32/33 Weeks with Caroline

Time is flying by all of a sudden! We will meet our sweet girl in 6-7 weeks. We are going tomorrow for a 3D ultrasound. I can't wait to see if Caroline looks like Madison. Here is a picture from Madison's 3D ultrasound:

Baby's size- Baby girl is 17 inches long and 4 pounds in weight. Caroline is growing about 1/2 lb a week and the size of a pineapple!

Movement- Caroline is a mover and a shaker! I love to feel her move. Madison wasn't ever much of a mover, so this has been exciting. As of now, Caroline is still breech. Her head is by my left rib, butt by my belly button and feet by my right hip. Sometimes at night when I'm laying on my side, the bed will shake because Caroline kicks so hard or has a big movement. 

How I'm feeling- I have really been feeling wonderful! The Braxton hicks contractions have picked up big time the past 10 days. I mostly feel them around dinner time, after being worn out from work. I think I have experienced nesting recently... another thing I never experienced with Madison. We have been working on getting Madison all the way moved into her big girl room, cleaning Caroline's room, getting the crib back together and washing newborn clothes. We washed the 0-3 month pajamas today. They are so sweet!

Dr Visits- I went this week for a regular visit and everything looked great. Still holding steady at 8.6 pounds gained. Caroline is measuring right on track with a strong heartbeat. I am now going to the dr every 2 weeks, then start once a week appointments towards the end of October. 

Preparations- We are almost done with Caroline's room. The crib is ready and the closet and dresser are cleaned out. I started washing newborn pajamas today and will work on clothes throughout the week. I forgot how tiny and adorable baby clothes are! It is exciting to look through and see things I remember Madison wearing. 

Big Sister Madison- Madison got to feel Caroline kick for the first time last week. Every morning, she loves coming into our bed and feeling my belly. One day, Caroline kicked. Madison pulled her hand away and said "mommy, what's that?!" It was really cute. 

Madison had a little trouble with the idea of Caroline sleeping in her crib. We have been trying to redirect her and remind her about her big girl room. Madison has fully transitioned to her big girl bed and has done fabulous! She loves being able to have all her baby dolls and stuffed animals in her bed. 

Happy 2nd Birthday Madison!

Happy Birthday sweet girl! You are an absolute joy to everyone around you. You are smart, talkative, funny and kind. It is unbelievable that you are 2 years old. 

Mommy and Daddy still remember the second you were born and you laid on Mommy's chest. We are looking forward to enjoying the next 2 months with our family of 3 before we welcome Caroline. I know you will be a wonderful big sister and teach Caroline how to be sweet, just like you. 

Right now, Mommy is sitting in your room as you fall asleep. As I was putting you in bed, I told you how special you are to us and we are so thankful to have you as our baby. You looked me in the eye, kissed my lips and now Mommy can't stop crying. We love you sweet girl!

One thing we love most about you is your smile that lights up the room. Especially when you say "cheese"!

28 Weeks with Baby Sister

Sweet baby sister, another 4 weeks has passed! This has been the quickest month since we all started school. Here's an update on this sweet baby girl that is making her presence known more and more each day...

We officially have a name for baby sister...

We apparently like to torture our children by giving them really long names. ;) Both Madison and Caroline will have 25 letters between the first, middle and last name. 

Eric and I had been deciding between Hannah, Caroline and Kaitlyn. Hannah was Eric's top choice and Caroline was mine. After staying home with Madison for the day on Wednesday, Eric said he decided he liked the name Caroline and that should be baby sisters name. I immediately feel in love and have been calling her Caroline ever since. I still get teary eyed thinking that we are going to have two daughters, Madison and Caroline. 

Charlene is for Eric's Nana, who has been a huge influence in his life since he was a baby. 

Baby's size- Baby girl is 14.8 inches long and 2.25 pounds in weight. The baby is growing about 1/4 lb a week!

Movement- I have started to feel some bigger movements. Caroline loves to hang out by my hip bones and kick me very low. From what I can tell, she is still breech or transverse. I have another ultrasound in a week, so we shall see! 

How I'm feeling- I felt great for 3 weeks, then something hit me out of no where. For about a week, I would get dizzy spells and cold sweats, followed by a bad headache and blurry vision. After 2 days I called the dr. I saw another dr since mine was out of town. She had me do a few different tests and be on modified bed rest for 3 days. All the tests for blood pressure and glucose came back normal. The only other thought is that Caroline is so low that she is sitting on a blood vessel when she moves. It has been 10 days and I feel so much better, but I am still having about 1 incident a day and can't shake this headache. 

Dr Visits- I went this week for a regular check up. My blood pressure was abnormally high for me, so the dr wants me to start taking it at home twice a day. All the readings have been well within normal since then. I also had my glucose test on Thursday. I passed with no problem, so that is always a relief. I will have another ultrasound in a week, then start 2 week appointments...things are getting real!

Preparations- Our biggest focus has been on Madison's 2nd birthday party! After Labor Day, we are going to work on washing baby clothes, inventorying what we need and washing all the bigger baby items. Thankfully, we don't have a lot of needs. We are planning to get a different stroller and just need a few new blankets/sheets/baby pajamas, etc. we are starting to buy size 1 diapers each month to get ahead of the game. 

Big Sister Madison- Madison is starting to understand better that we are going to have a baby. She pats me stomach and says "be nice to the baby". She will also kiss my stomach. We are still trying to convince her that the baby's name is going to be Caroline, not Gabby Madison.

After Labor Day, we are going to try moving Madison into her big girl room. She has done excellent transitioning to her toddler bed. We go back and forth between moving her now or after the baby gets here. We are going to try it now and if it doesn't go well, we will try again in a month or two. 

We are also going to camp out at home for a weekend and work on potty training. The minute Madison is wet or dirty, she runs right over to tell us and wants her diaper changed. She has learned how to take off her diaper and pants if we don't get to her fast enough. Potty training is another thing we will try and if it doesn't work out, try again in a month or so. 

While I spent 3 days on modified bed rest, Eric and Madison went to the lake with his family. Madison had a great time with her cousins. She was also very brave and went swimming in the lake!

I was very impressed that Eric took on the 4.5 hour road trip alone with Madison. I missed them both like crazy!

24 Weeks with Baby Sister

Oh sweet baby, things are starting to get so real! I cannot believe that I have already been pregnant for 24 (now 25) weeks. This pregnancy has absolutely flown by, much due to having a busy toddler to run around with. Here's an update on this sweet baby girl that is making her presence known more and more each day...

Baby's size- Baby girl is 13.5 inches long and 1.5 pounds in weight. The baby is growing about 1/4 lb a week!

Movement- Baby girl has started moving so much lately! I mostly feel movement at night when I am laying down, especially between 10pm and midnight. She loves to come towards the outside of my stomach when I lay down. I am amazed how low she stays. I have only felt her come around my belly button a couple times.  I don't feel too much movement during to day, but it's a party every night!

How I'm feeling- Great! These 100 degree days have been a little rough, but as long as I stay cool and hydrated, I do well. 

Dr Visits- I went this week for a follow-up anatomy scan. This baby has been head down and SO low that the ultrasound tech had trouble getting some measurements the first time. This week, the baby was breech, so we go some beautiful profile shots. I think baby girl has those Konesheck lips like Madison. I go back in another month for another ultrasound. We also confirmed that the baby is 100% girl!

Preparations- We need to get going...This week is my last Friday off before we start working 5 days a week. I am planning to send Madison to school and spend the day cleaning out both hall linen closets and the closet in Madison's  new room. I also want Eric to get the newborn clothes out of the attic this weekend so we can start going through them. Knowing that we are having another girl sure does make preparations easier! 

Big Sister Madison- When you ask Madison what the baby's name should be, she says "it's Gabby Madison". Gabby is a friend in her class and obviously she just thinks Madison is a good name. It's cracks me up!

We went to visit Brandi and Drew this past weekend. Madison was able to spend time with their boys, one who is 5 months old. She was so sweet with the baby, rubbing his feet, giving him toys and telling him "it's ok baby" when he would cry. I can't wait to see her as a big sister! 

We have been trying to spend more time in Madison's big girl room. She hasn't slept in there yet, but she has moved in some toys and we picked out a few pictures for the room. 

Baby Name- This is still a decision to be made. I wrote down all the names we have tossed around hung them on the fridge. We are pretty set on the middle name of Charlene, for Nana Konesheck. I think our top names choices right now are Hannah, Caroline, Kaitlyn and Claire. We were going through names tonight and Madison kept saying "Carayine", so I'm guessing she liked Caroline tonight. 

Madison's Big Girl Bed

It has been about 10 days since Madison started sleeping in her "big girl bed" and she is transitioning like a champ! We took the front off her crib and added the toddler rail. We also started giving her a big pillow, which she loves! 

June and July were interesting months for sleeping for Madison. We were gone on vacation for about 13 days total, in which she was sleeping in her pack and play. The week before and the week after vacation, we had a few days both weeks that Madison had a 101-102 degree fever, which also messed with her sleep. We have spent many nights sitting in her room as she falls asleep, which never happens. Despite these disruptions, she has done amazing at transitioning and is very proud of her big girl bed. 

The first night, I sat in her room for 1.5 hours. I kept telling her lay down, close your eyes, go night night. Each day since then has gotten a little better. She knows we don't sit in her room during nap time and she falls asleep just fine. We are down to sitting in her room for about 15 minutes at night, then leaving whether she is asleep or not. If she cries, I get on the monitor and tell her "go night night, mommy and daddy love you". It usually only takes once and she goes right to sleep! 

The funniest part is that Madison doesn't realize she can get out of her bed on her own. She will call us every morning when she is ready to get out of bed. I think we will keep this little secret for as long as we can. ;)