Your baby is now the size of a watermelon

As we closed up the holiday season 2013 I opened one of my pregnancy apps on my phone and I read,

"Your baby is now the size of a watermelon"

I wont lie, the past month kind of stunk. I was sick, feeling...large, ended up in the ER once, and was hit with a bout of morning sickness. I was so over being pregnant that at one point I looked at Aaron and said if I dont' start to feel better...I just don't see how I will carry this baby to term! He is such a support and told be to hang on and that things would get better. Thankfully on the 23rd of December the morning sickness was lifted and I had energy again! Praise the Lord!!

We are 100% ready for baby brother to come...well besides curtains to be hung. After our detour to the ER a few weeks ago...I repacked our hospital bag and made sure to check it twice. We had our final meeting with our Doula and finalized a game plan for P for when I go into labor. 

At my last appointment with my doctor he had a huge smile on his face and said...well this is it! Your almost there...now just to wait and went over the signs of labor. We talked about how I want to labor at home as long as possible so I have freedom to, move, eat, sleep whatever. We spoke at our first appointment about how nervous I was going from a midwife to a OBGYN. Even with Parsons pregnancy my OB office staffed midwives, so this was my first time with a strictly medical doctors and nurses and it made me nervous...simply because they are trained to look for and find problems. Which is great and dandy...but can also cause more stress because something small can be made something big out of genuine concern but can really be nothing. 

I was also put at ease after our little trip to the ER. I was SO impressed with everyone that I came in contact with. From the ER to the birth center part of the hospital. Everyone was kind, helpful, patient, and the birth center/the doctor on call communicated with the ER doctors to ensure that baby and I were both healthy. It put my mind at ease for when I do go into labor. 

Now that all the sickness besides a silly cold is gone I feel pretty darn good for being 37 weeks pregnant. My belly button did not Pop with Parson and I did not "waddle" with Parson. Well my belly button is popped and I am waddling...and there is NO hiding it! It is clear my body "remembers" what is about to happen in the next few weeks because my hips are widening are are nice and loose :P 

The same as with Parson my belly is measuring on track but I can tell this baby is nice and long. At my last check up baby brothers head was down and low...and I can still pat his little tush clear up by my ribs :)

With 3 weeks left until my due date I am trying to remain patient..not because I don't want to carry baby brother in my belly any longer but because I cant wait to meet him! Aaron is SO excited for baby brother to come. With Parson he was nervous, anxious, and unfamiliar. Just last night he said to me "Come on baby brother...come early please! I want to meet you!" then he looked at me and said "I am so excited because he isn't "starting" our family he is another "addition" to our family and I want him here so he can fit into this perfect puzzle" WHAT...I know isn't he greatest man ever :)

Here is a little look at our growth over the past 37 weeks :)

17 weeks

27 weeks

37 weeks

It sure does look like there is a watermelon under my shirt! 

So now we wait...and wait and wait for little brother to decide that he is good and ready to come meet his family. Oh boy are we excited!

Patty

In 4 months he will be 3!

In just under 4 months my fabulous first son will be 3! How is that possible? I feel like it was just yesterday I was awaiting the stork to tell me it was time for me to have my first baby.

He is making a venture from toddler to little boy. Most days he overwhelms my heart and I cannot get enough of him.

But lets be honest there are days that he drives me bananas.

He speaks so much and so well now. There are still a few words that he pronounces backwards, for instance instead of saying "Snow" he says "Sown" he will get it right eventually, for now we love to go play in the "Sown". :)

He has been able to recognize and say letters and numbers for a long time now. He never was able to sing the Alphabet song until recently. It really is so cute. At the end he exclaims "NEXT TIME YOU SING WIT ME!" and then he yells "FOURTEEN!" We don't know where the fourteen comes into play, but according to Parson it is definitely part of the alphabet song.

Homeschool preschool is going good. He loves learning. Playdough and the iPad have been big teaching resources for us. He also is a very good learner with flash cards. We started a pack of sight word flash cards a few days ago. Sight words are a big step up from letters, but it is teaching him to recognize familiar and new words. We are taking them slow with only 5-6 cards per week, we will add new cards each week. I also picked up a pack of "Ready for school" flash cards and they go over all sorts of things from colors, shapes, counting, letters, remembering images and their names. I was SO proud of him for being able to recite the info on those cards almost 100 precent correct. We celebrated with hot cocoa and marshmallows :)  He cant start "preschool" until Fall of 2015 because he has a late birthday. We might shop around for a "preschool" type environment for him to start next summer or fall for a few hours a day a few days a week.

I ran into another scary parent decision this week at church. Now when I say scary you are all probably going to laugh when you hear what it is.

I dropped Parson off at his church Sunday school class. They had already been asking me if I wanted to move him up to the 3's room the past few weeks. I have not really wanted to yet because I am nervous that it will be "to big" for him and he wont want to go. Most of the kids in that room are older 3's and even though Parson is getting better with words, he is not socially there. Not to mention the new big kid room wont have the cool inside play park with the blue slide he loves so much. Anywho...I picked him up after bible study and the teacher that was in his room that morning said... "he is board in this room...you really need to move him up" It was my first I have to challenge him and make sure he is learning and developing and not just staying at one stage. My heart is still a little heavy about moving him up. See how silly am I for worrying about moving my child up a class at church...I will be a nut case when he is in preschool.

His favorite foods right now are black beans, apples, and yogurt. He literally would eat only these three foods if we let him. He eats at least one apple a day. Its the best snack because its easy to take places. In fact I always have a bag of apples in my car. 1.) in case we get stuck somewhere....we have a healthy snack. 2.) I am pregnant and need to snack often 3.) its an easy and favorite snack for P.

His imagination is booming. He loves to play and make up stories. I managed to find a Fisher Price Little People Farm set at a garage sale. He cannot get enough of it. Feeding the animals, taking the tractors to the depot and to the moon to get more cheese. We cant help but stare and just watch his little mind create. Before I had a child I never understood how parents could watch their kids play for hours at the park or with toys. I thought it seemed to boring. Now I could watch Parson play and learn for hours without feeling a thing but joy.

He still is a snuggle bug, especially when he is sick. Over thanksgiving our whole family got a nasty cold. We spent lots of those 4 days together snuggled up reading and watching shows. Sometimes he still just wants his Mama. One night I was making supper and he really wanted to be held and snuggled. Being 34 weeks pregnant or not, holding/carrying him is not something that we do or is really necessary any more. I looked down at his tired sick self and couldn't help myself. I got out our Ergo (which is safe for preggo mamas to wear) and put him on my back. Only for about 15min and then he was ready to get down. I relished those 15min of sleepy toddler snuggles. Aaron got those same snuggles at the Santa parade earlier this week. 

I still cant believe in just a short few months he will be 3. I don't think he will ever understand just how much we love him. 

Patty