Think Pink!

We are having a GIRL!!  You read that correctly, come late February/early March Graham will be getting a baby sister.  We are thrilled to be adding a daughter to our family and surprised that there will be a Pretekin girl (there's not a whole lot of them)!

And now for an update on the pregnancy so far.  I have been feeling good, but experienced a bit of bleeding again around 16 weeks.  My doctor had me come in for an ultrasound just to make sure everything looked okay.  Baby was looking good during the ultrasound, but the tech thought that my placenta appeared to be very low and at my next visit, she would check to see is it had moved down over my cervix causing a condition called placenta previa.  Placenta previa typically means some level of bed rest with very regular doctor visits in order to monitor mama and baby, since the condition can have complications.  The tech also thought that my placenta looked like either it had an accessory lobe (totally normal and does not cause any complications) or could have another tear.  I was told to take it easy and to do as little lifting as possible.  During this visit, the tech also told us that she was fairly certain we were having a girl, but was not 100% sure since it was still early and baby wasn't completely cooperative.  We told our immediate families the news about the baby's sex, but decided not to tell anyone else until we got confirmation a few weeks later.

So on to my next visit.  I am happy to report that everything looked great!  My placenta moved up quite a bit, so I am no longer at risk of developing placenta previa.  The tech was also able to determine that my placenta has an accessory lobe and there are no new bleeds.  Our baby girl looked great, is developing normally, and measuring right on track.  I'm also happy to report that our baby girl is quite the mover!  I didn't feel Graham move until a bit later in the pregnancy due to the location of my placenta (me and the placenta, right??).  Even when I started being able to feel him, he was never really active.  Baby girl sure is!  We are so excited!

Yawning @ approx. 16 weeks

Little face @ approx. 16 weeks

Are those girl parts??? (approx. 16 weeks)

Yup, baby GIRL @ approx. 20 weeks

Little feet @ approx. 20 weeks

Little face @ approx. 20 weeks

Fun Fall Day

Fall is in the air! Today Graham and I went to the library (typically we go every other week to pick out new books) and we ended up staying for storytime! We didn't make it through all of storytime, but Graham had a great time with the other kids. I had a great time watching him interact with the other kids. He's incredibly expressive, he makes all kinds of gestures while he's talking and hasa ton of inflection and expression in his voice. After naptime, we did some painting using fall colors. Such a fun filled day!

Storytime

 

Artwork

With a Song in His Heart

He's singing "Working Together" from Thomas and the Blue Mountain Mystery.

15 Weeks

Right around 15 weeks was when I started to bump out with Graham, and I have definitely noticed a growth spurt within the last week (Michael swears I've grown in the last few days).  Here's my bump at 15 weeks with Graham and with Baby 2!

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, which went well.  It was just a basic appointment: weight, blood pressure, baby heart rate check, and blood draw.  Baby's heart was 130 beats per minute, which is within normal range (normal is 110 to 160).  At our next appointment, we will have the BIG ultrasound!  They will check all of the structures on the baby, and we will get to learn the sex (fingers crossed baby cooperates)!  I cannot wait!!

Big Brother

(My best attempt to get him to pose while holding the ultrasound picture of his little brother or sister!

12 Weeks

And one day.  Just like my pregnancy with Graham, I am planning on taking a belly picture each month.  And as tends to be true with second pregnancies, my bump is definitely getting bigger sooner.  I feel like I look like I did when I was about 16 weeks with Graham.

Once Upon A Potty

We are potty training!  Although Graham was quite resistant to starting to learn to use the potty, I knew that he could do it.  So after a few full on battles, we made some definite progress.  Things have been going pretty well, and we are able to keep dry undies most days.  He has gotten pretty good at telling me that he needs to pee, but always wants help pulling down his undies and pants and getting on his little Lightning McQueen potty.  We have had a few poops in the potty, but we have also had a few accidents.  We started out with a prize bucket and a sticker chart and have moved into just using the sticker chart.  We still wear diapers for naps and nighttime and so far we have worn pull-ups when we go out, but I am very excited about our progress!

Getting the supplies together to get started!

Using the potty!

Potty chart!

A special prize that we bought with the money we would normally spend on diapers!