Bike

Look who is finally big enough to ride her bike!  She acted like she has been doing it forever too and didn't seem to get how exciting it was.  We made it around most of the loop of our apartment before Greg got home and I was so excited to show him but she refused!  So this video was the second time she rode her bike.  It is still a bit of work for her so she gets a little lazy and wants to get off and walk instead but I know with more practice she will want to ride it all the time!

Maternity Photos by Rachel Manning Photography

Getting ready for Baby Charlotte

We have been busy getting ready, especially since we have decided to wait until after the baby arrives to continue our home search.  Their room is set up, all the clothes have been re organized and we even got a new/used car.  I feel a lot better now that things are complete even though it is still early.  I have a hard time bending over these days and she is taking up so much room already that I tend to just feel very nauseous most the time.  

Lillian seems to be understanding more about the baby.  Each morning when she comes in and says good morning to me, she will lift my shirt, lay her head on my belly and say, "Good morning baby Charlotte, wake up!"  The other day as I was preparing breakfast, she pulled up my shirt and pulled down the belly panel of my pants, took her picture she drew off the fridge and said, "show baby Charlotte" then put the picture against my bare belly saying, "look baby".  Lillian helped me put the crib together and we talked about her sharing her room with the baby.  We had bought a musical bear and she decided where in the crib we'd put it.  The day we finished their room she kept turning off the light, would pull the door close and say, "night-night baby" and then turn to me and say "shhhhh".  She is going to be such a great big sister and I'm very glad we have been putting routines/exceptions in place even before the baby comes.  It has helped me understand how she is processing it all and really helps me figure out what areas we need to talk about more.  I think it will make the transition much easier.  I discovered she has named her knit baby Charlotte and she puts her in the crib every night and tells her good night.  

When we went to go buy our used car (we got a 2002 Volkswagon Jetta Station Wagon with only 43k miles!  It was such a steal! but it is a stick so I am learning how to drive it)  we brought both car seats and the big jogging stroller with us to the lot to really make sure the car was big enough for our needs.  Since she remembers using the infant car seat I told her it will now be Charlotte's seat.  She insisted on bringing her baby with us and when we test drove the car she put her baby in the other car seat.  While it was in the back of the truck and we were re installing Lillian's seat in the truck, she would put her knit baby in the infant seat and rock it back and forth singing "Rock A Bye Baby".  It was so cute but I have never shown her how to rock a baby in a bassinet like that.  Turns out she saw it on Garfield!  The other morning she asked to watch it and was very adamant about watching the one with the kid (a little girl who treats Garfield like a baby); sure enough,  she rocks him in a bassinet singing the song. 

3rd Trimester

Whoo-hoo! I made it to the 3rd trimester and I can't wait to be done! We have completed our birthing classes and are feeling much more confident about the labor this time around. I was very excited about all the options Mary Birch has to offer such as birting balls in each delivery room, the ability to be up and moving, the ability to push and labor in a squatting position rather than on my back. The nurse who ran our class (which was provided by the hospital) just kept saying you can do whatever you want as long as you, baby and your OB are ok with it. Since Lillian's delivery had many ups and downs, Greg and I discussed what I wanted out of this delivery. Very simply I want the ability to move around, I don't want to be induced or have my labor augmented in any way (maybe breaking my water once I'm pretty far along) and I'm open to the idea of an epidural but I really just want to see how this labor is different going into it on my own without such strong contractions that are accompanied with being induced. Unfortunately, after our weekend getaway learning about the hospital I very bluntly asked my doctor the likelihood of him being the doctor to deliver me..... his answer.... only 10%. So that really means, as long as I'm doing well, the baby is doing well and the on call doctor is ok with it then I can have the delivery I want. Since it is based on who ever is "on-call" we have decided to go to the hospital as late as we can. We will most likely head down and walk around outside without being admitted in hopes that walking and gravity will help speed labor along (and considering how fast my labor was by the time contractions actually started I anticipate this to be a fairly easy delivery). 

Charlotte is very low these days and I've been having a lot of pelvic bone pain and tailbone pain.  I have started staying home more and resting; it has improved my pain quite a bit so that is the plan for the remaining 7-10 weeks.  Actually after a week of being home I took Lillian out in the morning just to run to a couple stores and I think the lifting her in and out of the car seat and shopping cart really aggravated it again.  So if I was doing that for an entire week no wonder I was having so much pain! I have been having regular Braxton Hicks for a while now and they usually come at night.  When I was out and about most of the week I'd have them at least 3x a week but now that I'm resting more I haven't had them too much.  These are nothing to be concerned about, the rule of thumb is if I can sleep through them and they are gone in the morning they are not true labor contractions.  Sleep is a luxury these days, I find myself limiting the amount of fluid I have after dinner because if I have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom forget it!.... I'm up for hours after that.  Lately I wake up every 2 hrs throughout the night........ but I find I can nap when Lillian naps.  The only time I do sleep through the night is if I choose to go lay on the couch so it may be where I reside the remaining weeks to come!  I feel like the last couple months have gone by quick but we were also in the market for a house so we were pretty busy.  Hoping the next couple months go by as quickly, we can't wait to meet our new little one.  

 

Peanut #2- 25 weeks

Time seems to be going faster now that I'm out of the morning sickness and pain phase, I'm 25 weeks and over halfway through this pregnancy.  This little one is hanging out a LOT lower than Lillian ever did and is much more active too.  With Lillian I always had to lay down and wait to feel her, with this little girl I feel her all the time.  Since she was so low I was having a lot of back pain starting around 18 weeks, luckily she has moved and it is not nearly as bad.  Of course I do still have days where I hurt, usually if I've been walking or standing all day.  I feel like I still have quite a bit of time to get ready for her but I have been having some strong nesting urges!  Luckily since she is another girl we don't need much, most of my nesting will be pulling out the old baby clothes and rewashing them and putting them away.  I have also been wanting to start a knitting project for her like I did for Lillian.  I'd like to make something special for each child I have and this time I'm thinking a stuffed musical baby deer since the girls will be sharing a forest themed room.  I'm kind of creating my own pattern and have had some trial and error experiences; however, after ripping out my work again I think I've found a pattern I can modify fairly easily to create it.  

Just as I did with the last pregnancy, I've been taking weekly belly photos (with the exception of the 2 weeks we were away from home around Christmas and New Years).  Here is a little animated clip showing my progress so far.  As a comparison, I've also included a side by side shot of my pregnancy with Lillian and this time both at 25 weeks.  Lillian is on the left and the new baby is on the right.  

I'll be taking maternity photos in a few weeks and am very excited for Greg and Lillian to be part of them this time.  You will have to stay tuned to see if we reveal the name in the photos :)

In terms of development, the baby is pretty much fully formed in terms of organs and such.  Now she is getting bigger, putting on some weight and her lungs are still maturing.  She is about a pound and a half now; about the size of an average rutabaga and should be about 13 1/2 inches long from head to toe.  Only 2 more weeks till I'm in the 3rd and final trimester!

Sea World

Lillian enjoyed her first trip to Sea World thanks to Uncle Dana and Auntie Jan who surprised us with season passes for Christmas!  We went on a weekend and it was busy so we did just a quick tour of the aquariums and animals rather than the shows.  Looking forward to taking her again.  She even got to play with Daddy in the Sesame Street area (he had to crawl after her through the ropes course after all! Mama was not going to be able to do that) and she even got to meet Elmo and Cookie Monster!  Thank goodness she doesn't have a fear of them like her Mama did when she was a kid..... well a fear of anything dressed up in a costume.  She was SOOOO excited!

Rose Parade

Right after we returned from our Christmas vacation, we returned the rental car and drove up to Pasadena the next day to catch the Rose Parade.  I knew it was a big deal but I didn't realize how many people camp out in the streets!!!!  We decided to get a hotel close by for New Year's Eve and all went to bed very early that night, not even bothering ringing in the new year so we could get a very early start toward the parade route.  We woke up at 3:30am, hopped on the metro system and arrived at the parade route by 5:30am.  There were so many people even that early! Most had camped out the previous afternoon or night and I was very concerned I'd have to stand for the next 5 hrs.... pregnant that was not really an option.  Greg went off with Lillian strapped to his chest to find us some coffee and breakfast and I started asking those around me if we could snag a portion of the curb they weren't using.  Sure enough we got a spot!  We even met a family whose son was marching in the parade.  I thought I marched in the same parade as a Junior in high school and Greg was bothered by my lack of memory.... we had made a trip down there, got to lead the Disneyland parade and performed in what I thought was the rose parade back in 2000.  Greg feels I should have remembered the floats but as a band it was just another performance for me and you didn't march that close to the floats.... the amount of people and distance were not that unusual as far as I remember either.  Anyway, once it started Lillian was quite entertained (although we were there 3 hrs early so trying to keep her engaged for that long was a bit tricky).  The theme this year was "Oh the Places You'll Go".  It was quite a site to see, all the huge floats made completely out of plant material; however, it may be one of those once in a lifetime type things.... not sure I'd be willing to do it again unless one of my kids were performing in it.  I did manage to get some good photos of my favorite floats.