I can’t believe I’m 24 weeks pregnant already, it seems like yesterday I was holding the positive test in my hands! Even though we have 16 weeks (give or take) to go it seems like we have 1,000,000 projects that need to be handled before our little man is here. I have yet to purchase a single piece of boys clothing!

We were able to select paint colors for the nursery and have moved most of Joe’s office items out of the room, now we just need to actually make the time to paint and tape the perfectly symmetrical stripes I want to go throughout the room. I don’t think Joe is looking forward to it

When I was pregnant with Ella I was scared senseless so I reassured her everyday that she could stay in as long as she liked. It was a pretty easy pregnancy and I tell her all the time how grateful I am for how nicely she treated me. Little Will is a bit different. I’m not sure if it’s because he is a boy or if it’s the fact that it’s my second pregnancy, but he is definitely not as nice.

He sits MUCH lower than Ella which has been causing a lot of pain in my lower back (already). I tried going to the chiropractor for the first time ever, but it required me to go all the time and I wasn’t sure it was helping so I stopped and am trying to manage it on my own. I have had constant headaches almost daily – which probably has something to do with my back issues too. Whatever way you look at it, I’m a mess!

I am fortunate to not have had morning sickness with either baby…. but that doesn’t mean I haven’t felt ill. With Ella I wouldn’t have known I was pregnant if it wasn’t for the extra 40 lbs. I was carrying around. With Will I can barely eat a thing without being in discomfort.

I have a doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon and I am looking forward to seeing how much I’m measuring and how the little man is doing. I definitely know he is still in there based on how often he kicks me! Don’t get me wrong – I am not complaining. I like the continuous reminder of how lucky our family is to have him and the reassurance that he is doing well.

<-------------Ella in the bathtub drawing a picture of her and her new brother :)

Where has this year gone? April is almost over and May is right around the corner! May is a busy month in our household right from the start. Our follow up ultrasound is set for May 3rd and Joe’s birthday festivities begin the following day. Hopefully we will have plenty to celebrate!

Then the following day, May 5th, we are participating in the March of Dimes – March for Babies Walk. The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The March of Dimes provides grants to researchers, with the goal of understanding the causes of birth defects and developing new ways to prevent and treat them.

When we first found out we were pregnant we created a short list of names for both boys and girls, but if we had a boy we were pretty sure we were set on one name. That was until we found out for sure we were having a boy. Once it became a reality I started to doubt my choices and wanted more time to think it over.

From today we have exactly four months to go and we will need that time – not only to finish the 1,000 projects we have left, but to talk Ella into what a great name Will is. While she might also be joking about Ferdinand, she really does want to name him Henry. Every time she tells people Ferdinand we correct her and say, “No honey what’s the baby’s real name?” to which she replies, “Henry.” We then follow it up with – “No… honey that’s not his name.” She then puts her hands on her hips and replies, “Why not? Henry’s a good name!”

*Side note: The above image is a tool from BabyZone that I used when we were expecting Ella. I dug all night long trying to find it and when I finally did it returned the same definition as it showed for Ella. I assumed it was broken and wasn’t going to use it however I tested 10 different name variations that all returned different results. That can only mean our name selection is more perfect than even we realized and more importantly, we are doomed because it seems this child will be just like Ella!!

On July 15th, 2008 we had Ella’s first ultrasound where we learned that she would be born with a cleft lip and palate. That was almost 4 years ago and even though the 2010 Census showed that almost 235,000 people live in Madison Wisconsin – we have yet to meet another parent or cleft kid in the area. I can’t count how many times we have felt like the first people to have a child born with a cleft lip and palate.

Tonight that all changed. Holy Hannah – there are other people born with cleft lip and palate! A while back I was fortunate enough to connect via Cleft Awareness with another mom (Nicole) here in Madison who’s first born son, now almost 9 years old, was also born with a cleft lip and palate. I was super pumped and hoped to line up a time that we would be able to meet in person.

It just so happens that not only does Nicole have a cleft child, but she is also a rockstar photographer. So when she contacted me earlier this week to see if we would be interested in having Ella’s photos taken – we jumped at the chance. Not only am I crazy about photos, but I love her work and I was really excited to meet her.

She is one of those people that you feel like you know, yet you have never met. I could tell that I would like her just from following her on social media. Making new friends since having Ella has been a bit challenging. Don’t get me wrong – we have lots of great friends that we love dearly, but it would be nice to have more friends who are able to relate to having children. Most parents we know – through daycare, swim lessons, dance class, work, etc. – typically have different interests and parenting styles than we do making it hard.

Even though tonight’s photo session was rather impromptu the meeting was very natural and I felt like we hit it off right away. She is super chill and her boys (she has 3) were awesome! Ella was kind of a mess and refused to let me fix her hair, but the photos turned out great. Thank you Nicole Hansen Photography and hope to connect again soon!

When Joe and I had first decided we would try for Baby #2 I kept a calendar so I could track ideal times to try and more importantly how soon I would be able test so that I wasn’t risking drinking while being pregnant. For those of you who use Google Calendar – you know you can name it whatever you like. Since the nature of the calendar was a bit awkward I kept it vague and titled it, BBL – Baby Boy Leschisin. I figured it didn’t hurt to try and will us a baby boy through the power of mindset.

Those were my thoughts before I was pregnant and then when we found out we were expecting on December 15th, 2011 they turned to whether or not the baby would be healthy. As the baby became a reality I didn’t care if it was a boy or a girl; a healthy baby was the only goal.

We had our 20 week ultrasound this past Thursday and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome. After an hour of scanning and gathering the necessary measurements and images we needed the doctor finally came in and said everything looked great and that there were no signs of health problems. Talk about a different feeling than the first time! I have never been so happy and grateful for anything in my entire life.

While I knew I could handle another child with a cleft I really just wanted to know what it would be to like to have a “normal” pregnancy. What would it be like to not see my doctor every week? How would I feel not having to think about impending surgeries? What do you mean I don’t have to transport two children to numerous dental and speech appointments? I don’t have to think about insurance coverage at every second? What do I do with all that extra time?

After we had got past the important stuff, the perinatologist was ready to announce the sex of the baby. We had all placed our bets ahead of time – winner received a candy bar. Ella was dead set on a girl and not accepting anything but, Joe voted boy and I had mentally prepared myself for a girl with a cleft. The OB had an image on the screen and was showing me as if it clearly spelled out the gender of the baby, but I was a bit clueless so I told her she could tell Ella. As she said, “It’s a boy” Ella’s little nose crinkled up and she immediately said, “I not want a boy!” I am sure her future brother will love to hear her immediate reaction but I guess she’s nothing if not honest.

I couldn’t believe she said boy! How exciting – a HEALTHY baby BOY. Maybe my calendar BBL helped us out more than I realized. The technician printed out some pictures for us to take home and we were on our merry way. We go back in 6 weeks to double check that everything is okay and we have already successfully changed Ella’s mind on how cool boys are.

Now onto other decisions to be made – what do you think people would say if we sent these birth announcements?