Here Comes Baby #2!

We are expecting Baby #2!! Breeley will be a big sister in February!

Right now we're about 14 weeks along. The exact due date is February 19. Breeley's was April 19 so if we go 5 days late again, they'll be exactly 22 months apart. That's quite terrifying in some ways, but many people have relayed their positive experiences with having their children close together. I've been "studying" all the 22-month-olds at Breeley's daycare to get a glimpse of what she'll be like at that age!

As you can see, we were able to get an ultrasound picture at our first appointment at 8 weeks. This was exciting since our first ultrasound with Breeley wasn't until 20 weeks. Since 8 weeks was too early to hear the heartbeat, it was neat to be able to SEE the baby's heart beating on the ultrasound machine. I call the baby "our little smudge" since that's what I think the grainy image looks like. It's hard to believe that turns into an infant, but it did make everything seem "real."

You'd think I wouldn't need the confirmation considering I've experienced almost every classic symptom of pregnancy! This pregnancy has been very different and more difficult than the first. I'm sure running after a 16-month-old has something to do with how tired I am! Besides extreme fatigue and shortness of breath, I've had more nausea (but not vomiting, thank goodness), major food aversions and sensitivity to smell (which triggers nausea), and I've been moody and emotional, which I never noticed with Breeley. Oh yeah, and I started showing at 6 weeks! I'm currently about the size I was at 20 weeks with Breeley! This seems to be common with subsequent pregnancies, as is the additional cramping that I didn't have the first time until about 7 months. Despite these inconveniences, I still consider myself fortunate because I realize it could be worse, and at least this time around I KNOW it's worth it in the end!

Breeley obviously does not understand the pregnancy or the symptoms, and therefore goes on with her busy self and gives no relief to a tired and cranky mommy. She does LOVE to touch my belly though! She's recently learned to identify her belly and she always pulls up her shirt and points to it, so she likes doing the same thing to mommy!

We are thrilled to welcome the new addition to our family and can't wait to meet him or her! We'll find out the gender in October. I heard the heartbeat at the 12-week appt and it was a fast 170, just like Breeley was! It's a joy to hear that heartbeat and think about the adventures to come!

MIA

You've probably noticed that I got behind!! It started with a video taking forever to post and escalated from there. I'll slowly go back and fill in the gaps, so stay tuned, but at this point I need to move forward because Breeley is changing so much and providing plenty of material to write about!

Impatience and Cheerios

Lately we've been testing our patience. Breeley is not doing so well. We're realizing that she is extremely impatient and gets very frustrated when things do not happen quickly enough for her liking. Her daycare teachers have even said some things about it, although they assure me it's normal at her age. We've noticed over the last few weeks that she gets very upset if she is not taken out of her highchair AS SOON as she determines she is finished. Today her teacher told me she got upset that other children were getting their drinks for snacktime before her. I think they handle it well by expecting her to wait her turn and not catering to her diva demands.

We do the same thing at home. I don't rush for her. This begins our test of patience. I think the first reaction is to want to hurry and do whatever she is "ah"ing about, but sometimes we have to put up with a bit of obnoxious fussing so she learns she is not in charge here!

Tonight's dinnertime provided yet another test. She was starving when she got home and dinner was not ready, so we made the mistake of giving her a few Cheerios to hold her for a bit. (Breeley is rather dramatic when she's hungry. It involves lots of "ah"ing and pointing to the snack cabinet, trying to climb into her high chair, and wrapping a bib around her neck.) When dinner was ready 20 minutes later and she was happily seated in her highchair, she gave the delicious sloppy joes a blank stare and decided she wanted more Cheerios! Breakfast of Champions perhaps, but that doesn't say anything about dinner! From there, we went from fussing to crying to screaming to a complete meltdown. Brian and I remained calm and didn't give in. We definitely don't want her to think tantrums will produce positive results for her. She didn't seem to like our explanation that "Cheerios are snacks, and we don't eat snacks for dinner." She decided no dinner was better than the untouched sloppy joes (which she has eaten several times before and liked, by the way), so we packed up the leftovers for whenever she decided she was hungry enough for something other than Cheerios. It never happened, despite our asking about 20 times before bedtime.

I feel bad for essentially putting her to bed without dinner, but our pediatrician told us that they will not let themselves starve if food is available and offered, and that they usually eat 2 out of the 3 meals better anyway. She had a good breakfast and lunch! And I'm sure she will eat a very good breakfast tomorrow, while her patient mommy looks on.


Note on 5/27/10: I'm not sure why I never posted this when it was current. I was just looking through my posts and this one was still a "draft" but it seems complete so I'm posting it now. Quite ironic that here I'm talking about Breeley's impatience when earlier today I posted a blog about mine. Obviously we both have our moments!