Baby Bump #2 (35 Weeks)

So Rowan is about 18 inches long, and is about 5 1/4 lbs. about the size of a honeydew melon. Only one more week and I'll be in my 9th month. Also if I make it till then I will be further along than I ever was with Liam. I do have a feeling that she won't be AS early as he was, but do think she still might be a little early...but who knows?! All I know is I want her to come when she is ready and healthy. I have been a bit lax on the exercise program since I was sick a few weeks ago. Taking a week off just ruined the momentum, and it's been hard to get back into it. Plus I have been feeling a lot more tired and sore, and would rather just take a nap if given the chance. But I have been doing a little bike or yoga once or twice a week, and it does seem to help. Being 8 plus months pregnant is what I imagine getting old feels like...it's hard to get up, bend over, lots of aches and pains all over. And I only have one little one, I can't imagine how hard it is to carry multiples! Anyway, I kinda have the whole nesting thing going on, but probably not as strong as some women do...maybe because I work and when I get home I just want to sit down and relax. A few days ago we moved Liam to his new room, and decided to keep his bed as a crib for now until he's a little older and used to being in his room. We know that he is probably capable of getting out, but he really hasn't shown an interest in doing it yet. So now that he is out of his old room, I'm starting to transition it to Rowan's new room. She will be in our room at night for a while yet, but I do want to have a place to nap her, and have her things organized on the 2nd floor for when we are up there. Anyway, I will be having an ultrasound later today and will update this post when I find out if she is still breech. And also will post a picture later too...so check back.

Baby Bump #2 (32 Weeks)

Well it's been 32 weeks now, and Rowan is about 3.75 lbs. and about 16.7 inches long, about the weight of a large jicama. I definitely can not complain about not feeling her move anymore. She is moving a lot now, and it's obvious. In fact, sometimes I will hold my hand to my belly if I start to feel her move, and she will give a good kick and it startles me, it's kinda funny, and it's definitely a relief to start to feel her move. For the last week or so her movements have been at 3 and 9 o'clock (on sides) instead of at 6 o'clock (bottom), then yesterday for the first time I felt her move at 12 o'clock (top), sooooo, I *think* that she might have moved head down, but we will not know for sure until the Dr. checks her. I'm not as nervous about the labor this time round, although subconsciously I think I am a bit because I've been feeling a bit of anxiety lately. But that also could just be the whole idea of having a newborn, and a 2 yr old at the same time. I will miss the one on one attention that I was able to have with just one baby, but at the same time it will be fun to see how Liam is with his sister.

Liam is 22 Months

It's so hard for us to believe that Liam is only 2 months away from turning 2 years old.  He will officially be our little boy, and not our baby anymore.  He is growing up WAY too fast!  He continues to pick up new words everyday, and they are so frequent, that I've lost count.  His phrases that he's starting to say have meaning, and he uses them to communicate with us.  One morning he was asking for dad, and I told him that daddy was gone and that he was at work, and he said back to me 'Daddy Gone' and 'Daddy Work'.  He also still tells us when he's pooped, but usually he says 'Poot', which we think is so cute.  Most of the time he is right, but we think other times he just likes to tell us.  One morning he even told me he was wet when his diaper leaked.  We have hope that this is a good sign that he will be easier to potty train when the time comes.  He is also using description words like heavy, hot, and cold. And he is starting to count, learn his letters, and know his colors and shapes too.  He will try to say most words that we ask him to, although I haven't been able to get him to say his own name.  Another word that he won't say is 'Open'.  He will make the 'O' shape with his mouth and give me a smile, but won't say it.  He has also started to like other shows other than Elmo.  A couple of his favorites are 'Curious George', and 'Super Why'.  He especially is getting into 'Super Why' and will say the letters and words along with the show.  A really cute thing he started to do that he saw on TV was to put his hand under his chin, and say 'Hmmmm'.  He is a lot more sure footed these days.  He runs, jumps, hops, skips, dances and climbs EVERYWHERE!  He still does not understand the concept of gravity, and I worry one day that he is going to fall off the side of the couch head first.  I continue to tell him to sit on his bum when he's on the couch, and he thinks it's a game.  We recently got him a table so he can color, although at this point in time he thinks the table is funner to climb on.  As far as food goes we think he's the typical toddler in that one day he likes something, then next day he doesn't.  In general the one food group that I've had a hard time getting him to eat is his veggies.  Sometimes he will, most of the time he won't.  Guess I'll have to keep trying on that one.  One personality trait we've noticed that he has is he is very stubborn and strong willed.  Both his parents can be that way as well, so there isn't any surprise there.  His new obsession this month has been lights.  We put some night lights in his room, and he HAS to have them on at all times even though they turn off when it's light in the room.  He notices lights everywhere now, and points them out, and wants them on.  He also likes to turn the light switches on and off.  This issue has been a bit of a hard one, but we are hoping it's just a phase.  He continues to make us proud parents, and we are looking forward to adding a new addition to our family in the not too distant future, and think that Liam will be a great 'big brother'.

Update: A day after I wrote this Liam started to say 'Open'...he likes to proove me wrong : )

comment by mom/grandma on 10/07/2009
sounds like he's the same here as home, he says op-de for open here, he also spells o-p-e it's on one of his Elmo video's here, what a little smarty, we love getting to share him.

Baby Bump #2 (30 Weeks)

Well today marks the 30th week of our pregnancy. Rowan is now about 15.7 inches long, and almost 3 pounds, about the size of a head of cabbage. It's so hard to believe that there is only 10 weeks left?! And maybe even less if she decides to come early like her older brother. We hope that she will at least wait until we have celebrated Liam's 2nd birthday party which we are having at aquarium on November 7th, a month before his real birthday. I had been doing pretty good until last night when I was getting Liam ready for bed, and I was sitting on the floor with my legs straight out in front of me. I twisted my leg somehow, and hurt it. I don't think it is muscle related, it feels more severe. At the time it really hurt, but I rubbed it out, and figured it was ok. Then I decided to try my workout, and it seemed to be OK, so I did 5 miles on the stationary bike. Hind sight, it was probably not the best idea...later that evening my leg got really stiff and painful. I read this morning that the hormones produced during pregnancy cause the ligaments that support your joints to become relaxed. This makes the joints more mobile and more at risk of injury. Although the crazy thing is, I wasn't doing anything strenuous, I was just sitting on the floor! Anyway, I think I did something to the joint or a ligament, and I'm hoping that it heals soon....I can barley walk. I joked that now I waddle with a limp. So my next Dr.'s appt is on Monday. Then I do think that I will be going to the Dr. every 2 weeks. Man time is just flying by!

UPDATE 9-28-09
About 24 hrs. after I hurt my knee, it started to feel better, and thankfully it feels all better now. I had my 30 week check up today. Not a whole lot to report. I am feeling her movements more now, although most of the movements are low, and we're guessing its because she is still breech. About this time with Liam, there was a hard spot in the middle of my belly which we called 'Butt or Head', but with her we don't feel any particular body parts...I'm crossing my fingers that she heads down soon!! The doctor agreed that we should check her a little earlier at 34 weeks instead of 37 weeks, since Liam did come 4 weeks early. Next appointment is in 3 weeks.

comment by Gaylene on 09/26/2009
Be careful sweetie and heal fast! Wish I could see your waddle ;)

Liam is 21 Months

Liam's verbal skills have exploded over the last month or so.  He is saying so many new words, it's hard to keep track of them all.  We will ask him to say a word, and he will say them back to us.  He is learning to count, and learning his colors too!  He's starting to put words together also, like if he wants his shoes or socks off, he will say 'no shoe' or 'no sock'.  Also, if he hears someone fart, he will say 'No Fart'....it's sooo funny!  He's been doing a lot of cute things too.  When he takes a sip of a drink, he will say 'Ahhhhh' in a refreshing way.  Another thing he picked up that we didn't realize we did was if someone burps, we say 'Nice', and now when he burps, he will look at us and say 'Nice'!  So funny!  He will pat his back if he's coughing.  He had a scratch on his knee, and he would point to his knee, and say 'boo boo'.  After it healed, if we asked him where his boo boo was, he would say 'Boo boo all gone', and he would do the sign for all gone too.  He would fill his cheeks with air a bit when he said 'boo boo', so the word came out with some pressure.  I just love how he says it, so I ask him all the time where his boo boo went.  He also has started to say 'Hi' a lot...he knew 'Bye' pretty well, but now associates seeing someone, and saying 'Hi'.  And then sometimes he will follow it up with 'Sup' (for what's up?)  which I realized that I say ALL the time after he started saying it.  He likes doors to be closed, so if he can he will say 'close' and then close it himself, or he will point to the door and say 'close'.  We are still working on the word open...he will smile and look at me, and open his mouth in the 'O' shape, but hasn't said it yet.  We had to put a safety lock on our playroom door, and he makes sure that we lock it.  If he thinks it's unlocked, he will go to it, and say 'Fix'.  He has a book about Elmo's Puppies and he loves when I read it to him at night.  There is a part where it says 'What is Elmo Thinking about'...'That's right Puppies', and I will pause and he will shout 'Puppies!', then later in the book it will say 'Shhhhh' Puppies need their sleep....' and he will put his finger up to his mouth and say 'Shhhhh', it's sooo cute!  A couple of scary things that he did this month was one he stuck a black bean up his nose.  Thankfully, Mike was able to get it out in one piece...and the other is he is really close to climbing out of his crib, so we are going to try to transition him to a toddler bed pretty soon.  We are just finishing up getting his new room ready for him.  It seems he really knows who we are now.  He will call us 'Mama's' or 'Dada's', and has recently has said 'Daddy' too.  He will see a picture of us and if we ask who it is, he can tell who is who.  We just can't believe how much he has changed in the last month, and we are pretty excited about the fact that he's learning so many new words.  It just makes things so much easier when we can communicate with him!

Baby Bump #2 (27 Weeks)

So I had my 27 Week check up today, and there isn't much to report...everything is going pretty smoothly. Heartbeat and measurements are good. I am starting to get a little more achy in my lower back, especially if I lay on my back for any amount of time. It's getting harder to get off the floor too. She moves a little here and there, but sadly she's not as active as Liam was. The Dr. says that is OK, and that every baby has their own bar of movement. He also said that only 2% of breech babies at the 1/2 way mark don't move down by their due date, so most likely she will move (crossing fingers). Anyway, only 13 weeks to go, although if she comes early like Liam could only be 9 weeks!! We are hoping she will at least hold out till we have had Liam's 2nd Birthday party which we are planning a month early since she is due very close to his birthday.

Happy 20 Months Liam!

Liam has changed a ton in the last month.  I would say the first half of the month, he was pretty cranky,  perhaps he was teething.  He has also started getting really serious about tantrums when he is not getting what he wants.  Also, during the last month I had some restrictions because of my pregnancy.  I wasn't supposed to lift him, and he started being stubborn about going up or down the stairs and going where I needed him to. It was a rough couple of weeks. He has also figured out how to open the lever door handles.  He has escaped a couple times, so we had to put a lock on the playroom door. 

Then the last half of the month, he's been a pretty happy kid.  His language skills have taken a leap.  He is saying a lot of new words, and also starting to say words back when we say them to him.  We got him a few new toys that he likes.  He now has a little car to ride around in.  He likes to get in through the window, Dukes of Hazard style!  He also has a new slide, and pool to play in.  He LOVES the water and especially likes to slide down his slide into the pool.  He will say 'weeeee' when going down the slide or when we swing him.  He also loves to be outside, and will ask to go 'outside' or 'side'.  Some of his other new words are: 'cookie','kick','strawberry', he said 'dinosaur' once, and will say 'go' when we say 'ready set'.  He also is starting to put two words together.  The other day I took his shoes off, and he wanted his socks off too, so he said 'No Sock'.  He is also learning his different body parts and will point and say the word when we ask where they are.  I've mentioned in previous posts that he LOVES Elmo, but it seems that his love has turned into an obsession.  He has to watch him all the time, and he also has started to use his Elmo doll as a comfort toy.  He will snuggle Elmo under his arm, and likes to sleep with him too.

We got him a baby book that has pictures of a family bringing a baby home. He really likes the book, and will say 'baby' and point to it when he wants to look at it.  He knows what a baby is, and anytime he sees one on TV or in a book, he will say 'baby'.  

So the last milestone that I want to mention is that he got his first haircut!  My aunt Gina is a beautician and we took him to her to get a haircut.  We really like his hair on the longish side, so he just got a trim.  He did amazingly well and sat on dad's lap while Gina trimmed him up.  Anyway, this month has had it's ups and downs, but thankfully it ended on the up note.  It is just crazy for us to believe that he is only 4 months away from turning 2?!  Even though he's growing up so quickly, we still like to think of him as our little man...I'm sure one day he will protest, but for now that is what he is!

comment by Gaylene on 08/10/2009
oh, I'm excited for you guys. Liam is sounding more grown up...what a doll with his Elmo.