31 weeks with my baby love.

well, here we are!

i cannot believe that we are at 31 weeks already! 

(technically, the picture on the right was when i was 30 weeks and 4 days, but i'd rather not take a picture of what i look like today, haha!)

it's complete insanity.

you might be asking, why are you writing a post at 31 weeks? well, because it's a tradition! check out what i mean here. 

it's pretty crazy that i'm posting this 31 week update exactly two years after i posted my first 31 week pregnancy update with liam. if you told me i'd be having two babies in the exact timeline, i'd tell you to get the heck oughtta town. but here we are, and small fry #2 is coming so soon! 

i've been getting asked similar questions recently, and i thought this would be a great place to share my answers to the masses- so, here we go!

how have i been feeling?

now that i'm over my constant nausea and puking (knock on wood), i'm doing so much better. there have been days in the recent past where i felt like i was newly pregnant- so nauseous and wanting to puke my guts out. but, i think that those days are behind me and i'm so grateful. i've been extremely tired, but chasing an almost two-year old around may have something to do with it. ;) overall, i'm feeling pretty good and just trying to rest as much as i can before small fry #2 comes! 

how have things been different this second time around?

when i've heard people that are pregnant with their second babies say that their second pregnancies go by lightning fast, i didn't understand...until now. holy cow! i seriously feel like yesterday i found out i was pregnant, and that was back in march! this pregnancy has flown by so fast, and i love it! i haven't had time to worry about every twinge of pain, or every little thing like i did during liam's pregnancy, and i've loved that! besides the fact that i was nauseous and throwing up since day one of this pregnancy, it's been pretty smooth. my morning sickness would happen, and then it would be gone by the afternoon (most days). 

also, i haven't gained as much weight as i did when i was pregnant with liam. i gained 45 pounds during my pregnancy with liam, and with this baby, i've only gained 18! i'm so excited- the less i gain, the less i have to lose. i never quite got to the weight i wanted to after liam was born, so i'm excited to whip myself back into shape after this one. woot woot!

other than those things, this pregnancy has been pretty textbook. baby boy is active and kicking, especially right when mommy is about to go to sleep, and i have to pee a million times a day. but i wouldn't have it any other way!

how are you feeling about having number two?

i'm not gonna lie, i've been having some worries about having a second. i mean, every mother worries about how in the heck she's going to manage and balance it all, right? i feel like we have such a great routine down with liam right now, and i know and expect that a new baby is going to throw a wrench into that routine. i'm guess i'm just nervous with how long it will take for me to adjust and adapt to having two boys exactly two years apart. any words of wisdom for this rookie mom of one? 

also, i'd be lying to you if i didn't say i was terrified of going through labor again, because i am! like last time, i'm not going to the hospital with any birth plan in mind and it worked so well for me. i went in with zero expectations, and in the end had a smooth delivery, and a cute baby boy at the end! that's all i want. whether this birth story will be a copy cat or a complete opposite, all i want is for our baby boy to arrive safely and healthy. 

besides these worries, i'm just enjoying every single second i have with our sweet liam boy. in a matter of 9 weeks, give or take, liam is going to be a big brother! as much as that terrifies me, it excites me more because i know that he's going to be such a great one. every time he sees a picture of a baby, he instantly kisses it and points at it with a 'awww, it's so cute!' face. (cue me melting into a puddle of mom goo)

and finally, have you guys picked out a name?

you guys, WE CANNOT PICK OUT A NAME. we have about a zillion names we've tossed around, but nothing is sticking. we were set on gavin for awhile, but now that doesn't feel quite right. other options that we've bounced off each other have been jamie, theo, george, aiden, moses, crew, eyring, kai, addison, dawson, and the list goes on and on. with liam, we were pretty set on using liam, but we brought nolan, jackson, and crew as ideas to the hospital as well. we knew that once we saw him, we would pick the perfect name for him. when we saw him, liam was the winner! it just felt right for him, and still fits him perfectly.

i think the reason why we haven't been able to pick out a name, is because i was 100% positive that this baby was a girl. because i was so sick from day one, i pretty much convinced myself that we were adding a little mini cassie to the family because i was never sick with liam! and because i was convinced that we were having a girl, we had a girl name all ready to go, with zero boy names agreed on. but, when we were at our gender ultrasound at 20 weeks, the ultrasound technician scanned over the private area and said, "do you guys know what that is?!". we both instantly knew that we were adding a little boy into our family. lesson learned: i know that each pregnancy will be different no matter what. and, hopefully this baby will have a name by the time we leave the hospital! 

all in all, i'm so excited for this baby to come. i'm excited to learn what makes him tick, to read him stories, to sing to him, and to teach him to love life.

happy 31 weeks, baby boy! cannot wait to meet you.