Three boys, all VERY unique

So now that the news is starting to spread that we are having a boy, I have to deal with a few of the pathetic faces that seem to think we're disappointed in not having a girl. I have a hard time understanding those that don't grasp our genuinely wanting another baby, regardless of gender. I guess we live in a world where everything is supposed to be "even" and "fair". Of course, I expect people to ASK if we were wanting a girl, but I didn't expect them to not believe me when I tell them "not necessarily." Anyway...

.

I have been assured by MANY people that boys are much easier than girls, especially as teenagers. I guess we'll compare our boys with our nieces (or rather, their parents) when the time comes, though I admit I cannot fathom my children ever being that old (yup, still livin' in a fantasy world where my babies will always be babies and they'll always think their momma is smart!).

.

This being my third boy pregnancy, I've come to one conclusion about all of the wives' tales about heartrate, cravings and how you're carrying in order to predict gender. THEY'RE ALL HOGWASH! All three pregnancies have been entirely different. I think my intuition has told me I was having a boy with all three of them, but with Carter and this baby, I almost convinced myself "it must be a girl" just because the pregnancy was so different. Some may find this boring, but I find it amusing...so you can humor me and read this or skip it if you find it dull...

.

.

How they're carried:

Logan at 24 weeks

Carter at 26 weeks
This baby at 25 weeks

Sickness:

Logan: every morning only for 3 months with one week of all day every day feeling quite ill. Other than that, I felt great.
Carter: barely at all…but when it did occur, it was without warning. I had to excuse myself very suddenly from a couple of conversations.
This baby: Definitely the most ill of the three. I would have bouts of 2-3 days of not being able to keep anything down. Then I’d feel better for a few days and begin to think “the worst is over”…and then it would start up again. Thankfully, I’ve been feeling great since the end of May.
.
Preparation:
Logan: We had only moved into our house a month before he was born and I became sick the week before we moved in, so it took the fun out of setting up the nursery that I had hoped for. We had a crib with a white sheet and a carseat. No clothes, no diapers, not a single burp cloth. The kid came into the world naked and would’ve stayed that way for a while if the hospital didn’t furnish things while we were there. The family celebrated Christmas while we were in the hospital and my shower was 10 days after he was born. By the time he was a month old, he had more clothes than he could wear.
Carter: Not much preparing to do. Logan was still in the crib when Carter was born, we already had carseats and plenty of boy clothes. Logan moved out of the crib and Carter moved right in.
This baby: We don’t have any newborn stuff left; it’s been given away, sold or needed to be destroyed. It’s been fun to get the nursery ready (not that it’s totally ready yet).
.
Personality in:
Logan: I felt him move about a month earlier than the books said. He definitely moved more after I ate and as soon as I laid down at night.
Carter: He NEVER moved. Poor kid was folded in half…but it definitely made me nervous more than once. It was also difficult to hear his heartbeat with my stethoscope because my placenta was in the front, so I felt like I couldn’t check up on him.
This baby: This baby moves a bunch and has a definite routine (so far). This baby also hurts me already. Powerful little bugger.
.
Personality out:
Logan: came into the world pretty lifeless. It took them almost 2 minutes to get him breathing and he was taken away. When I got to see him 3 hours later, he didn’t hardly squirm. We barely have any pictures of him with his eyes open until well after a month old. It took him 45 minutes to eat one ounce in the hospital. He livened up eventually. He loved to be held, nursed, swaddled and rocked.
Carter: came out screaming and swinging. Pediatrician even had a hard time examining his head and face, he was fighting so hard. They had warned me ahead of time that he might not kick a lot from being breech. NOT THE CASE! This kid could overpower me from the start. Couldn’t keep him swaddled. This little guy screamed and fussed until he could get his arms free. I spent many nights pacing the hallway, trying to console him, only to find out he calmed down when I put him down!!! He still is a wreck trying to sit on my lap. The kid can’t contain himself.

This baby: to be announced...
.
Weight (mine and theirs):
Logan: I didn’t start gaining weight until 20 weeks and ended up gaining 12 pounds total. Logan was 6 lbs, 7 oz at birth, which I didn’t think was too bad for 4 weeks early. He was developed like a 34-week baby but he had his sucking and rooting reflexes, which is a big reason he didn't have to go to Anchorage. They think he would’ve been around 8 pounds if he had been full term.
Carter: I started gaining at 24 weeks and gained 14 pounds total. Carter was only 5 pounds, 11 oz at birth (37 weeks), but they think he was malnourished due to one of the cord vessels being almost completely blocked. Despite his small size, he was actually developed like a 38 week baby.
This baby: I actually lost a pound at first, but then have gained 7 pounds so far. Plus, I started gaining weight at 16 weeks, so maybe this baby will be HEFTY!

.

Update: Baby checkup this week was good. Had to see the midwife because the OB was out of town. She was a little concerned about the amount of contractions I have and the "pressure" I told her I'd been feeling, but we were reassured that nothing is happening. She did comment that baby is sitting VERY LOW, which explains the pressure I'm feeling. Apparently he likes to snuggle in, nice and cozy.

.

The summer is winding down. Hard to believe both of my babies will be in school this year. I've actually committed to working the mornings Carter's in preschool through the end of September. So, hopefully baby won't make an early appearance and "spoil" my much-anticipated time-to-myself in the mornings beginning in October. Maybe I'll get a few things done around here (before our lives are happily turned upside-down again, that is).

.

We put the boys in swimming lessons. Logan's been before, but it was a first for Carter. He spent the entire first hour crying...but this tapered off with each lesson. He finally quit looking terrified by lesson #5 and after lesson # 8, he told me "Mommy, I love swimming lessons." Much progress made. Logan's actually able to swim about 10 feet completely on his own (though he will tell you he can swim half of the pool. Apparently he estimates distance about as well as his mother).

Logan "rescuing" his buddy, Petie.

Carter prepping to "rescue" Logan.

Carter giving a terrified wave to his teacher from the diving board (he didn't actually have to jump...this time)Logan clearing his eyes after his big jump.

Lastly, we took the boys to a kids' magic show a week or so ago. It was almost 2 1/2 hours long, which means Carter was lost after about 5 minutes. But, they had mats set up on the floor and it was held in a local school's gymnasium, so he could kind of run around with his little buddy without disturbing anyone. Logan, however, was captivated the entire time.

.

Logan watching intently.


Carter NOT watching intently.

Carter with his buddy, Ethan, bonding over popcorn.