holy camoly

oh.my.word. it's been 6 months! well we've had changes in the anderson household and our family is about to get a little bit bigger. that's right, in december/january we are expecting another little one. are we crazy? maybe, but we decided eli shouldn't get ALL the attention (wink, wink). here are some answers to some common questions we've recieved:

how do you guys feel about being pregnant again?
it's interested how different this pregnancy is compared to eli's. part of us feels like "ho,hum, shannon's pregnant" and it doesn't feel as big this time around. (hopefully this little one doesn't get the wrong impression.) we're excited that we're pregnant it just seems as we're more used to the idea, if that makes any sense at all. we do have our 20 week ultrasound next week and i'm really excited to see the baby (we're not finding out, we like surprises). i'm excited to put a "face" to this baby and to see it move around. one thing we will say, this pregnancy seems to be flying by so much more quickly. it's hard to believe that i'm almost halfway there! like a dear friend describes, it's like when you drive to someplace new on the way there it seem like it takes forever but on the way back it doesn't take that much time at all.

homebirth? again?
yes, we are going to have another homebirth provided everything is normal and going great. we're sticking with our dear friends and midwives from open arms midwifery and couldn't love them more. since we're having a winter baby, i'm excited not to have to drive to the hospital in snow and ice. (knowing our luck, there will be a super storm!)

how do you(shannon) feel?
i've been feeling okay, my first trimester was pretty rough. lot's more nausea and more gastrointestinal issues than i remember with eli. thankfully, those symptoms have subdued and at least i can manage my heartburn with some prescription medication. also, i'm learning/remembering what i should and shouldn't eat and how that effects how i feel. for example, i can't eat hamburgers; they make me feel awful. i think it may be the high fat content of the burger that makes it hard for my body to digest the food (which is a total bummer here in grilling season). i've also been experiencing more braxton hicks contractions than i remember and the leg cramps have returned in style. oh well, i guess it's natures way of just getting me ready for interrupted sleep again. i've been feeling the baby more and that is absolutely wonderful! it helps with the "ho hum" feeling i described above and gives me a shiver every time. today, after reading a dear friends birth story, i had my first real rush of excitement about meeting this little one. who will it be? what will it do? is it a boy or a girl? that felt good.

overall we're starting to remember the mystery of pregnancy and the anticipation what this little one will be like. it's nice to be on the other side of parenthood with a little bit of experience under our belts. it has been helping to relieve some of the anxiety of a new baby knowing that no/low expectations are best. we are reminded to think about this pregnancy and this little ones future life with an open mind.