Thoughts on our Impending Arrival

Confession time: I'm really nervous about becoming the mother of two boys in the next five weeks or less. Somehow, this pregnancy has managed to sneak by me, and all of a sudden I'm 34 weeks pregnant. The c-section is scheduled for December 31st. That's only 34 days away. At this point, I'm really hoping Reid doesn't come any earlier than that, because I do not feel prepared for this at all! We are so not organized this time around. Reid's room is full of baby shower gifts and piles of baby clothes that need to be washed and put away, and there's no curtain on his window yet. I keep reminding myself that he won't be sleeping in there immediately, that he'll be in our room for a few months before we transition him to his own room, so it's okay if the nursery isn't picture perfect right now. However, those clothes do eventually need to be washed. If my newborn goes around wearing nothing but diapers in the middle of December, people might give us strange looks.

I will say that I'm not as concerned about caring for a newborn as I was with my first pregnancy. After experiencing motherhood for nearly two years, I feel like I've got this. I know what to do. So, what am I nervous about? Well... I'm not blissfully ignorant anymore. I know what to expect. For example...

C-section recoveries suck.

The first time I was pregnant, I anticipated as natural a birth experience as possible. So of course, I ended up with a long labor, Pitocin, IV antibiotics and fluids, an epidural, having my water broken by the doctor, an epidural, more Pitocin, and finally a c-section. And the worst part of it all? Recovering from surgery. I've never been in that much pain in my life, and I don't relish the idea of doing it again (hopefully minus the labor part this time).

Breastfeeding is hard.

At least for me it was. Colin ended up getting about four weeks worth of breast milk before I made the decision to switch to formula. My first experience with breastfeeding was painful, frustrating, and not at all the sweet, comfortable, bonding experience I thought it would be. I do plan to give it another shot this time, though, and I'm bringing a lactation consultant on board from the very beginning.

It may be years before I sleep again.

We've all heard the stories: "My baby slept through the night from the time he came home from the hospital! Motherhood is so amazingly wonderful and I'm not tired at all!" I call BS. Colin didn't sleep through the night for a very long time, and he still wakes up as early as 5:30 some mornings. Since this pregnancy was a surprise, I am only planning on taking 8 weeks off for maternity leave. Add to that a cranky toddler and a newborn who will surely not be sleeping through the night, and I can tell you right now that I'm going to be a walking zombie once I go back to work.

Oh, and there's the toddler.

The biggest difference between these two pregnancies? I have a toddler at home this time. Colin is a very sweet boy who gives his mama kisses and hugs, but he can also throw some epic tantrums. He is easily the most persistent almost-two year old I've ever met, and if, God forbid, you take something away from him or tell him no, he will kick, scream and cry as if his whole world has just come crashing down. How I am going to handle these toddler outbursts while tending to a newborn? I have no idea. And what if he's jealous of the new baby? Will it kill him to know that his mommy can't focus all her attention on him anymore? Will it kill me to not pick him up, change his diaper, give him a bath, or prepare his meals while I'm recovering from surgery? Does Colin even have a clue that our whole family dynamic is about to change?

What do you mean when you say I'm getting a little brother, Mom?

 

There are more concerns floating around in my head than just the few I've mentioned, but those are the ones that are currently taking up the most space in my brain. I think my life verse is quickly becoming Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." This will be my mantra from here on out. Honestly, even this pregnancy has drained me more than I've expected it to, because there is just so much going on right now, and I haven't had a whole lot of time to think about what it will mean to have two little ones. Sorry if this post has gotten a little depressing. You wouldn't know it from everything I've just said, but I really am excited about our new arrival! The thought of being able to hold my little Reid William in my arms warms this mama's heart. Will there be tough moments? Yes, of course there will be. But will it all work out? I know it will. Hopefully I'm overthinking all of this, and once Reid is here, everything will fall into place. But in the meantime, say a prayer for us, won't you? :)

 

State of the Uterus: 34 Weeks

How far along? 34 weeks, or 8 1/2 months.

Due Date: January 6, 2013, with a c-section scheduled for December 31.

Total weight gain/loss: +20 lbs total.

Maternity clothes? Even some of my maternity tops are starting to get a bit too short. I am carrying lower this time, I think, and my clothes fit differently than they did the first time around.

Sleep: Not so great lately, and it's only partially pregnancy related. My crazy toddler has had some bizarre habits lately, including waking up for the day around 5:30 am. I think it has to do with teething, as he is cutting his upper eye teeth right now.

Best moment this week: Celebrating Thanksgiving with Justin's family, getting a couple days off work, and putting up our Christmas tree!

Movement: Our little boy is still very active in there. He gets the hiccups quite often, too.

Food cravings: After satisfying my craving for Thanksgiving dinner (several times over, thanks to all the yummy leftovers), I have been in the mood for hot tea in the evenings. I am sipping a cup of peppermint tea at the moment, actually.

Food aversions: I hate the smell of spaghetti-os, which sucks because Colin loves them and eats them for dinner a couple times a week!

Gender: It's a boy! Reid William Vaughan.

Labor Signs: Still having some contractions here and there. The OB I saw this week said that as long as I'm not having more than 4-6 per hour, it's totally normal. When I do have them, drinking water and lying on my left side (as recommended) seems to help.

Belly Button in or out? It's really starting to flatten out more, but it's still in.

What I miss: Sleep. And it doesn't look like I'm going to get it anytime soon.

What I am looking forward to: Christmas! I really hope Reid decides to wait until after Christmas to be born. While I'm excited to be able to hold him in my arms, I just don't feel ready to be a mom of two yet. I have such mixed emotions about everything right now.

Milestones: My little guy should be about as tall as he's going to be when he's born. From this point on, he is mostly just accumulating fat. He should weigh somewhere around five pounds now, although we haven't seen him on ultrasound since the anatomy scan at 20 weeks, so there's no way to tell for sure. My belly was measuring right on track at my last appointment, though, which is good! My next visit is scheduled for December 5th.

 

Click here to see my 34 week update from my pregnancy with Colin!

State of the Uterus: 33 Weeks

How far along? 33 weeks!

Due Date: January 6, 2013, with a c-section scheduled for December 31.

Total weight gain/loss: I think I actually lost a pound this week. Up 18 lbs so far.

Maternity clothes? Oh yes. I'm able to use my Bella Band to ensure that my belly doesn't peek out from under some tops, too. That thing is awesome!

Sleep: Definitely waking up more often to pee now, and feeling kicks in the middle of the night. Sleep in the third trimester can be tricky.

Best moment this week: Hubby and I went on a matinee movie date to see Lincoln on Saturday. It was a nice little break! Unfortunately, Colin decided to pull his little poop stunt for Justin's brother and his wife while we were away. Oops. Sorry, guys!

Movement: Seriously, you guys. It's like we have a little Mike Tyson in there. Saturday morning I was laying behind Justin in bed, and Reid started kicking his daddy's back - HARD! We are both amazed at how strong our little boy is already.

Food cravings: I finally got my hands on some more fresh cranberries, which I've been really wanting lately. I'll probably make some cranberry sauce with it tonight. YUM.

Food aversions: Nothing specific right now.

Gender: It's a boy! Reid William Vaughan.

Labor Signs: Feeling a little "contractiony" lately, but as long as I keep myself hydrated I don't seem to have them too often. One day this week, I was a little dehydrated and started contracting about every 20 minutes. Several glasses of water later, they stopped. Thank goodness!

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but getting even more shallow.

What I miss: Sleeping through the night.

What I am looking forward to: Thanksgiving on Thursday, and the four day weekend that comes with it! Hubs and I are both ready for a break from work.

Milestones: My Colin is 22 months old as of yesterday! I can't believe we're getting so close to his second birthday. And to becoming a family of four! Gosh. So many big changes.

33 weeks along with Reid William.

Big brother Colin is 22 months old!

 

Curious to see what I looked like at 33 weeks with Colin? Click here to see that post! It looks like so far I've gained 4 lbs less than I did at this point with my first pregnancy. No wonder I look a little bit smaller with Reid!

 

Oh, poop.

Remember back when I wrote that post about toddler tantrums? Well, I almost took back everything I said about how to handle those out of control toddler situations, because right after I wrote what I did, my husband got a call from the daycare director asking to meet with us to discuss Colin's behavior. We sat down with Ms. Pam a couple days later, who told us that Colin is a sweet boy with a great personality, but that he was being very physical with his friends. When he'd get upset about something, he would push whoever was closest to him, and since he's the biggest kid in his class, the other kids were falling over and sometimes bumping into things and hurting themselves. Not good. The three of us thought long and hard about any potential solutions, and decided that he was just too young for most discipline methods. We opted to stick with the time-out method for the time being and wait it out, hoping it was just a phase.

Well, apparently it was just a phase, thank the good Lord in Heaven. Just as quickly as the behavior started, it stopped. He has a few rough days here and there, according to Ms. Lisa who sees him every day, but for the most part he has gotten much better about being physical with the other kids. Whew!

And then, just like that, my son picked up a new habit. HE PLAYS WITH HIS POOP.

Who, me?

He's done it a couple times at home, but most of the time we notice when he's going #2 and change him as soon as he's done. If he has to wear a poopy diaper for more than a few minutes, he'll just reach right in there and pull it out. How helpful, right? Well, at daycare there are two teachers to watch ten toddlers, so they can't always watch him closely enough to know right when he's, um, making them a present. About three times a week, he is coming home in one of his back-up outfits because he's gotten poop on the clothes I sent him in. Our washer and dryer have been working overtime, too! Here's hoping this is yet another lovely toddler phase. This too shall pass... right?

State of the Uterus: 32 Weeks

How far along? 32 weeks, aka 8 months!

Due Date: January 6, 2013, with a c-section scheduled for December 31 at 7:30 am. Yep, we're looking at a New Year's Eve baby unless Reid decides to come early!

Total weight gain/loss: According to the scale this morning, I've gained about 19 pounds so far. That's 3 less than I had gained at 32 weeks last time.

Maternity clothes? They're pretty much a necessity at this point. I keep fooling myself into thinking I can squeeze into a non-maternity top, and end up flashing a little belly at the bottom. LOL!

Sleep: I feel like I've become a lighter sleeper lately. Sometimes Colin will wake up, talk a little bit, and fall back asleep, and when I hear his little voice on the monitor I can't help but snap to attention. It takes a while for me to fall back asleep when that happens.

Best moment this week: Saturday afternoon, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law threw me a small baby shower, and it was so sweet! I think everyone came who was invited, and many guests gave us a box of diapers and wipes (yay!). Justin's coworkers threw us an office shower on Thursday, too, which was so generous of them. We are so grateful for all the love we've been shown this week!

Saturday night, after the shower was over, Justin and I also went to a Chris Tomlin concert at a Civic Center an hour away. While I have enjoyed going to two concerts in two weekends, this pregnant momma is pooped! I very much look forward to having no plans this coming weekend, and a long Thanksgiving weekend after that. Yay!

Movement: Oh my goodness. This boy is so active! My doctor's office asked me to do kick counts this week, which consists of tracking movement for up to an hour. However, if I can count ten movements, I can stop. I seriously haven't made it more than 10 minutes yet because this baby is always moving.

Food cravings: Anything fall-ish. Pumpkin, cranberries, chocolate desserts.. I can't wait for Thanksgiving! It's so awesome to be pregnant during the holidays. :)

Food aversions: Oddly enough, the heartburn has eased up lately instead of getting worse, so I've been eating pretty much whatever I want. I'm enjoying it, but know it will probably be back. I'm not naive enough to think I can escape it for 7 more weeks!

Gender: It's a boy! Reid William Vaughan.

Labor Signs: All the standing and walking around I've done lately have caused some Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing too painful or close together. My belly just gets really firm for a minute. I can walk and talk through them when I have one.

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but getting more shallow.

What I miss: Being able to carry Colin around more often. I realize he's almost 2, but he loves his momma and just wants to be held sometimes. The bigger he gets - and the more pregnant I get - the harder it is to do that. I am trying to snuggle him as much as he lets me, though, because I know it's going to be tough for a while after the c-section.

What I am looking forward to: Getting our newborn stuff down from the attic, washing all the tiny, fluffy clothes and organizing Reid's dresser and closet!

Milestones: We officially have a c-section scheduled for New Year's Eve at 7:30 am! 7 weeks to go, if I don't go into labor early this time.

Click here to see the 32 week update from my first pregnancy if you're curious to compare. And don't forget to enter my Simple Wishes pumping bra giveaway, which ends tomorrow!
 

Simple Wishes Giveaway!

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of hearing about politics. Can we talk about BOOBS for just a minute instead? Ha! Seriously though, I've got a fun giveaway for all my mommy friends and mommies to be! Simple Wishes has generously offered one of my readers a hands free pumping bra in your chosen size and color. I have received a pumping bra for review purposes, and I can't wait to try it out after little Reid arrives! I have a feeling it's going to make pumping so much easier this time around. Since I am a working mom who plans to breastfeed, the pump and I will likely be spending a lot of time together. And what better way to pump than hands free?

If you're wondering how the hands free pumping bra works, here's a short video. It's really very simple and such a fantastic idea!



All you have to do win one of these is to enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Easy peasy! Good luck, lovely ladies!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

State of the Uterus: 31 Weeks

How far along? 31 weeks.

Due Date: January 6, 2013.

Total weight gain/loss: According to the doctor's office, I've lost a pound this week, so I've gained about 15 lbs total at this point.

Maternity clothes? I can still squeeze into a few non-maternity tops, but definitely can't wear any of my "regular" pants anymore.

Sleep: Last night I experienced the worst case of pregnancy insomnia I've ever had. I tossed and turned, got up and took a warm bath, tried different positions, and STILL couldn't fall asleep until around 2:30 am. Colin didn't get the memo about Daylight Savings Time either, so he was up at 5:45. I might die.

Best moment this week: Yesterday, Justin said he was going to take me out for my birthday, so his parents came over to watch Colin and off we went. The plan, as far as I knew, was to go out to dinner and a movie. However, at the end of our street he turned right instead of left and I asked him what he was doing. He pretended like he'd made a silly mistake, but he didn't turn around when he had the opportunity. I looked at him, confused, and he asked me to check the glove box. Inside, I found an envelope containing two tickets to a Carrie Underwood concert in Charlotte that very evening! He told me that we were never going to dinner and a movie, but that he had been planning this surprise for months. What a sweet husband I have! We went to the concert, and we had a blast!

Movement: All the time. I haven't had to do any kick counts because he moves so frequently that I don't have a chance to worry.

Food cravings: I *still* haven't made that pumpkin bread yet. Argh. I need to get on the ball.

Food aversions: Still staying away from acidic foods whenever I can help it, because they cause bad heartburn.

Gender: It's a boy! Reid William Vaughan.

Labor Signs: TMI alert: I've started producing a little bit of colostrum, which is exciting because I didn't have any the first time until after Colin was born. I really hope this means I'll have a better supply this time around!

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but getting a little more shallow.

What I miss: Sleeping comfortably and soundly.

What I am looking forward to: Turning the big 2-7 on Tuesday. Yep, I still get excited about birthdays. And this year, the presidential election falls on my birthday, too!

Milestones: Baby is supposedly developing sleep patterns right about now, although to me it feels like he spends most of his time awake! I kind of hope that isn't the case once he's born.