Morse Code

I wonder a lot about baby #2. Will it be a boy or a girl? Will it be hyper or calm? Talkative or silent? Good or bad sleeper? Cuddler or private? And I know I wondered the same questions when we were waiting for Kaylani. But this time, I feel like I can figure it out beforehand...through morse code.

I've been working on this plan in my head ever since I felt a faint kick through Mommy's belly about a week ago. Just resting my hand on her belly and feeling a little flutter was enough to make me happy and enjoy what we have. It also was the spark my brain needed for my brilliant pre-natal/pregnancy plan. Without further ado, here's the plan (more or less):

1) Set baselines for baby kicks. This includes frequency of kicks, general belly location of kick, speed of kicks, and strength of kicks.

2) Once the baseline has been set, ask the baby questions (through the belly button of course) and document reactive kicks.

3) Teach the baby morse code. Oh wait, strike that.

3) Learn morse code.

4) Teach the baby morse code

5) Repeat questions from step 2 above and document kicks using morse code

6) Sit back and wait for baby to be born to validate answers

Its a fairly simple plan as you can see. It only has 6 steps so how difficult could that be? I was going to go for 7 steps, but let's be realistic...we're talking about a still developing fetus. If you want to get in on this and ask any questions, or know morse code, feel free to reach out to me. I'll be sure to mention you when I publish my research and become famous!

Is it here yet?

There's still ~22 weeks left before baby #2 makes its grand entrance into the world. But according to one of us, June 1 can't come soon enough.

Every now and then, Kaylani wants to touch Mommy's belly. It usually happens when we're taking pictures to see how they've grown. Sometimes it happens when Mommy is rubbing her belly, or when she's wearing a shirt that doesn't quite cover her belly (which only happens in the privacy and comfort of our own home). Most of the time, she just touches Mommy's belly button, or says "hi" to the baby through the belly button when we tell her to talk to her baby brother or sister (which she says "no brother. Sister mama/papa!" to before she says "hi"). But today, she was different.

Before nap, Kaylani was getting ready for nap, and wanted to say "good nap" to the baby. After going straight to Mommy's belly and pulling down her maternity pants so she could play with and talk to her belly button, Mommy explained to her that Kaylani was going to sleep in her crib and Mommy and baby were going to go take a nap. She said okay and then went to nap. After nap, this happened:

Mommy: Hi Kaylani! Did you have a good nap?
Kaylani: Is the baby awake yet? I wake up from nap and play with baby. Baby awake?
M: No sweetie, the baby is still in Mommy's belly
K: But I want to play with the baby. Baby wake up from nap
M: Sorry sweetie, but the baby isn't ready yet. Your baby brother or sister won't be ready for awhile.
K: No brother Mama! Baby SISter!

Then for the rest of the afternoon, she asked questions and talked about her baby "sister" with Mommy. We've still got 5+ months left. Last time it was Mommy who wanted the baby out more and more with each passing day. This time, I think its going to be Kaylani. Or maybe it'll still be Mommy since she'll be feeling it AND hearing it, for the next 5 months!

Day 284

To different people, 9 months could be an eternity away, or it could be right around the corner. If you're the type of person who plans a lot (me), then 9 months sneaks up on you. Or if you're the type of person who lives day by day, then 9 months probably isn't even fathomable. But, when you're expecting a child, no matter what type of person you are, 9 months will come up on you and feel like it's right around the corner. Right up until that 9th month that is.

After 40 weeks, 280 short days, "9 months", all things say you should have a little newborn in your hand. Sometimes sooner, sometimes a bit later. But those last 14 days, or in our case, last 18 days (and counting) are LONG. Funny how the first 9 months flew by. I barely even remember what happened 9 months ago ,but I could tell you every single thing I've done in the last 18 days because they all go like this:

-Wake up 2-3 times in the middle of the night to check on Brendalys and make sure there's no signs of labor
-Grab a coffee from Dunkin Donuts
-Go to work and check my cell phone reception every 5 minutes
-Come home and eat dinner
-Twiddle thumbs and wait for baby to come
-Go to sleep
-Lather, rinse, repeat

Well we're on Day 284, and even though it's normal for first-time mom's to be late (even more normal when the mom is Puerto Rican), these days are getting longer. We've tried a few of the "home remedies" that induce labor but let me know if you have some "sure-fire" tactics that will help get this baby out...we'll try anything at this point! Otherwise we're just going to sit around and wait.

Some say I should take advantage of this time because life is about to change. I'd rather life just change now because I have a feeling that it's going to be awesome!