Rain, rain, go away!

Today is so, so boring. No park, no 3 walks like we take every day, no rescuing bugs or digging in the dirt or going out to learn about flowers and ducks. I hate the rain. I left my strollers outside too, so they're gonna be soaking wet tomorrow even if it's nice out, but it's okay because I have my ring sling and Noahbug has two legs haha. I wish I had a picture of him looking out the window because he's too cute, but every time I get up to get my camera he jumps up to ask if we're going bye bye yet.

I think all we have on our agenda today is yoga, blogging, movies and blanket forts... and he's probably going to continue trying to figure out this knight helmet. Oh, Dollar Store, how I love you! So many toys and so inexpensive... and he likes 'em 10x more than what I get him at Target or Walmart.

Maybe I'll be able to get some cleaning in today? That is, if I can turn off the birth videos without him yelling at me! As a birth doula/aspiring midwife I watch a lot of birth videos and Noah loves to watch them with me. It's a good thing, I think, for him to be used to seeing a woman give birth. He's going to be present when I have Asher and I'm glad he knows that the mama isn't yelling 'cause she's mad, she's yelling 'cause "she wants baby OUT!" - in his words. I told him that the mama yelling makes it hurt less, but he's convinced it's just because she wants him out. Anyway, all he's wanted to do all morning is watch birth videos and occasionally read a book. I hate the rain, we're going stir crazy in here and it's not even noon!

21 down, 19 to go!

So today we're 21 weeks! That means we've only got roughly 19 left to go! Asher is getting more and more active, I'm beginning to think I'm growing a breakdancer in there. I'm still sick at night (boo) and occasionally during the day, but I've been Sea Band-less for I think about two weeks? A week and a half? I got this! Anyway, this week Asher is the size of a pomegranate. He's roughly 10.5 inches (we stopped measuring CRL last week and now we measure head to toe) and 12.7oz.
Noah felt him kick for the first time the night before last! He came in the room and laid on the bed next to me and asked "Mama? I 'nuggle brudder?" and you know I'm not gonna tell him he can't. So he put his head down on my belly and put his hand on my belly next to mine, where I was feeling him kick. All of ten seconds later, his jaw drops and he gets wide eyed and yells, "Mama! He hit me!!!" I just about died laughing. He loves his little brother already.
We have like two boxes of boys clothes, we have binkies, we have bouncers and blankets and everything! We're getting prepared ahead of time this time. Noah picked out all his newb jammies and outfits and socks and says "I give Ashes?" and it's super cute. He finds something new for him every day.
Oh yeah, did I mention he can't pronounce Asher so he calls him Ashes? It's too funny. He'll go up to people when we're out walking and tell them "My brother Ashes, in mama's belly!" He's so proud and loves to tell everyone about him. I'm so happy he loves him so much, I just hope he still does when he finally gets here!

My Noah-Bug

I just had to share this picture of me and my Bug-man! I can't believe how big he's gotten. I feel like he came home yesterday, and he's two and a half - and soon to be a big brother! He's so excited. We finally decided on a name today, so he's been walking around since then going "osh-din? brother!" and it's adorable. We co-sleep and as he was falling asleep he told me he wanted to snuggle with Ashton so he laid down next to me and wrapped his arm around my belly and said "night Ashton, love you!" and ugh, cutest ever. I say that a lot, but if you knew him, you'd understand! And our goodnights are equally adorable:

Me: "Night night Bug, I love you!"

Bug: "Night night mommy, love you!"

Me: "Are you my baby bear forever?"

Bug: "Ever and ever mommy!"

I just can't get over how cute this little stinker is. He's my best friend, my partner in crime, my confidant! He's my yoga partner, my bug picker, my stinky butt. I love him to pieces and can't imagine my life without him. It's been a rough journey and it will only get harder before it gets easier, but it is SO worth it. He's so excited to be there when his little brother is born. He knows where babies come from and has asked me a couple times now, "baby come out gina now?" He doesn't understand that they need to bake a bit longer to be happy and healthy, he just wants to hold him. It's still hard to believe my favorite little guy will no longer be the favorite, I don't think I could ever love one of my kids more than another, though. It's even harder to believe he's going to be a big brother!

It's a...

BOY!!!!!

We had our anatomy scan today, hence why the 20 week post is a little late! Le Fetus wouldn't open his legs so we could see what was going on so we were there forever! He's healthy and still extremely active, and still prefers to sit very low. His placenta is on the bottom (opposite from Noah, who's was on the top and he used it as a pillow) but not covering my cervix so it's all good. He hates the ultrasound wand! And the doppler... and anything touching his "house" haha. Oh, I'm so excited! Noah loves the fact that he's having a little brother :) Today is just such an exciting day. We're waiting for my mom to get home so Bug can surprise her with his "It's a BOY!" balloons :) I'm itching to go shopping for this little peanut, too. We're thinking of calling him Silas, the only name we can agree on that I'm coincidentally in love with. I just can't even put into words how happy and excited I am! And apparently all the adrenaline tuckered Noah out too because he literally just fell asleep on the floor next to the couch. Playing with trains one second, snoring the next! Now starts the 20 week countdown til I can hold my next peanut in my arms; but for now I'm just gonna enjoy the couple months left with my 100% focus on Noahbug. I'll update more later!

Pool time!

Went swimming with the Bugman and Le Fetus yesterday! The water was FREEZING but it felt so good. Bug loved putting his feet in the water and standing on the top step and on the ladder but did not want to go in, at all. We put him in a floatie that he could just sit and float in, and he screamed bloody murder. I carried him on my chest with his legs in the water, more crying, so I put him back down on the edge and he was more than content dangling his legs in the water. He hated the life jacket but insisted on hanging out by the edge of the pool so he didn't have much say in it, and it wasn't tight or uncomfortable, he just doesn't like wearing anything haha it was a fight to get him in pool clothes instead of being naked. The baby loved the water though, every time I got in it was kicking away! And my back already hurts this time around but it calmed the back pain and the round ligament pain. I love feeling so weightless in the water! Bug kept asking me if the baby was okay or if she was cold (we don't know the gender, but he decided it's a "she") and I reassured him that mommy's belly kept the baby nice and warm. Then he didn't want me to let my belly go underwater because he thought she couldn't breathe. It's so cute how he looks out for his new brother or sister. :)

OH! And we have this new 99% natural sunblock from Purple Prairie called SunStuff and it's AWESOME. It's expensive because it doesn't contain retynol palmitate/vitamin A or any of those other phototoxins and it's only a 1 on the hazard scale set by EWG. It's unscented and has no artificial dyes or anything so it's safe for my Bug who seems to be allergic to everything, and it works! It's $12 plus S&H for a 5oz bottle but I went with it and it's worth it, just a little bit goes a long way, even reapplying every hour. Just wanted to brag a little about finally finding a brand of sunscreen I feel safe using!