21 days to go!

And I'm defiantly done being pregnant. But I'm not sure how ready I am to have Baby here. I was gonna post one of those counters, but I think it just makes me anxious to look at it, so I threw it out.

I've been spending my days organizing the house to make room for the little one. I've dug up Evan's old clothes and picked out the clothes that could also work for a little girl. Its made me nostalgic to think that Evan used to be such a little guy. I'm so excited to have a little, little baby in the house again. So sweet and small and helpless. And so great to watch her grow and make small little firsts milestones. Although, I'm wondering if those firsts milestones will seem not so great as watching Evan's firsts. "Oh, good job you rolled over! But your big brother was doing that weeks before you..." :)

This pregnancy has been going well compared to the first time. Besides that incident of placenta previa, its been good. I didn't have strange bumpy patches of dry skin on my hands and feet, no red itchy patches on my legs, and no swelling or puffiness on my hands, legs, or face. My only complaint this time around is how Baby seems to be growing up into my rib cage. Its not all that pleasant to be kicked in the ribs from the inside of your ribs. With that, I've got some weird muscle strain/tension that starts in the front of my ribs and extends around my right side to my back. So annoying to have a constant pain in your side. I got sick with a bad cough for almost a month, and every cough/sneeze caused SO much pain from muscle spasms! I'm so glad that it's gotten better, and I can handle the soreness over the inability to move my right arm.

So, now I'm just anxious over thinking about what labor and delivery is gonna be like this time around. Everyone says that the second time around is faster and easier. I hope they're right. 12 hours with Evan was enough for me. My OB is predicting that this one will come earlier than Evan did, he was 9 days early. And she thinks this one will be smaller. But I thought that babies got bigger with each pregnancy? We'll see I guess.

I can't really remember what the contractions felt like, but every time I feel Braxton Hicks (practice contractions) I get so worried that this is it! Because with Evan, I just woke up at 6 am with really steady strong contractions, and was in the hospital a hour and half later. My biggest thing is I hope I can manage the pain like last time. I didn't want to get an epidural last time until I felt like I needed it. And after 9 hours, my OB recommended that I should get it to rest and have energy to try again. So, I guess really my biggest worry is since each baby is different, I don't know what will happen this time, and that makes me so anxious!

Evan is slowly understanding that there are things set aside in the house just for Baby. And if I go back to rearrange the baby's things, he'll even tell me not to play with it cause it's for Baby! Evan's growing up so fast. It's most evident in his vocabulary and interests. He used to just throw puzzle pieces all over the house, and not have any care to put it in it's place. But lately, he'll actually sit there for a while taking them apart and put it back together on his own! And he makes me laugh, cause with each piece he puts in the right place, he'll cheer for himself with a hand waving above his head! He loves to sing nursery rhymes to himself. He'll be playing on his own, and you'll hear him singing to himself, even doing the actions too! And sometimes I've heard him making up his own songs. So cute!

What has he been saying lately? SO much. I can't even remember all the things he says that stuns me daily. Where does he learn these phrases/sentences? Its usually the phrases he says that apply to what's going on around him in the moment that surprises me, cause he's so aware of his surroundings, people's emotions, and changes.
Every once in a while, he'll see us pulling out the laptop, he'll come running up asking, "I want podcast! I want PODCAST!" huh?! This kid is defiantly growing up in a different world that we did as kids.

Bedtime has become SO nice too. He'll say he doesn't want to go to bed, but he knows he's tired, and before I need to even fight him to go upstairs, he'll grab his "bear bear" or his train, and start heading upstairs. We'll go through our routine of brushing teeth, PJs, reading, prayer, and "tuck tuck" (tucking him into his big boy bed, then he'll tell me to turn off his bedside light, and if I don't leave, he'll push me and say, "goodnight, mommy!" Can you believe it?! This is a total 360 from what bedtime used to be like. I couldn't even stand by the door without reassuring him I was still there! He wouldn't let me leave the room, asking for water, more songs, or more hugs! He's such a big boy now. *sniff*

Well, that's about it for now. I've got some pics coming, from the last month, that I'll post soon. So stay tuned!