Here I GROW Again!

So, I know we have been in radio silence for quite a while here in blog land. February through May were months spent on a roller coaster...emotional, physical and any other type of roller coaster you could put us on. Once June hit, the roller coaster seemed to slow down a bit and come out of the fog. But, after being out of the game for so long, I hit the ground running with vacations, visitors, doctor appointments, laundry, cleaning and birthday parties! As we approach July, it doesn't seem like life is going to slow down at all, but at least I am in a better place to keep up with it all!

I have tons of pictures, hilarious stories and amazing memories to document and share, but first things first.

!!!WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!!


I am 15 weeks along and despite the loss of energy and the beginning of food aversions and heart burn, I am doing great. For those of you doing some math, yes, I am do at Christmas. Around December 20th :) At this point we have a pretty good guess as to the sex of the baby, but we will be able to get a better picture in 5 weeks (if baby is willing to share of course). We had an ultrasound 2 weeks ago and the little Long Baby was a wiggling and a waving and growing just as expected!

We have been relatively quite until now and I have been a bit disconnected from this pregnancy up until a few weeks ago. Some of you know that we actually got pregnant back in January, but lost the baby in February. It was a very hard loss for me, but it also enlightened me in many ways. I think, as a self defense mechanism, I was in a bit of denial about this pregnancy. Which is a bit silly considering I was sick as a dog, had all the other symptoms, and even saw the little little heart beat. Regardless, I think I was in a bit of fear that I was going to lose the baby again, and was trying to protect my self. This baby was a total surprise, coming just a month after we lost the other baby, and on it's own schedule. This pregnancy has been yet another HUGE reminder that I am not in control and the more I try to pretend I am, the more difficult everything becomes :) *thanks for the reminder baby!* Now that we are in the 2nd trimester and doing a-ok, my wall was magically broken down and though I have all the natural and rational fears of having 2 kiddos, I AM SO VERY HAPPY AND SO VERY EXCITED to meet this new little miracle who chose us for a family!

As in my pregnancy with Noah, I got super sick around 6 weeks this time around too :( Constant nausea and vomiting while caring for a 2 year old is LAME! At least there was some comedy in my sickness though. Noah was very concerned when I took off running for the bathroom, he would follow me in, hold my back or stand near me saying, "mama!" in a super sweet voice. He quickly learned that despite my face and sounds, I was ok and the humor set in. Noah now thinks that toilets are for spitting in. He often "took turns" with me...when I came up for air, he would lean over and spit into the bowl. That wasn't the only thing he imitated though, for a few weeks Noah walked around the house making gagging sounds, it was so pleasant. Eventually, he would come check on me and then simply pull the bathroom door closed and carry on with his business.

Luckly, the daily illness and unease ended around 11 weeks (with Noah it lasted until 16 or 17 weeks) and I seem to only get sick once in a while. I can't seem to tolerate much dairy. Good and Bad. I can have cream cheese on my bagle or sour cream with a burrito, but a bowl of cereal or a bowl of ice cream, sends me running to pray to the porcelain gods. If you remember last pregnancy, I basically lived on Haagen-Dazs and Ben and Jerry's. So, dairy intolerance = Good for my weight gain and nutrition and Bad for my happy ice cream moments :)

For now though, my cravings have been all in the fruit department, and our local market has a delicious supply to keep me and baby happy. Certain foods; onions, garlic, and bell peppers, seem to be the likely culprits for heart burn. But it seems that with my insanely slow digestive system, everything I eat lingers for hours on end. I have given up the bells and onions, but garlic is just too yummy to let go of for now! The giant bottle of Tumms has once again taken up residence on my kitchen counter and in my purse :)

We have been talking to Noah about the baby. We ask him, "what's in mommy's belly?" He always responds with a smile and says, "BABY!" He will give the baby kisses, pat the baby and occasionally JUMP on the baby. The last one isn't so cute and quite painful. Noah is convinced that it is a baby girl in my belly. For the last 6 weeks whenever we ask, he says, "Baby Girl!" The last few weeks, we have been asking what the baby's name is. For a while Noah would just answer, "name." But, in the last week he has told me her name is "reese," "chooo-chooo," "dinosaur," "baseball," and today, "fuuuuuuusaaa!" I have asked if Noah wants the new baby girl to come live with us, and he consistently says "No or Naaa." We got 6ish more months to change his mind :)

Sometimes he is ok with me holding another baby and other times he is a total jealous mess. Like last time, there are a handful (or more) of my friends who are also pregnant and this go around, I am the last one due. I am hoping we can get in some "new baby time" with all the other babies coming and help ease Noah into the whole thing a little better. Chesna is due with a baby girl in August, Kelly is due with a baby girl in September, Cerissa is due with a baby girl and Kat is due with a baby boy in October, Sarah and Justine are both due with baby boys in November and then there is me in December! Who did I forget?!

*UPDATE* 06.29.20*
*I FORGOT MARY!!!! EEEK! *
*Mary is due with little boy Ben in September!!!*

So, there you have it! We will soon be a family of 4 and have a busy 6ish months ahead of us before Baby Long #2 enters the world. I hope to post weekly, to share our adventures and keep you updated with with happenings inside my belly!