25 Weeks Pregnant

I really thought I was 26 weeks pregnant today...guess I'm getting ahead of myself!

Best Moment of the week: We had a really nice and busy week! We had fun at Tori's party on Sunday, had our first trip to the pool this year (which was fabulous!) on Monday, had a fun playdate with Meg and her son Hunter (a little younger than Carter, but they played really well together) on Wednesday, Grancy came home and was back at our house on Thursday, and we went to a yummy lunch at Cheesecake Factory with Auntie Lauren yesterday. Today we went to the Aquarium as our little 3.5-person family, then out to lunch and IKEA...spending time as a family is just so precious to me!

Epiphany of the week: Wouldn't really call it an epiphany, but I started registering this week. I made a list of the "stuff" we still need, which really isn't much since we're having another boy! My wonderful friends Lauren and LeShayne are throwing me a "baby sprinkle" (which is a mini-shower) so I'm trying to make my invite list and get registered since at the rate this pregnancy is flying, it will be here before I know it!

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week: Carter started blowing kisses and saying "thank you, mama" upon request. My mom taught him to roll on the ground, and he really likes crawling under your legs when you're standing up. He also loves doing the motions for Itsy Bitsy and Patty Cake.

Obsessions: None, really. Much less obsessive in general for this pregnancy. Wait, I take that back...Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory...totally worth obsessing over! And I would really, really, really like to pass my glucose test on Tuesday. Pretty please??

What I am most looking forward to this week: Nothing big planned...maybe some down time after being social butterflies this week!

What I miss the most: Sleeping comfortably, still. I think I will be in this holding pattern until I can roll onto my back again!

Symptoms: I tend to get really congested whenever I'm particularly active (only during pregnancy), so our trip to the aquarium, walk to and from Channelside and around IKEA has me congested with clogged up ears, no fun. I'm also feeling the strain of the extra weight in my lower back right now and soooooo sleeeeeepy.

Milestones: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat.

Weight: 142

24 Weeks Pregnant

Best Moment of the week: Collin really started moving and grooving this week! He put on a significant amount of weight (about 4 ounces depending on my email updates...which is a lot when you weigh less than a pound!), and I think that really helped him make his presence known. I can now visibly see his jabs, which is very cool.

Epiphany of the week: I finally have Carter on a decent nap schedule...but once Collin is here, how am I going to lie down with Carter, read him his book (Cat in the Hat), sing him his songs, and help him fall asleep when there's a newborn demanding to be held?? Please, oh please, let me have a laid-back baby this time around!

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week: Carter: "Where's the dog?" (looking for his green dog stuffed animal, Scout) "There he is!" "Hi!" I love that he was able to ask a question, answer it, and have such a complete succession of thoughts. He also continues to count up a storm, and is finally understanding the meaning behind the numbers. I love, love, love watching him learn, and he amazes me every day.

Obsessions: Double strollers...do I really need one? Can I make do without? Will I kick myself if I don't get one?

What I am most looking forward to this week: My mom getting home from her cruise TODAY! Also looking forward to my sweet "niece" Tori's 11th birthday party tomorrow and seeing "Auntie" LeShayne and Carter's "cousins."

What I miss the most: Sleeping comfortably. My hips and legs have started getting really sore at night since all of my ligaments are loosening, and I hobble around for a while whenever I get up (which is often!).

Symptoms: I got reeeeeally worn out on Tuesday...that was the day Collin first started his visible kicks, and I think his growth spurt really took a lot out of me. Some days I really feel like I have it together, but Tuesday was not one of those days for me!

Milestones: Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Weight: 141.5...hello again 140's.

21 Week Sonogram Pictures

Here are the sono pictures from Collin's 21 week sonogram!

Profile shot:


3-D shot of his face with his hand against his cheek (the funny glitch over his lip is his umbilical cord casting a shadow)


Another 3-D face shot, rotated a bit. Already a beautiful boy.

23 Weeks Pregnant

Best Moment of the week: Carter learned to count to 10 this week, and I couldn't be prouder of him! He'd been counting to 2 for a while, then started saying "1, 2, 3, 9, 10," then out of the blue was putting blocks back in the box with Glenn and he counted to 10 all on his own! Now he's obsessed with counting, and while he doesn't quite have the concept down all the time, he's getting there. He's also loving letters and likes to play with all of his different alphabets, matching the letters up and saying the ones he knows (and pretending to say the ones he doesn't).

Epiphany of the week: Going to the grocery store with two is going to be very, very hard!

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week: "One, Two, Free, Fo, Fi, Hicks (with gusto), Se-Nen, Eight, Nine, Ten!" - Carter

Obsessions: The little man (soon to be the big man, I guess) is just flooring me with his intelligence this week. I'm such a proud mama, and I just know having two is going to double that pride!

What I am most looking forward to this week: My mom getting home from her cruise next weekend. We've missed her greatly!

What I miss the most: Being able to get over the baby gates easily!

Symptoms: Peeing all the time, getting teary all the time...basically I'm just a faucet.

Milestones: (This totally cracked me up!) Baby's now the size of a papaya! Baby's little face is fully formed...minus the baby fat, of course. The next task at hand for baby: sprouting two teeny-tiny nipples!

Weight: 139...I'm debating whether I should be counting from where I started, in which case I've gained 6 pounds, or from where I bottomed out, in which case I've gained 14 pounds. Will have to check with my doctor!

22 Weeks Pregnant

I've decided that if you take the time out of your busy schedule to read my silly blog, you deserve to get a little reward. So if you're reading this now, congratulations! You get to be in on our little secret, and I'd like to share with you our second son's name. Drumroll please...Collin Edwin McKay!

Now let's get one thing clear....this does not give you carte blanche to share the name with other people who might want to know. You're part of my special little club, so zip those lips! :) But I hope you like it. And if you'd like to leave me a comment to let me know you read this so I have some people I can say his name out loud to, I'd appreciate it! If you don't like it, or it's the name of some really awful person you once knew, or your dog's name, etc., you don't have to tell me that. :)

Best Moment of the week: Without a doubt, the sonogram on Monday. The one downfall was that we ended up having to bring Carter to the doctor with us (I got sick and since my mom was leaving for her cruise and didn't need to share my germs, there was no one else to watch him on short notice), and since he FREAKS OUT at doctors' offices right now, Glenn ended up sitting in the car with him instead of in the doctor's office with me. (He lasted about 30 seconds in the waiting room before making such a racket that Glenn couldn't handle it.) But the sonogram was still great. There's always that moment before the sonogram starts when I just hold my breath and hope that nothing is wrong, but as soon as he was up on the screen, he wiggled around and said hello, and all was right with the world. They checked his spine, heart, kidneys, bladder, brain, hands, fingers (and probably a few more things I can't remember right now), and everything looked perfect, which is what I like to hear. The only cause for a bit of concern (and not likely to be a problem) is that my placenta is a bit low, so they need to monitor it to make sure it doesn't turn into previa (where the placenta blocks the cervix, aka the way out). The sonogram tech said that I would definitely get another sonogram out of it, but my doctor really wasn't that concerned and wasn't going to schedule one. I begged though, and he consented, so at my 28 week appointment, we get another peek at little C. (And Glenn will hopefully get to come this time!) I've decided that there is such a thing as a sonogram high...despite being sick, I just felt so happy for the rest of the day.

Note: I will put up a few sonogram pictures once I get my scanner working again!

Epiphany of the week: After watching a "fat and happy" Carter after lunch today, we realized that in a year and a few months, we're going to have TWO crazy toddlers making laps around our house screaming like banshees.

Entertaining question/comment/story of the week: "There's one leg, there's the other leg, and there's the third leg." -Sonogram tech confirming that yes, we're having a boy

Me: Who's in Mama's belly?
Carter: Cah-yin (Collin).
Me: Who's Collin?
Carter: Bruzzah (brother).

Obsessions: My massively growing belly. It's amazing just how fast it's getting bigger now that I'm showing!

What I am most looking forward to this week: Mother's Day tomorrow, and spending some fun time with my hubby and Munchkin

What I miss the most: Nothing, really....no, I take that back. I miss cold medicine!!!

Symptoms: I am officially an emotional mess. For some reason I actually cried a lot less than "my normal" (which is pretty much like I am right now) during Carter's pregnancy and after he was born, but I'm back to crying at the drop of a hat...anything remotely sad on television and I'm all teary. And don't even get me started on how sentimental I am about Carter these days! Also, Collin has been using my bladder as a punching bag. I can literally feel it shake when he punches it, which sends me running to the bathroom.

Milestones: At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums.

Weight: 138...packing on the pounds!