Welcoming:

Asher Gray Pollard

Born June 8th, 2013

10:11pm

8lbs 12oz 

21 inches

we are so in love!

we're waiting... not very patiently.

this is my giant belly. 

i have very little motivation to do anything besides have a baby this week. 

last week i was crazy nesting/ getting ready/ cleaning/ building/ preparing. 

this week i am ready for that baby to come! 

joshua's been helping me get ready. 

trying out all the baby gear & even got a nasty cold/ cough so i could practice waking up in the middle of the night to rock a baby. 

thankfully he's feeling much better :) 

i am so ready to be done being pregnant... 

but i am pretty scared about how this baby will change our family. 

manny asked me what my biggest fear was and my honest answer- 

i fear how joshua will respond/ react/ feel...

i KNOW that this baby is what the Lord has for our family, 

but change can be scary. his little life is about to be turned upside down and he's not going to understand that in about 9 months he'll have a built-in best friend and playmate... 

transition and change will be hard, but i KNOW it will be SO WORTH IT. 

praying my heart remembers that when my joshie boy is struggling with sharing his momma and daddy, our time, our laps, our mealtimes, our house, our bedtimes, and everything in between.

so these days are all about waiting. not very patiently.

not wanting to cook, clean, or do much of anything 

(especially bend over, move quickly, or really move at all- thank you giant belly)

but we are waiting... 

baby #2- come out whenever you are ready!

34 Weeks

 

 in a little over a month we get to meet this very wonderful baby boy! 

how exciting is that?!

how frightening is that?!

this past month has been crazy busy. 

and as i remembered, weeks 30-34 were the same with my pregnancy with joshua- read here!

funny to think on that time ;) 

but this month: 

i'm looking more and more and more pregnant and gigantic :)

the lawn company i was working for was sold, so i worked a lot to help with the transition. 

as that job ended, a new one came & i am blessed to say i am now employed by a lawyer! 

working from home, 10ish hours a week, super huge blessing & a really good fit i think

we had some really great AlethiaYouth events

joshua, manny, and i all got a 24 hour stomach bug :( 

AUNTIE KARLA & UNCLE DAN GOT MARRIED!!!! 

i spent a lot of time prepping and crafting for their awesome, beautiful day

we had a blast visiting and spending time with family that we don't get to see often enough

manny went on a business trip to orlando 

& i flew to meet him at the end of his conference and we enjoyed 4 days in the sunshine, childless :) 

joshua spent 4 days with Kma & Opa! 

it snowed a lot

there were some nice days of sunshine {such as today}

i ate a lot of chocolate chip cookies

2 more babies were born at Alethia

next month includes: 

another wedding!

manny's half marathon 

a baby shower

AlethiaYouth's Mission Dinner & Auction

our official last day of working/ playing with Jackson 

lots of birthdays 

and possibly meeting our second baby boy! 

baby boy #2: 

you are a crazy mover! you kick me in the ribs o-so-very often and you like to hang out on the right side of belly. you are growing big and strong and healthy. i am so thankful i was able to fly to orlando and spend some time with just your daddy before you came. thanks for not making a surprise entrance or something crazy while i was thousands of miles from home! i have ideas for your nursery circulating in my head. plans for a finished basement & bathroom are in the works, but i have no doubt that no matter what you come home to you will be so loved and cherished by your brother, your daddy, and me. i can't wait to see what you look like & how you and your brother react to each other. i think having a "summer baby" will be so fun. and i can't wait to take you on walks around our great little town. baby #2 you are so loved already. we can't wait to meet you! 

love you more than you'll ever know, 

your momma

29 Weeks

here we are at 29 weeks! 

into the 3rd trimester! 

my o my it is going fast. 

all of the sudden i kind of feel like a whale. everything is just getting bigger! 

i'm currently eating lots of chocolate chip cookies (maybe that's why i feel like a whale...) & trying my hardest to stay away from pringles. 

i'm still sleeping pretty well. so thankful for that!

the heartburn & sciatica are not constant, which is nice. 

i'm pretty much always exhausted. 

bending over is getting really difficult. 

i felt the baby have the hiccups for the first time! 

manny and i booked a "babymoon" of sorts for the end of April- going to Orlando after he's been there for a work conference to relax & enjoy the warmth!

baby #2, 

we are so very excited to meet you. at times, 11 weeks seems like an eternity & at other times, it feels like it is way too close. i'm praying for your health, your heart, your mind, and your life. that God may be a part of it all. that you would love Him like no other. that your life would be a reflection of His greatness.

we love o-so-very-much.

24 weeks

How far along?  24 weeks
Baby Size: weighs over a pound & about the length of an ear of corn

Gender: BOY

Name: not telling :) but it's a good one!
Total weight gain/loss: from where i started... i lost 12 with all the sickness & now have gained back 14. so total gain of 2
Maternity clothes?  Ha! Not really. i did purchase a pair of long jeans from mommylonglegs.com... those should be coming in the mail today so praying that they fit & that help make some of my other clothes work a little better... really, i just have no clothes.
Stretch marks? Didn't get any with Joshua until the last few weeks & those have pretty much faded away. hoping the same thing will happen this time!
Sleep:  i just flip over a lot... and get freaked out that i'm lying on my back too much. i'm just pretty tired at the end of each day so sleep is welcome even if it is interrupted by the flipping side to side.
Best moment this week: getting to see him again! i had to go back for another ultrasound because they didn't get good enough views of his spine & heart last time. good news is they got all the images that wanted & he looks great {even measuring a little big}, bad news is that he wasn't really moving and not in a great position to see his face or anything. he's a stubborn one ;)
Miss Anything?  just being able to lay on my back while sleeping...
Food cravings: well throughout this whole pregnancy {even while really sick} caesar salad has sounded wonderful. otherwise now that i'm finally eating, i just want to eat everything!
Anything making you queasy or sick:  not really... eggs still don't sound good but nothing crazy.
Have you started to show yet:  in the past week or so i've really started showing. good for me, not so good for my lack of winter pregnancy clothes :)
Labor Signs: surprisingly yes... i think. i really didn't have any braxton hicks with Joshua and i think i'm already having some starting a few days ago.

Other symptoms: got some heartburn for the first time over the weekend. yuck. and the sciatica is pretty bad most days. boo.
Belly Button in or out? In, but funny how long it took to go out last time & how quickly i can see it popping out already.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy :) just tired at the end of the day & easily annoyed. 

Looking forward to: getting my maternity jeans! 

hey baby #2, 

i hope you are doing well in there. out here it's cold & snowy & my belly is getting bigger each day. your older brother now says "baby" and i think he knows that you are located in my stomach. you are kicking me like crazy anytime i stop to take a breath & notice. so i just assume you're kicking all the time :) daddy is the only one who's felt you move besides me. this weekend we helped Kma & Opa move to Monument. it will be so great to have them close when you are born! because you were so stubborn during your ultrasound i barely got to see you & don't really have any good pictures of you. so i'm getting very curious about what you are going to look like... and wondering what the color of your hair might be... only 16 more weeks until we get to see your cute little face. 

i can't wait! 

love you already more than you, 

your momma, daddy & big brother Joshua

It's a.....

BOY!!!

19 Weeks

 

19 weeks. and i'm finally starting to feel like a normal human being.

i've found my cure (sprite) or just enough time has past.

i'm not sure which one, but i've spent most of this week NOT SICK.

hallelujah. praise the Lord.

i can't even begin to explain to you how bad 12 weeks of super sickness, constant nausea, throwing up, and exhaustion can to do your spirit. let's just say last saturday got pretty bad... the only thing that i felt like i could keep down was some sprite. so manny graciously went to mickey d's and got me that $1 soda & it changed my life! every time i'm feeling a bit nauseous i just drink a small glass of that carbonated, sugary clear liquid and i feel like i can conquer the world.

hallelujah. praise the Lord. 

so now that i can think straight and have a bit of energy, let's talk about this babe growing in my belly...

i've felt him/her kick :) it started a little bit last week, just those funny feelings like 'is it indigestion or is something moving inside there' and last night i definitely felt this babe kick my belt. that is fun.

i'm not really showing... still wearing all regular clothes. my jeans are even too big & i have to wear a belt still.

next thursday is our ultrasound doctor's appointment! we get to found out! boy or girl?!?!?
everyone keeps asking what we want... really a healthy baby but we've said mostly we want a boy because he and josh will just be bff's and then i really don't need anything. but if it's a girl i would be thrilled! because you know, there are no girls in the pollard family (besides kaitlynn) so that would be really fun. and girls have way cuter clothes :)

it's very hard to believe that i'm close to halfway through this pregnancy. spending so much time sick really kept my mind off the joy of having a babe grow inside of me. and i think the fact that i'm barely showing just allows me to not remember most of the time.
but then when i think about it... i get a little scared. i'm pretty sure joshua is going to be very mad at me. he likes my attention. all of it. so that will be quite the adjustment i believe. i'm nervous about what it will be like caring for 2. for so long (ok 14 months) it's been just me and josh. when he was an infant we just hung out in peace and quiet, now that's he's *almost* a toddler we run and play and talk all day. with this new baby there will be so much less time just him & i... my attention will be split and josh will be used to all the running and playing and talking and this babe will want to be held and nursed and quiet. i really don't know how it will go. but we'll all adjust and find a perfect place and time for each of these cute baby's needs.  

so little babe #2,
we are so excited to find out if you are a boy or a girl. i can't wait to start planning your nursery & pick out some cute new clothes for you (especially if you're a girl). i'm getting to excited to hold a tiny, tiny baby in my arms and cuddle you close. i'm praying that you keep growing and staying safe inside of there. i'm praying that your brother's heart is getting ready to share his momma and daddy. i'm praying that God's will be done in your life, every second of you life, from the moment you were conceived until the moment you are no longer on this earth.
little babe, i love you so. can't wait to meet you in about 5 more months!

#2

yup, it's true. 

our family of 3, will soon become a family of 4. 

my due date has been changed a few times, but i'm officially due: 

June 7, 2013

no lying here- it's been rough. 

really rough. 

since about week 7 (i'm 13 weeks now) i've been very sick. 

most days i don't eat and when i do eat, i throw up. 

not fun for anyone. 

but nonetheless, we are thrilled! 

thrilled to have a summer baby, 

thrilled for joshua to be a big brother, 

thrilled to be growing our family, 

thrilled to hold another infant & call it ours, 

thrilled to do it all again

 (ok not thrilled about all parts of *delivering* another babe)

but thrilled.

so as i did with joshua... 

a little Q&A:

Q: When did you find out you were pregnant?
A: We officially found out on October 4, 2012.

Q: Was Manny there? or How did you tell Manny?
A: yes, after figuring out i was over a week late for my period we decided to take a test. we couldn't read the first one... he was sure it was positive, i was sure it was negative, then i decided it was positive. so we took another one just to be sure.

Q: What were your first reactions?
A: pretty much, like whoa. what have we gotten ourselves into...?

Q: What are you feeling now?
A: mostly, just feeling sick.

Q: How far along are you?
A: 13 weeks.

Q: When is your due date?
A: June 7, 2013

Q: Are you showing yet?
A: not really. i've lost a considerable amount of weight (the whole don't eat & then throw up does that) so that doesn't really help the "showing" thing. just feeling a little pudgy around the middle.

Q: How have you been feeling (sickness wise)?
A: well if you haven't figured it out so far. i've feeling pretty miserable. thankful that most days i take a morning nap with joshua and on days when i can barely move we just hang around the house and chill out. well, i try to chill out and then chase the 1 year old :) most days i'm sick most, if not the whole day. it's been rough, but we're making it through. but i will be very happy when food sounds good again...

Q: What other symptoms have you experienced?
A: hmm, exhausted. dizziness. and my hair falling out.

Q: Any strange food cravings?
A: like i said, most days ALL/ANY food sounds disgusting! but especially eggs. yuck. the few times I do want to eat it has been milkshakes and sour candies.

Q: Any gender preference or predictions?
A: I think a boy would be easier, a girl would be fun. LOTS of people are saying it's a girl...

Q: Will you find out?
A: YES. 

so yes, that's me. 2nd pregnancy. techinically out of the 1st trimester. 

praying this sickness goes away soon.