Hello! My name is Sara. I have been married for four years to the most wonderful man in existence. God created him just for me, and me for him. And it shows in our beautiful son! We have a 2-year-old named Elijah Michael, and he is the greatest joy in our lives at the moment. We are expecting another son in mid-October, Asher Stephen. We hope to have a whole house full of boys! Not that a girl would be a terrible thing, but we would prefer all boys- as many as God would like to bless us with! I love being a mom and wife, it's my full-time job. I try to do it to the best of my ability, and all for the glory of God. We live our lives for our faith, and hope that our sons will do the same! God bless all you mommy-to-be's, and good luck!

July3:

Being pregnant with baby #2 is very different from the first time. With my first, I knew everything that was going on week to week, I could tell you how many days I had to go...but this time! HA! I have to think to remember what week I am in...which is 24, according to that nifty little ticker thing down there. It's not that I'm not as excited about this baby- on the contrary- I'm VERY excited, but I just want to have the baby! 9 months is a LONG time!

I'm currently in my "nesting" mood- getting the baby's room ready, not to mention my son's "big boy" room, which we foolishly decided to do in super hero-motif- a total wall-to-wall mural of Spiderman, Batman, Superman, and Wolverine. If my son decides he doesn't like it in a year...my husband is going to move in to it- it is very cool, but very slow-going.

I am also antzy because I want to buy baby clothes, but the only thing on the racks at this point is summer stuff!! My son is going to be born in October! I need long sleeves!!! Alas, I will wait. I suppose I could stock up on some 6mo+ summer stuff for next year...that's not as fun, though.

But, on and on we go...I know fall will be here before I know it, and my new baby boy will be in my arms sooner than I can comprehend right now...

July 5th

My 2-yr-old is obsessed with fireworks. He is scared of them, yet it is all he talks about. "Fi-works? Watchum? Lijah watchum?" Then we take him out to "watchum" and he whines. Silly boy. We watched some on tv (can I just tell you how boring that is...) and he seemed enthralled.

Anyway, this pregnancy is soooooo loooong! They let me skip a week in my o/b appointments so that I could have my glucose test at my next appointment. So I have to be up by 7am to drink the sugar-soda, hold it in while the baby goes nuts with a sugar high, most likely kicking my bladder directly, and then the appointment is at 8am. What a morning that will be.

The summer is flying by...or maybe it's not. The neighbor on my left is due with a son in mid-August, and the neighbor on the right is due with a daughter in early August. Babies will be poppin' all around me and I still have to wait another month and a half!! Ok, yeah, I'm being a brat. I want my baby to be healthy and fully ready to enter this world! I need another hobby. I can only clean my house so many times. My son and I have been enjoying long days at the pool, so that's nice. I'm still stressed about being able to make time for my 2-yr-old with the new baby to take care of, but I will do it. I love my Elijah-boy so much, I realize how much more now that I realize I will have to make sure he knows it while still trying to nurture and love the new one as much! Luckily, Elijah has become quite a daddy's boy. He follows my husband all over the yard doing yard work, insists on sitting outside the bathroom while he takes a shower, and when he comes home from work...my goodness, it's like he's come home after a month or something! I know it really makes my husband happy, too. Elijah used to be a mommy-only type of boy, but he is so all about Daddy now! I know it's mostly pregnancy emotions, but my heart nearly bursts when I watch them play together. Sigh. I'm a cheeseball.

July 7th

This baby is a kicker. I felt him really early on, like 14 weeks or even sooner than that. Now, though, we are at the stage where not only do I feel the kicks and punches, we can all see them, too! Nothin' like seeing your belly make a huge ripple or jump. I'm trying to get my 2-yr-old to notice, but no luck yet. He does enjoy talking into my belly button to say hello to his baby brother. (The belly button is apparently the access point.)

We have decided on a stroller- a sit n stand type, where the toddler can sit on the little seat in the back, or stand and hold on to the stroller. It has a universal car seat adaptor, so we can use our old car seat/carrier. We also need to buy a bassinet/playyard combo thingy. We had a bassinet and a play yard seperately, but decided we would get a new one for this baby. The old bassinet was UGLY! Flowers and such...not very boyish. I'm very, very excited now. I've started stocking up on diapers...but man, finding a pack of size 1 Luvs is very difficult right now!! Everybody must be using them or something! I bought one little pack of eensy-weensy newborn diapers- they are so tiny compared to my son's size 4s!! If all goes well, I won't have to buy two sizes of diapers by Christmas. My son is just starting to show some signs he's ready to potty train. He enjoys flushing the toilet.

Oh, October! I have never looked forward to you before...but you couldn't come any sooner this year!!!

July 19

I'm hot. My thermostat says 75, but I think my body temp might be around 85. My last baby was born in June, so I didn't have to suffer through the summer...but with this little guy, we are taking on the WHOLE summer together!! It's going to be a rough one. The pool will be calling my name.

I am super moody right now, probably a combination of being stinky hot and hormones. Lovely. I had my glucola test, but didn't get results yet. It is most likely fine. The doc told me to try giving up most refined sugar as I get into my last trimester- it will keep the baby from packin' on the pounds. If I want to have a successful vbac, I should try to keep the baby under 8lb 7oz, which was how big my first son was. That will be fun. No sugar. I'll do my best. I don't want to have another c-section. Other than that, it's full speed ahead. We bought a new stroller and a playyard/bassinet. I still want to get a glider rocker. And more baby clothes! Of course!!

July 27

I don't remember being this moody with my first son. Of course, I was working and had to be cheerful in the office, I guess. I feel bad because my patience with my 2 yr old is really waning. He's in an interesting stage where he likes to scream just randomly, and his sleeping patterns are weird right now, too. It is going to be interesting this winter, stuck inside with a newborn and a two year old who is always go go go going! Ah well, mothers have done it in the old days- churning butter and making bread from scratch, no less. How they did it, I would like to know.

August 7

I am still amazingly cranky. I try to go up to my bedroom and just let my son play with the few toys I keep in there, while I just sit on the bed and stare at our fish tank for 15 minutes or so. That seems to help...at least it gets me away from my mom, who lives with us (she has inlaws quarters, but we share the kitchen/laundry)- she seems to be getting the brunt of my crankiness. She just does every possible thing that could annoy me. My son is sleeping better, I have stopped getting up in the middle of the night and rocking him, even though sometimes I really want to. It's tough, he's over there saying "Mommy rock you? Cuddle with Mommy?" How can anyone resist that?? But I realize what will happen when I have a newborn, I'll be up 4-5 times a night anyway. So...it's 97 degrees out today, and we are heading for the pool. Supposedly the humidity makes it feel like it's 100+...so, yeah. We'll be staying in the water! Next pregnancy, I'm going to time things a little better! Being pregnant in the summer is RIDICULOUS!!

August 11

My son can only tolerate Pampers Sensitive baby wipes. This wouldn't be a bad thing, except that I recently had a coupon for some Huggies, and bought a few packs...I suppose they can be relegated to simply being clean-up wipes for dirty hands, etc. And, I know the baby will be doing the whole 'sensitive' thing, too, so I might as well stock up anyway. If they weren't so gosh darn expensive...I hate reaching for the jumbo pack of Pampers wipes at $8 bucks a pop, when right there is the store-brand 'sensitive' wipe for $5. But no. My son's butt would be as red as Lightning McQueen...a condition we are still trying to fight at the moment with Desitin- a tube I bought as part of a gift bag for the new baby next door, however, I had to take it out of the gift and use it myself. OH well.

Other than that, we had some relief from the 90 degree heat yesterday, I could actually take my son outside without passing out. 2-year-olds are fun until it's time to go inside. Then you have to drag them kicking and screaming. Other fun times with a 2-year-old include 1)Unwanted diaper change, even though they can't possibly be comfortable with a poop just sitting there like that. 2)Trying to get them to eat decent food before you get out the cheese curls...sticking to your guns as they cry so pitifully and even ask so politely, "Cheese Curls, pwease!!!" 3)Hearing the word "again?" even before the song you've been listening to on repeat has ended. Current fave: Lollipop (the tune from the 1950s, you know, sha-boom boom boom.) 4)Having sausage links as the only meat product he will eat at the moment...which usually leads to #1 above. So, we are having a good time. I can't even begin to imagine the fun I will be having in 3 months, getting ready for the Holidays with a toddler and a newborn. OH! But before all of that, I get to go to one of my best friend's wedding, 12 days before my due-date. I'm sure I'll be the hottest person there. And maybe dancing will help me go into labor. Time to buy a dress/parachute. I think I'll get my hair done professionally...and maybe my nails, too, so perhaps I can draw attention away from the fact that I am a zeppelin.

August 13

Today I had an ob appointment with an actual doctor instead of a midwife. Up to this point, all the midwives have been like, "Oh yes, vbac. Go for it. It's totally viable. You can do it, blah blah blah." I've been getting that from a lot of other people, too. However, the doctor today said he wasn't particularly comfortable with telling every woman to just go for a vbac. He said in my particular case, it probably wouldn't be viable- the reason I had a c-section the last time is that my son "just wouldn't come out". ( I thought it was more the fact that the pitocin-induced crazy contractions made the urge to push come on too soon, and then my cervix was swollen and basically injured from all the crazy pushing every 30 seconds.) Anyway, now I'm back to square one. I can't decide. I've always had the feeling that the midwives where I go are very hippy, feminist-types, the type that think every woman should be able to have a normal vaginal birth. But maybe I'm just being judgemental. Though, they did generally ignore me during my first labor once it became clear that I was going to be needing a c-section.

Anyway I've made a list of pros and cons:

C-section Pros: 1) I can have the baby delivered a week earlier than my due date, so October 11th instead of the 18th. 2)I don't have to go into labor. Nice. 3)My other c-section healed very well, barely any pain. 4)No cone-headed baby!

C-section Cons: 1)It's major surgery. 2)I'm afraid it will affect my ability to have more children, they'll all have to be c-section, and will my uterus be able to hold up to more pregnancies?? 3)Infection

V-bac Pros: 1)Faster recovery time 2)More natural, easier on my body. 3)I could have the rest of my kids naturally, too, hopefully.

V-bac Cons: 1) 1% chance of uterine rupture, which would lead to 2% chance that I could die, and 5% chance that the baby could die. 2)Epesiotomy! Aaaah! 3)I would have to go into labor naturally- no inducing, which means I could go late again, and that means bigger baby, which means bigger chance of having to have a c-section anyway!! 4)Epidural, and the possibility of having what happened the first time (my epidural wore off, they kept giving me more and more anethesia, til finally I just had to have a spinal for a c-section, which also didn't work, so they had to knock me all the way out...and then during recovery, I had had so much anethesia that my intestines shut down and I had to have a tube down my nose, throat, and into my stomach. WORST part of all- even worse than the 3.5 hours of pushing on pitocin, without epidural.)

So, yeah, the c-section is looking like the smarter, common-sense choice. I just don't know. My husband and I have to talk it over. The doc said if I was his wife, he'd be pushing for the c-section. I wish they could beam babies out of you, like Star Trek style. Stupid Eve had to go and eat that stupid apple, and now we are stuck with this pain in the buttttttt!!! Argh!!!!!!!!!!!

August 15

Ok, so I think we are going with the scheduled c-section. I figure the doctor knows best, and the midwives all seem like feminist-woman-empowerment freaks. They're very nice, but yeah, hippies. My neighbor who just had her son by scheduled c-section said that the midwives and doctors played the same game with her- all the midwives say vbac, while the doctors say c-section. I guess it's just common sense to go with what the doctor says. My mother-in-law has a family friend that had all 4 of her children by c-section. So, I'm not too worried about having more kids, after hearing that. So, I'm hoping to plan the c-section for Friday October 12th- in the evening. That way my husband can take off work on Monday and Tuesday, and his mom can probably take off a few days to help, as well. I'm still really worried about how Elijah is going to take things. He won't be able to sit with me after the c-section and stuff. He can barely sit with me now- my round ligament pain is getting pretty bad. I wear that stupid support belt thing all the time. Anyway, it's nice to actually see a light at the end of the tunnel after having all this thrown on me. Here I thought i had everything figured out...but nope. Surprises all around. But now we are settled. It's all just waiting from here on out...

August 19

I'm only 31 weeks. I feel like I'm 37-38. I'm in the stage where the baby starts realllllly moving. I like to feel the baby move, don't get me wrong, but my goodness! One second he's kicking me in the belly button, the next I feel some little kicks on my hip bone, and then he jabs me in the ribs! He must be doing cartwheels. I go to the doctor now every 2 weeks, so time should feel like it is flying. Half way through August...all the way through September, and then 12 loooooong days of October, and FINALLY we will have this baby! I've said this before, but I don't remember being this anxious with my first. Maybe I could do more when I didn't have a 2 year old to run after, and I was working, so the days flew by. That must be it. Once we get into September, the fall things will start up- my son's preschool gym group, a women's bible study that I'm in...not to mention all that fall food...apple cider, pumpkin stuff...mmmmm. Maybe September will go by faster than August....we shall see.

Age:	27
First child?:	This is our second.
About the daddy!
Age:	26
First child?:	Our second.
Finding out!!
What day did u find out?:	Some time in February
How did u feel when u found out?:	Thrilled, because they originally told me I wasn't pregnant, but SURPRISE!
Who was with u?:	The ob called me, so I was home with my son and mom.
Who was the first peson u told?:	My mom, obviously, she was standing there while I was on the phone going, "What? What are they saying??? Are you pregnant?"
How did they react?:	Overwhelmingly excited...annoying almost.
How did the daddy react?:	He's pretty mellow, but he was excited.
Telling the grandparents!%
How did ur parents react?:	My mom is psycho-excited, my dad is probably hoopin' and hollerin' in heaven.
How did his parents react?:	Both thrilled- our first son is their first grandchild, so this one will be their second.
Are they helping with baby names?:	We are all set for boy names for at least 2 more boys. We'd need help with girl names.
Have they bought anything for the baby yet?:	I couldn't stop my mom from buying clothes.
How often do they call to check on u?:	My mom lives with us, so she's always around. My hub's parents we see once a week.
About the pregnancy!
When was ur first appointment?:	Sometime in March?
When is ur due date?:	October 18, 2007
How far along r u?:	25 weeks tomorrow.
Pre-pregnancy weight?:	Heck, I dunno, but I was still carrying extra from my first pregnancy (I gained well over 50 pounds with my son! Whoops!)
Weight now?:	168? I don't know. I've only gained maybe 7 or 8 pounds according to my last appt.
Have u had an unltrasound?:	Yep
Have u heard the heartbeat?:	We sure have...
What was the heartbeat?:	150s
Sex of the baby!
What do u want?:	boy
What does the daddy want?:	boy
What do u think u r having?:	boy
Have u had ur big ultrasound yet?:	yep
If so, what r u having?:	BOY!!! WOOOO!
Are u happy with what u r having?:	Duh.
About the birth!
Do u know what u r taking with u?:	Um, stuff?
Who is going to be with u?:	Husband, sister, probably grandparents will be in and out.
Are u going to videotape it?:	Yuck. Not interested.
Natural or medicated?:	We'll see...I had an epidural that wore off w/ my first, so I know what natural feels like, but they had to give me a c-section, and totally knock me out for it...hopefully we will have a vbac!!!!
Do u think u will need a c-section?:	We are praying for a successful vbac, but the doctors know my history and will advise me!
Will u cry with u hold ur baby for the first time?:	Of course.
Do u know what u will say to the baby when u first hold him/her?:	Definitely "I love you, my sweet baby boy!"
Are u scared about the labor?:	Not really... my first was rough, but looking back I handled it well, so bring it on!
Names!!
Do u have a name picked out?:	Yes.
Girl names...:	Not having a girl! Thanks!
Boy names...:	Asher Stephen.
Is ur baby going to be named after someone?:	Asher is a biblical name that means "happiness", and Stephen, also biblical, means "blessed" and is my big brother's name.
Other random questions!!
Where was ur baby conceived?:	Upstairs in the master bedroom!
Have you felt the baby move?:	HA! This guy moves more than he doesn't move.
What race will your baby have? From you and daddy?:	Race? He'll be highly PA Dutch- shoe-fly pie and such!
Do you have stretch marks?:	Sure. Tiger Stripes! If I'm gonna have 'em, I might as well enjoy them...sort of.
What was your first symptom?:	no period
What religion will the baby know? And from what side?:	Christian- we are both very committed Christians, active in our church as leaders, teachers, worship band, etc!
What music or interests do you want the baby to know?:	I would love for my sons to play instruments and sing, we would like them to practice a martial arts discipline, and maybe ice hockey! That would be fun.
Will ur baby have godparents?:	Not sure...
Who will the god mommy be?:	Not sure..
Who will the god daddy be?:	Not sure.
What is the baby's room theme?:	He's inheriting his big brother's Noah's Ark room.
What was the first thing u bought for the baby?:	An outfit to come home in.
Are u ready to be a mommy?	I was BORN to be a MOMMY!!!