Third Trimester

Pregnancy Update

How far along?  36 weeks

Total weight gain: 27lbs
Maternity clothes? Even those are starting to get tight. And my trusty maternity tights are making my belly itch! I'm basically living in yoga pants and maxi dresses at this point
Sleep: Ugh, the worst part right now. Because of the way Haddie is laying, it KILLS my back to lay flat for more than about an hour. So I've had to move to the couch so I can sleep sitting up. It's relatively comfortable, but I really miss my bed!
Best moment this week: We've had a couple "Sprinkles" with friends and family the last couple of weeks that have been really sweet. Haddie's room is finally finished and all her clothes (and headbands, I bought way too many) are all just waiting for her to wear them!
Miss Anything? Everything. I don't remember being so over pregnancy at this point with Titus, ha! I miss sleeping well and not having to pee constantly and most importantly, I miss my baby boy being able to snuggle on my chest and not squish my belly.
Movement: A lot more rolling than kicking now. And a lot of movement in my ribs, that's been pretty uncomfortable.
Food cravings: Mexican food! Same thing with Titus: craved it the first few weeks, couldn't stand it for most of my pregnancy, craving it again my last few weeks. And still Nutty Bars, of course ;)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Dirty diapers make me feel a little nauseous. Or throwing out old food that can't be eaten, I've actually thrown out a couple things of tupperware leftovers because the thought of washing out the old food made me feel sick
Gender: Definitely a girl! We did a 3D ultrasound around 28 weeks and the tech said she is most assuredly a she :)
Labor Signs: So different this time around! With Titus I couldn't really tell if I was ever having Braxton-Hicks, I would only ever feel an occasional tightening. Then my water broke at 37 weeks and we were very surprised! This time around I've been feeling the tightening contractions since about 26/28 weeks and since about 33 I've been having some painful ones. I now average probably 3ish an hour and they make me feel short of breath and like I really have to pee. I'm kind of excited thinking about going into labor and counting contractions instead of just having my water break. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I just want to experience it both ways!
Symptoms: No heartburn this time around, thank goodness! Wonder if that means Haddie will be bald... Also not having to pee as often as I did with Titus, but that's because Haddie is transverse breach right now (sideways) so her head is not down yet to push on my bladder.
Belly Button in or out? Out
Wedding rings on or off? on-no major swelling yet
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly just tired. Which makes me moody, but not because of hormones necessarily
Looking forward to: Haddie flipping head down! We are praying that our sweet girl can turn down on her own. I'm currently doing some exercises at home and going to the chiropractor to try and get her to move head down. If she doesn't move by next week, we will have to do a special procedure where the doctor tries to turn her, and if none of these things work, we may end up having a c-section. But Garland frequently reminds me that the most important thing is that's she's born safe even if it's not the birth plan I imagined, and he is so right!

Here are some pictures from this trimester:

30 WEEKS

32 WEEKS

Left with Titus, right with Haddie

 33 WEEKS

 36 WEEKS

Baby #2- Second Trimester!

Everyone says your second pregnancies go by faster and they are not joking! I can't believe I'm almost to the 3rd trimester. Some days I'm super excited and can't wait to hold our sweet baby girl, other days I would be happy being pregnant for another 6-8 months :) Ready or not...

Pregnancy Update

How far along?  26 weeks

Total weight gain: 18lbs
Maternity clothes? Loving them. I could live in elastic waistbands.
Sleep: I have a hard time getting comfortable enough to fall asleep, but once I do I'm usually okay through the night. Luckily I stopped having to pee so frequently after the first trimester, but Haddie likes to party around 11 or 12, so that doesn't help with the falling asleep part. At least she doesn't wake up dancing at 5am like Titus always did during my first pregnancy!
Best moment this week: Feeling Haddie kick hard enough that everyone could feel her from the outside. Garland was able to feel her weeks ago, but they were little kicks, now they are much stronger.
Miss Anything? Not being tired all the time. No matter how much sleep I get at night I almost always still need a nap to get through the day. And sometimes I just can't hardly pull myself off the couch during the day to chase Tito around the house.
Movement: Lots! It's my favorite part of being pregnant
Food cravings: Anything with chocolate and peanut butter, milk, PB&J
Anything making you queasy or sick: Mexican food still makes me feel nauseous a lot. And for some reason vegetables/salad haven't sounded very good the last few weeks. Also the idea of cleaning the bathrooms, just thinking about it makes me gag.
Gender: Shockingly... A girl! (see here for gender reveal post)
Labor Signs: no, but I do keep dreaming about going into preterm labor which is freaking me out a little. Titus was 3 weeks early but I would be happy for Haddie to be on time (I need a little more mental prep!)
Symptoms: A little heartburn, exhausted, can't see my feet very well, sometimes hard to put pants/shoes on
Belly Button in or out? In for now, but we're getting pretty close to surface level at this point
Wedding rings on or off? on-no swelling yet
Happy or Moody most of the time: Not feeling hormonal moody hardly at all, yay! But I do cry easier during movies/sad stories/etc.
Looking forward to: Finishing the nursery (okay fine, starting the nursery)

Here's a picture at 24 weeks (sorry, I haven't taken a new one yet)

21 Months

Dear Titus,
At 21 months...

• You weigh 25 pounds.
• You wear size 4 diapers and 18 or 18-24 month clothes (18 month pants)
• You sleep from about 8:30/9 to 7:30/8 (a good schedule for us!) and take one nap from about 2:00-3:30/4:00.
• You are getting in all 4 incisor teeth, which now completes your set besides 2 year molars! You look so different with a full smile now, definitely not a baby anymore.
• You know all your letters. It's awesome and weird and scary smart all at the same time. We can show you an uppercase or lowercase letter and you can say the name probably 90% of the time. I'm not sure what made you love them so much, but maybe it just means you will really love reading and writing like mommy and daddy!
• You have finally started signing "all done" and "more" which is really cute, but since you're talking some now it's a little late (ha!).
• You are obsessed with jumping! And by jumping, I mean climbing on tables and chairs and stepping off of them. Luckily you are still such a cautious little boy that you would never, ever jump unless there was someone really close to catch you. I love how safe you are about everything!
• My favorite thing you say right now is "WooOOOww!" with the cutest little voice inflection like you are SO excited.
• You love running from one end of the house to the other. You also love pushing or pulling things through the house. We set up a blow up pool/ball pit in your room with a slide and you could play in that all day too!
• Your favorite toys right now are alphabet games on the iPad, a race car track you got for Christmas, puzzles, and absolutely any ball. You could probably play catch for hours!
• Your favorite show is still Sesame Street, but you also like Curious George, Dinosaur Train, Bubble Guppies, and anything with music that you can dance to (including commercials).
• You have become picky about your food. I don't even think it's about the food, I think you just like having an opinion. Veggies are almost always a no go, but you could eat fruit all day long. 
• If you could pick your meals for the day the menu would look like this: BREAKFAST- peanut butter waffles, strawberries, milk. SNACK- orange and some cereal. LUNCH- Hot dog with macaroni and cheese, applesauce. SNACK- Veggie Straws. DINNER- Some type of chicken and rice dish (you actually prefer grilled chicken to fried), raspberries and blueberries, yogurt.
• You LOVE bath time. When I ask if you're ready for a bath you run into the bathroom and giggle to yourself. 
• Christmas was really fun with you this year, even though you didn't understand unwrapping presents very well. Instead of ripping off the paper you would try and put the paper back in place!
• You have the most pitiful fake cry and can definitely hold a grudge. However, you have also (FINALLY) started crying real tears, so when you are actually upset I almost always cave. I took for granted 20 months of no tears, that made it a whole lot easier to ignore your tantrums!
• You are finally repeating words and increasing your vocabulary. You understand me but can't always talk back to me in ways that make sense, which is very frustrating for you.
• You love playing with your friends! You run up to Brooks and Garrison and Roz and give them giants hugs. It's so cute to see you excited!
• We have to leave the house each day or else you (and I) get stir crazy. It will be interesting to see how this works when little sister gets here!
• You started going to Mother's Day Out one morning a week and you LOVE it! I still worry every week that you will get upset, but without fail, I go to pick you up and you don't want to go home.
• You are obsessed with blowing out candles or fire in the fireplace. Even if they aren't lit, you blow on them anyway.

You are in SUCH a fun stage right now, sweet boy! We just sit around and laugh and laugh at everything you are saying and doing. It is so fun to watch your brain work as you figure things out for the first time, it's like you are really turning into a small human! You love being around Brooks' little sister Rynn, who was just born 3 weeks ago. You are incredibly sweet with her; you want to hold her and kiss her and give her high fives. I just know you are going to be the greatest big brother. If anything, I think the problem might be trying to keep you from smothering her and stealing her away from us! It's a good problem to have :) We love you to the moon and back, big brother!

Baby #2: It's A....

Hello again! Sorry for my delay in blogging, but not a whole lot has been happening in our world besides chasing a toddler and a slightly growing belly. But now, we have something to talk about!!

So a lot of you have already found out what we're having because we did an early ultrasound at 15/16 weeks and were 90% sure it was another BOY!!! A brother for Titus!

 But I wanted to wait to announce it to the world until our "official" ultrasound at 20 weeks (technically I'm 21). Anyway, boy am I glad I did because it turns out we're actually having a GIRL!!!!!!!! A SISTER for Titus!!!

Aaslksamvoawekmflsdkmcalkdsnkadsnfa;wejfn;adlsckzmsa,dkafna;skdzclmvaksjmfoweskdnfakv;ajwehf;kANSfoiq3uwfo'iklNASKD;fjvNAS:KzniweufnCL"AKjfniweskjnfsldakjfaopwieurjpiowejf;lwiejro23[iqjROiqjflksdn kjsfn; owiHR2398IWJR[O2I3URP9IQwjro[i23ujro[SDKJ FASDJFASLJFS;IJFSKJDFHKSDHFSJDFSDLJFAALS;KJAFAOWIEJFO;WJ9238UCMQR0IOWCJRMQ3WURCOIAWJR;whr~!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that is what's going on inside my head right now. We told all our close friends and family (and cell kids- girls are you surprised or what?!), so this has been an exciting announcement to say the least. We have been debating boy names for months and just couldn't settle on one, and now we know why, it's not a boy! (We are pretty sure we are set on the name we will be giving little girl Autry, but we're going to let all this news sink in before we make a final decision on the name.)

Everyone keeps asking if I'm excited or disappointed, and honestly, I'm just happy. I LOVE surprises, and this is the ultimate shocker! I was very excited about two brothers wrestling, and doing sports together, and looking alike; plus, since I'm already having to do a big boy room for Titus I was actually relieved to be able to leave the "boy" nursery mostly as is. Not to mention we already have all the clothes we need for a April baby boy! So my head is spinning a little thinking of girly nursery decor, and a whole new wardrobe, and replacing other things we have only in blue (blankets, pacifiers, shoes, etc). But overall, we could not be happier :) 

Cheers to bows, tutus, headbands, jeggings, and leopard tights!!!

18 Months Old

Dear Titus,
At 18 months you...

• You weigh 26 pounds.
• You wear size 4 diapers and 12-18 month clothes (definitely still need shorter pants).
• You sleep from about 8:30 to 7:15am. You switched to one nap at 17 months which is usually around 1pm and lasts 1.5-2 hours.
• You got 6 teeth in 2 months (15-17months), which is exactly what you did in your first round of teething.
• You have starting high fiving and know how to find your nose, mouth, etc.
• When you are done eating you ignore my commands to say or sign" all done" and just start tossing food off your high chair.
• You are obsessed with the dogs. They are definitely one of your favorite things!
• You love to say "yummmmm" when you eat something you like.
• You love blowing kisses.
• Your favorite outside game is putting dog food in a cup and moving it between the two dog bowls.
• Your favorite show is Sesame Street (you stand completely still when the music parts come on).
• Like a typical boy, you could spend the whole day throwing and "catching" a ball.
• You like to crawl in our closet and play hide and seek. Not only do you think you're really good at it but you think it's really funny, too.
• You love picking things up and tediously putting them where they belong (like spilled dog food or water toys after bath time).
• You get very frustrated and impassioned when you are doing a task and it doesn't work out in the first 10 seconds (like if a big toy truck has fallen on its side and you can't figure out immediately how to right it, you just quit trying and throw a big fit). You probably get this from your daddy, ask him about his DIY projects when you grow up :)
• You talk all day long. Unfortunately for us, you're not saying anything we can understand. I so desperately long for you to talk! We've definitely entered the stage of mutual frustration because you can't tell me what you want and I can't interpret it.
• You do say dog, bosco, bye, baba, no (repeatedly during a fit), mama, dada, square ("squh") and you "count to three" (more a cadence than words). You also try to repeat letter names (you love pointing out letters on people's shirts).
• You have gotten really good at playing independently for medium amounts of time.
• You are happiest when you're outside and end up really cranky by the end of the day if we haven't gone out any.
• You love playing with your friend Brooks who is 4 days older than you. You actually interact and play together and it's pretty adorable.
• You are obsessed with looking for airplanes anytime we are outside.
• You have just started having some separation anxiety from mommy, and while it's so sweet to see you want me, it still hurts my heart that you think I'm leaving you forever. Never ever, baby boy!

We found out a couple of months ago you are going to be a big brother! I can't wait to see you in that role. I foresee some mommy jealousy and a problem when the new baby will be big enough to play with your toys. But I also know how sweet and gentle you are with littler babies now, and I look forward to seeing you as the protective big brother. As for you personality, it only gets bigger and bigger. You really are "full of it," walking around and chatting all day and of course laughing that token chuckle that you do so well! I am incredibly happy to see that part of your babydom hasn't faded away, I hope you keep it forever! Such a clear sign of the joy God has given you in your heart (you get that from your daddy too). I pray that laughing will always come easy to you, and that one day you would also learn to laugh at yourself instead of getting frustrated. We love you to the moon and back, BIG boy!

15 Months Old

Dear Titus,

At 15 months you...

• You took your first steps at 13 months and started walking at 14 months.

• You say mama, dada, dog, and bye regularly. You also say bird and cracker occasionally, and you "call the hogs" with mommy and daddy! Other words you say in your own language are bottle ("dah doh") and Bosco ("dog-doh").

• You are 28 inches tall and weigh 22 pounds. You are in the 5th percentile for height, 25th for weight, and 75th for head. You still only have 6 teeth but seem to constantly be drooling from some unforeseen teething! You have curly blonde hair and blue eyes like Uncle Jared but your face is a perfect mix of daddy and me.

• You take two naps about an hour each, one around 10:30 and one around 2:30. You go to bed between 7:30-8:30 and for the past couple of months have been getting up between 6-6:30! Not good for mommy. Luckily you have moved back to 7:00 this week so I'm hoping you are back to normal!

• Your favorite activities are playing basketball with daddy, stacking blocks, climbing stairs, and playing with the hose.

• You love the bath tub but you don't like pools (even baby pools with just a little water).

• You love most foods, especially fruit. Your favorite foods are waffles with peanut butter, spaghetti, green beans, veggie straws, pickles, and graham crackers.

• You still take a while to warm up to large groups of people. You usually prefer to play independently for a while and then you eventually join in the action. Grandmother says that daddy was just like this as a baby!

• You like to "count to three" like mommy does when she pushes you on the swing (even though you just make the noises, not the words).

• You hate sitting still. Even in the stroller or wagon you only want to ride for about 20 minutes before getting out.

• We have officially reached the fit stage; I think it's possible that we could have arrived at the "terrible twos" early. You scream bloody murder if I turn off the hose or tell you not to throw food off your high chair. And heaven forbid a door opens and you don't get to go outside... You throw yourself on the ground and bang your head on the floor! You have also perfected your "NONONONONONO" scream while simultaneously going into full body spasms. Oy.

• But when you are happy (which really is most of the time) you have the best laugh and smile! You like to laugh when you hear someone else laughing just to join in the fun (you also do this with sneezing). You are great at playing independently and will talk to your toys without me needing to play with you.

You are turning into such a funny little boy! You love playing chase and watching daddy dribble the basketball. We love going outside and just watching you chase the dogs around while giggling. You think they are so funny! We are loving watching how your personality comes out as you get older (even your feisty and stubborn side!). As you continue to grow sometimes I look at you and it seems like my baby has completely grown up, but at nighttime when you cuddle on my chest I know you are still there. We love you sweet boy, forever and always, to the moon and back.