What will become of the blog when Baby B is born?

After Breckin was born we kept up with his blog for about 3 months, with maybe an entry a month, then stopped posted all together. This time around we are in a very different place in our lives... We have finally started working towards our dream of building a farm on our property.

When Kevin and I were dating we talked about one day, most likely once the kids had gone off to college, buying a farm where we would one day retire. We felt we needed to sow our "big city oats" first. After I graduated college we moved to Philadelphia, bought a serious fixer-upper, and renovated it. Most of you have heard the many horror stories that came out of that experience. It was terrible but brought Kevin and I even closer than before. After only about 8 months we decided that we weren't cut out for the big city and maybe wanted to try moving up our farm plans and live in the country. We sold our house in Philadelphia, and moved back to Virginia. We started by renting a house in Powhatan for a while to see if we actually liked living out in the country, since at one point we actually thought we would like living in the big city. We loved it and decided after about 6 months to start looking for a farm. It took a few months but we ended up finding a sweet little property (3 acres) out in Western Goochland. The house was amazing. It had everything on our list. The property was smaller than we wanted but after walking through the wooded area we felt that 3 acres was more than we thought it was. Some of people we have run across who are doing the same thing that we want to do are doing it on the same amount of land. We also had hopes that we could expand our land at some point. The property was also not set up as a farm yet. Which we were fine with, since it allowed us to make it fit our needs. Our goal with the farm was to have dairy goats, and to become as self-sustaining as possible. With the goats we would fulfill our family's dairy needs, and make soap to sell.

So now, almost 4 years later we have gotten a lot done around the house and property but nothing really for the actual farm. We finally feel like we are in a place to really start focusing on the farm. We have a long list of ideas and jobs that we hope to implement within the next 5 years. This summer we are building a compost bin, chicken coop and start working on putting together our garden area (although we don't plan on planting until next year). The lumber for all of these projects was delivered this week. I don't think I have ever been so excited to see a pile of wood. We ordered 8 chicks of 8 different breeds that will be here the first week in June. We are so excited to finally see some progress happening! We hope for the barn to go up in the next year. We have put it off so many times and finally decided to wait until we could write a check for the barn rather than trying to worry about payments. So, what will become of the blog when Baby B is born? I want to document the growth of our children, and our path to our goat farm and our self-sustaining lifestyle. I hope you will still enjoy reading...

33 Weeks and 1 Day Pregnant

1 week until the start of my maternity leave!!

7 weeks (but most likely less) until we meet our little girl!

What's going on with Baby B: I think she has been staying quite low the last few days. I have also had a few painful contractions. I think it has more to do with stress than the start of anything. This week was my last week without a doctors appointment. I have an appointment next friday and then I have an appointment every week after that. Cervical checks start at my 35 week appointment. I am excited about getting to that point of my pregnancy, when the labor is near and there is anticipation each week to see if you made any progress.

Symptoms: I've been battling allergies and headaches this week. I swear my eyes are going to pop right out of my head. I did the neti pot a few days ago and more water came out of my eyes than my nose... not comfortable. My body aches all the time at this point and I have several Braxton Hick Contractions an hour. Sleeping hasn't been easy but part of that is the allergies. I can't breath on top of being uncomfortable.

Cravings: Avocados

Birthday Predictions: April 23rd

Baby Preparations: I built the bouncy seat this week. I also made a huge batch of tomato sauce that will be used for spaghetti and lasagna over the next few months. I also made several loaves of banana bread, a batch of banana muffins, and a batch of sour cream muffins this week. Either today or tomorrow I plan to make a huge batch of pizza sauce. The freezer is starting to get a work out!

32 Weeks and 2 days Pregnant!

2 weeks until the start of my maternity leave!

8 (at the absolute most, but very likely less) weeks until we meet our girl!

What's going with Baby B: Well... She is now measuring ahead and will likely be big like her brother. Now comes the serious talks of induction. The dr. said we will do an ultrasound between 36-38 weeks to check her size. The dr. wants to wait as long as possible to get the most accurate reading of how big she will be come delivery day. My next appointment is at 34 weeks and then I am on weekly appointments! I am hoping that she will just decide to come on her own around 38 weeks.

Symptoms: All the same. I have some energy and have been getting things done!

Cravings: The same

Birthday Prediction: April 23rd

Baby Preparations: We have been working on getting stuff around the farm ready for spring. Last weekend we trimmed the tress. Kevin is actually finishing off the last few trees now. We have three construction jobs taking places over the next few months. We are starting with building an actual compost bin rather than just having a compost pile. Next, Kevin is building a chicken coup. I ordered 8 chicks who will be here the first week in June. Lastly, Kevin will be building a fenced in garden with raised beds. We don't plan on planting a garden until next year though. These are all steps to move us towards a self-sustaining life style. We also figure it will be easier to get these jobs done before we have a baby in the house. On days that are cold we have been working on organizing and de-cluttering the house. I am also cooking like a mad woman and freezing the food for after the baby is born. This way my family gets healthy made from scratch meals even though I am going to be busy with a newborn. I would like to make enough food to get us through at least the baby's first two months. I can't imagine shopping with a toddler and a newborn. I want to avoid that chore as long as possible. I have meals that last anywhere between 3-6 months in the freezer. I started with the longer lasting recipes this weekend and will work my way forward. This weekend I cut up steaks for nice steak dinners, cut meat for burritos and stir fry, put together a pot roast dinner, Italian beef sammies, chicken mozzarella roll-ups, two mac and cheese dinners, chicken crescent rolls, and three apple and cheddar side dishes. This week through next weekend I plan on making a huge batches of tomato sauce, and pizza sauce, several banana breads, snickerdoodle muffins, and sour cream muffins. I am so excited to fill the freezer!

31 Weeks Pregnant

3 weeks until my maternity leave starts!

9 (likely less) weeks until we meet our little girl!

What's going on with Baby B: She's kicking me in the ribs and bumping me in the cervix at the same time. She is going to be a long baby. She hasn't been moving as much as she had been. She still exceeds the kick count recommendation though. I think she just might be running out of room.

Symptoms: I woke up to a TERRIBLE charley horse last night. It still hurt this evening. I guess I need to be watching my water intake better. I haven't been measuring how much water I drink. I do carry a bottle of water around though. I'm still experiencing all of the same issues as last week. I am working hard on managing everything. I am just glad it is the weekend so I can sleep in, thanks to my hubby. My body feels so stretched. It's so hard to imagine that I am going to get bigger. I was much bigger at the end with Breckin, so I know it's possible.

Cravings: Salty sweet.

Birthday Prediction: April 23rd

30 Weeks Pregnant

It's so nice to get out of the "20 week" part of the pregnancy. I feel like I am finally nearing the end of this pregnancy. I am likely in the single digits of weeks before we meet our little girl. I have decided to go out of work earlier than originally planned. I will be starting my maternity leave in 4 weeks. My first day of leave will be March 19th. That is the earliest that I felt comfortable going out and although most days it is a struggle I think that I can comfortability push myself to this date. The issues that I have been having would be much easier to manage if I wasn't working. I am completely miserable and don't want the remaining two months to be like this and the doctor has expressed that she thinks it's time for me to leave work. I can only be on my feet for short periods of time because of the shin splints, intense pressure, and now extreme pain at the top of my bump (which has to be cause of gravity. I forgot to mention it at the doctors appointment today). I have been trying to sit as much as possible (which isn't easy when you are a teacher), I have been wearing support hose for the shin splints, and belly belt for the pressure and now pain at the top of my bump. I am still managing the headaches and migraines with tea. Thank goodness something so simple took care of that so I didn't have to go on that horrible medicine. I find my days are easier if I at least get a short nap (who's isn't though). On my days off Breckin will allow me to lay down here and there while we play. He is so sweet. I think he can tell when I am getting uncomfortable and he will say "Momma, just lay down." I am so lucky to have such an amazing toddler. It's so hard to believe I am going to love something as much as I love him. I can't wait to meet her.

What's going on with Baby B: My cervix was checked at my doctors appointment today, they have checked it the last three doctors appointments, because of some of the "issues" that I have been having. I wasn't really worried but they wanted to be cautious. I was having a hard time figuring out how high or low she was, considering she is kicking me in the ribs and hitting me in the cervix at the same time, so I asked if she was high. I was told she is at -3 station which isn't low but is lower than most are at this point. I also asked if she was head down and was told that she couldn't tell for sure but based on what she could feel, and the shape of my stomach that she thinks that she is head down. Her heart rate was in the 150s. Breckin went with me to the appointment today and was so excited to hear his little sister's heartbeat.

Symptoms: I have been dealing with a lot of swelling. I am barely able to wear my wedding and engagement ring which are normally really loose on me and I have had to take the ring of my right hand. It often hurts to bend my toes. I have been drinking lots of water in order to combat it. I've been avoiding too much salt as well. I am still having a lot of BH contractions. I guess they will only get stronger and more frequent until I go into actual labor. I am extremely tired still. I am waiting for nesting to totally kick in so I can get a burst of energy. It's kicked in a little. Over the last few weeks I have been trying to figure out recipes to cook and freeze so we have lots of ready made meals after the baby comes. I am also trying to figure out what else we would need to stock up on (and where we would put it all) so I can avoid shopping with two children for a long time.

Cravings: I still crave avocados. I am really into the salty/sweet combo right now.

Birthday Prediction: April 23rd

29 Weeks and 1 Day Pregnant!

What's going on with Baby B: She's been kicking me in my ribs. This is not something I ever experienced with Breckin. He was always so low but this little one is up high then down low. She is always moving around. I love to watch her moving in my belly... I wish I knew what I was looking at. One of the best new developments is that fact that she reacts to Breckin's voice when he talks up against the belly. It's amazing. I think she loves him already... but who wouldn't? He loves to lay with his hand on my stomach and feel her move. He is going to be such a wonderful brother.

Symptoms: My feet and hands are extremely swollen now. It hurts to bend my toes. The belly belt has been helping a little with the pressure, and belly and back pain but I can only wear it for about 4-6 hours at a time. After a while it starts to give me almost constant BH contractions and I have to take it off. I have also been wearing support hose. My shins still hurt but less than before so either the support hose are doing their job or the fact that I have been sitting more (A LOT MORE) is helping. Nothing seems to help with the stabbing pains I am having in my pelvis though. I am trying so hard to stay positive but I am so incredibly uncomfortable. I want to enjoy this pregnancy so badly but really I just want her here (not that I want her to premature). I have so many issues that I am "managing" right now... there isn't much time for anything else. I worry that my negative attitude is affecting her make-up somehow. I don't want her to be a sad, negative, moody child. I already love her so much... Why can't I just look past the aches, and pains, stress and just be happy? Not that I am never happy...

Cravings: Avocados... mmmmmmm. Sweets

Birthday Prediction: April 23rd

28 Weeks and 2 Days Pregnant

9 weeks until the start of my maternity leave

12 weeks (but likely less) until she is here!!!

What's going on with Baby B: She has the hiccups ALL the time and she contorts my stomach into shapes that I didn't think were possible. She spends most of the evening entertaining Kevin and me with her movements and pokes. I wish I knew what position she was in so I had some sort of idea of what I was seeing. I asked the doctor if she could tell but she said it was still too early. My belly is measuring perfect which is such a relief! With Breckin at this point I was measuring between a 1 and half to two weeks ahead.

Symptoms: Stress at work, Kevin's late hours, having an extremely sweet but still tiring 2 year old, horrible shin pains, stabbing pains and pressure that I am not quite comfortable going into detail about, lots of Braxton Hicks, headaches, barely being able to keep my eyes open half the time and random parts of my body (including my face) going numb all has made this a rough two or so weeks. I really need an attitude change. I have been feeling very miserable and down. The weekends are wonderful but the weekdays are just so difficult. I spent 30 minutes crying to my doctor on Friday. I love her. She is so understanding.

Cravings: Sweets

Birthday Prediction: April 23rd