Flight to Cali

So turns out the best way for a pregnant woman to fly cross country is with her husband and two year old... distracting a two year old for almost 7 hours in a tiny space takes all of your attention - leaving you very little time to think about silly stuff like "I'm uncomfortable" or "wow, I could use a nap or more food"... and in those few moments you do remember, and feel overwhelmed your husband steps in and saves the day giving you a much needed break and something to smile about.

Truly blessed.

Update on baby names

So our leading favorites....

Tatum Ann Elizabeth Grant (for a girl)
Hudson Hetfield Grant (for a boy)

A little history...
Tatum's first name is from John David Tatum, a former American football defensive back who played ten seasons from 1971 to 1980 for the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers in the National Football League. He is popularly known as "The Assassin." He was voted to three Pro Bowls (1973-1975) and was a member of one Super Bowl winning team in his nine seasons with the Raiders. Tatum earned a reputation as a fierce competitor and was considered as one of the hardest hitters ever to play the game.

The (double) middle names are from her grandmothers - my mom's middle name 'Ann' and Mike's mom's 'Elizabeth'.

Hudson's first name is from Saul Hudson (born 23 July 1965), better known by his stage name Slash, is a British musician. Best-known as the former lead guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he performed and recorded between 1985 and 1996, he later co-founded Velvet Revolver with his former bandmates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. Slash has received critical recognition as a guitarist. In August 2009, Time Magazine ranked him #2 on its list of the "10 Best Electric Guitar Players of All-Time".

The middle name is from James Hetfield, lead singer of Metallica, was born on August 3, 1963. A band Mike cites as (along with KISS) the most influential in his life as a musician/growing up.

But we'll see... a few first names we still like (the middle names are already set):
Girls
-Tess
-Delila
-Ada
-Kagan

Boys
-Porter
-Gibson
-Ryder
-Stabler

Family Summer Pictures

Camping at the lake in WV and DC Zoo

First day back to yoga (yikes!!)

Yoga, maybe even more so than any other type of exercise, punishes you for not staying with it. This morning I did 30 minutes of yoga after two days of running/lifting and it was rough! But afterward I (and baby) felt good. And next time will be that much easier... right?

Lost of movement in my tummy! Love it!!!

Baby is on the move today! Must have heard big brother telling everyone at daycare yesterday that his baby is kicking! Or maybe using Mike's protein powder in my shake this morning was just a little too much for 7am....

Update on the scale

So up until last week I was on pace - same as last pregnancy - for gaining one pound per month (until month 5 when I started gaining 1 lb per wk)... and then there's this morning's weigh in... I'm up to 158.2 lbs.... which means at 4 1/2 months I'm up 7.2 lbs. I'm getting my tail in the gym today. I know, I know it sounds silly but I thought I had two more weeks of bragging about my weight. And I am not really ready to give in so easily.

Besides in about a week I'll be home with my two skinny, mini sisters on the lake in bathing suits - talk about motivation!!

A "no call" is a "good call" at this point...

I'm sure my grammar is all out of whack for the title of this post, but it's a HAPPY day so I think even my English teaching husband will give me a pass!

For anyone that doesn't already know the four month checkup appointment is one of the most uneventful, nerve racking appointments there is... well, maybe till the five month check up where we find out the gender and check all the baby's measurements to be sure we're growing A-OK.

Month four is the first stage of testing for any abnormalities and it takes a FULL 7 days to get results! KILLER! If the results are negative (ie don't show anything of note) the doctor doesn't call and if there is a problem they call to discuss your next steps/options. I was counting down the days. And Friday came and went without a call. What a relief. What a blessing.

I may be a little hyper-sensitive these days because a dear friend of mine just lost her baby (she was a month ahead of us) and my heart just aches for her, as a friend, a fellow mother (she already has two little ones) and as a pregnant woman. It's so difficult to find words in this situation. There are no words. They are finding their own way to heal but she's asked friends for some time and distance as they get through this difficult time. So I feel helpless, but for now I just pray every day and thank God for my healthy boy and our second on the way. God's angels are protecting our baby right now until delivery when it's our turn - who am I kidding, I'll still be praying to baby's guardian angels long after pregnancy. I'm sure my parents still do the same, regardless of the years that have passed and the miles that keep us apart... just a parent's right I suppose.

So it's Monday morning. I'm in the office crying at my desk because this posting touched me so deeply. Thank you for letting me share. And thank you for reading/participating in our baby blog. Your support and love for our growing family means the world to us.

So blessed.

Mommy to be (again) moments ;)

Feeling blessed

There are too many close calls and so many things to worry about. We had another good checkup yesterday - a nice reminder of how blessed we are to have a healthy baby.

Already sleeping less with two kids... little earlier than expected!

Three day holiday weekend, sweet - off to another camping trip! This time it was Lost City, WV!

It was great - four nights and three days of under the stars, lake swimming, cookout eating time with our nearest and dearest. I did however get a tiny glimpse of life with two kids because as we learned from our last trip Dyson will not go to sleep until Mike and I are in the tent in bed with him... so there we all were at 9pm worn out from the water and sun cuddled up on our queen blow up mattress sharing sleeping bags. Well, momma (and baby) can only sleep on our left side because right side hurts too much and I have to have my knees pulled up to get comfortable. So it was momma on my left side, legs pulled up, Dyson sprawled out as much as he could, then daddy clinging to whatever piece of the mattress he could find. Needless to say we didn't sleep too soundly, well, I should say Dyson and baby were fine, it was daddy and mommy that kept waking up to readjust ;)

But we had a wonderful time and I was reminded of how easy it is to care for baby while still in my tummy with Dyson out of his routine and in a new place - every meal and moment at camp was an event. But there was baby tucked away safe happy as can be. So keep on growing little munchkin, we're excited to meet you, but comforted knowing your safe and sound. MWAH