30 Weeks Pregnant -- 10 more weeks to go! Eek!

Dear Nicolas,

I'm playing with the spelling of your name here. I'm not sure if I like it better with or without the "h" yet, so bear with me. I keep hearing your name around now. At the mall play area, Nicolas Cage in the movies, etc. :-)

So, we only have 10 more weeks to go until we meet you and that's if I go to the due date! :-O How exciting, yet nerve-racking! :-D I'm excited to meet you and have another baby, but nervous what it will be like with 2 kiddos. I'm sure it will be very hard, at first, but just like with your brother, in due time we won't remember what life was without you. You will be loved very much.

I went to the doctor today and your heartbeat was 142. My belly is measuring "30", which means growth has slowed considering I have been measuring 2 more than the # of weeks pregnant. I certainly don't feel that way b/c I feel HUGE!!! :-D My belly is really in the way these days. Soreness is setting in and it's really hard getting out of bed to go to the bathroom. But, you're worth it, right? ;-) We are in the home stretch as I now go see the doctor every 2 weeks! Yikes! That hit home today. I gained another 5 pounds (I'm blaming Thanksgiving), so I'm up to 30 total, so far. I'm sure Christmas won't be nice to me, so I'll probably end up gaining more than I did with your brother (37 total), but that's ok. His came off, so I'm hoping the same of yours. ;-)

The nursery is coming along. I have lots of laundry to do and need to pick up a couple other things, like a double stroller, but overall I feel good at our progress. Oh and, guess what? Yesterday your dad picked up our first minivan!! :-O Yep, you read that right. I'm a minivan mom, now! Woah! I never thought that would happen, but the SUV (Acura MDX) just didn't seem like it was going to work because of how tall your dad is. You see, you have to ride backwards for the 1st year, so you really can't go behind him since he needs his seat all the way back. And, your brother's feet were really smashed behind your dad, hence the minivan. Your brother can climb in all by himself now, so I'm sure he'll like that. We'll be keeping this van for 10+ years so we got a 2008, brand new, with all the bells & whistles. It is REALLY nice!

I'll close here. We get to see you again on 12/9 for our next 3D ultrasound. I'm looking forward to that! And, we go for professional pictures the following weekend, where we hope your brother will give you kisses. And, then the holidays will be upon us and in no time, you will be entering our lives in the flesh. :-) Can't wait to see you!

Love,
Mommy

These are my 29 week pics:

The Final Trimester - 27 Weeks Pregnant

Dear Nicholas,

How are you doing in there? I feel you moving around a lot, but I bet you're starting to get cramped a little, huh? Well, we have 3 months to go, so get comfortable. :-)

I saw the doctor today and your heartbeat was 130. I gained 6 more pounds, so I think I'm up to 22 now. My belly measured a "29", which the doctor said was "perfect". I also gave blood after drinking a special drink to test for gestational diabetes. I have to wait for those results. Other than that a quick and painless appointment.

I'm feeling pretty good these days. My pelvis is sore alot and I have to take my time getting out of bed or changing positions, but all in all, I don't think my hips hurt as much this time. Maybe it's because I'm barely exercising except for chasing Donovan around sometimes. ;-) My headaches have pretty much gone away except for the occasional one, so I'm really happy about that. We get to see you again on Dec 8th for our next ultrasound. I'm excited!

Donovan is really getting much more aware of you, now. I'm sure my growing belly is hard to ignore. :-) He even knows where Nicholas is and will point to my belly. He rubs my belly and says "baby" and gives you kisses too. You can see some pics below. I doubt he can REALLY grasp that we will have a new baby here to stay, but it's fun nonetheless. We are going to get professional pictures taken of our whole family in December. I hope he cooperates. ;-)

There are moments that I'm very excited to hold you. I don't think I was *as* able to be excited about a baby when I was pregnant with Donovan. I was excited to have a baby, but being a first time mom I was also very nervous, but now that I've been doing this for a couple years, I can relax sometimes and be excited. Don't get me wrong, I'm still nervous what life will be like with 2, but I think we will make a very happy family and am looking forward to it. I went shopping for some necesseties last week and have started working on the nursery. I have some ways to go and plan to be done by Christmas in case exhaustion really sets in like I remember last time. Your mommy is nothing if not a planner. :-)

Well, I'll close here. Can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

Love,
Mommy