Y’all might remember pictures of Bennett and his first tree from last year.  It was a lot easier to photograph him back then when he wasn’t so wiggly and on the move ;).  But I’m glad we got at least one that shows how much he has grown, and that I actually had the energy in my 9th month of pregnancy with Baby D No. 2 to pick out and decorate another live tree.  Yes, I have already started adding presents under the tree (I think this is part of the nesting process for me). I really am trying to get everything off my “to do” list before this baby arrives!

Here’s a picture of what I look like in real life, after a long day of chasing a very active 19 month old around all day, trying to keep my 3 dogs feeling loved and included, cooking dinner for Husband, cleaning up the house the best I can (or should I say, throwing toys into miscellaneous places where I hope Bennett will never find them again), and trying really hard to not have a mental breakdown from all the stress of construction going on in and around my house…

Yep, this is real.  Swollen, tired, fat, hair hasn’t been washed since October (just kidding, not really)…

Baby #2, I’m ready when you are… this pregnancy has been a roller coaster for sure, and now that it’s almost at the end, I’m having all kinds of mixed emotions about it.  I feel like I didn’t have the time to document, the way I did with Bennett, which kinda makes me sad.  But I guess that’s to be expected.  And I know I’m going to miss the bump when it’s gone, but right now I could not be more eager to get back into my normal clothes and start feeling good about myself again.  I have gained almost the same as when I was pregnant with Bennett but for some reason, I just feel heavier and when I look in the mirror I see myself bigger than ever!

We had our final sonogram on Friday.  It’s crazy to me, seeing a baby this developed in a pregnancy.  We didn’t have that luxury with Bennett.  I only got 2 sonograms with Bennett- one at 8 weeks and the other at 20.  With this baby we got like…7 I think?  They have been monitoring this one much closer because in the beginning I had a large hematoma which was threatening the pregnancy for quite a few weeks, now they are monitoring the size since Bennett was a decently large baby (9.3lbs) when he was born.  At the final sono they did their calculations based on measurements of the head, stomach, and legs and came up with 8.2lbs for Baby #2 as of this week.  The head is measuring at the size of the average 38 week baby.  Now, I don’t know how accurate these calculations are.  Husband keeps saying, “watch this baby come out and be like 7lbs.”.  Ummm… that would be freaking awesome!  I think my recovery will be a lot easier with a smaller baby!  Men just don’t get it, and they never will.  The anxiety we as women have while carrying, laboring, and delivering a child is something I don’t think men could even handle.  That’s why God put us in charge of this important task in the circle of life.

I pray for my babies (and Husband) every night before I fall asleep.  I still feel blessed to have been able to carry these angels in my own belly for 9 months.  I have had the pleasure of feeling every turn, kick, hiccup, stretch… wow!  That’s pretty darn cool.  And I don’t take this time for granted, but as all the mom’s who know exactly how I’m feeling right now, toward the end things just get harder.  I will be bursting with love when this baby arrives, but I will miss pregnancy again and probably crave creating another human life some day in the future.

Keep my little family in your thoughts over the next few weeks.  I feel like from here on out we are on baby watch!