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pregnancy
Will's Birth Story (part 2)
read part 1 of will's birth story here. 
One of the things I was most looking forward to when we had Will was Beck meeting him for the first time. Our night in the birth center was short and sweet-ish but exhausting, so we packed up early and came home. Since Will was born before 10pm we could have stayed all night (usually you stay 6-8 hours after birth as long as everything is OK), but as long as you're in the care of the nurses you have to have vitals done every 2 hours. AND, because vitals take awhile they start them at the 90 minute mark, which means we got about 85-minute stretches of sleep. Jay snored loudly during this time (he is currently shaking his head as if I lie about this all the time), I stared at Will and contemplated things that were achy or burny, and Will snorted as if competing with his father.
Our vitals came back normal each time, so at 4am I got antsy and asked if we could go home since I was hardly sleeping. We put Will in his first-ever little outfit (that I got on my last solo trip to NYC at the Monica and Andy store, and I adore it so much because the trip was so much fun), I slowly got dressed in my super stretchy going-home outfit, and we buckled Will into his car seat, one of the only new things we got for him. We drove home slowly and carefully, chatting about the night and what we wanted to do for our first day as a family of four (I mentioned donuts several times, and no one has procured me a donut at nearly 2 weeks postpartum), and got home around 5:30am.
At this point we dropped Will in the Uppababy Vista bassinet we had carefully set up by our bed, slept for three straight hours, just the three of us, and it was the last time I slept for three hours straight. No joke.
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Will's Birth Story (part 1)
Today is my due date. This feels so similar to three years ago when I wrote about Beck barging out of my body and into the world. It's all the same and all different, all the feelings, none of the sleep or time to process them, big life changes, all of it. 
So. Last week. On Wednesday we had our 39 week appointment and the midwife we saw didn't have a ton to say besides that everything looked fine and she didn't think she'd see us for our 40 week appointment. She had no reason to say this since there weren't any actual signs that I'd go into labor and our providers don't do cervical checks (since dilating or not isn't an indication of when you'll actually go into labor), so I was half encouraged/half "you don't know anything," which is my preferred feeling around the end of pregnancy. No one knows when it'll happen or how it'll go and this makes things very hard for me on an emotional level.
Spoiler alert, Will was born at 39 weeks and one day exactly like his sister, so ... I kind of knew what was going on. ...
Pregnancy #2: In Our Hospital Bag
Pregnancy #2: Pictures.
We have entered the phase of pregnancy where every night before bed I do a thing or two that I'd REALLY want done should I go into labor right now. 
This is useful in terms of productivity and annoying because I have a literal month before anyone will talk about inducing without serious begging on my part, and I'm not going to do that. I'm just internally begging my uterus to start the eviction process, already. The days definitely feel like they're slowing as we near the finish line, or with every day that passes the finish line moves farther away? I'm not sure.
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Pregnancy #2: 35 Weeks
"At this point, most babies born will be free from the usual complications associated with early delivery, although a few more weeks in utero for lung development and fat growth is ideal..."
Or something like that, is what all of the books tell us. So, yay! Kid is allegedly fully formed, even though I haven't had an ultrasound since 24 weeks so who even knows what he's up to in there. External signs point to healthy kid, and the weeks are FLYING.
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Pregnancy Favorites at 30 Weeks
THIRTY WEEKS IS MORE THAN 75% DONE IF I DON'T GO TO 40 WEEKS WHICH I DIDN'T LAST TIME SO I'M STARTING A COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF MY LIFE AT 37 WEEKS WHICH IS FULL TERM AND I CAN'T HELP MYSELF I'M SO EXCITED. 
It's the bladder. I'm just wildly uncomfortable this time around and not tryna stay pregnant for 42 weeks, sorry little person inside me. But! There are a few things that definitely are making me slightly more comfortable for this longer-the-second-time journey.
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Pregnancy #2: 29 Weeks
29 weeks tomorrow! Viable fetus (not ideal for him to be born now OBVIOUSLY, but still a good shot), big belly, tons of tasks and heartburn. Fun times!
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Pregnancy #2: 12-20 Weeks
Also known as A Long Stretch of Boring. 
SO. After we got home from NYC (where so many people witnessed me drinking a shit-ton of soda water and cranberry juice, gross) and knew that #2 was a boy and didn't have any major chromosomnal disorders, we got into the very boring first half of the second trimester, BUT boring in a good way because that meant nothing was terrible for me or the baby and we could basically live our lives minus me peeing every ten minutes and eating dessert every night to make up for the obviously-needed wine calories I was giving up.
The end.
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Pregnancy #2: Counsyl Genetic Testing {and baby genetalia obviously}
Hurray, a post about bloodwork! I got some, it gave me some information. #science
The end.
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Pregnancy #2: 7-11 weeks.
Once we got over the initial YAY NEW PREGNANCY information, we spent a few days holding the information to ourselves, which I always think is fun. I'm not really one to hide for any specific length of time, but there's something sweet and innocent about being the only person (plus a partner or whoever else) who knows this information, if that makes any sense at all. 
We told our families and a few best friends after we'd known for a week or so, when I was still super duper early - people we'd tell if I had a miscarriage, basically. Then it was the dance of figuring out what events to skip because I was super tired all the time, and drinking a crap ton of soda/cranberry in public when I wanted it to appear like I was drinking. I'm not one to pass up drinks at social events, but other than that there was nothing really outward that would have given me away at that point. ...
Pregnancy #2: 0-6 weeks.
And so here we are again, another pregnancy and I just can't believe it. 
Almost three years ago we were just starting this family-building journey, learning tons, managing emotions, planning for the future, and it feels SO far away yet like it happened five seconds ago. I can't believe Beck is almost three, I can't believe it's NOT crazy that we are having another kid "this soon," I can't believe how effing old I feel. It also feels surreal to be writing it all out here, again, something I personally love because getting things OUT is good but also it feels very indulgent at the same time, sorry about that.
Let's start at the beginning! Around the time Beck turned one Jay realized that maybe a second child wouldn't be a bad thing. I'd known that all along, but we didn't have any kind of concrete plan as to when a second child would be ideal (scratch that. in the truest sense of the word, children are not ideal, full stop). While Beck was one I started a new job, Jay celebrated a year at his new job, we tried unsuccessfully to sell our house and started the process of adding on instead. Then kind of all of a sudden Beck was two and maybe we should talk about this. Also along the way one of my college best friends got engaged to be married in IRELAND this summer, so I very intentionally didn't mention getting pregnant until less than 30 weeks before her wedding because I super duper want to go to Ireland. Even though I might not be able to for other reasons. ...
#tbt Beck's Birth Story
#tbt One Year Ago Today
It's December! How is it December. That's not even a question, it's more....an incredulous statement. Where did the year GO? One week from tomorrow our baby turns 1. This was the first picture I took of the 2 of us, a few hours after she was born. 
I remember this day so vividly from last year. Not the day in particular, I guess I went to work and I posted a few maternity pictures and some pregnancy favs (if you're pregnant you can read them but if not just laugh) and went on with my day. ...
At 6 Weeks Postpartum
At so we have a 6 week old! 
But this isn't about her. I mean, it's about her, but you know. More about her...entry point?
Sorry, SORRY. I know. Let's get back to the recipes and baby pictures, right?
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2015 In Review
Guys, it's the last day of the year. Can you even believe it? It seems like five seconds ago that we were welcoming our neighbor's baby into the world and having a really quiet little NYE at our place with food and friends this time last year. This year we're a family of THREE, we're having an even more quiet NYE, and it's been just the best year. Also, as of about 6 weeks ago I was still writing 2014 on hospital forms, so let's see how long it takes 2016 to sink in! Probably until 2020. 
Stop, please, time. kthanks.
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Beck's Birth Story {jay's version!}
The phrase, “zero to sixty” is usually reserved for the automotive industry. It typically describes how quickly a certain car can accelerate to sixty miles an hour. However, on rare occasions it can accurately illustrate how fast a man can move when awakened by his wife saying, “Honey, I’m in labor. We gotta get up and go.” I couldn’t have hopped out of bed faster if I had springs mounted on my ass. Like a bullet from a gun I was propelled into reality at break-neck speed. “Oh shit! What can I do? How are you feeling? Did your water break? Oh shit! What the fuck!?” All of those questions came racing off my tongue while running in place. If I were Fred Flinstone, there would have been a plumb of smoke peeling off my feet. We were off to the races.
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Beck's Birth Story {part 2 + pictures}
I figured out how to squiggle out my nipple to show you pictures of the baby being born, I know you're super thrilled about that. It worked about 80% of the time. Some places I couldn't be bothered. 
I was thinking on what I wrote yesterday about Beck's birth, and how there is so much more to say, but I'd written over 3,000 words and felt like it needed to stop because no one wants to read that much in one sitting anymore, right? Books, schmooks. So I stopped, and then I realized that this is probably what the phrase there are no words really means. In reality, there are ALL the words, but no matter how many you put down it's just never right or enough or something.
So we'll just add more words to the situation to really clear things up, ok?
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Beck's Birth Story {part 1}
OMG we've had a baby for 6 days. I went into labor a week ago today.
What the ever-loving crap, guys.
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Just For Fun - More Maternity Pics
I promise this is it with the vain self-indulgent photography. 
My bff is just super talented and we had so much FUN doing these pictures, it kind of makes the current discomfort and impatience a teensy bit better.
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