23 weeks

16 and 1/2 weeks remain until this little nugget/baby bird is welcomed into the world. i feel badly calling it a nugget if it turns out to be a baby girl, because that just doesn't sound very delicate and we'll probably have caused her a complex before she is born. as i get each week closer and closer, which seems to be moving at record-breakingly slow speeds, i get the aching (in a good way) feeling that we might be welcoming a little lady into our homestead. at first, i was heartbroken to think that was an option, but i'm getting more excited with each passing day that finn would have a sister to watch out for the rest of his life. as always though, i am not going to get fixed on the idea of pink and sugarplums invading our overwhelmingly testosterone-driven toy room/baby room/kids' bathroom/world. if it's a boy, this crazy fighting, kicking, screaming, throwing, rumble-tumble life will just continue. i'm excited about that option, too.

yesterday, i asked finn if he wanted a baby boy or baby girl and for the first time, he didn't just say no. while he wouldn't make a choice and declare his desire for this baby, this is major progress. he coyly said it was his baby. i'm excited he's beginning to get interested.

touch my belly!

yesterday on our nightly walk, we passed by a couple neighbors we hadn't met yet, and the woman asked me when i was due! finally! people are confident enough that i'm pregnant to ask. the last few weeks i've been almost there, but it's official people. i look pregnant!

i'm over halfway there. i cannot believe it. i feel like i'm so unprepared to have two. finn makes sure to show me daily that i already have my hands full with just him, so i will have quite the adventure when i'm trying to get him to stop jumping off the side of his chair (which he doing right now) while breastfeeding a newborn and trying not to lift over 20 pounds (yeah right) and keeping the house a little bit clean and getting finn to stop dialing on the phone and changing double the poopy diapers and washing all those poopy baby clothes and pumping and trying to take a quick nap and ... i wish i were an elephant. they have a 22 month pregnancy, so i would still have a long long way to go and more time to worry about how this whole mom-of-two thing works.

but i need to stop getting ahead of myself. i'm pregnant. with an amazing little creation. while the pregnancy itself has made me feel pretty disgusting, the last 4 weeks have momentously made up for them. this kid has been bumping and kicking and what feels like surfing from one side to the other. i will never get tired of this. it's a daily reminder that the vomiting and headaches and backaches and constipation are completely worth it, and that in 18 short weeks, there will be another new person on this planet. a person that i really hope looks a lot like finn. because come on, he's pretty awesome!

this sucks!

i've been gone from this blog for a while. for good reason though. i hate pregnancy and don't know what else to talk about. i'm already 20 pounds up, my back hurts, i get headaches every day, my vagina feels like it is already opening for a baby to drop out, i just look fat not pregnant, and i'm sweaty and shiny all the time. boo. what part of this is fun? i thought God cursed eve by making labor painful, not the entire pregnancy.

good news. i am living through this and at the end a baby awaits. i'm hoping that i start to feel less obese and more pregnant. i started working out more. by more, i mean once a week, but it is progress. i'm also somewhat focused on eating better. i think my diet of crap and mcdonalds and lard has probably helped the process of weight gain, so fruits and veggies, here i come.

i'm done whining. i love you all and i'll post cute pictures of finn soon, so you won't be so depressed by my sad sad life that i am projecting here.

2's update

baby bump is right on track according to the doctor. the crazy happy doctor who talked for twenty minutes straight at a rate faster than my sister-in-law alyssa after a tall starbucks cinnamon dolce latte. i mean, seriously, this doctor was unloading all of her wisdom on me. at one point, i said, "yeah, i remember all of this from the first time around." she paused for about 3 seconds, then continued on at rapid fire pace. i just nodded and said "yes" every few seconds and she seemed content to continue on with the information. but speed-talking doctor has a butt-load of knowledge and experience and was overwhelmingly excited to talk about all things baby and pelvis and vaginal birth and upcoming ultrasounds, so she is now officially my ob. she'll fit the bill and grab the baby as it hops out. yes, i'm hoping for the baby to literally hop out of my vagina, instead of getting stuck in a sub-horizontal position like finn. it will happen. i have faith. and so does doctor m. at least i think that's what she was saying. my mind was too busy wandering to the huge decision of whether to get a mcdonald's sweet tea or a sonic real fruit slushie on my way home.

the real update: the heart beat is identical to finn's at 148. and she's confident that it is a single baby and not a litter. oh, and i've already gained 15 pounds. i looked ridiculously cute today though in spite of the weight. i make an extra effort to look cute on days that i go to the ob, because there is something about going in and making sure the doctors and nurses know i've got my stuff together. i really don't want whispering behind my back "she's having another baby...just look how she looks with one." so yeah, i looked pretty fantastic and the new nugget is growing exponentially.

a second round

a few weeks ago, i apologized for the lack of posting and made up some lame excuse about how nothing exciting was really going on and how i guess i was just busy with the mundane day-to-day stuff. i'm sure this is partially true, because i am frequently and currently drowning in the day-to-day. but there's also another reason for the hiatus. i had news to share that made all the silly stories feel unworthy to write about. news that i just wasn't ready to share until today.

i feel like i'm screaming, "ATTENTION WORLD" almost as loud as oprah scream-announces her guests.

this little family is growing! come january, we will be welcoming another little bundle of joy. yes. january. another stupid winter baby. the stupid part correlates with the winter part, not another baby part. i was built for the summer. i can stand outside in 80+ weather and enjoy every moment of sweating my guts out. but winter. blah. i just want to hibernate. sleep, eat, sleep, wear clothing directly out of the dryer, eat, sleep. add a baby to that, and i think the sleep part might be a little affected. but i'll sacrifice. we've waited for this to happen for a long while and it did. we finally heard the heart beat last week. it was strong and the doctor said things looked good!

so now you know why i've been ignoring sharing my life with you. it's because everything we do reminds me of the fact that i'm pregnant and stories are hard to tell without mentioning it. every restaurant we've gone to is because "baby" is craving it. every weekend away has been emphasized by sharing our news with family and friends. every activity we have done has been thwarted by me wanting to vomit my brains out. and oh the cute-cute stories of finn telling me he doesn't want a baby brother OR a baby sister. or how he pokes me in the belly button and screams "baby"in public. or how he sees babies in strollers and gets so giddy that i know he'll eventually come around to wanting one of his own. or how we've been working on his new room so he can move across the hallway into a big boy bed. oh, the things that i can tell you now. i'm so excited you know.

finally, we can cross number 16 off the list.