28 Weeks!

I can not believe I'm in the third trimester already! The second half of this pregnancy has FLOWN by! It's really so very bittersweet that we're getting closer to end of the pregnancy. On the one hand I'm so incredibly excited to meet Lydia and to have her in my arms. On the other hand, I love being pregnant and feeling her move in my belly. I'm trying to cherish every minute of being pregnant with her!!

Chloe is getting more and more excited by the day to have Lydia here and often says things like, "I wish it would get colder faster so my baby would be here!" She is so sweet and is going to be such an amazing big sister. Seeing the two girls together is something I can not WAIT for!!

Now for the fun pregnancy questions:

How far along: 28 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Yeah, this question was still fun when it was like 8lbs...now, let's just say my booty will most likely have it's own zip code when this is all said and done. ;)

Body Changes: I'm pretty much just getting big everywhere. The joys of pregnancy :) One thing Justin and I noticed though is that my belly has gone from really round to sticking straight out. I think it's how baby girl is positioned in there. I'm hoping she's head down or at least headed that way in the next few weeks!!

Sleep: Sleeping is okay. I wake up A LOT to go pee in the middle of the night. I didn't really have to pee more than usual with Chloe so I always thought those women who talked about having to pee were just making it up (lol), but holy cow, this time that is not the case. I have to pee ALL. THE. TIME!!!

Best moment this week: Being able to actually feel her foot poking me from the outside and know what it was!!

Gender: Girl!! :)

Food Cravings/Aversions: I don't really have many cravings or aversions. McDonald's could probably be put in the aversion category.

What I miss: Sleeping on my belly

What I am looking forward to: My midwife appointment on Thursday as well as our little family vacation to St. Louis next weekend!

Milestones: I can tell she's getting bigger in there and have started to very distinctly feel little feet, knees, and elbows poking me. She is extremely active and I LOVE that!! I think she knows her mommy needs the extra reassurance. ;)

Chloe's Summer (so far) in Pictures

A trip to the lake

Royals Game

Playing at the Park

Rockin' her shades

Fishing with Daddy on Father's Day

She got really bored and annoyed that she wasn't catching anything...

Zonked after a long day!

Playgroup trip to Independence to ride the trolley. She LOVED this!

A visit to her best friend Loreli's house

Picnic time!

4th of July at the lake

Fireworks at Poppy and Nanny's. She was*so* good at catching the parachutes! Maybe she will be daddy's little softball player afterall ;)

Playing in the fountains at Zona Rosa

Home Management

My house being organized and clean is so important for my sanity. When everything has a place and everything is in it's place I am so much less stressed and so much nicer to my family! I think I've said before, but I'm a REALLY great planner. I make lists and beautiful plans and then 2 days later it all flies out the window and my house is in shambles and I feel like a failure once again. It's an ugly cycle.

Recently I came across moneysavingmom.com. She is a blogger who posts about great deals as well as lots of great homemaking tips. I have just started using her daily docket and cleaning lists and can I say how AMAZING I feel and what a wonderful state my house is in MOST of the time. It's a miracle really.

Here is the link to her home management forms: http://moneysavingmom.com/downloads/household-management-forms.

I follow her daily docket pretty much exactly and there are just a few changes I made to the cleaning lists for our own house.

I just wanted to pass this info along in case it helps someone else out. I know it has been such a blessing to me!

We're having a GIRL!!!

And her name is.......LYDIA!!! :)

We had our big ultrasound and to my surprise, we're having a girl! I think everyone had me convinced it was a boy, so I really was so surprised!! Justin had guessed a girl and he was right. Chloe had said we were having a boy from the very beginning and I thought her instincts were probably better than mine. haha. Not so apparently! We had her name picked out about a week before our ultrasound. I suddenly realized how much I loved the name Lydia and Justin said he did too. SOLD! :) I think Chloe and Lydia sound so pretty together. It's really fun to call baby by her name. :)

(I feel very wrong posting this picture! haha)

As soon as the ultrasound tech told us it was a girl, Chloe crossed her arms and gave a big scowl. She was definitely not a happy camper. It took her about 5 minutes to get excited about "playing babies and dancing in dresses" with her little sister. She is now so excited for a baby sister and is honestly going to be the best big sister in the world. She already loves her little sister so much!

I'm already daydreaming about all the fun they will have together. I have 2 sisters, so I know how special a sister relationship is and I can't wait to see it unfold :)

Here is my 20 week picture:



And a few more of our sweet little one:





She is moving around a TON. Pretty much anytime I slow down she makes her presence known. :) And it's so fun to feel her and know she's doing so well in there!

It still takes my breath away that God has blessed us with this new little life. He has been so good to us. I am so incredibly thankful!!

We have decided to use cloth diapers with this little babe. When I had Chloe the thought of cloth diapers was insane to me. I honestly didn't know, though, how easy and wonderful they really are! We (I say "we" VERY lightly because really it was me! lol) made this decision for several reasons: Cost (while the upfront cost is more, we will be saving upwards of $1500-2000 by choosing cloth); while I'm not really what I would call a "green-living" person, it really did bother me to throw away SO MANY nasty, non-biodegradable diapers when Chloe was in diapers so this solves that problem; they really are better for baby with no chemicals and soft as butter; and they're dang cute -- the diapers *and* the little baby butts in cloth diapers!!

We got our first cloth diaper already from our sweet friends, Chad, Cassie, and Eli (thanks, guys!):

Isn't it adorable? I can't wait to have Lydia's tiny bum in there!!

I think we have decided to have the girls share a room so our spare bedroom can be our school room. Chloe and I are slowly planning out what we want it to look like and I am getting so excited about decorating for Chloe *and* Lydia in the same room! I have some ideas and the only thing set in stone is that it will have lots of PINK!!! ;)

Speaking of Chloe (no, I haven't forgotten about her! hehe)....she has been having a REALLY fun summer and my next post is going to be all about her and what she's been up to lately!

Almost 20 weeks!

(I'm not sure why the pictures are different sizes...sorry about that!)

Apparently being pregnant has made me the world's worst blogger. I feel like I have so much to say and wish I wouldn't have waited so long to update. This pregnancy has been so incredibly different than my pregnancy with Chloe. With Chloe I was so laid-back (and naive, really, which is probably why I had no worries), but this time I've honestly been a nervous wreck. My anxiety has gotten much better over the past few weeks, thankfully.

I was also having a very hard time believing we would really bring a baby home. One day my mom said, "Hey! we'll have a baby for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year...how exciting!" and in my head I said, "hopefully". That thinking really scared me (because I'm typically a very positive thinker) and made me realize how completely in denial I was. I think trying for a baby for so long really messes with your head.

Weeks 8-12 I was extremely sick and was having a very hard time. It was so hard because we have been hoping for this baby for so long and then to feel like I was complaining non-stop was really hard. I had to quickly learn that I'm human and feeling like crap all day long, whether you REALLY want something or not, is just sucky!!

Now, having said all of that about the first part...I have moved into a very happy, realistic view of this pregnancy and am finally so excited and really feeling like this is REAL! I will be 20 weeks on Friday and I can't BELIEVE we almost are half way there! I have been feeling so good lately and am really enjoying this whole thing!!

I started feeling baby (who we're calling Teeny Tiny for now) move about 14 weeks. It wasn't until 18 weeks with Chloe but I guess I just knew what to expect and feel this time. The first movements were very light and sporadic, but about 16 weeks they became very consistent and I now feel Teeny Tiny dancing around in there every day several times a day. The movements now are harder and much easier to "detect". In fact, Justin felt the baby kick -- flip, punch, twirl, whatever it was ;) this past Saturday morning :) I'm still trying to get Chloe to feel it, but she hasn't yet as baby seems to want to run from her every time -- lol...not sure if that's a bad sign or not!

Speaking of Chloe...she is so SO excited about having a new baby. She is going to be such an amazing big sister. She definitely thinks we're having a boy and really does not want a girl. She told me a couple of days ago that "we don't need another girl". Haha. I think she's a little intimidated by the idea of not being the only girl. She says the baby's name will be Cooper. We have no idea where she got the idea for this name, but when she talks to my belly (which she does often and it's so precious I about die every time) she calls "him" Cooper. Even if we have a boy, the name isn't going to be Cooper, but she's quite convinced. Not totally sure how we're going to handle *that* one, but we'll see!!

I have recently had a few conversations with her about how the baby "comes out". Yeah, that's been fun! haha! I'm trying to answer her questions as age-appropriately as possible and only give her the information she needs to satisfy that moments questions. We're slowly figuring it out :)

We're having a home birth with this one and I am *so* excited!! I have wanted to have a home birth since having Chloe. We have a really amazing midwife and while I'm not ready for baby to be here yet I really am looking forward to so many things about having baby here at home. (If you have any questions about our birthing plan PLEASE feel free to ask!!)

We have our 20 week ultrasound tomorrow to make sure baby is healthy and to find out if it's a boy or girl!! I am so excited!! I really have no "feelings" about what sex this baby is, but pretty much 99.9% of everyone else thinks it's a boy. We'll see!!! More than anything I'm just praying for a very healthy baby! Our appointment is at 9am tomorrow.

I've seen these little questionnaires on a few people's blogs. I snagged this one from Alisa (who I affectionately call my twin because we look so much alike!)
__________________________________________
How far along: 19 Weeks - 20 on Friday

Total weight gain/loss: about 8 lbs

Body Changes: I'm mostly belly, but unfortunately pregnancy expands my butt and thighs at a rapid rate of speed...so there's that ;)

Sleep: I've been sleeping pretty well at night. I sneak in naps every once in a while during the day when Chloe naps.

Best moment this week: Justin feeling Teeny Tiny kick!! :)

Gender: We will (hopefully!) find out in the morning!!!

Food Cravings/Aversions: I haven't really had any cravings (I didn't with Chloe either). I had an aversion to pretty much everything at the beginning, but thankfully I really don't have too many anymore. Meat is still not my favorite thing, but it just depends on the day whether I can eat it or not.

What I miss: Summer Beer!

What I am looking forward to: Tomorrow's ultrasound!!!

Milestones: Lots of movement and feeling great!

"Mommy has a baby in her belly...."

When I was pregnant with Chloe I actually found out in the Target bathroom. Classy, I know ;) That was the first pregnancy test I had ever taken. I don't know what I was expecting, really. I do remember that moment like it was yesterday though. I got a positive immediately and did a little happy dance in the stall. I dashed to the back of the store to get some grandma/grandpa bibs, checked out, got in my car and called Justin. He was at work that day, so I asked if I could come have lunch with him. Over Arby's roast beef sandwiches I told him he was going to be a daddy. I will never EVER forget the look on his face. It went from "oh crap" to "awesome" in a matter of .2 seconds. :)

This time was much much different. I definitely knew what to expect this time - a negative test. But when I got that positive it was something totally different. A miracle. I took a moment to just "be" and stare at that positive test. I truly could not believe my eyes.

As I said before, I told my mom and sisters first, but then I told Chloe. At first I had thought I wouldn't tell her so early because "what if something happens"? But then I realized that "something can happen" any moment of your life and I'm the kind of person who likes to cherish every happy second for what it is. So, I told her she was going to be a big sister and *this time* I will never forget her face. Pure excitement. The thought of that moment makes me tear up every time.

I was thinking of a million ways to tell Justin. Put a bun in the oven. Have Chloe wear a big sister shirt. Tell him I couldn't enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. But finally I decided that the best way to tell him was to let Chloe do the honors. And she did.

Chloe and I had been talking about the baby all afternoon and she was so excited to tell her daddy. Justin came home from work and we were in my bathroom getting ready to go to dinner. As Justin was walking upstairs and before he got to our room I told Chloe, "okay! you can tell daddy our secret". He walked into the bathroom and she immediately declared, "Mommy has a baby in her belly and I'm gonna be a big sister!!"

Justin looked at me like, "what is she saying? is this right? huh?" I just smiled huge and nodded my head. He got a huge smile on his face as well and he immediately hugged me and rubbed my belly. It was such a sweet moment.

Fast forward to this week. Justin got home from work on Monday and said, "I got to hold Eli today and he smiled at me!" (Eli is our good friends Chad and Cassie's baby). Later when we were watching TV he told me "holding Eli today made me really ready to have a baby". Now, let me just say that Justin is not an emotional/touchy-feely kind of guy so for him to say that really meant a lot.

I am so excited to see Justin as a daddy of two little ones. He truly is the best daddy in the world. He loves Chloe with reckless abandon. I am so honored to share this life with him.

Encouragement

Kelly Stamps is another blogger and she posted this song today. I was so encouraged. Let the words encourage you as well....



What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

Love you,