The Skinny On Our Little Skinny

I got another ultrasound today, and it sounds like things are getting better. Carly is still small, but she is catching up in some areas, like weight and size of her abdomen. (they said on the last ultrasound she was almost 2 weeks behind in her weight and now she's caught up by a week.) But of course, what would one of my dr.'s appts. be if there weren't something that went wrong? Now they're saying that the amniotic fluid is lower than normal. We don't know what to think, other than Doctors say horrible things to get you to freak out, so when the baby is fine they can say, "Look we fixed the problem". Anyway, all in all, we really think everything is gonna be fine.

We did however get some more ultrasound pictures. It is nice to be able to see the baby a lot during the pregnancy and compare the ultrasound pictures and actually SEE how much she's grown. :) We're thinking she looks a lot like me. Her lips are HUGE! I really need to get these pictures up so you guys can see them. I am now 32 weeks today. Carly is measuring 16.3 inches long and weighs 3 pounds 13oz. I only have 56 days till my due date. (Or less if she comes early.) I'm really starting to feel the aches and pains of pregnancy now. I ALWAYS feel hot. It's not just a little bit hot, I feel like I'm in a sauna all the time. I wake up sweating in the middle of the night and look over at Joseph who is curled up in blankets to keep warm. Not just a little sweat either. My pillow and my underwear are wet from sweat! It's November and during the day I need the AC on! Carly may be measuring small but she sure is big in my book. :) I feel her stretching into my ribs and pushing out the sides of my stomach all day long. I'm to the point that I have to eat little amounts but all day long b/c it's all baby in that tummy and not much room for food. :)

We are really trying to get prepared for this new baby. One thing that I've really been working on is Ella. I'm so nervous that Ella will feel left out or regress with potty training, throw tantrums, or act out in other ways when this baby comes. I've been working really hard to have lots of patience with her and to really listen to what she has to say. I read something a while back that makes a lot of sense. It said that even though toddlers don't think like adults, they still have feelings and want respect. I know I only have a 2 year old but I try and show her that respect by listening to what she's saying. It's been sooo nice b/c she really listens to me and I can actually reason with her when she's upset about something. Don't get me wrong, she's still got her moments, but she rarely ever sits in time out and she respects me back. Joseph and I have been making an effort to play games with her, have family nights, talk to her about her interests, read books with her and just play and wrestle around with her every day. It's really important to me for my children to know that they are loved, that they have a family that loves them and their home is their sanctuary. I hope that I'm teaching that to Ella b/c I have NO clue what it's going to be like with 2 kids....except that it's going to be harder than 1. :)
Ella is doing really well sleeping in her own bed. I couldn't have asked for it to go smoother. I was really nervous about how long it would take her to catch on but it was a done deal that first night! She got up once, I told her to go back to bed, she did and she's never gotten up again. She has learned to open doors now so when she wakes up in the mornings she opens her door and comes and wakes us up. Unfortunately it's at 6:30 am now. :) We had to put a door knob lock on the front door though b/c she knows how to open that door too and I'm so nervous about her getting up in the night and opening the front door! Scary!! Ella loves to say prayers. It's so cute to hear her say them, along with the other things she says. She's really starting to chatter a lot. I'm trying to teach her about Santa now. During Halloween she was so scared to go into the holiday section of any stores b/c of all the scary statues and things. Now when we go through the stores she's afraid of all the Christmas decorations. So I told her that Santa is really good b/c brings candy and toys. I'll have to record what she has to say about it. It's really cute to hear what she has to say and how her little mind works to comprehend things. I love her so much and she's really become my little buddy. Some of her favorite things are singing songs, coloring, painting, bubbles, the Elefun game, learning to jump (and practicies for like 20 mins straight), going down the slide, playing with her friends, looking at books with babies in them, saying prayers, setting the table for meals, helping mommy and daddy by getting us a towel after our shower or anything else she can reach and get for us, and telling us her colors. Here are some random taken recently pictures.