17 weeks and a Bay Area Midwifery Tour

 I never got around to our 16 week update so here we are at 17 weeks! Since the last post we had a doctor appointment where everything went as hoped. We listened to the heartbeat beating away at 156 beats per minute and he said the baby sounds happy and healthy. We also learned more about our doctors' move from Chestertown Hospital to Anne Arundel Medical Center. I felt much better after hearing exactly what was happening but something still just isn't sitting right with me when I think about delivering at AAMC. So, today we toured another option; the Bay Area Midwifery Center. Jameson and I still have some discussing to do but I really liked everything I heard and saw. It seems to give us the most options possible with labor and delivery. I love that the center is set up like a home and the rooms are more like bedrooms than hospital rooms; no medical equipment in sight, four poster bed with real linens and the option of laboring and delivering in the whirlpool tubs. Since it's attached to the hospital, though, should anything not go as planned with me or the baby than advanced medical help is just a short transfer away. I feel much more at ease since our tour and am looking forward to this being a definite possibility for baby's big day.
   In fun news... Jameson got to feel the baby doing somersaults last weekend after I indulged in a watermelon sour straw craving. The sugar seemed to really get the baby moving and it felt like baby was just turning over and over and over. I love feeling the baby move and love that now Jameson can finally feel too. I can't wait to see the look on Lucy's face the first time she feels her brother or sister kicking her as she sits on my lap :)
  I am getting more and more excited about this baby as time goes on. If we were finding out the sex, it would only be 2 short weeks away at our sonogram the day after Lucy's birthday. Just getting to see baby move around is enough excitement for us anyway.  Jameson is starting to lean towards boy but I am holding to girl for some reason. I have been having dreams at least once a week about delivering a baby girl but with Lucy I always dreamed we were having a boy so who knows.
  We had some excitement last weekend which resulted in an unnecessary visit to Urgent Care. Since we have been having such nice weather I decided to get a jump start on weeding the flower beds and getting them ready for Spring. But, it turns out a little brown spider had other plans in mind for me and interrupted my plans soon after I started. Luckily, it only swelled and turned red for a few hours and now I am good as new.
   I am definitely feeling pregnant and hoping these growing pains just give in soon and realize the belly is here to stay for awhile. Hopefully getting back to the gym will help ease some of these aches and pains and make me feel like the happy pregnant woman I am! 
   This picture is a week old, after a big meal again, but I was keeping with the every two week picture thing. We love you baby!

Lucy's 11 Months

For some reason I really had a hard time with Lucy turning 11 months. Maybe because her first birthday is quickly approaching and she is becoming less and less baby like by the day. I am excited to see her grow and change which I guess means her baby days are quickly disappearing.

Lucy's chattering is at an all time high and she has a couple of new words she has added as well as a greater understanding of the words and requests we say to her. She has started saying hello and holding phones to her ear and even said hello to her cousin when he came in one morning. She definitely understands "da da" when I am talking about Jameson and uses this phrase often when he's home. Tonight she was watching herself in the glass on the door and said "Bye Bye." She also understands when we tell her to find the duck or her favorite doll Mary. Jameson says he can't wait for her to talk and I am sure she will have plenty to say once she does.

Lucy loves food. Any food at all. We haven't found anything yet that she doesn't like. Brussel sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, rice and her new favorite tofu. She also has started having some cereal for snacks and quickly learned to pick the marshmallows out of her marshmallow oaties. She loves sharing her food with Jameson and I and likes to offer us whatever she is eating. I am pretty sure she is most concerned with feeding Otis, however, because there isn't much he doesn't get.

Lucy shows more and more affection all the time. She will give hugs and kisses when you ask her and especially loves giving Jameson kisses when she wakes up on the mornings he is home. He has started giving her back rubs and she actually sits still for them for a few minutes. She has also started sitting on the couch with me and watching TV when she is sleepy. At church, she reached for the older lady sitting next to us and let her hold her two separate times for about ten minutes. She loves to hug Hunter and will hold his hand when he is in his seat or rock him to keep him happy. She is going to be a great big sister :)

Lucy has still been cruising around the coffee table and chairs and has been practicing walking with her new push toy. She sometimes holds onto it with one hand while she pushes and pulls the toy. When she isn't paying attention she will let go to whatever she is holding onto and stand without support but as soon as she realizes she drops to the floor. She loves to explore the house, shuffling her way into her bedroom for toys or to the bathroom for her soap. She oddly enough started crawling some too but mostly only on the carpet. She also has become quite skilled at the stairs and had her first fall when she tried to follow me up one day.

We have had really nice weather some days over the last month and we have loved being able to take her outside to play. Her favorite thing to do is the swing but she also likes scooching herself off the edge of the slide and going down that too. Jameson and I took her and Otis to Tuckahoe one day for some play time and a walk in the woods and she loved every minute.

She also loves playing on the playground with her cousins and running down the driveway in her walker.

I am really enjoying seeing Lucy learn so many new things and discover what she can do. She definitely knows exactly what she wants and is pretty clear at communicating it. Luckily she is still a momma's girl when it comes time for bed so I get to hold on to the last bits of baby Lucy every night when we rock. Happy Eleven Months Sweet Girl!

14 weeks

I am a few days late in posting but it has been busy busy busy around here. Wednesday marked the 14 week mark as well as 3 calendar months, 6 more to go! I am feeling really great except for a cold I seem to have caught from Lucy. I am having some cramping but I am sure it's just me getting bigger and bigger :)

Most importantly.... I FELT BABY MOVE! Last saturday, 2/4, Jameson and I had just laid down for the night and I felt that familiar little flutter of movement. It was quick and very light but I knew the feeling right away and got a huge smile on my face as I rolled over and told Jameson what had happened. The next day I felt it again but have only felt it once or twice more in the past week. I know it's super early to feel anything but I had been anticipating that moment since I found out about the baby. Now just to have Jameson and Lucy feel it...

My cravings for all things sour continue but I am trying my best to eat things that are good for both of us. I have adopted almond and soy milk into my diet to keep the dairy intolerance at bay and it seems to have made a big difference in how I feel.

So without further ado, my 14 week picture, with big sister, and after a big dinner which is when I am my biggest...

12 Weeks

We made it! Well, I guess the first trimester isn't really over until 13 weeks but I feel like celebrating :) Unfortunately, it won't be with ice cream. It seems my pregnancy induced lactose intolerance has returned with a vengeance with this baby. I had it a little bit with Lucy but with this baby I can not have any milk AT ALL. Oh well, pizza seems to be ok!

We had a doctor visit last week and got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time... my favorite noise in the world. They warned us sometimes it's hard to find or hear this early on but I guess we have a little performer because it didn't take long at all before the beautiful noise filled the room. The doctor said everything sounds great and sent us on our way but not before moving our due date up one day to 8/8/2012.

There seems to be a lot of confusion over where this baby will be delivered. Lucy was born at Chestertown Hospital which we absolutely love. Evidently, according to our doctor the hospital will more than likely be closing the maternity department before this It looks like baby Hunter #2 will either be delivered at Anne Arundel Medical Center or one of the two birthing centers in Annapolis we are considering. More to come as we learn more.

Also this past weekend, we picked our girl name! We have had the boy's name picked out since we were expecting Lucy but were really having trouble with a girl name this time. Something came to mind so when I said it aloud to Jameson. He loved it and Lucy, who had been busy playing, said "Ya! Ya!" The middle name is yet to be determined but at least we have a starting point. Still planning on not finding out the gender but somedays I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to. Hopefully I can hold out for the surprise :)

I am now officially in maternity jeans full time. Those adorable full panel pants are still too big so I get to break myself in slowly and just have the skinny band around the top. I am feeling much better and don't have any nausea to deal with anymore. I still grab a nap whenever Lucy lets me though, both for snuggle time with her and to recharge.

Looking forward to a healthy and comfortable 2nd trimester!

Rock On

 Staying home with Lucy all day I have a lot of fun moments with her. But over the past week, one moment in particular has become my most favorite of all. The five minutes I rock her before I put her in her crib for the night fill my heart. I rock her to sleep for naps during the day but this particular rock is more peaceful than the others. She is fresh off a nurse and some books with daddy and watching her start to drift off while she lays on my chest make me feel like I am doing something right.

 I am sure people will say I shouldn't rock her to sleep or she will get used to it and need it to fall asleep. Maybe she will. But I feel like that's my job. I am home during the day to rock her to sleep. I love taking a few minutes out of my day to completely focus on her and just snuggle. At night I don't rock her completely to sleep so she does get used to comforting herself. But one day she won't want me to rock her to sleep at all, and I'm afraid that time will come before I am ready. So for now, we rock.

10 Weeks

This is a few days late but better late than never! Last week we got the unexpected surprise of seeing the baby again. I had some worrisome symptoms so we went in to get an ultrasound and what a difference three weeks makes! The baby looked more baby-like than the peanut we saw at six weeks. The symptoms turned out to be nothing to worry about but better to know than worry when it comes to babies. Here is a nine week picture of baby Hunter...

The cravings continue and this week was hot wings which Jameson was happy to appease. We also went to Joss for some pregnant friendly food, not the same but yummy nonetheless.

My belly seems to come and go by the day, or really the meal I guess. My jeans are getting to be too tight even with the belly band so now I am in the fun in between stage where maternity jeans are too big and my jeans are too tight.

 Not much else to report this week. Jameson and I had originally planned on being surprised by the baby's sex but curiosity is starting to get the best of us and hopefully we can stay with the plan. We have a baby boy's name picked out but were struggling with the girl name this time. Maybe its a sign???

Lucy's 10 Months!

We have had quite an eventful last month! Lucy celebrated her first Christmas and New Year and Jameson and I could not have been more happy to share this time with her.

One of the major changes over the past month is Lucy has moved to three meals a day and only 3  nursing sessions. She was really showing an interest in food, especially whatever Jameson and I were eating, so we started introducing a lot more foods and she seems to love it. I can't believe how much she eats! She still loves yogurt but she also eats an entire pack of oatmeal in one sitting, sweet potato fries, eggs, black beans, lentils, whole wheat bread, chunks of cheese, and even turkey meatloaf. I have started giving her little sandwiches with homemade jelly and she seems to like them. Whatever she loses interest in Otis is happy to take care of for her :)

We also cut out nighttime nursing which she doesn't seem to miss. I am sure all the solid foods are holding her through the night. We had a really rough time for a few weeks with Lucy sleeping. She was getting up 5-6 times a night and only taking 20 minute naps during the day. We adopted a new nighttime routine, though, and over the last week she has started getting up only once or sometimes twice.

Lucy is more and more mobile all the time. She gets anywhere in the house now using her little leg shuffle and still loves to practice pulling up and walking around the coffee table. She can quickly get from the living room to the kitchen and loves being able to explore on her own. Just today she was pushing her exersaucer around the kitchen. Still no interest in crawling though I have seen her crawl a few steps in the kitchen.

There are a few new words Lucy is practicing, her favorite being "Whats that?" She will hold her hand up and point to anything and ask. She also loves peek a boo and now says "Boo!" when she pops out. She got a set of rubber duckies for Christmas so has started saying "Duck" when she finds one of them and will look for them when we ask her where they are.
Lucy also started swim class this month. The first lesson she was in the pool for 35 minutes just her and the teacher and she loved every minute. She got dunked under the water twice but didn't cry either time. She worked on blowing bubbles in the water and floating on her back. The second lesson, though, she screamed for 15 minutes before we decided to give up and try again next week. Hopefully she will go back to loving it because we really want her to be comfortable in the water.

Lucy seems to have gotten a ton more hair and is really thinning out from the chunky baby she was a few months ago. She definitely still has some rolls but she looks less and less like a baby everyday and more and more like a little girl. She now has two top teeth and two bottom teeth and I don't feel any other buds in her gums yet.

I really find it hard to believe that she is already ten months old and that in two short months we will be celebrating her 1st birthday. She continues to be my little buddy and I absolutely love that I am able to spend all of our time together. We love to sit and watch her play as she digs through her toybox or comes to join us in the kitchen. She is one of the most loving babies I have ever seen and can not get enough of giving her cousins lots of hugs and kisses anytime she is around them.  I feel so lucky to be her mom and and will cherish these last couple of months of baby Lucy before she becomes toddler Lucy.