Here Comes Baby #2

Matt and I are switching from zone defense to man-to-man come May! We are adding a new player to to our team! Sorry for the basketball references, it's that time of year in our household for the next five months :)

Below are some notes I've taken the last couple weeks on how I've been doing...

September 7 (4 weeks, 3 days) - Well here comes baby #2, due May 14! While we shouldn't have been that shocked, we certainly were surprised it happened so quickly this time around. Crazy to think that Emma will be a big sister to a baby brother or sister!

September 12 (5 weeks, 1 day) - Carpal tunnel set in and it is painful. I had it the third trimester with Emma and I thought this time it was a fluke thing. But it definitely isn't. Only happens at night, but is therefore keeping me up.

September 17 (5 weeks, 6 days) - We told our parents today. I ordered a "Big Sister" shirt for Emma and our plan was to go down to my parents and just walk in the door while letting Emma's shirt speak for itself. My mom noticed instantly, while my dad took a little longer. Matt's parents came later that night and I bet it took a solid five minutes before we had to tell them to look at her shirt for them to notice. Both are thrilled for another grandchild to love!

September 21 (6 weeks, 3 days) - Migrane headache and lightheaded. With Emma running around and being clingy from cutting another tooth, I'm wondering how we are going to do this with another one.

September 25 (7 weeks) - Feeling extremely bloated and like my pant buttons are going to burst. I was able to wear pre-pregnancy pants with Emma for the first six months! That will definitely not be the case this time around.

September 29 (7 weeks, 4 days) - My stomach officially "popped" out. No, it isn't a food baby kind of belly. Legitimate pregnancy belly. It looks like I did when I was 14 weeks with Emma. Also gave acupuncture a whirl to see if it helps with the carpal tunnel.

October 4 (8 weeks, 1 day) - Bloodwork and paperwork at the OB.

October 9 (9 weeks) - Carpal tunnel seems to be gone and I am not as tired as I was. Other than my stomach, I don't even feel pregnant.

October 21 (10 weeks, 5 days) - Extreme cramping that caused me to double over in pain. Lasted a few hours. Had been spotting off and on the last few days, but don't want to read into anything. Every pregnancy is different, right? Could be nothing.

October 29 (11 weeks, 6 days) - First doctor's appointment went amazingly well. We aren't going to lie, we were a bit concerned with the intense cramping and spotting more than with Emma. Because of that, we had an ultrasound (something we didn't have with Emma this early) and everything looked great. Measured exactly to the due date and had a heartbeat in the 150's. Absolute huge sigh of relief.

Let the journey begin!

Berry Patch Farm

Matt had a full weekend home with little work commitments (rare September-April), so we took full advantage of it and spent some time at the local pumpkin patch: Berry Patch Farms in Nevada. Matt and I started coming here prior to Emma and have been here every year since. It is a family run farm full of pumpkins, apples, berries or whatever is in season. We like it because it is quiet, close, reasonably priced and they are super nice.

We made an epic parent fail by waking Emma from her morning nap to get there before lunch time. She was not impressed and pretty much cried off and on the whole time. I'm actually quite shocked we got some of these pictures. She had absolutely no interest in walking around either. 

Reason for the smile? Matt turned on the song "All About the Bass" (her favorite) to get her attention. 

Maybe next year we will have better luck with her interest.

Emma: 14 Months

We have been so incredibly busy with Emma that I keep forgetting to update on what is new with her.

Sleeping: She is still taking two naps a day with her first being at 9:00 and lasting anywhere from an hour to two hours. Her afternoon nap starts between 12:45-1:30 and lasting another hour or two. Of course she sleeps the longest at daycare and never like that at home. She is still going to bed at 7:00 like clockwork, maybe stretching it to 7:15, but that is rare. Our little sleeper then sleeps until about 6:30-7:00. Emma needs her sleep, just like her mama.

Eating: What isn't Emma eating? This girl can eat and everyone comments on how much she eats and yet is still petite. She's drinking whole milk at all meals and water throughout the day. She doesn't really have any food she doesn't like other than leftover meat and veggies, she must like things fresh. We have also learned not to give her fruit until after she eats her regular meal because she will just eat the fruit and nothing else. She eats really well with a fork and usually switches between her fork and hand to eat. A treat after lunch and dinner is one vanilla wafer. Thanks Nana for starting that tradition :)

Development: Talking, talking, talking! I feel like Matt and I look at each other and say "Did she just say ________?" on a weekly basis. Some of the new things she says are "uh oh", "hi", "bye" (sounds like die),  "no" (while shaking her head), "mooo" (for cow) and "meow" (for kitty). She still says the usual "dada"and "mama" along with her regular babble talk. She loves music and "dancing". By dancing, we mean clapping her hands while maybe moving her upper body back and forth. She seems to finally understand her toys, how they work and be imaginative with them. Same with books, something she has always been interested in. Emma loves books and can often be found back in her room surrounded with them.

Likes/Dislikes: She loves her new daycare and the little friends she has there. We drop her off everyday and she could care less that we are leaving her. Dogs are still a favorite too, she sees on in person, in a book or on tv and she immediately starts panting to the point it looks like she could pass out. Emma still loves being outside and has started crying when it is time to leave the park or come inside. Another like Emma has is going to grab her little pacifier/blanket combo from her crib when she is ready to settle down and snuggle before a nap or bedtime (mom and dad love this). Emma's dislikes these days are definitely the camera: phone or real thing. She could be doing the cutest thing and we get our camera out and she's over it. She hates to sit still and it is near impossible to get a picture of her unless she isn't looking. (Note the lack of pictures, I'm just not going to deal with it) Emma also doesn't like me doing her hair, so we compromise and do it while she eats a morning snack in her highchair before going to daycare. As of this week, Emma hates baths! That used to be the thing that calms her down and she loved the most. Not sure where that is coming from all of a sudden.

Mom and Dad Update: We are doing well, but seemingly more exhausted now than what we were a year ago. Or maybe it is a different kind of tired? I think she is just busy and going through a bit of an ornery stage of whining to get what she wants or getting into things just to get our attention. We are definitely heading towards the territory of needing to start discipline and frankly, it's scary. It is a fine line of saying she is just a baby, she doesn't understand or reminding ourselves she does get it and knows how to get her way. It isn't that Emma is bad by any means, but we need to start setting boundaries so that she realizes right from wrong and that the world doesn't in fact revolve around her. Emma is such a fun, loving and silly girl and we absolutely love being her parents and this time of our lives.