Turns out I didn't have time to make many posts here. I found myself involved in so many other activities such as entertaining the toddler, getting things ready for the new baby, doing Christmas shopping, etc. I was going to post lots of other pics of his 3D ultrasound and my growing belly. But alas, time flew by, and at 37 weeks, Baby J arrived, yes, 3 weeks early. But he is healthy and doing well. A little jaundice, but nothing that required the home installation of the blue lights.  

His birth story was goes like this:

It was about 10pm on a Wednesday night, and I had just put Bel down for the night. I got up and walked into the kitchen and got a really bad cramp. I walked into the bedroom to go down for bed myself and got a couple more breath-taking cramps. I could barely get onto the bed. When I finally did get on the bed, I started to feel fluid flowing out. My hubby called the doctor, and we went to the hospital, still leaking fluid.

The fluid was quite bloody, so they weren't sure if my water broke or if I was just bleeding. So they admitted me. Oh, and I was having contractions 2 minutes apart. At that time, I was still 36 weeks and a few days along. He would have been considered premature.

We spent that night at the hospital and waited the whole next day for something more to happen. My contractions had slowed to about 5 minutes apart, and they became less intense. But, the doctor didn't want to induce me until we were past the premature stage, which was just one more day away at that point.

So late that night, they induced me with pitocyn. That sped things along, and I got an epidural. They finally could feel that my bag of water had not yet broken, so they took care of that. That sped things up quite a bit (same as last time but even faster). In less than an hour, I was ready to push.

Pushing lasted about 2 contractions and he was out. It didn't take much, especially since his head was already visible by the time I started to push. Wow, what a difference from my first baby. It took at least an hour trying to get her past my pelvic bone, let alone crowning. But being more than 2 pounds lighter than his sister, he effortlessly slid right out. They plopped him on my belly and it was done.

It was love at first sight, of course. My sweet little boy. I love him so much. I am so happy to have him here. I can't imagine life without him. I feel so much more mommy-like having two children now. Sometimes I have one in each arm, and I don't feel myself anymore. I feel like somebody else. I feel more like a family. I feel like there is so much more love circulating around me.

I am about 28 weeks along now, and in my third trimester. I feel like I'm back in my first trimester, but with back aches and leg cramps. I'm really tired everyday, all day long. I had a blood glucose test for gestational diabetes, which came out normal, but I have a low hematocrit, which signifies anemia. So I guess that's why I'm so tired. I've been taking SlowFe everyday, but now boosted it to twice a day, and taking vitamin C along with it to increase absorbtion. I'm hoping it works and I get some energy back. It's really annoying feeling so tired and not wanting to do anything. Even working out is a challenge, when I'm usually so eager to do so every morning.

Baby J is still active. I think I can feel his every movement and hiccup. I can see most of them through my shirt, too. We are still working on redecorating the nursery. Just got some new dresser drawers in today. Can't wait till the room is all setup for him. I'm looking into getting some scrapbooking software, too, so that I can work on his scrapbook (and finish Bel's!). 

So far so good, still. About 26 weeks along now. Still have insomnia many nights, as I've had since the first trimester. That's the worst part, so far. Other than still having to carry Bel on top of being pregnant. I've seen many women do it all the way up to their last month, but I guess I'm a wimp.

Several of my friends (mommies' of Bel's friends) are getting pregnant, too! It'll be fun having play dates with double the amount of kiddos!

We finally started working on the nursery. We bought all the room decor and are going to paint it soon. 

I've started putting together my baby registry. Most of everything we still have from when Bel was a baby. And getting hand-me-downs from a friend with an older baby boy. So this time around, I'm not too worried about what to get.

Also, planning on doing a 4-D Ultrasound again. Can't wait. It'll be so much fun to see his face! 

Baby Boy has been kicking up a little storm in there. And I think he's been hiccuping, too. I feel rythmic little thuds every now and then.

Working out has been harder. As well as the motivation to do so. I'm trying to take Bel swimming once a week. I guess that would count as a workout. I'm still doing the Your Fitness Coach workout, which I still love. It's easy and brainless. 

I haven't gotten too overly big yet. I still keep a pretty low profile with my baggy maternity tops. But it's definitely getting rounder.

We finally had the ultrasound that determines the gender, and checks the overall health of the fetus. Everything checked out great, and he is a healthy growing boy! Yay, such luck to get a boy after just having a girl. They will compliment each other very well.

They will share a room for now, especially since they won't really be using the room just yet for anything more than getting changed and taking naps. Playtime is spent around the house, usually in the room we are in, i.e. the living room, dining room, etc. I'm thinking about redecorating the room for a boy/girl. Right now, it's all girly-girl with pink and purple butterflies and flowers. Maybe something for both genders, like a Winnie the Pooh theme. 

Leg cramps are starting early in this pregnancy. I didn't really get them until later in the first pregnancy. But the past two days, I've been rudely awaken by them. Baby Center has some good information on leg cramps and some exercises to do that may decrease them. Maybe I'll try some of those.

During the last pregnancy, I used an herbal microwaveable heat pack. That worked well to soothe the cramps, especially the really bad ones on my shin that didn't seem to go away with stretching, or walking. But the downside is that I had to spend the time and energy microwaving it. Had to wake up hubby several times to get him to do it.

But this time, I found an instant heat pack. You just click the button, a chemical reaction is started, and the pack starts to heat up immediately. The only downside is that you have to boil the pack for 10 minutes afterwards to get it to become reusable again. When the chemical is released, the pack becomes clowdy and warm. Boiling it clears it back up. But I think this is going to be my lifesaver this time. No more waiting to microwave it. Then I can just boil it in the morning.