27 weeks!

Last week of the 2nd trimester!! And if there was a big growth spurt between weeks 16 & 17 then between last week and this week was a second big growth spurt. Big belly means big baby. Logan should now be around 2 pounds, his lungs preparing to breath and his eyes opening. We've also read that his taste buds are more sensitive now than they will be for the rest of his life! Good timing since the trick or treaters didn't make away with all the candy : )

We weren't sure how the Brits would celebrate Halloween. The stores had decorations and candy out just like they would back in the States, but there was no evidence around town that Halloween night was nearing?? No spooky houses, no costumes, not even a jack-o-lantern in sight. I talked to a few people at work and apparently it all comes together on Halloween day. Sure enough, out came the pumpkins, the decorations and the trick or treaters!! Apparently they carve turnips too since pumpkins are expensive over here. We thought Logan would enjoy getting involved, so we dressed him up as a pumpkin : )

Takin baby for a walk

all wired up so both baby & me can listen to some tunes :)

3 homes, 1 year & a baby on the way....

Started in the barn in Connecticut .....

Yet another sign that our time in England is almost up - the blog merge between our Cheers blog and this one has begun!!! In doing so I've gone through and done a little cosmetic cleanup with the layout -  and if you haven't noticed already we've snagged a few new friends, I'm borrowing some of my sisters friends to make us look popular since none of our friends keep blogs :/  I've been checking all these blogs on a daily basis now and although I don't really know some of them I could tell you the names & ages of all their kids and most recent happenings in their life- so I'm taking the plunge and have added all of you familiar strangers to our blog!
....hopped the pond to 11 Powerful Street...

I've also added Beans, Wine & Chocolate to our list - a blog I created a while back to start an online recipe book...if you're stuck with something to cook for dinner Kevin & I have been experimenting in the kitchen while over here in England and I hope to keep it up when I contine my housewife & mommy duties stateside. Ohh and I'm pretty sure I was successful in enabling anyone to be able to comment on our posts, not just blog account holders - so if you feel like giving Us, Logan, or Dylan a shout out ...type away :)

...and we'll end up in this looker on the beach in Niantic, CT

26 weeks!

Week 26 and I think we've spotted a stretch mark :/ Just an FYI - if I end up getting bad stretch marks I will stop taking belly shots...it would be for the best, trust me - no one needs to be seeing that. I've been putting lotion on twice a day & have even splurged on the $15 Bio Oil in an effort to prevent stretch marks... eh, such is life.

Only 4 weeks left till we're back in the USA, and 5 weeks till we're back in CT and then the madness begins of trying to set up a baby room, talk to Dylan about his new brother, new doctors visits, baby classes and then before we know it BABY!

Baby is up to the size of an English hothouse cucumber - he's HUGE!

25 weeks!

30 days left in England & 100 days left till baby Logan makes himself known to the world :) We had our appointment in Newcastle today for another scan and to get the results of the MRI I had done 2 weeks ago. Aside from the doctors noting that there was mild dilation of the ventricles the MRI came back all positive :) The ultrasound also proved to be positive with no increased dilation :) We were able to see baby on the 4D scan again (unfortunately the doc didn't print us out a picture but...) he is so freggin cute! We saw him trying to shove his hand in his little mouth. Everything is progressing completely normal - a weight has been lifted from our shoulders. That was our last trip out to Newcastle - and only one more doctors appointment in England on November 12th here in our town.

Baby is really active these days which I love - I might miss that when he's outta there...but I'm sure I'll have plenty more to focus on. Kevin & I have definitely taken on the ''we're parents to be role'' and eyeball every kid, their parents & all their gear. I don't even have to ask if he saw something - I know he was looking and we almost always make a comment after they've past.

We're so anxious to have baby Logan out here with us.

Welcome to Parenthood

There are so many decisions to make in anticipation of our baby - so many more than I ever thought ...and this is just the beginning!! A few that we've made or struggled with:

Breastfeed or Formula? Really not much of a decision for us. We're going to breastfeed as long as it works for us. The benefits: bonding, helps protect baby from sickness & a money saver.

Disposable or Cloth Diapers? We're going cloth people!! It will no doubt take some getting use to - but since we won't know any different I imagine it will become second nature for us eventually. We're going with BumGenius 3.0 One Size. The benefits: environmentally friendly (one disposable diaper takes 500 years to decompose in a landfill!), money saver.

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? There has been a lot of speculation on the link between autism and vaccines. We bought The Vaccine Book, & have done some research on the topic. A topic by the way I had no idea about before....some of the ingredients that make up vaccines is frightening!! As of now we'll be going with a modified vaccination schedule that the book mapped out for us. Baby will still get all the vaccinations that are pertinent, just in a different order. The benefits: Baby will only receive 2 shots at any given time, max. Baby will only receive one shot at a time that contains aluminum. Baby will not receive vaccines that are not pertinent to his age (ie: the vaccine for sexually transmitted disease that is normally given at birth will be delayed until age 12). Makes sense.

Seasonal Flu & Swine Flu Vaccine? Ugggh my least favorite question. If I weren't pregnant it would be a no brainer - I wouldn't be getting either. I've never received either. This is where I struggle cause it's not just Kevin & I anymore. I feel our midwife is in such a disconnect from the world & has no opinion on the subject other than to shrug her shoulders and say 'eh, love I wouldn't worry about getting either'. ummmm not a good enough answer. We hope to get some more thoughts on it from our doctors in Newcastle. The benefits: helping to protect baby after birth through breastfeeding. Undecided as of now.

Home birth, Water birth or Hospital, gimme the drugs birth? Ideally we would like to try a water birth. However, I fear when we get back to the states we might run into a few complications when trying to accomplish this. For one, we will be visiting our doctor for the first time in the states at 30 weeks, might be too late to make such arrangements. Secondly, with baby having ventriculomeagly will they consider him to be a higher risk birth and want to keep monitors on him? If so, monitoring baby throughout the birth is not possible when doing a water birth. So our back up plan is a Hospital, gimme the drugs birth. Although recently I've been having dreams that I go into labor in the most inconvenient places. Just last night I had a dream there was a blizzard and Kevin couldn't get home in time to get me to the hospital so I was on the phone with 911 while they tried to help me deliver the baby by myself - when my phone died! LOL. So we'll see.

Whew! and these are just a few of the decisions. Hopefully this mamma jamma of a post will satisfy our few readers until we're able to post our 25 week picture on Tuesday when we return from Paris :)

24 weeks!

6 months!! If I were an elephant I would only be 1/4 of the way done with my pregnancy.... and although at times I may look like an elephant I am thankful that I'm not :) Only 3 months remain!!!

This past week I've....

*gone for our MRI - we'll get the results October 21st

* been obsessed with Lindor chocolate balls

* gained a couple more pounds (prolly because of the above)

* noticed that my hair has been shedding a little more than before - thank gooooodneeessss!

* been a little more stiff getting out of bed having slept on one side all night

* been able to see a very, very slight line coming from my pelvic area towards my belly button

* had a dream that my water broke on the flight home & I had to give birth on the runway

* added a bunch of stuff to our registry

* still got an innie!!!

Baby is the length of an ear of corn this week & weighs just over a pound. Ohh & my once small sized uterus is now the size of a soccer ball!!

23 weeks!

As of today there are only 117 more days till baby's due date (January 29th) and less if you're going by the date at which I think baby will make his appearance. I remember when there was 120 days left till our wedding & I started freaking out!!! Thankfully I feel a bit more calm with this - Kevin & I keep saying that this is the calm before the storm. We've got a busy year ahead of us even if you didn't factor in a baby. It's all very exciting :)

The doctors over here don't weigh me at my appointments but I've been keeping track. Last week when I weighed myself I had gained 1lb to my initial pre-prego weight - 6lbs if you factor in the weight I lost soon after finding out we were pregnant. But I'm definitely growing....I really can't imagine being much bigger ..haha - but I know it's gonna happen & it'll probably happen soon, my books say that over the next couple weeks baby doubles in size!

Baby is the size of a mango this week - but not just any mango, a large mango :o

Just gotta get back to our puppy & then its a house full of boys for me. Good lookin crew if you ask me.

lucky, lucky me :)