Baby Herman #2 - Weeks 38 & 39

We're still here...together.  But, I don't think for very much longer.  Stay tuned...

Week 38:

Click here to see Adriana at 38 Weeks.

Week 39:

Click here to see Adriana at 39 Weeks.

Baby Herman #2 - 36 Weeks & 37 Weeks

I'm still hanging in there.  I'm torn between wanting to have the baby because I'm so uncomfortable these days and wanting more time because Adriana is not quite big-girl-bed-trained (almost but not quite) and I'm still scared of labor.

I've started having more pains and more contractions, but nothing is happening regularly yet.  My mom and dad will be leaving for vacation soon, so we're all hoping the baby waits a little while still.  I'm worried, though, because Adriana told me yesterday morning that she wants the baby to come out.  This worries me because Zeke told me he wanted Adriana to come out on September 10, 2011.  She was born the next day.

Adriana said it because she was talking about sharing her toys, and I told her she could when the baby comes out.  She started saying "out" over and over.  When I told her it wasn't ready to come out yet, she said it is "stuck."  I told her it is for now, but I hope it's not stuck in a few weeks.

Here are the pictures of the "stuck" baby from the past two weeks:

This is Week 36:

 Click here to see Adriana at 36 weeks.

And here I am at 37 weeks:

Click here to see Adriana at 37 weeks.

Adriana Leigh Herman is 21 Months Old

On Tuesday, Adriana entered what is likely her last full month as an only child.  I know she can't possibly grasp the major change that is about to occur, but she does seem to be excited about being a big sister.  She is ready to move out of her baby room.  She loves her big girl room.  She loves to play in her room, pick out her clothes each day, and sleep in her big girl bed.  She thinks of it as a punishment to have to go to her crib.  If she ever has trouble getting to sleep, I remind her that she will have to go to her crib, and she calms down to go to sleep very quickly.

She also seems excited when we talk about the baby.  She will run up to my belly and kiss it.  I think my belly has gotten 15 kisses already today.  We went to storytime at the library today, and there were some babies there.  When she saw one of the babies, she turned to me and said, "baby."  Then she came over and kissed my belly three times.  The other mom thought it was the cutest thing!

Adriana is learning to play with friends.  She has a friend in our neighborhood named Mia, who is about 3 months older than Adriana.  We saw Mia Monday and today.  She loves to hold hands with Mia, and will grab Mia's hand without being prompted.  She then had to tell her Daddy all about Mia, and she talks about sharing with Mia often.  She also met a boy named Creighton at the pool.  He shared his pool toys, and Adriana thought that was the greatest thing ever!  Whenever we go to the pool, she asks me if Creighton will be there.  She also asks if Zeke (and Connor & Quentin) can go to the pool or park with us.  She is definitely social, and I think she will really like preschool when she starts going in September.

Intellectually, I think Adriana is doing very well.  She remembers things that happened a month (or longer) ago.  She is doing very well with her colors.  She knows all of the basic colors (red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, black, white, brown, and gray).  She can tell you that red means stop and green means go when she sees traffic lights. She does not like red lights at all! I call her Little Scott when she gets mad about sitting in traffic.She can identify a circle everytime she sees one.  Now, we are working on mastering a square and a triangle.  I'm trying to focus on square, but we talk about triangles when we see them.  Adriana can tell you when she is holding two objects, and occasionally when she is holding three.  We were especially impressed with "three" because no one sat down and taught her that, she just picked it up.  I haven't quizzed Adriana on her letters in a little while, but she still excitedly points out the letters she knows on a regular basis.

Apparently, Adriana has been blessed with her mother's childhood temper.  She has started throwing little temper tantrums when she doesn't get her way.  We are working on getting this under control...

Adriana's favorite activities right now are music (including her Kindermusik class), jumping, hiding in the sliding door curtain, "swimming" in the baby pool, playing with bubbles, and watching her friends (Mickey Mouse, Elmo, and Monsters Inc.).

She loves exclamations right now.  This started with "oh man!"  She now says, "oh great!," "oh dear!," "oh boy!," "oh crap!" (we're trying to get away from this one), "oh Sulley!" (from Monsters Inc.), and "oh broccoli!"  She doesn't quite get that the last two aren't normal sayings, but she likes them.

We are very proud of our little girl, and we are excited to see what a great big sister you are going to be!

I'm a little off-balance these days.
I almost fell over when I knelt down to take this picture, and she thought it was hilarious!

Baby Herman #2 - 34 and 35 Weeks

I know, I know...I said I would be on time for the 34 week post.  Then we had some weird sleeping days.  I don't want to jinx it, but I think we're under control now, and Adriana is officially in her big girl bed.  She is so excited about it, and doesn't want to sleep in her crib at all anymore.  I just want to make sure we don't have anymore days that begin at 5:30, which then lead to me napping when she naps.  Anyway, I'm actually posting 35 weeks when I am 35 weeks along, so I think I'm doing pretty well.

I went to the doctor today, and she said that everything looks fine.  She agrees with the other doctor I saw that this baby is going to be small like Adriana.  She also said that it's fine that I'm having some contractions now because that's normal for a 2nd (or 3rd, etc.) baby.  She said that even if I did have the baby today, it would be ok because the baby should be big enough and developed enough.  The baby is still head down.

The heart rate today was 134, which is still in line with a boy, according to the old wives' tale.  Adriana was with me today, and the doctor let her hold the Doppler machine while she tried to find the heartbeat.  When she found the heartbeat, Adriana turned quickly to look at me and said, "woah!"

So, since everything is going well, I'll go ahead and get to the pictures.

Here is Week 34:

 

Click here to see Adriana at 34 weeks.

 

And here is 35 Weeks:

 

Click here to see Adriana at 35 weeks.

Baby Herman #2: Weeks 31, 32, and 33

The end of the school year is always hectic, and this year was no exception.  So, I managed to take pictures of Baby Herman's progress, but of course, I didn't get them posted.  Here they are now:

This is Week 31:

Click here to see Adriana at Week 31.

Here is Week 32:

 Click here to see Adriana at Week 32.

And finally, here is Week 33:

Click here to see Adriana at Week 33.

Everything is still going well, according to the doctor.  When I went last Friday, he said that my blood pressure and weight are perfect, and I am measuring exactly as I should be at this time.  The doctor I saw at 31 weeks said that he is expecting the baby to be little like Adriana was.  And this past doctor told me about how labor tends to not take as long the second time.  I hope they're right...

I should be more timely with the 34th week pictures since I'm home now and Adriana is sleeping better.  I think she understands that it's summer and she doesn't need to get up early to see me.  She's been sleeping until 7 or later, which means I can make it through the day without a nap (since I'm up about 5 times/night).

We're working on transitioning Adriana to her big girl bed.  She's really excited about sleeping in her big girl bed, but isn't quite ready for it all the time.  She is currently napping in her crib because she couldn't get to sleep in her big girl bed.  She was upset about going to her crib, but I told her we'd try again tomorrow.  I think by the time the baby is here, she'll be ready to move out of the nursery without it seeming like the baby is kicking her out.  I'll keep you updated on her progress.

Adriana Leigh Herman is 20 Months Old

Adriana continues to be her happy, friendly self.  She's has had a little trouble with sleeping this past month.  When I went back to work after Spring Break, she started having some separation anxiety.  Naps became difficult.  She would sleep for half an hour, and then wake up screaming.  She would then fall back asleep once someone would hold her to read, etc., but only sleep when being held.  As soon as she was put down, she was wide awake again.  This gradually seeped into nighttime behavior as well.  We've been working on it, and it has gotten a lot better this week.  Today she took a good nap, woke up happy, and asked to go to bed tonight.

Adriana now knows all of her basic colors (red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, black, white, brown, gray, and pink).  She knows 20 letters (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, O, P, R, S, T, U, X, Z).  Sometimes she knows V and Y as well.  As far as shapes go, she knows and says circle, heart, and star.  She will point to triangles and squares when asked, but doesn't say the words yet.

She is "reading" more books.  In addition to Llama Llama Red Pajama, she will fill in some words for Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, Llama Llama Misses Mama, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

We are so proud of our little girl!

Baby Herman #2 - 29 & 30 Weeks

As promised, it's time for some gender fun again!  I'm going to use the same tests I did last time, plus a few others that I have found.

HCG Levels - This is a scientific "test."  Baby girls produce higher HCG levels than baby boys.  Since pregnancy tests test for HCG, women pregnant with baby girls tend to get positive test results sooner than those pregnant with boys.

My birthday is exactly two weeks away from my dad's, so for the past few years, we have celebrated our birthdays together during the weekend in between.  I thought that if I were pregnant, and due in July, I would find out right before our celebration weekend.  I had the perfect way to tell my family!  My dad was supposed to get this for his birthday:

Connor, Quentin, Zeke, Adriana, and "Coming July 2013"

Instead, I didn't get a positive test, so I figured I wasn't pregnant yet.  As it turns out, I finally got a very, very, very faint positive on November 6 (two days after our birthday weekend).  Even then, it was so faint that it reminded me of Grovo, and I refused to tell anyone until after I'd had my HCG levels tested.  It turns out, I was pregnant (obviously), but my HCG levels must have been too low to detect from a home test at that time.  Based on that, I have to say this is a boy.

Boy:  1     Girl:  0

My hair (on my head) - An old wives tale says that if your hair is shiny and full of body, the baby is a boy.  If your hair is dull and lifeless, it's a girl.  

I don't have thick hair, but it's definitely not as dull and limp as it was with Adriana.

Boy:  2     Girl:  0

My hair (on my legs) - Another old wives tale says that your leg hair grows faster if it's a boy, and it grows at the same rate or slower if you're having a girl.  

This is what I wrote when I was pregnant with Adriana:  "For nearly 20 years, I have dealt with thick, black leg hair that grows at an astronomical rate.  I would shave in the morning, and a few hours later, I would have stubble.  It was like 5 o'clock shadow on my legs.  Except it appeared at noon.  I went through laser treatments, and some patches got better, but overall, I still had to shave on a daily basis.  A few months ago, I noticed that I didn't need to shave as often, and the hair that I did have was a lot lighter.  In fact, I can now go four or five days between shaving!"

Now:  I wish!  I haven't gotten out the tape measure (although some days I probably could), but I would definitely say it's growing faster. 

Boy:  3     Girl:  0

Morning Sickness - Supposedly, girls their moms sicker than boys do.  Of course, I've heard of all the exceptions.  Scott's mom was sicker with him than she was with his sister.  A woman at school was sick all nine months of her pregnancy, and she had a boy.  But, the old wives tale says that morning sickness means it's a girl.  

With Adriana, I was sick before I knew I was pregnant.  This time, I thought I was going to get away with not being sick at all.  And then 6 weeks hit.  I was sick.  Not as sick as I was with Adriana, but it lasted longer.  I think it finally went away around 18 weeks.  So, I guess since I was sick, I would have to say girl on this one.

Boy:  3     Girl: 1

My butt - Apparently, if your butt grows, it means you are having a girl.  

My butt is bigger than it was before I got pregnant this time, but not as big as it was with Adriana.  This one is debatable.  I guess since it's not as big as it was last time, I'll say boy.

Boy:  4     Girl:  1

Baby's heart rate - If the baby's heart rate is 140 or higher, it's a girl.  139 or lower means it's a boy.

Our baby's heart rate has been in the 130s pretty much every time we have had it measured.  Two appointments ago, it jumped up to the 150s.  This led my mom to ask, "Did it fall off?!?!"  But at the last appointment, it was back down in the 130s again.  Maybe it's growing back now.

Boy:  5     Girl:  1

Carrying high or low - If you are carrying high, it means you are having a girl.  Carrying low means it's a boy.  

I have been carrying this baby low the entire time.  A lot of people have made comments about how low it is.

Boy:  6     Girl:  1

Shape of belly - If your belly is shaped like a watermelon, you are having a girl.  If your belly looks like a basketball, you are having a boy.

Most people say my belly looks more like a basketball.  I'll let you judge for yourself.  Scott says he thought Adriana looked like a basketball, but he thinks this one looks even more like a basketball.  I'll let you judge for yourself again:

Boy:  7     Girl:  1

Where the baby kicks - In Norway, they say that if the baby kicks you on your left side more, it's a girl.  If it kicks on the right side more, it is a boy.  

Adriana was reversed on this one, so I don't know if that means anything, but this baby kicks on the left side more.

Boy:  7     Girl:  2

My face - If you gain weight in your face, or if your face swells, you are having a girl.  If your face looks the same, you are having a boy.  

My face is a little puffier, but not nearly what it was with Adriana.  I think it's a little bigger just because I've gained weight, and it tends to spread out more evenly.  Overall, I would say it still looks normal.

Boy:  8     Girl:  2

Chinese gender prediction chart - I got pregnant in October when I was 32 years old.  According to the Chinese gender prediction chart, this means that I am having a girl.

Boy:  8     Girl:  3

Mom's feeling - When I first got pregnant, I was positive it was a boy, just as I had been positive that Adriana was a girl from Day 1.  Now, the feeling isn't as strong, but I still lean toward boy.

Boy:  9     Girl:  3     *Side note:  At this point with Adriana, the score was reversed exactly.


Dry Skin - If your skin becomes more dry, you are carrying a boy.


I didn't even include this with Adriana because I didn't realize it was a condition of pregnancy.  My skin was never dry at all with her.  This time around, I have several dry patches.  I've had a couple of times when it hurt to wear a shirt because my skin felt like it was being rubbed raw.


Boy:  10     Girl:  3

Headaches - If you are more prone to headaches, you are having a boy.

I guess I've been somewhat lucky because the headaches haven't been constant, but I've definitely noticed them more this time around.  I don't think I ever got a headache with Adriana.  This time, I had headaches a lot early on, and then here and there for the past few months.

Boy:  11     Girl:  3 


Previous child's first word - If your first child said mama first, you will have a girl.  If the first word was dada, you will have a boy.

Adriana said Da-deeeee first.

Boy:  12     Girl:  3

The mask of pregnancy - I haven't found this one on any list, but a woman I used to tutor for swore by this test.  She said that if you get the mask of pregnancy, you are having a boy.  If not, it's a girl.

When I was about 16 weeks pregnant with Adriana, she told me it would be a girl because I didn't have the mask.  She said she has never been wrong with her predictions based on this.  This time, I think I have it.  It usually looks like I am blushing.  Early in November, when I was still worried about my super light positive pregnancy test, Scott pointed out the blush on my face.  He said it had been there for a few days and didn't seem to be going away.  He said he thought that was a good sign that the baby was going to make it since it was already causing my face to change.

Boy:  13     Girl:  3

The actions of little boys - If a little boy is interested in your pregnancy, it's a girl.  If a little boy shows no interest, he is worried about competition and doesn't care about the pregnancy.

When I was pregnant with Adriana, Brandon's boys were so into the pregnancy.  They asked about the baby all the time.  They always wanted to know how big the baby was, how big I was, and wanted to feel the baby kick.  This time, it's almost funny how little they care.  I can be around them for hours before they will even mention the baby.  Sometimes they forget that I'm pregnant at all.  When my mom says stuff about the baby, it's not uncommon to hear "what baby?" from the boys.  This one definitely says boy.

Boy:  14     Girl:  3

So there you have it.  According to the old wives, Adriana will be getting a little brother in July.

I'm sure there are many more tests.  I haven't tried the ones where you have to hold something on a string over my belly or hand because I believe the person doing that "test" has too much control.  I might as well just ask the person what they want me to have.  But, if there are other tests that you know of, and you want to see how they turn out for me, just ask.

Now, here are the pictures.

Week 29:

Click here to see Adriana at 29 weeks.

Week 30:

 Click here to see Adriana at 30 weeks.