28 Week Updates: Baby 2.0

We are back from our lovely California vacation!

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the trip:

It was oh so nice to have a full week to kick back and reconnect with this guy! And the views weren't too shabby either.

We rode on a wine train! They served a 3 course lunch as we meandered through the Napa Valley, ending up at a CASTLE for a wine tasting & tour. Not a bad little day at all.

The castle we toured

I was lucky enough to meet up with two dear ladies who I've come to know through their own blogs. We had a lovely lunch together in Yountville.

That's Jesica from Just Smile and Blog and "Lanie" (aka Melanie) from Unruffled Lanie 

We also had a fun night out with our friend Megan, celebrating BC's birthday together in downtown San Francisco. Megan was kind enough to lend us her car for our week long excursions!

On to my official 28 week updates:

How far along? 28 weeks today!

How big is baby? My baby apps estimate her around 2.5 pounds & 16 inches long. She may have started having actual dreams this week, and is working further on skills like sucking, coughing, and hiccuping. On that note- I am pretty sure I felt my first baby hiccups on the plane ride to California! I felt small rhythmic bumps happening over and over again in my belly, and my first thought was: "is she punching my belly in a timed syncopated rhythm?" This was followed by: "is baby convulsing? Having a seizure?" And then finally the more practical explanation hit me: HICCUPS!

How big is Mama? I was curious to see how I'd weigh in after a week of vacation. Usually vacation means I eat more than normal, but given I fell ill with a cold on this trip (boo), I was eating a lot lighter than usual. It didn't matter. I still gained 4.4 pounds over the last 2 weeks, for a total weight of 139. I've officially surpassed my TOTAL pregnancy gain with Iyla- which was 28 pounds- and at 28 weeks with this baby I am up a total of 29 pounds.

28 week belly with baby #2

And just for fun- here's my belly at 37 and 38 weeks respectively with Iyla… I am already looking full term this round (though her bump was definitely more filled out on the top):

Sleep? Still doing well overall.

Food cravings/aversions? I started having an aversion to meats on our trip, which I attributed to my cold. Now that we're back and I'm feeling better I'm still not preferring them- instead wanting salads, bread, eggs, & veggies. We'll see if that continues!

Symptoms?

*I've had heartburn in the evenings a few times, which is a new one for this pregnancy

*I did vomit one morning during our trip, likely due to drainage from my cold

*I had several bloody noses on the trip (from the dry mountain air)

*I've been getting short of breath more often- noticeably so when Iyla snuggles on my lap for story time, when I lay down, or when I go up stairs

*Feeling much warmer than normal. This has been going on for awhile now (as evidenced by my turning the AC down/fan on every night) but was oh so evident on our plane rides to California- where i wore a tank top and still wanted the AC blowing on me! Historically I am always FREEZING on airplanes, needing multiple layers to be comfortable.

*Still struggling with the pelvic issues. However, I did have a visit with my amazing myofascial practitioner yesterday (she's the one who helped Iyla immensely with her torticollis)- and I don't know why I didn't reach out to her sooner! I think she may be my magic ticket to a bit of relief during these last couple of months. Here's hoping!

Big sister? It was SO wonderful to reunite with our sweet Iyla Grace after a week away! She and Grandma had planned a little birthday party for BC upon our arrival home, and before BC and I had even walked through the front door she was asking Grandma if it was time yet for cupcakes. : )

We are grappling right now with some big decisions toward Iyla's fall schedule, as we just found out she was again offered an exclusive spot in a 5 day/week Montessori school for next school year. We've been on this waiting list for TWO years- and were initially offered a position this past January, which ultimately felt too soon.

But now? I think Iyla AND Mama may be ready for this new change. It will be a little crazy driving her to and from school daily with a newborn, but it will also be SO good for her to have a safe, stimulating, fun community that is consistent for those early newborn days when I am sleepily ensconced nursing & soothing her new baby sister. And the thought of having that gentle one on one time with baby sounds lovely too. Iyla got that as our first born, and it would be a gift for this little lady to also get some cozy solo time with Mama. I'm observing at the school again tomorrow, and we hope to make some final decisions by the end of the week!

Iyla has been showing a LOT of intrinsic interest lately in naming & writing letters (and is quite good at it!)- another reason I am thinking a more structured school setting that capitalizes on those budding interests and skills might be a great fit for her.

Ever since our return home Iyla has been vehemently protesting her "quiet time," which means Mama hasn't gotten much quiet time either! I find whenever we go away (with or without Iyla) there is usually a period of re acclimation to our schedule and house rules that takes a LOT of patience and consistency on our parts. It doesn't help that BC had to turn around yesterday morning for a weeklong business trip to Arizona… so it's just us girls working together through this transition.

These two had such a fun filled week together! We miss Grandma already and are so grateful for the time she was able to spend with Iyla.

Morning school portrait

Most looking forward to? I'm excited to start going through Iyla's old baby supplies and getting everything set up for baby's nursery. If this little one comes in the same early time frame Iyla did (around 37.5 weeks)- that means I only have roughly 9-10 weeks to go- which feels like the blink of an eye! My goal is to have everything ready by July 1st, so for the next two months I'll be in full on baby prep. 

21 Months Old!

Sweet Iyla Grace, today you are 21 months old, and today is officially my 300th blog entry! This past month has been a fun-filled and busy one for our family. You have started talking in pretty much full sentences, and we are loving hearing everything you have to say.

Here are your 21 month updates!

How old? 21 months

How big? We had a doc visit a few weeks ago, where you STOOD on a scale for the first time! You weighed in at 23 lbs and some change. Here you are in your monthly photo shoot with Sam:

Teeth? Holding steady at 7!

Food? Not a whole lot new here. You did try cookie batter for the first time and thought that was pretty great! You also really really loved having roasted asparagus this past week- you enjoyed holding an entire stalk and telling me which end was 'easy' or 'hard' to bite.

Cookie dough!

A favorite new spot to have water

You love kale chips! They always leave a trail of crumbs on your face.

I adore how you cross your little legs while you eat

Sleep? We are so grateful for what a good, easy sleeper you are! You go down for the night between 7:15-7:30 and sleep through to 6:45-7. Then you take anywhere from a 1.5-3 hour nap from 12:30-3. Our routine is still a bottle of milk before sleep- we snuggle and rock, and then you say goodnight to whatever dolly you are holding and happily snuggle down into bed.

Potty time? You are amazing us here. I would say you are 80% potty trained, and you have not had an accident all month! We leave you diaper free whenever we are home, and you will say "poo poo pee pee" when you have to go, or sometimes if its been awhile we encourage you to go sit on the potty. Your grandma and nanny also kept/keep you diaper free- and absolutely no accidents!

The 20% still remaining is learning that even if you have a diaper or other covering on you can still tell us you have to go, and then go on the potty. Right now if you have a diaper on you will happily go in it. I also tried a pair of plain little underwear covers one day, and you peed in those- feeling the safety of the cover. You wear a diaper at night and wake up with that soaking wet, so night time 'training' is still a ways off. All in all you are doing SO well!!

Words? You are talking so, so much! Full sentences. Repeating words and phrases we say while also telling us your opinions and preferences on things. A favorite example of this is when I ask you- when we are about to see someone for the first time (your nanny, the chiropractor, etc)- if you are 'going to be OK or going to cry." And you will pretty accurately tell me how you suspect you'll react, either way.

You can count up to 6 and love naming colors (you usually get blue and green correct and know the names for all other colors).

Your banter while you play with your dolls is hilarious too- we'll often hear you having one doll tell another "be right back" or telling a dolly to "wash hands, cook eggs, go potty" etc.

You have started correctly using the words "too" and "maybe." Examples include: "Tinkerbell wants dress too." "Maybe Rapunzel downstairs." And when asked about what you'd like to eat, you'll say "maybe….(insert what you want here)."

Some things we've been up to this past month:

Spending a week with Grandma! Your Papa and I took 3 nights in NYC (it was supposed to be 4 but our initial flight was cancelled- a whole other story/blog entry!) and your sweet Grandma came to stay and play with you. You two were instant friends, which was no surprise!

Your Aunt Julie, Uncle Ricco, and Cousin Miles also came up for a night while Grandma was here to see you. Everyone adored you, and you had a lot of fun spending time with Miles.

View from our NYC bathroom- you would have LOVED this tub! Fun fact: we had an accidental, serendipitous run-in with Belle from the Scrambled Eggs blog while visiting Washington Square Park! What a small, small world.

We brought you back a teddy bear from our Bowery Hotel that was an instant hit.

Mornings at my coffee shop! We've started having Mama/Iyla breakfast dates one morning a week, and you are such a good buddy while there. You love their muffins and eggs, and always bring a couple little dolls to enjoy breakfast with.

People watching at Bouldin Creek Cafe

Outdoor adventures: We are in the middle of our HOT season here, so mornings are the time to get out and explore. We often go to a local park or splash pad.

Stopping to smell the flowers

Picnic on a lovely evening

You also enjoy outdoor streaking 

This is usually the extent of your splash pad adventures- you like to stand back from the water and hold one of your dolls in it- but not get in/jump in yourself!

Morning at the splash pad and all you wanted to do was sit in this puddle

Climbing! You have started getting braver with your physical exploration and now enjoy climbing up on things around the house.

Playing with Papa: Weekend mornings are Papa time, where you two ride bikes, get breakfast tacos and juice, and play at the playground.

Reading: Your very favorite books these days are the "Laura" books- which you all know by title (Little House on the Prairie books), your Frozen books, and of course- your Tangled books.

Going to the Austin Zoo: It your first time there and you loved it.

You also made sure to feed your Sofia doll

Playing at the Driskill Hotel: This is the whole family's happy place! It is pretty much a fanciful indoor playground given all the stairs, elevators, empty banquet halls, & toddler-adoring visitors.

You always sit in the elevator!

Getting your bangs trimmed: I wasn't planning on giving you bangs, but your fine wisps were constantly in your eyes, so a teeny tiny trim was all that was needed to clean things up. I think you look adorable!

Taking Selfies: You actually let me take a couple shots of us together without having a meltdown! Lately when you see yourself in the camera you start to fuss because you want to LOOK at the pictures, not take them.

The typical reaction

The annoyed 'I'm putting up with this' look

And lo and behold, actually hamming it up with smiles!

Watching Tangled: This continues to be one of your favorite things ever. You are known to ask "watch Tangled?" no less than a gazillion times a day. On weekends you and Papa watch a condensed version, and we also play you a few of the music videos before bed.

One not so fun thing from the last month was your waking up with a pulled neck muscle. You were in a lot of pain and telling me "neck hurt!" We went to your doctor to rule out any ear infection, and tried to keep you still and comfortable with sporadic heat on your neck & Motrin. We were able to get you to our chiropractor who helped expedite your feeling better. I suspect this may have been a result of the torticollis you had as a baby, and hope this kind of thing never happens again! Poor buddy. 

Here are a few more photos from your past month. There were a LOT to catch up on, given it has been a month since my last update!

We love you SO much Iyla Grace, and are grateful every.single.day that you chose us as your family! Happy 21 months, sweet girl.