On Number 2

Two under two? Many are probably thinking we are crazy. We might agree. Some are probably wondering if we meant to do that. Some are looking back to see just how old Ruby is. :) Here are some answers for our sweet news.

Yes, this baby was planned. Kind of. We didn't realize it would happen so soon though. Either way, we are thrilled! Ruby is 8 months old right now. Born January 29th. The new baby is due on April 19th. They will be just about 15 months apart. We had our first initial OB appointment last Friday. Ruby was sitting on Ben's lap while my Doctor was trying to get the heartbeat. Ruby in the meantime was talking away and being her silly self. As soon as she got the heartbeat, Ruby was silent and looked over at me. It was the sweetest thing! I will never get sick of hearing the heartbeat. I have a gut feeling that this baby is going to be a boy. Who knows though. We WILL be finding out. :)

The first trimester was rough in the way that I was SO tired! Whether it was because of pregnancy or because Ruby was waking up every 2-3 hours. I was walking around like a zombie. I could also only drink a cup of coffee. That is all I allow myself when I'm pregnant. I have not had any morning sickness, which is nice. I think God probably knew I couldn't handle being a zombie and throwing up.  
I keep telling people that we are two and done.....until we decide to try for number 3. Ha! I can tell you that number 3 won't be coming when number 2 is 8 months old. ;) Ben and I are super excited to be expecting again. We are excited that these two will (Lord willing) be super close. I definitely had the thought of feeling sorry for Ruby that she won't get very long to be the only child. However, I quickly realized that she won't know any different, so it is definitely ok. I also am still wondering how on earth I will love this second child as much as Ruby. I know all of you with multiple kids will say it is indeed possible, but I won't believe you until I experience it. It's just how I roll. Trial and error kind of thing. When baby number 2 comes along, Ruby will be walking and climbing and into everything. Yikes! With Ruby, I would literally hold her while she slept for 3 hours at a time. I would not move. I soaked everything in. Things with number 2 are definitely going to look different. Any tips will be welcomed!

As many of you know, Ruby and I have been struggling with sleep issues for about the last 3 months. Interesting, I'm 13 weeks pregnant! Hmm. Well, Ruby started getting fussy during the day quite a bit and was still waking up every 2-3 hours. So, one day (wish I would have done this earlier) I decided to pump and see how much I was getting. I only pumped about 2 ounces after going for about 4 hours! Meaning, I was basically starving Ruby and she was getting all she could and it would satisfy her for only about 2 hours. Well, Ben and I decided to introduce Ruby to formula. My first thought was that I failed. I failed Ruby, it was somehow my fault. I'm SO over that embarrassed/shameful feeling now. Ruby took to the bottle really well. She took to formula really well. Poor girl was just super hungry! The first night of being on formula she went down at 7:00 and woke up at 11. My first thought was OH NO! It isn't working! I sent Ben in and he was able to rub her back and she went back to sleep. Side note: he is an incredible daddy! She then slept until 5:00 in the morning. Did you read that? Read it again! She slept until 5 in the morning! That was pretty much 10 hours of sleep! I fed her a bottle at 5 and she continued to sleep until 8:30. I was beside myself. The shame went away as soon as I realized that was exactly what Ruby needed! Last night, Ruby slept from 7-4 and then 4-7:30. This mama is happy to be getting some sleep again too! Ruby has also been significantly more happy during the day as well! Her personality comes out more and more each day. I absolutely love it and love her so much!

Well, our little family is heading up north to Ely to visit our friends John and Katie Townsend. We are excited to see some fall colors and of course see our dear friends! Thanks for reading and please continue to pray for our growing family! We appreciate all y'all!

Pulling herself up onto everything. 

This is one of my favorite pictures. She is such a cheeseball!