Recent pics of Alexis and I :) Photo of daddy and Alexis below too :) One of these days I'll get someone to take a family photo of us together! :)

Welcome to my page. I am 30 years old am expecting my second baby next April and we are very excited! Morning sickness has been terrible with this pregnancy, but it is gradually gettting better. We are going to find out at the 20 week ultrasound what we are having. My husband is hoping for a son so he isn't outnumbered in our house full of women :) Doesn't matter either way to me! I look forward to getting to know all of you. Happy and Healthy pregnancy to all of you!

November 9th update: Went for our 3D ultrasound today and found out we are having a little boy! We are so excited. We now will have a little girl and a little boy. My husband and I are so excited and our little girl can't wait to help take care of him and feed him bottles :)

December 10 update: Went for our big ultrasound. Everything looked good and this little guy is growing perfectly! We are so excited!

December 29 update: I will be 24 weeks on Wednesday. I am so excited despite feeling like I am carrying around a bowling ball with me all of the time! Heartburn is SEVERE, what would I do without zantac? :) This little guy is moving around like crazy. My cravings are black cherry fresca, cherries and root beer right now. None of them especially healthy! Alexis is getting excited about her brother and we are gradually getting the nursery ready. It is so much fun to be doing everything in blue! We've decided on a name...BRODY, just have to figure out a middle name now!

Feb 6 update: I'm 29 weeks today. I guess this is the homestretch although 11 weeks feel like an enternity away! I am so ready to have this baby and get my old body back. I can't say I enjoy being pregnant although I am sure I will miss him kicking inside of me once he is born. My cravings at the moment are yogurt and diet orange soda :) I had some tightening in my stomache at 27 weeks but haven't had it again. I went for my 3D ultrasound and they said he is going to be a big baby. At 28 weeks, he was already weighing 3.5lbs. I can't wait to see who he looks like. The ultrasound was hard to tell, but he definitely has my hubby's thin lips. His room is almost finished and my baby shower is on March 1st. I am excited!

Feb 20 update: I'm 31 weeks today. Heartburn is SO severe right now its really limiting what I can eat. I am eating very small amounts and last night just skipped dinner entirely due to the fear of the heartburn it would case. I've gained 25lbs so far, so I'm sure me cutting back isn't the end of the world! Had lots of tightening in my stomache again yesterday and my heart rate was high...116. I am trying to just take it easy, but so much easier said than done with my nightmare schedule! If I have this baby at 38 weeks like I did my daughter, that means I've got 7 weeks left. I know it doesn't sound like far away, but it seems like this pregnancy is lasting forever. I think I'm just overwhelmed and tired and ready for the break from working and being pregnant. I know a newborn is lots of work from past experience, but at least I'll have my normal energy level back then. I've been reading 'Big Sister' books to Alexis and she is so excited about her baby brother's arrival. His room is now finished. At some stage I'll post photos, I'm just too lazy to download right now! Hopefully by the next time I update, I will be close to delivery! WOO WOO!

March 21 update: 35 weeks, 2 days today. I guess I can finally say this is the home stretch, although the time seems to be dragging by! Everything is ready for Brody's arrival now. His room is complete, I had my shower on March 1, all of his little clothes have been washed in Dreft, we just need him here now! I can't wait to hold him in my arms and to get to know his little personality :) I've had a lot of BH contractions with this pregnancy, whereas with Alexis, I never had a single BH. I guess what they say about subsequent pregnancies and more contractions ahead of time is true. He is sitting up high so I've had a lot of feet in my ribs lately as well, at least I hope they are his feet and not his arms! I go next week for my group B strep test and they will also check to make sure he is head down. I am drinking raspberry tea to try to get this show on the road. Working full time and having a child at home already to take care of is really taking its toll on me. I am hoping this little guy makes his appearance a few weeks early so that I can finally get a break from my long days and commute. I know I will be tired with a new baby here, but at least that will be a good tired as opposed to being tired from work. Well I am not sure if I will post again before delivery, we shall see. Here's hoping I have this little guy soon!

March 26 update (36 week check up): I am 1cm dialated and 50% effaced. Baby is in -3 station.

April 2 update (37 week check up): I am 2cm dialated and 70% effaced. Baby is now in -2 station.

April 8: False alarm this afternoon. BH contractions every 3 mins for an hour. I thought today was the day, but they seem to have tapered off for now. 38 weeks tomorrow.

April 11: Started to lose my mucous plug today. Funny to be excited over something so gross, but at least it means progress! :)

April 14 update (39 week check up):

Ok, so I'm not technically 39 weeks until Wednesday but my appts are every Monday. Today I found out that I am almost 3 cm dialated and 80% effaced, baby is in -2 station. I was happy to hear that I've made some progress, although not much. Doc offered to strip my membranes and I eagerly accepted! Last time with my daugther, my water broke 2 days after having this done, so it gives me some hope. I was pleased to hear that my doc only thinks the baby weighs around 8 lbs, which I can handle. I was thinking this kid was going to be 10 lbs with the way I feel and look! Well that is my update. I continue to truck on and hope this little guy comes soon. Getting a little scared about the pain of childbirth. Although I've been through it before and don't remember it being as awful as some people say, I am still scared. Caught the tail end of that show "A Baby Story" and saw some woman screaming her head off and it freaked me out. Hopefully I can get my epidural pretty quickly and all will go well. If it was so bad last time, I wouldn't be here preggo again, so I must remember that! My Birth Story! Brody Ryan arrived on Tuesday 15 April at 5:32am. Shortly after writing the entry above (around 10:30pm on the 14th), I began having contractions. At first I wasn't so sure it was contractions, just cramping and I thought it might have been from the membrane stripping procedure that I had done at the doctor's office that day. I didn't want to jump the gun and was so used to false alarms that I tried to just take a bath and chill out to see if it would go away. I took a bath and layed down, but they continued on and started to hurt. I timed them and they were 3-4 minutes apart. I called the doc and headed to the hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital I was checked and they said I was 5cm dialated! I was so excited as I knew this meant I could get the epidural :) I was admitted and given a L&D room. Shortly after getting settled into my room, they hooked up my IV and epidural. At first it worked wonders and I didn't feel anything, but when I got to about 8cm, all of a sudden the pain started coming back. For some reason it just stopped working. They added some more medicene to it, but instead of it taking the pain away, it made me feel really really weird. I kept saying it didn't work, but they acted like there was nothing else they could do. I got to 10cm and was feeling everything by this point. I pushed for 7 minutes and Brody was born. Bad tear and I now have a crochet project of stitches down there. OUCH!!!!And my doctor was wrong and I was right all along, he weighed in at 9lbs 6oz, I knew he was a big baby! He is such a sweet little guy and we are loving every minute of this newborn stage. He had to go to the special care nursery for a few hours because he was grunting despite a perfect APGAR score originally, but the grunting resolved itself and he was soon in my room. Despite the pain I felt at the end thanks to the faulty epidural, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I look at him now and he was worth every horrible pregnancy symptom and complaint that I put up with along the way. I am in awe that I made this little guy in my tummy. My family is perfect now. I have my awesome little girl and now I have this wonderful little boy. We feel very blessed and are excited about raising them and watching them grow. I only wish they would stay little forever. That's my birth story :)