Swimming

We recently took the plunge (pun intended) and purchased a family pass to the MIT gym for the year, which we are eligible for since Chris is an alum. This includes access to 5 indoor swimming pools of various lengths and sizes, which Frankie and I are planning on taking full advantage of! I purchased swimsuits for both of us off E-bay. Frankie's is what they call a 'float suit', which has inflatable floaties that fit inside the front and back panels of her swimsuit. The twins I used to babysit for had these, and they were really helpful in the pool, you just didn't have to worry about them quite as much.

I went for the first time last night, to swim laps and check out the scene before I brought Frankie. It was so nice to be in the pool, to exercise again. I really haven't exercised much since before I was pregnant with Frankie. I went running some this summer, but lost interest and motivation when it got tough to pencil this activity in on a regular basis around naps and work. Of course, living in the city we walk a lot, but it's not the same.

My pregnant belly is already sticking out, and I'm sure I'm an interesting site to most of the clientele at the MIT gym, since they are primarily college students. I know that as I get larger it's going to feel so nice to get in the pool and have that weight lifted from my back, at least temporarily.

Christmas

Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming!

Ways we know it's Christmas around here:

1. Cookies. I love making Christmas cookies and indulged myself the other day spending way too much time and effort making sugar cookie cutouts and frosting them. It just wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't make sugar cookies.
2. Music. We have a squeezebox, which is a device that we have in the living room, hooked up to our speakers, that uses our wireless connection to stream internet radio stations to the living room speakers. It's great, because I can stream any radio station that's available online, for no charge. Many of these are commercial free too. Recently, I've been listening to a Holiday music station that seriously, seems like they just took any song labeled Christmas or Holiday, and put it on shuffle, and then hit play. A Christmas song by Enya will be followed up by one from Kanye West. The other day I heard a version of "Let it Snow" by Twisted Sister. The other station I've been listening to a lot is a Christian station out of Dallas; KLTY. My favorite thing about this station is that I'll hear weather reports, news updates, traffic reports, etc from Dallas (which when Kristen moves to Waco in May, it will help me feel connected to her and maybe miss her a little less. Or a little more, I can't decide). Tomorrow it's going to be 80 in Dallas. There is a mountain lion loose in a town outside Dallas, and if you spot it, please call 911. Seriously? A mountain lion? Good luck, Polks.
3. Christmas Trees. Heather has one up and Frankie has dutifully ignored it. All of Heather's scheming of ways to keep Frankie from toppling the tree over have apparently been wasted thus far. We put one up this week too, and she has also ignored ours.
   
4. Santa PJs. Ho-ho-ho.
5. Snow. We've had some this week, although it's currently a crusty, icy, slippery variety.
   

Number Two

No, that's not a reference to Austin Powers, or losing a competition, but to our Second Baby!

That's right, we're pregnant. Again! I'm 12 weeks along now, with a due date of June 16th. Frankie and her sibling will be 16 months apart.

We're thrilled to be pregnant again so soon. We want to have a lot of kids, and have them close together, so we're happy that God has blessed us with this second child so soon.

Now for a little "Rumor Control" a la US Weekly (or which ever magazine does this):

1. You can't get pregnant while nursing.

False! Fortunately, I knew this wasn't true, so we weren't foolish enough to be using it as a form of birth control, but apparently this is an old wives tale that some people still believe. I read up on the subject, and it appears that this is partially true, at least for the first 6 months. I think the statistic was something like 98% of women who are nursing don't ovulate during the first 6 months post-partum, but after that, it's a free-for-all.

I did, however, chose to stop nursing Frankie after I found out I was pregnant again, mainly because I was exhausted, and I figured I could gain some energy back by weaning. There are also unconfirmed (scientifically) speculations that nursing a child while pregnant can lead to miscarriage, but I think all the evidence is anecdotal, and no one really knows why each miscarriage occurs, so I'm sure some people just adamantly assumed it was because they were still nursing another child. There are many cases of women continuing to nurse throughout pregnancy without incident.

2. You start showing a lot sooner with the second.

True! At 12 weeks I'm already starting to dip into the maternity clothes. I haven't gained much weight, but my uterus quite happily expanded again in response to the pregnancy hormones. And no, it doesn't mean I'm carrying a huge baby. They're all about the same size right now at 12 weeks. They really don't start differentiating in weight until much closer to your due date. It just means my belly is already stretched out (sorry for the mental image, folks).

It's been fun to be pregnant a second time (she says now that the nausea has passed her by). I know what to expect now when I go to my OB appointments, and I'm not nearly as worried about every little twinge as I was the first time. In fact, having to chase Frankie around has been good for me. Exhausting, but good. I don't have time to stop and dwell on how my body is changing, or how sick I feel. I think I also trust my body a little more - I know that while a pregnant woman needs to be careful, and is carrying a fragile being, I think I feel less of a need to be overly cautious. In a good way, people, not a reckless way.

So I apologize to anyone if I've appeared a little checked out recently, and haven't returned phone calls, etc. I've been going to bed around 8 or 8:30 every night, and trying to nap with Frankie in the afternoons on the days I'm home. This means I've had a lot less free time, which is frustrating for me, but I keep reminding myself that it's just a stage, and that I'll be back to my normal energy levels again soon (and then exhausted again...).

Frankie plays the Piano

Frankie has long fingers, and many people exclaimed "She's going to be a piano player!" when they first met her and noticed the fingers. Well, the dream is already realized, Frankie loves to play the piano.