6 weeks to go!

How far along?: 34 weeks, 0 days.
Total weight gain/loss: +1.5 lbs over 2 weeks, so we're at +23 lbs total. And I say "we" because about 5 of that is the baby at this point :)
Sleep: Not horrible this week. I still wake up every 2 hours or so, meaning I'm at about 3-4 bathroom breaks a night. Oh yeah, and I'm still napping almost daily while Brooke does.
Movement: We've entered the "Mom, there's no more room in here, let me out!" stage. Lots of rolling & knees/elbows jutting out.
Labor Signs: Nada, thankfully.
Food/Cravings: Did you know today is National Ice Cream Day? Shocking that the heavily pregnant woman knows this little tidbit, isn't it? You better believe we'll be taking advantage of such a fantastic holiday :)
Gender: Baby's heartbeat was in the 130's when I went to the doctor last week. Could this munchkin really be a boy?
New w/pregnancy #2: Baby Reeder is head-butting me in the pelvic bone routinely (I assume it's his head; hiccups are still pretty low so I think he's head-down.) I definitely didn't deal with so much abuse this low the first time around.
What I miss: Sleeping in whatever position I feel like.
What I am looking forward to: Finally nailing down the baby names... coughheyHusbandthismeansyoucough.
Best moment this week: I finally got to enjoy a pedicure and maternity massage yesterday (a Mother's Day gift that I've been trying to use for weeks.) It was very relaxing and nice to have some "me time". (And bonus: Daddy & Brooke went grocery shopping - my nemesis - while I was gone!) However, I must admit, I woke up pretty sore from that massage this morning...perhaps it was a little too much pressure after all!
Weekly Wisdom: You can't "suck it in" when you're almost 8 months pregnant, no matter how much you want to squeeze in between 2 things.
Milestones: We have reached the point in this pregnancy (34 weeks) when 99% of babies born prematurely typically survive. And since we all know I make big babies, ours is likely even bigger and more developed than your average fetus. So while we're not hoping for delivery anytime soon, it's very comforting to know our kiddo would very likely be just fine if it did happen.

Doubts.

There are moments sprinkled throughout every day, especially lately as the months have turned into just weeks left to go, where I think to myself, "Geez, maybe we should have figured out how to parent this kid before we committed to another one."

And then there are nights like tonight, when we have a drama-free family dinner followed by playtime and a bath and kisses and books and giggles, that I think, "Okay, maybe we have a few things figured out after all..."

Thirty-three.

How far along?: 33 weeks, 0 days.
Total weight gain/loss: Forgot to check this morning. Oops!
Sleep: Awful.
Movement: I've had more than a few "ouch!" moments this week as this kiddo karate chopped me on my pelvic bone. Yowza. I'm afraid to type this for fear of jinxing myself, but I haven't really had too many kicks to the ribs yet, which is delightfully refreshing yet equally perplexing considering Baby Reeder's high enough to be constricting the crap out of my lungs.
Labor Signs: Hey, let's add this one into the mix as we near the finish line, shall we? (Even though it was pretty much worthless last time, with my lovely 2-day induction at the end.) Braxton Hicks contractions have been popping up here and there for a few weeks now, but nothing leading me to believe this kiddo will actually come out early.
Food/Cravings: My appetite still hasn't fully recovered. Maybe it'll return this week...?
Gender: Can't wait to find out!
New w/pregnancy #2: I hate that I'm about to say this, but I don't seem to be enjoying pregnancy as much this time around...
What I miss: Sitting on the couch comfortably.
What I am looking forward to: August 28th, give or take a few days.
Best moment this week: Hands down it was hearing my little one's heartbeat at the OB. It was very relieving to hear that everything's okay in there & he/she survived my week of hell!
Weekly Wisdom: There really is no such thing as too many pillows when you're pregnant. I'm only at 5 right now, but each one is super vital (like, major critical if I want to get any sleep.) I could definitely think of uses for 1 or 2 more, too.
Milestones: We're under 50 days :) 

If you recall, at my 28 week appt the OB told me I was measuring right on track and that the baby felt average-sized. This time? "Wow, there's baby over here and more baby way over here. I think we have another big baby on our hands." Awesome.

Baby Reeder at 33w0d

p.s. It feels waaaay bigger than this.

While I was sleeping...

Quite a few things happened while I was out of commission last week that were blog-worthy, but obviously none of those things got up here. Although each is probably worth its own post, I'm going to cram them all together and give you the brief update since I'm still not 100% (and also because it's 9:15 as I start this and, well, that's roughly my bedtime these days - Saturday or not.) So here's the quick rundown of what was missed:

1. Hives.

Oh yeah, we're talking legit toddler-sized hives. The munchkin was helping her Grandma make a birthday treat for me. (Here's where you'd probably think I'd feel really bad that this all happened while they were making something for me...but that's not gonna happen. The treat is still being enjoyed and it's sooo good.) Anyway, so Brooke was handling peanut butter, something we had a sneaking suspicion she might be allergic to but we hadn't made a big deal of it. Well, the peanut butter fought back and the little one broke out in hives. Here she is an hour after it started.

(This picture really makes it look super dramatic, fyi.) They were gone within another hour or so, just in time to be seen at the pediatrician, of course. But I remembered my camera, so at least they could see what I was talking about & that I wasn't just a crazy 1st-time mom making up hives. She checked out perfectly fine at the doctor that morning. Because she's had a reaction that we are fairly certain was food-allergy related (duh), we'll be setting up an appt with an allergist in the coming weeks. (Man, we're really going to get our money's worth in insurance this year, no?)

2. Brooke's 18 Month Check-up

So, 2 days after the hives incident, we were back at the pediatrician for her 18-month check-up. And thank goodness I took my mom with me because between my illness (this was Day 2 of the Severe Exhaustion leg of my sickness) and Brooke's reluctance to be there, it was tough. (Did I forget to mention that the hives day was also the day she spiked a 103 degree fever for no reason? When it rains, it pours.) The trip to the doctor a couple days before did NOT go so well - we were seeing a different doctor than normal, she had the fever, and, quite frankly, the doctor just isn't good with kids (...anymore. She was my pediatrician when I was a kid and I had no problems with her. As a parent, though? We won't be seeing her ever again.) So long story not-short-enough, Brooke was apprehensive just getting weighed/measured at the check-up, way before we even saw the doctor. There were lots of tears throughout the appt.

Stats at 18 Months - 31 lbs and 33.5 inches tall. Of course, these weren't easy measurements to get, so these are ballpark-ish. She was the picture of health, once we were able to get her still enough for the doctor to really look at her. Developmentally, she's still a rockstar. Diet, vocabulary, sleep patterns - all are right on track or way beyond where she needs to be. Physically, she really is slimming down, only gaining 1.5 lbs since her 1st birthday, but growing a few inches. Thank goodness, too, because I originally thought I might have a 40 lb toddler when Baby #2 came around. Other than the allergy thing, we're not scheduled to see the doctor again until she turns 2!

3. Her Half Birthday!

It still saddens me that I couldn't make more of a big deal of her half birthday. Her actual half bday (well, the day I go with since there is no June 31st) was Thursday, Day #1 of Severe Exhaustion & also the day I finally went to the doctor myself. It was a rough day, friends. So we ended up celebrating the next day, which was a slightly better day for me (but still not great.) There was half a cake, which I surprisingly did have a hand in baking, but I take no credit for the decorating (thanks again, Mom.) And there was a present, too. She got a pretend doctor's kit (a few hours too late, unfortunately!) and some magnetic ABC's so she can start learning words. It was a very pathetic little celebration, but she did get to munch on some cake (guess who loves cake now, more specifically the frosting?) so I guess it wasn't a total loss. Happy Half Birthday to my Big Lady!!

Mmmm frosting :)

 The "say cheese" face. A beauty, isn't it?

I still owe Brooke a proper 18-month post about how freaking awesome she is and all the fun & crazy things she's getting herself into these days. Give me a few more days, mmmkay? Thanks.

Woe is me.

I'm going to try to make this as brief as I can because, frankly, I really don't want to relive it. This has been one of the longest, hardest weeks ever. That fever I wrote about last week ended up sticking around through Wednesday. It was then replaced on Thursday with an incredibly overwhelming exhaustion that I can't even explain. I could barely keep my eyes open, and when they were open I was super dizzy and had a hard time focusing on anything.

I finally saw my general practitioner on Thursday (after my OB's office refused to see me b/c of the fever. Um, I'm pregnant - I'm growing a fetus and it's their job to check on said fetus when it could be in danger. Do they not have masks in the office?? Very frustrating...) He couldn't find anything wrong with me, so I was sent on my way with orders to eat & drink as much as possible. Finally, Saturday night he called to check on me and let me know he saw the slightest bit of an infection in my labs that he was going to try treating. Praise the Lord - drugs! I've been on antibiotics since Sat night and I'm feeling much better. Still not 100%, but pretty darn close considering what a mess I was all week.

I can't even begin to thank everyone that stepped up to help out. Brooke was very well taken care of all week while Mommy was mostly MIA. It was a very strange week for her, but I did try to put her to bed myself all week (which I think she appreciated.) Fingers crossed that I continue to get better & this is a much more normal week for everyone!

How far along?: 32 weeks, 2 days.
Total weight gain/loss: Down a lot this week, I think I'm back down to 21.5 lbs total.
Sleep: I've done a lot of it this week. But it's never longer than about 45 mins at a time. Even overnight, I'm awake every 30-45 mins rolling over to the other hip. Very painful. And there are lots of bathroom breaks mixed in.
Movement: Bless his/her little heart! It was a pretty rough week for both of us, but Baby Reeder has kindly been moving about as needed to let me know he/she is doing okay in there.
Food/Cravings: I'm just thrilled to have an appetite back. There are lots of birthday treats sitting around just waiting for me to devour :)
Gender: I had a dream last night that it was a boy, but that we didn't find out the sex until a day or 2 after delivery because we weren't ready to know (dude, I don't understand either.)
New w/pregnancy #2: Having a child to take care of while pregnant is just a completely new ball game.
What I miss: Good, strong medication (i.e. anything but Tylenol.)
What I am looking forward to: My doctor's appt tomorrow. I'm dying to make sure this kiddo is okay (and also to give my OB's office an earful!)
Best moment this week: Realizing that I have the most amazing network of family and friends surrounding me that is always willing to step up to the plate to help out my little family. Baby Reeder is incredibly blessed to be coming into this big ball of love!
Weekly Wisdom: Don't get sick. It sucks.
Milestones: Bi-weekly OB appts start this week!!

31 weeks.

So I started writing this post yesterday, filled out about half of it in the morning, thinking I'd finish it later. WRONG. The universe had other ideas for me.

Turns out I got the same virus that my poor little munchkin (plus 2 nieces, a nephew, & a sis-in-law) was struck with earlier in the week. Just my luck, eh? One of the worst migraines of my life (no exaggeration here, it was that bad) started about 2 pm, and I was in bed the rest of the day. Fever started around 4, making the whole thing that much more fun. By 8, I put a call in to the on-call OB to make sure I didn't need to go in to be checked out (I know that it can be bad for the baby if your body temp gets too high, so I wanted to be safe.) She decided it was most likely that I was just enjoying the same bug Brooke had and kindly called in a prescription for the migraine. After a rough night of sleep, I woke up today fever-free and the migraine had turned into just a lingering headache. It'd be waaay too easy for it to end there, so it didn't. Fever is back and head still hurts, but at least I can lift my head today! (And I'm back to using electronics again without wanting to gouge my eyes out...yay!)

The last time I had a 24-hour bug was when Brooke was 3 months old. I said then that being sick & being a mom are just not compatible. Well, friends, even worse is being sick & being a mom & being 7 months pregnant. Ugh, my hips hate me after laying on them for 24 hours straight! Baby was moving around all day, so I (and the OB) was reassured that he was doing okay in there. However, he may not have been as happy as I thought - I lost 5 lbs overnight. No joke. I had weighed myself yesterday morning so I'd have a figure for this update. This morning I was down 5 from that (so I guess I'm really at 19 lbs now and not the 24 it says below...)

While I was busy trying to not die and take care of baby #2, the husband stepped up once again and kept my little lady happy. They had snacks, played outside with bubbles, and spent most of the evening up at my in-laws' house, anything to keep things quiet here for me. Once she was in bed, he moved on to taking care of me, even making a 9:00 run to the 24 hour pharmacy about 15 mins away to get my drugs. Oh and he graciously helped me down to the couch at 3 am when my fever was breaking and I was too hot to be in bed any longer. Pretty awesome, no? I have a good one.

So here's the update that I started yesterday and just finished up today.

How far along?: 31 weeks, 1 day.
Total weight gain/loss: I'm at 24 lbs total, which is smack-dab in the middle of the 21-27 lb range where I'm "supposed" to be. So I'm pretty happy about that. Will I hit (and maybe even exceed) 35 lbs by the end? Possibly, but I really don't care! If you are a regular blog reader, you'll remember that I have Super Milk that immediately transfers all of my weight to my baby (hence the ginormous kids.)
Sleep: I was up at 6:15 on a Saturday morning, 2 hours before the rest of my family. What does that tell you?
Movement: Intensely rolling around all day. Still hates the hiccups and thrashes about violently every time he gets them (about 3 times a day.)
Food/Cravings: Nothing specific, tried to be good this week (i.e. tame the sugar cravings.)
Gender: Well, I've been thinking boy lately. But yesterday, as I lay in bed all day with nothing to do but think (including a few scary thoughts about having to go to the hospital if I got too sick, which could then result in them delivering the baby...super terrifying thought), most thoughts were of baby girls. So who knows.
New w/pregnancy #2: Things just seem to be happening much earlier with this pregnancy than I remember with the last one. For example, The Waddle has been in full effect for weeks. And, if I remember correctly, the serious breathing trouble didn't start until much later last time.
What I miss: Laying on my back.
What I am looking forward to: Holding my teeny tiny squishy little baby :) (And next to Amazon Toddler, this babe is going to seem so little!)
Best moment this week: The few days of the week that we had a healthy family.
Weekly Wisdom: Too tired to be wise.
Milestones: When I think about having 9 weeks left, it seems like forever. But 63 days? Well, that seems like nothing :)

Starting to take weekly belly pics to watch Baby Reeder grow as he hits the big growth spurt (which starts this week.) He should be about 3.5 lbs and 16 inches long this week. That means he needs to triple his weight (yes, triple, let's be honest...) and grow a few more inches in just 9 weeks :)

Baby Reeder at 31w0d

Guilt.

I am swimming in it these days.

I expected to feel a lot of different emotions when I got pregnant with #2: elation, exhaustion, fear, excitement, worry... But guilt? Never registered as a possibility for me. Don't get me wrong, I've got all those other things going on times ten (especially the excitement part.) And this pregnancy was 100% planned and prayed for. But I'm laced with an overwhelming amount of guilt over what effect this turn of events is having on my firstborn.

I expect the invasion of a tiny newborn will be quite mind-blowing for Brooke. The amount of attention she will receive from us will be drastically cut in half. Is it fair to her? That's what I keep asking myself over and over.

The effect of just the pregnancy alone are already being felt. It was felt in January when I was too nauseous & tired to play with her in her playroom but would just lay on the floor watching her instead. It was felt in March when I was so sick one day that she spent the entire day shuffling between grandmas. It was felt in May on days when it was beautiful out but I was just too exhausted (and hot) to take her outside to play.

And it was definitely felt yesterday, when my poor girl was struck with a 103.5 degree fever and wanted nothing more than to be on my lap. You see, I've been growing this belly for about 7 months now, and there's just not much room for her on my lap anymore. She so desperately wanted to just lay with me on the couch and watch Bubble Guppies and drink juice while we waited for the Advil to kick in and cool down her blazing hot skin. But pretty much every single position I'm in on the couch makes it crazy tough to breathe these days. Poor thing kept getting tossed from one side to the next as I tried to find a comfortable way for us both to sit where I could still breathe, getting up every few minutes to take a drink when it became too hard. I felt terrible that I couldn't let her fall asleep on my chest or even lay on my shoulder for more than a minute or two. Thankfully, we survived the day. (FYI - today she is fever-free, so who knows what kind of silly virus that was.) I'm sure all she remembers is that Mommy let her watch lots of shows & drink as much juice as she wanted & gave her a popsicle (& let her eat most of mine, too) & let her play in the bath 5 extra minutes to help cool down. But I remember all of the other stuff, the my-sick-little-girl-got-the-shaft-b/c-Mommy's-uber-pregnant stuff.

Here's where logic starts to step in. Despite all of this guilt, I know that we are giving her the greatest gift by giving her a sibling. I know this because, between the husband and I, we have 7 pretty fantastic siblings. And growing up with instant playmates is awesome. Always having somebody around to play with or talk to or entertain is pretty great. And the relationships we have with our siblings now that we're adults? I wish like hell that Brooke & Baby Reeder have the same kind. So are we doing her a complete disservice by bringing another munchkin into the mix? I'd say not.

Irrational or not, I still feel a little guilty. (I'm 7 months pregnant, I'm allowed to be irrational.)