Bellybutton or...

Our little girl at 20 weeks.

Baby #2! That's right! Birch and I have been quite a bit more secretive this time around, not quite sure why, but I am twenty weeks along with baby #2 and we couldn't be more excited! This pregnancy has been, dare I say it, heavenly? It indeed has been with only three days total of morning sickness and just a general more-than-usual tired feeling. Compared to last time, it is glorious. My hips have just started giving me trouble, so I'll need to kick up the exercise and stretching (as in, you know, do it), but other than that I'm feeling grand. In fact, I actually have to keep reminding myself that I'm pregnant and put time aside to reflect and plan for this little bundle. To help me take time for this baby/pregnancy, I've started a journal detailing my thoughts and what we've been up to.

So far, everything looks and sounds normal and healthy. We went in for the big ultrasound yesterday where we saw all the little inner workings and found out the sex: it's a GIRL! We are so excited! Both Birch and I were hoping for a little girl this time. I have to admit, I've actually snagged up a few too-cute-to-resist girl things already. Since finding out I was pregnant, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that our newest little one was a girl. All the names we came up with seemed to be for girls and I just felt like it was a girl, much like how I felt Keats was a boy.

Speaking of Keats, he has taken to hugging my belly. Although we like to believe he just knows that he's got a little sibling in there, it's really that he's become absolutely obsessed with bellybuttons, asking to see ours, his, and on special occasions giving mine, and only mine, raspberries. It's pretty funny and mostly adorable, I just hope he doesn't surprise someone else with a big, wet raspberry. That could be embarrassing. Taking advantage of his bellybutton love, we've started calling mine Baby #2 as well as plain ol' belly button. Maybe he'll eventually figure it out as he gets a little older, who knows. It's worth a shot, right?

Without knowing why, we're keeping this pregnancy a bit more private, not that I won't be sharing things here on the blog, but we'll be keeping our name choices to ourselves and you won't find me complaining about every symptom on Facebook. Sorry about that last time, by the way. Ah, hormones. We haven't announced it generally among friends (this is it, by the way), so don't feel slighted if we didn't tell you. We've pretty much only told the people that we see on a regular basis as their the ones that actually see my belly getting larger. Again, I'm not sure why we're being so private about it this time. Did anyone else go through this with their pregnancy? Am I crazy? Wait, don't answer that last question. I remember feeling very private at the end of my pregnancy with Keats. I guess it just came really early this time around. Having so much of my energy and mental world devoted to Keats must have something to do with it. The pregnancy even feels like it's being kept secret from me sometimes since I'm not experiencing many of the tell-tale pregnancy symptoms (again, thank heavens)! If you felt this way while you were pregnant, what did you do to help get to know your child?

If you have any baby name ideas, send 'em on over!

We love you all very much and can't wait to introduce you to yet another member of our family! Haha, wow. Another little one. How fun!

Time for Craziness, Little Keats, Little Keats

So remember when I was gently and quietly reading Beatrix Potter to Keats? Yeah, no more. Books send Keats into a tizzy like nothing I've ever seen. He loves them! He squeaks and yelps, swinging his arms around in a whirlwind of activity that ends with complete surrender to enthusiastic fury. Indeed, eventually we actually have to take away and hide the book because Keats becomes so furious with his at-the-moment inability to grasp the heavy book that he begins to scream and cry. Reading as a before bed activity? I don't think so... not yet anyway. Oh, and he especially goes crazy for those about/with animals.

So despite Keats' mellow disposition, there are, so far, two things that he is absolutely impatient about: books and food. Sound like anyone you know? He is indeed his father's son.

Time to invest in some more board books. Oooo, padded too. Have you seen those? They're awesome. Makes me kind of wish my books were padded. Kind of cozy. (Not that I've invested much of my free time in reading books, but that day will come... Right? I hope so.)

A Brief Tangent and The Labor Story

Before I write all about how amazing being a mother is and how absolutely adorable our little Keats is, I have to take this opportunity to write about just that: this opportunity. Birch and I decided before we even got married that if we could at all afford it, I would be a stay-at-home mom. It's a sacrifice on a few different levels, mostly financially (especially in the Bay Area), but I can't imagine going to work and leaving Keats with a nanny or daycare. Not because I think I wouldn't be able find somebody good, but because I'd have to leave him. That being said, the combination of waking up during the night to feed him/change his diapers and being alone with him until around 5pm each day can be a bit much for me mentally, physically, and most decidedly emotionally. Hearing a baby cry for so long can be really draining and while most of the day I handle it pretty well, talking to him and bouncing him and going on walks together, at the end of the day I am ready to hand him to Birch and take a break. This is one of those precious breaks and it must be said that without my dear Birch, it wouldn't be possible. So thank you Love-of-My-Life for this opportunity filled with silence and free hands.

Now, our little man was born just over a month ago and no, I'm not sure how big he is at this point. At his two-week check-up he was 10 lbs. 11 oz, so he's gaining weight really well. Birch is estimating Keats' weight at around 13 lbs. He's outgrown half of his 0-3 month clothing already (some NEVER fit him). FYI: Newborn size is really "preemie" size for most brands and Gerber brand runs small. Keats barely fit in those when we were dressing him to leave the hospital! So, note to self, if buying Gerber, buy the next size up.