Introducing Sean Noah!!

A full head of dark hair!

Such a cutie

First pic as a family of four

"Bay-bee" was TJ's word of the night when he met his brother

Grandma R detoured her route home to meet her second grandson

Sean Noah arrived at 1:08pm on Saturday! We are so excited to finally meet him! He is such a handsome, healthy, baby boy. We had a feeling that he would not make it to his due date (Dec 8), but you never know when they'll decide the time is right!

This has been a busy week so he timed his arrival perfectly. My parents were in Florida for Thanksgiving, visiting my grandparents. We had a bunch of Jesse's family in town for Thanksgiving. Then on Friday, we watched an incredible Iron Bowl. It was a game for the record books - Auburn had an awesome comeback for the win.

On Saturday, my parents were driving home from Florida, all the extended family had left, and everything was starting to get back to normal (or so we thought). But by breakfast on Saturday, my contractions were consistently three minutes apart. We dropped TJ off at Grandma and Grandpa K's and headed to the hospital. The labor progressed really quickly. We checked into the hospital at 8:30am and 4.5 hours later, the baby was in my arms! Everything went really smoothly. The baby is doing great and I am feeling well. We're thrilled about our newest addition!

Baby's Favorite Song?

On Sunday, we sang "Do It Lord" (by Tommy Walker) in church. While we were singing this song, my belly started bouncing to the beat of the music. Jesse even noticed my belly keeping rhythm. Even as I type this, the song is playing on You Tube and baby is dancing again!

Home Stretch

This is the toughest stretch of being pregnant for me. For starters, I'm so excited to meet our little man. While the rest of this pregnancy seems to have flown by, the final weeks seem to go so slow. I know I won't be sleeping with a new baby, I'll have an adjustment going from one child to two, and will have to start breastfeeding all over again. But to hold a tiny baby in your arms makes it all so worth it! With 10 weeks until the due date, I know that he could be here anytime after about 6 weeks! Trent was exactly one week early. We'll see what this one decides to do.

Another reason this stretch is difficult for me is the slowing down. I love to exercise. I have been diligent in keeping up with it the entire pregnancy. However, the more the baby grows (and in turn, I grow), the more it slows me down. Last week, my slow jog officially became a walk. In body pump, I have gradually been decreasing my weights and opting for lower options of some of the exercises. We also live in a tri-level house. Running up and down stairs leaves me out of breath and I don't get up from the floor as quickly when I'm playing with Trent. Jesse has taken over some of my chores that are uncomfortable when pregnant - usually they're the ones where the belly just gets in the way. For example, I can't put Trent's sheets on his crib mattress anymore. I simply can't reach the mattress bending over the bar!

When I was pregnant with Trent, I got tired of wearing the same clothes repeatedly. Fortunately, this hasn't been a problem yet. With the extended summer heat, I wore my same summer clothes over and over and over. But just this week, fall finally hit. The highs this week are in the high 70s/low 80s! This means my fall/winter maternity clothes that have been dying to come out are finally getting the chance to be worn. It's like having a whole new wardrobe. Since Trent was a March baby, I was at my biggest with him over the winter, so I shouldn't have a problem finishing out this pregnancy with my old maternity clothes. And since I had to wait so long to wear them this year, hopefully I won't tire of them as fast!

At 30 weeks, guesstimates are that the baby is about 3lbs and 16 inches long. Trent was usually smaller than the averages when we had ultrasounds. This big boy has measured larger than average on the ultrasounds. It'll be interesting to see how their birth weights differ when he arrives. I can't wait!

Shoe Dilemma Solved and a Pregnancy Rant

Some of you may remember my running shoe dilemma. Basically the quality of my favorite shoe had gone down and the price had gone up. After thinking I would not go with a New Balance shoe because of my past experience, I decided to give them another shot. New Balance has 5 factories in the US. All of their runners are manufactured here, though some of the parts are foreign. (The 993 is entirely American Made) I went and tried on a pair and asked which model was comparable to the Asics 2150 that I had been wearing. They recommended the WR760. So I tried it on. It was too wide. So I tried on the narrow and it was perfectly snug without being too tight. New Balance has a policy where you can try out the shoe for 30 days and if you're not satisfied, you can come in and exchange it. So yesterday, I wore them on a 3.5 mile run. No blisters. That's right, not one! They were light weight and really comfortable. My only complaint was that they made my feet really hot when I first starting running. I don't know if that's the shoes fault or simply that it's August in Alabama. So far I have been impressed with them and like them much better than the Asics they replaced. I'm taking them out for another run tomorrow. Hopefully, they won't let me down!

And for my pregnancy rant...On Monday, while I was running, a stranger came up behind me and stood probably four feet away from the treadmill and stared. If you're that interested in what I'm doing, ask or at least try to be discreet when you're looking. Ogling my treadmill from behind me is rude and a little weird (especially when the cardio room is basically empty.)

I know there's a lot of misinformation about exercising while pregnant. A while back, the rule of thumb was to prop your legs up for 9 months and not do anything while pregnant. Now, doctors encourage exercise. However, there are still some people that give you the crazy eye when they see a pregnant woman exercising. I do not overexert myself when I'm pregnant. I'm not out to break any personal records. My goal is to stay fit and healthy, and to have the stamina and strength to have a quick, healthy delivery.

So please, instead of staring, get on the treadmill and set the personal record that I currently can't attempt. We'll encourage each other and it will be far less awkward.

Surviving Summer

It is SO hot this time of year. We just finished our hottest July on record and traditionally, August is even worse than July. Temperatures have been right around 100 for several weeks, heat indexes have brought it into the 105 - 110 degree range. I love summer. I really do. But in the deep south, real summer can start in May and go on well into September. And it's not a "dry heat," it is a sticky, humid, sweat sitting still heat.

To best describe it to my friends and family in the Midwest Tundra, it's comparable to the feeling you get midwinter when you are just plain tired of cold and snow and ready for spring (except here it's the opposite.) I'm looking forward to the day where I actually consider putting on a shirt with sleeves. The thought of wearing jeans almost makes me giddy!

We can't be couped up inside all summer long in the air conditioning. It would drive me (and Trent) absolutely nuts. So we still continue to go on walks, play outside, etc. Thankfully, my inlaws and the YMCA we belong to have pools. So at least a couple of times a week, we go swimming! And the pool season is Looong. Last year, I think my inlaws had their pool open April through October. So here's to surviving the rest of summer!

Examining

If you look closely, it's a 21 week baby bump!

Chatty

Floating with Daddy

Boys Boys Boys!

Today we had some exciting news! As most of you know, I am already incredibly outnumbered at our house. I live with a wonderful husband, an adorable son and two male dogs. And in December, there will be yet another little boy in this house! We had an ultrasound today and found out that the new baby is indeed a little man! We're very excited about the new little guy. I absolutely love having one little boy, so I'm sure two will be double the fun! I'm also excited for Trent to have another little playmate. I'm sure he would play with a sister too, but it'll be fun to see him bond with a brother. I'm hoping they'll be best buds!

More Walking in My Future

I came across this article the other day and found it really interesting. It talks about naturally preparing your body for childbirth by doing squats and walking. It explains the hunter/gatherer mentality of years ago and how today's lifestyle can keep us so sedentary that are bodies are not as physically in shape to deliver babies. The lady who wrote the article is all for natural, drug free, non-hospitalized births. I think it's great that women can choose how they want to birth their baby. However, in Alabama, midwives are legally not an option. I would have to cross state lines and give birth on a "birthing farm" in order to make this happen. That makes me uncomfortable. I want to deliver close to home and I love the doctors and hospital where I delivered Trent. While I may still consider drug free this time around, pending any major surprises, it will be another hospital birth.

Each time I get pregnant, I think about whether I want to use pain medication. Last time around, I had planned to go without pain medication, but ended up having an epidural. My water broke but contractions did not start so I was put on a pitocin drip to start the labor. Pitocin does its job to start contractions, but it gives you supersized, painful contractions (from what I've read/heard since I have only had pitocin induced contractions - hopefully after this next one, I'll have a comparison!). They are awful! I suffered through them for several hours, until the contractions made me sick. At that point, I decided to go for an epidural. Overall, my labor was fairly quick. From the time my water broke to the time I was holding Trent in my arms, was about 7 hours.

This pregnancy has been much different from my last pregnancy. I have had more morning sickness, my cravings are different, my belly is shaping up different. No two pregnancies are exactly the same. Only about 10% of women have their water break, so there is a good chance that this labor will start in an entirely different way than the last time.

I like the suggestions in the article for being physically fit for the pregnancy. I will be walking and squatting. I do body pump a couple of times a week and squats is one of the areas of focus. On the other days, I'll walk. This morning, Trent and I walked 5.2 miles. It was great - good weather, nice exercise, and we even had the chance to stop and play in the park for a while. :)

I'm in T.R.O.U.B.L.E

Oh boy! The cravings with this child are crazy. My sweet tooth is ridiculous! This afternoon I went to get the tub of cookie dough out of the fridge that I've been grazing on for a few days. I had left one last serving, but Jesse had gotten into last night and left me one last bite. Only one bite of cookie dough?? This just would not do. So naturally, tonight, we made a whole new batch. I had cravings with Trent but it was more salty than sweet. Salty is actually a lot easier to keep healthy. It's hard to pretend to be healthy when you're shoveling cookie dough into your mouth. I seriously hope these cravings calm down a bit soon! But, just in case you are now craving delicious edible cookie dough, the recipe can be found here. Don't say I didn't warn you! Enjoy!

Pregnancy Hormones or Odd Sentimental Attachment?

I moved into the Hillcrest dorms (boarding school) in the fall of 1997. Upon my arrival, my parents bought me a laundry basket and I wrote my name and room number in red marker on the bottom of the basket. Now fast forward almost 13 years... This weekend, we were at Walmart and decided it was time to upgrade our laundry baskets. While it'll be nice to have the sturdier, newer version that contours to my hip, it seemed so odd throwing the old one away. I'd thought about replacing it many times before (you can't hold it with one hand or all the clothes fall out), but it always seemed to do the job "good enough." Room 304 is faded now, but that laundry basket followed me through high school in Minnesota, college in Alabama, my short time of living on my own, and six years (and three moves) of married life. So, I don't know if it's the pregnancy hormones making me mushy or an odd sentimental attachment to an object that was with me through my twenties. Alas, out with the old and in with the new!

12 Week Baby Bump

So true that you show faster the second time around!

So Sleepy

One of the toughest things about the first trimester is the pregnancy fatigue. I'm tired all.the.time. The first time around, I had a desk job and could at least sit still and be tired. With an active one year old, I don't have that option. There are many things that have been put on the back burner lately. The one I miss the most is the sewing. When our kitchen was under construction, my sewing table (also known as our dining room table), was the place where all the contents of my kitchen landed. So I could not sew because the space was completely covered up. Now everything is back in the kitchen cabinets, but by the time Trent is ready for bed, I am too. I'm getting to the end of the first trimester and I'm hoping that with the start of my second trimester, I'll find some of my missing energy. Trent needs some more summer rompers. I try to stay ahead of him but he grows like crazy! He's wearing 2T now (which is the size I made for him at first because at that point, he was in 18 month). So now, I'll be making 3T for him - craziness. I have no doubts that he's going to be taller than his mama, probably by the 5th grade. I also have some odds and ends to finish up with some of the projects I've had going AND I want to start making some diapers for baby number 2. We'll have two in a diapers when the baby arrives and I want to have the extras ready and made before we need them. So here's to hoping my energy returns and I can get back to sewing soon!

Hodgepodge of Updates

Adorable

Always Full Speed

Beginnings of a Baby Bump

View from the Top

One of my favorite, favorite things about staying at home is getting to see all the little things. This week Trent finally figured out how to go down the stairs. (No worries, he never tackles them alone.) He has been doing great going up them for a while now, but going down was different story. We tried the sit on your tush and scoot forward approach. He wasn't interested. He wanted to walk down them just like we do. We tried the going down backwards approach and he constantly wanted to turn around and go down them like an adult. One day it finally clicked! He's been going down the stairs (using the backwards/facing the stairs approach) without a problem for a couple of days now.

Another fun thing that he's been doing is pointing at things and saying, "Dat?" Which means, "what's that?" He then tries to copy what you say. Sometimes he sounds really close, other times, not so much. My favorite yesterday was "sheep." We were reading a book about Noah's ark and when he tried to say sheep it sounded like he was hushing a library. It came out as, "Shhhhhh"

Our garden is doing really well! We've been using a lot of it, especially the herbs. Yesterday, I made homemade pesto sauce from our basil and today I picked our first cauliflower. This is our first year growing cauliflower so it's kind of fun to see one actually come up!

And lastly, we have the beginnings of a baby bump. I'm showing a lot faster this time than last time. However, at this point, I just look like I've been eating a few extra donuts. This picture was taken last week so it's a "ten week" shot.

Exercising While Pregnant

Exercise has been important to me for years. Prior to Trent's arrival, I spent my days training for triathlons and half marathons. While I haven't done any of these events since he came along, I still maintain a regular workout routine.

Years ago, doctors told pregnant women to basically take it easy for 9 months. This is no longer the advice given. Now, doctors agree that maintaining an exercise program while pregnant is good for both Mom and baby. I'm not saying to go out and tackle the Ironman right now. It's about maintaining the level of fitness you had pre-pregnancy and listening to your body. When I was pregnant with Trent, I did body pump right up until a few weeks before he was born. The only reason I stopped early was all the funny looks I received like he was about to drop on the floor at any moment! I ran until it became uncomfortable, which was right around 5 months. Then I switched to walking. The big thing for cardio is not to get out of breath or overheated so in my case, I have to run slower than I do when I'm not pregnant. Run at a pace where you could have a conversation with someone. I also do a lot of treadmill running indoors since I live in the deep south and it gets HOT in the summer. I'm hoping that I'll be able to continue the same habits with my current pregnancy. So far so good.

Some of the perks given for maintaining an exercise program while pregnant:

1. Feel Better: it relieves some of the aches and pains of pregnancy and helps you sleep better

2. Prepare your body for childbirth: endurance and stronger muscles could lead to an easier delivery

3. Get your body back sooner post delivery: Sure, your belly will grow and grow but you can still maintain toned arms and legs throughout the pregnancy and having an established routine will help jump-start the weight loss post pregnancy.

Pregnancy Protein Mush

As I've mentioned before, I've struggled more with nausea this pregnancy than I did with Trent's pregnancy. I've learned that allowing myself to get hungry is definitely not a good thing. If I'm hungry, I feel awful. This has forced to eat frequently. As soon as I wake up, I start eating crackers. If I stay up too long after dinner, I have to find a snack. I'm also hungrier than normal. A usual bowl of cereal at breakfast just doesn't cut it. One day this week, I had cereal followed by leftover country fried steak. The next day, I had a cereal followed by an avocado. My usual standby is made up of stuff we always have on hand and seems to do the trick on filling me up enough to keep the nausea at bay. I start with a banana and mush it up. Then I add a few big scoops of peanut butter on top of it and mix it in. Next I add a couple big scoops of raisins. Sometimes, I even add a little honey. Once it's all mixed together, it doesn't look all that appealing, but it's the perfect blend of sweet and salty and is hearty enough to keep the hunger away for a bit. I thought of this idea, because there's a little beach hut restaurant near my grandparents house in Florida that used to serve a banana, peanut butter and honey sandwich. I'm not a huge cold cut fan, so this was always a yummy treat for me.