December 12, 2010

Month Eight












~Amanda

Thirty-Five Weeks Status:
Weight: 178.6 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Honeydew Melon (>5.25 lb. & >18in.)


Well, the past few weeks have not been all too exciting on the baby front. Of the two appointments I've had, neither yielded ultrasounds or anything more than what seemed like a social visit designed to simply see how much I've grown. I have grown larger, of course, and I've grown increasingly less comfortable. I swear over the last few days, Izaak has dropped so low that his head (at least I hope that's his head) is giving me a bruised feeling on the top of my pelvic bone where it's resting. This has not been helped by recurring bouts of sickness...one which I began telling you about last time, some sort of stomach bug that came and left after a week, only to be followed a week later by another awful head cold, and many muscle cramps. I am blaming most of these ailments on my inability to keep up my prenatal workout regimen with all the schoolwork I've been juggling on top of sickness. I am still dealing with the residual effects of said sickness...blech.

In any case, I need to start thinking about packing my bags for the hospital. Considering I didn't use more than a quarter of the junk I lugged to my first birthing experience, I doubt it will take me very long. With a mere five weeks to go, unless of course Izaak is early (as so many people are thinking he will be), I should probably start thinking of doing a lot of things. Somehow I need to make room for all the infant stuff that has miraculously been stuffed in every nook and cranny unimaginable to me even now. No way I shoved stuff in the attic, right? No...

Anyways, it's getting closer, and while I'm in no hurry--things are usually much more peaceful and calm when the little tikes are in the belly--I can't say I'd be too disappointed by an early arrival. As long as he's healthy, I'm more than happy. Andy, no doubt, would be most pleased by the tax exemption, ha!

In other news, since last I wrote, I successfully pulled off hosting my first Thanksgiving at our house. It was a ton of fun, and it wasn't nearly as complicated as I thought it was going to be. Thank you Alton whatever-your-name-is from the Food Network, for the awesome turkey brine recipe! Andy helped too, making his famed Sweet Potato Casserole...yes it deserves all caps. Soooo sooo yummy. We didn't get to have family up, but we had our close friends the McSherrys and Osterfelds and their children. Sebastian loved having other kids to play with, and so did we adults.

Other than that, Andy and I have been toiling with term papers, presentations, and other fun projects related to our edumacation. I would say we both had a good semester, as we should maintain our straight A's into the new year. (taking a bow) Hmm...what else. I also took a trip down to NC to see my brother and his wife and my nephew, as well as my parents. The grandparents chipped in and got little matching Adidas track suits for the cousins, which was occasion for some cute photos. I think other than that, and a trip to Monticello Andy and I took to celebrate my one week sans-illness ( I say this only because I got sick shortly after it and was only well for a few days before it) that was it for recreational activities.

Well, next posting will probably be the last one, and with Christmas coming and a break in store for us, it will hopefully be a cheerful one. I will attach a few photos of the last month below.

'Til next time!












Thanksgiving Spread














Kids enjoying each other...













Turkey!!!













Wii was an integral part of our Thanksgiving...






Boops and me at Monticello.

November 11, 2010

Month Seven and a Bit O' Eight



















~Amanda

Thirty-One Weeks Status:
Weight: 167.1 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Four Navel Oranges (>3.3 lb. & >13in.)

Forgive me blog-readers, for I have sinned. It has been seven weeks since my last post...

Things have been a little too hectic with writing lengthy term papers for me to keep up with posting every four weeks. I should have suspected as much. To make matters more complicated, starting yesterday I've been feeling quite ill. Apparently the third trimester can bring back a lot of the yucky first trimester symptoms, although this wasn't the case for my first pregnancy. I have been extremely fatigued and nauseous, among other symptoms. Sleeping at night has also been difficult, as Izaak is apparently not interested in sleeping for a better part of the day and all through the night. Either that or he just moves a lot in his sleep. I'm hoping for the latter, as I am afraid his patterns in utero might be reflected in his sleeping habits post-partum. And, Hunger pangs, and restless leg woes to boot. So....whine, whine, whine...I am physically miserable, but I thank the Lord that I can in fact feel my baby happily moving about, and I can only repeat the wise words of mother to myself, "This too shall pass." Here's hoping these symptoms are more flu related and they pass tomorrow!

Since last I wrote, we had Sebastian's big One-Year-Old celebration. It was a cute backyard farm-themed party, which Grandma Harper, Uncle Josh, Aunt Shelly, and Francisco & Rachel Gaxiola were able to attend. I made him a pig cake out of Red Velvet cake, just to be more realistic, hahaha! He devoured its snout, and enjoyed opening all the presents. I will post a link to some of the pictures below.

Other than that, Andy and I have been very busy with schoolwork. In order to get things done we've been taking turns taking Sebastian on little one-day adventures, so whoever is writing the term paper of the week, can work in peace. It's been working pretty well so far. I only have one more to finish up this weekend before I'm in the clear for term papers the rest of the semester. Well, until next time...hopefully I'll be feeling a little more chipper then.

Sebastian's First Birthday Photos

September 22, 2010

Month Six















~Amanda

Twenty-Four Weeks Status:
Weight: 159.8 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: An Ear of Corn (>1 lb. & >12in.)

Well Izaak Atlas Schwartz it is...although Andy and I will likely war over the spelling of Izaak v. Isaak for the remaining 16 weeks until he arrives. Like proper siblings, Sebastian and his baby brother have already learned how to fight, with Sebastian using my belly as a drum from the outside and Izaak doing his best to respond to these challenges from the inside. Boops giggles like crazy every time he sees my belly, which has grown rapidly into the size of a soccer ball over the past four weeks. I think that Izaak can recognize his brother's voice too, since he usually gets quite active when I get home from school to Sebastian's excited little self.

Oh yes, as I mentioned, school started up again at the beginning of this month...I cannot say this is a very thrilling development. While I have certain classes that I find very intriguing, such as Asian Art or Fin-de-Siècle European Art, there are also those terrors such as Dance Appreciation (in which I've already been subjected to public humiliation through the form of doing a clumsy oh-so-sexy pregnant version of R. Kelly's Step in the Name of Love line dance) and Natural Hazards (in which the material itself is very interesting, but the teacher drones on reading from PowerPoint presentations that say the exact same thing as he has us read in the book before each class by threat of pop quiz)....ZzzzzZzzzz....

It also does not help that I once again have developed a severe case of baby brain. Just like last year, I went to school with a purse containing only my wallet, but didn't think to grab my book bag with my notebook and pens in it. On this particular day, I also forgot my phone, which thankfully Andy saw in the car and brought with him to class to give to me when I handed off Sebastian to go to night class. Of course I left the keys to the truck in the diaper bag with Andy, which meant that after he drove all the way home in rush hour traffic he had to come all the way back to give his loopy purse toting wife the keys so she could get home. He is a saint... Speaking of baby brain, I completely forgot to mention last month that Silas Xavier Schwartz was born on Friday, Aug 13 2010 @ 12:21 pm, a healthy 7lbs 4oz, and 20 inches long. Now Sebastian has two cousins who have birthdays that day! His cousin Lunden turned seven this year.

In any case, thankfully this month ended with a fun-filled visit by Grandpa Schwartz aka Gramps. Although he was only able to leave his busy work-life to join us for three days, we packed almost every minute with good times. The weather was perfect, in the high 70s, low 80s, so we went by way of Ferry to the Jamestown Settlement, Colonial Williamsburg, and the Isle of Wight state fair the next day. The pictures, thanks mostly to Gramps, were fantastic. In addition, Sebastian had the time of his life running around outside. Instead of posting photos here, I will just post a link to the photo album. Enjoy!

Gramps's Visit Photos

August 27, 2010

Month Five - It's a BOY!!!!





















~Amanda

Twenty Weeks Status:
Weight: 152.6 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Banana(13 oz. - 7 in.)


Well, as it should be obvious from the title of this post, this week we discovered that Lord Chitty is indeed a Lord and not a Lady. I can't say that anyone was really surprised, as he will be the fifth boy born to a Schwartz of this generation, in which no girls have yet been produced. There are also no girls born yet to this generation of Harpers. However, on September 9th Josh and Shelly will find out of things will stay that way. Any bets??? Regardless, we are happy that Sebastian will have a little brother to play with (and also that we will not have to have a baby shower or buy hundreds of items in all manner of pinks and purples known to mankind). Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a little girl someday, there is something to be said for ribbons, bows, lace, and the occasional beheaded Barbie doll...but we really were wanting Sebastian to have a brother close to his age. Alongside the announcement of Merlin's gender, was the reassurance that he is more than healthy and almost too quick and uncooperative for the ultrasound technicians...I was secretly rooting for him to give them a hard time. Is that wrong? Hehehe...

Well the fifth month has been exciting to say the least. We spent about a week and a half of it vacationing with my family in North Carolina. My brother and sister-in-law needed some emergency babysitting, which jump started my portion of the vacation. It was exciting packing Sebastian and myself up for a week and a half in a night's notice. Insane! Yet, 'twas fun for some reason. And alas, my master list-making skills paid off in the end. After a few days at my brother's house babysitting Cash and Sebastian, Andy joined us and we headed for the mountains to stay with my folks for a week. It just happened to be my birthday, so we reignited our awesome birthday tradition of making the best hideous-creation-that-almost-can't-be-called-a-cake and had a little celebration of frozen pizzas and video gaming. By the end of the week, I had almost eaten an entire lemon behemoth cake sans help, and Andy and I were completely addicted to Wii Mario Kart. Sebastian on the other hand will be missing the rocking horse my folks bought. Especially the song it plays, which we now sing to him while filling the roll of the rocking horse by letting him "ride" us. In any case, Andy and I weren't missing the Wii for long, as Andy surprise gifted us one (complete with Mario Kart) while he was supposed to be out picking up groceries a day or two after we returned from vacation. Fun! I hope I do my homework at least some of the time this semester.

Well, that's about all. I will post pics as usual and hopefully will be back to recap month six ( going to school pregnant starting Monday...oh joy).











August 8, 2010

Month Four















~Amanda

Sixteen Weeks Status:
Weight: 147.6 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: An Avocado (3.5 oz. - 4.5 in.)

The second trimester is not to be underrated. The drastic boost in energy I've experienced over this past month couldn't be more welcome. While I choose not to take much advantage of this energy other than the occasional forced workout (I need to get my hands on some Richard Simmons to get the groove going) or walk around the grocery store or maternity section, it has allowed me the bare minimum fuel supply needed to keep up with school and tropical storm Sebastian, who has taken over my house. With every new bold step, and yes, every random dance move (he likes doing Lord of the Dance impressions) he is becoming more confident and pleasantly erratic. He now talks to us in Sebabble language, which delights the ears. It is most pleasing when he goes from low toned grunts to supersonic screeches in milliseconds...it neither ceases to scare nor entertain. He is just so darn cute, and we never know what to expect next with his exploratory behavior. As for Lord Chitty, he/she has begun making her own challenges to the strange creatures of this outside world in an attempt to be noticed. I have a feeling he/she is usually unsuccessful in these attempts except for when I am lying down for my evening Netflix binge or book-in-bed session. Thankfully, school is over and there will be a lot more lying around going on while I have the chance. I'm sure these three weeks I have off before the Fall semester picks up will fly by with my expected itinerary of visiting fun people and places over the next few weeks as well as relaxing at home. Speaking of fun places, we recently made a trip to the Virginia Air and Space museum, which was filled with such exhibits as "Animal Grossology" (all about disgusting animals or animal bodily functions if you care to imagine) and "Make a fool of yourself being an air traffic controller" simulations. Needless to say, we took full advantage of every opportunity to dork things up. I will post some of the better pictures below. Until next month...






July 14, 2010

Month Three














~Amanda

Thirteen Weeks Status:
Weight: 144.6 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: A Medium Shrimp

Month three started off with the best part of the first trimester: the first ultrasound! Even though we've been through this entire process with Sebastian so recently, we were still completely captivated by the awesome image of our child rolling around inside the womb. Merlin is a cutie just like his big brother was in utero. Here is his first picture:


According to the doctor, our little one is doing perfectly and everything seems to be going well to this point. Thankfully, all of the unpleasantries of early pregnancy have abated now, and I no longer have unbearable fatigue to battle, nor nausea to plague my every waking moment. Woohoo! Thank God! And with the end of the trials of early pregnancy the belly shall grow. I have definitely started showing now and have transitioned into maternity clothes. Now we can just sit back and wait for the first kicks and the revealing of the sex in the next ultrasound, which should take place sometime in the beginning of August.

In Sebastian news, he never ceases to amaze us. On July 1st, the day he turned 9 months old, he took his first wobbly steps. I don't know many people whose 9-month-olds walk, and it's hard to believe that we have a little toddler on our hands already. My mom came into town to visit us for the Fourth of July and got to witness all the fun of his first few days learning to walk. By now, a couple weeks later, he has pretty much mastered it. The doctor was quite impressed yesterday at his 9 month well-baby visit when Sebastian walked across the room to me. We're so proud! A second, and perhaps (on some levels) more exciting, development is his recent propensity for sleeping longer stretches at night. He slept for an entire 7.5 hours straight one night this week...an unthinkable feat up to this point for him. He still wakes most nights a couple times, but he is definitely improving.

Well, that's it for now. I will post a video of Sebastian walking:


June 16, 2010

Month Two
















~Amanda

Nine Weeks Status:
Weight: 143.0 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: A Grape

So I'm not exactly sure how the first three months are divided...I guess by the time you find out you're pregnant the first month is pretty much over. According to Babycenter.com there are 13 weeks in the first trimester, so I guess week nine is the last week in month two...I barely made it on here! In any case, on to the blogging...

I wasn't as lucky this time around as I was last time. Unfortunately, I got hit with some icky nausea this time, and it would pretty much persist all day long. It was actually pretty confusing to distinguish whether I was simply hungry, or whether I was feeling "morning" sickness. I feel like with Merlin, I have been hungry constantly! Anyways...a few things have happened worth noting.

First of all, Merlin's Aunt Rachel helped us to perfect his (or perhaps her in the off chance a Schwartz actually gives birth to a girl in this generation) womb name. His full womb name is now, officially, Lord Chitty Merlin Arthur CaChoob Pendragon Schwartz III. Ha! I'm sure he'll enjoy it at some point in the future.

Perhaps the most exciting news was that Shelly and Josh are also expecting another baby! It's so crazy! They are due one month after us, so our deliveries have the potential to be very close. It really is awesome to have someone so close, going through the same things (at least some of the same things). I was originally going to wait until Father's Day to tell the whole family, but then they surprised everyone with their news a week before, so I figured to bombard everyone with the unbelievable news that we were both pregnant at the same time! It was pretty funny.

In Sebastian news, he's getting sooo big! He was 23.8 lbs this week when I weighed him. He can now reach the piano keys while standing, and can even feed himself with a spoon- provided I put the food on the spoon for him. Such a cutie! Well Next week will be the start of the final month of the first trimester. Thankfully I bought four new prenatal workout videos...it's nice to have variety. I got kind of sick of the two I used while pregnant with Sebastian. I am quite sore at the moment from one of them...kicked my arse! Well that's about it for month two. Enjoy the video!



Sebastian's Self-Feeding:

May 15, 2010

Month One
















~Amanda

Beginning of Month One Status:
Weight: 140.4 lbs.
Estimated Baby Size: Poppy Seed

That's right! We're having another baby! I'm following in my mother's footsteps and having my second child a mere 16 months after the first. And I used to call her crazy... We are very excited, but rather surprised we reached success the first time we officially tried. Considering this is one of the rare occasions in the career of a Marine when he is guaranteed to not deploy (to remind everyone out there, Andy is in the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program at Old Dominion University where I attend as well) we figured it is a perfect oppurtunity to have kids. Or at least start the brood.


Well last week (week 3) was a bit strange. I just had a feeling I was pregnant, so I took an at-home pregnancy test. At first glance pretty much anyone would have seen it as a negative...but Andy and I both swore that we could see the faint hint of a line. So, after going to school to take a final exam I decided to stop by the doctor's office to get the answer, according to everyone I know and the doctor's themselves, a blood serum test is never wrong, even if you go in two days prior to your expected period (which is what I did). After a ridiculously long wait at the doctor's office, however, they told me I was likely just imagining a pregnancy, and that I was indeed not pregnant, "these tests are quite accurate, i'm sorry!" were her exact words. She had a somewhat condescending and almost laughing demeanor to her as she dismissed me as a loony want-to-be prego. I felt like a moron.

In any case, on Tuesday I still had this overwhelming feeling that I was in fact pregnant. And I still had a few tests to waste on my delusions, sooo again I took an at-home pregnancy test. This time the line was faint...but it was much less so....this was driving us crazy! Thinking maybe the cheapo brand of test I had purchased was to blame, that day we went and bought a digital test for me to try out on Wednesday. The rest is history. On Wednesday morning, the day my cycle was supposed to start, the digital pregnancy test came back positive. I promptly went to the doctor's office the first thing that morning in the hopes of proving the rude PA wrong who had attended me...unfortunately she wasn't there. This time the lab results coincided with my premonitions and positive tests, and I was able to tease Andy by initialing telling him it was another false alarm. I only held out for a few seconds though. :)

Woohoo!!!!!!!!!

With Andy's mom in town, we were able to go out on the town for a celebratory dinner and movie date while she stayed home and watched Sebastian.


Well, here we go again...(it's week 5) the good old baby blog is back with a few improvements and changes. Now we will be able to record Sebastian's progress as well as Merlin's (our new child's womb name has already been chosen). Yes, we are aware how dorky we are. Also, I will be tracking my weight gain in decimals. The day I received my positive pregnancy test I was at 139.6, so I've already gained some water weight or blood weight (week 5).

Thankfully, so far, nausea has been minimal. I'm pretty sure I am in the clear in that respect, but only time will truly tell. The most exciting news from this week is that Sebastian learned to crawl, way to go Sebooboo! Since I last remarked on his progress he has quickly excelled from learning to sit, to pulling up to stand, to this most recent accomplishment. He also grew a few teeth. Now if we can just make sense of his sleep... In any case, I will post a few images/videos to catch everyone up on his developing cuteness-hopefully.





Well...week 6 was my first and most annoying doctor's appointment. As last time, I had 8 vials of blood drawn, and had to sit through a class with a group of pregnant ladies. Death by lack of powerpoint! I actually think it would have been much shorter if the lady hadn't tried to remember everything from her PP presentation which she couldn't get working. Anyways...pregnancy has been pure fatigue lately. I am just trying to get enough sleep in my schedule. We had fun taking Sebastian to the pool for the first time today. Unfortunately they don't allow floatation devices in either of the pools we went to (we bought him some fun mommy and me (or daddy and me) floatation crafts that looked really fun, but we couldn't use. We made the best of it though and Sebastian really seemed to enjoy himself. Nevertheless, our search for a pool not run by dictators continues...

Some videos of Sebastian's Journey:









February 4, 2010

Poo!

Well, it has been far too long since I posted anything on this blog. With Sebastian here, and me in school, it is pretty difficult to find the time to post. I could write a novel about my experiences thus far, but I guess I'll attempt to just do an update and maybe scratch the surface of a few thoughts.

Sebastian just had his four-month check-up this week, and he is growing less rapidly now. Thank goodness! It was pretty hard keeping up with his healthy appetite during his growth spurts. Things change so quickly with him from week to week, that I really regret not spending more time to write down my thoughts.

For instance, I can remember when he seemed barely able to focus on my face, and now he is cooing and reaching for it with a big smile when I look down at him. I remember when his little neck was too weak to support his big head (he was a bobbly-headed mess) and now he can almost sit up without support. It has only been four months, but he is changing so fast. He has more than doubled in size already, and has grown 30% in length.

Sebastian still wakes up to feed at least three times a night. We usually put him to bed in his crib around six, and he will wake up around 10 for either a feeding and back to the crib, or I'll bring him in our room to spend the rest of the night with us. I have found co-sleeping to be the best situation for us, since it's the only way I get any sleep. Once he has his first few long sleeps he wakes up every hour or so after that.

Soooo there's your update.

Now let's talk poop. I had no idea what to expect when I was playing with that rumbly ball in my belly. When he came out, his pooped changed so much from day to day I couldn't believe some of what was coming out was technically considered poo. Needless to say I am now accustomed to the gift that is my son's excrement. It seems, rather, to be the bane of his existence most days. He will be so happy one moment and than go into some tantrum seeemingly out of the blue. A few minutes later the culprit announces itself when Sebastian explody-poos (as we have lovingly taken to calling these events).

So, those are my thoughts on poo. I think with that I'll bid you adieu for now.

For more recent pictures of Sebastian check Facebook.