28 Weeks with a Five and Three Year Old

*I wrote this last Thursday and have been too tired or busy to post it. Since I will be 29 weeks tomorrow, I figured I better get this up today!*

I'm feeling nostalgic this week. The boys and I looked through old photo albums yesterday at their baby pictures and dreamed about what Margot may look like. I can't believe those babies are grown up. I am sitting here watching/listening to Owen rustle on the top bunk and whisper while Micah is still sleeping. I know if I go in there, he will refuse to come out with me. He waits on his brother every morning. He doesn't want to play with me anymore, he wants to play with Micah. The boys are best friends. There is a twinge of sadness at this reality, but I prayed for this before I even got pregnant with Owen. We wanted another boy and for our boys to be best friends. What a gift to see these prayers answered. The timing couldn't be more perfect. As my body is becoming bigger, more tired, and less able to get up and down off the hard floor, my boys are self entertaining for most of the day. I watch, referee when needed, and assist with the things that are too complicated for them to figure out. I don't fear the transition of a new baby because I think they are old enough and self-sufficient enough to understand what is happening. They both still like their cuddle time with Mama and playtime with Dada, but not so much that we will have to cut any of it when Margot comes. I remember how sad I was when Owen was born because Micah still walked around saying "Up peeaase, up peeeaase" when I was nursing and changing Owen. There was no way to hold two babies at once. We worked it out, but it was a huge transition for all of us. I know this will be a transition too, I am just praying that it will go a little more smoothly this time.

I am 28 weeks pregnant. I am still having mostly good days with some rough ones thrown in. I can't pinpoint exactly what triggers the bad days. Maybe it is the long stretch of Tuesday-Thursday of Matt working long hours while I manage the boys and house solo. Maybe it is just nothing more than a new batch of hormones here and there. Maybe it is when my lazy baby wiggles herself into a bad/uncomfortable position and proceeds to hang out there for a couple of days (not sure if she is stuck, or just likes it there sometimes). Being pregnant after losing a baby lends itself to all kinds of fears-ones that I daily struggle to give to the Lord. I never know if her lessened activity is reason for concern or if I should count movements the times she doesn't move a muscle (I think she sleeps like a rock already). As a dear friend told me recently "since we can't control if something bad were to happen anyway, let it suck then. Don't waste time letting it suck now." Amen! I try to remind myself to spend this time rejoicing in my sweet baby girl. I can't wait to meet her, see if she really is this laid back, smell her, kiss her cheeks off, etc. I keep thinking 11 more weeks-wow we are almost there! And then my next thought is 11 more weeks, how am I ever going to make it? Thought I would type a list of sorts as far as pregnancy memory type things I want to remember:

(I'm sure there are many, many more-but thinking is one of the things on the back burner these days. We are just trying to stay fed, clean, etc. Extra thinking is optional, and I usually opt out-not sure if this is voluntary or involuntary. Speaking of, if I have lost all of you by now due to my incomprehensibility, that's okay. My brain will make its way back into the picture one day, I'm sure.)

-Food is not fun this pregnancy. I have either felt sick, not hungry, had indigestion or heartburn, or not cared to eat for lack of anything that sounds good. Note: This has NEVER happened to me before. If anything ever sounds good, I rush to eat it before it sounds terrible or before I start feeling yucky. The upside of this is that I have gained a little under 20 pounds. This is about 10 pounds less than with the boys at this stage, so maybe it will be ten less to lose postpartum. The one thing that has sounded good almost every night since week 20 is vanilla ice cream. I eat it almost every night, either alone or with various fruits or nuts.

-I sleep like a rock with very vivid dreams from 11-7 every night. I think this is because I am in constant motion from 8-5 during the day. This is the only pregnancy I haven't taken a daily nap. Alas, aside from getting up to go to the bathroom, I am sleeping very soundly at night which is a huge plus.

-My feet have grown, probably about half a size. I heard this could happen during pregnancy, but have never experienced it. I'm wondering if they will return to my normal size or if I might be investing in some new shoes this fall. Summer shoes are fine, my toes just come to the very edge!

-Margot moves about half as much as I remember either of the boys moving. I wonder if this is because she is not as strong or not as active. I also wonder how much of this will play out when she is on the outside. Of course, as I type this she is fluttering away making me doubt this statement!

- I am having tons of fun shopping for little girl things and imagining playing dolls, dress-up, kitchen etc. It will be fun to see the difference in girls and boys first hand.

-We spend most mornings outside watching the boys play with water balloons and getting splashed. I thought I would die from heat exhaustion as I have never been pregnant in the summer before. I have been surprisingly not that hot-even at night when trying to sleep. I have been extremely thirsty and was told I was dehydrated at my last OB visit. I have been trying to drink extra to compensate, but my little bladder dancer makes this difficult.

-One huge plus to being pregnant in the summer is swimming. Who knew how great a cool pool would feel to a tired, pregnant body?

-I love this little girl to pieces. Even though I don't love being pregnant, being pregnant with her is pure joy, albeit exhausting and trying.

Meet Otto

This is our new pet betta: Otto. The boys have recently fallen in love with A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer. Micah reads it to Owen every night, then helps Owen read it by prompting him with the words, so he can recite it from memory. Then the boys spend the next little while pretending to feed their fish and making up all sorts of funny things. Matt mentioned getting them a real fish to take care of, and one hot day we ventured to the store and came home with a fish bowl kit. Yesterday, after a trip to the library, we ran in Petco and were told to get a betta instead of a goldfish (something about cleaner and don't eat often). Less work is always better, so we chose this lovely dark blue one. The boys love Otto (guess where they got the name), love feeding him "no more than a spot," and often check on him to make sure he is not scared. Welcome to the family, little Otto!

Made Me Laugh

Because these are so popularly viewed, I am sure you all have seen them-but just in case...

Some friends shared these with us recently, and I can't help but laugh. Especially, since it seems as though we may be well on our way to getting a mini-van with #3 this fall.

What's in a Name

I think naming children is one of the most fun things to do. I am pretty sure I must have started thinking of names for my future children when I was a very small child. I recall lists in notebooks but have no such record of these. I know I took great pride in naming my many, many, many baby dolls. I have to confess, I am one of those superficial namers. My final pick of names is based on how they sound-I mean I am going to have to say the name at least five billion times in my life right? I want the name to sound nice to my ears. Of course, if we can have a deeper meaning and a great sounding name-I am all for that! Matt, on the other hand, cares much more about the meaning of the name and that it appears either in the Bible, a famous person he respects, or in a family member (multiple of these is preferred!). Taking our much different criteria into consideration, we have a very tough time naming our children. There are so many people I admire and love, but I just don't like the sound of the name. There are so many names that sound so wonderful but mean something off the wall.

Another quirk of mine is that I simply must have a name for my baby when we find out the gender-so usually around 20 weeks. It is one of the reasons that I like to find out the gender of the baby. I like to know who is inside of me. It makes things more real for me as well as helps me bond. I love telling the boys about their sister, Margot, and I love praying for my daughter by name.

Anyway, for memory's sake, I thought I would just do a little post for the reason we picked Margot Josephine for our daughter.

Margot-Matt's younger sister and paternal grandmother are named Margaret. It is a beautiful, traditional name. I like different, slightly unusual names. Margot is a variation of Margaret, so we get the family aspect that Matt desires with a different spin for me. Margaret also means pearl, or treasure. To say that this little girt will be a pearl in our family is an understatement. What an unexpected treasure she is! Wikipedia says: the word pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable, and valuable. It works out very nicely that I also love the way Margot sounds-so feminine and great for a baby or adult.

Josephine-Josephine is of Hebrew origin and means God increases or adds to. Her name all together means "God has added a treasure." Indeed He has! My grandmother passed away shortly after Owen was born. I knew if I ever had a daughter, I would want to find a way to use part of my grandmother's name whether it be her name or that of a close relative. Her middle name was Jo. It was a name she passed on to my mother (it is also her middle name), who in turn passed it on to my brother (his middle name is Joseph). Now Margot will have a middle name similar to three very special people in our family.

Just thought I would share a little of how we arrived at our newest addition's name!