Introducing Walker

Meet our sweet boy, Walker Brice Pyle.

 We welcomed him into the world on Friday, September 6th at 10:11 AM.

He weighed in at 9 lbs and was 21" long.

We are absolutely in love with him.  He is our newest miracle from God.

3 going on 16

I just realized that I never did a 3 year post for Becca - I mean it was the end of June before I had her 3 year old pictures done.  Not to make excuses, but this pregnancy has really taken it out of me. 
Our sweet girl is full of life and sassiness and lots of personality.  Here are her stats:
weight:  38 pounds

• height:  37 inches
• size clothes:  3T (mostly), but some 4T
• childcare:  Nat - she'll go to preschool next year
• she is really smart - she knows ABC's, she can count to 20, she can recognize #'s 1-9, she has a HUGE vocabulary with words such as skyscraper and magenta:)
• her current favorite tv shows are Sophia the First, Special Agent Oso, and Doc McStuffins
•  she loves to have books read to her - her favorite is The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• she has developed quite the imagination and loves to play with her dolls and stuffed animals with her stroller;  she also loves to play with her kitchen and play food;  the iPad is her absolute favorite
• she loves to play outside;  she has gone to the movies a few times and did pretty well;  she also still loves the zoo and feeding the giraffes
• she likes to ride her scooter, bike, and most importantly, the 4-wheeler with her Daddy
• she has moved upstairs to her 'big girl room' and she LOVES it;  that transition went very smooth
• she loves music and will get her Daddy's iPad and play all different songs
• she loves to dance and has quite the moves - she will begin tap and ballet at Dance Dept. in September
• we are constantly working on manners, but I have faith that one day she will get it
• she loves going to Bible class
• she got to go to 2 different VBS's this summer and she loved them
•  

In June, our friends Josh & Aaron with Joshua Aaron Photography did Becca's 3 year old pictures/family pictures/maternity session.  They did a phenomenal job!  Here are a few of our favorites:

Daddy's Girl:)

She loves her Mama, too!  (and baby Walker)

I am amazed at the little girl Becca has become.  Three has definitely proven to be challenging, but as frustrating as it can be, I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I love her inquisitiveness and her love for learning.  She keeps us laughing all the time!  She is very excited about becoming a big sister.  She kisses my belly and talks to Walker all of the time.  JP and I both agree that we are most looking forward to seeing Becca meet Walker for the first time.  I thank God for the miracle of our sweet girl, and I just pray that we will be the parents He wants us to be.

A little comparison

I was looking back at Becca's last ultrasound to see if these two were going to look anything like each other.  Let's see what you all think!

So, what do you think?  Any similarities?

6 weeks & counting…

Baby Walker is continuing to grow – a lot!  To catch everyone up, at my 29 week appointment, my stomach was measuring 32 weeks, so they were a little concerned about his size.  At my 31 week appointment, they did an ultrasound to get his measurements.  They said he weighed 4 pounds 7 ounces at that point which put him in the 76%.  Definitely NOT small, but they weren’t concerned.  They said he may not continue to grow at the same rate, so there’s still a chance he will be average sized. 

Today, we went to Wee See to get some pictures of our big boy.  It was great to see him and how much he’s changed.  It’s been about a week and a half since our last ultrasound, and according to the tech, he weighs 5 lbs 1 oz.  He wasn’t very cooperative today – he kept his face turned towards my spine, and when he would turn his head, he kept his hands up.  But we were still able to get some sweet shots:)

chewing on his finger and smiling

another sweet smile

this is how he stayed most of the time

at least we were able to see that he has all of his fingers

this is his back – with lots of rolls

a little manly profile

The closest we got to a front shot.  Such a sweet face!

Becca was able to go with me today, and I don’t think she quite knew what to think.  She was very quiet throughout the entire ultrasound, but I think she really enjoyed it.  Hearing his heartbeat is her favorite. 

I go back to the doctor Wednesday, and we will schedule my c-section.  It’s a little scary to think we’ve only got 6 weeks until this little man makes his debut!  I’m definitely nervous about having 2 children, but looking forward to meeting this sweet man.

29 week stats

I had my 29 week appointment this past Wednesday.  Everything is going well except Walker is now measuring 3 WEEKS ahead of schedule.  Yes, you read that right - 3 weeks.  I feel like he is enormous, but I have to admit I was a little shocked when I found out he was measuring that far ahead.  It looks like I'll be having another ultrasound at my next appointment in 2 weeks so they can check out just how big he is.  I'm thinking he's going to be well over 9 pounds when he's born, but we'll see.  I definitely am more miserable than I was with Becca at this point, but that could be because it's the end of June and HOT!  Here's my current stats:

How far along?  29 weeks
Weight Gain:  15 pounds total
Sleep:  Not good - getting up at least 4 times a night to go to the bathroom.  I'm also really uncomfortable laying down, so that poses a problem.  He also likes to push on my lungs making me feel like I can' breathe.  Let's just say sleeping could be better!
Best Moment this Week:  Hearing Becca talk to him.  It seems like everytime I tell her he's moving, he stops as soon as she puts her hand on my stomach, but she still talks to him.  It is so sweet to hear her tell him she loves him.  I hope that doesn't change once he's here and doesn't leave:)
Cravings:  They have come back full force.  I'm still wanting a lot of fruit like watermelon and peaches, but I still crave salt.  I've also added sweets to the cravings (which is all I craved with Becca).  Oh, and sweet tea!
Size:  According to my weekly emails he should weigh a little less than 3 pounds and be about the size of a cabbage, but according to my doctor he's a lot larger.  We'll get back to this in two weeks when I go back.
Movement:  A LOT!  He doesn't just kick and jerk, this child flips.  His movements are so much stronger than Becca.  It still amazes me!  He also moves all day.  There is not really a certain time that he moves, except when I lay down.  It never fails - I lay down, he goes crazy!  At least those 'kick counts' that the doctor asks me to do are easy.  I just have to make sure he moves 5 times in an hour each day - I can usually cross this off my list before I get out of the bed in the mornings:)
Randoms:  We are down to 10 weeks before we meet this little guy!  That doesn't seem like very long.  We really need to get ready for this little guy.  With Becca I had her nursery DONE by this point, but poor Walker, I just haven't been on the ball.  I guess it's just how you are with number two!  We are very excited to meet him - I still can't believe we have a little boy on the way!

Here's a picture of my stomach, and yes I'm aware it's huge!  I also cut my head off because I feel like my face is swelling.  JP says it's not, but bless his heart, he has to say that.  Right?  

I also realize I haven't posted anything about Becca lately, so check back this week for a post about our sassy girl:)

We had our ultrasound 2 weeks ago at my 23 week appointment. I MAY have drank 1/2 a Coke prior to the appointment in an attempt to make sure Walker was 'up and moving' - bad idea. He was so active, the ultrasound took an hour because the ultrasound tech couldn't get him to be still long enough to look at and measure everything she needed to. Oops. We did get a good look at him though, and it really never gets old. I'm still amazed that there's a real baby in there. I mean I know there is because he moves ALL THE TIME, but seeing him just took my breath away. The first thing I wanted to know (after hearing the heartbeat) was if we were 100% sure he was still a he!

Well thank goodness he's not shy:)  It's definitely a BOY!

And despite him moving so much and constantly facing away from the camera OR covering his face, we were able to get a few other good shots!  Here's our handsome man:

 I'm pretty sure he was getting a little mad with us - check out that wrinkle in the forehead:)

 Already posing for the camera!

 Yes, that's the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, and no it's nothing to worry about (at least that's what they told us)!

Here's my current pregnancy stats:
How far along (at time of this ultrasound 2 weeks ago):  23 weeks
Weight gain:  9 pounds since my first doctor's appointment, but I'm back at my original weight that I started at the day I found out I was pregnant.
Maternity Clothes?  Absolutely, although I have found that I can wear some of my summer dresses:)
Sleep:  I can't complain.  It's not great, but at least I can still breathe when I lay down.
Best Moment this week:  Seeing our baby boy:)
Cravings:  These are really going away.  Every now and then I'll crave something salty, but for the most part, I just eat like normal.
Gender:  It's still a BOY!  Walker Brice Pyle
Size of the Baby:  At the ultrasound he was measuring 1 lb 7 oz.
Movement:  ALL THE TIME!  This child is an acrobat.  I think he likes to see how many ways he can flip and turn.
Randoms:  While doing the ultrasound, the tech kept going back to look at the stomach.  I noticed that there were two black areas  - one was his stomach because she had already pointed that out.  I started to get nervous, but I try really hard not to be 'one of those'.  The tech finally said she thought she knew what the other dark area was, but she wanted to get the opinion of another tech.  She left the room for what seemed like an hour (although I'm pretty sure it was less than a minute), and she was smiling as she said it was all nothing to worry about.  It was just his GALLBLADDER!  Really!  What are the chances.  This poor child doesn't stand a chance.  Evidently you don't normally see the gallbladder of a baby in utero.  Only my child:)

And just for fun, here are some comparisons of Becca and Walker.  Becca's ultrasound was done at 21 weeks and Walker's was done at 23 weeks, but they were close enough.

 I'm definitely thinking they don't look alike, but I guess we won't really know until he's here.

20 weeks and counting

So, this post is 2 weeks late, but that's mostly because I can't figure out how to blog from my iPad. O'well, better late than never. Here's a comparison shot of me at 20 weeks with Walker (on the left) and at 21 weeks with Becca (on the right).





+


I feel like my stomach is huge, and this picture just reiterates my thinking.
Anyways, Dr. Estes said everything looks great.  I'm measuring right on time, and we'll do our next ultrasound at 23 weeks (next week) to check on everything.  Overall, I'm feeling MUCH better!  Thanks to everyone who's prayed for me - for a while there I didn't think I was going to make it.  Here are my stats:
How far along?  20 weeks (at least I was in the picture)
Weight gain/loss?  I've gained 6 pounds since my 1st doctor's appointment, but I'm still down about 6 or 7 pounds from the day we found out.  YAY!  I'm pretty sure with Becca I had already passed the 20 pound mark!
Maternity clothes?  Yes - About 16 weeks I hit the point of no return.  I needed them much earlier in this pregnancy.
Sleep?  I'm sleeping, but it's not great.  I'm a stomach sleeper, so I struggle with that during pregnancy.
Best Moment This Week?  hearing that heartbeat - it was in the 140's.  That sound never ceases to be amazing!
Cravings?  Red meat (especially steak), vegetables, and salt:)  Totally opposite from my cravings with Becca.
Gender?  It's a BOY!  At least it had better be:)
Size of Baby?  the size of a banana (at 20 weeks)
Movement?  This child moves like crazy!!!!  JP was able to feel him at 17 weeks, and Becca a few days later.  He moves a lot when I first lay down at night - so much that you can watch my stomach move.  He also kicks a lot if I sit in certain positions.  He definitely prefers for me to be standing or laying.
Randoms:  I haven't actually thrown up in a few weeks, so that's definitely a positive.  I had an ultrasound done of my gallbladder at 12 weeks, and we found out that while I don't have gallstones, I do have 'sludge'.  Yuck!  For those of you who aren't aware, gallbladder problems run rampant on my  Mom's side of the family.  I knew it was just a matter of time before they hit me, I just wish it wasn't while I was pregnant since there's not much they can do.  Thankfully they've started me on a fantastic reflux medicine that seems to help a lot.  I just have to be really careful what I eat.
Check back next week - I'll be sure to post pictures of what Walker looks like now:)