Friday, February 6, 2015

Pregnancy #2

So it has been awhile since my last post and a lot has changed. Not only are we expecting our second little boy at the end of April, Chris started a new job in October and I started a new job in December. If you knew the road that lead us to where we both are today you wouldn't believe it. We certainly had our ups and downs at the end of last year but thankfully most of them were ups and we couldn't be in a better place! Most importantly we're excited that our family is growing from 3 to 4.


But my how things have changed with pregnancy #2. The only reason that I happen to know exactly how far along I am is thanks to the What to Expect app I have on my phone. It sent me a lovely reminder this morning that I am 28 weeks pregnant and our little man is about the size of a head of cauliflower. Good to know because if you had asked me yesterday how far along I was I could have given you a ball park answer. I just tell folks that I'm due April 30th.

When I was pregnant with Carter I could tell you at any moment how far along I was, Carter's approximate size and what was developing at that point. Now I'm lucky if I have a still moment to even feel the baby move. Chris will always ask me what the baby is doing and I have to force myself to sit still for a few minutes to see if I can feel him moving around. Now don't get me wrong, he loves to roll around and punch me when I'm about to go to sleep or first thing in the morning but most other times I'm so busy running around that I forget to anticipate his movements.

A friend of mine asked me the other day if I've done anything to the nursery to prepare for the baby's arrival and I just laughed. I haven't done a single thing and don't plan on it either. Baby #2 and Carter will share a room and things will stay exactly like they are. Carter's initials are above his crib and Chris was so paranoid about hanging them that he pretty much bolted them to the wall. I vividly remember him telling me when he hung them that we'd have to sell them with the house because they're never coming off the wall, ha! So poor baby will just have to go with Carter's initials for now (luckily they're only off by one letter).




Carter slept in the Rock n' Play until he was four months old and I'm hoping that his little brother will do the same. Carter isn't ready to transition into a big boy bed and mom and dad aren't ready to deal with it, so we'll worry with that at a later date. In the meantime, we'll eventually move the Rock n' Play into Carter's room so they can become accustomed to sharing space and we'll figure the rest out later. I have too much on my hands right now to stress about when and how we're going to handle it! And that's what the Fairlington MOMs Club is for, right? They always help you get through everything!

My SIL recently returned our baby swing to us and Carter loves us it. Boy, that will be fun to deal with when there is actually a little baby in the swing!
I really enjoyed my pregnancy with Carter. It's not that I haven't enjoyed this pregnancy but it has been so different. When I was pregnant with Carter I would come straight home from work, plop on the couch and watch TV until around 7:00/7:30p.m. and then Chris and I would eventually figure out a dinner plan. I napped all weekend long, took walks whenever I wanted, went for massages, read books about my pregnancy and preparing for Carter's arrival and didn't worry about anything but myself. Boy have times changed.

Nowadays I leave work at 5:00p.m. to get home in time to pick Carter up from Gavin's house (where we do our nanny share). Typically when I walk in their front door Carter collapses to the ground, rolling around because he doesn't want to leave. That makes putting his jacket and hat on a ton of fun. God bless our sweet nanny, who has started to put Carter's jack and hat on and puts his book bag on his back before I even get there. That helps us get out the door in a somewhat timely fashion but then it takes us about 10 minutes to walk to our house which is only about 30 seconds away. We have to stop and sit on everyone's front porch, walk through the snow, and sometimes just fall to the ground in protest of going home. Eventually I pick him up squirming and yelling and we make our way into the house. By that time it's usually around 5:45p.m. That leaves us about 15-20 minutes to get dinner prepared and on the table. There is no lounging around the house, watching TV and casually fixing dinner when we're ready to eat. We try to sit to down to eat dinner by 6:15p.m. and we typically eat together as a family. I grew up eating dinner with my parents and brothers most nights and I think it's an important tradition to carry on. There are no phones, TV, or music, just the three of us together which is special.
Carter's first snow of the season. Notice how he isn't wearing boots or gloves, ha! It just wasn't a battle I was willing to fight that particular morning.

After dinner someone is left to handle clean up duty while the other gets the bath time routine started. That's always fun too because Carter loves to fight us when it comes time to getting into the bath tub. Once he's in he's usually fine and has a great time but then it's another battle to get him out of the tub and in his pj's. With Chris' new job he spends a lot of time in Raleigh so I find myself handling this routine on my own several times a week. Don't get me wrong, I love Carter and enjoy our time together but when you're pregnant, worked all day and then have to come home and do all of this on your own....whew. I've had my brother come over occasionally to help but that only seems to make matters worse. The last time he came over I think Carter thought I was getting ready to leave so he went into meltdown mode and wouldn't let me put him down. Fun times. I hope Brandon enjoyed his free dinner and watching TV while I dealt with a wild man.
Carter loves to wash his hands and has recently started helping us wash the dishes. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about any of this but it's amazing how different things are with subsequent pregnancies. It is no joke taking care of a toddler while you're pregnant. No one prepares you for that. I never get the compliment "wow, you look great and are glowing!" It's usually "wow, you look really tired. Are you feeling ok?"

No one told me that I'd get bigger a lot faster with the second baby either. I guess I should have realized that but wow, by week 9 I was fully showing! I didn't show with Carter until I was 4 1/2 almost 5 months pregnant. I'm so over maternity clothes too. They're terrible in my opinion. I appreciate that Old Navy and Gap offer a decent selection but I'm sick of all of it. I feel like I wear the same outfits over and over and if you know me, that's not my thing. I feel like a slob at times and it's driving me crazy. Most other lines are way over-priced. Why would I spend $200 on a dress or a pair of pants that I'll only wear a handful of times? I don't understand why they can't make some nice, affordable maternity clothes these days. Boden used to have a nice line and I went to their website the other day and they had a total of 3 pieces to choose from. I was so frustrated that I emailed their sales department and believe it or not they got back to me this morning. I was told that "though the maternity clothes were loved by many of our customers, like yourself, they were not as popular with the vast majority of our customers. Therefore, we decided to no longer continue this range. I myself disagree, as I think they were some of the most fashionable maternity clothes I have seen." I was honestly shocked to get a response and disappointed to hear the news.

I have moments of anxiety when I think about this baby's arrival and how we're going to manage two little boys, but I guess we'll just adapt and figure it out like we've done with everything else. When we took Carter to the doctor for his 2 1/2 year check-up Dr. Park warned us that we could see regression in Carter for 3-4 months after the baby arrives. Yes, can't wait for that!! I pray baby #2 is as laid back as Carter was. If not, then we're really in for it. This baby already moves around a lot more than Carter ever did so I don't know if that's a sign of what's to come or not.

I realize that the first couple of months will be an adjustment but we're all very excited about it. It's hard to beat a precious newborn baby and I will cherish every minute of it but I also look forward to the day when he and Carter can be rough and tough together. Sometimes I think Carter gets bored with us, especially over the weekends. I am so glad that he'll having a sibling, especially a brother, to play with over his life time. I know they'll be best friends and will always look after one another and especially their mom! People love to tell me how I'm going to have my hands full with two boys and while I do agree with them I'm glad that they'll have each other. I love my two brothers and wouldn't trade them for anything in this world. There is something special between siblings that you can't find anywhere else. I am so grateful that our family is growing and couldn't be more excited to continue to be outnumbered by boys.

Carter loves to drive cars, trucks, motorcycles, lawn mowers, you name it. The money we spent to take him to the Washington Auto Show was probably the best money I've ever spent.

Give Carter an iPhone, iPad or blackberry and he's content for hours.

Our family of three.....for not much longer!


2 comments:

  1. Erin! Thank you so much for sharing! I felt like you were describing my same daily routine and thoughts. I have really wanted to bond with baby # 2 but I feel like I have to write that into my daily schedule. With my first one I was constantly worried about the future and preparing for my little bundle of joy, and I am not doing that this time and it freaks me out. Honestly the ONLY alone time I have is at bedtime when everyone else has fallen asleep and only then can I catch up on my shows and surf the Internet. I so appreciate what you have to say. Thanks again. Hang in there! We got this!

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  2. Oh really love your happy fun together with your baby boy. How I wish my baby boy will now walk so that we can bond together like yours. So happy for you guys! For more baby boys linen shirts, shop only at Boutiqueken.com.

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