Sweet Little Siblings!

I love, love, love seeing my sweet little loves together. I know they will have their ups and downs together as siblings, but the desire of my heart is to see them be best friends as they grow up, and throughout their lives.
It has been precious to see how Kenna has taken to her little brother in the two short months he's been here. The first thing she wants to do in the mornings is come find him and she checks on him constantly throughout the day, making sure he has his paci, wanting to "pat pat" his back if he's falling asleep, and sitting with him while he drinks "momma's milk." She takes it very personally if for any reason we don't let her help put on "Finn new diaper."
And yes, throughout the day I do quite a bit of protecting- fingers that want to poke little eyes, or in little mouths, swinging him a little too hard in the swing, or trying to feed him things he shouldn't have... she can be quite the stinker.
She just loves him soooooo much. And, for the most part, he just sits back and takes it all in. So sweet and laidback... he loves her too.
I'm so proud of the big sister she is becoming more and more every day! And it is such a joy to see Finn's personality bloom more each day. My two little peas in a pod.
And here is just about the most precious video I may ever have of them... Matt and I took it the day we brought Finn home from the hospital. Seriously could almost make me want a hundred kids.

Untitled from lindsey brogli on Vimeo.

He's Here!

I have to say, I'm a pretty big fan of these kinds of blog posts... we are happy to say that our little boy has arrived!

Finnegan Walker Brogli

9lbs 11 oz 21 inches, 9:57 a.m.

We are so thankful for this sweet healthy blessing! Despite a very fast delivery, a bit of meconium when my water broke during delivery, and untreated Group B Strep (there was no time for antibiotics!) God brought this little man into the world in His perfect plan and timing. We are so excited for our family to grow and for Kenna to meet her little brother, which will hopefully happen later this afternoon.

We don't believe in "lucky numbers" but here is a funny story about nines for you... we left the house with some pretty severe contractions just after 9 a.m. arriving at Rex's front door at 9:40... Finn was born at 9:57 a.m. weighing well over 9 pounds. As you can imagine, there was no time for an epidural or any other pain relief... my first all-natural delivery!

We are loving Rex so far and can't wait to share more pictures. Thank you all for your prayers, and we are happy and healthy here just soaking in our new little addition!

38 Weeks.

Here's a mini-update for 38 weeks since honestly, there's not too much news!

• I had a check up yesterday and was told I "haven't dilated much at all yet." This means I'm still pregnant, maybe for awhile!

• There's a full moon tonight and I hear mixed reviews on whether they cause people to go into labor (although I think a change in barometric pressure does).
  

• Matt has a one weekend only class tonight and all day tomorrow that he can't miss (it's pass/fail) so as much as we want the fun to start, we're actually hoping the baby waits until next week.

• I'm feeling as well as can be expected at this point- not sleeping well, lots of heartburn, can't lift a thing (like my toddler), and it's so hard to get around! Just feeling ready for my body to start being able to get back to normal.

• Also feeling ready to meet this little boy! His nursery isn't fully done yet, but I don't even care. Can't wait for the tiny toes and new baby smell.

• The hospital bag is mostly packed and we're making sure the car seat is put in this weekend! We haven't done it yet because I'm crazy manic nesting and want to vacuum the whole car with one of those industrial gas station vacuum hoses.
  

• Belly pics are pretty comical at this point- I kind of feel like a science project! But, posterity is posterity, and I'm sure I'll want to compare pregnancies later. Here's 38 weeks, in the same pants as my 2 month picture except that then they were folded over and now they're straight up to my arm pits! Gotta love the fold-over yoga pants.
  

Come out soon, baby boy! We want to meet you!

33 Weeks!

How Far Along:
33 weeks! Everything looked great as of my appointment on January 6th, and my next appointment is week after next at 35 weeks, which means we start weekly appointments after that! At that point it will feel like the real countdown since the baby is technically considered full term at 37 weeks. We also both really love our doctor which makes a huge difference this time.

Size of Baby:
4ish pounds- the size of a pineapple! This is the first week he's really felt to me the same size as the little fruit comparison.

Total Weight Gain:
Exactly the same, which I'm amazed at- 19 pounds. See comments below regarding massive intake of Mexican food.

Maternity Clothes:
I am so done with maternity clothes. I've been trying to creatively make yoga pants pass for real clothing.

Gender:
Boy boy boy, big strong boy!

What I Miss:
Just like with Kenna, the first thing I'm going to want to eat after delivery is a big huge Greek salad from Panera absolutely smothered in feta cheese. Mmmmmm.

Sleep:
Once I'm asleep I'm fine, but any rolling over is super uncomfortable and it's really hard to get up for the bathroom. I also have to have my precise pillow configuration in place to be able to sleep.

Symptoms:
Still having some crazy Braxton Hicks this week, especially at night. I don't know if I'm feeling them more because it's a second pregnancy, or if this little man is getting set for an earlier appearance. During the contractions we can feel his little head right at the top of my belly, so I think this little dude has not turned southward yet, which is making me a little nervous!

Best Moment this Week:
Matt and I doing some decorating in the nursery together... it's almost done!

What I'm Looking Forward to:
My baby shower next weekend... yay! My Sunday School ladies throw such fun parties!

Funny Cravings:
I've been craving Mexican food in a big way... specifically crunchwraps from Taco Bell, and I ate a whole jar of Tostitos queso over the past week. We went to Las Margaritas for lunch yesterday and it was everything I knew it could be.

The 7 Month Belly!

We are 26 weeks pregnant as of the day after Thanksgiving, and instead of doing an update and being tempted to complain about how the heartburn has returned with a vengeance and the fact that I've probably gained weight this week, I thought I'd share instead all the fun things the little man in the belly has been up to the past week or so:
Here is our end-of-6-month belly picture... two trimesters down, one to go! (And yes, I do feel huge!)

Last week we were in Florida with my grandparents, and we took Kenna (and Matt!) out on their first sailboat trip (lots more about this trip to come!). This is me trying to find a life jacket that will also fit baby brother:

And we think Kenna is starting to understand that there's a baby in Mommy's belly. She istrying to call him by name already, and loves to give him lots of kisses:

Oh, and one more! Hiding under the apron while Momma bakes at Thanksgiving:
PS- If you happen to think of it, please be in prayer for us on December 9th as we go to be checked for gestational diabetes. I'm a little concerned that this may end up being an issue for this second pregnancy, especially being tested right on the end of Thanksgiving/2 birthdays week!

19 Weeks...

On Friday the 8th I was 19 weeks pregnant, but the update is a little late because this morning we had our big ultrasound- our 2nd trimester scan where we could answer the big pregnancy question... boy or girl?


We wanted to wait until today to be able to say that Kenna is having a
BABY BROTHER!!!

We got the pure joy of seeing our very healthy baby boy on screen today- with everything measuring on track for his development, a healthy heartbeat of 152, and some definite "boy parts." I had felt as though it might be a boy, but I couldn't really give a reason why I thought so. I had to correct myself and say "or she" every time I naturally said "he" when referring to the baby. It is so nice to know for sure now!

After the ultrasound tech measured everything on the healthy checklist, she also took a few shots in 3D for us- a total surprise! She had to jiggle him around a little to get him to turn and face her... apparently he was a little shy after having exposed himself and kept his little hands up near his face. How amazing to see our little boy's face already! What amazing technology the Lord has provided for us to see him and know he's healthy! Here is our little buddy, Baby Boy B:
And Big Sister is looking very big this week too! She got to come with us to the ultrasound, and watch baby brother in real time up on the tv screen.

How far along:
19 weeks! Everything seems to be flying by.

Size of baby:
Estimated at 12 ounces according to the ultrasound, approximately the size of a large tomato!

Total Weight Gain:
7 pounds according to our home scale (that may be slightly less than accurate thanks to a little somebody who likes to jump on it to see the numbers change) and exactly 10 according to the doctor (I think we splurged a little on our trip this weekend!)

Maternity Clothes:
I wore my "fat jeans" buttoned low under my belly for our anniversary date last week, but I knew for sure it would be the last time I wore them! I unbuttoned them the minute I sat down in the car to leave the house!

Gender:
IT'S A BOY!

Movement:
I have a little rolly polly in there... lots of soft little movements here and there throughout the day are a constant reminder of my little co-inhabitant! He seems to be really active mostly at night, too.

What I miss:
Free time! There are a lot of things I used to do that there just isn't as much time for anymore, but I'm so thankful for this little window of time in my life where little hands and hearts constantly need me.

Sleep:
I've been having recurring dreams about my Mom that are kind of hard. I dream that she didn't really die, and I run into her later and she is confused about why our lives are so different and why we've been acting as though she had died. There's something so disconcerting about seeing someone and interacting with them exactly as they were in your dreams, and then waking up knowing they're not here anymore.

Symptoms:
I'm still craving apples with cheese sticks like crazy and having really stuffy nose at night.

Best moment this week:
Finding our baby is a baby brother! Now we just have to pick out a name.

What I'm looking forward to:
Seeing Kenna be a big sister. She is CRAZY about babies already!

Here is the end of the 4th month belly pictures. We took this one during our trip to the mountains this weekend (more about that soon!). It's nice to take belly pictures and see that I'm not quite as big as I feel!

We're so thankful for the ways the Lord has blessed our growing little family. We know that this little one, and Kenna too, are "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). One of our prayers for our kids is from Ephesians 3:

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and high and long and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (verses 16-19)