One sweet week.

One week with our big man! And what a fantastic week it has been. Joe has made such a fabulous addition to our family. We've already adjusted to life as a family of 4, almost as if he's been around forever.

Joe is doing so, so well. He is the most mellow little guy. He really only cries if he's cold or if he has an upset tummy (unfortunately, he has the same belly issues his sister had.) Otherwise, he's just so chill. He loves to cuddle and just kind of melts into your arms/chest when you hold him. He doesn't mind hanging out on his own, though - time in the swing has been successful and he seems to love riding in his car seat.

He had his first pediatrician check-up today. He's perfectly healthy! Now, most infants lose a little weight in their first week...not my baby boy. He gained 3 ounces. He is now 10 lbs 5 oz, up from his birth weight of 10 lbs 2 oz...and up from 9 lbs 14 oz which was what they weighed him in at when he was 24 hours old. So, really, he gained 7 oz in 6 days! Holy moley! Looks like I have super-milk once again. Overall, he checked out great - not a single problem to report. The pediatrician was not at all surprised by his size or development...mostly because she's seen Brooke and knows we make giant babies. He will be seen again at 1 month, at which time I'm sure he'll be just as far off the charts as his big sister always was.

Speaking of Joe's big sister, Brooke has adjusted wonderfully to her new role. The novelty of having Baby Joe around all the time has not worn off...yet. When she wakes up in the morning, she can't wait to see him. She will be playing or eating and just randomly remember that he exists: "Where Baby Joe go?" If she sees a pacifier lying around, she instantly thinks he must need it and brings it to him, even if he's eating. (Side note: when Brooke sees me feeding him, she says he's "drinking milk from Mommy's belly". I haven't corrected her, and I'm not going to. It's much cuter this way!) So far she loves Baby Joe and hasn't asked to send him back :)

Mom & Dad are doing pretty good as well. We have each gotten a decent amount of sleep considering we have a newborn & a toddler in the house. The husband is back to work this week, and we miss him at home! He has been such an incredible help this past week. Despite all of his help and that of our family, there's a ton of stuff to get done with 2 kids! My recovery hasn't been as quick as it was with Brooke, mostly because I'm trying to do too much every day. In an attempt to get better faster (i.e. stop taking the pain meds), I'm forcing myself to sit and rest more. We'll see how long it takes.

Our little boy has already brought such an incredible amount of joy & excitement into our lives. He's just so precious, melting Mommy's heart every minute. 

More pictures and stories of life with 2 under 2 to come soon, I promise!

Blessed.

The Reeder family has a new little blessing to introduce you to.

Joseph Carson Reeder was born Tuesday night after only 13 hours of labor. This little man is already melting our hearts! His big sister thinks he's the bee's knees, always talking to and doting on "Baby Joe". He makes our little family feel complete. More pics to come :)

Forty-one.

I'm not doing a 41 week survey. I'm sick of doing them and you are likely sick of reading them. And, also, it's mega depressing to have to do one that says I'm a week overdue and still not close to going into labor. I keep saying that the husband and I must sound like complete lunatics because these babies listen to us for 9 months and then decide it's safer to just stay inside. I've been telling the baby that we're actually super fun and that it's much easier to stretch on the outside, but he/she isn't listening.

I've been wondering a lot of things this week. Like how long I'd really stay pregnant if inductions weren't available. When would I really go into labor? Would it be another week or two or even three? (Um, it's possible. I know.) I wonder if this induction will go better than the last, i.e. faster and easier, or if it will also take several days. I wonder if I'll be in a lot more pain this time, because I can honestly say it wasn't that bad the first time around (knock on wood).

The one thing I'm not wondering about is how I'll feel when this kiddo comes out and is introduced to me for the first time. I'm fairly certain I know the answer to that one. I'm beyond excited for this week and can't wait to finally have my family all together.

Oh, here's your weekly update: I'm still pregnant, I'm still contracting like it's my job, I'm still eating sugar like it's in short supply, and I'm still fielding stupid comments & getting stared at on a daily basis. I'm ready to have a baby, a beer, and a break from these head butts to the lady parts. (You're welcome.)

Still pregnant.

Yep, still pregnant. Super pregnant. This morning, Brooke walked out the door and said "Bye Big Mommy." She came up with that one all on her own, having never heard this before (well, unless somebody has nicknamed me "Big Mommy" behind my back...) So clearly I'm still bustin' at the seams here.

But not for too much longer! This time next week I will definitely be un-pregnant and Baby Reeder will have entered the world :)  I had an ultrasound today to check on him/her and make sure all is well inside this belly. After getting a clean bill of health, we decided the baby would be fine to stay inside through the weekend. So I have an induction scheduled for Tuesday morning (9 days overdue, in case you aren't counting like me.) It's likely going to take a long time again, as I'm going to have to start with at least one round of Cervadil before starting contractions with Pitocin. But everyone is hopeful that this one won't take nearly as long as Brooke's did since my body has been through it before. I'm predicting a September 7th birthday for our second born :)

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

20 months :)

Another month has passed! Hard to believe how quickly Brooke is growing up. It's crazy to think that she wasn't even 1 when we found out that our family would be growing, and here we are just a few months away from 2! The chickadee changes so much each month, so I hope to continue with these monthly updates even after Baby Reeder is added to the mix.

~ The absolute greatest, most awesome thing this child started doing this month is singing along to, well, everything. A few of her toys have little songs when you press buttons and she knows all of them. She also sings along to the songs in the shows she watches. And, thankfully, she only watches shows that are mostly educational, so she's learning while she does it! (See below for video of this cuteness.)
~ On a similar note, she can read along with books when you read them to her, too. Sometimes I catch her "reading" books to herself out loud; she gets the gist of each page.
~ She's very into doing things by herself now. Everything is "I do it myself." Which is great...most of the time. Until what she wants to do herself takes a million years when we're in a hurry (i.e. buckling her car seat herself) or is very messy (i.e. putting on lotion). But, with Baby Reeder almost here, I guess I better embrace this independence, even if it does mean a little more time or work for me in the long run.
~ She's doing really well using utensils. She can eat cereal w/milk with a spoon, though there's usually a little puddle on the high chair when she's done. She can stab most foods with her fork...when she remembers to use it. Half the time she'll be holding the fork in one hand and picking up food with the other. But she's making definite progress!
~ She still loves popsicles and asks for them daily, but "animal kwackas" are the snack of choice these days.
~ If we're sitting around at home between 7-8pm, we typically watch "Wheel, owange balls, and Jeopady". Brooke loves this hour of television, just like her dorky parents. If it goes to commercial, she'll say "Wheel all gone?" in a sad little voice. And in case you can't figure it out, "owange balls" refers to the Ohio Lottery drawing that happens in between the 2 shows.
~ We're slowly working on better manners. If she wants something, she has to say "May I have ___ please?", used most often when she wants milk or a snack. She also apologizes more appropriately now (rather than say sorry for everything, she says it when she gets in someone's way, accidentally hurts someone, etc.)
~ Brooke gets very concerned when someone else is sad or hurt. If someone is crying, she almost starts crying herself as she asks "___'s cwying?" It typically takes a few minutes of her repeating this over and over and reassurance from me that the person feels all better before she is content. One night, my grandma was over and started choking on some food. Brooke was quite concerned and very seriously asked "Gwamma okay?" Needless to say, we are pretty sure we're going to hear "Baby cwying?" or "Baby okay?" every time the baby makes a noise for the first few weeks he/she is here!

This is a pretty good example of her singing along to tunes. I had been secretly watching her for a few minutes before this video started. I was afraid she'd stop if she saw me but she just kept on going! The songs go a little too fast for her to get every single letter/number/word correct, but I still think it's incredibly impressive and 100% adorable!

The day has come.

We had just turned the light off, starting to drift off to sleep last night, when the husband's phone buzzes. He checks it, then sets it back down quickly.

Me: Everything ok?
Him: Yeah, it was just a calendar reminder. Your due date is in 10 minutes.
Me: Um, thanks.
Him: I set it 8 months ago.
Me: Awesome.

Yes, friends, we have made it. SHOCKING that I'm not going to have this baby on time, isn't it? I'm okay with it right now, just praying that it doesn't last much longer. I can't say I've been this calm about it all week...there may have been tears before, during, and after my appt on Monday. (Yep, even before. I knew she wasn't going to tell me what I wanted to hear - that I was ready to be induced this weekend - and my emotions got the best of me before I even went.) But I've been tear-free about it since, so that must mean I've entered the they-won't-make-me be-pregnant-forever stage of thinking.

How far along?: 40 weeks, 0 days.
Total weight gain/loss: Didn't gain anything this week, which is incredible considering how much ice cream I've had.
Sleep: Started out the week with the lovely pregnancy insomnia and just assumed it was here to stay. But, thankfully, the second half of the week was filled with decent nights of sleep.
Movement: The munchkin is still trying hard to move about and stretch out. Swift kicks to my pelvic bone are the norm.
Labor Signs: We commemorated Due Date Eve with a trip to the Reds game last night; Baby Reeder showed his appreciation by giving Mommy contractions throughout the entire game. Super fun! So yeah, lots of BH contractions, but that's about it. There have been a few other things that have made me think "Oh, maybe this is a labor sign" but I'm pretty sure it's all in my head.
Food/Cravings: My body seems to reject any food that isn't made with a lot of sugar after 8 pm.
Gender: Almost time for the big reveal!
New w/pregnancy #2: Packing a bag for the Big Sister's stay at Grandma's house in addition to our hospital bag. Both bags are ready to go!
What I miss: I could use a beer.
What I am looking forward to: Having this baby! C'mon, baby, let's not hit 41 weeks, okay? Crossing my fingers that we schedule an induction at my OB appt tomorrow (even if it's not until next week, I just want to start planning!)
Best moment this week: Reaching my due date. It just makes the end seem that much closer. I will be holding my beautiful little baby in my arms in just a matter of days, no matter what my body seems to think!
Weekly Wisdom: Sooo not wise today.
Milestones: I'd say hitting my due date is a pretty big milestone, wouldn't you?

Baby Reeder at 40w0d

Pink like Mommy's.

Within 10 seconds of being out of bed this morning, I was painting 10 tiny fingers and 10 tiny toes "pink like Mommy's".

After weeks of admiring Mommy's "pink toes" but being too afraid to have hers painted, she woke up ready to make that Big Girl step today. So I sat on my bathroom floor (a pretty big feat with this belly), eyes barely open yet, and I painted the tiniest nails I've ever painted a very pale shade of pink. She sat so still, watching me very intently. We used the low setting on my hair dryer to speed up the drying process since patience isn't exactly our forte these days. The results? Still slightly smudged, but "pink like Mommy's" indeed!

And what a proud Big Girl I have on my hands this morning.

Somebody's growin' up.