Curiosity

(First of all, I want to wish my wonderful husband a very happy 29th birthday!! I love you, hun!)

As we inch closer and closer to the arrival of our second child, we're both getting to that "we're really getting curious about the gender of the baby" stage. We've been through this before since we didn't find out what Audrey was until the doctor announced "it's a girl!" as she was laid on my chest for the first time. (simply, an amazing moment, by the way!) But this time my curiosity level is through the roof! With about 7 weeks to go, I find my thoughts wandering to what our home and lives would look like and how different they would be depending on the gender of #2. We like the look of both scenarios, but for some reason, I'm way more curious at this stage in the pregnancy to find out than I was the first time around!

Let me explain: When we were pregnant the first time around, it didn't seem to matter to either of us if we had a boy or a girl. Tyson, obviously, wanted a son, but we knew we didn't want only one child, so he knew it wasn't worth getting all worked up over the first child being a boy. I want a son at sometime, too, but just as much as I wanted a boy, I wanted a girl that much, too. Basically, we'd like to have at least one of each by the time we're done having kids. That being said, it would be nice to have a boy this time and have the pressure taken off to have one of each, but we are also thinking that we want more than 2 kids, so why should we care if this one is a boy or girl? #3 (or possibly #4) could be a boy. anyway...

All that to say...

Throughout the last two years we've had many friends have babies and one thing we noticed was that most of them had an ultrasound around 35-37 weeks. For whatever reason, we did not have an ultrasound that late with Audrey; our "big" ultrasound at 20 weeks was our last one. So...at my last appointment, my doctor mentioned doing an ultrasound in about a month, so we now have one last ultrasound scheduled before we meet our new little one. And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that a tiny, itty-bitty, really small part of me just wants to find out. And for those of you that really know me, that's a big deal. That's how curious I am!!! Tyson is now the one holding strong saying "we've already made it this far, we might as well wait a couple more weeks." I don't think I would actually give in when the day of the ultrasound came, but it's nice to know that Tyson will be there reminding me of how much I want that same moment with #2 that we had when we found out #1 was a girl. I'm not sure when the roles reversed, but I am very glad that it happened or else we might cave in.

But who knows...we still have about 3 weeks to decide! ;)

9 weeks to go

Dear sweet little baby,

Mommy is now 31 weeks along with you and we can hardly believe that you'll be here in such a short amount of time! I know that I told you in the last letter that we couldn't believe how fast the time has gone but seriously...the weeks are flying by!!!
Another thing I told you in the last letter was that we had a girl name pretty much picked out for you (in case you're a girl). and we've picked that name about 4 times. What I mean by that is: one of us will come up with another girl name and we'll like it for a few days and then we'll change our mind and go back to the original name we've liked since about 18 weeks. So...I'd say, we're almost set on it. ;) We've made some lists for boy names and veto-ed a few of each others' and we now have a list of about 4-5 names that we both like, but for now, there's not a real favorite. We'll work on it. Baby, you'll have a name when you're born, don't worry about it!

We have been very busy getting ready for you! We have your big sister moved into her big girl room and big girl bed, so the nursery will be all yours when you arrive! All of the newborn and 0-3 month neutral clothes are already washed and folded and put into the drawers in your dresser, the crib mattress is up on the highest setting again with the bumpers back in place and we have both a boy and girl outfit ready to take you home in!!

Kiddo, I can't get over how active you are! Especially when I'm ready to go to sleep! Just this week I started feeling you kicking me in my ribs. I feel like I'm carrying you lower than your sister was, but those kicks reminded me of how high you really are! As much as I may complain about being kicked in the ribs, I know I'll miss this precious time we have together.

One of the questions we get the most right now is: "What are you most looking forward to with #2?" Other than finding out if you're a boy or girl and just getting to finally hold you, we really can't wait to see Audrey as your big sister! She loves giving you hugs and kisses already and is having fun practicing with all of our friends' newborn babies and, for the most part, she's doing really well! We hope that she's as excited about you when you arrive as she is about mommy's baby bump! Of course, we're looking forward to all of the usual things, too, like figuring out your personality and seeing all of your firsts and all of the little smiles and giggles that you'll bring into our home. :)

Baby, keep on growing strong and healthy for about 2 more months. We look forward to the day you arrive and can finally see the little face that we've been waiting for that will make our family of three into a family of four. We thank God for the blessing you already are and the joy you will bring into our lives!

We love you!!!

Update

Just an update...nothing too amazing.

1. I did not get to go to the retreat last weekend. I finally started feeling better Saturday afternoon so I was able to enjoy part of the weekend with Tyson and Audrey. I'm very bummed that I missed the retreat...especially after hearing all the ladies talk about how amazing it was and all the fun they had together.

2. I passed glucose test #2 (the 3 hour test) with flying colors. I scored 15-25 points below the cut-offs on all four tests. My doctor assured me that I definitely do NOT have gestational diabetes and says she thinks the first test was a fluke. What a frustrating, waste of time that got me all nervous for no reason! anyway, I'm now 28 weeks along with #2, which means I'm in the 3rd trimester. Seriously, didn't I just find out a few weeks ago that I was pregnant again? I can't believe how much faster the second pregnancy goes!

3. Last night, Audrey came down with what I had last weekend. I don't like being sick, but it's a whole other level when it's your child that is sick and you can't do anything to help them feel better. It was a long, sleepless night, but we made it and she was pretty much back to normal today (after taking a 3 hour nap), so I'm hoping it was just a 8 hour bug. (and I'm also hoping for a full night of sleep!)

4. Tyson is out of town again for work this week. I miss that guy when he's gone.

5. Audrey is doing great in her big girl bed! We're a week into this new adventure and we're slowing figuring out what comes along with her new freedom and making up the rules as we go. The thing I'm finding the hardest to deal with is once she's awake (no matter what time it is and since she can open all the doors in our house) she leaves her room and comes directly into our room. fun, fun!!

So...there's the update. Good night, everyone!