21 weeks

This week thebump.com tells me that the baby is the size of a pomegranate.  The choice of a pomegranate confuses me, they don't seem that big at the grocery store.  Maybe its the weight comparison that matters this week.  Maybe the pomegranates that are shipped to Maryland super markets are really tiny?  I'm at a loss.
The baby is no longer being measured from crown to rump (the infamous crown-rump length), but from head to toe.  It looks like the baby grew 4 inches this week, but really we just added his little legs.  Last night I told Adam that I thought adults should be measured from their crown to rump (I just love that word...) and he gave me a crazy look, so perhaps not.
Not a whole lot going on lately, I have been diligently faxing in my blood sugar numbers to the high risk OB twice a week.  I haven't been too happy with my numbers recently, they aren't out of control by any means, but the second trimester means a huge increase in insulin need.  The third trimester will mean an even larger increase, so I should just suck it up.  I increase my settings and doses as the doctors instruct and check my sugars regularly.  Sometimes I marvel at the ease of pregnancy for those without chronic illness (or my perception of the ease...).  I mean, I could be pregnant a ton more times if I didn't have to do all this craziness.  But that is not the case, so two little boys will have to suffice!

Maternity Clothes

Getting dressed in the morning has become an interesting challenge.  I have a ton of maternity clothes, thanks to my good friend, Candi.  She actually supplied most of my maternity clothes with James too, but the vicious bed bug attack of 2010 destroyed all of those.  The problem is that I'm feeling extremely lazy.  Today, a Thursday, I have on a loose, non maternity top, and maternity jeans.  Ha!  I wore jeans to work on a Thursday.  The problem is that I also wore jeans to work on Monday.  Tuesday, I sucked it up and wore a dress.  Wednesday, thankfully, I work from home, so I wore... jeans and a t-shirt.  Do you see where I'm going with this?  I have a few pairs of maternity work pants, but they require finding a coordinating top and not wearing flip flops.  I have some skirts and dresses, but laziness generally prevails.  I am lucky that I work in a fairly relaxed environment, where jeans are usually okay.  But I feel like a slob and should probably do something to cure that soon.
Maybe next week...

The phone

Phones have been a favorite of James' for awhile.  He likes to steal our cell phones, turn on the house phone (prompting us to move it out of his reach), and pretend that most any toy is a phone.  Since Adam has been out of town this week, James has been using the "phone" a lot.

Last night, while sitting on my lap, James opened up a collapsible hairbrush from his toy bin (its pink and was in the dollar section of Target.  James wouldn't leave without it...  does that count as a bribe?) and said hello.  He continued to talk for awhile.  I'm not sure exactly what he was saying, but he was really animated.  I finally asked who he was talking to.  James looked up and answered "Daddy" and continued his conversation.  After awhile it was time for a story and bed.  But James refused to get off the phone with his father.  So I lowered my voice to a very believable baritone and told James that it was Daddy and that he should go pick out a story book.  Daddy then said goodnight to his gullible little boy.

Adam won't be home until tomorrow, we'll see if James has another long night on the phone.  I should mention that normally Adam and James do get to talk on the real phone while he is away.  This trip took Adam to Portland, OR, so the time change means that James is in bed before we get our phone call.  But we just have to get through tonight and life will be back to normal.

James who?

I have not been keeping up well lately with posting about James!  Poor first child, he's being ignored already.  But such is life, I usually think about something I want to blog about and by the time I get around to doing it, I have no idea what my idea was.  But such is life, I will keep tabs on my crazy, running toddler when I can.
James is growing up so quickly.  He talks up a storm and most of the time we can understand him.  He puts together sentences well and I really enjoy talking to him.  He comes up with the most hilarious observations and questions, stuff that as adults we never even think of.  The other day, he broke two of his blocks apart and asked me "Mom, what happened to the blocks?"  Okay, I suppose it was more "Mom, what happened blocks?" but I tend to fill in the blanks for him.  He likes to "break" things over and over, just to ask mom or dad or fix it.  He will point out all kinds of vehicles when in the car, big truck and motorcycle being his favorite.
Yesterday, towards the end of James' nap, we got a huge thunderstorm.  The thunder was pounding and James was a bit freaked out by it.  Usually by the time we get a storm, James is asleep in bed and it would take a lot more than some thunder to wake him up.  He wanted to be held during the storm, but Adam explained that it was just thunder.  After that, every big noise, thunder or not, that James heard was "Big thunder!".  When Adam braved the rain to take Mac out, James stood by the door "No walk, Dad, big thunder!"  Actually, telling Adam not to walk Mac is another one of James' catch phrases right now, along with "No work, Dad."  I know that speaking more is a normal part of development, but I can't help but think my boy is a genius.
Anyway, I could go on and on about how smart and wonderful I think my boy is.  I'm so excited for him to start the preschool curriculum at daycare next week.  He'll be doing "Mother Goose Time" with the big kids and I know he's going to have so much fun.

20 weeks

This baby is getting huge!  I can't believe how quickly time is flying, we will have another baby in no time.
James is starting to understand that there is a baby coming or at least that there is a baby in mommy's tummy.  He'll cuddle with me, rub my stomach and say "baby". Actually he says "Oh, baby" which is pretty funny.  This morning, I asked him what we should name his little brother.  He decided on Applesauce.  Maybe he's been reading my blog updates with all the fruit comparisons!  Applesauce is his favorite food right now, so that probably has more to do with it.
If I was having a typical, non high risk pregnancy, I would be half way done right now.  Since we know I'll deliver early, I am more than half way there and am getting more and more excited!  One weekend soon, we will get the baby clothes out of the attic and decide what needs to be thrown out due to stains, etc. and what we can keep and wash.  I think we'll just wash everything for now and put it back into the plastic storage tubs.  We are hoping to get James' big boy room decorated in September and at that point will transition his things from the dresser in the bottom of the changing table to the bigger dresser.  Wow, it really does sound like I'm nesting, which I am, I can't wait to have everything set up for James the big brother and the new baby.

19 weeks

You want the mango??  You cannot have the mango!  I'm really hoping someone gets my Chris Kattan/SNL Mango reference, but if not, I suppose I sound really silly.
We are at 19 weeks today and the baby BOY is the size of a mango.  Yes, we found out on Monday that our little bundle of joy is a boy and while this threw me for a loop, we are still very excited to know more about the little alien growing inside me.  I've been meaning to update the blog this week with our happy news, but this week has just been kicking my butt.  So here we are, updating on Friday.  Better late than never, right?
Our anatomy scan was on Monday, like I said, and everything on the baby looks good.  The technician couldn't get a good look at the left side of his face, which isn't a reason for concern, but they will have to try to get a picture of it when we go in 5 weeks for our fetal echo cardiogram   The little guy was weighing in at 9 ounces, so he is right on target for his gestational age.  We compared pictures of the ultrasounds of both our boys and they look amazingly similar in the womb.  I suppose that shouldn't shock me, but it was crazy to see another little James.
Nothing too new to report, other than being tired this week and starting to get more and more heartburn, things have been going fine.  Adam leaves James and I for three more days starting on Sunday, but at least this time daycare is open.  We see the OB again in a month (well, closer to 3 weeks now), the endocrinologist again in a couple of weeks, and will go on September 25th to see the baby's heart.

For your viewing pleasure, I've included a Mango skit from SNL, this one has Garth Brooks in it.

18 weeks

Time is still flying by and here we are at 18 weeks.  The baby is now the size of a sweet potato.  The baby can yawn, hiccup, suck, and swallow, and is quite active in the womb.  I have been feeling more and more movement, which is very exciting!
On Monday, we will hopefully find out if the baby is a boy or girl.  Although that's not the main point of the anatomy ultrasound, it is the fun part!  They will also take measurements of every bone in the baby's body, making sure he or she has all their toes and fingers.  They use markers to make sure there are not obvious abnormalities.  We aren't anticipating any issues, but it is still a little nerve wracking.
I will be 18 weeks, 3 days for the appointment, we found out that James was a boy at 19 weeks, 3 days, so we'll know a bit sooner this time.  I only know James' gestational age at the time because I was looking at his ultrasounds last week.  James was "out and proud" with his boy parts, so hopefully this baby will be as cooperative.  At least they are big enough to shake around in there if we need to get a different angle, unlike the last ultrasound we had four weeks ago.
I have been feeling pretty good the last few weeks, not nauseous or overly tired.  I have been having some difficulty sleeping, but sometimes am getting relief if I use a pillow between my knees.  My trip to the neurologist was fairly boring, he confirmed that the headaches that I'm having are migraines and gave me a medication to try.  The doctor wants me to clear this medication with my OB first, but honestly, after doing some research of my own, I'm not sure I'll be taking it.  The drug is in pregnancy category C, which isn't terrible, but long term use of it can lead to withdrawal-like symptoms in babies.  I think if I were to take it, I would just worry every time the baby cried or was irritable that it was my fault for taking the medicine.  But we will see what the OB says and go from there.  Luckily, in the last few weeks my headaches have been getting better.
I'm sure I will update as soon as I can on Monday with the sex of the baby, so be on the look out!

Oddities of Pregnancy

Being pregnant really does a number on one's body.  All kinds of weird things happen, most of which I won't be blogging about.
Why?  Well, they're gross and I'd rather just complain to Adam (okay, and Jackie) about them and move on.
But I will share one pregnancy oddity that I've been dealing with a lot this time around:  Body Acne (aka Bacne).
Gross, right?
With James, my face broke out, A LOT.  I looked like a teenager (okay, a teenager's face) for most of the 8 months.  It was horrible, cystic acne and there was very little I could do about it.
This time, I had my share of facial breakouts the first few months.  But its died down, for the most part.  I also have been more careful with my face this time, washing/scrubbing more often and using a toner regularly has helped.  But more than my face, my shoulders have been breaking out a lot.  No amount of washing, exfoliating, or medicating has helped.  My shoulders and upper arms are gross, although I'm fairly sure that I'm the only one noticing.
Then a few weeks ago, I had a new visitor.  A fresh "face" if you will...  A huge pimple...  IN MY UNDERARM!  A PIT PIMPLE!  Are you kidding me, hormones?  This thing was huge and painful.
I immediately texted Jackie about it, knowing she would at least be entertained by my sudden predicament.  She told me to take a video of popping it, which pretty much sums up why Jackie is my best friend.  So I popped the sucker, cleaned it well with toner, then put some acne cream on it.  Yes, I used Mary Kay on my armpit.  That's just where I am in my life.
The remains of the pimple healed and I thought I was done with that fun chapter of this pregnancy.  Until yesterday, when I felt a familiar pain in my right under arm.  Low and behold, there was another pimple brewing under there, not an inch from the first one.
So this morning, I took care of business and hopefully this one clears up as well.  Honestly, it hurts every time I move my arm, reminding me that I'm a freak show with weird body acne.  But I will move on and in 23 (give or take) more weeks, I will be done with ever being pregnant again!

2 year olds are crazy

So every now and then I like to state the obvious.  Today it is this fact: Two year olds are crazy.  Not even crazy bad all the time, just crazy.  They say silly things, run around like maniacs, and change their minds all the time.  I've had the pleasure of spending the last four days at home with James, the last two of which have been mainly by myself.  We honestly had a great time, we ran errands, saw my mom and step dad, and went to my doctor's appointment.  James is very well behaved and he didn't get a timeout the entire time.  He was warned a few times, but never followed through with the bad behavior to end up in timeout.  The boy is a ball of energy.
I envy his energy, but more than that, I love his heart.  Even when he's running around, being wacky, he still stops every now and then to give his mom a hug.  He saunters over, leans his head on me, and says "Oh, mommy" in this cute voice.  He likes to play, but he also likes to cuddle and give kisses.  I can't imagine how I will feel when one day this ends, when he's embarrassed that his mom could possible want a hug, and he realizes that cuddling is just so not cool.  For now, I'm going to enjoy my snuggly boy and try not to think about it too much.
While Adam was away, James did a really great job of playing independently.  He would pull out a book and flip through it or line up his Matchbox cars and keep himself pretty entertained.  I was proud of myself that I only put him in front of Sesame Street on Sunday evening so that I could cook dinner.  I know that I can take care of the two of us on my own, but I certainly welcomed Adam's return this afternoon.

17 weeks

Well, we are week 17 and things are speeding along, as usual.  In 10 days, we will hopefully know if the baby is a boy or a girl.  I don't really have a strong feeling one way or the other, but there would be pros to each!  Adam is sure that its a girl, so we'll see if his intuition is correct.
This week the baby is gaining fat on its body, developing more bone density rather than rubbery cartilage, and growing a stronger umbilical cord.
If the baby comes when Mr. James did, then I'm halfway there.  Hopefully that isn't the case and this kid will want to hang out with mom a bit longer!