30 Week & 4 Month Update

Allen told me awhile ago that I should write about my pregnancy. I believe he said something along the lines of "you should write about what it's like being pregnant so that I can read about it." Okay honey, will do.

I am now 30 weeks pregnant and I definitely feel it. The closer my due date gets the more and more paranoid I feel about going through labor. I will be the first one to admit that I am a weenie. I don't like blood. I don't like hospitals. I don't like doctors. I don't like big machines that beep for what seems like no reason at all. I don't like needles. And I especially don't like pain and I can be pretty expressive about it. With Mackenzie's delivery I just sat in a chair in the corner chugging water and desperately trying not to see too much so that I wouldn't pass out. There was no screaming or cussing like I anticipate with mine. The whole thing seemed fairly smooth. Now it's actually my turn though and it's scary. Thankfully we have a couple of classes lined up that will hopefully help make me feel more prepared. The childbirth class we are taking covers labor and delivery, postpartum, and newborn care. I joke that we'll be the only couple that knows all about newborn care already we just don't know how to handle anything before the baby is born.

Even more scary than childbirth is The After. How exactly do I care for a newborn and a 6 month old while recovering from what I can only expect will be the most traumatic event ever? Even if recovery is a breeze (fingers crossed) I still have to learn how to manage two babies at once. Just getting Mackenzie to take one nap requires an insane amount of time and effort and I panic when I think about having a newborn in the next room that needs me during my hour long nap attempt with her. Or what about her "crying it out" bouts that are loud enough to wake the entire block? I just have no idea. I told Allen that my motto for the next few months is simply "there will be crying". Whether it's baby 1 or baby 2 (or me) there are definitely going to be times where I am just going to have to let someone cry and I can't feel guilty about it. I started reading articles on raising "2 under 2" for tips but after realizing that nothing applies to my situation I switched to reading advice on having twins. So far I've found some great information and have even enrolled in Gerber's multiples program. I'm just so thankful that I have incredible help. Between family and friends I couldn't ask for a better support system. When Addison is born Allen will take off a week or two and my Mom offered to come help for about a month! I never thought I would say this in my adult life but if I still had a guest bedroom I would beg my Mom to stay.

So... pregnancy. So far it's been three months of feeling sick everyday and three months of feeling normal and forgetting that I am even growing a bean. Now that the bump is bigger there is no forgetting. My feet hurt all the time and I've started to experience really bad backpain. With Mackenzie's 12 lbs and my pregnancy weight gain (I won't say the exact number but it is under 20) I'm basically carrying around 30ish extra pounds all day long and it's unbelievably exhausting. By the time nighttime comes I just want to melt into the bed. And by night, I mean really mean like 8PM. And then comes the endless trips to the bathroom. I swear I must have gotten up at least a dozen times last night. It's basically an endless cycle because I'm also always thirsty. Bathroom, water, bed. Repeat. Even still, being pregnant feels pretty incredible. I feel like I don't get to enjoy or even really think about it much during the day because I'm so busy but once Mackenzie goes to bed and I get to sit there quietly and feel Addison kick it's magical. No matter how tired I am I love laying awake with my hands on my stomach just feeling her move. It's my time to forget about the stress and reflect on our blessings. It's the one time of day that I really get to enjoy being pregnant. It's when I wonder what she'll look like, think about the girls and how cute their matching outfits will be (yes I will be that kind of annoying Mom) and pre-plan future mommy-daughter dates. I love enjoying my quiet evenings with the bump until I eventually drift off to sleep because my days are thoroughly exhausting and I can't keep my eyes open any longer. And besides, I know that I'll be up again soon for Mackenzie's middle of the night feeding to start the process over again.

I believe we're down to less than 70 days on the countdown now and unfortunately I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. I guess that's not entirely accurate because we are actually moving along. We recently disassembled our office/guest bedroom and moved a bunch of furniture around to make room for Addison's nursery. The room itself is still a disaster, though. Finding the time and energy and working around the schedule of a 4 month old is nearly impossible.

We did finish up little Addison's registry at Babies R Us several few weeks ago and I am incredibly excited for her shower this weekend. Apparently most people do not have children 6 months apart so what we had to do was actually edit Mackenzie's original registry instead of just creating brand new one. I thought it would be fun to register and use the cool scanny gun while I had an actual bump to show off but holy hell, by the time we were finished I was absolutely drained and my feet felt like they were going to fall off. I don't remember it being that physically tiring last time. And with Mackenzie's registry we were first time parents so we were in the store for much longer trying to figure out what gadgets we needed. This time it was much more streamlined. We know exactly what we actually wanted and what was just unnecessary fluff. A stroller bunting and footmuff? Nope, don't need it. Yes, that's actually on their suggested registry list and I still have no absolutely no idea what it is. The nice thing about having babies so close in age is that you don't have time to forget anything. We know exactly what diapers we prefer, what brand of pacifiers, type of PJs, gas medicine, baby shampoo, everything. We got it down.

So Addison's baby shower is this upcoming weekend and I'm not sure how it snuck up so quickly. For awhile I was unsure if we should even have another baby shower. Afterall we did just have one in September and I was a little worried about what people might think. It didn't take much convincing though to change my mind. Our adventure is unique and by damned was I going to get jipped from another normal experience. Most people have baby bumps at their own baby shower so why not me too. And besides, now I get to show off Mackenzie. This time the shower theme is "Tutu Blessed" and Mackenzie is excited to show off her ballerina skills for everyone. 

And speaking of our little ballerina, Mackenzie is 4 months old now and weighs 12 lbs. She knows how to roll over from tummy to back, reach for and hold her toys, and chew on just about everything she can get her hands on. Her constant smiles and baby talk just melt my heart! Thankfully she is a wonderful nighttime sleeper but no matter what I do I still can't get her to nap on a consistent schedule. Some days she takes a great nap or two and others are an uphill battle. She's recently had episodes of preteething that last for a few days off and on but so far nothing is poking through. Also, out of the blue she had a total bathtime freakout that surprised the pants off us. For a few days she would scream bloody murder at the top of her lungs whenever we put her in her bathtub. Just dipping her toe in the water would set her off. After several days of what we called a "drive-thru bath" (basically the world's fastest bath) she was suddenly back to normal again. We think that she must have just scared herself with her newly discovered splashing skill or something. Either way, if there is anything that I've learned about babies it's that once you have them all figured out they like to go and change it up. Her 4 month pediatrician appointment and immunizations are next week and this mommy is dreading it! Last time I was just about in tears as they gave her the shots. It's so hard to see her in pain especially when she was all happy and smiley one second only to get stuck in her little legs a minute later. One thing that I am excited for is discussing the introduction to baby food. Or mush, as I like to call it. Depending on what the doctor recommends I think we will start that here in a few weeks or so so that will be a fun milestone to experience.

Okay I wrote this update over several weeks and between multiple naps/nap attempts and even though I probably have more to write about if I don't publish it now it may never get done. Especially because I think I hear baby waking up from a nap. (Yes, she slept!)

A few pics...

Alright, love love.

Heather

Update: Monday was a special day for our family! It was finally the day of our court hearing to finalize Mackenzie's adoption. As frustrating as our attorney was throughout the process (not returning my calls and taking what felt like forever) I am pleased that in the end he did such a good and thorough job. The judge was very friendly too and even mentioned how impressed he was with what our home study said about us. I thought that was awesome of him to say because I'm sure he has hundreds of cases and for him to specifically remember us was nice. I'm just so relieved to have everything buttoned up and behind us! The only thing left to do now is finish changing Mackenzie's last name and get a few new documents issued.

Forever Day - March 10th 2014