22 Weeks of Baby Cheese and Feeling Huge

I'm 22 weeks pregnant today.  This pregnancy is definitely harder on me than my first.  This week the low back pain started, which I'm sure is caused by the size of my ever-growing belly.  Speaking of which, I thought I'd share some of the funny/ not so funny things people have said to me about my size.  These would be good to put on your list of "NEVER say to a pregnant woman--EVER":

• Wow, you're finally looking pregnant.  I mean, really pregnant! (That one was my dear hubby.  He says he meant it in a good way.  Ha.  My immediate translation was, "Wow, you big whale."  I totally cried.)
• When are you due?  May?  Wow, you still have a LOOONG way to go, but you sure don't look it. (an extended family member in NC on Nate's side, said to me on Christmas Eve)
• How far along are you?...That's all? Wow, you look a lot farther than that. (Lady at church)
• Oh my gosh--look at the size of your belly!  You're pregnant! (Lady at church)
• I hope you're pregnant.  [Yep--someone actually said that.  Granted, it was a 7 year old at church, but still.  My friend overheard it, and told me I should have said, "Nope, I just had a really large breakfast." :P]
• Oh, you're pregnant.  How sweet.  Are you having twins? (random lady behind me in the checkout line at Wal-Mart)
• Your husband said the baby's not due 'til May?...Oh, bless your heart.  [Thank you, random old southern lady at one of Nate's dog competitions.  That one made me laugh though, because it was such a "Southern" thing to say.]

There's no telling what else people will blurt out in the 18 weeks that remain.  I can only imagine...

You're Not Too Smart A Lot

While spot cleaning my carpets today, Coop was helping me look for spots. There was a big stain on the carpet that had been here since we moved in. Since the carpets had just been cleaned before we moved in, I figured the stain was permanent, so I told Coop that one wouldn't come out. He said, "Well, Mom, you should just try." So with my rag wet with just water, I rubbed at it, and most of it came right out. Yay! I told Coop he was so smart to try, and he said, "Yeah, Mom, I'm smart a lot, but you're not too smart a lot." Nice. Thanks for the vote of confidence, kid.

I'm Big Now

This morning I dressed Coop for church, complete with a tie. Nate dressed in a similar tie, and Cooper was ecstatic. Suddenly I heard, "Mom-may!!! Wook, I'm big like Daddy! I'm big! We have the same tie and now I'm big. You said it would take a few years, but now I'm big, and baby cheese can be born, and I can play in the road (he thinks that's what big kids can do), and shoot my real gun like Dad. I'm just already big!" He was grinning from ear to ear, and that's all he talked about on our drive to church. He is obsessed lately with being big.
But then at times like tonight, he wants snuggles and kisses and wants to be my little boy again. I am mush.

Also tonight I was laying on the couch whike we watched the Patriots football game, and Coop was playing with his flashlight. He put it right up to my belly, and to my surprise, the baby swatted it. I thought it was coincidental, since I don't know whether babies can see in the womb. But Coop moved the light two more times, and Cheese hit it again and again. Maybe it was the pressure, or the warmth, or whatever, but Cooper was delighted to "play" with Baby Cheese. He asks nearly every day now whether Cheese can can be born yet, and likes to tell me about all the things he's going to teach his little brother, and how they'll play. He is alreay great a being a big brother.

Lucky Rock Part II

Tonigt Coop saw the rock he gave me (mentioned in last post) sitting on my night stand. He said, "Oh, that's your lucky rock, Mom."
Me: "Yep, because you gave it to me."
Coop: "I have another lucky rock (which he pronounces 'wok'). You can buy it from me."
Me: "Wow, I can? How much does it cost?"
Coop: "Three."
Me: "Three what?"
Coop: "Three costs." Pause. "That's not a lot of costs. It's a good price, not too expensive. It's a good deal."
I had to chuckle. Do I comparison shop enough, or what? Raising a little haggler.

Rocks, Dirt, and Boys--Melts My Heart

Yearerday Nate took Cooper and Brody for a walk so I could take a nap. Pretty soon, I hear Coop calling, "Mommy (he says it with a little southern twang: mom-may), as he dashed up the stairs. I scarcely had time to open my eyes before he was shoving something in my face, literally, like right near my eye, while dirt fell on my cheek. He was so excited to give me a "special rock" he'd found on their walk. It was so sweet, and I set it on my nightstand. This morning as I was dressing him, he saw the rock, and said," Oh, your special rock! Do you just love it?" I told him I loved that it was from him and how thoughtful he is. He started telling me about finding it near the stream near our house, and how there were other rocks, but this one was really special, just for me. I love this kid.

He must get it from his father, who tonight after going to Scouts with the teenagers at church, drove out of his way to bring me my favorite ice cream. He also let me sleep in this morning, got up and fed Coop, and multi-tasked work and child care so his tired, pregnant wife could sleep. He's so selfless and wonderful, and a great example to our son.

I love my boys!!

I am a Robot.

After completing a large to do list of house cleaning, one-on-one preschool time with Coop, and a bunch of other stuff, I was in need of a little down time. So Coop and I watched a cute little cartoon episode of a kids show called "Wibbly Pig." It was a cute episode about pretending to be robots. After a nice 20 min rest, I suggested to Coop that we go build him his own robot costume, to which he exclaimed, "You're the BEST mommy!!" If I can get him to say that once a day, I've done my job. :)
So this is our robot. Anyone seen Cooper?

Pregnancy Milestone: 20 Weeks--Halfway!

This past Wednesday marked 20 weeks pregnant for me, the halfway point of a full-term pregnancy.  Since I know I'll be delivering this baby via c-section at 39 weeks, I'm actually more than half way through this pregnancy.  It's gone by so fast!  I'm really liking this timing, since the holidays and such made the time fly by.  I can't believe I haven't posted any belly pics yet.  It seems every time I think about it, I've already gotten ready for bed, or Nate isn't around, or something.  So this time, I snapped a picture of myself in the mirror one day when I thought about it.  This is actually at 19 weeks.

As with Cooper, my body is not hiding the fact that I'm pregnant.  I'm just one of those lucky women that show, show big, and show early.  Apparently up until recently, I've looked like I've just been gaining weight to those not in the know.  This week Nate commented, "Wow, Babe, you're looking pregnant; I mean really pregnant."  He meant it as an endearing, sweet comment, but it was a bad day, and my mind quickly translated that to "Wow, you whale of a pregnant woman--look at the size of that belly."  Ah, hormones.  In my defense, the doctor does estimate this little guy to be a bit ahead of schedule as far as size.  At 18 weeks they estimated through ultrasound him weighing about 10 oz (granted there's a margin of error), while most babies at that stage are around 8 oz. or so.  I've only gained 7 lbs. thus far, something I'm rather happy about as I'm trying to stay as healthy as possible considering where I started from.

I can't be thankful enough that the morning sickness went away at 16 weeks 6 days--11 weeks to the day it began (6 weeks, 6 days).  It disappeared with Cooper at 17 weeks as well, and I was hopeful that would be the magic number again, since it didn't subside after the first trimester.  Thankfully it was, and I was able to enjoy the holidays and all the holiday food, along with not feeling nauseous all the time.  I had forgotten what it was like to feel "normal" about food.  It is such a big relief.  Nate is also relieved as he no longer has to cook dinners, and we're back to having delicious meals, as he put it.

Baby Cheese is quite the soccer player, just like his older brother was.  Today while visiting the doctor, the nurse was trying to get a heart rate, and Cheese kept kicking her, and moving around.  It took her almost 5 minutes to get a good reading.  I enjoyed every minute of it, hearing and feeling him move so much.  I can feel him kicking quite often, and if not during the day, then reliably at night around 10 pm, and usually once or twice during the night when it wakes me up.  That's when he seems to like to do his kicking, especially to my poor bladder.  With him being breech, and kicking so low, Nate and Coop haven't been able to feel any kicks just yet.

Coop asks every few days whether Baby Cheese is ready to come out yet.  He's getting more and more excited about being a big brother.  He was especially excited the other day when he announced to me that he could teach Cheese how to do things like play football, and dig in the dirt.  Most nights after stories, he'll hug my belly and say goodnight to Baby Cheese, or say something like, "That's Baby Cheese right there, huh, Mom."

Nate and I are coming to the realization that in five short months we'll be the parents of two, which is a little daunting.  We're so excited for this little one to join our family.  As Nate puts it, we'll be a real family, not a single-child family.  I think it's funny he says it like that.  He is so happy that his boys will have siblings to grow up with, and not have Coop be an only child.  We are both saddened a little that Coop is growing up so much, and although he's still little, he's so big, and will soon not be our little baby any more.  It is certainly going to be a big change for us all.

Meanwhile, I'm getting excited.  I am resisting the urge to pull out all the little baby clothes and start washing them and setting up the crib and such.  With it all going in Coop's room, it's just way too early to start doing those things yet, so I gotta find some other way to curb my nesting instinct.

This pregnancy is definitely harder for me physically than with Coop, probably because I was out of shape before getting pregnant this time, and I'm three years older.  But while it hasn't been without challenges, I relish every moment.  Even though pregnancy is hard for me physically, I am so thankful to have the opportunity to carry my child, and be a mother to another little boy.  Here's hoping the second half of my pregnancy pass as quickly as did the first!