Dear, Thing 5

Oh,Thing 5! Only 21 weeks gestational and already you are completely ignored. No blog posts are written about you, no weekly baby bump pictures to capture your growth are posted, and up until recently when your kicks and rolls became much more noticeable, your mama would even forget all about your existence. I am sorry. It's not that we don't love you or that we are not excited for you to join our family, it's just that your older brother, Leif, keeps us all very busy. Not to mention, you were kind of a surprise. Yes, your mommy and daddy wished and prayed that we could have another baby, someone to grow up alongside Leif, but in all honesty, we truly did not think it would happen, especially not this soon and definitely not that easily.

When I first told your daddy that I was pregnant, he said:

No, you're not.

Like, he has any grand insight into these matters, but in all fairness, your mama is a bit neurotic and often thinks she is pregnant, when in fact she is not. So, I guess we will forgive him this time. So, yeah, I had to show him the stick I peed on before he would even believe me. Then we just looked at each other, laughed and said, "okay", not really expecting this pregnancy to go much further. You see, we had a lot of trouble having your brother Leif, and we lost two babies before him. (I like to think that we, in fact, did not lose two babies, but that it took Leif three times to get here), and so as Leif's first birthday approached, which marked when we could start trying to conceive you, we were mentally preparing ourselves for yet another long and heartbreaking journey. Much to our surprise (and delight now that you seem to be sticking around), you decided to show up before it was even "go" time, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart, as I am sure yourdad does to, from saving us from that ordeal. Trust me, it is no fun trying to have a baby when a baby is just not ready to come. It kind of makes your mama even more crazier than she already is . . . eeek!

But you are here, and you seem to be doing well. You are not a very cooperative baby, though. You sleep during your ultrasounds making it difficult for the doctor to check everything out, you hide when the nurse practitioner tries to listen for your heartbeat, and you never, ever, ever kick when anyone but Leif touches my belly. Leif, who is completely oblivious to your existence, will be in for the shock of his life when you arrive. But in all fairness, you have been doing your best to let him know you are here by kicking him repeatedly whenever he nurses. I guess the war for mama's milk has already begun between you two . . . yikes!

Although I am starting to get very excited to meet you, Thing 5, I do have to be honest, I am completely terrified. I have never had two babies so close in age before. Leif is only going to be 19 months old when you arrive, which is still a baby. He likes to sleep between  mom and dad and he loves to nurse. I have never had two babies in diapers before either, and with the demanding schedule of your older three siblings, I just don't know how I am going to do it. But have no fear, your mama loves a challenge and she always manages to care for all her babies. 

So, Thing 5,in spite of your recent neglect, know this:

you are loved,

you are wanted,

and you have a large family who will do all they can to help you make your way through this world with love, laughter and minimal bumps and bruises.

16 week bump. This picture speaks volumes about our life right now!

A thing 5 sandwich, nestled in between a slice of Leif and a slice of mom.

There you are! 19 weeks gestational

We may not know if you are a boy or girl, but we definitely know you are a soccer player! Dad is excited because we now have enough to make up our own futsal team . . .  tee hee!

I love you, baby and I can't wait to hold you in about 18 weeks from now!

Nine Months of The Bump

There is only one more sleep until we finally meet Thing 4, and we are beyond excited here at Shenanigans Inc. We have spent the day cleaning the house, doing the laundry, and putting everything back in order. My goal is to exhaust everyone so that we can manage to get some sleep before the big day tomorrow, but my attempts may be futile. Really? How will any of us be able to sleep knowing that in a matter of hours Thing 4 is due to arrive. HOURS! I can not believe we are now counting the hours . . . . eeeep!

I thought it may be fun to take this time to showcase the progression of my baby bump since after tomorrow it will be gone, and I will not be so eager to show off my belly anymore . . . tee hee! I had to laugh when I looked at my earlier photos of the bump because there really isn't anything there, but I was so proud of it nonetheless. This pregnancy has been an amazing journey for me, and I look forward to the even greater journey of raising Thing 4 and getting to know this amazing person Heavenly Father has blessed our family with. Wish us luck!

End of March 2013 - We had just found out about the pregnancy, and I was terrified that it would not go any further. I remember playing this game of volleyball with my family. Mr. Level-Headed was a nervous wreck that the ball would hit my stomach and so he would dive for all the incoming shots . . . tee hee! He is such a sweetie!

April - No photos - I felt miserable but I was also convinced I was would lose the baby at any moment and so I refused to get excited. This was probably one of the hardest months of my life . . . blech!

May 2013 - Three Months Pregnant 

As the belly grew, I started to become hopeful.

I could finally breathe a sigh of relief after our 12 week ultrasound because there was indeed a baby within me and that baby's heart was  beating.  Hooray!

12 weeks

June 2013 - Four Months Pregnant

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And another sneak peek at Thing 4:

19 weeks

July - Five Months Pregnant

As if being pregnant wasn't awesome enough, I was able to share this pregnancy with my baby sister, Emily, who is only two weeks behind me. Little "Bun" and "Thing 4" are going to be the best of buddies.

August - Six Months Pregnant

September 2013 - Seven Months Pregnant

October - Eight Months Pregnant

And the countdown begins:

34 weeks

35 weeks

36 weeks

37 weeks

November 2013 - Nine Months Pregnant

38 weeks

And finally, my last baby bump shot of Thing 4 . . . 

 I can't believe that starting tomorrow I will get to post actual photos of my baby. I truly am one very blessed mama.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Some Thoughts and Pictures on the First Week of September

I love September! I love the sunny afternoons and the cool evening breeze. I love the return to routine and the spark for change that this season calls for. I started the week out by rearranging my bedroom. It looks fabulous and we have so much more room in there for Thing 4 to join us in just ten weeks . . . eeeek! And before I go on, I would just like to give Mr. Level-Headed yet another shout out for being the best hubby in the world. When I texted him and told him that I was rearranging the room with Zoe's help, he was less than enthused because he was scared that I had moved our bed, which currently looks out our huge picture window sporting a spectacular view of the Kennebecasis River. I assured him that this was not the case and that all I needed him to do was to take the closet doors off for me when he got home. This did not elicit a response from him, but as soon as he came home, he went straight to work at taking the doors off for me. Truly ladies, I have the best husband around . . . sorry. Oh, and in case you are wondering why the closet doors had to come off, it was to create more space for my large antique mirror that now had to go in the corner of the room with the closet. Anyhoo . . . our room looks great, there is lots more room, and the change of scenery has boosted my spirits. Does anyone get that way when they change their furniture around? It is the best cure for boredom!

Another big change that happened this week was that my Baby Girl went and grew up on me . . . again! She was all done up for her first day of grade ten and my heart stopped. She looked like a woman! Then, I became even more freaked out when I realized that she is the exact same age I was when I met Mr. Level-Headed. Now, I think marrying your high school sweetheart is a fantabulous idea because you get to spend the rest of your life with your best friend, someone who grew up with you (in a sense) and stuck by you even when you were going through that awkward teenage angst stage of life, (and not to mention you make the most adorable babies together), but to think that my Baby Girl is actually old enough to meet the man she could marry blows my mind. How did my baby get to be this old? How did I get to be this old? Oh, and for the record, I am not encouraging Zoe to go out and find the man of her dreams just yet. She has big educational aspirations to accomplish first, but I am just saying that if it happens, it happens. It worked for me!

Even though the boys and I were already into our second week of school, we attended a Back-to-Homeschool party with our homeschooling group, the Charlotte County Homeschoolers. The boys had a blast! In total there were thirty-nine kids and the sun broke through the fog just in time for all of those kids to hop into the pool. 

Avery's "class" (Grade 4)

Elliot's "class" (Grade 7)

It is interesting to note that Elliot hangs out with all the kids in the grade 5 "class" and even asked to join them when we start up our science lab classes at the Huntsman Aquarium in November. If you look at this picture, he even looks like a grade 5 kid not one of those grade 7's, which really makes me wish our world was not set up the way it is. It drives me crazy that we assign children to grades according to their age and not their capabilities. Some kids mature very quickly and others take a little more time. In fact, I had a paediatrician tell me this once after she examined Elliot. She said he is simply younger than his age: physically, intellectually, and emotionally. I wish I could white out his birth certificate and change the year of his birth to 2003 rather than 2001. As a ten year old, he would rock the world! Unfortunately, this is not an option, but thankfully, I do homeschool him and this offers me a little more freedom in choosing curriculum that are better suited to where he is in his intellectual development. Ooooh! Profound thought: I wonder how many of these "disabilities", "syndromes" and "deficits" we could actually eliminate if we simply taught and treated children at their own level rather than the one we expect them to be at!!!! 

Anyhoo . . . sorry about that tangent. It is just something I have been thinking about lately.

While the boys ran wild with all of their friends, I spent the afternoon talking about homeschooling high school kids with a woman I just met, who also happens to be the breastfeeding mentor at the hospital, and so I also drove her crazy with all my "what if I forget how to do it" questions . . . tee hee! She assured me that breastfeeding is like riding bike and that I will have no problem, but I am still unsure and informed her that she better be working when I go in to have Thing 4. Oh, and to make my afternoon even more spectacular, I got to hold the cutest three month old baby girl. She was adorable! She had lots of brown hair (oh, how I love babies with hair!) and slate blue eyes like all of my  babies did. It felt so good to be holding a baby again, but let me tell you, Thing 4 was not impressed. He or she kicked up a storm and kicked that poor baby something terrible. Elliot suggested that perhaps Thing 4 was simply happy to have a friend so close by, but call it mama's intuition, I think Thing 4 was put out.

Hey! I am the only baby she is supposed to coo and fuss over.

Later that night, as Thing 4 was performing his or her happy dance for me just as I was about to fall asleep, I had a stern talking to with him or her. 

Thing 4, you are number 4. That means you have to share me. I am sorry, but that is just the way it has to be. 

To which, Thing 4 gave me one more giant boot to the rib cage, in what I can only imagine to be his or her first temper tantrum, and then went to sleep . . . tee hee!

Sadly, I really am this crazy.

And here are this week's bump pictures. Can you spot Avery? CREEPY! For the record, do not take your kids into Value Village right now if you don't want them to become Halloween obsessed like my two monkeys currently are. 

Oh, but do go into Value Village right now if you are desperately looking for some maternity jeans that fit just right and that fit into the budget even better. Seven dollars and they fit like a glove!  

And there you have it; all my thoughts and pictures from the first week of September. Fascinating, right? 

tee hee!

Hit the Road Jack . . . .

This week ushered in my second trimester. Woohoo! Farewell first trimester and good riddance. I think this moment needs to be celebrated with a song:

Hit the road, Jack

And don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more,

Hit the road, Jack . . .

Oh, and first trimester, don't let the door hit you on your way out. Just saying.

I really didn't think I would ever see my second trimester, and I am so grateful to have hit this milestone. Now that I am here my life has become drastically easier. I no longer wake up feeling like death. The headaches have disappeared. The constant nausea has been reduced to sporadic moments throughout the day, which usually subside with a drink of water, and my daily vomiting session only happens once in about every three days. It feels so good to be me again!

The past nine weeks have been rough. I made it my goal to teach the boys each day in spite of how awful I felt, and thankfully, I was able to manage that, but in all honesty, that was about it.The house fell into disarray. The dust bunnies of puppy fur that typically reside under my couches and tables  grew into full-size Yetis, and I consistently remained about two loads behind with the dishwasher. Dinners were always late and more often than not consisted simply of scrambled eggs and some cut up apples. To say things were quickly growing out of control is an understatement. Everyday I would overhear Elliot tell Avery that pregnancy is very hard on a woman and that all they could do was be patient with me. What a sweetheart! Oh, and that pregnancy often changes a woman's personality . . . eeeek!  I hate to admit it, but yes, I was indeed that snarly monster, who took up residence on the couch and who never got out of her pyjamas. My poor family!

But, that is all behind us now it seems. This week I have been waking up feeling good. I scarf down a big breakfast and keep it down. I shower and get dressed each morning. I make my bed and I am able to stay out of it until my late afternoon nap. I have even begun tackling this disaster we once lovingly called home one room at a time. Second trimester, you are my new best friend. Please continue to be good to me.

Look at that adorable second trimester bump. Please take note that I am wearing real clothes in this picture AND it is was only 9 am.

Both the boys' room and my room now have floors which you can see, the beds are made, the linen is washed, and there are clean clothes in our dressers. Please feel free to applaud at any time. Oh, and yes, the mattress on the floor is by choice. It's a NLD thing and we just go with it. 

My first trimester kitchen: 

My second trimester kitchen:

ooooh . . . ahhhh!

Yes, things are finally starting to get back to normal around  here at Shenanigans Inc. I want to thank everyone for all of your prayers and your well wishes. They have definitely helped us to get to this point, and they have meant the world to us.

 YOU'RE THE BEST!!!!

Now, I am off to the doctor's office for my monthly weigh in and to hopefully hear Thing 4"s  heartbeat for the first time on Doppler . . . yippee!

Wish me luck!