My Favorite!

This past Monday with the help of our parents, we did some moving around of furniture and rooms to prepare for Ethan's arrival.

We made the big transition and moved Elliana from her crib into her "big girl" bed. We've been talking about it for weeks and by the time we actually made the move, she was SO ready and excited!

Caleb and I were quite scared to make this transition. We thought Elliana would be getting out of her bed at all hours of the night. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the transition went pretty smoothly and we've only had one bad evening of telling Ellie to get back in bed time and time again.

Ellie's newest thing is to call anything she likes her "fave-wit" (favorite). She has favorite books, favorite movies, favorite food, many, many favorites. Oh yeah, and her favorites change all the time too. :) She even told me the other day that her Daddy is her favorite. Then, when I made a sad face she got close to me, looked me in the eyes and said "Don't be sad Mommy. Mommy's my favorite too." This girl cracks me up!

Anyway, once we had her room all set up, she was so happy that she danced and jumped around and said "my big girl bed is my favorite!" I'm so glad she's pleased. :)

Here's what Ellie's room and new bed looks like:


Please ignore the cardboard. We really don't use it as a headboard. We use it to darken her room at nap time.



Here's Ethan's new nursery:


We still have a lot of things to get for Ethan (including his crib bedding) so his room looks pretty bare right now.



Do you know what my favorite is? This little one right here:



She makes me happy.



I guess I can only get away with calling her my favorite for a few more weeks. Ha ha.

03-31

It's official. Ethan will arrive by c-section on March 31 unless I go into labor early.

Friday we met with the surgeon that did Elliana's c-section two years ago. After gathering all of the information that we could, and listening to the surgeon as she went over the operative report from Ellie's c-section, it became clear that a repeat c-section is going to be the best and safest route for us to take to bring Ethan into this world. Both the surgeon and my primary care Dr. confirmed that I am not a good candidate for a VBAC, and they advised us to schedule a repeat C-section.

I have mixed feelings about this decision.



On one hand, I'm very sad. I'm sad that I will never get to experience a vaginal birth. I watched my sister Jenn deliver 2 of her 4 babies vaginally, and both deliveries were beautiful and smooth. I so wanted to experience that. I'm also sad because I know from experience that it is much harder to recover from a c-section than a vaginal birth.

On the other hand, I've heard that a scheduled c-section is a much better experience than an emergency c-section.

Everything about my experience with Elliana was not good. My water broke on her due date, then my contractions were right on top of each other and I dilated from 3cm to 9.5cm in one hour. I showed up at the hospital ready to push. After pushing and pushing, and the Dr. even using the vacuum to try and help Elliana come out, Elliana's heart rate was dropping and we went in for an emergency c-section. I was so exhausted physically and I could barely keep my eyes open after it was all over. There were many other complications that followed in the days after Ellie arrived. When I look back at my experience with Ellie, it's all just kind of a bad blur.

However, it's nice to know ahead of time that a c-section is needed and I'm looking forward to what should be a much better experience. I also know what to expect this time.

In the end, I have to remind myself that a few short years ago I didn't even know if I would ever be a mother. I am so thankful that God has given us not only one but soon to be two children. Their health and a safe delivery is what's most important and if a c-section is what's needed for them than I will be focusing on that. Again, I'm just thankful to have them.

I wanted to end with the rest of the pictures from my maternity shoot with Becky. These aren't all of the pictures, but some of my many favorites. I've said it so many times before, but I LOVE Becky's work! There are so many good pictures to choose from. Enjoy!

















This is how Ellie feels about not being our only child anymore. Ha!






Ellie wasn't supposed to be a part of the maternity photo shoot, but she kept running over to us so we snuck in a family shot. :)

32 Weeks-Boy oh Boy!

We had another ultrasound yesterday. We confirmed that Ethan is definitely a boy (no mistaking it this time) and already a good size. The technician estimated that he already weighs 4lbs and 5 ozs (give or take about 8-10 ozs). If this is accurate, we can expect Ethan to be much bigger than Elliana was at birth. The technician also made several comments about his "chubby cheeks". I wonder if he'll be a chunky baby. Elliana was far from chunky.

This ultrasound was so much more fun than our 19 week ultrasound. Ethan really cooperated and we got to see some fun stuff. For example, when the technician zoomed in on his mouth, we saw some very full lips and he kept sticking his tongue in and out and smiling. It was awesome! It's so neat to see that they do things like that in the womb. We also got a somewhat good view of his face. The angle was a little weird, but we could see a small nose, full lips, and it looks like he'll have the same long eyelashes as his Daddy and sister. They're all so lucky! :)


This is the one photo we got to take home from the ultrasound. Again, it's a weird angle, but you can see one eye, his nose, and his mouth.

The technician also made several comments that his head was "very low". I asked if that meant that he's dropped already (I've said the last several days that it feels like he's dropped) and she said "most likely". I've been having a lot of braxton hicks too and at this point I just hope and pray that I can carry him for at least 4-5 more weeks. I'm all for Ethan coming a little early, I just want him to be healthy and not come too soon.

As much as I'd love to share a photo of me 32 weeks pregnant, I didn't have time to take one before I wrote this post. Let's just say I'm huge. Believe me, I am.

I am excited to share that I got to see the rest of the photos from my maternity shoot with Becky, and I absolutely LOVE them and can't wait to share them with the rest of you! I'm just waiting to get the CD in my hands. Thanks again Becky!

Here's an update on the pregnancy:

How far along: 32 Weeks and 1 day.

Size of Baby: At our ultrasound yesterday the technician estimated his weight at 4 lbs, 5 ozs and in the 50th percentile for height and weight. Much bigger than Ellie ever was.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Ugh. How I hate putting this on here. I've gained about 25 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Definitely- and still growing. I'm outgrowing a lot of my maternity clothes even. Would you buy more clothes if you only had anywhere from 5-8 weeks left?

Gender: It's a boy! I'm growing more and more excited at the idea of raising a little boy. We are naming him Ethan James.

Movement: Ethan is strong and active! I feel him move a ton throughout the day.

Sleep: It's getting harder to roll over in bed and I have to get up a few times throughout the night to use the restroom. All that to say, I'm sleeping pretty well, but I miss being able to sleep on my stomach and roll over easily.

Symptoms: Ha! There's no denying that I am oh-so-pregnant. I don't really have any cravings at this point.

Best Moment This Week: Getting to have another ultrasound so late in the pregnancy and getting to see Ethan again. It feels so close now!

What I'm Most Looking Forward To: Meeting Ethan, seeing what he looks like and what his personality is like and watching him and Elliana interact together.

Let Her Be Little

I don't know what it is. Elliana just seems to be so grown up lately. Caleb and I have both made this comment recently.

It could be that her physical appearance is looking a lot more like a little girl and a lot less like a toddler. It could be her extensive vocabulary and the way that she communicates so effortlessly these days. Or maybe it's the fact that she's enjoying being more and more a part of our daily activities.

I just wanted to share some photos and funny stories about Elliana to give you a glimpse of what our day to day life is like with her these days.

Here is Ellie "helping" me bake chocolate chip cookies a few weekends ago. Did I mention how much I LOVE my new kitchen aid?! I think Caleb and Ellie are enjoying it too. :)


Here's Elliana and Caleb giving the new bike carrier (we don't know what else to call it) a try. This was a Christmas gift from Caleb's parents and I just know Caleb and Ellie are going to be spending a lot of time together on bike rides this spring and summer.


This is one of my new favorite pictures of her.


Elliana's hair is long enough now that we can pull all of it up in a ponytail. Caleb and I both love it, but we also think it makes her look so much more grown up. :(



Ellie is such a funny little girl! Caleb and I were laughing almost the whole way home from being out last night.



We were driving home and a smile crept across Ellie's face. She suddenly burst out with "Mommy! Daddy!"
Caleb and I: "Yes, Elliana?"
Ellie:"How about... fruit snacks!"

Then just a few minutes later from the backseat we heard "It's NOT night-night time!"
Caleb and I: "Yes Elliana, yes it is. You're going to bed when we get home."
Ellie: "No, it's not night-night time for... 3 hours."
Where does she get these things?

Her new favorite thing to do while eating a meal is to pick up anything (her cup, her utensils, or her food), raise it in the air and exclaim "Cheers"! Then she waits for us to say cheers back and raise our food or utensils too. :)

She loves to speak to inanimate objects. Just today at lunch she started talking to her bowl. This may not be word for word what she said, but it's close; "Hi bowl. I'm eating macaroni and cheese bowl. Then it's night-night time bowl. Now I'm drinking my water bowl". Ha! I'm giggling to myself even as I write this.

All I know is, every time I listen to this song and think about our Elliana, I can't help but be sad. It's true what they say, they grow up so fast! With how much fun we're having with Ellie lately, I don't want her to grow up. I know she has to though. It's like my mom always tells me, "Enjoy each stage because you'll want the time back when they've grown up".

Here's a little warning, this song will probably make you cry. It makes me cry every time.



On a completely unrelated note, I just noticed that this is my 100th post. Go me!