly creepy and the umbilical cord floating there just makes me nervous, but is this not the most amazing advancement in ultrasound technology?!?! It's even more detailed during a third trimester ultrasound, but as long as my pregnancy progresses normally, we won't need any additional ultrasounds.

In terms of baby details, Baby M II's heartbeat was around 150, and he/she was measuring slightly ahead, which is great considering that I've only gained two pounds so far the entire pregnancy. My doctor has encouraged me to consume more calories, so I've been doubling up on dessert daily (probably not what she meant, but I'm taking liberties with this one). All vital organs were accounted for and measured appropriately, so all looks well in there!