31-37 weeks bumpdate: baby #2

It hardly seems possible that we're two weeks away from meeting baby #2. Didn't we just find out we were pregnant?! 

When people ask if we're ready, we say yes and no. No because his room isn't ready, all the clothes aren't washed, all the deep cleaning and house projects aren't finished...and the list goes on. (Literally, my to do list goes on forever...like painting our front door before he's born. Really? Who has time for that?!) But at the same time, I'm ready to meet him. I'm ready for heartburn to go away. I'm ready to at least be able to get comfortable when laying in bed, even if our sleep drastically decreases, at least I'll be comfortable! 

Crew was 9 lbs, 5 oz and I have a feeling Grey will be a big boy too. My belly is pretty close to the same size as I was with Crew and boy does it feel like he's huge when he's stretching his feet and legs up against my ribs! With Crew I gained 40 lbs and this time I hadn't been keeping up with my weight so I asked the doctor last week what my total gain was so far. It was only 26 lbs! I 100% attribute that to chasing Crew around and lifting that little 33 lb chunk all the time! I joke all the time and say that my water is going to break one of these days when I'm picking Crew up because I have to strain so hard! Ha! I have played it in my mind a hundred times!

I told my doctor last week (36 week check up) that I thought Grey had dropped some because I could feel his movements much lower than I had been able to. Well I was right and he's pretty low. No dilation yet though! We'll see if I've made any progress this Friday!

As far as symptoms lately, of course there is constant heartburn. (Never really had this with Crew) I feel like I just look at food and my chest starts burning! I had braxton hicks a lot around 33-44 weeks and then they went away until this past week. Braxton hicks, sharp pains and cramps have been going on quite often the past several days. (Trying not to think anything of it all because I don't want to psych myself out thinking that he's going to come early!) I also have been getting so much less sleep lately! A lot of it is because Grey is a night owl! He kicks and stretches all through the night and his feet have been up in my ribs 24/7. He's already preparing me for getting back on a newborn's sleep schedule! I've been just so exhausted lately and take advantage of Crew's nap time on my two days off a week. I hope this all doesn't come across as complaining! I really have such easy pregnancies and am so thankful for that! I can't wait to meet this little chunk!

It's scary that 9 months of worry is about to come to an end - Worry about how Crew will transition to being a big brother. I don't want him to feel left out or ignored once Grey is born. I have no doubt that he'll be a fantastic brother, I just am scared about how we will all transition as a new family of four. I still want him to feel just as important and loved as he does now! I know God is in control of all and has orchestrated our new addition to His perfect timing so I'm just praying for guidance in this area as well!

27-30 weeks bumpdate: baby #2

I had a bad streak with my pictures during weeks 26-28. They didn't happen. Partly because I thought I was 26 weeks when I was actually 27 (whoops!) and partly because well, it just didn't happen. It takes two seconds, but somehow 3 weeks had gone by and no pictures.

I had my glucose test (passed) and 3D ultrasound at 28 weeks. Grey looks EXACTLY like Crew on the ultrasound...his profile and everything. I can't wait to see how much they resemble each other. At 28 weeks, he was already 3 lbs and measuring a week ahead. I think we've got another big boy on our hands!

I've already been feeling so tired again into this third trimester. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with chasing Crewboo around...and also the fact that Grey will be here in 2 months or less (whoa!) and I'm getting huge! I really love and appreciate naps when I can get one!

These are the differences I've noticed so far between this pregnancy and the first:

Acne
The first time I only broke out a little in the first trimester and then at the very end | With this one, my face has been broken out the. entire. time. and it's making me crazy.

Hormones
I haven't been near as emotional this time around. I didn't say "not emotional," just not as emotional!

Soreness
The first time around, I didn't really start feeling pelvic soreness until at least 33 weeks | This time I've been hurting for at least 8 weeks already

Back Pain
Back pain both times, just different places

Restless Legs
Last time I had terrible restless legs every single night. I couldn't go to sleep unless I took a really hot shower right before getting in bed. | This time, (knock on wood) it hasn't been near as bad. Usually just once a week.

Those are just what I can think of off the top of my head right now. Luckily it's generally been another easy pregnancy. Can't believe we'll be meeting him in 2 months!

first trimester

14-26 weeks

grey's name

Remember when I explained why we chose Crew's name? (Read it here) Well, I wanted to make sure I documented the reason behind choosing Grey's name too - mainly just his middle name!

We found out we were pregnant with Grey on October 12th...and Papaw passed away the next day. We never got a chance to share our news with him, but I know he knows about his second great grandson now. We debated for a long time about what Grey's middle name would be. Ransom is an unusual name and I wasn't sure about it for a while. In the end, we kept coming back to it because of the meaning and the sentimentality to us and our family - Ransom "Sonny" Skelton is so missed and we still haven't adjusted to life without him, but Will and I hope that giving Grey this name will in some way help shape him into the man that our Papaw was.

Photo by Kelly Ginn Photography at Crew's birth in 2013

14-26 week bumpdate, 2nd trimester recap: baby #2

How am I already entering the third trimester?! I've done terrible with documenting everything from this pregnancy. I also think that I just didn't have as much to document because I was either too busy with Crew to notice or I had already experienced so many of the "pregnancy symptoms" and just didn't think much of them. Either way, here are the things I do remember about the last 10+ weeks!

We found out the gender on December 23rd and had our gender reveal on the 24th! I was almost 16 weeks at that point. The ultrasound tech at the doctor tried to determine the gender at my 15 week appointment, but baby boy had his legs crossed and was sleeping so that didn't work. This wasn't a scheduled ultrasound, but I had convinced my doctor to let me try since we had all our family in town and it would be "the perfect time for a reveal!" Once I found out it was possible to know the gender at 15 weeks, I just had to find out in time for a Christmas surprise. I found a Groupon for a local ultrasound place and they were the ones who determined it was a boy! Of course, we have made sure to confirm at our doctor's office also!

The heartburn! Oh, the heartburn! I didn't have heartburn with Crew until much, much later in the pregnancy so that's one thing that is different. Tums are my best friend at this point. They seem to work pretty well especially if I take some at the first signs so I haven't felt the need to try any other medication...yet. 

The other major thing that has been different this time is the extreme soreness and pain in my pelvic region. Again, I didn't feel like this until at least 33 weeks with Crew and it's been going on this time since around 21-22 weeks and is just getting worse. It started out as just an a.m. nuisance when I got up in the morning, but now it's pretty constant and pretty much whenever I move. Hot showers seem to help (aka my answer to any ailment), but I haven't found much relief past that. 

I got a terrible rash all over my belly at about 23 weeks and it was so itchy. I kept it lathered in Aquaphor most of the time and took Benadryl at night so I wasn't up all night scratching. I vaguely remember this same thing happening when I was pregnant with Crew, but I have no idea why it did. Luckily I only had it for about 2 weeks and my belly is back to "normal!"

This was at 24 weeks

There hasn't been too much more that has been going on lately. It is getting a little more difficult to pick up my 32-pounder so we'll see how that goes the rest of the pregnancy. I told Will that we're going to have to get a step stool for Crew to get in and out of his crib when I'm the only one home! He's a chunk!

There's a baby boom going on with our closest friends at church and I love it! One sweet baby has been born since this photo and the twins will be here any day now! So excited for my friends!

five years of marriage

Ok, ok, ok... I've been reading old posts on the blog and realizing that I miss it, mainly for the documenting big and small events that would otherwise be forgotten. (especially with Crew!) I want to try and make time to document things again so I won't regret not doing it down the road!

One of those "big" events was our FIVE year wedding anniversary we just celebrated on March 6th. I just can't believe it's been five years already. Doesn't seem possible! Will surprised me on the 5th and told me we were taking a weekend vacation. He had already made plans and arranged for Crew to spend the weekend with my parents. I'll be honest, I was excited...but I was instantaneously feeling anxious about leaving Crew. One, because it would be the longest that I had been away from him before and two, because I've been feeling guilt over having our parents watch him on weekends when that's usually the only time we get each week to spend time as a family. They have all been so great to watch Crew when we are needing to work on weekends for things for Accrewed Design or Crew + Co. 

I packed a last minute bag and off we went to Fairhope, AL. I just love Fairhope and it's small-town life. Will had never been before so it was perfect for the two of us to explore together. I realized just how much we needed some one on one time to focus on each other. It was so refreshing and we need to make more of a point to do that more often. So much of the time we are focused on Crew and what his needs are that we forget to focus on us and what are needs are as husband and wife. 

We spent most of the time eating...and then eating some more. We explored little antique shops, one of our favorite things to do together! We went down to Gulf Shores for the day. Unfortunately it was in the 50's and SO windy that morning so we didn't stay long, but it was still so fun. 

I'm so thankful for my sweet husband and the effort he put into making this a fun and memorable anniversary! I can't wait for the many more to come!

This breakfast was SO GOOD. The french toast satisfied my pregnancy sweet tooth just as I hoped!

Julwin's in Fairhope

Sunset Pointe in Fairhope

Will's oyster request for dinner... I stuck with the pasta
Wintzell's in Fairhope

Gulf Shores

Fairhope Pier (25 weeks pregnant!)

 Again, my sweet tooth. To my defense, I ONLY have a sweet tooth when I'm pregnant! Will got blueberry cheesecake and banana pudding and I (of course) got cotton candy.
Old Dutch Ice Cream in Mobile

Of course, the day we left Crew woke up with a cough. That turned into a cold and I just knew it had something to do with him cutting teeth. He cut his 3rd molar over the weekend and it just made him miserable. Every. Single. Time. he gets a new tooth, he gets some sort of cold. Without fail. This time it was accompanied by fever on Friday and Saturday which is something that hasn't happened before. Luckily he was very well taken care of while we were gone, but I was so glad to get back to him! You can tell how unlike himself he looks in this photo from Sunday with his watery eyes, flushed cheeks and runny nose! I hate seeing him feel bad! Tooth #11 was a pesky one!

This just HAD to be documented. We got home Sunday afternoon and it was time for Crew to nap. He woke up about an hour later and Will went to get him out of bed. When he didn't come back after several minutes I looked on the monitor and saw this. Oh, you better believe it brought tears! (Blame it on the hormones!) Crew hasn't let us rock him in months and months so I know he didn't feel good for this to be happening. I'll admit, I was a little jealous of Will!...ok, a lot jealous!

1st anniversary: Savannah, GA (see photos in 3rd ann. post)

2nd anniversary: Savannah, GA (see photos in 3rd ann. post)

3rd anniversary: Announcing our pregnancy with Crew

4th anniversary: Weekend in Nashville with Crew (not blogged...see what I'm saying about doumenting?!)

gender reveal number two

I totally forgot to post our gender reveal video from baby #2 on Christmas Eve with our families! I want to be sure it's documented on the blog!

it's a...

BOY!!

We are absolutely thrilled and really could not be any more excited about adding a second precious boy to our family. Grey Kassner will be making his appearance in June!

first trimester recap: baby #2

Being pregnant this time around is already so different than when I was pregnant with Crew. Having a toddler to chase around all day definitely distracts me from counting as each week slowly rolls by. It's not slow...and somehow I'm already in the second trimester. 

If you haven't noticed, this blog has taken a backseat since Crew has been born and I'm totally ok with that. Between working outside of the home, spending time with Crew and Will after work, and then focusing on my business after Crew's bedtime, that barely leaves time for anything else. Regardless, I still want to document this pregnancy as much as possible. I love going back to Crew's pregnancy and remembering how I was feeling at each point because so many details have already slipped my mind. With #1, I would focus/worry/dwell on every little ache and pain I felt because it was all so new. With #2, half the time I don't even have time to notice how I'm feeling!

Early on, I had some heartburn which got me wondering if this baby was a girl. I didn't have heartburn with Crew until 30+ weeks. I bought some Tums...and then never had heartburn again! So strange. I never even opened them. Besides that one tiny difference, this pregnancy has been very similar to the first. I had nausea off and on, but haven't felt sick in several weeks now. With Crew, the only time I actually threw up was when I was in labor. Hopefully I can hold out that long again with this one!

I thought the exhaustion was rough the first time around...add a busy little one year old to the mix and it's a whole new level! I've had several days of feeling like I wasn't able to keep my eyes open at work. Waiting for the second trimester to bring back my energy!

I have no feeling anymore of whether the baby is a boy or girl. Will thinks boy and a lot of our friends think girl. I've been almost leaning towards boy again because the pregnancies have been so similar so I guess we'll find out VERY soon! Baby's heart rate was 168 at our first ultrasound, but I'm not believing in the heart rate gender estimate because I have friend's whose babies have proven that to be very wrong!

I don't know if I've really been craving anything lately, but there are definitely things that always sound good and I could eat them at any time of the day. Mashed potatoes. Spaghetti. Pickles (but specifically the ones from Firehouse Subs - so weird).

The bump has for sure grown faster than it did with #1, but that's probably also because I wasn't as small as I was before this pregnancy than I was before the first.

We have an appointment tomorrow and I'm looking forward to hearing the heartbeat!

coming in june...

We are so excited to share that we will be expecting a second precious baby next June! Crew is so excited to be a BIG BROTHER!

2013 in review

What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't do a year in review post? I didn't plan on doing one until finding the following piece of paper in our 2013 memory jar. This has been the best year of our lives with the birth of Crew. This year brought blessing after blessing and I have loved looking back and reflecting on it.

january

Will and I started a new tradition of a memory jar with writing things on little pieces of paper throughout the year and then reading it the following New Year's Day. I'm so glad we chose to start this when we did!

We spent a lot of time together riding. We haven't done much of this since last January because of being pregnant.

februrary

We found out we were pregnant!

I shared how we told our families about our big news

We celebrated Will's 25th birthday with dinner at Carrabba's

march
We celebrated 3 years of marriage by announcing our pregnancy on our anniversary

april
We went to our gender ultrasound and gave the secret envelope to Kelly for her to prepare for our party

We had our gender reveal party and found out that we were having a boy!

may
I shared why we chose Crew's name

Will graduated with his Masters from seminary

june

Will got ordained at Faith Baptist

I shared about all I've learned from pregnancy

july

I went to Myrtle Beach with my family....

...while Will went to Kenya, Tanzania and China

august

We had our first baby shower with the couples' group from church

Kelly took our maternity pictures

We were given our second baby shower at our home church

september

Kelly and Roxanna gave us our third baby shower

We went on our babymoon in Nashville....

...Chattanooga,

and East TN.

october

Only the greatest month of our lives...we had our first baby, Crew William Kassner. I shared all about his birth

Kelly took his newborn photos when he was 8 days old.

november

We celebrated Crew's one month birthday

We dedicated Crew to God in front of our church and family

I shared Crew's birth day video

We had our first Thanksgiving with our little turkey

december

Crew turned two months...already

We started cloth diapering full time and love it

I took Crew's picture for our Christmas card

We celebrated my 25th birthday

We had Crew's first Christmas!

Can't you see why this has been the best year...thus far?! I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for our little family. I'm so excited to watch Crew grow and learn and experience new things. God has truly blessed us!