32 weeks

32nd week info:

What I've learned about Collen:
He has his own schedule/routine, and he is quite stubborn about it. Wonder who he gets that from??? hhmm.....

When I say he's stubborn, my only reference to this "fact" is from moments when I desperately NEED him to move, and he decides that he is NOT going to move because he is comfortable just where he is.

Apparently, he spends a lot of his time getting comfortable because for much of the day, he wiggles all around. I continue to feel little kicks, nudges, and often quite forceful punches! He wriggles around until he's gotten into the position he's comfortable in, and once he's found his spot, he's not moving....

I absolutely adore that I can feel his little butt. He keeps it up at the top of my belly much of the time, and if I catch him just right, I can give him a litle nudge in that cute little butt and he'll start kicking away. :)

I've tried to see if he's ticklish, but he doesn't seem to be. I know....how can you find a tickle spot from the outside? Not easily, but it's possible. I would scratch and rub against Ayden's back while he was in the womb, and he would wiggle wiggle wiggle. :) After he was born, I did the same thing and learned that I truly had found a tickle spot. I'm sure Collen will have tons of fun little tickle spots. Can't wait to find them!

How big is Collen these days?

I'd love to know the answer to this question. I'm guessing he's around 4 pounds...probably a little over. He definitely seems to be running out of wiggle room. I don't feel flips and rolls anymore, but he's definitely still pretty active. He continues to blow the kick counts out of the water. As far as length goes, I think he's going to be average. I don't deal with feet up in my ribs very often, so he either stays in a tight ball or his legs aren't incredibly long. I guess we'll find out.

How am I doing these days?

Being pregnant again is still very surreal. I often forget that I'm pregnant....as odd as that sounds. I think it's because I have been pregnant for 17 months combined (taking out the 7 months between my pregnancy with Ayden and Collen). Both pregnancies have seemed to run together, so it feels completely normal to feel kicks and jabs. I feel more normal being pregnant than not.....

I'm on track as far as weight gain goes. I have gained a bit more than I did with Ayden, but that's to be expected, right? At my last appointment, I had gained a total of 20 pounds, so I'm guessing the grand total as of today would be 22 pounds. Not too bad.... I gained 27 by the end of my pregnancy with Ayden, so if I can keep this one under 35, I'll be happy.

Because of our current living situation, Collen's "room" is not ready at all. I'm not too concerned about that, though, since he will be rooming in with us for quite some time. We have what we need for him, so I'm not too worried.

I feel like we are handling this new transition pretty well. It still isn't real to me that within 6-8 weeks I will be giving birth....again...to a new baby. Ayden's pregnancy and birth are still so vivid, so it's bizarre to me that it's going to happen again....and the result is going to be a different child. We are going to be a part of parenthood again....diapers, feedings, poop, soothing, and being wrapped up completely in our child. All of that was taken away so abruptly when we lost Ayden - getting it back, with a different child, is going to be a big transition.

This is likely to be my last update until Collen arrives. I'm trying to be better about taking pictures and updating, but things are so crazy around here. Once we get closer, though, I will definitely keep you all up to date. We are excited to meet Collen and have joy restored to our lives. However, it will definitely be bittersweet because we'd love more than anything to be sharing this with Ayden. I can just imagine 16 month old Ayden...kissing his brother...being a handful to keep up with....and me, loving every crazy second of it.