28 Week Appointment

For some reason they have me down as 28 weeks 4 days. That might be going off my ultrasound, though. (I'm 28 weeks 1 day according to LMP.) Interesting. Anyway, here are the stats...

Results of the Glucose Tolerance Test: Not diabetic! :) However, I am a little anemic. I was with Anna, too. To tell you the truth, I might always be... I don't like red meats or sea food... or a lot of foods that are rich in iron. Go figure.

My weight: 138. :) Up 2 lbs from last appointment. The average is a pound a week, so I'm averaging 1/2 lb per week. That's still within the norm. No worries there. I need ice cream. hmmm Might need to fix that.

My BP: 108/58

Charlie...

Fundus: 29.5, big jump from last time, but that's probably because... (see below)

Charlie is breech this week. Sigh. I freaked out on the way home. I do not want a Caesarian! I had a hard time with my recovery from having Anna (episiotomy) and the pain meds they gave me. Pain meds are not optional with abdominal surgery. Please, God, turn this little guy vertex!

Heartbeat: 128-132 bpm

That was the gist of the appointment. Eat more iron-rich foods. Find foods that I like that contain iron or take a supplement. Blueberries, spinach, nuts, beans, oatmeal. Good thing they don't check for calcium. I don't like to drink milk or eat yogurt and I rarely eat cheese... if only ice cream was a healthy food! Oh, ice cream sounds good... frozen yogurt? Is that a good alternative? Hmmm... I think I'll have to do some Googling.

Zoo Day Pics!

We went to the Oregon Zoo after my Glucose test (bad idea on my part, by the way, but a good idea overall). I was tired and didn't have a lot of energy - of course that could just be a pregnancy thing - but Anna had a wonderful time! Above are some of my favorite pictures from that morning. :)

27 Weeks: Third Trimester!

• The fetus weighs almost 2 pounds now and is about 14.5 inches long.
• Baby now weighs about 875 grams and is 36.5 cm in length.
• The head is over 2.5 inches (7cm) in diameter.
• Your baby's hearing continues to develop.
• The eyes can blink, open and close.

Me:
Weight: 135 in the morning, 138 in the afternoon
Size: Large and in charge!
Feeling: Tired. Back hurts, stomach muscles are struggling to hang on, toes can no longer be seen (picture above is deceptive), belly button threatens to pop out (evidence above), multiple pee-stops at night. Waiting for results of Glucose Tolerance Test. 28 week appointment is scheduled for next week - then bimonthly appointments begin! :) I need more maternity shirts - With Anna, she was tucked in for a long time and I carried her deeply. Charlie is out there for the world to see!
Charlie: He does a lot of rolling and stretching, but rarely do I feel any sharp kicks or jabs. He's most active late at night.
Anna: Thinks Charlie will come out ready to climb trees with her. I think she doesn't realize he will have very little mobility for a while!
Wishful thinking birthday: I hope he comes on October 16th so I will only miss one class and will have more than a week to recover. :)

26 Weeks

Gestation: 26 Weeks
Time left: 14 weeks, 98 days
Weight: 136.5
Feeling: OK. I am actually liking my cute little bump!
Cute Anna thing: Anna wakes up in the morning, hugs my tummy and kisses it, then says, "Good morning, baby Charlie." :)

25 Weeks

I measured my natural waist today, around my belly button. I'll post that measurement below. Not a whole lot to report on this end. I feel so sleepy and thirsty all of the time. I am making middle-of-the-night pee trips already. This is going to be a long 3-4 more months! Meanwhile, we're going through our household items and planning on a garage sale to raise money for a grad school fee (350 dollars... ugh). Hopefully we meet and/or exceed that goal. I really need to go to school this fall!

Natural waist: 36 inches
Weight: 137.5
Gestation: 25 weeks today
Glucose tolerance test: tomorrow. Wish me luck! I'm hoping to take the test here in Oregon (we're visiting) and transfer the info up to Washington. We'll see if they care about that. It was my MIL's idea and I really don't think it's as cut-n-dry as she thinks it is. Then again, going outside the rules or norms makes me uncomfortable naturally, so we'll see if it's just me or not. haha. :)

In other baby news, my sister-in-law CJ has been feeling dizzy and yucky for a while now. She's 37 weeks and we'll see if she has pre-e and will be induced tomorrow. Wishing her luck! She's tired and feels like crap, so maybe we'll get to meet little Isaiah a tad early!

24 Week Appointment Stats

Me...
136 pounds
BP 110/60

Charlie...
Fundal height/measurement - 23 weeks
150 bpm heart rate

The midwife let Anna help measure my tummy and as the the MW held the doppler up to my tummy, Anna talked into the doppler like a walkie-talkie and said, "Hi, Baby Charlie!" So cute! And when I said we were going to the doctor to check on Charlie, Anna asked if I was going to push him out yet. She's really excited. :)

Fourth of July Photos

Unfortunately my camera died early in the day, but here are a couple of my favorites. :)
The little boy pictured is Anna's second cousin Elijah. He was waiting for Anna out front when we pulled into the driveway. When they saw each other, they were calling each other's names and ran toward one another and hugged - too cute. :)

24 Weeks (in two days)

We have been so busy lately that I've really neglected updating. Anyway, I'm 23 weeks 5 days right now. I'll be 24 weeks in two days. Charlie is technically already there, but ah, well... Thursday is still my day to say that I'm officially in the next week. :) Charlie is quite the kicker. He does have quiet days, though - and those days make me nervous! I love this little guy and I can't wait to meet him on the outside. Anna wakes up and hugs my belly every morning and kisses it and says, "Good morning, baby Charlie." When that happens, I must be very careful not to rub her back too much or she'll say, "I'm hugging baby Charlie, not you." Out of the mouths of babes. haha :) She's going to be a fantastic big sister!!!

As for symptoms... most bad symptoms have disappeared, with the exception of back and hip aches. I guess that's the magic of having your second baby - you get to be in more pain earlier! Wahoo? I guess it's for a good cause. hehe ;)

For the most part, I'm just enjoying my cute new bump. Soon I'll be much more uncomfortable and large. I'll take it all in stride, just as I take all of life - that's the secret, you know.

This photo was taken yesterday on the Fourth of July. I'm on the left and my beautiful sister-in-law CJ is on the right. Shes' 36 weeks - nearly full term! We're both having little boys. I think they'll have fun playing together someday. :)

Bed Trained... on Her Own!

Just like many of the things Anna has done in her life, she has done it on her own. No fuss from mom and dad! A few days ago, Anna decided she wanted to sleep in her own bed (usually she sleeps in our bed). Ever since, she's been sleeping in her bed all night long. It's been almost a week now. She did this with potty training, too. She was so easy to potty train! She was so easy to get to eat solids and to wean. She is just such an easy child. I'm pretty sure the next one will be trouble! haha!

22 Weeks 3 Days

Today I'm 22 weeks 3 days along, but since Charlie is measuring +4 days, I might as well be 23 weeks! The bump is growing quite a bit. Yesterday, I swear I was larger than this and two days ago I was huge! He must have switched positions again. I think he's still in the breech position, so sometimes I don't feel his kicks too consistently which is worrisome, but thanks to the magical internet, I know that this is normal. By this time with Anna (22 weeks), I could see her foot jutting out and running across my tummy. No go this time around. I guess every pregnancy really is different. I'm just praying that Mr. C goes head-down before go time. I do not want to be cut open! I'm actually hoping for a natural birth (no meds, no episiotomy, nothing). We'll see if I get my wish. Just pray for me.

Symptoms: Aching hips and tummy seem to be my biggest complaints lately. Between 19 and 24 weeks, baby doubles in size... that basically translates to a lot of discomfort on this end. Ah, well. :) I guess it's all for a good cause.

Anna's Preschool Graduation Day

Anna actually "graduated" at the beginning of the month, but I'm a slacker. :) Anyway, it was so much fun. It's always fun to see her in her little world with all of her friends and her teachers. There was a pinata, which she loved. There was food and candy and all kinds of good things. This wasn't a true graduation for Anna. Unfortunately she has to wait another year before going to kindergarten due to her birthday. Paul and I personally believe she's smart enough to go on, but she's still too young. I'm sure she'll miss her friends next year and it breaks my heart that she won't have her best friend Clark by her side next year, but I'm sure she'll make a new best friend and she'll make many more between now and the time she graduates from college. I'll just try not to worry about it much. :)

Dear Daughter

Dear Anna,

You are four now, but you'll always be my baby girl. When you graduate from kindergarten, you'll be my baby girl. When you graduate high school and college, I'll weep because you're my baby girl. When you hold your own children, freshly born, I'll look on you in pride - because you are my baby girl.

I'm proud of you. It's as simple as that. I've snapped thousands of pictures of you over the years because the years just keep flying by. Seeing you grow is both wonderful and horrifying. Horrifying, why? Because it's going by so fast! It's a blur! It truly is. You're my darling girl. I love you so much. Sometimes I've been afraid that I could possibly love another child like I love you. I love you that much. Of course, seeing your baby brother has changed all of that. It's a different love, but an equal love. Motherhood is a mystery, I suppose. It's a mystery followed by a mystery followed by more mysteries. You wonder how you'll possibly be able to do something and then it magically works out. Well, maybe it's not magic. It's just motherhood. It's one of those amazing things. One of those inexplicable things.

My wishes for you, my child, my first born, the one who taught me how to mother are as follows: I want for you to never forget your Father. People come and out of our lives. They come, they leave, they die. Sometimes they hurt you. Sometimes they don't. But there is One who never hurts and never leaves. I'm not perfect. I've forgotten on many occasions, but when I remember or come around to remembering, the clouds part.

Earthly things. Deep friendships, wonderful memories, love and family, fulfilling missions, forgiveness, peace, education, learning, people to look up to academically and spiritually, a friendship that is deep and lasting with your brother, a realization that no matter what there is always something worse (not better... worse... why? because thankfulness is a good perspective in life), kindness, charity... And every good thing in life.

I love you, my spunky, silly, smart, athletic, goofy, artistic and wonderful daughter.

Love,
Mom

Dear Son

Dear Charles,

My wish for you is to be a strong and centered man someday. I want you to have a love for the Lord. I want you to do things better than I did. I want for you to have an excellent education and to pursue the things you love. I want you to know that it's OK for a man to cry. I want you to do those things in this world, but to never forget the Things that matter most. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the ephemeral, sweet boy. Don't let it take your spirit away. Cars and houses may be nice, but in the end there are things that matter much more than these. I pray you know the difference. Most of all, I pray I can do a good job at showing you that difference.

I want for you to be friends with your sister. You may be opposites, but I hope that you two cling to the things that are the same. I want your relationship to be meaningful. I want it to be a deep friendship.

I want love to touch your life. I know that pain will touch it - it touches everyone's, but I hope you bounce back. "Joy comes with the morning", Charlie. Sometimes we have terrible things happen to us. Sometimes people we love die. Sometimes it seems like the world is falling down around our ears, but inevitably joy rebounds - inevitably something good comes along and the bad things are just a terrible and vague memory. When the bad things happen, don't forget this. It's OK to question and to run - we're only human - and I think that in the end it makes us stronger. It makes our Faith stronger.

Most of all, I hope and pray that I can be a good mother to you. I love you already. I don't want to fail you. I'm not sure yet what it takes to raise a son right. Thankfully I'm not alone in this. Your dad is an amazing man and he is so excited to have a son - just as he was excited to have a daughter. Our love for you two is equal but different. I'm sure we'll spend the rest of our lives figuring out how to parent you two. I'm sure that when I'm sixty I'll snap my fingers and say, "I've figured it out!" I'll make mistakes along the way and I'll make triumphs. Either way, everything will be done in love.

Love,
Mom

20 Weeks: Pics

20 weeks 1 day. Charlie is measuring +4 days.
Anna loves to be in these pictures... my little cutie. hehe :)

Anna: Preschool and Summer Pictures

(Above: This is Anna with her best friend Clark. Real cuties, these two.)