39 Week Bump Update

Being 9 months pregnant during summer looks a little like this: me lying on the couch in front of a fan with an icy cold wash cloth across my forehead and food network on in the background. Multiply that by hours and hours, and welcome to my life. I'm super thankful that it's been a relatively mild summer so far, but 90+ degrees is still a little too much for me to handle right now.

I've had a few pre-labor symptoms, but nothing that's stuck, and for the past few days I've felt absolutely no cramping or contractions. So either this labor is gonna come totally out of left field, or this guy is in there for the long haul, just like big bro. Since I was induced with Ez, and have no real experience with labor that begins naturally, or my water breaking on it's own, I've been spending many a late night reading labor stories on pregnancy forums. All I've determined is that there are a million different signs and symptoms that could mean I'm about to give birth at any moment, or they could mean I'm still a month away from labor. I've read stories of second labors that took mere hours from start to finish, vs. second labors that took longer than the first. There's no rhyme or reason to pregnancy and labor and birth, so I'm trying to go with the flow and not read too much into every little cramp or indigestion, but obviously I'm more than a little preoccupied with when this guy is gonna decide to make his entrance.

As far as nesting goes, I went through a little phase where I was literally scrubbing the walls and baseboards at 2 in the morning. I'm pretty sure it would've taken less effort to just repaint everything. I can tell it's cleaner, but I doubt anyone else would even notice the difference. I think Joe is going through his own mini-nesting phase, and he's been super helpful taking care of all the dishes (my least favorite chore) and we've both been preoccupied with cleaning out the fridge and then restocking it to the brim. We finally finished hanging the curtains in the boys' room, boxes of tiny diapers are stacked against the living room wall, and the dresser is filled with newborn to 3 month-sized onesies. All that's really left is to pack a hospital bag, but I've made a checklist of stuff I want to bring, so that's practically the same thing ;)

Part of me realizes that it's so much easier to take care of a baby living inside of me compared with a newborn on the outside, but overall I'm as ready as can be to expand our family to a party of 4. Who knows, maybe I'll be back with 40 and 41 week bump updates, or maybe this'll be the last one??

Just for fun, here's a little look back at the bump progression:

For a little walk down memory lane, here are all of this pregnancy's bump updates. And for comparison, here are my first pregnancy bump updates. Joe and I were crunching some numbers the other day, and I've been pregnant 18 of the last 34 months. Pretty crazy, huh?? Thanks for following along!

Pregnancy Confessions: 38 Week Bump Update

38 weeks! We are officially in the "are you having contractions yet??" stage. The if you don't answer my call/text right away, it must be because you're in labor stage. All you pregnant mamas know what I'm talking about. And no, no contractions yet. 

But, since this could very well be my last bump update, I though I'd get real and throw some pregnancy confessions out there:

• First of all, a huge thank you Cars, and Disney in general, for babysitting my child and for a guaranteed 90 minutes of sanity.
• Ez's 2 year old vocabulary can be a little hard to decipher at times, but the words "chocolate" and "cookies" are magically crystal clear. And the kid can recognize a See's bag from a mile away. Sympathy cravings?
• Soap and cleaning products fascinate me. At this point it's a borderline obsession. (See my 37 week update)
• Yet my house is never clean. 
• Sometimes I send Ez off to look for something just so I can hide whatever book we've already read 300 times in a row. #momoftheyear
• I've made it my unintentional mission to eat my way through the entire cereal aisle. Current fave: frosted mini wheats.
• I'm really bad about remembering to lotion up my belly. Unless it's itching like crazy, and then I use like a month's worth of lotion at once. So far no stretch marks though, so I'm pretty sure those lotions and oils don't actually do much in the way of prevention.
• Also, I always forget my prenatals. 
• I haven't checked baby center or any other baby development sites in months and therefore have no idea what sized fruit this babe is comparable to right now. If I had to guess, I'd say record-breaking watermelon-sized though.  #secondbabysyndrome
• I'm addicted to cooking shows. I never used to watch Food Network, and now it's pretty much my constant companion. 
• But I have absolutely no desire to actually cook. (See cereal comment above.)
• Ez survives on larabars and fruit like a little foraging squirrel for days at a time. (And cereal, of course.)
• My doctor commented on how much weight I've gained, then went back through my charts to see if there was a big jump in one particular week, before informing me, "Oh. You've gained a lot of weight at each visit." Thank you, Dr. Obvious. (For the record, I gained the same amount with Ez.)
• We still don't have a name nailed down, but Joe has grown exasperated enough to give me full control on that matter. ;)
• Joe once made me laugh so hard I peed myself. Watermelon on the bladder + laughter is not a good combo.
• Joe has also been asking daily if the baby can please just come out already. Apparently I'm not the most pleasant 9 month's pregnant lady. I'm with Joe on this one though. Come out any day now, lil guy.

And in honor of my last Disney bump pic, I threw together a little collage of all my Disney pregnancy pics:

My stomach got certifiably huge in the last two weeks. I'm kinda scared how much bigger it can get if he decides to stay put for another 2-3 weeks. 

And, in case you wanna look back, here's all my other bump updates. Thanks for following along!

37 Week Bump Update

I am both so ready to meet our lil guy and kinda hoping he stays in there another week or two (or three!). The fact that we're so close to meeting him is surreal to me. I'm soaking up our last days as a family of three, and also really excited to start this new chapter as a family of four. I've been looking through our hospital and newborn pictures from Ez's birth, and I get so emotional to see how small he was, and to think that any day we'll be holding another newborn in our arms. 

At 37 weeks my brain is a crazy swirl of nesting and wanting to get stuff done but my body is like "um, no." I perk up over cleaning product commercials and words like "foaming" "disinfecting" "cleansing" and "scrubbing" make me way too excited. I've also recently become obsessed with cleaning random things, like the shower curtain and the garbage disposal. But in case you thought my house was all sparkling and spotless, rest assured - the house is pretty much a wreck. Bending over and picking stuff up is way too much effort. Also, sitting on the couch with my feet up is really appealing. So it's like half nesting, half hibernation over here. Or more like a third nesting, two thirds hibernating...you get the idea ;)

Thanks to some pregnancy insomnia I've been spending way too much time reading birth stories in the wee hours of the morning. This is something I normally try not to do while I'm pregnant, but things that usually seem like a bad idea suddenly seem perfectly reasonable at 3 am. On the bright side, the stories are a great reminder that the pain is all worth it as soon as you hold your baby for the first time. I always get teary-eyed reading about the overwhelming love a mama feels for her newborn baby. But reading about labors that take days, and women who had to push for four hours to get an 11 pound baby out isn't something I'd recommend when you're due to give birth any day. (But if you're not pregnant, or you wanna ignore my advice and read a birth story anyway, Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, wrote about her 43 hour natural birth.)

In other nesting news, after lots of research we finally picked out a double stroller and infant car seat. It came down to the Graco Ready2Grow or the Baby Trend Sit n' Stand. They each have a dozen seating options and are extremely similar, but in the end we weren't that happy with the Graco infant seats we had with Ez, so we went with the Baby Trend. In our experience (with two different Graco car seats) the straps got tangled very easily and were not at all convenient to readjust. I've talked to lots of people who didn't have those problems, so we'll just chalk it up to Joe and I being overly impatient.

* This post contains some affiliate links for some of the products mentioned.

As you can tell, Ez was really into stroller shopping.

Pregnancy symptoms are just all the mild discomforts you'd expect this late in the game: heartburn, lightning crotch (it's a real thing), peeing every two seconds, and an overall lack of energy. My theory is that all this stuff is meant to prep you for labor by making you so ready to not be pregnant that labor doesn't seem as scary. But in all seriousness, I'm so thankful for how healthy both baby and I have been this pregnancy. Feeling him move around like a little acrobat never gets old and I love knowing that he's growing stronger each day, and that at this stage he will be healthy and able to thrive outside of me whenever he decides to come. We can't wait to meet you, lil man!

And in case you're interested, all of this pregnancy's bump updates are here, and all of Ez's bump updates are here.

35 Week Bump Update - Baby #2

35 weeks - aka, that weird pregnancy limbo phase where I'm wondering how the end got here so soon AND how are there still 5 weeks to go?? For the longest time I was using Ez's birthday as a landmark that we're nearing the end of this pregnancy, but now his birthday has come and gone there are really no other big events between us and birth, which means we're "officially" in the home stretch!  

Healthwise, I'm feeling extremely large and pregnant, but otherwise pretty good right now. Heartburn is minimal, my rib pain went away, and that prenatal massage and a whole day all to myself left me feeling completely rejuvenated. I know it's not feasible for all pregnant mamas to take a day off, but if you can get any time away for yourself I highly recommend it. I feel like it resets your mind and you come back ready to take on whatever life (aka - a toddler) can throw at you.

Cravings include lots of citrus: grapefruit, pineapple, and super lemony ice water. Like basically lemonade minus the sugar. Trust me, I still love sugar, but ice cold lemon water is just the most refreshing drink to me right now. Also, I had my first ripe peaches and cherries of the season and they're everything I was hoping they'd be. I'm so excited for more summer fruits! 

Nothing much has been accomplished in terms of nesting, but thankfully not too much needs to be done. We still need to hang some curtains and clean out their room a little bit, maybe rearrange some furniture. We should probably stock up on tiny diapers too. Other than that I think we're basically ready.

In big bro news, we've been reading Ez his new baby books, and now he'll point at himself and say "big brother!" Which is the cutest thing. He also brings his baby doll out for a cuddle almost daily. And he's always pointing at my belly and saying baby. I think he's about as prepared and knowledgeable as a two year old is gonna get. I've been loving reading up on how Amanda over at Plum Tickled Pink is adjusting to parenting two, and it gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, this transition will go smoother than I'm anticipating. Fingers crossed!

In baby news, this little guy is as active as ever, and he likes to switch up between tap dancing on my bladder or jabbing my lungs. Judging his movements I'd say he's about ready to move on to a bigger space. Only a few more weeks, lil guy!

You can read all Baby Craig's bump updates here, and all of Ez's bump updates here.

32 Week Bump Update - aka: Pregnant in Toddlerville

I can officially say baby #2 is due next month! Yay and yikes! I'm ready to meet and hold this guy, but still not completely sure how ready I am to be a mom of a toddler and a newborn. 

A lot of people have asked me how this pregnancy compares to my last one, and symptom for symptom they've been nearly identical. Very short-lived nausea, mild and sporadic heartburn, and both my little guys made sure to reorganize my insides by kicking a rib out of place. Pregnancy isn't a very romantic or idealized time for me. I know some people love it, but I'll admit I like having my internal organs all to myself. It's not dramatic or awful either. For me pregnancy is a means to an end, and through all the endless bathroom trips, the huffing and puffing just to get off the couch, and the back pain, I feel incredibly blessed to be able to make healthy babies.

The one big difference this time around is that I'm already a mom. So now, while I'm in my third trimester and just want to lay around eating cereal and vegging out, I have to put down the spoon and get on the hardwood floor to play trains, or actually venture out of the house to Gymboree class or the park before the toddler monster rears it's ugly head. 

During my first pregnancy I had an idea that my life would change forever, but it was more of a far away notion that I didn't fully comprehend. I still got to do pretty much exactly what I wanted when I wanted. I went to the gym regularly, I slept all the time, we watched shows besides Doc McStuffins and went on plenty of dates. Now there is no such thing as planning. "I'll wake up early and do a few miles on the treadmill before Joe goes to work," I'll think. Ha! A certain toddler will get up even earlier (like 5 am) so I can kiss those plans goodbye. Then I may think, well, he's definitely gotta nap since he was up at 5, so I can get some stuff done at naptime. Joke's on me! He will nap, but only in my arms, or in 20 minute increments. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that once you're in Toddlerville it's best to just give up any notions of planning and go with the flow. Plans are like a direct challenge to the Toddler Gods, and they always get the last laugh.

My view as I write this:

A nice thing about pregnancy #2 is that I'm much more relaxed about the actual pregnancy. Google and I were bffs during my first pregnancy. I'd look up every symptom and bit of advice I could find, which in hindsight was probably a little obsessive and stressful. This time around I've been there before and I know what to expect. But that's also the scariest part about pregnancy #2. I've actually felt contractions and had an epidural and an episiotomy. And I know that breast feeding is time consuming and painful. Ignorance is bliss. 

One aspect where I have no idea what's in store for us is how parenting a newborn and a toddler simultaneously works. One wants to sleep and eat all day, the other has energy to burn. With Ez we pretty much just stayed home and hibernated the first few months. Unfortunately I don't think that will cut it this time around. I have faith that we'll adapt, but I figure that much like labor and delivery it's best not to think about it too much and just dive in when the time comes. 

We are currently in the middle of the dreaded sick + teething + no sleeping trifecta (aka a shitstorm). I know all you parents can relate. This is probably not the time to contemplate my ability to parent two little ones when just handling one is using up my energy and patience faster than I can replenish it. A sick toddler is pretty much a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation. On the one hand, I've never had better snuggles than this week. On the other, we've never had so many timeouts for hitting and throwing. There have been plenty of nights this week where I escape to the treadmill just to have some alone time once Joe gets home. (Which honestly isn't the worst thing in the world.)

Any other 2nd time mamas feel similar anxiety about parenting two vs. one?

7 Months Bump Update with Baby #2

We took this month's bump picture at Disneyland! Definitely the happiest place on earth...unless you've got a 3 pound coconut sitting on your bladder and all your bras are too small and suffocating. Throughout both pregnancies this is the first time I remember feeling so much pressure on my bladder. This pregnancy makes me feel old. I have to pee all the time, my back hurts (specifically my right rib cage), and I groan when I stand up. Even though 7 months is pretty far along, in my head I'm thinking "2 more months of this??! How??" 

Aside from all those fun symptoms, everything else has been pretty mild. My heartburn has gone away for the time being. My skin still itches from time to time, but not as often as in the beginning. No stretch marks (knock on wood!) and my belly button popped out awhile ago. Everything is going well except for the tiny little detail that my internal organs have officially run out of space.

I was talking with another 7 month's pregnant mama at Gymboree, and she said her baby always sits in pretty much the same spot and asked where mine was sitting. I'm pretty sure he's just swimming laps in there, swinging off my ribs like monkey bars. At least, that's what it feels like. He is one active little boy, and it makes me wonder how I'm going to keep up with two of them. It is comforting to feel him moving so much though. 

Not sure if there are any Shark Tank fans out there, but awhile back I saw this Almond Water on the show:

 I've searched every store we've gone to looking for it with no luck. Well, I finally found it over the weekend and it did not disappoint! Unfortunately it was in Burbank, which is a little far for me to drive just to satisfy a craving, but I hear they have them at Fresh & Easy too. 

Other than that, cravings have been more of the same: Honey Nut Cheerios, baked potatoes (which I've made for dinner pretty much every night that I didn't just eat cheerios), grapefruit, and pineapple. It sounds relatively healthy, but eating cereal all day long probably isn't the best. 

Not too much new stuff in the baby gear or shared boys' room front, but I did go through a de-cluttering streak this past week, which I think counts as nesting:

It's kinda embarrassing to share the before pics, but welcome to my life. #reallife #notaneatfreak

This week we got some happy news that Joe's cousin is pregnant, and we'll be adding another cousin to the mix around the holidays! We also got really sad news that Joe's grandma passed away. We had just visited with her last weekend, and even though she wasn't in great health, it was still shocking news. We thought she'd get the chance to meet her newest great grandchildren and she will be greatly missed, especially as we celebrate these new family additions. It's definitely a reminder that life is unpredictable and to make the best of moments with family while you can.

30 Week Bump Update - Baby #2

Definitely feeling the third trimester exhaustion this week. Or maybe I'm trying to make up for those three weeks I barely slept at all while I was sick. Either way, sleep and I are bffs right now. Unfortunately, Ez and naps have been on the outs ever since we went to visit my parents, so there's a bit of conflict of interests going on right now. 

Nesting got pretty serious last week when I finally finished putting together baby's dresser then went through every single piece of clothing I've been saving from Ez (which is all of it). We're talking 4 very large bins of clothes ranging from newborn to 2t. This baby is stocked on clothes, and a lot of it still had tags on it, so it's technically not all hand me downs. And being the super organized person I am, all the sizes were conveniently mixed together in no particular order. Now they're sorted, and newborn to 3 months are washed, folded, and in the dresser. We also rearranged their room, but I'm still not happy with it, so I'll probably make Joe try a few more arrangements before eventually switching it back to the original layout ;)

Cravings include baked potatoes, pineapple, honey nut cheerios, and animal cracker ice cream from Thriftys - so good! I'm also squeezing in some salads and trying to get back in the habit of walking a few miles a day to keep up some semblance of health. 

Other than that, not a whole lot to report. Looking forward to getting our maternity photos back, and planning Ez's second party in the next few weeks. Then it'll only be about a month longer till we meet this little guy. Crazy!

29 Week Bump Update - Baby #2

According to Baby Center, baby is the size of a butternut squash this week, and he definitely feels like he's taking up that much space. Of course, butternut squash varies a lot, as you can see from this photo:

Based on his movements, I'm gonna assume he's on the bigger side as far as butternut squashes go. Sometimes it feels like he's stretching out all his limbs at once and you can see my belly move up by my ribs and down below my belly button at the same time. He's an active little guy. 

Heartburn has been making more of an appearance in the last week. Apparently sugar is not my friend right before bed. My solution, of course, is to eat sugar for breakfast instead ;) Cupcakes are basically a breakfast food, right? One had strawberries in it, so it's like a muffin with a lot of delicious frosting. On the bright side, after 3 weeks my cough has finally subsided and I've gotten the first few nights of good sleep in what feels like forever. I don't even have to sleep at a 90 degree angle with a dozen pillows propping me up anymore, which my back is very thankful for. It's amazing how a few extra hours of sleep can make me feel like a brand new person. 

Since Ez and I were gone all week visiting family we haven't made much more progress on their shared room. Ez's big boy bed and the new dresser/changing table are both 90% complete. Next up is rearranging their room, washing and sorting tons of baby clothes , and finally picking out a stroller and infant carseat. 

Best moment of the week was definitely my baby shower. It was so great to be able to see everyone at least one more time before Baby Craig gets here. And I'm still in awe over all the seriously cute baby stuff, it was fun pulling it all out to show Joe when we got home last night. This week I'm looking forward to getting the boys' shared room in order, as well as our last photo shoot as a family of three this weekend. 

Here's a comparison of me at 29 weeks with Ez on the left, compared to now on the right:

Even though my bump grew a lot faster this time around, I think it's pretty much caught up to where I was last time at 6 months. I remember 6 months was the mark where people started seeming surprised that I was "only" six months, meaning apparently that was the point that I got huge. On a sidenote, I'm not sure why people say half the stuff they say to pregnant women. Just stick with "you're glowing!" or "you look great!" and never, ever talk about weight. K, rant over ;)

You can check out all of Baby #2's Bump Updates here and all of Ez's Bump Updates here. Thanks for following along!

28 Week Bump Update - Baby #2

We are now firmly in the third trimester! I've forgotten to take a real bump picture for the last few weeks, so here's a collage of my first two trimesters instead. 

I haven't been having any crazy pregnancy symptoms lately, but I've had a lingering cough for almost two weeks now which makes sleeping impossible. Thankfully nobody else in the house has it, and I think it resulted from allergies. 

Lately my appetite is all off. I'm either ravenous or not hungry at all, and usually I'm starving and snacky through the afternoon, but then I don't want anything for dinner. Joe's eaten a lot of lean pockets and popcorn for dinner. Sorry, babe!

We've made some progress as far as the nursery/shared room goes. Both the dresser and Ez's big boy bed are nearly complete. The bed has been a 3 day process (so far) and resulted in almost giving up and paying someone to put it together for us, not to mention several tantrums on Ez's part because he's obsessed with tools and gets really mad that he can only use his toy tools and not the real screwdriver. At this point I feel done with Ikea forever, but I have a feeling I'll forget that next time we need furniture. 

A little over a week ago we had our last appointment with the specialist/3D doctor. Everything's looking good, and we got some more pics of baby #2:

Here's a comparison of Ez and littlest Craig (Ez on the left, baby #2 on the right):

I definitely see a resemblance!

As you may be able to tell from the content and length of this update, I'm exhausted. If there's one thing I miss right now, it's sleep. Fingers crossed this cough goes away, Ez adjusts well to his big boy bed, and sleep starts happening again (like, immediately)!

If you feel like taking a look back, here's all my past Baby #2 bump updates. And here are my bump updates from when I was pregnant with Ez.

26 Week Bump Update - Baby #2

Last week of the 2nd trimester! I can't claim that this pregnancy is flying by anymore, since lately I really feel pregnant. I don't have any majorly awful symptoms, but I feel large and awkward. Getting up off the couch or fishing toys out from under the TV stand make me feel as graceful as a turtle on its back, but so far I can still do those things on my own - just at a much slower pace and with lots more huffing and puffing than usual! Ez has actually started mimicking my standing up grunts, which is both funny and mean. Gotta love how a toddler always manages to pick your finest moments to mimick ;)

My mood is definitely more impatient than normal. Smells can be really annoying. Like that one time Joe ate roasted garlic (like several heads worth - not cloves, but entire heads of garlic) and then smelled like garlic for days after. There's now a garlic ban in the house. 

As far as sleep goes, I'm not a huge fan of napping cause it throws my whole day off, but some nights I wind up lying awake forever trying to fall asleep and then I can't make it through the next day without a nap. And then I feel bummed out because I don't get anything done. It's a vicious cycle.

I know I sound like a broken record, but salads and ice cream are diet staples. There's also been a lot of pizza this pregnancy. Joe and I aren't huge pizza fans, I'm much more into Mexican food, and Joe loves sushi or Chinese, but it's so nice when pizza just shows up on your doorstep and you don't even have to put on shoes or stop watching House of Cards. Plus Ez has decided he's a huge pizza fan too. Just no anchovies!! Joe did that once on his half of the pizza and the whole thing tasted fishy after that. Ick!

Slowly but surely we're making progress on baby stuff. We've tried out a few more strollers. Right now it seems to be down to the Contours Options tandem stroller or Graco Ready2Grow. Graco has a few more seating options, which I really like, but we hated the Graco infant carseat. Contours seems to be better quality, but I wish they had the sit/stand option. I also picked out two possible coming home outfits for baby. This lil guy will have lots of hand me downs, but I figure his going home outfit should be all his own. Also, this motorcycle outfit is supposed to entice Ez to like his baby bro more ;)

And, just to show how much difference a camera angle can make, here's one more beach shot where I look way more pregnant than the above picture:

Also, while we were at the beach I was chatting with a fellow mom who was saying how much easier and shorter her second labor was compared with her first. In general, I don't encourage labor stories while I'm pregnant, but if anyone else has those types of lovely stories to share, I'm all ears! 

25 Week Bump Update - Baby #2

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

This week I'm feeling big and winded. Bras, hills, and anything I have to pick up off the floor are my enemies. Since I don't plan on giving up ice cream anytime soon, I'm still forcing myself to walk or hike, either outdoors or on the treadmill. Joe and I managed to take 35,000 steps over the weekend. I made up for it by sitting around, avoiding the heat as much as possible on Monday ;)

The beginning stages of nesting are definitely setting in. Ez's changing table wasn't holding up too well after two moves, and with them sharing a room it made more sense spatially to get a dresser and put a changing pad on top. We went with this one from IKEA. We've also been on the hunt for a new bed for Ez. So far we're still deciding on whether we want to bother with a toddler bed, or go straight for a twin-sized or even a bunk bed. I'm leaning more toward one of the latter options, as long as I don't have to assemble it.

Here's Ez helping build his baby bro's dresser:

Mini Thor

Gotta love his enthusiasm!

Cravings are still more of the same: salads, lemonade, and ice cream, which probably has a lot to do with the heat. Also See's chocolate chip eggs are back and I've already gotten my hands on them. Love those things!

Baby is moving all kinds these days, yet somehow Joe still hasn't felt a really good kick. He seems to have a calming effect on baby, while Ez is pretty good at getting his bro riled up. Signs of things to come, I'm sure. Joe has seen my belly move though. It's kinda weird that we're at that stage already. I actually had a dream that I could see an imprint of the baby's face through my belly, and I kept trying to show Joe but he never looked up in time. Kinda hoping baby doesn't actually do that cause it was a little creepy. Like he was trying to gnaw his way out of my belly.

Here's me at 25 weeks with Ez vs. now:

You can read all of my 1st pregnancy updates here

and all of baby #2's bump updates here.

24 Week Bump Update - Baby #2

First of all, for any Bachelor fans out there (*spoiler alert!), what is up with the two Bachelorettes?? Even Chris Harrison seemed embarrassed to have to explain that to the audience. Kinda sucks for Britt and Kaitlyn to be rejected by Chris, and now one of them will also be rejected by 25 potential suitors. Usually the consolation of being rejected by the bachelor is you get to do the rejecting when you're the bachelorette. So weird.

Ok, enough about trashy, addictive reality TV. This is a non-pregnancy related symptom, but after 3 weeks of going through a box of tissues a day, my allergies have finally calmed down (like I'm only going through a quarter box of tissues a day) and I got my first night of good sleep in awhile. I feel like a brand new person. My allergies were killer this year. Even when I'm not pregnant, I tend to avoid allergy meds because they don't really work for me, and they make me so tired. I was using nasal strips + a ton of pillows to prop myself up to sleep at night, which helped, but fingers crossed my nose and pollen decide to get along for the rest of the year.

Other than allergies, I've started to feel the first little bits of heartburn. Nothing too bad or uncomfortable yet though, knock on wood. My skin is still super itchy, and after trying pretty much every lotion brand out there, I've decided Eucerin works the best. 

This baby boy is moving a ton lately. I can definitely feel him all over, and my bladder and lungs are well aware that he's taking up all the space. Unlike the first 5 months of this pregnancy, it's pretty much impossible to forget I'm pregnant now. Baby boy likes to remind me with kicks and jabs. Often. ;)

Cravings have been a mixture of salads with fruity/sweet toppings and ice cream. The carmelized peach salad at CPK is amazing!

Still loving mango, grapefruit, carmel corn (which I've decided is too addictive to keep in the house), eggs, and oatmeal too. Oh, and we can't forget donuts - our new Saturday tradtion :)

Best moment of the week was definitely our trip north (which basically lasted the whole week). We got to hang out with family and friends, and sightsee in San Jose and San Francisco (pics still to come!) Last week felt like a whirlwind, and I pretty much lounged around Monday recovering, but it was so much fun. Also, Joe got some really good, much-deserved work news. Ez and I are so proud of him and all the hard work he does.

Comparison of me 24 weeks pregnant with Ez:

You can check out all my Baby #2 Bump Updates here and all my Ezzy bump updates here.

23 Week Bump Update - Baby #2

It feels like overnight I suddenly got big. Like can't bend over, no room for my internal organs big. So I guess that means the fun part of pregnancy is coming to an end, and things will be getting increasingly uncomfortable from here on out. This probably also marks a shift from "I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by" to "there's still four more months to go??!" 

Other than suddenly feeling huge, and these allergies that just won't quit, a little bit of nesting has kicked in this week. Well, if scouring Pinterest for shared boy room ideas counts as nesting. Nothing has actually been accomplished, but at least ideas are formulating. And we looked at strollers last time we were at Target. Anyone have experience or opinions on the Graco Room2Grow double stroller? I'm a fan of the size, and all the different combos for standing/sitting. We definitely don't want a side by side stroller, that looks too unruly to me, but any other double stroller recommendations would be greatly appreciated! 

Best moment of the week was definitely an adults-only night out at a dinner theater. Joe's mom got us the tickets for Christmas and we saw The Producers. It was hilarious and the whole production was so well done. Plus the food was amazing. Joe and I could not stop talking about it afterward.

Next up I'm looking forward to a roadtrip Ez and I will be taking to visit my family, followed by a weekend trip to San Francisco. Mini donuts on the pier?? Yes please!

In honor of hitting the 5 month mark, here's a little collage of the bump so far:

You can check out past bump updates here:

13 weeks

15 weeks

17 weeks

18 weeks

20 weeks

21 weeks

22 weeks

And my first pregnancy bump updates are here.

22 Week Bump Update with Baby #2

I had to take a bump pic next to this pregnant looking tree. We're both almost 5 months ;)  Joe actually spotted the tree first, and told Ez that the tree has a baby bump, just like mommy's. Then, in this picture Joe is asking Ez where the baby is, trying to get Ez to come pose with me. Instead Ez just kept looking back and forth between my belly and the tree. He wasn't falling for any trick questions. This kid cracks me up!

My cravings have been all over the place lately. Of course leftover Valentine's chocolate makes the list, along with grapefruit and mango (which Ez always steals!), and this amazing apple pie brittle my friend and I sampled at the farmer's market over the weekend. I kinda wish I didn't know about its existence because it's basically crack and I'm not sure my teeth can handle as much brittle as I want to consume. (Which is the entire bag. All at once. Right this minute.) I'm not even normally a big peanut brittle fan, but this stuff is just so good!

Baby has suddenly become much more active. Joe still hasn't felt him move yet, but Ez seems to have a knack for getting baby bro to throw punches and kicks. Not sure if that means they'll have a sweet playful relationship, or they're preparing to brawl. Probably a combo both, I'd imagine. 

As far as symptoms go, the itchy skin is back, and allergies are still going full force. Other than that I feel great, and even with this huge belly I manage to forget I'm pregnant half the time. My friend's mom asked me how I was feeling, and I was a little puzzled for a minute, wondering if I was sick the last time I saw her, then it dawned on me that I'm pregnant and she's talking about the baby. Whoops. Not sure if that counts as pregnancy brain or 2nd baby syndrome.

And since I haven't done this in awhile, here's a little side by side comparison of me at 22 weeks with Ez vs. now:

21 Week Bump Update with Baby #2

I'm feeling pretty good at 21 weeks. Ez and I have been walking a few miles a day, there's heart-shaped chocolates everywhere, and our house is 90% unpacked and organized. The only downside lately is that my allergies have been acting up like crazy. Sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose...I know it's not a pregnancy symptom, but it's definitely spring around here, and as much as I love flowers, I'm ready for them to all go away now. 

We got to see our new babe in 3D last week. The pic is kinda creepy because it looks like there's an alien head in the top right corner, plus my friend pointed out that it looks like he's wearing a wig, but a head-on shot is pretty rare with these Craig babies, so we were excited this baby actually gave us a decent glimpse of his face. According to the ultrasound measurements, baby could be born anywhere between June 28th (my original due date) and July 6th. Three July birthdays in one house would make for one busy month.

As far as getting ready for this baby, we haven't really done much (read: anything). Things that still need to be done:

- wash & sort all of Ez's old clothes

- research and buy a new carseat

- eventually research and buy a double stroller (I'm thinking we'll wear this baby for the first few months, like we did with Ez, so I'm not too concerned about the stroller just yet.) 

Then there's the little issue of picking a name. We don't have any strong contenders yet, and I've read through half the baby name book. I'm pretty sure this is how Juniors come about ;)

In big brother news, Ez has been pointing at my belly and saying baby. He has also been bringing his baby doll out to snuggle more. Not sure how much I should read into that, but I'll take it as a good sign.

"bay-ba?"

In case you want to look back at my other bump updates:

13 weeks

15 weeks

17 weeks

18 weeks

Gender Reveal

20 weeks

20 Weeks with Baby #2

Halfway mark already??! How did that happen? I literally counted the weeks on the calendar just now to make sure that wasn't a mistake. It feels like it was just Christmas, but now we're already at Valentine's Day. Crazy! 

Currently baby is a little over 10 ounces and about 10 inches from head to heel. Fun/icky fact: baby is now practicing swallowing, and is producing meconium, which Daddy will get to change in another 20 weeks or so ;)

This little guy is mostly active at night. The movement is slowly getting stronger, and I think I actually felt him move from the outside the other night. That means Joe and Ez might be feeling his kicks pretty soon too, which is very exciting. 

The weather here warmed up a lot recently, so my dry skin hasn't been tortuous like it was a month ago. Another weird symptom that has kicked in are my crazy vivid dreams. I'll wake up feeling happy/sad/angry from the dream, and then I'll start to remember what the dream was about and it's almost always completely ridiculous, but the emotions are so real. Like in one of my recent dreams we were at a very nice tropical resort but we were ambushed by knights, and I remember running in the dream, and waking up scared and stressed out, and then remembering why and thinking what the heck?? I chalk that one up to a mixture of Game of Thrones (currently on the second book) and the Bachelor. By the way, Walking Dead comes back tonight. Anyone else excited?? I'm sure zombies will be making an appearance in my dreams in the near future.

I've also got a case of pregnancy scatterbrain. Like the other day as we were heading out the door I grabbed Ez's bowl of snacks, dumped it into a ziplock bag to bring with us, and then left the bagful of snacks on the table and brought the empty bowl with us instead. Not sure when the last time you tried to run errands with a hungry toddler was...but it's not something I'd recommend. 

I haven't had any intense cravings lately. Instead I just have the desire to eat all.the.time. I'm living a hobbit life. Any other LOTR nerds fans will get it:

The best moment of the week was finding out baby's gender on Friday. That means that we get to start thinking about names and I get to start washing and sorting all of Ez's old clothes. We have several bins full of his clothes, so aside from shoes this baby is pretty much set through 2T. 

Recently I've had several people comment on how much more pregnant I look this time around at 20 weeks than last time. They're right, but let me tell you, hearing that never gets old ;)  Here's a little comparison to when I was 20 weeks pregnant with Ez, so you can see for yourself:

Fun little fact: this time 2 years ago Joe and I were just getting back from our babymoon  in Kauai. Still my most favorite vacation ever. One day I hope we can go back with our little guys.

It's a...

We are so excited about this news! Even Ez scrunched up his face and started giggling when we told him he was going to have a baby brother. Then he pointed at the ultrasound and demanded to examine it more closely. He just had to make sure, I guess.

Speaking of the ultrasound, I tell you, these Craig boys are not at all shy about showing off their "wee-wee" (as the doctor called it). Their face is never visible in the ultrasounds but they're always willing to give a close-up of their manhood. Or boyhood, in this case. 

If you follow my social media at all, you probably already saw this news. We did a little poll on Friday afternoon to see what everyone's guesses were, and once I posted a belly pic everyone was guessing girl. I'm not an old wives tale expert, but I'm pretty sure that's a nice way of saying my belly is huge ;). Apparently boys are supposed to be low and all in the front but girls are supposed to be high and all around the middle. With Ez I carried really high. He and my rib cage carried on a long war, and Ez definitely won. We'll see once this baby is bigger if he and my rib cage get along any better. Fingers crossed they do! Here's a little rundown on how the rest of the wive's tales panned out:

• Dry skin = boy, soft skin = girl. My skin has definitely been dry, same as with Ez, so this one is true for me.
• Heartbeat above 140 = girl, below 140 = boy. I think the last time we checked it was around 150, so this one was not true for us.
• Fuller hair = boy, thinner/dull hair = girl. My hair definitely gets slightly nicer during pregnancy. Unfortunately the hair on my legs also gets much "fuller" too. We'll say this one is correct.
• Extra weight in the front = boy, extra weight in the bum/hips = girl. Well, I always carry my extra weight in my hips, and it's no different during pregnancy, so this one is not true.
• Dad-to-be gains sympathy weight = girl, no weight gain = boy. With Ez Joe gained some sympathy weight, but this time around so far he's actually lost weight, so I guess this is half true, half false.
• Craving sweets = girl, craving salty = boy. I always crave sweets, so that's no fair, but I always crave Mexican food when I'm pregnant too, so we'll call this one a wash.
• Morning sickness = girl, no morning sickness = boy. No real morning sickness either time, just a week of nausea then I felt fine, so we'll say this one's true for me.
• Acne = girl, no acne = boy. My skin was doing fine until this week, but I'd blame it more on moving stress/exhaustion than pregnancy. And also the fact that the weather warmed up 20 degrees seemingly overnight. 
• Extra-hairy legs = boy, no change in leg hair = girl. This one's true for me! Yay... ;)

So there you have it, maybe there is some truth to pregnancy wives tales after all... I thought from the get-go that we were having another boy, based on the fact that this pregnancy has been so similar to the last one: very short period of morning sickness, no vomiting, dry, itchy skin, and very few other symptoms. Joe guessed boy because his dad had all boys too. All the grandparents guessed girl though. I'm thinking maybe they were hoping to get to buy cute girl outfits. Sorry guys! On the bright side, this baby doesn't need anymore clothes, since we saved all of Ez's old ones. And Ez had so many clothes that some of them haven't even been worn! Their birthdays will only be a month and a half apart, and summer accounts for about 8 months of the year here, so I'm hoping most of the sizes/seasons will match up correctly.