Clear As Day

Rest assured, friends! Baby K is most definitely a boy! I know you were worried after I recounted my pregnancy dreams about him arriving as a baby girl, but at my recent doctor's appointment, we took a sneak peek, and the ultrasound was clear as day! No little girls in our most immediate future!

Seeing Baby Boy in action is such a joy and so exciting! He sucked his thumb, waved his arm, and wiggled his fingers at us. He did not care for the ultrasound in the least! He kept rolling away, and at one point, leveled a well aimed kick straight at the wand, causing the wand to bounce off my belly and shake the whole screen. The doctor gave him a stern "Now just a minute there, little man!" while we all laughed.

Ten more weeks to go! I can't wait! Naturally I just want to hold my sweet new baby! But I'll also be glad to pass off the severe back aches and swollen feet that are beginning to make an appearance as Mommy begins hitting the round and rounder stage.

Fun times, friends!

Pregnancy Dreams

Supposedly dreaming becomes much more frequent, vivid, and intense during pregnancy. I can't say that I found that to be true when pregnant with Little Boy, but this pregnancy has been much different from the start, and lately I've been having two rather startling recurring dreams.

First, I dream that the baby is born, but I keep forgetting to feed him. And I don't mean one missed feeding. I forget to feed him for days! Every night I have the dream the length of time I forget to feed him increases. Two nights ago, I dreamt that almost a month passed without my nursing him! In the dream, when I finally remember to feed him, I become panicked and start looking frantically around the house for the baby because I've also forgotten where I last put him! But when I find him, he's perfectly happy, content, and plump, as if he didn't miss any feedings at all. At least that's a relief! I've heard this is one of the most common pregnancy dreams women have, but having not experience these kind of dreams before, I always wake up confused and startled, wondering how I could possibly do such a thing!

Second, I dream that I'm in labor and the baby is just about to be born. The doctor catches him, and everyone looks down in stunned silence. He turns out to be a she! I always ask the same question in the dream - "Where's his little boy part?" (those exact words) - and the doctor always looks confused and answers me the same way - "I don't know!" I wake up from this dream confused and startled too, but I'm also becoming paranoid that the technician made a mistake with the gender, so much so that I'm thinking about asking the doctor to recheck at my next appointment! (She has an ultrasound machine in her office, though she usually only uses it your first couple and then last couple of visits.) I've heard about ultrasound techs mistaking a boy for a girl but never the other way around.

Anyone else experienced crazy pregnancy dreams? And have you ever heard of a ultrasound tech mistaking a girl for a boy? Is that even possible?

Baby on the move!

I can feel the baby kicking! I knew that you can feel the movement earlier the second time, but I still expected to need to wait a week or two more. I felt Little Boy move between 18-19 weeks, and I'm currently approaching week 16 with this new baby. I guess he or she really likes pumpkin spice chais since I had just finished a grande when I started feeling clear, soft thumps!

Yes, I said thumps. I most often hear baby movements described as flutters. My babies don't flutter. They thump. No graceful swan strokes here. My babies practice karate kicks. A perfectly fine practice when they're 3-4 inches long, like now. A little less pleasant when they're 20 inches long. But I enjoy the feeling far too much to complain, even when that tiny foot is jammed in my ribs.

With my last pregnancy, people told me that, after I feel those first kicks, I would realize that I've been feeling them for weeks. Nope. One day all is quiet down below, and the next...thump, thump, thump. No mistaking that feeling for anything else but baby!

My only concern this second time around is that I'll be taking abuse inside and out. Little Boy currently has no regard for personal space and thinks nothing of elbowing me, stepping on me, crawling all over me. Sigh. But I'm determined to cherish this time with my two little ones, knowing how fast the time passes and realizing that, before I know it, my babies are going to be running off to school exclaiming, "Mom! You can't hug me in front of my friends!" Sigh. Sniff. Wipe a tear away.

Why do children have to grow up so fast?

Baby Makes Four

Yes, you read that correctly! Our family of three is soon to be a family of four! Aiden will become a big brother on or around March 20, 2009. We are just over 10 weeks, and I wish I were feeling better, but we are so thankful for this new little one that God is adding to our family!

In this ultrasound at 9 weeks, you can see one small arm waving on the bottom left side of the picture.

Thanks for sharing our exciting news with us!