and the third trimester slips by

Oh sweet baby boy. Somehow this pregnancy has slipped by while we were settling in and unpacking boxes and now I'm 34 weeks we are so very close to meeting you! You wiggle and squirm and kick and roll doing your best, I suspect, to make sure we don't forget you're right here with us in the thick of it. You don't have monthly updates, or a picture of your mommy each week next to the appropriate sized fruit like your big brother but I promise your arrival is no less eagerly anticipated. Clothes still need to be washed, freezer meals need to be made, and a hospital bag needs to be packed but even though my to-do list is growing I feel so much more relaxed going in to this birth. I'm not worried about whether I'll know what you need, how to feed you or bathe you, silly little things I fretted over during my first pregnancy. I know that, just like with Tommy, you'll teach me and I will learn how to be your mama. Your cues, your cries, your expressions, will become a part of me like your hiccups and fluttery kicks have been a part of me these past nine months.

You'll be sleeping in our room for the first little bit of your life but my dream is for you to share a room with your big brother. Setting up this shared brother room when we moved in to our new apartment definitely brought out the water works in this nesting mama. It makes my heart soar to imagine my two little boys sleeping in there together, chattering as they fall asleep, and probably keeping each other up some nights.
I try to picture what our days will look like with you alongside and I'm trying not to wonder or worry too much about how I'll manage nap times and leaving the house and instead just picture sweet mornings with you laying beside us on the floor, all herky-jerky like newborns do, as we read books and play with trains and I can just see Tommy piling up his favorite books beside you and telling you the names of all the trains, not quite understanding why you're not bigger so you can play with him. While there won't be the quiet endless days of nursing-napping-nursing and laying in bed cuddling until 11 and binge watching Gilmore Girls (probably more likely to be Thomas and Friends) I have a feeling these newborn days will be just as sweet the second time around.

Here's where things stand with our little fella #2:

How Far Along: nearly 35 weeks

Size of baby boy: a head of cabbage. Yep that sounds about right. I definitely have that "smuggling a big ol' cabbage under my shirt" look about me. I simply can't imagine how I will possibly get bigger in the last few weeks.

Weight Gain: We don't have a scale in the house and at my appointment at the Korean hospital my weight was in kilograms so it went in one ear and out the other but I'd estimate close to 20lbs since I was up 17lbs around 30 weeks. I'll try to pay better attention at my next appointment.

Gender: BOY. And I think we've mostly settled on a name but won't be sharing until he's born. We told Tommy though but I don't think I have to worry about him spilling the beans no matter how much our family may press him.

Cravings: Sandwiches. Unfortunately there is no Publix or Jimmy John's here so I've settled with buying the fixings myself (including lots of pickles and banana peppers please). Also the usual, bbq chips and lemonade, which are my constant pregnancy craving both times!

Symptoms: I've had a pretty easy pregnancy so I can't complain... much. But around my bra line and rib cage I am really sooooo sore and achy. It feels like a combination of nerve pain, stretching and just that my torso is quite small and quite out of room. I remember having this a bit during my pregnancy with Tommy but it seems so much more pronounced this time, however as we round the final bend I've accepted that these aches and pains are probably here to stay until the little guy arrives.

Looking forward to: You mean aside from the obvious - holding a teeny tiny wrinkly newborn boy in my arms again and smelling the top of his head and kissing his perfect little face??  Watching his daddy hold another son and then getting to introduce him to his big brother?? Not much can top that!

I go back for my next appointment at the end of the month and they are going to do another ultrasound and getting to see baby boy is always a treat. I had an ultrasound at 32 weeks as well to follow up on baby's kidneys (all perfectly normal) and they noted that baby boy seemed to be measuring ahead which is why they want to peak at him again in case my due date needs adjusting again. If you recall... at my very first appointment they moved my due date back from October 22nd to November 2nd. My guess is he'll come sometime between the two but whenever he decides to come, I'm just hoping that I go in to labor on my own like I did with Tommy.
Even though I know how this all works and I know more or less what to expect this time around there's still so little control in my hands, a true surrender to my body, my baby, and the Lord's timing. It's amazing and exciting anticipating the day I will wake up and it will be the Big Day, go time. It's like being a kid again waiting for Christmas, without actually knowing when Christmas will come. 

Comments

  1. Thanks for this update, Shannon!! I am so excited for all of you and can't wait to see the first photos of your new son!

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  2. I know you are excited. Thanks for the update.

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  3. Waiting here for the good news of the arrival of Baby Boy #2. You have wonderful times ahead of you. Praying labor and delivery go smoothly for all of you!

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