prepping for the birth day

Oh, this pregnancy has flown. I think the combination of it not being my first baby as well as having a toddler to chase after has helped the time pass much faster than it did when I was pregnant with Evie. During my first pregnancy I remember thinking time couldn't possibly go slower as we approached my due date. And this time, it feels like I can barely get our bags packed for the hospital, probably because they still aren't completely ready at 37 weeks!

Baby boy was head down at my last three appointments, which is fantastic news since Evie was breech from about 32 weeks until 37 weeks. As a result of his position though, I've been getting a lot kicks to my ribs. He just feels bigger in general than Evie did, but who knows, could also be his position.

I've had some Braxton Hicks, but nothing crazy. I think I actually had more of them with Evie. Evie and I try to walk a mile or two almost every day, and if I am lucky I squeeze in a trip to the gym once a week for some type of cardio. I've definitely been noticing my physical limitations lately though as a result of my rapidly growing belly and the final weeks of pregnancy.

Let's see, if the notes from my first pregnancy are accurate, then I weigh about 4-5 pounds more with this baby than I did with Evie at this point in the pregnancy. Again, not that surprised as I feel like baby boy is a bit bigger. Or maybe it's the Nutella I have on a daily basis.

Sleeping is becoming more challenging. Between having trouble falling asleep because my mind is racing through my 20 check lists, having to get up to pee 2-3 times a night, and some really wild dreams, I've been tossing and turning most nights. I think this must be God's way of preparing mom's for newborn sleep patterns and nighttime feedings.

Evie is now 22 months old and "enjoying" her last days as an only child. I've been trying to snuggle, kiss and love on her more these past few weeks knowing just "mommy and Evie" time won't be as readily available once the baby arrives. I've so enjoyed the special time Evie and I have had together for the past two years and wouldn't trade it for the world. It's weird to think she will never remember life without a baby brother. Some days I do think she knows her world is about to flip flop. She's been super clingy for mommy lately and just more affectionate overall. She also now says, "I wuv you Mommy" and "I wuv you, Daddy," which can I just say is the best sound in the world.

In preparation for the upcoming arrival of our son, I've been trying to mentally, physically and emotionally prepare for the birth and first days weeks months with a newborn. I think my doula hit it on the nose when she said during the first pregnancy we fear the unknown. During the second, we fear the known. In some ways preparing for baby two has been easier because I know just what I need to take to the hospital. I know (generally speaking) what to expect in terms of labor. Breastfeeding will be more familiar this time. And most importantly, I know that once I'm holding our new baby in my arms, all the pregnancy symptoms, preparation and laboring will have been totally worth it.

I have to brag on Ryan a little because he has honestly been such a trooper these past few months. I went into crazy "gear up for baby" mode around 30 weeks, and without complaining even a little he's jumped into every project I have handed him. He's painted rooms, finished furniture, hung a million things on the walls and still manages to fix and maintain all other aspects of our house and yard while working a 40+ hour job every week. I don't know what I did to deserve this guy, but I do know that I am the luckiest.

As we eagerly await little man's debut, I'm trying not to overthink everything or allows lists to consume my daily to-do's. I think we finally might be able to sit back, relax and just wait for the most part now!

And lastly, here are a few photos from the last month or so, sadly all coming from my iPhone. Next post just might be an introduction to the newest member of our family!

Evie loves ketchup, or "chep-up" as she likes to call it on EVERYTHING.

I'm so glad it's finally fall so Evie can start wearing these boots!

The park up the street had a small petting farm about a month ago. Evie wasn't too sure about this guy.

Like last pregnancy, Ryan has been collecting my favorite pumpkin beers to enjoy after the baby comes! 

This girl is too funny at breakfast time. 

Matching Bears jerseys thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Ytterberg! Ryan even has her saying "Go Bears."Proud daddy right there. 

Although a little nervous about a trip "far" from home so close to the due date, Ryan and I traveled for an evening to Louisville to watch two of our closest friends from college say "I do" this weekend.

The beautiful bride and one of my dearest friends. 

Most of these guys all lived with Ryan in college at some point and were also some of our closest friends. It was fun to catch up with them at the wedding after so much time had passed (for some 5 years!) It felt good to laugh so hard I cried while telling old stories from MU. 

21 months and 32 weeks

Time is passing by at lightning speed it seems. Here I am just two months out from my due date and Evie at 21 months is quickly approaching the BIG T-W-O!

Pregnancy, thus far, really has been a breeze (minus a little blood sugar hiccup which turned out to be nothing, luckily, because I wasn't quite ready to give up my weekly ice cream and daily bites of Nutella). Baby boy moves a lot at night like his sister did. I can actually feel him up in my ribs this pregnancy, which I never ever experienced with Evie. It's not painful (at least not yet anyway). I talked to my doula about it and she explained that with Evie she was just sitting there quite low on my hips. The way I carried her probably had a lot to do with my excruciating back labor. But this time around since my body has already gone through the birthing process I am able to carry him more normally, hence the reason I feel him so much higher. In other words, I think she was trying to tell me baby boy has more room in there since Evie stretched everything out the first go around. Yay!

Other things about this pregnancy: I'm waking up several times through the night, not only just to relieve my bladder, but for no apparent reason. My belly button comes out at the end of the day which is super weird and never happened with Evie.

In preparation for the baby we've been working to get a nursery together for him while also re-doing Evie's room. Something tells me these next few months are going to come and go much faster than my to-do list can handle. To be honest though, nothing could be as stressful as when we moved into our new house when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Evie, and for that I am grateful.

Evie has me laughing so much these days. She says the silliest things and is really becoming a great communicator.  Her one word responses are now two and even three word phrases. For example, she thinks she is "you." I guess I can understand this confusion. After all, we frequently say things to her like, "It's for you!" or "Where are you?," or "I love you" So her favorite game is hiding from us and then we pretend she's in all these different spots before we "find her." While we are searching and she's hiding she will yell, "Are youuuu? Finddddd youuuu." That actually means: "Where am I? Find me."

Some other favorite Evie phrases include:

Hi Mommy. Hi Daddy. Hi Ah-vie. (Evie)

All fall down.  (And then throws herself to floor in reference to Ring Around the Rosie)

Oh no flew away. (Nothing ever runs aways. Bunnies, squirrels, dogs, birds. They all flew away.)

Hold you. (Again with the you confusion. She really means hold me.)

Dank you. Welcome. (She both thanks me and you usually replies your welcome for me before I can answer.)

Mommy wif you. (Mommy come with me)

Tickle you. Hug you. Kisses. (Her new phrase at the end of day when I tell her daddy is on his way home).

She also finally plummeted out of her crib, a noise I am really OK with never hearing again. Even with the toddler bed set up in her room, I still don't feel like she (or I for that matter) am ready to take on the huge task of helping her adjust to a new bed just a couple of months before the baby arrives. So instead, to prevent any future escapes, we took the entire frame out of the crib and just put the mattress on the floor. I don't think she will be able to climb out now until she's at least 9 or 10. ;)

And finally some pics from the last month....

An Evie Update

It's been a while since I sat down to write out all the fun (and not so fun) things Evie is up to lately. She's changing all the time. I wrote part of this blog about two weeks ago, and already I noticed some of it needed updated.

In the last few months we've seen a huge change in vocabulary. She went from being able to say 10-15 words to basically repeating everything we say.

Some frequent words include:  airpane (air plane), puh-ole (puzzle), oatmeal, milk, car, ca-or (color), sit, milk, peas (please), dank you (thank you), poop, da-ee (daddy), mum (mom), cuddle, boo boo, Elmo

And the list goes on.

She also likes to say things are stinky, that bugs are yucky and scream HELP for us when she wants us to play with her. If she gets a bite of something to eat that she really likes, she will say "mmm good." She likes to say that her dolls or stuffed animals pooped and then tell me to "check."

Latest obsessions: puzzles, coloring (she wants to color alllll the time), stars (literally says "shtar" a hundred times a day and wants me to draw them), buses (mainly the wheels on the bus song and book, but also real buses when we are out and about), the driver on the bus (from the song, in which she yells "moo back!"aka "Move on Back"), Elmo, washing our hands, eating oatmeal, kissing boo boos, helping daddy (whenever Ryan is working on a house project, Evie becomes so involved, bringing him every single tool/screw/paper that is on the floor and saying "here go")

Dislikes: Nursery at church (screams the minute we pull in the parking lot), diaper changes, getting dressed, going to bed, really any time that she doesn't get what she wants

Other things: Evie hasn't fallen out yet, but we are pretty sure she would climb right out of her crib if we didn't see it on the monitor and run in to stop her. We went ahead and bought a toddler bed and put it in her room to get her familiar with the idea. We turned her car seat forward facing right around 19 months, and she seems to enjoy the ride a little more. She went through a two week period of inconsolable crying at night right around the time she figured out how to get out of crib. Needless to say we were all pretty tired. She continues to be a picky eater, with some days being great and others a battle to get anything but pretzels and granola bars down.

Right at 18 months Evie stopped nursing. We had been nursing only at bed time for a few months, but it got to a point where I felt like she could take it or leave it. It was also becoming somewhat uncomfortable with me being pregnant. I am so very grateful for such a wonderful breastfeeding experience and many sweet, sweet memories with my girl. Breastfeeding was so much more than I ever expected it to be and something I have become quite passionate about. And although it was somewhat emotional to finally call it quits, I know Evie and I were both ready.

Evie continues to have a mighty personality. She doesn't take no very well and puts up a fight when things aren't going her way. It's been a struggle figuring out how to set boundaries with her and help her understand why we said no. I think it's starting to sink in because after she realizes that I am disappointed with her, she says "hug and kiss" so we do...it's so sweet. She also tries to weasel her way out of things. Like at bed time when she knows we are heading upstairs, she all of sudden needs milk and wants to do a puzzle. Nice try, kid.

We're in another difficult sleep stage with Evie. She won't go to sleep without Ryan or I in the room and she takes forever to fall asleep. She's also waking up in the middle of the night, and because she can climb out of crib we have to go into her room, lay down next to her crib and then wait for her to go back to sleep which can sometimes take an hour. This is about ZERO fun at 2 in the morning.

This age is a blast, but it definitely has had some challenges, mainly figuring out how to best correct and redirect Evie when she disobeys, hits, throws, or whatever else she gets into. Overall she's a super smart, affectionate and adventurous little girl with a big personality. Big sister is going to suit her well. We love her to pieces.

And finally....some pics to sum up our last few months.....


Trip to Chicago & Bethany Beach over the 4th of July Weekend

A lot of playing outside and at the park

Finding out we are having a....

Last week we had the great pleasure of finding out the sex of our sweet baby at my 20 week ultrasound. It's hard to come up with cute and original gender reveal ideas these days, so we opted for a simple surprise that included a big breakfast and an envelope.

Ryan took half a day at work and was able to come with Evie and I to the appointment. We closed our eyes for the "gender part" of the scan and asked the ultrasound tech to write the sex on a notecard and then place it in the envelope I had provided.

Let me first say that when I was pregnant with Evie, something inside of me told me it was DEFINITELY a girl. I wasn't at all surprised when Ryan and I found out that our first baby was in fact female. This time around, the pregnancy has been pretty different compared to when I was carrying Ev. I haven't had hardly any morning sickness with baby #2, I'm not carrying as low, and my face is breaking out like I'm in junior high all over again. (awesome, let me tell ya.)

That said, I've really been thinking that this time it was going to be a boy. Not that I necessarily believe all the gender prediction tests and so forth, but my gut was telling me boy. Apparently my OB also believes that if a mom has a strong feeling about what the sex of her baby is, then she is right about 80% of the time. I'm not sure what type of scientific data he has to back this, but I like the idea of a mom's intuition being spot on.

On the car ride home we stopped at a breakfast place near our house where we were planning to open the envelope. Would Evie be getting a baby sis or little brother? I was pretty giddy to find out at this point, and as I went to open it, Ryan last minute exclaimed, "It's a girl." But, to his surprise when I pulled out the notecard it said "It's a boy!" Big smiles all around. We are so excited to be having our first little boy and cannot, cannot wait to meet him!

As you can imagine, Evie was pretty pumped for her little brother too, so we celebrated with a gigantic chocolate chip pancake and some crayons. I glanced over during breakfast and Evie had colored on the notecard with blue! Coincidence?!