So our little man is just a mere 5 days away from his first birthday!  I seriously cannot believe that just about a year ago I was at the Dr being told that they were going to induce me and we were finally going to be able to meet the sweet little guy who had been rolling around and hiccuping in my belly for what felt like so long!  Now almost a year has gone by and I just want time to slow down he’s getting so big so fast!

And he doesn’t seem to be the only one of us getting bigger 😉

Yep,  he’s definitely not the only one getting bigger, but he is going to be the Big Brother!!!!!!!!

Hard to believe that I am only about 11.5 weeks  pregnant in this picture.  I am living proof that you show much earlier with the second one.  I was probably about 18 or 19 weeks before I looked like this with G, although, my uterus didn’t even get a full year to shrink back to it’s normal size after having Garrett, so I guess it is to be expected.

So yes, we are expecting another little one due to arrive on December 30th 2012!!  I think it will be a New Years Baby, but we shall see!  Our newest addition and G will be almost exactly 18 months apart!  Some may think that is pretty close, and it is, but it’s also pretty common.  One of my brothers and myself are 17 months apart, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!  We have a great relationship and I know that the proximity in our age has a lot to do with that.  My hopes are that Garrett and his little brother or sister will grow up to be best buds, and the farther along I get the more excited I become to add another little addition to our family!

You’re probably wondering if we were “trying” and I can’t say that we were planning it down to the due date but Dan and I have always known that we wanted to have at least 2 that were close in age, so we took on the whatever happens happens approach and I am extremely fortunate that I seem to be a fertile Myrtle, but I’m pretty sure that runs in my family 🙂 so when we found out we were kind of like “well alright…here we go again!”  I’ve been excited about this pregnancy since we found out, but I’ve had other emotions as well.  Some days I would be super pumped and feel like I could take on the world, and others I would find myself saying what the hell am I doing?  I’m still trying to figure out how to be a good Mother to my one child, how am I going to do 2??? But I’ve been reassured that these feelings are all normal, and I’m lucky enough to have the best husband in the world to figure it all out with.  Of course I’ve had my moments of anxiety, specifically before each of my Dr’s appointments, but I’ve had 3 ultrasounds all of which showed a strong heartbeat, and I had my 12 week appointment today where again, I was able to hear the heartbeat through the doppler device.  Not to mention my girlfriend is letting me borrow her handheld doppler so I can listen whenever I feel the need.

My symptoms have been pretty similar to those I had with Garrett, although my first telltale sign that I was pregnant came when I was using my favorite bath and body works lotion (that I’ve been using for years) and it smelled much different than it normally does.  I almost didn’t want to use it again because it smelled so musty to me!  My sense of smell is crazy, I like spicy foods, others seem bland, I’ve been a little more nauseous, but haven’t been sick, ground meat repulses me, and fruits and veggies are my go to snack; also… I am absolutely exhausted, but my Husband swears (even though I think he’s nuts,) that I was this tired with G too. I try to lay down and nap or just relax when G takes his afternoon nap and I’m usually in bed before 10 pm.  But other than that, I’m feeling good!  Really the only other difference with this one is that the heart rate has been consistently higher than Garrett’s was.  G’s was always between 150-155 and this one is usually in the upper 160’s or 170’s.  Dan is convinced that this one is a girl…I think it may be too, but I’m not 100% sure yet, only 6 more weeks until we can find out! My belly started popping out a few weeks ago, and it just gets more and more obvious every day.  I’m just about not able to fit into my pre-pregnancy shorts/pants, so it’s back to the maternity drawers I go!  Luckily I have plenty of summer maternity clothes from last year that I’ll be able to wear, but since I wasn’t very pregnant in the winter with G I’ll have to invest in some winter clothes.  Although, if our fall/winter this year is as mild as it was last year, I may be in pretty good shape!

Alright…this post has gone on long enough….thanks for sticking with me through it.  I’ll continue to do updates on Baby #2 whenever something neat happens along with my other posts!

Now to lay down for a few minutes before G wakes up from his nap 🙂

Have a Great Tuesday!