12 Weeks

This was a big week for Crew, he turned 12 weeks old, had his first Christmas, and had his first real day away from me! He's been sleeping through the night, and although I know it could all be a fluke, I'm choosing to be positive that this is real!

Look at that sweet little sleepy face. ;)

11 Weeks

A smile! We finally captured a week photo smile! At 11 weeks, this guy is strong and stiff! I don't know if I've ever mentioned it before, but this kid is so stiff and rigid. It's comical really. We can hold him with his belly in our hands, and he will be stick straight. He doesn't like to bend. We literally have to force him to bend in order to sit down with him. We had an ugly sweater Christmas party with some friends, 3 of which have babies about 4-6 weeks older than Crew. We had them all on their bellies on the floor, and while the other two could barely pick their heads up, Crew's up was up and looking around. This kid doesn't want to miss anything that's going on around him. I'm hoping he learns to relax a little bit because no one should be that rigid all the time!

Also, he's slept through the night a few nights this week!! Things are looking up people!!

Ten Weeks

Ten weeks and this boy is itching to roll over!! He'll arch until he's almost flipped, but that dang arm gets in the way (although he does flip from his front to the back) And he actually really enjoys tummy time. He loves watching his brother play around him, and loves to be held sitting up, on our knees, being bounced. He's also got the most kissable cheeks, and they're so soft. I love nuzzling this cute little guy. *Side note- this boy was all smiles until I put my face behind the camera. I pull the camera away and again, smiling from ear to ear.. Camera back in from of him.. this is the face I get.

Nine Weeks

This boy is two months old! We had his 2-month check-up which means we have update stats!

Stats:
Height: 24 in (89th Percentile)
Weight: 12 lb 10 oz (58th Percentile)
Head Circumference: 40 cm (76th Percentile)

He's not the biggest fan of shots, but he's easily consoled by picking him up and giving him some loves. I still feel like I'm in a fog. It's hard because for me, I would rather stay up until 1:00 or 2:00 am when I know Crew will wake up, then to go to bed at 11:00 for a couple hours, only to get woke up abruptly a couple hours later. The problem with that whole scenario, is I'm not getting very much sleep. Luckily Nixon has seriously been a dream. When he wakes up, I get him some breakfast, I fall asleep on the couch, and he plays with his toys in his toy room. Everyday I tell him what a good boy he is, because if he needed my constant attention, I would be dead. I just keep telling myself, "This will pass, he will learn to sleep through the night."

Eight Weeks

You wouldn't be able to tell from most of his weekly pictures, but this little guy really does smile, and he super sweet!! Crew is eight weeks and met Santa for the first time. We've also developed a bad habit with him.. Because Ethan and I are so exhausted in the middle of the night when he's awake, we've started having him suck on our finger (blame my mother.. she did it first and it worked). I don't know what it is about a finger over a binkie (other than it feeling more genuine) but if we offer the finger, he'll take it and will stop crying. He will usually fall asleep with it. It's our crutch.. and I'll use it if it means that I can finally get some sleep!

Seven Weeks

This sweet boy is seven weeks!

And while he has also gotten a bad rep for not being a good sleeper, I have say the night I needed it the most, he slept from 1:00am-10:30am.

We had gone to a birthday party for our niece Stella. We got home and I started feeling a little bleh. I went to bed after I put Crew down, and about an hour later, I woke up and knew I was going to throw up. For the next few hours I laid outside of our guest bathroom in the hallway, throwing up, so Ethan could get some sleep because he had work.

I was feeling pretty terrible and threw up the last time around 9:30am, all the while Crew was sleeping through all of it! When he did finally wake up, I was graced with this face:

My sweet boy!!!

He also made it through his first Thanksgiving, completely unaware of what was going on as he slept in a dark room. A new born during holidays isn't very exciting unfortunately.

Six Weeks

This guy has developed a plethora of nicknames in his short time being with us. They include: Crewman, Crew Manchu, Crewstifer, and Baby Crew. Crew enjoys sleeping (during the day), eating, and crying. I suppose that's what normal babies do, right? It's ok Crewman.. We still love you!!!

Five Weeks

We officially a month!

Little sleep-no-mas lacks the sleep, but makes up for it with his smiles (almost). I feel like Heavenly Father needed something to keep me going, and on-demand smiles definitely help. He had his one month check up and everything is looking great! Wasn't so keen on the shots, but who really is? Am I right?

Stats:
Height: 23 in (97th Percentile)
Weight: 10 lb 7 oz (65th Percentile)
Head Circumference: 38 cm (72nd Percentile)

If this continues, he will probably be tall like his brother.

I feel like we're in a bit of a fog, but this boy is so loved. If I could, I would snuggle him all day and hold him, but he's not a huge snuggler. He likes to face out and see the world around him. He also has this gaze that makes you wonder what could possibly be thinking? He looks so deep in thought. Sometimes I like to just watch him stare at the world around him. We sure love this boy.

Newborn photoshoot

Four Weeks

Crew has had his first official Halloween and successfully rocked not one, but two costumes! He slept through most of it, but we're ok with that.

He's a fairly pleasant baby through the day, but nights are still a struggle. It's hard to be the second child. We really need to stop comparing! We assumed this baby would be just like the first, and he wants to make sure we know he's his own person, which we'll probably appreciate more when he's not relying on us during the night!

He's got dark eyes, and the craziest Alfalfa hair in the back. I'm sure it will calm down or fall out eventually, but for now, it's kind of entertaining to play with.

Crew's birth announcement

I decided to try and take Crew's newborns by myself which made me extremely nervous. They are only this little once and I didn't want to screw them up! But in reality, I actually really enjoyed it. I wasn't stressed because I was on someone else's time, I didn't want props or funky things, I wanted him to look like a baby and be natural. Another pro of taking your own pictures, when you also design the announcement, is that you get to set up the pictures to work with what you have in mind for the announcements. I love how the pictures turned out, and I love how the announcement turned out! You can even catch his little smirk in the first picture. Melted.

Three Weeks

I'm pretty sure Crew is wondering where in the world Grandma went, because I think we're all wishing she would come back! It was so nice having my mom here, and I know I always say this, but it's never long enough! But I'm pretty sure she's taken my sweet little sleeper with her, because this guy has struggled a little bit with his sleeping (cue-eye-rolling-of-any-mother-that's-ever-had-a-terrible-sleeper). I mean it's manageable, but it's always nice to have that 3rd set of hands to help. Even with his lack of sleeping, we'll still keep him and his squishy cheeks. 

Crew's blessing

Crew was surrounded by lots of family on his blessing day.

 Ethan gave him a beautiful blessing, blessing him with strength in all aspects of his life, to enjoy the tender mercies given to him from the Lord, and that he recognize the worth of the souls he came in contact with. There were other things he said as well, but those were some of the ones that stood out to me.

This little man sure is loved. And we feel so grateful for all of our family that was there in support.

Two Weeks

This sweet little man is two weeks, and Grandma is in town!!!

Just like his brother, he's super strong and has been since he was born. I'm just going to assume that some of that strength comes from how big he was. He's so squishy and we are loving him. He still sleeps most of the day and night. He sleeps in our Ikea bed drawer just like Nixon did. We're adjusting to being a family of four still, but it's coming along. I think it helped me that Ethan had to go back to work after the weekend we had him, so I had to get used to our new "real life" real quick. But I feel like I'm handling it fairly well. We've even gone on a few outings because we've all been a little stir crazy!

Crew's birth story

To say I was ready to have Crew is the biggest understatement. I was tired, feeling huge, in pain, and I was done! I was super lucky with Nixon because he came out on his own at 38 weeks without even trying! Once I hit 38 weeks with Crew, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I had never had to go that far before!

I had gone to the doctor and he was saying things were progressing and that more than likely I was going to have the baby "any day now." Well, the night before my induction day was here and still nothing. I was getting everything put together, packing our bags and a bag for Nixon to stay and Grammy and Pa's when I get a call. I was going in that night because they wanted to put me on Cervidil (to soften the cervix) and then I would be put on Pitocin the next morning. It was the hospital. Dread filled me. They were pushing me back! My sister had had this happen with all of her inductions and now it was happening to me! I couldn't have another night like I had the night before!

As they were talking to me, they said there wasn't any room that night, but that I didn't really need the Cervidil because I was already dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced. They told me they would still take me in the morning to start the Pitocin. I was so relieved. We spent the rest of that night getting things put together (because Heaven knows I didn't have one packed earlier.)

We woke up the next morning, Sarah came to our house to stay with Nixon, and we headed to the hospital (luckily it's literally right around the corner). We checked in at 6:35 a.m. and made it up to our room. The hospital is actually amazing because you labor, deliver, and recover all in one sweet, so once we were in our room, that's where we stayed. One thing really bothered me though. They wouldn't allow pictures to be taken during the birth. I was kind of in shock, because I had never heard of that before and had planned on pictures (thankfully I didn't pay someone to come!). They got me all dressed, hooked up to the monitors and put in my IV's. The IV was a little bit of a struggle, which was new to me. I've always been told I have great veins, but this girl was new to the hospital (only had been there two months) and struggled to get an IV into my perfect veins. She tried once, and it didn't work (and actually hurt) so she took it out and blood went all over. She then tried again and while it wasn't painless, she got it in. So we were set.

They started the Pitocin at 8:10 a.m., and broke my water at 9:00 a.m. It was a little embarrassing because when the doctor broke my water, he said, "WOW." I didn't know how to take that. Evidently I had a lot of fluid and it just kept coming. I would dare said I had over a gallon of fluid come out (I love birth, it's so glamorous..).

Time went on and contractions were getting strong and stronger. I really try to hold off as long as I can with the epidural, but I realized it was going to take a while for the anesthesiologist to get there so I called for it. It took a little bit for them to get there, and I got my epidural at 11:30. From there is was a waiting game.

The doctor came in at 12:30 p.m. to check and I was dilated to a 5 and was at 80% effaced. More resting more waiting. More Ethan taking video (oh Heavens..). A little after he checked I started feeling some contractions, not painful, but I could feel them. I thought it was kind of odd, but I didn't worry too much about it.

2:10 p.m. the doctor came back in and I was dilated between a 7 and 8 and was 90% effaced. I was really feeling the contractions now which I knew wasn't right. No matter how much I pushed the button, I wasn't getting any relief from the contractions (that's why I got the epidural, I didn't want to feel them!). They called the anesthesiologist back in and he gave me a stronger dosage which did the trick!

At 3:00 p.m. the nurse came in to check and I was completely dilated and 100% effaced and it was go time. What? I'm not ready yet, seriously? I don't feel any pain! This was so different from Nixon's birth. They started getting the room set up and getting things together for the delivery. They wanted me to do a few "practice pushes" to make sure I did everything correctly. I did a couple practices pushes and then everyone started telling me to stop pushing! I was kind of surprised, but they said not to push anymore because the baby's head was right there and we needed to wait for the doctor to start pushing for real. The doctor came in the room about 3:40 p.m. and I pushed once. He told me to stop (why does everyone keep telling me to stop? Aren't we trying to get him out???). He told me to push one more time but not so hard because he had broad shoulders and the doctor wanted to get him out with minimal tearing (thank you!). And with that second push, at 3:47 pm, we had ourselves a healthy 8 lb. 11 oz, 20 3/4 in. baby boy!

The whole thing was kind of surreal when it happened. With Nixon, my epidural had run out almost an hour before I had him so there was a lot of pain, emotion and exhaustion, but with Crew, I basically pushed twice, with no pain and was almost laughing after he was out. I was in shock how easy it had been!

One Week

We're at one week with this guy, and we're still smitten! He is perfect. It's funny because at the hospital he seemed like such a big baby. And then I pick Nixon up out of his crib, and I'm reminded how tiny he really is! I was so worried how the interaction between Nixon and him would be, but Nixon has been a dream! He loves him so much that I'll lay him on the couch, and I come back and Nixon has come to lay down by him and he's so soft with him. It make my heart so happy! At his first appointment after coming home, he was down to 8 lbs 9 oz (down two ounces). He eats and sleeps great! I'm hoping this continues!

My sweet boy..

There's a reason no one tells you how emotional it is to have a second child. Unless you experience it, it's hard to describe. My heart broke as I put this sweet boy to bed for the last time before this baby joins our family and his world is turned upside down. I know they'll be the best of friends and that kids are resilient, but tonight, as I snuggled him close, tears running down my face and singing him bedtime songs, he looked up, wiped my tears and pat my cheeks. It was almost as if he was telling me, "Everything is going to be ok." He's the sweetest boy and I'm so grateful to be his mom. Ready or not, we're going to have another baby soon!

38 Weeks

How far along? 38 weeks

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he's about 6.8 lbs. and 19.5 in. (the size of a leek)

Total weight gain/loss:  43 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Sleep: Tossing and turning.

Best moment this week: Spending time with Nixon. I know the one-on-one time is coming to an end for a while very soon.

Movement: Yep.

Food cravings:  Nothing really.

Food Aversions: Nope

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  Contractions!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Wanting to nest.

Belly Button in or out? It's out.

What I miss:  Being able to paint my toes.

What I am looking forward to: Getting this baby out and moving into our new place!! 

Upcoming appointments/events:  I have an appointment on the 28th.

Milestones: I'm effaced, and dilated to about a 3. 

37 Weeks

How far along? 37 weeks

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he's about the length of a swiss chard stalk.

Total weight gain/loss:  42 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Sleep: We're at the beach with Nixon in our room.. Sleep has been better.

Best moment this week: Spending all week at the beach with all of the Thomas family!

Movement: Always, but I had a little scare one night. I couldn't remember feeling him all day, but I eventually got him moving.

Food cravings:  Does water count?

Food Aversions: Nope

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  Contractions!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Emotional.

Belly Button in or out? It's out.

What I miss:  Most things at this point.

What I am looking forward to: More beach time! 

Upcoming appointments/events:  I have an appointment on the 21st.

Milestones: I'm effaced, and dilated to about a 1. 

35 Weeks

How far along? 35 weeks

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he's about 18 in. and about 5 pounds (size of a honeydew melon).

Total weight gain/loss:  41 lbs. :/ I gained 6 lbs in 2 weeks. I wasn't thrilled with that..

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Sleep: I'm actually sleeping a lot better than I was.

Best moment this week: Hanging out with all of Ethan's family that lives here at his sister's awesome community pool and having a BBQ.

Movement: Always.

Food cravings:  No cravings, but the fact that Frosty's are $.50 right now make them very enticing!

Food Aversions: Nope

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  There are just a whole lot of hormones!!

Belly Button in or out? It's out.

What I miss:  Not being uncomfortable and being able to breathe normal after going up a couple flights of stairs.

What I am looking forward to: Celebrating labor day at local festival called Matthew's Alive. 

Upcoming appointments/events:  I have an appointment on the 7th.

Milestones: I'm effaced, but no dilation. 

Change is hard..

Last night as I was laying in bed, my mind started to race. I was thinking about how Ethan and I are doing, how his job interview went, will we get accepted into a dental school, how is this baby going to change the dynamic of our family, how is Nixon going to handle it? That's when I lost it. I think it's easy to push off the idea of a baby coming into your family and completely changing everything. Not necessarily in a bad way, just changing. The closer to having this baby the more anxious I've become. I remember telling myself, "Why do people worry about their kid getting a sibling? They'll be fine." But yesterday I had this rush of anxiety come over me. Does Nixon know how much I really love him? Does he know how much I've struggled knowing that he's no longer going to be my favorite little boy, because I can't have favorites anymore? Have I given him enough attention? Have I played with him enough? Have I been kind enough to him? All of these questions and feelings came to me and I didn't know how to process it. The only thing I could do was cry. So I slipped out of bed, quietly went into his room and held his tiny little hand, that wrapped around my finger as soon as he felt it. I sat there in tears as I thought back to all of them memories I have of him. I remember how I felt the moment I saw him after he was born, when his big eyes looked up at me because he know I was his mom. The countless hours those few couple of weeks after he was born that I spent with him on my chest as his slept. The big open-mouth toothless grin that greeted us for months and months until he got teeth. And even more recently, of us cuddling after his afternoon nap for as long as we wanted with no schedule and nothing else that was more important. My heart aches to know that that time is closing for us. It's not longer going to be just me and Nixon.

Will he be ok? I'm sure he will be fine. I love having a big family with lots of siblings, and now their spouses and children. I would have hated being an only child. Will I be ok? Will I live with regret that I didn't do enough when I had the time of just him and I? Probably, but what mother doesn't?

Change is hard, and we're about to have some big changes come, but I just have to remember that it will all be ok. I just need to soak up every minute I have with him, and it will all be ok.

33 Weeks

How far along? 33 weeks

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he's about 17 in. and about 4 pounds (size of a pineapple).

Total weight gain/loss:  35 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Sleep: Never enough, but that's how I feel not pregnant. :)

Best moment this week: Hearing that my doctor will induce me before my due date! Holla!!

Movement: Always.

Food cravings:  Nope

Food Aversions: Nope

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Hormones and nesting.

Belly Button in or out? It's flat.

What I miss:  Life without pain!

What I am looking forward to: Nothing in particular that I can think of. 

Upcoming appointments/events:  I have an appointment on the 31st.

Milestones: Nothing I can think of. 

32 Weeks

How far along? 32 weeks

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he's about 16.7 in and about 3.75 pounds (size of a jicama).

Total weight gain/loss:  35 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yep, but most days I just lounge in regular workout clothes that still fit.

Sleep: Sleeping ok. Not amazing, not terrible.

Best moment this week: We've been spending most of our time at the pool and it's been fantastic!

Movement: He's definitely wiggly.

Food cravings:  Nope

Food Aversions: Nope

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  My feet are starting to swell more. Not terribly, but definitely more noticeable.

Belly Button in or out? It's flat.

What I miss:  Moving how I want without restrictions.

What I am looking forward to: Spending more time in the pool with Nixon. I'm realizing our alone time is getting closer  and closer to ending. :( 

Upcoming appointments/events:  Celebrating 4 years with Ethan, and an appointment the same day.

Milestones: Nothing I can think of. 

30 Weeks

I just have to say I don't find this picture flattering at all, but it's my 30 week picture, so here it is. 

How far along? 30 weeks (and measuring exactly 

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he's about the size of a large cabbage.

Total weight gain/loss:  30+

Maternity clothes? Yep!

Sleep: I sleep like a rock, ask Ethan!

Best moment this week: Having a little date night out with Ethan and Nixon and getting pizza (and scoring big at the consignment!).

Movement: Elbows and knees, elbows and knees!!

Food cravings:  Nope

Food Aversions: Nope

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Super strong Braxton Hicks and lots of pelvic pressure!

Belly Button in or out? It's pretty much out.

What I miss:  Waking up not in pain.

What I am looking forward to: Spending some time in the pool with Nixon.

Upcoming appointments/events:  August 17th.

Milestones: T-minus 10 weeks left!

29 Weeks

How far along? 29 weeks

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he's about the size of an butternut squash.

Total weight gain/loss:  25+

Maternity clothes? Yep, Mostly dresses.

Sleep: Depends on the day, but mostly great!

Best moment this week: Going to the temple.

Movement: Oh boy does he move!

Food cravings:  Nope

Food Aversions: Nope

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  I've been having Braxton Hicks like crazy!

Belly Button in or out? It's about flat, but not quite.

What I miss:  Not having pain in my sacrum. It's actually been pretty uncomfortable.

What I am looking forward to: Consignment this week!!!

Upcoming appointments/events:  August 2nd.

Milestones: Third trimester baby!!

28 Weeks

How far along? 28 weeks

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he's about the size of an eggplant.

Total weight gain/loss:  25+.

Maternity clothes? Yes. My sister gave me a pair of Gap maternity jeggings and they are amazing!!!

Sleep: Sleeping!

Best moment this week: Having Ethan feel the cluster kicks that he's been doing!

Movement: He likes to move.

Food cravings:  Nope

Food Aversions: Nope

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Lots of pelvic pressure/sacrum pain!

Belly Button in or out? Flattening.

What I miss:  Sitting and walking without any pain.

What I am looking forward to: Spending some time in the pool this week. It's been so hot, and getting in the pool and feeling weightless is awesome. 

Upcoming appointments/events:  August 2nd.

Milestones: Placenta Previa has totally corrected itself, I got the RhoGam shot, and passed my glucose test. 

27 weeks

How far along? 27 weeks

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he weighs about 2 pounds and it approximately 14.5in (about the size of a head of cauliflower).

Total weight gain/loss:  About 25lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes, and my sister gifted me almost an entire wardrobe!

Sleep: It's good!

Best moment this week: Reuniting with Ethan! Not only for me, but for Nixon too!

Movement: Yes.

Food cravings:  Nope.

Food Aversions: Nope.

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Slightly more emotional than the average emotional me.

Belly Button in or out? Flattening.

What I miss:  My parents. It was fun being with them for so long.

What I am looking forward to: Getting settled back into our routine at home.

Upcoming appointments/events:  July 11th.

Milestones: I've worked out for a solid month and I'm feeling pretty good because of it. 

26 Weeks

How far along? 26 weeks

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he's as long as a green onion.

Total weight gain/loss:  20 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Yes! I think dresses are going to be my saving grace this summer!

Sleep: Sleeping great!

Best moment this week: Having Nixon watch the fireworks at the rodeo. He was awestruck, and I loved every minute.

Movement: He's a mover and a shaker.

Food cravings:  Nope.

Food Aversions: Nope.

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  Nope!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  A little swelling, but that's probably just from traveling.

Belly Button in or out? It's still in for now.

What I miss:  Eh, I'm pretty content.

What I am looking forward to: Seeing Ethan. A month is a long time without him!

Upcoming appointments/events:  July 11th.

Milestones: No big milestones that I can think of. 

25 Weeks

How far along? 25 weeks

How big is baby? According to my pregnancy app, he's about the size of a rutabaga

Total weight gain/loss:  Still between 15-20.. :/

Maternity clothes? I bought two more of my favorite dresses!!

Sleep: Great!

Best moment this week: Going to the Fiddle Festival and seeing my old dance teacher and other people I haven't seen in years!

Movement: He gets his groove on at night. It's always on the right side

Food cravings:  Nope

Food Aversions: I'm good

Gender: It's a boy

Labor Signs:  No labor signs here

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Pelvic pressure

Belly Button in or out? Still in.. for now :/

What I miss:  Fitting into regular clothes

What I am looking forward to: Family reunion this weekend!

Upcoming appointments/events:  I have my next appointment in 2.5 weeks.

Milestones: I officially don't fit into any of my old shirts without my belly showing.