Dr. Visit @ 35 weeks

Today just about wore me out: took Reece to the doc at 9:30am, went to Babies R Us to get a boy and girl going home from hospital outfit, went to Meijer to get Benadryl for Reece and a few other things, home for lunch which Reece was too tired to eat, put Reece down for a nap, tried to nap myself but too many things are going on in my head, barely had fallen asleep then woke to a grumpy hungry child that had to be whisked into the car to go to my doc appointment downtown, home to do dishes, fix dinner for myself and child, whisk child off to Bible study, home at 9:15pm to put child straight to bed....I will be following shortly!

Nurse Susan said baby's heartbeat is great. Measured me at 36 weeks, but after feeling around on my belly and the position changed, she said I would probably measure closer to 34/35 weeks. She said baby is head down pretty low and asked if I was feeling any pressure...define pressure. I am feeling some sharp sensations on my cervix when baby moves a lot, so I assume that's the head pushing down on it. I weigh 171 lbs. I can't remember exactly, but I think I only got up to 173 with Reece. I hope to not gain much more, but baby is at least going to gain another 2-3lbs before I have baby. So that means I'll gain at least another 2-3 lbs and then some! Ethan is already asking when I shall be joining him for P90X workouts postpartum....hmmm....let me get back to you on that one, honey!!!

Pregnancy Symptoms

Because this blog is partially my own personal pregnancy journal, I'll just mention a few things that I'll probably forget about years down the road. I have been sleeping with a pillow between my knees since probably 28 weeks. At that time it eased some hip pain that I was starting to experience. The past couple of days, despite the pillow, my hips have felt almost arthritic...must be prepping for the birth and spreading. My mom said it won't be long now! Baby is still VERY active...must still be enough room in there to exercise! Baby seems surprised when it's feet get up under my ribs. I'll feel the first kick, then...kick! kick! kick! as if it's trying to figure out...what IS that? Also been having some very taut Braxton Hicks contractions. My belly gets SO hard! And some movements are painful, which I don't remember having painful baby movements with Reece. All in all, this baby seems a bit more hyper than Reece, which may tell us a lot about the future in differences of temperaments between the two. Reece is so laid back, this one might be a bit more active and bouncing off the walls! Who knows!

I have another check up tomorrow with the nurse practitioner Susan. So then I will update weight and other things. I also take Reece to the doc in the AM...he has had a fever for a week straight! I think it's time to take him!

34 Weeks...and Counting

33 Weeks

Baby Belly Update:

As I am typing this, baby is moving about very vigorously! I have had some very painful movements, and I don't remember those with Reece the first time. All of his movements were painless. The heartburn gave me a rest for about a week, and then started up again today. I woke this morning with a foot kicking me under my rib cage, so I'm assuming the position of the baby changed, and therefore caused the heartburn. Ethan took a look at my belly tonight, and said, "I think you're going to have that baby soon! How do you hold that up?" Referring to my heavy belly. It's hard, I said. It really is. It gets heavy as the day wears on. Reece has been sick the past couple of days, and it's been hard dealing with him as he wants to be held, carried and snuggled more. Ethan also suggested last night that I pack my bag for the hospital. "I'm only 34 weeks!" I said. He countered that you just never know, and we should at least start getting things around! I started thinking about all the things I need to pack: bag for Ethan, bag for me, bag for baby, bag for Reece because who knows what the situation will be...will he go to someone's house? Or will someone come to our house?? All great questions!! Ethan said he can handle packing his own bag...to which I rolled my eyes I'm sure and said, that's a relief! One less thing to worry about.

Taking Inventory and Nesting

I have REALLY been nesting this week! Ethan has been home a few days because of the weather (Ice Storm, 2011) and has been playing with Reece, so I have been able to get things done! I went through the 2 boxes of girl clothes that I had been given to take inventory. I got out a clipboard and paper and pen, and wrote down all the sizes and description of each thing. Most things are 0-3 months, but there are things for both seasons - spring/summer, fall/winter. I did this mostly because I wanted to have an inventory of things in case I do have a girl to know what I need to look for at garage sales, store sales, etc. for the future. There were SO many sleeper outfits in the boxes, and none bigger than 3 months. In addition to the already huge number of "neutral" sleepers I have (probably between gowns and sleepers there are at least 20 (and this isn't counting the boy sleepers!) I am overwhelmed!! I think the overwhelmed feeling is because of the suspense and not knowing. I have both boy and girl clothes and just want to get them in drawers and out of boxes. With Reece, I just didn't even look at the girl clothes in those boxes, and all I had were neutral outfits and that was that and I would just get the rest later. Well, now, the frugal person in me wants to be prepared in case I see a sale or be ready when the garage sales start (which will be soon after baby arrives) to know what sizes I need to get and types of clothing. I also went through all of Reece's clothes that I have either picked up at stores/garage sales last year and hand-me-downs and made an inventory list of those items too. He is going to need a few more things than baby will for summer and next fall/winter, but not many. I have a feeling he will be outgrowing his current shoe size for spring as well. So moving on from 7 to 8!

In addition to taking clothing inventory, I also sanitized bottles, pacifiers, aspirators, etc. for when baby arrives. Reece and I hung some things in his room (a clock and a cork board). I think tomorrow I will have him paint on a canvas that I have and hang that in his room. I was going to paint a truck or car on it, but I think it would be cooler to have something that he painted himself on the wall.

Reece has been so funny lately! He just gets funnier every day. He has a car puzzle that he switches the pieces and thinks it's so funny. We have also found that we are able to reason with him a lot more at meal times when he doesn't want to eat something by asking him to take 2 more bites or saying that he has to eat such-and-such before he can get down and play. He usually complies. His latest songs that he knows or are learning are: "Sanctuary" "Psalm 118:24 (This is the Day)" "God is so Good" "The Song that I Sing" "ABC's" He really is a little song bird. He can hit every note, and he learns songs SO fast! He just asks to sing it again about 4 times, and he knows half the words and the tune!

Heartburn has been getting to me lately. I can't eat anything without having to take a TUMS or suffer the consequences. Right now I am hungry, but I can feel I'm on the verge of heartburn so I don't want to eat anything and make it worse. So I guess I'll go to bed hungry!

Has It Been 40 Weeks Yet?

I have a dr. appointment today, and I think I may switch docs after this baby comes. I should be going every 2 weeks as I am in my 3rd trimester, but last time they didn't have any appointments available at 2 weeks so I had to wait 3 weeks for an appointment. I'm going to tell the doctor today that I'm not happy with the scheduling, and that they should be trying to fit women in who are in their 3rd trimester. These women should take precedence over yearly exam people, etc. Perhaps after the doc has a talking to with the scheduling lady, I'll get in on time in 2 weeks next time. Also, it is quite inconvenient to have to drive downtown to the hospital for an appointment and pay for parking in the parking garage. I'm quite over it! Somewhere much closer to home would be much better.
Yesterday, I had an odd spell of fatigue coupled with my heart pounding and it wouldn't settle down even when I laid down for a while. It did stop after about a half hour, but I'm going to ask about it today and see what the nurse practitioner says (that's who I'm seeing today, and I don't like her much). I think I am about ready to have the baby...has it been 40 weeks yet? I'm sure after I have the baby there will be some days that I wish baby was still in my belly so that I only have 1 child to care for! I keep wondering what it is going to be like having 2 and trying to balance attention, mealtimes, nap times, housework, etc. It's going to be crazy, but I'm looking forward to growing our family and meeting this little one that has been growing inside my belly for 31 weeks! This little one has been nudging my ribs lately and my pelvic bone, and some movements make my belly button pop out, and pop back in. Also, my stomach is running out of room I think, because I'm getting heartburn more often. Tums have been my friend!
Reece has been happy as a clam today which makes mommy's day easier too! He has learned "C" is for "car." No surprise there! At breakfast he started saying, "Momma loves you, and Daddy loves you, and Grammy loves you and Papa loves you, and Auntie Em loves you, and Zuncle Jeff loves you, and Zuncle Zach loves you"...etc etc etc. So cute. Then he wanted down, but hadn't eaten all of his breakfast. I told him he needed to eat all of his breakfast before he got down to play, and this works for now. He (with a little help from me) ate the rest of breakfast and said, "NOW I get down and pway!" That's right little buddy...you just remember that!

Dr. Visit @ 28 weeks

29 Weeks

Today was the good ol' glucose test. So funny that they have to do that for everyone, even when clearly I am in good health and have no sugar issues. Wouldn't you be able to tell?? Anyway, had to wake Reece up to go to the doc after only an hour. Poor guy needed his sleep! He cried the whole way because the sun was in his eyes and he was trying to go back to sleep. He never was able to. He did fine at the doctor though...gave him lots of snacks. At the appt. I measured 26 weeks, so 2 behind, but I told her everything just spreads out nicely when you are tall like me. I weigh 160 lbs., which means I have gained about 25 lbs. already!! Last time I gained 38 lbs, so I guess I'm on track for the same.
Baby was VERY active yesterday to the point that I thought I might get sick if it moved around anymore from motion sickness or something! When I woke, for the first time I felt feet kicking up under my ribs and a head bumping into my pelvic bone. So funny how everything is kind of "old hat" the second time around, but still amazing all at the same time. I'm feeling the waddle coming on...boo hoo. But otherwise I am feeling great besides the occasional heart burn. Peppermint for whatever reason gives me heartburn...even gum! So no peppermint patties or gum or candy canes for me.
Reece has had a few quotes of the vacation: "What in the world are you talking about?" and "I don't know where the car went!"

25 Weeks Down, 15 To Go

Photo of me at 25 weeks. Belly feels bigger than it actually is. I have not been sleeping well, tossing and turning most of the night. I think I sleep on my back more than I think I do (previous to pregnancy), and not being able to now affects my sleeping pattern too. I am usually dog tired when I go to bed, so I expect to zonk out and stay out through the night, but not so.

It snowed 3 inches or so last night, and while Ethan was at work I wanted to take Reece outside to play in it, and so I thought it would be a good idea to shovel the driveway while I was at it...probably not my best idea yet. I'm already feeling sore, and it's not even tomorrow yet. I have a feeling I will be regretting the shoveling. But, it was fun to get all dressed up in our snow pants and snow boots and play in the snow with Reece. He does not like his coat...it's pretty bulky compared to what he's used to. And I'm not sure he was a fan of the snow pants (his first time wearing them). He said, "I take da coat off...no go outside and play!" But I made him go anyway, and he fell down a few times and got stuck and couldn't get back up just like Randy in A Christmas Story movie....I was cracking up. He would say, "I fall down...help pwease!" He was slightly amused when I made some snowballs for him. But other than that, he wasn't too impressed with snow, in general. We will try again and see how next time goes!

Reece has not been able to stay away from the Christmas tree...he loves the ornaments! Last year when he was not even 1 year, he was better about not touching the tree. He just loves the tractor ornaments we got from a man at church, and says they are "papa's tractors." And he also likes the jingle bell ornament. He can sing most of the Jingle Bells song, and loves "Up On The Housetop", especially the "ho ho ho" part!

What Is The Plan?

I feel like I won't be able to sleep until I type some ideas out about what to do when I go into labor. Things are a lot different the second pregnancy in a lot of ways, but first and foremost I am concerned about how Reece will react to the baby, and also what to do when I go into labor. We don't have family down here in Indy, so who do we call if I go into labor at 3am like I did with Reece? And for that matter, who do we call during the day if I go into labor?? Of course I will have my parents on call to make the 4 hour drive as soon as I know that I may be in labor. Hopefully we will have an idea from a dr. appointment like we did with Reece. We went in the day before and the nurse practicioner said that I was having contractions and that I could have the baby soon. We thought she was off her rocker, but it turns out she was right! So we're hoping to have an idea, but it could happen without any warning too. In which case, if we called my parents to come down, I could labor at home for as long as possible, but 4 hours is a long time. And who knows, my labor could be really slow like with Reece, or it could go a lot quicker! We're hoping to line up a bunch of contingency plans, but with having a baby, there is no plan! Unless you are being induced, you don't know the day or the time. We need to have someone on call to come to the house if I need to go to the hospital in the evening or middle of the night. We need to have someone who is available during the day to come watch Reece if I go during the day. There may be someone who is available on weekends, but not week days. We have a lot of people at church who I am sure would watch him, it's just a matter of work days, times, etc. Then we need to have Reece's schedule written out (even though he's got a pretty flexible schedule) and his bag packed too...just in case he's got to go somewhere other than home. *sigh* It will all work out, I think I just have to start asking around...who's available to babysit my first baby while I'm having the next!?

Week 23 Doc Visit

22 Weeks

As I'm typing, Reece is in his bed singing, "No Not One" over and over again! Funny.

Today I had an appointment with my Ob/Gyn Dr. Rothenberg. In 5 weeks I had gained 11 lbs (from 142-153lbs)!! Whoops! This happened with Reece but between weeks 14 and 18, I think it was 10 lbs in 4 weeks. I was expecting him to say, lay off the extra calories, but when I asked about it he said he wasn't worried because I lost the weight between the pregnancies. It's only a problem gaining so much in 5 weeks when you are previously overweight or didn't lose the pregnancy weight. He also said, "Wow, you are showing a lot earlier than you did with Reece." Translation in my head, "Wow, you got big, fast." Thanks, yes, I know I'm a little ahead of my first pregnancy sizewise by about 4 weeks, according to belly photos. But all is well with baby, I am just finding that I need to take it easy sometimes. Last night I was SO tired that we couldn't follow through with the plans to decorate the Christmas tree. I napped on the couch while Ethan and Reece put the tree up, and then Reece went to bed, and then I followed soon after! I'm also trying to cut down on lifting Reece or David, the little guy I babysit. They are just too heavy. About the only time I pick them up is to put them into the high chair and take them out again. All hugs and snuggles are given from a sitting position!

Flashbacks

22 Weeks with Baby Walker #2

21 Weeks with Reece

Finally got back to work on Reece's first year scrapbook...I'm still on the hospital photos! It's pathetic how long it takes me to do a page! I journaled about the labor tonight for the page I'm working on, and the memories of the pain came flooding back! Ethan and I reminisced a little about those long hours of contractions and I said that I don't want to go through that again if I don't have to! So I think I'm leaning toward getting an epidural as soon as the pain gets to be too much, and especially if I'm not progressing very quickly like last time. Who knows, maybe things will go much faster and I'll be able to handle it.
I have been having a LOT of Braxton Hicks contractions since about week 19. I'm on week 22. Baby is very active and loving life in the womb, I can tell. Except for when Reece tries to climb on my belly. I'm cutting back on picking up Reece now, after noticing the other day after making Thanksgiving dinner and cleaning and just doing too much I had some cramping on the right side of my abdomen that stopped me in my tracks. Ethan told me to take it easy and let him do things for me. So today I took it easy and rested a little, but of course I just can't relax all day when there are things to be done! I did do a little scrapbooking and tried to work on the quilt, but found out I need a different color of thread. So I have to go to the store to get some tomorrow before I finish that project. Wish I could start on a quilt for baby, but don't know the gender, and after baby is here there will be NO time!! Trying to get as much done now as possible. I keep thinking about Reece's room and what needs to be done about that, and how our lives will change once another baby is in the picture. I hope it's not as hard as I think it will be to make sure Reece still feels loved and special, because he is my good little guy. I just don't want him to get lost in the shuffle. We'll try to make sure he is involved with the baby as much as he wants to be, and give him all of the love and attention he deserves. I love him so much (I'm tearing up as I type). And my hope for the baby is that he/she gets as much attention and guidance as Reece has had to this point. Being a mommy is an emotional roller coaster.

Thirsty....but not for Dr. Pepper

I had a Dr. Pepper with dinner....it sounded so good at the time, but now I don't think I could sleep if I tried. So, I'll journal a little bit! I gave Reece a few sips, and it took him an hour to get to sleep. He sang "Choo choo Train," counted, recited quotes from books like Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You?, said momma and dada a few times, etc. Then he finally conked out.

At church, Reece likes to give the play by play. We're trying to teach him to whisper when he wants to say, "All done singing da songs" or "I give da money to Dod (God)," or "Say da prayers to Dod." He is such a sweet little man.

Pregnancy wise, I am still craving sour things. Went scrapbooking on Saturday with some girls from church and one of them brought sour worms. Man, did I chow on those! And chocolate is just take it or leave it right now! I have been having regular Braxton Hicks contractions. The baby doesn't like those. Baby squirms and wiggles after those every time. I have been waking up parched at night and needing something to drink in the worst way. Last night I had to go downstairs and get some ice water, then it took me at least an hour to get back to sleep. My right leg fell completely asleep last night for no reason at all. That's not a good sign! That means my hips are probably adjusting and widening and affecting my nerves and blood flow. Belly is about as big now at 21 weeks as it was at 26 weeks with Reece. In my scrapbook on the 26 week photo, I wrote that I finally broke down and bought maternity pants...HA! I've been wearing maternity pants now for at least 3 weeks!! It's true what they say about getting bigger, sooner the second time around. I can feel the waddle coming on already!

Ultrasound at 18 weeks

18 weeks today! We had the ultrasound on Wednesday. I had to wake Reece up from his nap to put him in the car to go to the appointment. Poor guy. As I put him into the carseat, he was saying, "Bed. Night, night. Sleep!" He was NOT done with his nap! I thought he would fall back asleep in the car, as he has done in the past, but not this time. He dozed off a few times, but every time the car stopped he would wake again. On the freeway, he saw a FedEx truck with the letters big and bold on the back of the truck. He said in his very sleepy voice, "R for Reece!" I told him that was close, that they were letters, but there was no R. We picked up Ethan at work. Sometimes he walks to the appointments, but it was so windy that he preferred a pickup!

We waited in the waiting room for the ultrasound, and I had to use the restroom. I should not have because when we got into the ultrasound, the baby was too far down in my pelvis and didn't have as much room to move, so the tech couldn't get all of the measurements she needed. So she told us to go to the appointment with the doctor and chug lots of water to fill my bladder back up, then come back when my bladder was full. So Ethan left to go back to work because all of this was taking too long! So we waited some more, went to the appointment, she sent us back to the waiting room after a very short listen of the heartbeat and that's about all, and we waited some more. The tech came and got us again, and she got all of the organs and measurements that she needed. By this time, I had to GO! I told the nurse that I was either going to go in a cup, or an accident might happen! She rushed me to a room and did the pee test, and we were off...almost 2 and a half hours later. And it was rush hour downtown Indy. And Reece and I were hungry! What a day.

Baby is measuring about 1/2 pound which is right on track. All is well in the womb! It was so neat to see the baby...it makes things more real! The profile is so different than Reece's ultrasound profile!

Baby's arm and ear

Baby's Feet

Profile

Baby Cheered Me Up

I am in the midst of a bad cold...you know, the kind that keeps you up all night long coughing no matter what you do (drink water, cough drop, sleep sitting up, etc.). I haven't gotten a decent nights sleep in probably 5 nights now...and Ethan probably hasn't either. Last night I moved downstairs to the couch at 4am so I wouldn't keep him up!

So, when Reece went down for a nap yesterday, I thought I'd try to take a nap too, being as exhausted as I was. I was almost asleep, and a coughing fit hit me. That tickle in my throat would not go away! I propped myself up in bed, trying to go to sleep in between coughs. At one point, I almost began to cry because I was so frustrated! And then, I felt the little *poke* *poke*. Baby has been moving around in there, but I haven't really been able to feel it from the outside yet. This time I could! I sat and felt the baby poke me for about 10 minutes, and the coughing calmed to where I finally drifted off to sleep...only to be woken up 20 minutes later by Reece's waking up and humming. Baby was trying to cheer me up...well, baby was probably saying, "What's going on here!" But it cheered me up anyway.

Reece has been humming and singing all day basically! He does at meal times, during play, waking up, going to sleep, riding in the car...it's so sweet! He can sing, "Wheels on the Bus" and "Night Night Baby," and can hum "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," so far. My mother in law says, "A singing baby is a happy baby." Reece must be a happy little guy!

Sleepless in Indianapolis

Crazy things have been happening in the family!! My sister, Emily, had an appendectomy last week, then my mom broke her foot on Sunday while we were visiting, and now my brother-in-law has a stomach bug...I'm beginning to think I'm next!

I'm currently writing this blog because I cannot sleep. Ethan is out of town to California, and that always makes me a little restless when he's gone. We went to the store, and on the way home I said, "We're going home!" Reece said, "Home....dada!" I told him dada would be home tomorrow...which means nothing to a toddler. We miss daddy when he's gone!

The sleeplessness could also be because I had soda tonight at dinner, which I have not had caffine due to the pregnancy for a LONG time!! (Probably 3 months at least) My body is probably freaking out. But the soda tasted so good with the creole food I had at Yats! Yummy! Come visit me and I will take you there to eat, and you will love it! Ethan thinks it's too "authentic" which for him means there are too many unidentifiable objects in the food, or objects that he doesn't like. But I loved it! Reece tried some of mine and kept saying, "Hot!" which for him meant "spicy!" Wish I had leftovers to eat in the middle of the night when I wake up hungry!!

Sleeplessness could also just be a pregnancy thing, but I've been pretty exhausted lately, it shouldn't be an issue. Perhaps I have too many things running though my brain such as...what color to paint Reece's new room when it comes time? When do we move him to a new room/bed? How is the labor going to go this time around? (I've been watching too many episodes of "A Baby Story" on tv...I cry every time a baby is born just because of the amazing-ness of it, but at this point it might be partially due to the fact that I'm thinking about the pain!) Is it a boy or girl? And on and on I could go...

I have been craving and eating pickle, tomato, cheese and miracle whip sandwiches....YUM! I cannot get enough. Still cannot tolerate/don't want coffee, much to my dismay, but it's just as well. Can't say that I'm really craving anything else in particular...just healthy foods in general. For a while I was on a Penn Station sandwich kick.

Reece had his first whole piece of candy this weekend...I let him have a tootsie roll pop...and the flavor was banana! I hadn't heard the news of a new flavor! I despise all things banana flavored...but Reece loved it to the tootsie roll center. By the end he had sticky all over, but boy did he look like he enjoyed that sucker. We made sure to brush his little teeth really well that night!! He also went through the dark woods with a large group of kids to trick or treat at my parents house. Some of the people handing out candy jumped out and said boo! None of it phased him! He was cool as a cucumber. What a guy. And he said "Thank you" to everyone who put candy in his little pumpkin bucket (which used to be mine when I was little). Boy, does he love that bucket. Anything pumpkin these days, he loves.

Well, I'll try and get to sleep now. Wish me luck.

Quickening

At 14 weeks, I think I felt the "quickening" sensation of the baby moving! They say it could be gas, or it could be the baby moving. Well, I think I have a better understanding of what the baby moving feels like from the first pregnancy, so I'm pretty sure it was the baby. It happened while Reece and I were singing a song together. When asked what's in mommy's belly, Reece says, "A baby" and kisses my tummy. He is so sweet. He will be a great big brother! He sees me on the computer and asks to see "Nolen." So I bring up the photo program and show him pictures of Nolen, and he says, "Awww...Nolen! Baby Nolen." and tries to kiss the computer screen. He loves babies already...and wishes he could see Nolen more often!

Bun in the Oven #2

Well, it seems we have another bun in the oven! Ethan and I will be parents a second time over, and Reece will be a big brother to either a boy or a girl...we're not finding out much to Ethan's dismay. I would like to be surprised again (it was SO great!) but he really wants to find out. I have heard of people doing the whole "one finds out and keeps it from the other" but Ethan + keeping secrets = NOT! He can barely keep my Christmas/Birthday gifts a secret! It just wouldn't work in our case. We are currently discussing names. Mostly boy names, not because we necessarily think it will be a boy, just because we already have a girl name picked out from the last baby and want to use it. So far, we got nothin'. Ah, the name conundrum.

Currently we are at 13 weeks, and the first trimester is OVER, thankfully! This time around was a tad different than the first. First of all, Reece comes first, and mommy second. This means if mommy wants to lay down, and Reece needs to eat, she cannot lay down. Secondly, weeks 7 thru 11 were not very fun because I had to eat about every hour, on the hour in order to not feel sickly. That's a LOT of eating! Small snacks, but still lots of time spent trying to decide what will not make me feel rotten, what I'm craving, and what just sounds awful to me...lots of standing in front of the fridge or pantry waiting for something to jump out and fix itself because I certainly didn't have enough energy to make it for myself. This didn't seem to happen much the first time around, but I also worked at the daycare where they prepared hot lunches for the kids, of which we were able to also eat, therefore solving the preparation dilemma. I have felt bad about laying around feeling sickly and tired and not as energetic and playful for Reece, but I am now feeling better during the day and feeling more myself in the second trimester.

The due date is March 31 or April 1...sometime around there! Soon after we found out, Ethan comes home all excited because he got asked to work a camp at the Final Four which is in Houston this year. I thought for a second and said, "Um, I think we'll be having a baby right around that time." I think he said, "We will?" (Not having really figured out the due date yet, this was when I was only 6 weeks) Then he said something to the effect of, "Oh, rats." (Not oh rats we're having a baby, but oh rats I can't go). Anyway, I offered that he could still go (a JOKE!), and he immediately countered that it wouldn't look very good if he went...ha! Well, we at least figure that the due date is good timing for Ethan to be able to stay at home and watch some basketball games in March Madness if I have the baby early, but then we thought again and said, Nope, we'll be sleeping instead of watching games....oh wait, we'll just be zombies because we will have a 2 year old to take care of and not be able to nap when the baby naps...bah! It's going to be a lot different the second time around! Any advice from moms of 2 for the second time around??