Baby #2: 36 Weeks

Tucker,

Sometimes I feel like you are SO big! I am very curious to see how much you will weigh when you are born. And if you have a big head like your brother :)

Not too much happened this month with you though! My feet did start swelling up a bit so that hasn't been very fun. Also the first weekend of September was a pretty intense one for you and I. On aturday, I started getting some pretty bad Braxton Hicks contractions. Though for the longest time I wasn't exactly sure what they were since I never had any with Trenton. But by the evening I was hurting pretty bad. Luckily some Tylenol and a long hot shower before bed helped. Then Sunday we sent Trenton to Gigi and Pimpa's house for the day so I could rest. Daddy pretty much put me on bedrest all day. He took really good care of you and I, even if he was a bit too over the top :) Anytime I would move or put my feet on the floor he would quickly ask, "What are you doing??" But I wouldn't trade my sometimes overprotective, eccentric husband to be your day any day :) Sunday was pretty bad pain-wise though. You know when you get the flu and you have intense body aches? Well, that was me all day, minus the actual flu part. Every single bone and joint in my body ached so terribly bad! Plus I got these random sore spots on my hand, arm, and foot that felt like bad bruising but with no visible signs. It was weird. Luckily I took some more Tylenol in the evening and it did it's magic again! When I went to work on Monday I was feeling a lot better, though still hurting, and by Thursday I was back to normal. I have been taking it really easy since then though, because we definitely do not want you to come before 37 weeks!

This month I also had my water birth class at the hospital. I was supposed to have a tour of the hospital too but stupid Atlanta traffic....it took me 2 1/2 hours to get to the hospital!!! I was livid. Plus with the raging hormones, I was just a bucket full of tears in my car. I made it for the water birth class though and that was the most important part. I can't have a water birth if I don't take the class. I loved the class though. I got some more good insight on water birth and what it is like at this hospital. I am really hoping with laboring and birthing in the water that I won't tear, or at least not nearly as bad as with Trenton. I would really like to avoid being on bedrest and the possibility of a blood transfusion again! So Mr. Tucker, you need to work with me here and be nice to my body, okay?

One big thing is happening next weekend for our family though! Daddy and I are flying to Omaha, Nebraska for a job interview! We are really hoping we get to become house parents of a group of teenagers. We feel like this job/lifestyle change would be a huge, wonderful impact on our family, plus we would be able to pour our lives into more kids and be great examples of parents and adults that these kids need. So hopefully on your next post, we will get to share the good news of your birth AND of our new job :)

Baby #2: 32 Weeks

Baby Tucker,

It has been a long month. I actually have no idea where it went or what happened. I seem to forget things more easily recently.....I think you are sucking all my brain cells away ;)

We did get to go to the beach finally! We spent the weekend in Savannah and Hilton Head and it was wonderful! It was my first time (ever) in a bathing suit while pregnant though, so that had some weird moments (in my head) for me. But we had a lot of fun and I cannot wait until we can take you to the beach one day! A month or so ago I finally gave in and bought a maternity support belly band. And even though it is ugly and bulky (though I do wear it under my shirts), it definitely has helped. I wore it quite a bit while walking around Savannah. It helps me be able to breathe better as well as the cramps I would always get from walking more than 10 steps and faster than a turtle's pace.

Sometimes I do forget how big I am though. I will occasionally run into things with my belly. Like desks or doors or walls.....luckily no one has really seen me do these things and its just embarrassing to me :) At least I don't think anyone has seen me....

Trenton did this too, but you seem even more active than he was. But I hate it when you kick my belly button! It's such a weird feeling that doesn't necessarily hurt, but just feels weird. I guess sort of like when you hit your funny bone?

Last week we went consignment shopping and got a few things for you (though pretty much everything you will wear and use will be hand-me-downs. Sorry!), some winter/older clothes for Trenton, and some things for your baby cousin, Kennedy! It was fun shopping for a girl :) I also went through all the baby stuff we already had to see what we won't need with you and what we could purge. We have a TON of baby clothes that we definitely do not need.

We also seem to have a magical box-carrying fairy in our house recently. The bags of clothes and supplies purchased at the consignment sale, and the boxes of baby stuff in the basement magically appeared upstairs when no one else was home! It's a miracle, really :) The fairy only likes to make an appearance when I am the only one home though. He is quite shy, I guess.

There isn't really much more to report this month for you, Tucker! Which I guess is a good thing right? I did have my 32 week apointment last Friday. You are measuring 33 weeks actually. Which would put you measuring 40 weeks around October 10th. When talking to my midwife though, apparently my "official" due date that they have down is October 14th, not the 21st. Which means you would technically be considered full-term on September 16th. Now I really wouldn't mind if you decided to come early....say the last week of September or the first week of October?? I still have it in my head that you are due October 21st anyways. But I guess we will see!

Daddy and I have some potential life changing opportunities coming up that we are really excited for. Though I don't want to mention anything yet just in case it doesn't happen. But if things continue to move forward, I may need to fly out of state for a day or two before you are born. So just don't come until after we get back ok? I've had a couple dreams of me going into labor while on the plane and then having to rush to the hospital as soon as we land. I really want my water birth, Tucker, so if labor starts on the plane, just wait until we can make it to the hospital and fill up the birthing tub! And I definitely don't want to have a baby in another state....!


We took some maternity/familiy pictures a few weeks ago as well. We are one cute little family :) I can't wait to take more photos when you are born :)

 

And of course my monthly photo. I have definitely gained weight in more than just my midsection this time :( It will be nice to start working out and losing the baby weight again! But we are so close, baby boy...!!

Trenton: 18 Months!

I keep a note in my phone where I write down anything significant that I want to write in your blog. As I am compiling everything now, I am realizing that the past few months A LOT has happened for you and having this big of a gap between updates may not have been such a good idea. So this post is going to be long!


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Most of this stuff I typed up before you got sick, but I will just go ahead and tell you about your hospital stay first. So Saturday you woke up with a fever, which of course made us a bit nervous considering last time you had a fever. But Saturday and Sunday you were still playing hard and acting pretty normal except you weren't eating. Then Monday morning things started going down hill. You were very lethargic and even threw up. Daddy took you to the doctor on Tuesday where he ran a bunch of blood tests and also gave you an antibiotic injection to try and make you feel better even though they didn't know what was wrong with you. By Tuesday evening you had gotten so dehydrated that your lips were cracked and even started bleeding. So Wednesday Daddy and I took you to get some IV fluids. We had it in our heads that you would get some fluids and we would be on our way in a couple hours. Were we ever so wrong! Considering your history, the ER doctors at Children's decided to admit you. Again. After a couple days they finally figured out (sort of) that at least this time and possibly last time since your symptoms were so similar, that you had tonsillitis. Normally that's no big deal but for some reason your body just reacts so badly to it! The infectious disease doctor told us that if this happens again, you will most likely have to have a tonsillectomy. So we are not really looking forward to that and hoping that you won't get anymore fevers! On Friday evening they gave you some antibiotics and an steroid injection, which made you so irritable and cranky! Daddy was at work so I was all by myself having to deal with you crying for 3 1/2 hours straight. It was so unlike you that I had no idea what to do. I was way past my breaking point and so frustrated; yet felt so helpless because something HAD to be wrong. You finally fell asleep only to wake up crying again a couple hours later. I called the nurse in and then Daddy took over for me because I needed a break. When she took your temperature, it was only93 degrees though so that was very concerning. Throughout the rest of the night (by this time it was already 3:30am) and most of the day Saturday instead of fighting high fevers we were now fighting mild hypothermia. And they still didn't know why! I will say I was a bit frustrated that the doctors didn't seem too worried about your low temperature like I felt that they should have. Or at least they weren't explaining properly to me why they weren't concerned (Daddy's observation). It was also frustrating that none of the doctors can give a for sure answer as to what is wrong with your little body. These are all just good guesses pretty much. So you are still our little medical phenomenon child.....

Saturday was also my birthday! Daddy and I decided we are pretty much even now since his last two birthdays were spent in the hospital and now my birthday was as well. We decided that you really like to get sick on major family events :)

We finally got to go home on Sunday afternoon after only five days in the hospital this time instead of eight like last time. So we are improving! :) Sunday and Monday you were still a bit irritable from the steroids since they sent us home with some, but for the most part you have done well. It is now Tuesday and you have had SO much energy today! I guess you are making up for the past week. The only bad part is that you won't take your medicine. It doesn't help that they have a horrible taste to them, but you already make yourself gag and throw up when taking medicine anyways!

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We never really did an Easter Egg hunt....I guess I just got a bit lazy since we were in the hospital for Easter....oh well. Not like you will remember your first few Easters, right? :) But before you got sick, we did see the Easter Bunny!!! But with all the commotion of you in the hospital and all, I forgot about it until I came across the CD while cleaning one day. So here are your adorable Easter Bunny pictures for your second Easter! Hey, maybe one day you will actually NOT cry when you see him :) I just love your crazy hair.

-You are talking more and more! You are getting better at communicating in both sign language and in actual words. You especially like to repeat things Daddy says. That is going to get him in trouble soon, I know it :) For the longest time your baby talk was always just a repeat of syllables, but now you are actually babbling in your own little Trenton language. You will even grab a cell phone and "talk" on it like you are having a real life conversation. It's quite adorable.

-You are a pretty smart kid, which I can also see trouble in our future. But you pick up on things very quickly. Just from watching Daddy and I get ready, you learned what deodorant is and how to comb your hair. You even lift up your shirt like Daddy to put your deodorant on :)

-For some reason you have always hated your bare feet touching the outside ground, like grass or dirt or the sidewalk. But I am happy to say that you will now walk outside without any shoes on! We don't let you at our house though because we have a lot of poky things in our grass and driveway from all the trees, but at Gi-Gi and Pimpa's house you can walk outside.

-When it's time for bed, you have never been attached to anything like a lovey or blanket. Instead you chooses random things to be your comfort in your crib. Sometimes it's a DVD, sometimes its a spoon, or your toothbrush, an old cel phone, or even a thermometer.

-I make it a habit to read to you every night for 15-30 minutes and it definitely helps you unwind and get tired. Plus it's a great habit that I really hope you keep as you grow up. Reading is so important and I want you to continue loving it! Right now the books that we have to read every night are
        -Llama Llama Red Pajama (you call it "mama mama")
        -I Love you Forever
        -Franklin in the Dark
        -Star Wars 123
        -your baby Bible
Other books come in and out, but these books are a must read every single night. And yes, I have memorized every single one of them....It is a blessing and a curse that you love books so much at this age. Sometimes Daddy and I just get so tired of reading the same books over and over and over again all day long!

-You still refuse to drink any sort of milk. Even chocolate milk! You are very picky about your drinks for some reason. You do love your orange juice though. OJ and water is pretty much all you drink. Occasionally you like some cranberry juice or powerade, but you mostly stick to OJ and water.

-You love your orange foods too: carrots, cheese, Mac & Cheese, orange, peaches, nectarines, goldfish (can't ever go without those!). The weird thing is though that you aren't really a fan of meat. I have gotten creative with ground beef and made a couple of dishes that hide it well, and you do love sausage still, but for the most part you just eat around whatever meat we give you. I'm sure that will change soon though.

-I sometimes feel bad for Loretta. You love her so much but you can also be so mean to her! You especially love to run her over with your little vacuum because you know she will attack it. And you like to have pillow fights with her because you know she will attack that as well.....But it is very cute when you sit next to her and cuddle and giver her hugs

-You have such a little personality! I have never seen a baby/toddler give some many dirty looks before. You are a pro! Which yes, will also be getting you in trouble in the near future. Right now it is still pretty funny.

-Where is your sense of fear?? We are convinced you were not born with it. You have no problem climbing on your toy box and jumping to the couch and doing it again and again. You will just step off of something like you just know someone will catch you. Can you stop being such a little daredevil so young please?? Daddy and I are going crazy here. You already have fallen off the couch numerous times....You even tried going down the big slide at the park head first!

-I've made a rule in the house that shoes need to stay by the front door, and even though you are picking up on this lately and wait for us to take your shoes off before you go running, it has been a bit of a challenge because you love wearing shoes so much!

-I hope you never lose that sparkle in your eyes. Looking into your eyes just makes my heart melt every single time. I love those big dark eyes of yours! We see so much life in those eyes of yours and I pray that through any heart break or difficult time you have, you can find the joy and never lose those fireworks that light up your eyes

-We have been working on body parts lately and you know where your hair, nose, ears, eyes, mouth, fingers, and toes are. You really love "This little piggy" with your toes :)

-Since being in the hospital a few months ago you have become a little technology addict! I know it is inevitable, but I was hoping you wouldn't have started for a little while longer. I have some baby apps on my phone and the iPad and you know how to manuever your way around both to find your apps and play your games. You also love going to my photos and scrolling through all my pictures and videos. Plus when my text message ring tone goes off, the first thing you say is "Daddy?" because it usually is Daddy texting me. Then if it's not him, then you ask if it's Gi-Gi.

-Every dark car you see you ask if it's Gi-Gi's car. And in one book we have there is a dark car and everytime you come to it you say "gi-gi-pimpa?" I guess they are just one person now

-We have been working on telling you about your baby brother and you point to my belly and say "baby". You also point out the babies in some of your books and if you hear a baby cry on TV.

-Speaking of TV, you still don't really care too much about it, which is good. But you do love your theme songs! YOur favorite shows to "watch" (aka listen to the theme songs. Sometimes on repeat) are Clifford (you call it "doggy") and Arthur (you call it "Hey!". From the theme song). Also, Daddy and I have been watching Bones a lot lately (ya proabably shouldn't let a one year old watch murder crime shows but that's okay) and every time the theme song comes on you yell, "yes!!" No idea why but it's still cute. Whenever you hear an explosion on the TV you also yell "ba-boom!!"




Here are a few pictures of the past few months! You got a hair cut too! And went from 16 months to 2 years old in one day....!

 You were slam dunking on Daddy at the hospital. You just LOVED it when you got to play outside with all the balls!

 Even though you were about the cry in this picture, I still had a wonderful birthday despite where we were :)

 One of the nurses made you a slushie out of Sprite and Popsicles. It was cold (as you can tell from the picture) but you loved it and gulped it down

 There was a playroom on our floor of the hospital and you had so much fun with this kitchen You wouldn't hardly play with anything else! You just kept putting stuff in and out of the microwave over and over and over again

 Look at that handsome little face. I fall more and more in love with you every day!

No more hospital pictures :)

 You saw Loretta drink out of the pool so you just had to try it yourself

 And a little hose water never hurt anyone, right??

 Aunt Brittany bought you this little dancing lion when you were a tiny baby (or maybe it was before you were born?). For the longest time you were afraid of it but now it is one of your favorite toys. It sings The Lion Sleeps Tonight very loudly....Daddy and I will definitely have our payback once your little niece or nephew is born.....

 My handsome little firecracker on the Fourth of July

 You love corn on the cob. You devoured two pieces at the 4th of July BBQ

 You love your GiGi

 We went ot the Children's Museum one day and you had so much fun there

So content reading your books and waiting for your food

Baby #2: 28 Weeks

Hello 3rd Trimester!! I have been waiting for this day, and I am so glad it is finally here. Only 12 more weeks until you are born! And I have to say, I can't wait. Not only to meet our precious child, but also I am just so done being pregnant....! I love you, Tucker, but you have given me more reasons to hate being pregnant every day. The most prominent reasons that have started recently is the inability to breathe, and the crazy heartburn that randomly started one day. Mostly the breathing though. The other day I was making breakfast and I had to rush to sit down because I felt like I was going to pass out. Scary moment. You are much higher than Trenton was, so you are pushing on my lungs apparently. But we will get through this :)

At my appointment last week I took the glucose test and passed! So that means no gestational diabetes and my iron levels are also good. That's a relief. I also start going to the doctor every two weeks now. I'm not sure if you are head down yet or not (though I think you are) because yet again, you kept "running" away from the midwife as she was trying to feel you and measure your heart rate.... :)

Since my birthday was this past weekend, Daddy and I decided that a great birthday present would be to take some maternity pictures! So in the next few weeks we will be doing that. I am looking forward to that.

I don't know what the deal is with people lately either. Just this week alone I have gotten numerous comments from people that really should never be said to a pregnant woman. Especially a pregnant woman who has had a less than pleasant pregnancy and has had lack of sleep due to a sick toddler (yes, your brother is sick, again :( )

1. "You are getting SO big!!"
2. "Oh...! You only have 12 weeks left?? That'll just fly right by!" (anger comes out at this one because they are not the ones being suffocated by a tiny alien daily and having their bladder used as a punching bag 24/7! -I love you Tucker, I really do :) )
3. [I had this happen this morning with a security guard of my office building] Him: "Dont drop it here now!!" Me, annoyed: "Oh I still have a while" Him: "What??? How much bigger are you going to get??" Now obviously this man has never seen a pregnant woman and is so incompetent in the facts of what pregnancy looks like at full-term. I guess we will have to forgive him for being incompetent :) I mean, I'm not even THAT big yet, geez....

Anyways, I am hoping over the next few weeks or so we can bring all the baby stuff up from the basement and start getting things all ready for you. I seem to have the "second pregnancy syndrome" of procrastination. I just keep thinking, we have most of everything. It's in the basement! When with Trenton I had everything purchased and set up by now. Don't worry though, we will be ready for you!


LoveAlways,

Mommy

Baby #2: 24 Weeks

I guess we have never announced your name to the general public. We still haven't fully decided on a middle name, but your first name will be Tucker. Unless we decide over the next three months we like something else. But as far as we know, you are our little baby Tucker West :)

I was supposed to have the dreaded glucose test at my 24 week appointment, but silly me ate a biscuit for breakfast and carbs turn into sugar. Since my midwife didn't want me to fail my test over a lousy biscuit, I have to go back in three weeks to take the test. I will remember NOT to eat carbs hopefully! Which is a difficult task since I pretty much live on anything carb-related. But other than that, my belly is measuring perfectly. She wasn't able to get your heartbeat though because you kept kicking the doppler...again....you are always giving the poor midwives a hard time! I fear for our future :) even though she wasn't able to track your heart rate, she said you are obviously growing and are fine. Which is good enough for me!

Some other good news about the appointment is my blood pressure is FINALLY going back up! It's been really low the entire pregnancy, with the top number being in the high 80s-low 90s. But at this appointment it was 107/50! Still not my normal, but hey, I'll take it. I'm still getting headaches frequently though. I just need to remember to go buy some magnesium since that is supposed to help.

I don't know if it's just because you are boys, but both you and Trenton are/were really low. I think you are even lower than Trenton was! Even when I was 9 months pregnant with Trenton, I never felt him above my lowest ribs. And you sir, look to be following in the same path.

Sometimes, you don't like it when I hold your brother either. Sibling rivalry is starting already and you aren't even born yet! There have been a few times where I was holding Trenton and you kicked so hard I almost dropped him because it actually hurt. Hopefully one day you two will be best friends though. Trenton will point to my belly and say "baby" and even give you lots of kisses already. So be nice to your big brother!

Usually the pregnancy fatigue happens in the first trimester, but with you it seems to have come at the end of the second. I have been so extremely tired lately and I hate it! I hope I can get some more energy again soon. I definitely don't want this to last for the next three months. Lord knows, I won't get much sleep after you're born anyways.

The past month has gone by pretty quickly, thank goodness! We can't wait to meet you, little boy. You are going to be such a blessing to our growing little family. I can't wait to see what you look like and what your personality is like.

I love you, my precious son.


LoveAlways,

Mommy

Baby #2: 20 Weeks

Well little baby, we found out you were a boy!!! We are still trying to figure out a good name for you. We pinned down a first name but we are still trying to figure out which middle name will suit you best. At least we still have another 20ish weeks to figure that out for sure.

I am convinced though, that you hate me most days. Even though it is getting better, I have had so many GI issues from the very beginning. I have been taking some probiotics though and that seems to be helping :) My incessant need to eat with you is even worse than with Trenton too! That I did not think was possible. I have to eat anywhere from every 20 minutes to ever 1.5 hours or else I get sick. It's pretty ridiculous!

I've been feeling you move since around 16 weeks! It never ceases to amaze me how spectacular pregnancy is when you feel your baby move. It is a magical thing. You are an active little guy, just like your brother. At 17 weeks we had our gender ultrasound and we saw you moving around all over the place. We even saw you stretch. It was the cutest thing! You keep your hands up by your head just like your brother too :) We were able to have a live video stream to the family in Bakersfield and Alaska during our ultrasound so most everyone got to find out if you were a boy or a girl at the same time as us! Technology is an amazing thing. Which is funny thinking that in the 20-something years from now that you will be reading this, technology will be so much more advanced that you will consider this technology "ancient", I'm sure.

At my last appointment I found out that my iron levels are looking great, which is fantastic news because around this time with Trenton I had to start taking iron supplements. I was also told that the reason I have been so dizzy this pregnancy was because of my low blood pressure. I have had low blood pressure since my first appointment which is odd for me, but the midwives weren't concerned. She said it would start improving soon and I have already felt an improvement the past week or so.

One sad thing that happened this month is that I officially cannot lay on my stomach to sleep anymore :( I have fully enjoyed being able to do that again. And now it is gone....

I have realized that I have taken you and Trenton for granted, way too much. Daddy and I have been so blessed to be able to get pregnant so easily. There are so many people who struggle with infertility on all different levels and I can not imagine the pain and heartache they go through. I want to make sure i love you both whole heartedly and cherish every moment, good and bad, because it can be gone too quickly.

We also had another ultrasound appointment this week. It was really at 21 weeks instead of 20 but that's okay. You're measurements were kind of all over the place, so that didn't help pin down my due date. You are due anywhere between October 15 and October 21. My midwife said we will just stick to the 21st for the "official" date though. Even though of course, you will come whenever you are ready...! One thing that showed up in the ultrasound was my uterus was close to my cervix; on the very low end of "normal". I may have to have another ultrasound later to make sure it's all okay, but right now, she is confident that as my uterus grows, it will move further away from my cervix. I'm not sure exactly what that means if it doesn't though. She wouldn't tell me and I'm afraid to ask Dr. Google and get more information than I bargain for!

We did get a CD of all your ultrasound pictures, but you were moving SO much that they aren't really that good :( I didn't think it was possible to be even more active than Trenton was, but you are! And frankly, that scares me considering how crazy your brother is :) You also kept kicking the midwife when she was trying to listen to your heartbeat on the doppler later. You apparently don't like people messing with you.

These are our Gender Reveal Photos and how we announced it to the world of Facebook

 

 

 These were the best photos we have of your 21 week ultrasound. Not the greatest, but still neat to see you!

Well It's Not a Girl....

It’s an amazing thing just what pregnancy can do to you! Hormones are off the charts ridiculous. This weekend we found out we were having another boy. While I am excited for my son to have a little brother to grow up with and do lots of neat boy things together, and share that amazing bond that brothers have, I do have to say I was disappointed we weren’t having a girl. Not that I would wish my son was a girl, but that I wish we would have a daughter. If that makes sense…..

I just have a deep longing to have a daughter where I can make cute headbands and bows for, and go get mother daughter manis and pedis, take her shopping, help her choose her prom dress, help her get ready for her wedding….stuff like that. Things that you just don’t do with boys. I know there will be plenty of fun things to do with my boys and I am looking forward to that, but I also feel like I need to mourn the daughter I may never have as well.

Now logically speaking, I know we can always adopt a girl or try again for a girl, but right now anyways, I am afraid of taking that chance at trying again in fear of losing that possibility for a daughter!

This weekend also happened to be Mother’s Day. But because of all these pregnancy emotions going haywire in response to not having a daughter, it wasn’t as special as it should’ve been. Thank you hormones. I spent most of my weekend bawling my eyes out. I don’t consider myself an overly emotional woman one bit. I mean, I hate crying and will do everything in my power to not cry. Especially in front of people. But this weekend I could not stop the water works! It was a weird feeling because as we were sitting in church on Sunday, I had to keep excusing myself to the bathroom to cry some more because I just kept having this overwhelming feeling. I felt like I had legitimately lost a child. I don’t know if it was a subconscious response to seeing so many mothers lately lose their young children to accidents or cancer, but it was a scary and very real feeling that I hope and pray I will never have again. My heart definitely goes out to the parents that have lost a child. If this was even a sliver of how you must feel, I pray God gives you great comfort.

I know that God has placed this new little boy in our care for a very big and great reason and I know God will do amazing things through my boys and through my family. He wouldn’t give me two precious boys for nothing. I also know that God answers our prayers and gives us the longings of our hearts. So I know that one of two things will happen. 1. God will change my heart to be content with my adorable little boys and being surrounded by men, or 2. He will indeed give me a girl, whether it be genetically or through adoption. Now that I feel a little bit less emotional today, I am actually able to see these promises and hopes and even believe them for my life and for our family.