Pregnancy #2 - 20 Weeks (plus Stella Updates)

It is beyond comprehension how we have reached 20 weeks along in this pregnancy. I honestly feel like we just found out we were expecting #2 last week! But, alas, this past Friday we reached the big half way marker - 20 weeks, which makes me 20 weeks, 3 days today. Here's a belly shot from one week ago:)

It's very true what they say...you start to show MUCH sooner the second time around. I was showing at 10 weeks and I couldn't suck it in. I've slowly grown day by day and week by week to this size. I have stayed much more active then my pregnancy with Stella, even though I was pretty active with her. This time, since becoming certified as a Pilates instructor, I've just been more conscious of needing to work out at least every other day and eat much "cleaner" than before. I've halfway ready "Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven" but must admit I don't follow their philosophy wholeheartedly, though I wish I did. I skipped the "why you'll never want to eat meat again" chapter, too:)

Also, we've already started on Baby Devereaux #2's nursery - Stella will keep her nursery and it will eventually turn into her big girl room, but once the baby comes, she'll more than likely still be in her crib, so we decided to set up a new room for the new baby. Here is our first purchase:

...and old chandelier that Matt (translation=Matt's dad) will wire for the ceiling. I am in love with this and got a great deal on it! We've also chosen the wall color - Limelight by Valspar. So where Stella's nursery was crisp grey blue with black furniture and cream/pink accents, baby #2's nursery will be a verdant green with cream/champagne and natural wood furniture with accents of pink and black...or at least that's where I am today:) I'm pregnant...let me change my mind if I want to:)

So baby #2 is growing like a weed - I've been feeling her wiggle inside me for a few weeks now and Matt recently felt her move from the outside, which is always exciting. Stella is so smart she pats my big belly and say "baby" clearly and concisely. Genius, I tell you. Here is a video of her developed language as a 14 (almost 15) month old:

...hot dog is her newest word and she's only said it a handful of times, but Matt and I roll on the floor laughing when she does. It's priceless. She may not walk for months, but at least she has a very accelerated vocabulary!

Stella's Baby Sissy

It's official...we are having another GIRL! Stella will become a big sister sometime around my due date of January 13. If my scanner/printer were cooperating, I would be able to upload an image of our ultrasound, but, alas...that is not the case.

Either way, with or without an image, our butter bean #2 is growing fast and strong week by week. When we got our gender-revealing ultrasound I was 17 weeks, 5 days (today I'm 19 weeks, 3 days) and the ultrasound tech said she was measuring almost a week ahead, which was good. She checked her out for any physical abnormalities and said she looked perfect - A+, big girl! She was also moving around ALOT and since the ultrasound I've been feeling her move a few times each day, which is one of my favorite things about pregnancy.

We've been practicing saying "Sissy" with Stella, and she's getting the hang of it. Genius that she is, Stella has learned to pat my belly when I ask "where's the baby?" and will even pat my belly on her own and say "baby". I think I almost tear up each time she does it. It never gets old. I'll have to get Matt to take a video. In other Stella news, she is a crawling machine and can pull up and squat back down like a pro - it may seem like not a huge issue, but to us, this is big. We've been practicing daily standing up on our own and squatting down to reach an item/toy so she can build up muscle tone in her legs and abdomen and she's come a long way. I'm very proud of her! She's climbing stairs left and right and soon we'll have to get permanent baby gates on the top and bottom of the stairs.

I'm already hard at work on Stella's sister's nursery and I think Matt and I have decided to paint her room a shade of green. Stella's is a pretty grey/blue so we thought we'd go a different route for her sister. We are on the lookout for a new old light fixture - hopefully a chandelier - and possibly a rug, but we've got the rocker and changing table already. The rocker is from Stella's nursery, because she won't need it once the baby gets here, and the changing table will be my old childhood dresser. And then, of course, there are the details...my favorite part:) I'll be sure to post pictures of our progress!

And just because she's cute, here is a pic of Stella playing with her good friend Charlotte, and Charlotte's pupy, Bailey.

 ...and this one shot of Stella at physical therapy is just precious, that's why.

Why Don't Friends with Kids Have Time?

I stole this from a friend and couldn't help but completely agree...wish I had come across this answer myself! Friends, don't take offense if you read this - those of you who qualify yourselves as my friends DON'T fall under the type of "friend" who wrote the original question in this article!

To end on a positive note, Stella turned 14 months old today and I'm 16 weeks, 3 days pregnant. We find out if little Dev #2 is a boy or a girl in 10 days!