Breaking News

If I were famous, I would have been on the "Bump Watch" pages of the tabloids weeks ago... and they would be right! Yup! For those of you who don't know, Phil and I are expecting Baby #2 at the beginning of August. Shockingly, this means I have something in common with Elisabeth Hasselbeck from The View. (My good friend Annie loves her, so I won't make any comment here.) Although, unlike Elisabeth, our pregnancy was most certainly planned. Hayden and his little sibling will be roughly 2 years and 2 1/2 months apart. I think that's perfect. Hayden will be old enough to kind of 'help' with some things, and they'll be far enough apart that maybe they won't be quite as competitive with each other as my sister and I were (22 months apart and only 1 school grade apart). But they'll still be close enough to play together once they're a little older.

It's always an interesting game of when to tell people. We told our family at Christmas, when I was only about 8 weeks along. Many people like to wait until they are through their first trimester because that is when the risk of miscarriage drops significantly. But for me, I figured, if the unthinkable were to happen, I would want my family and close friends to know what I was going through. I would need their support. And it's just so much fun to announce the news, and I couldn't think of a better time than at Christmas. Plus, then I don't have to think of an excuse for not drinking wine, which would probably blow my cover immediately. Of course all our parents were thrilled to be getting another grandchild. It's also exciting that Phil's older brother, Jim and his wife Rachel, are expecting their first child in mid-June. I was worried about stealing their thunder a bit, but they were thrilled for us, too. I just feel bad that now I can't loan her my maternity clothes!

So now that I'm through the 1st trimester and feel like it's ok to announce it publicly on the blog. We'll find out if we're having a boy or girl mid-March. I can't lie, I am REALLY praying it's a girl. I love Hayden to pieces, and am thrilled to have a son, but since Phil and I are only planning on having 2 kids total, it would be hard to accept never having a daughter if we have another boy. Of course if it is a boy, I will love him with all my heart. My mother-in-law had four sons and then four grandsons before finally getting the news that Jim and Rachel are having a girl. She has been waiting a LONG time to buy pink! So I too can always enjoy spoiling my niece even if I am blessed with another son.

This pregnancy has been very different than when I was pregnant with Hayden. First, I started feeling nauseous immediately. Every day since the beginning of December, until now. I have been miserable. I have been exhausted. My belly started popping out a few weeks ago, and my belly button is already flattening. And the headaches. Ugh! All this and still needing to keep my energy up with a very active toddler has been much harder than pregnancy #1. I'm finally getting some energy back and not feeling nauseous all day long (it comes and goes).

Luckily, Phil is a little more experienced with being a husband to a pregnant woman and has been INCREDIBLE at picking up my slack, doing all sorts of household chores, taking Hayden on weekend mornings so I can sleep a bit longer, and just overall being compassionate and asking how I'm feeling and what he can do for me. What a man! He even went to Dairy Queen and got me a Blizzard one night I was having a craving attack. Maybe I should milk this pregnancy stuff as much as possible! :)