Baby #2 + Bump Pics!!

Ellie is pretty stoked to be a big sister

We are so excited to be having a second baby girl! We finally announced on social media this past Saturday,  thank you so much for all of the love!! We are over the moon happy to be having another girl and appreciate everyone's kind words and excitement. Our hearts are so full!!

So there's been lots of secret keeping and questions and I hope to answer all of them in this post, if I've left something out, ask below!

Our first look at our sweet baby girl!

What's your due date? My due date is August 12, and if we have another c-section the baby will be scheduled to arrive around August 3-4.

Will you have a c-section again? With this pregnancy, if everything stays great and the baby is healthy and not breech, then it is my choice what kind of birth we will have. We have not made a definite choice yet, but we are leaning towards a c-section. I had a wonderful experience and a great recovery, plus we know what to expect.

12 Weeks Along

How far along are you? This Wednesday I'll be 21 weeks, over halfway!

When did we find out? We found out December 8, 2014. It was kind of already obvious to us since I was a week late, but we like to test just for confirmation.

14 Weeks Along

How did we tell our families? It was so hard not to tell everyone right away, but we told our parents and siblings on Christmas. One of Ellie's gifts was the Super Sister Tee she wore in the announcement and two big sister books. It was such a fun surprise and seeing everyone's reactions and how soon it clicked for some! Lots of tears, hugs, and smiles were shared and it really made Christmas special.

15 Weeks Along

Why did we wait so long to share? We slowly told our friends and extended family, but not everyone. Some family/friends we were hoping to surprise later found out when we saw them because we couldn't keep a big round basketball belly a secret in person! We decided early on that we would officially announce when we knew the gender. However, at every appointment either the cord was between the legs, her legs were crossed, or her legs were so close together the doctor couldn't see anything to be sure. Otherwise, we would have spilled the beans a few weeks ago!

Are we sure it's a girl/Did we want a boy? Well, a baby of any gender coming at any time is considered a blessing around here! It really didn't matter to me what gender the baby would be, I'd love to have more children so maybe the next time I might root for a boy, but this time I honestly would be happy either way. It's also a running joke that Matt will be the only boy again (he grew up with 3 sisters!) so part of us almost expected to have another girl. I only had a sister growing up and I love the bond that we share, she is my best friend and I'm happy that Ellie will have that chance for the same bond (that's not to say a sister/brother bond isn't just as special- I just don't know that first hand).

16 Weeks Along

Did you have a feeling one way or the other for gender? Not really. I flip flopped back and forth between what I thought it was, but didn't have a strong feeling one way or another. The old wives tales all said boy (except the heartbeat), even the Chinese Gender Chart and Ring Test, which I swear is 99% accurate. At my 12 week appointment for the NT scan, the nurse said she'd bet her paycheck it was a girl based on the behavior and heart rate, but couldn't give me a definite answer because the cord was between the legs. 

How is this pregnancy different? It's really not much different than when I was pregnant with Eleanor. I even looked back through my Bumpdates to compare notes. I don't have cravings for fruit and frozen yogurt this time, but want crunchy, vinegary stuff and sweets. I would have an upset stomach early on, chicken didn't gross me out, but didn't sound appetizing to me (I could still eat it), and I had a few waves of nausea, but they came and went in a moment.  No morning sickness again, woohoo! Because of those few differences, I thought maybe it was a boy, but I didn't think they were different enough to have a definite gut feeling about it.

18 Weeks Along

Do you have a name picked out? We finally settled on one this week! We still have boy names from when we were pregnant with Ellie that we plan to use should we ever have a boy, but we've been going back and forth about girl names since we found out we were expecting. I love baby names and knowing what people are naming their children and if there's any story behind the name. We had a hard time finding one we liked, we wanted something that would flow well with Eleanor and the boy names we have chosen, plus a middle name and our last name. I didn't want to have Eleanor, an older feminine name and pair it with a new trendy name. I love when sibling names have a nice ring to them, a theme, etc. We finally settled on one and once we did Matt and I both can't identify this little one as anything else. We refer to her by name when we talk about her and when I picture her and her nursery, I think of her name and how I imagine her personality will be. I probably won't announce the name on the blog/social media until she arrives though, sorry to keep you waiting!

20 Weeks Along

Does Ellie understand a baby is coming? She knows something is changing, we talk to her a lot about the new baby sister she'll have. We read her big sister books nearly every night and she understands that she's the big sister and not the baby. She's also become obsessed with babies and all baby related items- carseat, strollers, playing mommy with her dolls. I know it's part of her age/development, but I'm happy that it's corresponding with the upcoming changes. Our daycare provider recently had a baby and Ellie is obsessed with her. She does really good at daycare around her and doesn't touch the baby or give it kisses (we practiced at home before she arrived so she would be prepared at daycare), she loves to wave to the baby and say hi. It's so cute!

Can I feel the baby move? Yes! It started a little earlier than with Eleanor, but I knew what it felt like this time. She's mostly active first thing in the morning and mid-afternoon. Matt felt her move last week, just the smallest of movement for him, nothing really strong yet.

Here are some side by sides from this pregnancy (on the left) vs with Ellie:

 

Will I do weekly bumpdates again? Honest, I'm not sure. I don't want to bore everyone with pregnancy details, but I don't want to look over the second baby either. She's just as special! Let me know what you think and what you're interested in seeing- if there's an interest I'll be sure to share!

Thank you for all of the love and sharing it with me. It really has been so heartwarming to receive everyone's comments/messages/texts to our announcement!