Pregnancy Pics in Succession

10 weeks

11 weeks

12 weeks

13 weeks

14 weeks

15 weeks

16 weeks

17 weeks

18 weeks

19 weeks 

20 weeks

21 weeks

22 weeks

23 weeks

24 weeks

25 weeks

26 weeks

27 weeks

28 weeks

29 weeks

30 weeks

31 weeks

32 weeks

33 weeks

37 weeks

40 weeks

Bump Watch - 41 weeks (post partum)

Ezra was born Saturday night October 13 around 8:30pm.  He looks just like his sister, only his hair is darker and there is less of it.  It's not bright red like Sadie's, but it definitely has a reddish tint, and I think it's going to be curly!

He is a sweet baby, and so different than Sadie (just because his brain isn't damaged).  At 5 days old, he can already do more than his sister.  His neck is strong and he can hold his head up pretty well already. He is constantly moving his arms, trying to suck on his fingers/hands, and stretching them up over his head.  He HATES having his diaper changed and screams like it's the end of the world, but other than that he doesn't cry much unless he's hungry.

He weighed over 9lbs at birth, but left the hospital at 8lbs 13oz.  We see Dr. Wendy on Monday and I wouldn't be surprised if he's already back up to his birth weight the way he nurses!!  It's literally all.the.time!!

How old is baby?  Ezra is now 5 days old

Weight Gain? I haven't weighed myself since giving birth.  I still look 4 months pregnant, but it's shrinking daily!

What's up with my Body? My tummy still looks pregnant, which is the worst!!  But I can lean forward without losing my breath!  And I can bend down and pick something up off the floor pretty easily!

My body was pretty wrecked after giving birth and I was in quite a lot of pain for about 24 hours, but it's mostly gone away.  My pelvic bones still hurt in certain positions, and sitting in a hard chair is uncomfortable after a few minutes, but overall, I feel really great!

My swelling is going down.  My mom and I ventured out to Old Navy yesterday (because anything she bought with her Old Navy card was 40% off!) and I wore my maternity jeans and they were actually baggy on me instead of tight!  Hopefully soon I'll be able to put my wedding ring back on!

My milk came in, so my boobs are huge.  We're still getting used to nursing, so my nipples are sore, but this is getting better each day.  

I can't walk very far comfortably, and I can't really lift anything heavy (including Sadie), so I feel pretty helpless.  But I'll get stronger!

I also take like 2 or 3 naps a day.  I am exhausted from being awake all night and my body healing.  It's nice to have help, and to know someone is taking care of Sadie so I can rest.

Emotions: I don't feel like I have post partum depression or anything, but every once in a while I look at Ezra and get choked up, or I remember part of his birth or read comments from people on Facebook and I want to cry...but it's happy tears.

Baby name: Ezra Walter Beck.  Ezra means "great helper" or "God is my help" which is the role he's being born into, he is going to need to be my great helper.  It took us a long time to find the perfect name, but I think we did it!

Best moment of the week: Holding my baby in my arms...finally!!

What I'm looking forward to: Everything!

Sadie meeting her brother for the first time 

Our family of 4 leaving the hospital!

Bump Watch - 40 weeks!

I know you're all waiting for pictures of a little red-headed newborn and a story of a happy healthy birth...but I'm still preggy.

I was SURE we were having a baby last Sunday night.  All day I thought I was in early labor, then I had a GREAT night of sleep and woke up feeling normal on Monday.  But it was okay, because my mom didn't arrive until Tuesday evening.  But now it's Friday and I'M STILL PREGNANT!!

It's okay that we didn't have our 10-11-12 baby.  I didn't really want him to have that birthday.  And I've said from the beginning that the 13th is when I want to have him/think he's coming.  However, at this rate, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to sign in and work on Monday...and answer all the questions about why I haven't had this baby yet!!!

I'm also having to deal with this "how long will they let you go over your due date?" question.  I don't like that question because it implies that I'm not in charge of this birth or my body.  He can't stay in there forever, right?  He'll come when he's ready.  And at any point if it's determined that he or I are unsafe, we will discuss my options.

How far along?  40 weeks +1 day...ugh

Weight Gain? I am hovering right about +50lbs.  I am ALL baby at this point, so I am taking advantage and eating high calorie foods...maybe that's why he won't come out!!  He's so well-fed!

What's up with my Body? I am happy to report that the high for today will be under 80 degrees!  It's beautiful outside.  We have the back doors open and the fans on and we're enjoying some fresh air in this house.

My body is doing okay.  My skin is itchy...really itchy.  I have a hard time walking, squatting, standing, turning over in bed, carrying Sadie, etc.  And I am exhausted ALL.THE.TIME.  But really, in the scheme of things, I'm doing just fine.

I keep thinking I'm having contractions.  I think I'm WILLING myself to have them!!  But I don't feel like anything is happening yet.

Gender? It's a boy!  You can read about our ultrasound appointment and see pictures if you go to this post here.  

Emotions: The anticipation is KILLING me!!  I go to bed each night wondering if I'll be woken up by contractions and if tomorrow will be the day.  I'm a roller coaster of happy, grumpy, energetic, tired.  Brian told me he wants me to hurry up and have this baby because I'm not that fun to be around.  Well, no kidding!!  I don't even like being around me that much right now!!

Baby name: It's official, he has a name.  It's been stitched onto his quilt from Grammy.  And it's a KICK-ASS name!!

Best moment of the week: We went swimming yesterday.  It felt so good to get in the water, and Sadie LOVED it (of course, my little water baby).  It was still 90 degrees yesterday too, so it was really nice!

What I'm looking forward to: I just  want to hold my little baby.  I want to know if his hair is red.  I want to see his wrinkly little newborn face.  I want to nurse him and feel that Mommy-baby bond.  And I REALLY want my body back!!

40 weeks!!!  Is that a baby or a basketball in my tummy??!!!

Bump Watch - 39 weeks

I am so eager to have this baby.  I get to see him every week on the ultrasound and it is KILLING me to see his little heart beating and his little belly rising with each breath and today I saw him stick out his tongue!!!  I just want to hold him and cuddle him and nurse him.  Of course I do want to be unpregnant, but I am now so eager to just meet him that being unpregnant sounds like a secondary benefit!!

How far along?  39 weeks.  Can you believe I've made it this far?

Weight Gain? I didn't weigh myself at home today, but at the midwife I had gone down 2 pounds since my weigh in on Monday.

What's up with my Body? I had some contractions this morning.  Between my ultrasound and my actual appointment I had like 45 minutes of waiting and I was feeling contractions, so I'd look at the clock each time...they were coming regularly every 10 minutes.  And they continued to come every 10 minutes (not very strongly) for about 2 hours.  But then they stopped.

Because this was going on, I asked the midwife to check me and see if I'm dilating.  (In case you aren't aware, midwives don't do this automatically at your appointments, only on request)  I had debated whether I wanted her to check me or not because it can be so discouraging...or it can bring on false hope.  She was like, "your about 1 cm dilated and your cervix is about this thick" and she held her finger and thumb apart about 2 inches.  Oye.

However, she DID touch his head, so he's WAAAAYYYYY down there and as soon as that dilates enough for him, he's gonna like, fall out!!

In the meantime.  I am miserable.  My skin is so stretched out at the bottom of my belly that I have a rash and it itches constantly... the kind of itching like if you have a rubberband around your wrist for too long and when you take it off it hurt-itches.

We're still having 100 degree weather.

The silver lining in all this is that Sadie has been so happy and so cute lately and I have really loved being around her.

Gender? It's a boy!  You can read about our ultrasound appointment and see pictures if you go to this post here.  Today the ultrasound tech said, "whoa!!  That really is a boy isn't it!!"  haha...then she printed out an AWESOME picture of his little tender bits.

Emotions: Oh my gosh I am so grumpy!  I am sick of people telling me about their pregnancies.  I don't want to talk about it anymore.  My poor students (luckily, they get emails from me, so I have time to think through my words and be tactful), because they are so irritating to me right now.  Today I told Chelsea that all I wanted to do was go back in my bedroom and cry because I just felt like I was overwhelmed with emotions.  

Really, I'm awesome to be around right now.

Baby name: I think we've FINALLY chosen our name.  But I think you're gonna have to wait until he's born to find out what it is!!

Best moment of the week: I got my burst of energy that comes at the end, in about an hour I did dishes, scrubbed toilets, cleaned the kitchen, mopped the kitchen and dining room floors, vacuumed the living room rugs, and took a shower.  I was convinced we were going to the hospital that night... but nope, I'm still pregnant.

What I'm looking forward to: My bags are packed, the car seat is installed, my mom comes on Tuesday... let's get on with this!!

If you're lucky, I'll post a picture tomorrow. :)

Bump Watch - 38 weeks!

This week has been a LOOOOOONG one.  We have been out of the house everyday for some kind of appointment...mostly for Sadie.  Monday, I had my non-stress test, then Sadie had Physical Therapy.  Tuesday we had a meeting at the school for Sadie's preschool transition.  Wednesday we saw Dr. Kwasnica at 8:45 in the morning.  Thursday I had an ultrasound at the same time Sadie and Daddy went to go get the new wheelchair.  And today, I had teacher inservice, so I was at a conference center for in-person meetings all day.  I am SO thankful that Brian took this week off of work.  And I am SO exhausted, even though I had all his help (and he helped A LOT!)

So, my ultrasound/midwife appointment this week was cool.  I had a different ultrasound tech and about half way through, she turned on the 3D.  I GOT TO SEE MY BABY!  You can tell just from the normal ultrasound that he looks like Sadie, but this was amazing.  He has her little button nose and her chubby cheeks.  At one point he even smiled, and we could see him blinking (so weird).  I started crying.  It was so amazing.  She printed out pictures for me, I'll share them with you, but our scanner wasn't working, so I had to take pictures of them with the camera and upload them, so they're kinda sucky... 

He has his hand up by his face, but you can see him smiling a little here

Look at that cute face!!

His head and his belly measured 39 weeks + 1 day and the ultrasound was on 38 weeks exactly.  So, he's big, but not outrageously so.  You could see the layer of fat on his belly, he's so very healthy.  I can't wait to see his little face, and I'm hoping he has a head of red hair like Sadie did when she was born.  I am so excited!

The midwife said that the ultrasound/Biophysical Profile looked awesome.  She asked if I wanted to be checked, because midwives don't check you every week automatically unless you want to.  I said no and that I don't even feel like I'm anywhere near labor.  But we did go over my birth plan (I brought her a copy) and she said everything looks pretty much like what everybody requests...except for the antibiotics.  But, we just need to make sure we remind them when we call initially to say I'm in labor that we're the ones who want the antibiotics even though I'm GBS negative.

And that was it... I go back in on Monday to start it all over again!!

How far along?  38 weeks...and not feeling a thing yet that is anything like labor.

Weight Gain? I weighed myself this morning and I'm at +47.7 lbs.  At this point I might be losing a little weight.  However, my baby is OVER 8lbs and they're now predicting over 9lbs at birth if I go full term!  WAHOOOOOOOO!

What's up with my Body? I hurt.  I hurt when I sit and I hurt when I stand and I hurt when I lay down and I hurt when I go to the bathroom.  I hurt when I walk and I hurt when I lift Sadie and I hurt when I breathe.  Brian asked me tonight if I needed a WAAHHHH-mbulance.  I told him yes.

Sleeping isn't so hard still, thank goodness.  What's hard is getting up 5-6 times a night to go to the bathroom.  And turning over is hard.  I feel bad for Brian, because I grunt and moan when I get up and when I turn over and I'm SURE he's not getting really good sleep either!

And did I mention that I hurt?

Gender? It's a boy!  You can read about our ultrasound appointment and see pictures if you go to this post here.

Emotions: I cried when I saw my baby in 3D on the ultrasound.  That's all.  

Baby name: I think we've FINALLY chosen our name.  But I think you're gonna have to wait until he's born to find out what it is!!

Best moment of the week: Sadie's new wheelchair.  I was really sad that I had to miss the appointment when Sadie was fitted, but I'm SO GLAD we got it!!  And I love it!!

What I'm looking forward to: Baby Shower tomorrow!!

How baby's growing: Baby's organs are all mature and ready for life outside the womb!  Now he just has to pick a time and make his grand entrance!

all belly ( see the crib set up behind me?!)