What Is That? (and 31 Weeks)

Last night when I was giving Andrew his bath I happened to run my hand down his leg and he felt a little bumpy. I thought that was weird, but didn't see anything right away.  Once I was rinsing him off I saw something on his leg. At first I thought it was some suds left on him, but then I looked closer and saw that they were hives.  WTF?

I carried him to his room to dry him off and inspect him closer.  His little buns and thighs were covered in hives. There were also a few on his one arms and the bottom of his back.  Nothing on his belly or chest or upper back.  He didn't seem bothered by them and wasn't itching, but he did have a spot on his leg that looked like a bite, but that might possibly have something in it. He got upset when I was trying to look more closely at it.

I sent a text to my sister (the pediatrician) to see if it was ok to give him benedryl and to get some advice.  Of course we didn't have any children's benedryl so I had to run out to CVS to get some.  It took me forever to find it at the store since it's not with the other allergy stuff.  I picked some up along with some hydrocortisone cream in case he was itchy.  When I got home I went to inspect his legs and they were clear.

What in the world??

I swear he had just been covered in hives and now nothing was there.  I attempted to give him some benedryl to be on the safe side and he ended up gagging and puking it up. Awesome.

Before bed we did get a good look at the spot on his leg and got something to come out of it. I don't know if it was a splinter or what.  We got him down for bed and I was convinced that he would have us up multiple times overnight, but I was pleasantly surprised when he slept all night (hallelujah!) This morning he was in a great mood and showed no signs of anything being weird the night before.  He was perfectly content eating his yogurt and grapes while snuggling Mr. Duck:

Keeping my fingers crossed that it was nothing and that my little munchkin doesn't have any more weird reactions in the near future.  I'll still love him, though, bumpy or not  :)

And on to this week's check in:

How far along? 31w0d and baby is the size of a pineapple or small melon.   He should be about 16 inches and 3 lbs at this point.  His irises now react to light and all five of his senses are in working order.

Weight loss/gain:  29.5 lbs this morning.

Maternity clothes: Mostly maternity clothes. I've bought some more tall length shirts to get me through the next 7-9 weeks.  Old Navy was a bust last weekend (the $8 dresses weren't even worth that much in my opinion) so I'm just hoping to get through til the end of August with what I have.

Symptoms:  The constipation is letting up a little bit. I don't know if it's the tea, the high fiber cereal, or the ton of cherries that I've been eating, but it's been glorious.  Feeling more shortness of breath due to him squishing up under my ribs and just general uncomfortableness.

Sex (of baby):  It's a BOY!!!

Name: Haven't made any progress since he gave me his list.  I did start making one yesterday with options like Benjamin, Elliott, Garrett, Isaac and Jeremy, but it's hard.  I want something along the same style as Andrew - I feel like since Andrew is a traditional name we need something along those lines.  Naming people is hard.

Sleep: Sleep is still hit or miss.  Andrew has had an off week and it's not helping.  Getting my Tdap shot in my left arm (the side I like to sleep on) didn't help.

Best moment this week? Having my appt and getting to hear 2.0's heartbeat and being told that everything looks great.  Oh, and finding out my best friend is pregnant with baby #2 as well  :)

Movement: He's all over the place. Most of the movement is up kind of high. I figure that's his feet.

Food cravings:  Watermelon and cherries. Fruit is the best.

Belly button in or out?  Very far in - pretty sure it's staying that way for the duration.

What I miss?  Running. I haven't run in what feels like forever.

What I'm looking forward to?  A long weekend next weekend.  Yay 4th of July!

Milestones:  I don't know - being down to 63 days or less I guess.

What I'm nervous about:  The fact that we haven't done ANYTHING about getting ready for this kid.  Andrew is still in the crib, the clothes haven't been pulled out, nothing's been washed and I have to find the infant car seat.  I'm a little panicked.

And this week's pictures:

Just for fun, here is a comparison of 31 weeks pregnant with Andrew and 31 weeks with this one:

I feel so much bigger this time around, but I guess it's not really that much bigger.  Must be the heat making me feel huge.

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday ~ Double Jammies

(No, he did not sleep in two sets of jammies. He just insisted on his jammie pants when he got up and wouldn't stop whining until I put them on him, too.)

Just Another Weekend With My Guys

Well, we didn't accomplish any of the baby related things that I hoped we might this past weekend.  Oh well, I still had a pretty good weekend with my two favorite guys.

Friday night Andrew entertained himself pushing his new wheelbarrow around the house:

J thinks that I get him too many toys, but the wheelbarrow is for him to play with in the back yard so it's not like it'll be sitting in our living room.

Saturday morning we hung out and played while we waited for J to get back from his bike ride (I hate that bike).  Once we were all ready we headed down to the aquarium to play with the fish.  This time Andrew was a little bit more attentive than he was the last time we went.  He didn't want to have anything to do with the snake that the guy was holding (and I can't blame him - I HATE snakes):

He was much more interested in the touch tank this time, though, and actually touched the starfish and the sea urchin:

And of course he had to climb on the whale tale (and anything else that he could possibly climb on):

I can't get over how old he looks sitting there.  Where did my baby go???

We didn't do the entire aquarium this time. Once Andrew started to appear to lose interest we left.  We have a year long membership so I don't feel the need to do every single thing every time that we go.  Next time we'll hit the things that we missed this time.

When we made it back outside we let him run around and watch the fountains and play in the water. He was soaked by the time we left:

While Andrew took a nap after lunch I ran to Old Navy in hopes that some of their dresses that were on sale for $8 would be wearable and get me through the next couple months.  They all sucked so instead I bought one dress that wasn't on sale and a bunch of tank tops. I laid down for an hour when I got home and then J and I finally washed my car.  The thing was filthy so I was happy to do it.  Honestly I mostly just sprayed it down since J didn't want me overdoing it climbing up and down the step ladder.  And I can't really squat down to do the wheels very well anyway.  Before we got done Andrew woke up from his nap so he came outside with us.  I love watching him follow J around, doing whatever he does. He's his daddy's little shadow:

Yesterday was a bit hot and steamy. We set Andrew's little pool up in the back yard and I sat in there playing with him while J trimmed up the palm trees in the back yard. I felt kind of bad that I was sitting there cooling off and playing with the munchkin while he was sweating his ass off, but when I offered to help he kept telling me not to worry about it. I guess I should be milking this pregnancy more, huh?  ;)

When he decided to take a break from cutting he climbed in to cool off.  They splashed around and enjoyed some icee pops as a way to cool down:

I actually bought a new bigger pool that I can comfortably get in with him, but since the little one was already blown up we used it. I'm determined to get the bigger one out for this coming weekend, though.

The rest of the day consisted of lunch time, lots of books, naptime and me canning more tomatoes (I'm going to shoot J if he plants this many tomato plants next year!).  All in all it was a pretty good weekend. Andrew had his grumpy moments (damn molars) but for the most part he was as awesome as ever and it made me sad to have to drop him off at daycare this morning.  I love awesome weekends with my favorite guys  :)

Ready... But Not (30 Weeks)

I'm 30 weeks pregnant today, which means I am 3/4 of the way through this ordeal (or even further if this little dude decided to make an early appearance). There are days when I say to myself "I am so ready for him to be here and to not be pregnant any more!".  It's not that I'm dealing with a horrible pregnancy with complications - it's actually been pretty smooth sailing so far.  It's just that it's almost July.  In Charleston.

July (and August) in Charleston pretty much suck when you aren't carrying around 30 lbs of extra weight and your body isn't already a furnace.  I'm starting to realize just how much more they will suck now that I am doing those things.  I feel bad because Andrew constantly wants to go outside ("I go outside!") and lately the thought of sitting outside in the heat and humidity makes me want to cry.  And actually I have cried a couple times.

So there are days that I am SO ready to be done.  And then I think about the fact that we have done pretty much nothing to prepare.  That's no exaggeration, either.  I realize that we have pretty much all the gear and stuff that we need so it's not like we have to buy a bunch of stuff.  Just because we have it doesn't mean that any of it is ready.  I have yet to drag out all of the boxes of Andrew's old clothes to find all the newborn and 0-3 month stuff (I did a horrible job at packing away and labeling). The room that this kid will be sleeping in for the first few months is currently full of tools and crap with the bassinet pushed off to the side.  We still haven't done anything about transitioning Andrew to his new room, mostly because the closet in there is full of crap that we will have to find places for and I haven't gotten the motivation to do it. Oh, and my grand plan of having Andrew out of diapers before 2.0 gets here?  Yeah, not happening.

Andrew thinks I should just relax and enjoy the flowers with him.

Panic mode hasn't completely set in yet. It's more denial than anything.   So even though physically I am getting to the point that I am ready to get this kid the heck out of me I guess he better stay put for a while.  Here's hoping some major nesting kicks in sometime in the not too distant future so we can actually feel prepared.

And on to this week's check in:

How far along? 30w0d and the size of cucumber. That is so misleading because we have a huge array of sizes of cucumbers in our garden right now.  He should be almost 16 inches and just under 3 lbs at this point.  He can blink his eyes and there is a good chance than when he's sleeping he is dreaming.

Weight loss/gain:  Forgot to weigh myself this morning, but on Wednesday I was at +28.5 lbs so I'll go with that.

Maternity clothes: Mostly maternity clothes. Workout clothes are regular, I've just gotten tanks in the tall size to accommodate the belly.  Old Navy is having a sale tomorrow with dresses for $8 so I might go see if I can find some that will help me get through these last two months.

Symptoms:  Still constipated (of course) and just uncomfortable in general when having to bend down to do stuff.   Picking beans in the garden last night was not fun.

Sex (of baby):  It's a BOY!!!

Name: I was shocked when J actually handed me a list that he came up with Saturday night.  There were a couple definite no's (Hayden and Ross) but there were a few I didn't hate (Davis or Jacob).  I need to come up with my list still - my current front runner is Elliott since Owen is off the table.

Sleep: Sleep is hit or miss.  Andrew's molars aren't helping, though.

Best moment this week? It was kind of a dull week.  Watching Andrew chase his daddy around the back yard last night while J was cutting grass was pretty amusing, though.  That and seeing him so excited by the neighbors cat - it was adorable.

Movement: He's everywhere. I just wish he would remove whatever he has jammed up in my ribs.

Food cravings:  Watermelon. I seriously ate half of one myself in two days.

Belly button in or out?  Very far in - pretty sure it's staying that way for the duration.

What I miss?  Not feeling so gross.

What I'm looking forward to?  At some point making some actual progress on Andrew's new room. We're such slackers.

Milestones:  3/4 of the way done. Yikes!

What I'm nervous about:  Not really nervous, but I am dreading the zombie state of the first 6 weeks or so.  It was hard enough handling an infant like that - how am I supposed to handle a toddler when I can barely function?

And this week's pictures:

With a head on shot just for fun:

Father's Day

Since yesterday was Father's Day I figured I could share some pictures of Andrew with one of his favorite people in the entire world: his daddy:

The morning started out with me getting Andrew to carry his gift out to give to J.  They sat and read the card that he so nicely "signed":

And they looked at the gift that I helped him pick out.  Ok, the gift that I picked out and bought:

We got him one of those little HDMX bluetooth speakers because I know he had mentioned them in the past and I wasn't creative enough to do anything else.

After we made him some Reese's Puffs muffins (they kind of taste like brownie muffins) we went outside to play a little bit.  Andrew thought he'd help sweep the driveway:

J was spray painting the base for the umbrella stand for our table on the deck.  I'm pretty excited to have an umbrella out there again since the sun is starting to get brutal.  It was cracking me up because any time he walks away Andrew will go running after him yelling "Daddy!!" and he follows him around like a little shadow.  Watching him run never fails to make me smile.

A little later we decided to fill up his little baby pool so he could cool off.  I thought J would want to go to the beach for his day, but he said he had too much to do around the house so baby pool won out.

He splashed and played a bit while I watched him from a chair and tried to blow bubbles for him, but it turns out the bubbles I got for cheap at Wal-mart were cheap for a reason. They sucked.  Andrew seemed to like the pool well enough, but didn't start to really enjoy it until his daddy joined him for a dip.  J needed to cool off after doing some manual labor (Happy Father's Day - here's some yardwork!) so he hopped in to play:

They played with the hose, squirted each other, splashed around and had a great time until it was time to take Andrew in for some lunch.  I thought he'd take a nap after he ate, but he kept saying "I go to the pool!" so I put him in swim trunks again for round two.  I pretty much had to force him inside for a nap after an hour.  I figured he would sleep well since he should have been tired out from all the playing in the sun.  Unfortunately his molars had other plans.

We ended the evening with some stuffed squash and stuffed peppers for dinner (I love fresh produce from our garden!) and a bedtime when no one but daddy would do.  I was attempting to rock Andrew in the recliner in his room, but he refused to settle and just kept yelling "Daddy!" towards the door.  I guess he knew it was Father's Day and that he should be spending that time with his daddy.

I love watching my two guys together.  Pretty soon it'll be all three of my guys.  I'm a lucky girl  :)

Thanks For Sharing (and 29 Weeks)

So you know how on Monday Andrew was sick?  Well, apparently his illness is the one thing that he willingly shared.  Wednesday night I slept like hell. I attributed it to pregnancy, but I think it was because I was coming down with whatever he had earlier this week.

I (stupidly) went to the office since I had already worked from home on Monday and Wednesday.  As soon as I got there I knew it was a mistake.  My whole body was starting to feel like I had been beaten with a baseball bat.  Everything ached - my head, my hips, my back - even my skin.  I stuck it out until after my 12:30 conference call and then came home.  I set my laptop on a tv tray by the couch and grabbed a pillow from the guest room. I figured I could check my email every 15 minutes or so while I rested.  I took my temp and it was a lovely 101.1.  I took some Tylenol (the only thing I really can take) and laid down.

I felt a little better by the time J got home, but was a sweaty mess.  By the time we had dinner and I did Andrew's bath the Tylenol had worn off and I was back to feeling like I'd been beaten.  Thankfully a little more Tylenol before bed let me get some sleep and I'm feeling much better today.  I have no idea what this sickness was, but holy crap I felt bad yesterday.  Almost as bad as when I had the flu two years ago.

I feel mostly ok today, but am still working from home so as not to spread it to anyone just in case I'm contagious.  Plus is was nice to get to sleep in 30 minutes longer  :)

And on to this week's check in:

How far along? 29w0d and the size of an acorn squash.  He's probably around 15 inches and 2.75 lbs now. He could be getting hiccups now (Andrew had them a lot), and his testes are developed and producing hormones.

Weight loss/gain:  Per my doctor's appt on Wednesday I'm up 28 lbs.

Maternity clothes: Mostly maternity clothes. I've been able to wear a couple non-maternity dresses that still accommodate the belly. It's my boobs that are becoming the problem - I hate how big they've gotten already. I feel Jessica Simpson-ish and just not attractive.

Symptoms:  Still constipated and my hips are killing me right now.

Sex (of baby):  It's a BOY!!!

Name: We really need to sit down and come up with a list. Then we can narrow it down and have a few options when this kid gets here and we'll decide once we see him.

Sleep: Sleep was rougher this week, but I attribute that to the fact that I got sick.  I did sleep a little better last night so I don't feel quite so awful.  I have to switch sides a lot during the night because the hip on the side that I'm laying on gets really sore.
Best moment this week? Passing my GD test and getting to hear his heartbeat again.

Movement: He's all over the place - especially when I'm trying to sleep.

Food cravings:  Fruits and veggies.

Belly button in or out?  In

What I miss?  Variety in my wardrobe.

What I'm looking forward to?  We didn't do Andrew's room last weekend, so hopefully we'll do it this time.  And the weather is supposed to be slightly nicer with less humidity so hopefully we can actually spend some time outside without dying.

Milestones:  On to the every two week appointments. Holy cow!

What I'm nervous about:  Getting Andrew prepared for this little guy.  I don't think he gets it and I want to prepare him as best as possible.  I constantly worry how this is going to impact him.

This week's pictures.  I'm working from home today due to being sick so you'll have to excuse the clothes and hair.  I'm pretty sure this is the same outfit I had on two weeks ago.

I Passed!

This morning I had my 28 week appointment, which included the glucose test for gestational diabetes.  I was supposed to fast for 12 hours prior to the test, so I had to quit eating last night and not snack.  I was starving when I got up this morning, but at least my appointment was early.

Luckily my OB's practice sends the drink home with you so you can drink it 45 minutes before your appointment and not have to sit in their office for an hour.  I let Andrew play a little after breakfast and before I took him to daycare so I could drink it before taking him.  I threw it in the freezer for 10 minutes so it was nice and cold and easy to chug.  Some people are completely over dramatic about the drink - really it's just like extra sugary kool-aid, not a big deal.

Anyway, I downed the drink and then dropped him off. On the way to my appointment I started feeling slightly shaky, but not bad.  I had the standard appointment stuff (pee in a cup, get weighed, check BP) and waited for the finger stick.

The nurse did the stick and took the two little blood samples then ran off to test them for my sugar and iron levels.  I was slightly worried about the iron since I tend to have low iron when not pregnant.  After a few minutes she came back with the good news - my sugar was 122 (they want it under 135) and iron was 12.5 (they want it over 11).  So yay - I passed!  I knew I passed with Andrew, but was never told my numbers so I wasn't sure how close I was.

Afterward I waited for Dr. Evans for my check.  2.0's heartbeat was nice and strong, I'm measuring right at 28 weeks and everything else looked great.  We chatted for a bit and then I was out the door with my orders for my next appointment in two weeks (two weeks!).

I'm very happy that everything is going so well with this pregnancy.  I know that I feel a lot rougher this time around.  I'm more tired and I feel like I'm gaining weight faster and I'm groaning a bit more, but we have a healthy baby boy who is growing right on track.  I know it's easy to get caught up in the negatives (like god awful constipation) and not realize just how fortunate I am, but right now I am thinking about how lucky I really am.

It's Just Not The Same I Guess

This weekend my mom came down to watch the little munchkin so J and I could have a date night.  She came bearing a gift - a new Mr. Duck.  One of their friends was selling him at a garage sale (brand new) for $1 and he is the exact duck that I bought for Andrew at Kohl's that I have been unable to find since then.

I've been worried about what we would do if we somehow (god forbid) lost Mr. Duck.  He is Andrew's absolute favorite toy in the whole world. Losing him would surely cause an epic meltdown.

Anyway, my mom showed up with a backup.  I tried hiding him so Andrew wouldn't see him, but he caught me trying to shove him in a drawer and promptly pulled him out.  He held him for a few seconds and then dropped him saying "I don't like it." and went off to find the real Mr. Duck.

Fast forward to this morning. Andrew spiked a fever of 102.2 last night and threw up overnight.  I stripped everything out of his crib, including Mr. Duck, and threw it all in the washer.  When I went into his closet to get the other mattress cover and sheet to re-make his bed he spied the new duck and asked for him.  I handed him to him and he instantly said "I don't like this duck!" before dropping him and running out of the room.

The original Mr. Duck and the imposter

Hmm.  I guess the clean, bright, fluffy duck just isn't the same as his ratty Mr. Duck.  Maybe I need to throw him in the wash a few times to take some of the newness off of him?  I would say that we could save the new duck for 2.0, but something tells me we should get the new little dude his own animal.

Andrew is currently cuddled up on the couch watching some Doc McStuffins and snuggling with his ratty old duck:

Here's hoping this bug passes quickly (not spreading to me) and that he becomes more accepting of the imposter at some point.

Mickey Mouse Love (and 28 Weeks)

This morning Andrew got to hang out with me for a bit because daycare had a delayed opening due to the tropical storm (really it was a bit of an overreaction - all we got was a bunch of rain). Anyway, we both got to sleep in a little bit, which was nice, and we played after he woke up at 8:00.  While I was getting his breakfast ready (peanut butter pancake sandwiches, strawberries, milk and his vitamin), I put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for him.  I could hear him in the living room yelling "Toodles!" and "Yay!!".  Right before I went to go gather him up so he could eat the episode ended and the hot dog song came on.  I had to hurry up and get my phone to capture this:

Apparently he has learned the words to the song.  I could not stop laughing as I watched him.  My little guy loves music and I love that he is now singing along.  Love that little dude  :)

And now for this week's update:

How far along? 28w0d and the size of an eggplant  He's probably around 14 inches and 2 1/2 lbs now. He's getting fatter and he's lungs are maturing so if he made the (bad) decision to come now he would have a better chance of surviving.

Weight loss/gain:  According to my scale I'm at 27.5 lbs.  Blah.

Maternity clothes: Mostly maternity clothes. I did wear a non-maternity dress this week and am currently lounging in a regular pair of lounge pants and a long tank.  I've given up on regular jeans - they're just too uncomfortable. I'm already tired of wearing the same stuff all the time.

Symptoms:  Cement bowl (obviously), leg cramps, tightening in my belly and general uncomfortableness.

Sex (of baby):  It's a BOY!!!

Name: I'm getting nowhere with convincing J that Owen is an awesome name.  My current other frontrunner might be Elliott, but I'm not sure about it yet.  We still need to sit down and make some lists. I don't want trendy and prefer something more traditional. Popularity doesn't really bother me and I don't cross names off the list just because they are in the top 50 (or even top 20) on the SSA list.  Andrew and Joseph are both in the top 20 and I think he has an awesome name.

Sleep: Not too bad except for this damn cough (thank you, J, for sharing).  I got to sleep in a little this morning so that was awesome.

Best moment this week? Being able to poke my belly and get a reaction from 2.0.

Movement: Normally quite a bit.  I was freaking a little this morning because he wasn't moving, so I drank a cherry Coke Zero and got a reaction out of him.  :)

Food cravings:  Fruit fruit and more fruit.  And peanut butter.

Belly button in or out?  In

What I miss?  Running.  I haven't been doing much and I wish I was.

What I'm looking forward to?  Working on Andrew's new room this weekend. And I think my mom is coming down to give J and I a date night, so that will be nice.  I look forward to a nice dinner out not spent entertaining a spastic 2 year old.

Milestones:  12 weeks to go. Or if this little guy follows his big brother's lead I could possibly have 10 weeks.  Eeeek!

What I'm nervous about:  Right now it's making it through the hot summer. It's only June and I was already miserable last weekend.  Hoping the tropical storm would cool it down a bit, but that doesn't seem to be happening

And here are this week's pictures.  Excuse the messy hair and lounge clothes - since I didn't go in to the office today I didn't bother prettying myself up:

And a little head on shot with my little photobomber trying to see my belly:

And So It Begins

Hurricane season that is.

June 1st is the official start of the season and it runs through the end of November.  Normally the beginning of the season is pretty quiet and things start to ramp up around August.  Well, mother nature decided to kick things off early this year. We are currently under a tropical storm warning due to Tropical Storm Andrea.  It appears that she will possibly be passing by this way tomorrow morning.

I just got an email from Andrea (daycare provider, not the storm) that they may have to close tomorrow depending on what DSS says (they have to follow all of their regulations).  So just in case I'll take my laptop home tonight so I can work from home with the munchkin if need be.  It doesn't appear that we should get too much - they are mostly worried about flooding.  But I guess if the winds are high enough they may close the bridges and being that it is impossible for me to get to work without going across at least one high bridge I wouldn't be able to get here anyway.

In the 11 years that I have lived in SC we haven't had any major storms. There's been a few tropical storms and some wind and rain, but nothing to write home about.  I hope that doesn't mean that we are due for a big one - especially considering that 2.0 is due right when the season is really ramping up.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that we don't have any major storms hitting the lowcountry this year. The last thing I need is for me to have to evacuate with a toddler and a newborn by myself. If something were to hit here J would have to stay because of work, which would really suck.

I won't let myself worry about that right now, though. For right now I'll just sit back and watch the wind blow and the rain fall while my second little dude dances around in my belly all safe and sound.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Yummy!