12 Days

I haven't really written that much about our second pregnancy and thought it was about time to give everyone an update since we are rapidly approaching Baby #2's due date.

A couple of weeks ago, we had some maternity shots taken by Carley Kay Photography. If you haven't heard me talk about her before, you must check out her work, she is amazing. Even in my very large, pregnant, swollen state, she managed to capture some great photos. Never mind the 90 degree, 100% humidity weather and mosquito invested grass! You can see more of the pictures here. The picture above and picture of Ethan sitting on the bench are two of my favorites.

All in all, I have been feeling pretty good. The hottest summer imaginable hasn't been ideal for being pregnant, but I am trying to see the positive side of nice hot weather, as we will be dealing with snow in a couple of months. It has made for just a few miserable days and lots of A/C blasting throughout the house. The worst part about the heat...swollen hands and feet. Nothing that isn't too terrible to deal with, but annoying nonetheless. We have been blessed the last couple of days with gorgeous cooler weather, definitely a welcome change. I actually might be feeling better now than I did a month ago. There is definitely some uncomfort, making it hard to bend down, sleep at night (I end up on the couch every once in a while or get to work before 6), etc., but in all honesty, we are just happy to not be spending our days in the NICU at this point.

We had and ultrasound last week and the baby is looks wonderful. The doctor estimated the baby's weight at that time to be approximately 6 pounds, 5 ounces. That would lead him to believe that the baby's final weight will be somewhere between 7 1/2 and 8 pounds. Such a change from Ethan, but again, a welcome one! Heartbeat was 149 and has always hovered right around this mark the entire pregnancy. I thought for sure that we would have met our newest addition by this point, but now I am beginning to think I might have an October baby. I go to bed each night with much anticipation and anxiety about what is to come, but we can't wait!

People always ask me if I know what we are having...the answer is still no! Then they ask me what I think we are having. The jury is still out on this one, as I get lots of varying opinions from people. Matt thinks girl, I think boy. It is hard for me to imagine myself with a girl since I feel like my entire world revolves around trucks, tractors, trains and dirt...maybe that is why I always say I am having a boy. Truly I will be happy with either a little boy or a little girl! We don't really have names picked out. Sure we have a list of about 7 boys names and 10 girls names, but we just can't seem to narrow it down. Might be a labor discussion again like it was with Ethan!

As with Ethan, my cravings (if you can call them that) have changed throughout this pregnancy. I ate tons of ice cream with Ethan which has been a little different this time. I just love any kind of sweets this time around. Some of my favorites have been iced animal crackers, Red Vines, and pretzel M&M's. I also have really enjoyed great fruit this summer and tomatoes. Pizza has also been a favorite! I haven't been walking nearly as much as I did when I was pregnant with Ethan so, I am looking forward to getting back in to an exercise routine and going for my first run. Looks like that might be the Glen Ellyn Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day.

While I am looking forward to a couple more full nights of rest (minus about 4 trips to the bathroom each night), I am so excited to welcome another little one into this world. I can't wait to find out if I have been carrying around a little boy or girl. I can't wait to see what he or she will look like. I know they will be as sweet as ever. I can't wait for Ethan to meet his new brother or sister, he is going to make one heck of a big brother! We look forward to updating everyone on the birth of our little guy or gal. Keep checking the blog for all the updates!