Ainsley Ruth

That's baby girl #2's name! We finally have made our decision after many, many months of debates! So from now on we will refer to baby girl as Ainsley! We hope you like it.

So for an update on Ainsley and I:
I am now 30 weeks pregnant! Hoping for 7-10 more weeks until we welcome our sweet baby girl. She has been doing great, definitely a mover! For over a month I was experiencing pain from how hard she would press on my uterus when she was trying to "stretch". She moves a great deal more than Ellie, so I'm interested to see what she will be like when she arrives in this world. She is measuring perfectly and sounding (heartbeat) perfectly! The doctors are always so pleased with how well I'm doing. At 30 weeks, Ainsley should weigh around 3 lbs. and measure almost 16 inches! I would love to post a picture of my belly, but every time I hate the picture I take. So you'll just have to see it in person :)

How am I doing? I still have trouble sleeping at night, most nights I end up on the couch (I just can't kick around and move with Zach in the bed). Other than that minor issue, I'm doing fabulous! Some days the sleeplessness bothers me, but most of the time I still have tons of energy. I have been working out this pregnancy, unlike with Ellie, and I think that has a lot to do with how good I feel. I hope it will also help me recover quicker after the birth.

How am I feeling? I am so excited, more than words can describe! With Ellie the anticipation of the unknown and what was to come took away from the true joy of pregnancy (along with first year teaching and first year of marriage). With Ainsley, I'm loving every minute and thinking of all the wonderful things to come! I know there's a possibility she could be the opposite of Ellie and we could have a very difficult time, but the thoughts of seeing her, holding her, and watching Ellie and her grow together are so profound. Ellie does extremely well with us holding other kids/babies and interacting with other kids/babies, that I have no worries with introducing a sibling into the family. I think she is going to be so excited to have a playmate that she will hardly notice the time she is losing from mommy and daddy. (Although I do still think this could happen). Ainsley's arrival will only tell, these are just my thoughts. I also get very excited to be able to hold, cuddle and nurse Ainsley... where as with Ellie I didn't get to enjoy it fully mostly due to how boring it all seemed to me. I definitely know I won't be bored with a toddler in the house! It's hard to imagine if I can love Ainsley as much as I love Ellie, but I have heard that it is so amazing to see how your love expands instead of divides. I think we get this idea that we only have so much love to give, so our love must be divided. But this isn't the case, especially with our children.

I'm praying that I cherish every moment I have with Ellie before Ainsley arrives and experience all the joys of being pregnant and welcoming another child into the world. Oh how the Lord has blessed us beyond measure! Children... what a beautiful thing!