Instincts kickin' in!

Well, they aren't just NOW kicking in.. they have been present since about 16 weeks along and I have had to suppress them until recently when my brother Ben moved out of our house. We finally have room the other half of Landon's room back and were able to set up the crib, organize Caius' closet, and rearrange all kinds of stuff in the house =) I thought once I got the basic baby "to do" list out of the way I would feel better and the nesting would relax a bit.

It hasn't.

Every inch of my house is disgusting to me. I feel like I need to scrub every wall, vacuum every unseen corner of the house, dust anything that has any sort of surface, and what's more: I feel like I need to rearrange Caius' stuff already. AHHHH!!

I do feel a LITTLE bit accomplished though because I purchased some more clothes for him for the first month or two (after going through all of the clothes we had left over from Landon, I discovered we REALLY had NOTHING for 0-6months), and I ordered 16 more diapers and some spare inserts (I have been having mild panic attacks lately that the diapers we have will not be sufficient.. and the inserts are bamboo inserts and are supposed to be SUPER absorbent), and I also ordered 3 SMALL size diaper covers for our prefold diapers so we can use those on Caius early on. I had ordered a few other covers that were one size, but I just couldn't see them fitting him appropriately for the first month or two and decided to splurge and get a couple fitted size covers. We did a small Costco trip a few days ago and picked up a GIANT box of wipes (900 to be exact) and we now have plenty of those for a while.

I am VERY certain we are going to be just fine in the disposable diaper department after Caius gets here. I have 2 packages of size 1 diapers (Landon literally had 2 small packs of newborn size diapers that the hospital gave us, and we never used them all before he was in size 1.... he could have just started in size 1 realistically but why waste free diapers?) and I am certain we will not need more than that before his circumcision heals/umbilical cord falls off. I have a package of size 2 diapers that are unopened, and I think I am going to go ahead and sell those instead of keeping them.

I have a week and 2 days until my baby shower at Jessica's house and I am so excited for it!! I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family and group of friends who are all so helpful, generous, thoughtful and caring. I am truly blessed in my life!

Pressure: physical and feeling under

Holy moly.... the amount of pressure that this little boy can put on my hips and pelvis is incredible.  Luckily he doesn't sit that way very often anymore, but today he has been mercilessly cuddling up on my pelvis and it is just KILLING me. I believe he is somewhere between 2-3lbs officially now. He's been a "pelvis cuddle-r" since around the time I started feeling him moving in the beginning of the second trimester.... I thought back then that he was heavy when he laid in that general area... I was wrong. It's MUCH worse now. I can only pray that the bigger he gets, the more he will stay upwards in the uterus and NOT lay in my pelvis very often. It feels like a bowling ball hanging out inside of me =P So uncomfortable and occasionally painful.

I also started having braxton hicks today. I had one earlier this morning and drank a ton of water all day long (which I had to anyway seeing as it's been outrageously hot!!) The cramping and contractions stopped for a while and I felt increasingly better. Then around 1-2pm today is when Caius decided he needed to lay on my pelvis and I was so uncomfortable for a while. I took a nap and that helped relieve some pressure while I was laying down. On my way to work I had another braxton hicks contraction. I drank a ton more water and it went away again. Sadly, I just got home not too long ago and I had yet another one. I am beginning to wonder if him laying awkwardly/so low triggers these false contractions to occur... probably not, but just a thought.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how close I am getting to my due date. July is sneaking up on me and then I have August to get through. I honestly think I will be having this little boy a few days, if not a week or two earlier than anticipated. It's a feeling that I can't shake... as long as he makes it to 37 weeks, I am fine with him coming when he is ready after that. However, the realization that he could be coming BEFORE the bitter end of September makes me start to feel frantic about getting stuff done. AHHHH!!!

Next week is the magical week I can start SERIOUSLY preparing our house for his arrival. I don't think it's going to be too much work, but with how tired I get so easily it might take me longer than I'd like. Whether it takes a week to finish the ideas I have in my head or until Caius comes out, I could care less... I am just thrilled to be able to FINALLY start getting everything ready for him! I'm sure once I get things the way I see them in my head currently I will feel satisfied for a while... and I also think I will reorganize and rearrange stuff continuously until he comes just to occupy myself =)

I can't wait to meet this newest addition growing inside of me =) I can already tell he is going to enrich our lives further and bring some wonderful changes to our family =)

26 weeks (tomorrow)

Next week I will be in my third trimester. Holy crap!! I cannot believe how far along I am!! What's a more horrifying realization is that I'm the ONLY person left in my place of work that is pregnant. Everybody else who was has "popped" in the last few months. I'm all that's left... We are approaching the END of June, then I have July, August, and most of September (assuming I don't go early!)

And that's it. We will have Caius with us soon after that. I have suddenly started worrying over the last few weeks that we don't have enough time to get everything done that needs to be done. Fourteen weeks left, and I already feel like I'm suffocating from being overburdened with all kinds of crap to do!

Luckily, at the beginning of June Ben (my brother who has been living with us for a few months) will be moving out into his own place so I can FINALLY start to organize Caius' stuff and put things together and just truly nest. I have had SUCH an urge to nest this last month or so and I have absolutely no way to do so... all of our extra space has been occupied by him. As soon as he is out, I will be doing all the baby clothes laundry I can, we will be purchasing some more stuff for the boys' closets to help organize, and I will be in Landon's room until I feel I am satisfied with how things are set up. I can't wait to get all of the baby stuff out of our living room and bedroom and get it in it's rightful place!

(<---- This is how I perceive my living room everyday..but please note it's not my actual living room, lol!)

We have the pack n play that will be staying in our room for when Caius comes (he will be in our room the first few months.) Then we have ALL of Caius' cloth diapers, disposable diapers for when he first comes home, his bouncer, his crib, his crib mattres, all the bedding, clothing, breastfeeding supplies, bottles, baby monitor, BOXES upon BOXES of clothing, shoes, toys, blankets, bumbo seat, baby carrier, and whatever else is in the pile of baby-shinanigans downstairs. 

I especially want to get it organized as soon as Ben is out specifically because I found out my good friends Jessica and Rachel will be throwing me a baby shower sometime next month, bless their loving hearts =) I just want to be able to bring home whatever I am gifted and place it EASILY into it's designated spot instead of throwing it on top of the pile-o-baby-crud we have going on any given place in our house! It will be VERY nice to take care of it all right off the bat instead of stressing about where the hell it's all going to go.

I SOOOOO wish at times I was a more organizationally-savvy person with an eye for design... sadly I'm not. I'm not very creative at all and need to copy other people's ideas to make my house feel like it is quite possibly "organized", lol! Alex and I sat down today and went through Pinterest boards as well as google and some blog's we found and got some *ideas* on what we should purchase to help organize the boys' room. Hopefully we will be able to afford all the stuff we wanted.... but until then, we put it all on our baby registry. No harm in that, right?? >.< I don't anticipate anybody to buy us anything from our registry (people are really good at ignoring that kind of stuff for house-warming parties/baby showers/bridal showers I've noticed, rofl!) but JUST IN CASE, it's all on there ^_~

The last thing I am debating in my head (not out loud because I'm sure Alex will slap me... hahaha) is whether or not I should buy one final batch of cloth diapers. I would be buying the Sunbaby 12 pack of pocket diapers (they have such cute new prints!! I wasn't too thrilled with the selection when I bought our first batch..) I feel like I could feel COMPLETELY ready cloth diapering-wise if I had one more batch... but then again, Alex thinks I'm crazy already and went WAAAAY overboard on the diaper front. I like prefolds and will be VERY happy to use them, but all the same I love the idea of the pocket diapers, especially since they seem much easier to deal with in the middle of the night. Ohh well...

There are days when I feel EXTREMELY pregnant, and days when I'm in complete denial that our family of 3 will soon become a family of 4 with two spunky, rambunctious little boys. I think once I have everything in place and set up the way I see it all in my head things will be MUCH more real to me... 

The wonders (well, pain) of pregnancy

I'm not normally a back sleeper, but since about 5 weeks or pregnancy I have been dying to lay on my back. I did for quite some time (I would say up until 19 weeks), and then the hip pains started. I don't even know how to describe it but I NEVER had this wonderful side effect with Landon. I'm thinking it's because I am MUCH heavier this time around than I was with Landon, but either way it BLOWS.

If I am sitting or laying down (in ANY position, but especially my back) my legs will go numb. If I adjust, it literally feels like my hips are going to dislocate. The pain is so horrendous and I fear the need to roll over or adjust while I am asleep. As for sitting, when I stand up to walk the pain is so intense that I almost cannot walk. The more I walk (well, let's be honest: It's waddling at that point) the better my hips feel and my "walking" becomes more or less normal again. It's almost like I am rusted up from being immobile so long.

However, if I DO start any kind of activity (being on my feet for ANY length of time) I start to get dizzy and out of breath and my back is a killer.. It's VERY annoying!! I am eating well, drinking pretty much NOTHING but water, especially when my son and I are out in the horrible heat playing. I stretch every morning and every evening before/after I am in/out of bed, and I usually stretch a couple times while at work. It feels GREAT when I do.

People have recommended a chiropractor but I'm not sure our insurance covers that. I know this isn't a permanent state of being (thank the good merciful Lord above!!) but it worries me to know that I still *potentially* have 15 more weeks of this awful pain that just increases on a daily basis. I've tried sleeping in different positions with pillows in places I never thought I would put them and NOTHING helps. I also do not believe it has anything to do with the way Caius is laying because it ALWAYS happens regardless of if he is laying in my pelvis or up high attacking my rib cage. It's just crazy.....

Anyway, I was definitely motivated BEFORE all of this started bothering me to loose weight, but now I am ESPECIALLY ready to go all-out and kick my own ass into shape after Caius is born and I am healed up. If we are going to have a THIRD little one someday (probably not for another 3-4 years again, LOL!) I do NOT EVER want to be this size again as I'm sure that is the *MAIN* reason I am so miserable right now.

24 weeks... viability!

Saturday was 24 weeks for us. In the medical world, this is the point of viability in a pregnancy... basically, if something were to happen and Caius needed to come anytime between now and September (God Forbid!) he would have a better chance of making it than not making it. It's a very comforting feeling, although I have been one of the fortunate ones who has had no complications during pregnancy so the likelihood of Caius coming before his time is very slim.

In other news, Caius has been such a simple baby thus far. With Landon, I was hungry all the time as well as nauseous and I was always emotionally compromised and cried over everything. Landon also kicked and punched and squirmed like nobodies business! Caius is the opposite... he is active more on some days versus others, but he is so mellow with his movements. I feel more emotionally stable, my nausea has been gone for quite a while, and I hardly get hungrier than I would normally. Granted, there are days where I feel hungrier than others, but ultimately I am eating like I normally would when I'm not pregnant.

The last few days I have been getting a little bit of heartburn off and on. Sadly, I am excited about it because I believe the old wives tale of "women who have heartburn during pregnancy have babies with hair. women without heartburn have bald babies". I would love Caius to have hair! Bald babies are absolutely adorable and I will love Caius with or without hair... but it would be great to say I've had the best of both worlds: Bald and head full of hair =D

I also wanted to say my mom is AMAZING! She ordered and sent me a body pillow that I will be getting this week, as well as an ADORABLE baby bath! Look at how flipping sweet it is!!! I'm not quite sure how it's supposed to work, but I cannot wait to find out! I saw these on my forum a while ago (somebody had posted about them) and thought they were just the most precious bathtub I've ever seen in my life, but did not want to spend the money on it. I never even told my mom so it's amazing that she found them, let alone ordered us one! THANK YOU MOM!! I love you!!

A deadly glass of juice!

I have this horrid feeling that I will fail my glucose test whenever I have to take it (with Landon, I believe I was around 25-26 weeks). I had a glass of 100% no sugar added juice, and I feel as though my heart is racing. Its as if I overdosed on natural sugars... its 3 hours later and my body STILL hasnt processed it properly. Im so shaky and dizzy, its ridiculous. Sknce the cup of juice I have had a whole grain bagel and several bottles of water. I feel so weird... I think I should bring this up to my dr next time i see him. I do NOT like this feeling....

Overdue Update: mothers day and gender reveal!

(Regardless of what date this post says, it was really posted on Sunday, May 20th)

So as of yesterday I am 21 weeks along... over halfway there, woohoo! This week, baby is approximately 11" in length.. such a big baby already! At my ultrasound that I had on the 16th of this month, they estimated that this baby was already 14oz!! I am just over halfway, and I'm carrying almost a pound of baby already!! Maybe my doctor was right... this baby is probably going to be a hefty one! ^_~

 April 17th we found out what we are having and then we kept it a secret for 2 weeks so we could tell our family all at once when my mom came for a visit. I am happy to now announce we are officially TEAM BLUE again! Another healthy little boy is on his way. We are still debating a middle name but his firstname will be Caius (pronounced kie-us). Alex and Landon found this name and both loved it... I thought it was cute and came home from work after getting a text suggesting the name, and both Daddy and Big Brother were calling him Caius.... sooooo Caius it is!

I'm happy because it's unique (like we both enjoy) and not common at all. People either have LOVED the name, or pretended to tolerate it ^_~ Either way, we love it and could care less what others think =)


Mother's day this year kind of stunk.... I worked open to close at my store, and aside from one other person, I was the only mother to be scheduled on mother's day.... c'est la vie. I missed being with Landon all day, but all the same I had my other little boy with me the whole time =) It was nice to spend the day with at least one of my boys! My present for mother's day was a basic Kindle and I have been LOVING THE CRAP out of that thing! It's so wonderful and I am so thankful for it! Buuuuuuut not nearly as thankful to God for giving me two such beautiful, healthy little boys to love and raise =)

Here's a recent picture of Mr. Landon in all his glory =) He is officially 4 and a half as of the 16th of this month. I cannot believe how big he is and how quickly he's growing.... it's so exciting to think he will be a big brother soon =) He is SOOOO excited to meet Caius and play with him! He is going to be the best big brother ever =) I know a lot of people say that, but I truly believe he's going to be amazing!

One last note: I do believe I am pretty much ready for Caius's arrival. I was "taking inventory" of all of our stuff, and regardless of a couple more things I would LIKE to have, we are ready for this little boy to get here. We have diapers (cloth diapers to use once his umbilical cord/circumcision heal and disposables for the first few weeks/until we get used to cloth), we have bottles, we have a ton of formula, we have my breast pump and accessories (regardless of whether he takes to breastfeeding or we have problems and have to formula feed, we are ready), we have a baby magic bullet to make him baby food when he's old enough, we have his crib and bedding (from Landon), we have the carseat and stroller still, we have Landon's old bouncer, we have Landon's old baby clothes, we still have Landon's old baby bathtub, we have an AWESOME baby bag (thank you Mom!!), and that's pretty much all we need to start. We need to clean/wash/assemble most of the stuff that we have from when Landon was a baby, but all-in-all we are ready!

Things I would LIKE to have are A)More plastic drawers to put all of Caius's diapers/clothes in, a kitchen-sized trash can with a lid on it PLUS washable wet bags for the cloth diapers, baby lotion and baby wash, spare breastfeeding accessories, different flow of nipples for his bottles (in case we end up using them before my maternity leave is over), a few more covers/pocket cloth diapers (we don't NEED them, but you can never have too many!) & I would like a swing and a play yard for Caius but that's not necessary. This is all stuff on my baby registry from Amazon. While I am not having another baby shower (that I am aware of) I still made one mostly for the sake of me paying attention to what we still would like/need if and when we have the spare money to throw out for it all. This is where you can find our list of shinanigans at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html?ie=UTF8&id=EO4G1OFLQXXE&type=baby

I add/subtract from it all the time, but regardless I am certain if we got nothing else (minus little things like baby wash and a few more outfits) before Caius is born, we would be ready for him =) I can't wait to meet him and kiss his precious little face <3