your so cute you have a baby glow about you, Your look like a wounderful mother, keep up the work.♥

HI THRE IS ABSOLUTLY NOTHING WRONG WITH WATCHING YOUR WAIT WHILE PREGNANT, BUT I HAVE TO SAY WATCHING WHAT YOU EAT WONT MEAN A SMALLER BABIE I ATE LOADS ANYTHING I COULD GET MY HANDS ON WHILE PREGNANT ON MY FIRST AND HE WAS A TINY 6lbs.
I HAVE TWO CHILDREN A BOY CODIE AND A GIRL DEMI WHO WERE BORN VERY CLOSE TOGETHER ITS HARD WITH TWO YOUG BABIES.
GOOD LUCK I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST

DO YOU HAVE A NANNY OR ARE YOU PLANNING TO HIRE ONE?

Kinda off topic and this is an old post but does anyone know where Mason’s “Big Brother” top is from? It’s so cute!

Sarah’s note: Babystyle.com

Unfortunately, some babies are just BIG! My first one was 10 lb 4 oz, but he was also postdates. I only gained 25lbs and am 5′9″ and my husband 6′3″. The 2nd one was 9 lb 1 oz. and born on his due date. I only gained 20 lbs with him! I’m glad Melissa is enjoying this pregnancy. The second baby also typically has a shorter labor and less pushing!

Congrats to the expanding family! I saw Melissa’s hubby in concert, back in the days of COG. They are such a beautiful family:) I hope this pregnancy is a happy and healthy one!

*War Eagle*

My first pregnancy, I took to heart the whole, “eat for two” deal. I ended with a 9lbs 6.8 oz boy. My second pregnancy, I watched what I ate, exercised and only gained 22lbs. When I had my son, he was “only” 8lbs 3oz.

I’m sure Melissa is quite capable of being able to determine what is safe for her and her baby.

I delivered an 8 lb 5oz baby and a 9lb 11oz baby and the 9 lb one was much easier to give birth to than the 8 lb one. Maybe because the latter was my second son, and it was a different doctor, who knows?

I’m excited to see this. I love Melissa and Mason – such a cutie!! I also loved how frank Melissa was with her ambivalence about a new baby – so many women feel ashamed of being ambivalent and it’s really quite normal!

I did want to give my perspective on weight gain. I run a pregnancy and birth website (which though not so huge as About.com can boast, it’s pretty comprehensive). I advise many women on pregnancy, diet during pregnancy, and a whole lot on feelings during pregnancy. I have sections on my site devoted to both prenatal (and preconception) nutrition and pregnancy feelings – I find they’re interrelated.

Many, many, many of the moms I talk to have found that they begin to feel better as they take the focus off the pounds and put it onto their nutrition. This is probably two-fold. They let go of “I’m gaining .5 pounds too much!” stress, and they focus on good healthy food – women email me every day to let them know that makes them feel better!!!!!

Many midwives and doctors are now realizing that assigning an arbitrary weight gain number based on how much each “pregnancy item” is “supposed” to weigh isn’t wise.

They instead advice mothers to eat for health. Every single day you, the pregnant mother, are building a human being! This takes a lot of energy and a lot of nutrition. Focus on eating right.

Eat PLENTY. Just eat plenty of GOOD food. Stay away from junk foods – but don’t be shy about good foods! Protein foods, veggies, fruits, and healthy fats. Those are what make a healthy baby and a healthy mama.

And a healthy sized baby is believed to be easier to birth than a little one. My own 8lb 10oz-er was by far the easier to birth than my others (7lbs, 12oz and 7lbs 14oz).

I just feel it’s really important for women to realize it’s what you’re eating that’s making your baby, not how many “pounds” you’re putting on. Eat well and don’t limit food!! Limit junk.

Wanted to offer a slightly different opinion than what may have already been expressed.

I appreciate how down to earth she is. I had a big baby the first time(8lb 15 oz) and ended up w/ an emergency C/S. I also gained over 50 lbs with him! My second son I only gained 25 lbs, and he was 8lb 5oz (successful VBAC!), so maybe there is something to it. This time around, I’m hoping to only gain around 20 lbs (if I could lay off the halloween candy!) so we’ll see what this one ends up as. I guess everyone is different! She seems so nice and normal- I’m glad to see too that she went through the whole labor thing…makes her more real to me!

kudos to melissa for sharing this special time with all of us! as others have mentioned, i also went crazy with the weight gain during my first pregnancy, and my son was HUGE! during my next 2 pregnancies, i exercised regularly, ate healthier foods, and stayed w/in the advised 35 lbs. i noticed a drastic difference in both the sizes of my last 2 children (at least 2 lbs lighter than my first son. my recovery after deliveries was SO much easier and I was back running a 5k 3mos later.