It's been a while

New porkchop in the hizzouse

I'm baaaaack! And yes, I'm pregnant yet again. This time we are due in the beginning of April. Which puts our kiddos less than two years apart, or almost 22 months to be exact. This time around is nothing like the first time. Nauseau, dizziness, hunger like a ravenous animal, I've had it all. The reason it's strange is because with Brayden (which is what we ended up naming our beloved porkchop) I didn't even feel pregnant for months. This time around I'm showing sooner, as well. The volleyball is appearing below my t-shirts, yet I haven't gained any poundage (yet!!).

Next Monday I will be 17 weeks along in my pregnancy and I have only my second doctors appointment. Hopefully, a week or two after that, Kai and I will be able to have an ultrasound and the guessing game of boy or girl will finally be answered! This is quite the topic with Kai's family and their history of producing girls. There hasn't been a girl on Kai's side of the family in two generations, his aunt being the last girl born in about 60 years. So needless to say, we're all a bit excited to see what's brewing in my uterus. I keep getting a feeling it's another boy, but a part of me feels it's a girl based on the unscientific theories that this pregnancy is completely different from the last. Even if I think I'm right, I have a 50/50 chance so my odds are looking pretty good. So the next update: boy or girl?? We will see!

38 weeks...and counting...

Monday, May 9th marked 38 weeks into my pregnancy. That means, our baby boy is almost here! I realized today that my body CANNOT do the things it used to be able to. Today at work I was dancing around with my kiddos for seriously a minute, got a side ache and had to slow myself down. It's weird how sometimes when I'm doing everyday things, my body reminds me, "You slow down! You have a baby in there!" Just sitting at the damn computer desk is super uncomfortable. He hangs out in my ribs; stretching those legs into my right set of ribs, pushing that butt into my left set of ribs. Did I tell you how uncomfortable I am?!

My favorite new thing is when I'm talking to someone and all of a sudden I just run out of breathe and it sounds like I just ran a marathon. It makes me chuckle though to think of how I sound talking to my poor students in my preschool classroom. They're probably thinking, "Jeez, this crazy lady can't even talk without getting tired!" I've definitely lost my steam compared to the beginning of the year.

The due date is approaching fast and I'm really thinking he's coming before May 23rd. Don't ask me why...I just have a feeling! Kai and I are trying to get this house ready for baby. We've built (or mainly he built) the dresser and the crib. And we've tried putting all our baby goodies together, such as, the stroller, which our friend Bret had to show us how to use. We could NOT figure it out! To fold the damn seat down took about 10 minutes because the instructions were not descriptive. It showed a red bar and has an arrow pointing up and that's it! We all thought to ourselves, "What the hell does that mean?!" Thank God we had Bret, he saved us a lot of embarrassment from being "that" couple in the middle of the airport or something trying to figure out our damn stroller.

Needless to say, Porkchop is coming when he's good and ready. I've packed his bag full of more baby stuff than he'll need in the two day stay at the hospital. I've tried packing my bag, but I don't want to put my comfy maternity stuff in there just yet because I still use that stuff on a daily basis! One last thing we need to build is the Pack n' Play for Porkchop. That will be his bed for his first month at home since I refused to purchase a bassinet. Luckily, the Pack n' Play we picked has a bassinet built into it so we can just have him sleep close to us for a little while. And NO, he is NOT sleeping in our bed with us. Kai and I are both wayyyyy too terrified to have that little guy sleep between two heavy sleepers like us. We will keep each other strong to keep that baby out of our bed. :o)

The Birth Plan

So the time has come and Kai and I are going to be making a birth plan. Oh the choices: Natural or with drugs? Epidural or no epidural? Soothing music or dimmed lights? Birthing ball or stationary in the bed? My God, there are too many questions! Originally, I wanted a natural birth. After birthing classes, I still think naturally birthing a child is good, but I'm also worried that the pain will be unbearable and I will want to kill myself if I can feel everything.

I know our little man is coming and I am ecstatic, but as a first-time mom, seeing images of a large head coming out of a small opening is quite the eye-opener. It's a little traumatizing, to be honest. I know women's bodies are designed for childbirth and I'm sure my body will do everything it's supposed to, but that doesn't make it any less scary. I've been told, "Don't be scared. It's a natural thing." But honestly, the more you read, the more videos you watch of actual births and the closer the date gets, the more real it becomes, and sometimes, reality is scary as shit.

Aside from the labor thoughts, things like SIDS, allergies, toxins in the home, etc are making me feel like a crazy person. The nesting has begun and I can't sit still when I'm in my house. My Spring Break was supposed to be a "break". It turned into a cleaning frenzy! From my wonderful puppies and their not-so-wonderful hair, to feeling like everything is covered in dirt, I can't be in my house without cleaning! When will it stop!? I went as far as alphabetizing the movies today. Really Caitlin, is baby going to need to find a movie to watch?

In the end, I know I just want our baby boy to be healthy and happy. That's all that matters. I know my body will heal up with time after whatever kind of birth I end up having. I know our son is not going to die the second he walks into our house because I missed sweeping up some dog hair in the bathroom. And I know that once he's here, the little things are bothering me now will take a backseat to me taking care of my baby boy. He will be my everything and I honestly can't wait for that. "I'm going to be a mom." I like the sound of that :o)

Mexican Food For Porkchop!

Porkchop got to enjoy Mexican food not once, but twice this week! Boy, does he like Mexican food like his mama. Every time I eat it he goes crazy. Bouncing between uterus walls like there's nothing that can stop him. He loves either the spicy food I'm eating or he hates me for what I've done to him so many times since he's been in there. All I know is, Mexican food is my favorite and as long as Porkchop shows me he likes it by being so active, I will continue to eat it!

Now, my least favorite food since I've been pregant is Chinese food. For some reason in the first trimester, actually first month of me being pregnant, we went to Jade Terrace here in Independence and I felt so sick allllll night. I've tried eating it two more times since then, but my love for Chinese food has vanished since Porkchop entered my belly. Japanese food, on the other hand, is still amazing, but I'm not able to enjoy the raw fish/sashimi like I used to. AND I won't be able to enjoy it at least until I'm done breast feeding. Man, I miss sashimi like you couldn't believe. Our trip to Hawaii was even harder when Ahi poke was being eaten in front of me on a daily basis. At least here on the mainland we don't have poke so easily available like they do in Hawaii.

It's crazy how many restrictions pregnant women actually have on food considering how long women have been birthing babies. For thousands of years women probably ate whatever the hell they wanted. And depending on where women live, I'm sure there are women that enjoy sashimi and fish roe (fish eggs) on a daily basis while being pregnant. Oh, why can't I live in that area of the world!? Kai has been especially good at regulating me on what I'm eating. I can't eat too much shellfish, he'll be sure to remind me I've already eaten in the last week. He doesn't like me drinking too much caffeine, actually any caffeine at all, even though the doctors said in moderation is okay. He's good at slapping my hand every time I want to be naughty.

I am strict on myself to not eat any lunch meat based on the nitrates/nitrites they have and the fact that they can have listeria. AND can I tell you guys, I have never wanted a Spam Musabi more in my life as I have since I've been pregnant. All the yummy stuff like bacon, sausage, Spam, hot dogs...THEY ALL HAVE NITRATES! Damn you companies that keep adding it to everything! Can I eat Costco polish dogs? NO! Can I eat jerky? NO! But do I love my little man so much that it's completely worth it? YES! 28 weeks on Monday...time is flying by.

I have a soccer player in my tummy...

Porkchop is a moving machine. I cannot believe how much I feel my little guy moving around now. He is moving when I wake up. He is moving when I sit down. He is moving when I go to sleep. I think my fetus never sleeps!

He seems to be having a grand-ole time in there. Kai has been feeling him kick more and more and he's loving it. We are becoming more and more excited to become parents. We are both convinced that Porkchop can hear us because he gets SO excited when the room gets loud and we begin talking loud. I've read that babies can start recognizing voices and I'm beginning to believe it.

My uterus is apparently the size of a soccer ball, so no wonder baby thinks he can kick me as much as he does! I am 25 weeks, as of yesterday. Porkchop now weighs around 2 pounds and he's going to need to do a lot of growing in the next 3 months or so. I can't wait to be a mom. I can't wait to see his little face and see if he has my eyes or Kai's nose. To see his little features will be the most exciting and fulfilling moment. I can't wait til May :o)

It's official

I definitely felt Baby Porkchop move last night. I was with my friends Amy and Brett and at the end of the movie, my belly just started going crazy. I've thought a few times that I felt him when laying down, but this time I was positive it was him moving around in there. It felt so crazy and made me happy to know he's moving around in there.

Although last night was a fun experience, today my center of gravity decided to give up on me. As I was walking out to the car tonight, I slipped and fell. I landed one knee on the cement and the other in the mud. My hands luckily caught my fall, but my tummy still hit the cement with a little thud. I, of course cried because it's scary as shit to know there's a baby in your stomach and that falling could hurt him. But I know that everything is okay. Just the fact that I fell so easily was really scary. I'm glad Kai was outside to help me up and calm me down. He always has a way of making me feel better when I do silly, clumsy things. :o)

This last week Kai and I also began talking more about names. We looked up some of the ones we had come up with a few months ago and numbered them with the top four we both liked. Of course, the two of us only agreed on two of them (typical!). At this point we're keeping our ears and eyes open for names that we like. It's down to a couple right now, but we're going to keep it to ourselves. Don't want to make the mistake of telling people our names and having them try to change our minds or steal them. Hey, it happens!!