Abram Thomas 6 Month Update

September is here and it's starting to feel like fall. My favorite season. Abram is currently 6 1/2 months, but I figured a little update about little man is never a bad thing.
I took Abram to his 6 month wellness visit and he weighs 18.1 pounds and 26.5 inches long. He is currently wearing 6-9 month clothes and Allen's wardrobe is working out quite nicely for little man.

Abram overall is such a happy baby. He loves his big brother and is always curious as to what Allen is doing. Abram is a blankie baby. He loves having one of his A & A blankies with him and I have caught him quite a few times trying to snag Allen's blue blankies.

Abram is also officially on the move. Its more a a scoot/crawl, but if you set him down on the floor he is on the move. He's also very determined so if he spots something or someone on the floor that he wants he's on a mission to go a get it. He's moving a lot sooner than Allen did and I think it's because he sees his big brother on the go and he wants to catch up with him.

Abram's new addition to all of the sweet things that he does is he sucks his thumb. I can't get over the cuteness of the above picture. He will still take a paci, but when that doesn't cut it he goes straight for thumb.
We are also letting him put himself to sleep. We aren't using the CIO method, but we let him soothe himself in his crib. The sleeping positions he ends up in after he's put himself down are quite hilarious. Most of the times he's wrapped up in one of his blankies, butt up in the air, and completely turned around from the position I laid him down in. He's still a tummy sleeper and has been from day one.
Abram is still a champ at breastfeeding and we have made it officially 6 months which was my first goal. Now on to my second which is a full year. Abram has also started solids which is just crazy to think that 6 months have truly flown by and he's already half a year old. He was not a fan of cereal and that only lasted a couple of days until we started introducing actual solids. He currently loves bananas, avocado, and banana/apple mix. He HATES peas. I am making all of his baby food which I really enjoy. Our next batch of foods to try is carrots and squash, maybe even trying peas again.
I can't wait to see what the next 6 months will hold for you little man.

Update on the Boys

Allen is 21 months almost 22 months. Wait he's going to be almost two?! That can't be possible. He's all boy.
Some of his favorite things to do include: chasing Emma (Doodle) around the house and screaming ahhhhh while doing this, dipping anything and everything in ranch dressing, taking selfies on mommy and daddy's phone, and catching/chasing lightening bugs (bug bugs) in the yard.
His vocabulary has expanded so much. Trying to list everything he is saying at this point would be a huge list. Some words that come out more often than not are: purple, no, doodle, uh oh, mama, dada, nana, papa, please, and trac-tor.
He is a riot to be around and always keeps a smile on my face...except when he wakes up in a bad mood. Who would've thought a toddler's mood could set the tone/mood for the whole day. In that case his little butt gets sent back to bed for an early nap in hopes that he wakes up in a better mood. Not like this is currently what's going on today or anything. *insert sarcasm here_____*

Abram is 5 months almost 6 months. He's growing like a weed and it seems like he's trying to catch up to his big brother. He loves Allen. It's so cute to see the two of them interact with each other.
Abram loves any kind of toy that he is able to put into his mouth. He loves being tickled and is becoming more and more sociable. He wants to be a part of the group. Abram loves to copy and know officially how to blow raspberries. Pretty cute to hear in the backseat while you're driving. He's discovered his feet and is very close to putting those in his mouth as well. He rolls from belly to back and back to belly. He scoots backwards and has enough strength to plank and then his arms give out and he belly flops. This is quite hilarious! A giant ugh comes out when he belly flops.
Abram has started on rice cereal and he's not a fan. The face he makes while feeding him almost looks like we're feeding him poison. I need to get my butt and gear and starting making some baby food for him since that is going to be here any day now. What should his first official food be? Peas? Carrots?

Abram has a 6 month checkup here in a couple weeks and I will have official weight stats. Allen does have a checkup until he is 2. The family as a whole is doing great. More updates to come soon.

One-Handed Master and A Case of the Paci Monster

Before I even start this post I love my boys to death and I'm not complaining one bit about staying home with them. It's the greatest job I could ever have and I would not change it for the world. Now that that's covered...moving on.

I have become a one-handed master. Now get your head out of the gutter, I'm a mommy of two let's be real. 90-95% of the time Abram is content being worn in my amazing K'tan or is happy in his bouncy/vibrating chair. Otherwise he is having a World War III meltdown. So I get to put a baby on my hip and go about my normal routine while still caring for Allen. Why do I feel like this is part of a county song, well anyways. The time that I am the best one-handed master is while I'm trying to get Abram down for a nap and I'm gently patting him to sleep and Allen wants me to read a story. Yep, I've got this routine down pat. Abram's current napping area is a blanket laid out on the loveseat.

Don't go juding ya'll. He's still super tiny. When he sleeps he is out, and I'm never too far away to keep an eye on him. We do have a pack and play that I could put him in, but it doesn't have the adjustable levels so it's just not practical right now. That is his set sleeping spot for the time being and it works for us. The other times I'm a pro at doing things one-handed: vaccuuming, cooking, laundry, and of course loving on both the boys at which point I have no hands. If you don't have children and you're reading this imagine with me for a mintue that your dominant hand is tied behind your back aka this would be the baby holding hand and now you get to do everything with your opposite hand. It isn't easy, is it?

Now about this dang paci monster. Abram has been so funny with his pacifiers lately. A short time after he was born we introduced the soothie paci to him. We tried these with Allen and they were the ony pacifiers he took so why not try it out with number two. WRONG!!! I even went and spent which seemed like $15 on a dang wubbanub which was all fine and dandy until Abram starting sucking more on the frog instead of the paci itself. I'm not one to push a paci into a baby by any means, but I could tell that Abram wanted something to help with his sucking motion and the soothie wasn't going to cut it. In comes the Nuk. He takes to it fine and Abram likes that the little ring attached makes it easy for him to pull out on his own. He's discovering how his hand work and it's really cute. So now we have a paci that he likes and so instead of having just one I got and buy four. Great this little is set. Nope. I am now down to three because apparently at night there is a paci monster that likes to hide pacifiers and leaves them somewhere that is impossible to find. Has anyone else had this problem or am I just going a little crazy from sleep deprivation? Well anyways I will be on the hunt for this long lost past, thankfully I have three more that will sufice.

I can't leave this post without some cuteness of the boys.

Update on the Boys

On Monday the boys had a joint doctor appointment. It was Allen's 18 month check and Abram's 2 month check.
Allen weighed in at 28 pounds putting him in the 77th percentile and is 33 inches long putting him in the 87th percentile.
Abram weighed in at 13 pounds 1 oz putting him in the 66th percentile. He's almost doubled his birth weight. And is 24 inches long putting him in the 74th percentile.

They both got vaccines which they were troopers with. Our doctor was super impressed with both of them, and Allen had the doctor laughing by saying hi and singing Go Cubs Go. Allen also got the medical assistant laughing by pounding fists with her and saying boom while he did it.

As Adam would say I am going to have big boys. I told him that is just fine as long as when they come out they are small, that's all that matters to me.

Abram is already wearing 3-6 month jam jams which seems insane to me. Allen is wearing 18 month pants and 24 month/2T shirts. Yep I'm going to have big boys. I think I'm going to have to ponder on the fact that my boys will most likely be standing taller than me.

Allen's vocabulary has exploded and is using more and more words. His fallback is signing, which I'm completely fine with because in my mind he is still communicating with us.

Abram is a rock star and growing like a weed. He coos, smiles, and loves to hold his own head. He was hours old and was attempting that little maneuver already.

This post wouldn't be complete without some adorable pictures of my little monsters. =]

First Outing With the Boys by Myself

Abram has super sensitive skin. A lot more sensitive than Allen. Well on Thursday I noticed a rash forming and it looked more than just baby acne. Allen didn't have rashes when he was little. So my mind starts running through the options of what it could be. I immediately texted my sister-in-law who is a pharmacist and started asking questions. She stopped by that evening and gave me a couple options of what it might be. I was more calm after talking to her and just kept an eye on it. On Monday the rash seemed to be going away, and then it seemed to come back with a vengeance. I called and made a doctor's appointment for the following morning. Then I started to slightly freak out. One Abram has a rash and I don't know where it's coming from and two the appointment was in the early morning which meant I would be taking both boys out by myself! I got up early and started to prepare for D-day. I was able to make it out of the house with both boys and make it to the office early! I then went into mommy mode and played it cool. I pulled out the double stroller which is an absolute life saver!! Got the boys strapped in and away we went. I told the nurse what had been going on and we then proceeded to get Abram all checked in. Well the little stinker decided it would be a great time to have a blowout. No worries I was prepared. I usually always have one extra outfit for each of the boys on hand. Changed and unhappy Abram was weighed and he comes in at 9 lbs 10oz. Way to go buddy. Shortly after the doctor comes in and tells me that it's a heat rash and just dry, irritated skin. Way to go Aubrey for thinking that your child has something awful. I honestly felt pretty silly, but on the other hand I now know what it looks like and I can be less freaked out. Made it home and our normal routine continued. I have to admit that getting the boys out by myself took some extra work, but nothing out of the ordinary. It takes a lot of work in general to look after my two under two. I'm pretty proud at how smoothly the day had gone.
Abram seems un-phased by his heat rash that comes and goes. I'm extremely happy with his weight gain. He's such a good eater and overall a good baby. Allen is falling so well into the big brother role and is amazing with Abram. God has truly blessed our family.

It's a BOY...Abram's Birth Story

I have to start with a picture of Mr. Handsome. He looks just like his brother.
I know my last post was my 36 week update so I will do a little back tracking up to Abram's birth.

Shortly after we found out we were pregnant and found out the estimated due date I had a gut feeling that I was pregnant with a girl and I had a feeling that I would have a Valentine's Day baby. So as my pregnancy progressed and things went further along, and my OB put me into the waiting game my thoughts of having a Valentine's Day baby were getting closer to happening. I had a doctor's appointment on the 13th and I was 3 cm dilated, 50% effaced and my water could break at any moment were my doctor's words. Now I'm getting excited maybe my feeling was right.
Valentine's Day was NOT a good day for me. I woke up very excited hoping this was going to be the day. When no constant contractions happened and I didn't feel a sudden gush (as in my water breaking) I took things into my own hands. I decided to walk up and down the set of stairs in our house as much as I could. I can tell you after this experience that there are 12 stairs. I also deicded that when Allen went down for a nap that I was getting on the treadmill and going to walk until I could walk no more! I did jumping jacks, I pumped (very weird), I jumped up and down, and then I had a dance party in the living room with Allen bouncing on my belly. He absolutely loved this. Still no contractions, still no gush! I went to bed that night rather disappointed.
Side note I had been asking friends and family to pray for us and to pray specifically for me with patience. I was being tested in my patience that is for sure.
I went to bed and the last thing I remember thinking is I should go upstairs and eat a bowl of cereal. This had become my nightly routine because in the middle of the night I would wake up with terrible headaches because I was hungry.
I woke up at 12:50 with a contraction, I laid in bed until I had another one and realized that they were pretty close together. I went on to track my contractions and they were 5 minutes apart. I woke Adam up and told him what was going on. He was very sleepy and asked what time it was and when I told him it was a little after one, his response was "in the afternoon" I told him "no in the morning, now get your butt out of bed." We woke Nana up and let her know what was going on, grabbed our stuff and out the door we went. We tracked my contractions on the way to the hospital and they were at a constant 4-5 minutes apart. Walked into the ER let them know what was going on and was wheeled up to L & D shortly after. I was taken to a room by my soon to be nurse and went through the initial check in. My contractions spaced out and Michelle (the nurse) was trying to talk to convince me that more than likely these weren't consistent contractions and my adrenaline was playing a factor. She reassured me that she would vaginally check me just to double check before I was sent home. I was checked and was a loose 4 almost 5 cm and 80% effaced and my water was bulging. I was told I wasn't going anywhere and I was going to have a baby sometime today.

I was excited about the news that we were staying!
This is when the busy bee effect went into play. I had a tech setting up all the materials for baby, I had a nurse on my arm setting up my IV, I had Michelle (the other nurse) finishing up my admittance. A little bit of chaos ensued due to the team finding out how quickly my first labor went. My first question after everything was when can I start to walk. Shortly after I was given the go to walk. And so walk we did. I made 3 laps up and down the L & D wing and wanted to go back to my room. I swayed through a contraction in the middle of my room and then felt a drip down my leg. I instantly looked at Adam, told him what I felt and went on to say "no I did NOT just pee myself..I think my water just broke." I continued to have my normal sense of humor throughout this process because I felt that in the midst of what was going on it was a time to be happy and cheerful. I was hooked back up to the monitors checked again and my water did in fact break. My mother-in-love (it's in-love not in-law that's what we call it anyways) aka Mom showed up shortly after this and we filled her in on everything that was going on. My contractions were getting stronger and more intense and laying in bed was not helping. I wanted to stand, but wanted something to lean on at the same time. The bed was too low, and too squishy. I felt a little like Goldilocks (too squishy, too hard, just right) you get my drift. As soon as the bed was raised I tried leaning on it and it was still to squishy. Where my IV was in my wrist/lower arm when I leaned it was bending my IV line and it hurt. I turned around and looked at the sink counter and walked right over to it. This is where I went through most of my strong contractions. A little glimpse into my room I had Michelle at my side, Adam on my other side, the tech in the back, the baby nurse was paged, my doctor was hanging out by the bed because no other women were in active labor, and my Mom on the other side of the bed. There were a lot of people. Michelle must have had a gut instinct to ask me what I was feeling in the middle of a strong contraction because my reply was "I feel..." basically no response at all. She then told me that I needed to get back into bed and I told her I don't want to. At this point Michelle grabbed one arm and Adam grabbed the other and I was gently pushed backwards into bed. I sat on the edge of the bed finished my contraction and was instantly checked and told I needed to push. The tech and nurse were frantically breaking my bed apart and I was told to push on my next contraction. Two pushes in and baby was crowning. At this point the doctor told me if I tell you to stop, I need you to stop. I nodded in approval. By my third push the head was out and the doctor was doing what she had just pre-warned me about and told me to stop. I was somewhat loudly telling her I can't. My Mom was in my ear at this point telling me to breathe, you don't want to tear, you can stop, just breathe. So, I somewhat stopped and in my last push made it past baby's shoulders. Baby came out with its legs crossed so I'm in hopes and hanging on every word as to what the sex is. The doctor finally got the legs open and I was able to see it was a boy!!! Abram was instantly put onto my chest and the baby nurse was right there. I had instant tears and so did Adam. I couldn't believe we had another boy!
Abram Thomas Jamerson was born at 6:42 AM weighing in at 7 pounds 2 ounces, measuring 20 inches long, after just shy of 6 hours of labor and only pushing for 13 minutes!!! No drugs and no epidural. My L & D couldn't not have gone smoother!
Man was my gut wrong. Boy and a day after Valentine's. Michelle had joked with me shortly after I was admitted that I should have this baby before the shift change because she wanted to know what I was having. Well she got her wish.
Within the hour I was up and getting cleaned and changed and moving rooms. I was moved down to the Mommy and Baby rooms. Shortly after getting settled I recieved this picture.

Allen is happy to be a big brother.
We were discharged from the hospital the next day and by mid afternoon we were getting adjusted to being a family of four.
Allen is becoming a great big brother. He is so helpful and so sweet. He's very curious as to what Abram is eating when he's nursing. It's cute to see Allen try and figure it out.

This picture was taken yesterday, day 5 and I think it shows how well we all are getting adjusted. I love being a mommy and things couldn't be going any smoother

36 Week Checkup

I'm on weekly appointments now to check and see how munchkin is doing. Today was a normal checkup and I was scheduled for an ultrasound to check the growth of baby. As the week went on I became more and more nervous. I don't know exactly why. This isn't my first pregnancy. I guess I was a mix of emotions more than just nervous.
When I was pregnant with Allen I never got this ultrasound, and I was already having complications this late in the game with Allen.
Everything seems so new this time around. Weird how same mama, different pregnancies/babies and things are all of the sudden so different. I was also nervous because as many know we are not finding out the sex of our baby, but every time an ultrasound gets brought up I play the mind game with myself of, do we find out this time??? Adam and I from the get go have NOT wanted to know the sex of our children. We decided it's the one last surprise in life as an adult. Ask me why I still question whether or not to find out every single time, I will probably never have an answer for you. It's probably just the curiosity.
I was also a mix of emotions because at my last appointment my BP was elevated. I had a deep gut feeling that history was repeating itself and at my appointments to come it would stay elevated and I would be induced again. I'm ok with induction. My L & D with Allen after being induced was not bad and it actually couldn't have gone better. Six hours of labor and 40 minutes of pushing and I was able to meet my son.
So I'm sure as you're reading you want me to get to how the appointment actually went. Ok, Ok sorry for the delay. Went and got my ultrasound and baby is STUBBORN. I have one picture and it's a picture looking up munchkin's nose. The technician tried and tried to get a profile or anything other than a nose and lips and baby was not having it. Hmmm, based on this any predictions of the sex? I'm still thinking stubborn girl. I was put into an exam room and was told the doctor would look over the pictures that were taken (the measurements of the baby, since actual pictures were out of the question) and she would be right in to see me. My due date has not changed it still stands at February 19, my BP is normal, and baby is weighing in at a whopping 5 pounds 9 ounces. The doctor said that the baby can gain up to a half pound a week but he or she is averaging small. I will be lucky to have a baby weighing more than 7 pounds. She joked and said that he or she should just fall out. I laughed, but say what an itty bitty. I thought Allen was small at 7 lbs 4 oz and my doctor is telling me I'm most likely going to have smaller!!! She then went on to tell me that this is now a waiting game. Ya, okay now the joke is on me right??? You mean I get to be one of the normal functioning pregnant women that just waits for when her baby decides it wants to come. I don't know how to do that? Yep I will admit it right here and now...I'm impatient! I know it is truly God's plan of when I will actually be going into labor, but I get to wait. Oh geesh.
I see in my near future me trying all the crazy ways to induce labor: jumping jacks, standing on my head, hot sauce, spicy food. You name it I bet I will be willing to try it.
I'm still quite shell shocked that my BP is normal, my pregnancy is going normal, and I get to play the waiting game.
Next doctor appointment is scheduled for the 30th. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Baby Jamerson #2

This is how we announced the news to close family members by letting them know that Allen was going to be a big brother.

Here I am with the positive test confirming that my gut instinct was right and we were in fact pregnant.

After the shock wore off of finding out that we were expecting baby number two sooner than we had planned I got everything set up to see the doctor. This pregnancy everything was different. Different insurance, different health network which meant a new OB. I was not thrilled to say the least. I picked an OB through word of mouth and went to 3 appointments. He was so rude and him and I did not mesh well! I picked a new doctor and loved her. Everything was right on track. My due date was discovered to be February 19, 2014. Nothing like having a baby due right before your birthday...
The end of the year was quickly coming upon us. Adam was offered a job back in Rockford and the whirlwind began.
Adam moved back the weekend of the 14th, I finished up work and moved the weekend of the 27th. Adam's new job meant new insurance and that meant another insurance, different network, and another new OB. Are you seeing a pattern this pregnancy?? So now the true test finding a doctor that will accept me as a patient this far along. I'm into my third trimester and I need a doctor yesterday. After numerous phone calls and suggestions from friends I found a doctor on the second try!
So today was my first appointment with my new doctor. I absolutely love her and the team that she works with.
I'm currently 35 and 2 days
I'm measuring exactly at 35 weeks
Baby's FHR was 156
I've gained a total of 25 pounds
My cervix is shortening and soft, I'm 50% effaced and a half centimeter dilated. The doctor goes on to tell me that I'm two weeks away from being full term. Say whhhhaaat?? She then goes on to tell me to get my last minute stuff in order and get my bag packed. OK I'm switching to full out freak out mode. I guess I forgot how close to my due date and having another baby is literally right around the corner. Oh, and my body seems to like to repeat history as my BP was slightly elevated. Doctor is going to keep an eye on me and we will go from there. I'm on weekly appointments and I am scheduled to have an ultrasound to see how baby is measuring before my normal checkup. Munchkin be prepared I get to see you next Thursday. You have been warned.
Here are some pictures that we have taken through the pregnancy

Baby at 12 weeks

We had a little fun with the baby bump and Halloween. We used Allen's hands

Side by side comparison from my pregnancy with Allen and my pregnancy now. I can't believe how truly different my pregnancies have been.

And this is me currently happy and content at 35 weeks.