He is here!

Michael Paul Christensen

Born April 27th, 2013 at 3.58pm

8 lbs 3 oz 

20 1/2 inches long

(Pictures above by the talented  Cody Walk Photography)

 

You are a week old today, my darling little Michael, and I can tell you that everyone in your family is over the moon in love with you. Welcome to the world!

(Birth story will be coming soon.)

40 weeks baby #2

Hello 40 weeks! Hello due date!

Today is the day! I really thought I would come a little early with this little guy but guess not. I'm just bound to have late and big babies:-) I'm really not feeling frustrated that he hasn't come yet(however, strangers seem to think I should be so I act it sometimes:). I trust he will come at the right time for both of us. It really is exciting waking up and thinking this could be the day! I still have some work things I would like to finish up before he comes so maybe he is waiting for that. I better stop procrastinating.

I have been having good bouts of contractions. Yesterday I was woken up by them at 5am and they were coming every 5 minutes and lasting for 1 minute. It went on like that for about 2.5 hours then stopped for the rest of the day. I didn't call the doctor because they just didn't feel painful enough to be the real thing.

I have a doctors appointment tomorrow but as of 39 weeks I was not dilated at all. It didn't surprise me as I didn't start dilating with Dane until they broke my water and then within 3 hrs I was at a 10. I've gained just about 27 lbs but it feels so much heavier this time. Probably because I didn't loose all of the baby weight from Dane before getting pregnant so I'm heavier than I have ever been.

My sister has taken some time off of work to come be with me for a few days and help out. It is the biggest relief. I got to sleep in today! Thank goodness for family.

I'm soooo excited for my mom to come into town next week. I can't wait to see her loving on her grandsons.

So, I will let you all know when our little Michael is born! Look for updates on Facebook!

(If any of you are wondering here is my 40 week picture from when I was pregnant with Dane. Wow! I was a lot bigger!)

35 weeks pregnant baby #2

It's the home stretch! I'm so excited for this little guy to come into this world so I can hug and kiss him. I saw an invitation to my baby shower coming up and that did it.

Everything became real.

The next day I went out and bought something just for Michael. It was the first thing I have gotten for him and I felt giddy like it was my first pregnancy. I needed that:-) Then we bought a car seat so if he wants to join us a little early we are ready. Well, maybe not ready but we have a car seat.

I've picked out his outfit to come home from the hospital in.

I'm almost done making my hospital gown. I made one for the last time and I really liked having it. It fit me waaaayyy better than the ones the hospital has and it made me feel a little prettier.

I'm still having anxiety about how I am going to have two littles and this job and hold it together but it will work itself out I guess.

I have gained 24 lbs. It feels like 100.

Michael is head down.

30 Weeks pregnant baby #2

"It's like you went from your first trimester strait to your third. What happened to the second one?" ~Aaron Christensen

It's getting harder. From all of my friends that have multiple children they all agree it seems to get harder with each pregnancy. I don't know if it's because I wasn't in great shape when I got pregnant this time, or I'm older, or if it's the fact that I'm chasing after a 1 year old.... but it is harder.

Despite all of that the excitement is really hitting me now. Ten more weeks. That's it! And then I'll have my little Michael in my arms. I can't wait to hold him and love him and see what he looks like. A few of my friends have recently had babies and I almost forgot how amazing it is to hold a newborn. I can't wait to hold my own again.

Me- 30 weeks pregnant with Michel. Dane- 12 months old.

Here are some things that are going on:

• A lot more heartburn with this pregnancy. I wonder if he'll have more hair than Dane (or if that is an old wives tale)
• My body just hurts all the time. And I am sooo tired. 
• I feel like I haven't really gotten the nesting bug too bad...yet. I kind of wish that I would.
• I'm getting big. Really big. I feel much bigger this time but looking at the pictures I am actually smaller this time. However, the "you still have 10 weeks left?!" and "wow, you aren't going to make it to April!" comments are much more prevalent. :/ Thanks.
• Michael is more active now and will give me some jabs that take my breath away. However, I don't think he is quite as active as Dane was. Maybe he will be my little mellow Michael :-)
• No swelling yet
• I think Dane is starting to notice my big belly. He doesn't know what it is about but he has noticed it.
• I've been craving eggs & potatoes. 
• I just took my glucose screening test and I passed! HALLELUIAH! I didn't with Dane and hated testing my blood 4 times a day and cutting out all sweets. This probably means that I'll gain more weight though;-)
• Sleeping through the night has become really hard. However, Stacey loaned me a pillow that is really helping.
• My shoes feel tight.
• I have done absolutely nothing to the nursery to get ready for Michael yet. Luckily there isn't too much to do but I feel overwhelmed when I think about it. The biggest task will be emptying the second closet and organizing all the clothes. I also need to sew another dust ruffle for his crib.
• I bought a double stroller. I found it at a consignment shop for cheap and it's in great condition. I picked this one for the fact that it fold up small and it's light. Perfect for trips to the bank and store.
• I have been feeling vary emotional for several reasons. I feel like I cry at least once a day these days. I've been thinking a lot about my relationship with Dane and how that might change with the addition of another child and it scares me a little. I have so much love for Dane it seems impossible to be able to love another child this much. 
• I am having a TON of BH contractions. I don't remember having this many with Dane and them being so strong.
• I've gained 20 lbs so far. I gained 35 with Dane so I'm right on track to gain about the same.
• Oh my gosh. My doctor (Dr. C) called me to tell me that he will be moving out of state April 1st- 3 weeks before I'm due. I'm pretty devastated.  It's a little late in the game to have to deal with a change like that.

 

2 vs. 1

See? I was bigger with Dane.

25 weeks baby #2

The other day Aaron looked at me and said something along the lines of "Holy cow! You are almost done with your second trimester! What is going on!?"

Baby#2 vs #1

That is pretty much sums up how I feel. I can't believe I am already 25 weeks along! I think the holiday season really helped me forget about time. I almost feel guilty sometimes when I think something like "oh ya, I'm pregnant". I feel like with Dane I was always thinking about him and being pregnant and now not so much. Overall though I am sooo excited to meet this little guy and I can't wait to see what he looks like. I think Aaron and I are both going to enjoy/appreciate the newborn phase more this time.

Anyway, things are going great with this little boy. He is very active and I love feeling him kick and wiggle. Today at my doctor appointment he kept kicking Dr. C while he was trying to hear the heart beat. It was funny. Feisty little guy.

I've gained a total of 11 pounds so far. Not bad. I honestly can't remember how much I gained last time at this point.  My hips have started hurting again when I sleep at night so I'm back to sleeping in a pillow fortress. I'm also having really bad sciatica pain now. It hurts all the time and then every once in a while I will get a stronger pain that stops me in my tracks.

I seem to be carrying about the same as last time. I already got the "are you sure you aren't having twins" comment. What would a pregnancy be without that comment I guess:-/

Oh, the heartburn :(

I have a serious sweet tooth this time. And a really bad craving for soda. Cherry coke to be exact. I also can't stop thinking about Sushi.

I'm starting to think about getting things ready for baby Michael. But really I think that it will wait till after Dane's birthday. I don't think I have too much to do.

Working out? Not so much. Does going up and down my stairs count?

I'm looking for a good double stroller. I already have a big side by side so I'm looking for an umbrella type one. (does that make sense?). I want one that I can keep in my car for quick trips. Light, easy, good sun shade. Any suggestions?

Things I'm enjoying right now:

Reading this book (seriously, if you are a mom get this book)
Trips alone in the car blasting this CD (it makes me feel young and carefree)
Changing into these at night and watching a movie with my sweetie (you may laugh but they are the most comfortable thing to wear when you are prego)
My new backpack diaperbag
Eating a giant bag of these. I eat them in groups of 3 and they have to be the same color and I don't like the green ones.

PS- I'm celebrating 25 weeks by staying home with a cold. Yuck.

15-20 weeks baby #2

They say every pregnancy is different and now that I'm on my second one I can really confirm that. This pregnancy has been completely different. That should give some of you hope that are scared to get pregnant again ;-) If I had to guess what I was having based on my symptoms I would have said a girl because it feels so different.

First off I should say how sad I am that I missed my 15 week post and picture. Bummer. But life was a little too crazy and I was a little too sick. Oh well, here is the recap...

I started feeling him move for sure at 15.5 weeks. {About the same time as Dane.} I think that I actually felt him move first at about 13 weeks but everyone tells me that isn't possible.

Morning sickness lasted till about 16 weeks this time but it was way different than with Dane. Instead of feeling nauseous and then vomiting and then feeling better for a little while I just felt nauseous ALL. THE. TIME.  I vomited a total of 2 times this pregnancy! Not including the stomach flu that I got at 17 weeks that had me down for the longest 3 days of my life.

My back started hurting at 18 weeks. Mostly just on my left side like normal. However, I seem to remember that my hips were killing me when I would sleep with Dane by this point. They aren't hurting this time. Guess they did all the adjusting they needed to last time.

I started showing much earlier with this one and feel like I am just generally larger. But I haven't gained any weight yet (at 19 weeks)! {I'm sure having the stomach flu didn't help} I'm pretty sure that at my next appointment I will have gained a couple of pounds and that I will have some make up weight gain the next few weeks.


Speaking of what everyone keeps telling me, everyone keeps telling me that this little boy is going to be a wild child. Mostly because Dane is "so well behaved". Everyone keeps telling me that the second child is always completely different and usually a handful. The first couple of times someone told me that I just laughed but now it is a little out of control. I'm getting scared!

We found out at 18.5 weeks that we are having another boy! We are so excited. It is just what we wanted and think/hope they will be best of friends. We have also decided that his name will be Michael Paul Christensen. It is a very traditional name but special to us. Michael is a name that we decided on our first year of marriage for a son and Paul is a family name on my side of the family. We love it. And it is really nice having the name decided so early so that we don't have to think about it.

{PS. I find the fact that I am going to be in a house with all boys kind of ironic. Growing up in a home of all girls I definitely have a learning curve}

Baby Michael was really active during the ultrasound. It was so fun to see! { Dane would always hold perfectly still during the ultrasounds.} We saw his profile, hands, feet, boy parts, spine, and everything looked great. He has a nice strong heartbeat and the heart looked good too.

It has been really hard continuing nursing throughout this pregnancy. It mostly was just wearing me out for the first trimester and then it started to hurt (really bad) during my second. My milk production started to decrease so I started to really work on having Dane take a bottle and supplementing. At about 19 weeks pregnant I got down to just nursing once during the night time and by 20 weeks we have stopped all together. {Dane was 10.5 months old} It was a little emotional on my part just because I had plans to nurse till a year at least. Oh well. Dane didn't even seem to notice when we stopped all together:-)
 

HURRAY FOR BEING HALF WAY THERE!  GO TEAM BLUE!

  #2 vs. #1

After comparing the pictures I actually look about the same size, ha?

10 Weeks baby #2

I'm actually 13 weeks now but for the sake of my belly pictures I'm labeling this 10 weeks.  Time is flying with this pregnancy. I feel like when I was pregnant with Dane it took FOREVER to get to my second trimester and with this one I just realized that my second trimester is already here! I kind of feel like I keep forgetting that I'm pregnant. Well, except for the feeling like a zombie part.

This pregnancy is feeling really different. With Dane I would vomit at least once a day. This time I have only vomited twice! However, I feel nauseated 24/7 with no relief. I started feeling that way at about 5 1/2 weeks pregnant. Which is a little earlier than with Dane. It isn't bad enough for me to want to take something for it but it is bad enough to make me feel miserable.  Also, I am still nursing Dane so my exhaustion is out of control. But other than being super tired and nauseated all the time I feel okay ;-)

One obvious difference with this pregnancy is that I started showing much earlier and much bigger. As you will see in my ten week picture. I have lost a few pounds so far. Probably because I just can't keep up with the amount of calories needed to be pregnant, nurse, and survive. The nausea doesn't help.

I wasn't this big last time till about 18 weeks. 

Dane wanted in on the picture taking

We got to see our baby at my 13 week appointment to verify my due date. There was a typo in my chart saying I was actually due in March not April. I knew it was wrong but wanted to see the baby so we did an ultrasound. It was amazing! The baby was wiggling around and we got to see a profile, toes & fingers. They did a gender check and said it looked like a boy but at this age it is pretty much impossible to really know. We would be happy with either a girl or a boy:-)

 

At 10 weeks:

-I have popped out.
-I feel super tired
-I feel like vomiting all the time but don't
-Have only actually vomited 2 times
-Heard and saw the heard beat
-Am soooo excited to be having another little one!