21 week update

This has been an exciting week! Mike just started being able to feel Luke kick. This baby doesn't seem to kick a whole lot though, but he squirms nonstop so it is a bit harder to find a good time for Mike to feel him.

Started getting a few aches and pains. My wrists and hands go numb at night (darn carpal tunnel) and I have been having some hip and lower back pain. Nothing horrible though.

I am going swimming tomorrow. I just love floating around in the pool when I am pregnant. The one time I can feel light, haha.

Going through the old baby clothes is really fun. I can't imagine having a baby that small again! I just love looking at the cute tiny outfits and imagining my new little boy in them.

I have gained 2lbs this week alone. Still negative 3 lbs from when I started though. Seems like I am finally catching up! I feel like I eat nonstop. Still tons of spicy food and fruit.

Nathan is doing well and talking a lot more. He is saying silly things like "ketchup" and insisting that Mike and I do everything with him together "Mama Dada Mama Dada!"

Nathan update

Can't forget to update about my little Nathan. He was 21 months yesterday. Here are some new things that are going on with him:
*holding up his little biceps and flexxing so forcefully his little face shakes when I ask him to "show me your guns!"
*pretending to lift weights and making the same hisses and grunts that his daddy makes
*How dogs say "dog dog dog" and birds go "caw caw caw" like a crow instead of a sweet "tweet tweet"
*how much he loves playing with the hose and watering the flowers and "washing" his trucks
*his new obsession with his baby Einstein "On the Go" video with trains, trucks, boats, and planes
*how much he loved the fireworks and oohed and wowed and yayed at every boom
*how he gets out one shoe and places it in front of you as a hint he wants to leave the house
*his "OH MAN!!!!!" whenever something silly happens
*how soft his phone voice is....he says "hi" so quietly when I ask him to talk on the phone to someone

He really is the sweetest little guy. I know he is going to make a great big brother.

20 weeks!

I can't believe I am halfway through this pregnancy. It is going by so very fast. I am feeling great! Honestly besides the few weeks of all day "morning" sickness, I have felt wonderful. Little Luke is seemingly a pretty laid back guy. I feel him squirming in there but rarely does he give me big kicks. I only really get kicked when I pee. I think when I empty my bladder, he loses the comfy bean bag chair he was sitting in (like he was during his u/s). I pretty much am able to eat whatever I want without too much trouble. I do get cravings for Mexican and lemon flavored things a lot. I did tell off some teenagers working at the frozen custard place because they didn't have the lemon italian ices made--oops! I am still down 6 lbs but am eating well. Lots of salads with tons of red onion and fruit. I have had fun shopping for a few little baby things, but really we have so much already! All of Bradley and Nathan's baby clothes---all fall baby boys! Nathan got a new bedroom set (cargo bed and dresser) so all of his baby stuff can be handed down his baby brother. It is so exciting to set up the nursery again!

Ultrasound update

I just got back from my ultrasound! It was a good appt. The tech was very thorough and showed us every little detail. There was a large tv screen so we could see everything without craning our necks behind us like we did with Nathan. The baby is completely healthy! We got a great view of the heart, spine, brain, etc. The baby is measuring right on target (9 oz) and had a heartrate of 147. The tech kept trying to see between the legs but the baby was sitting indian style with his/her legs pulled in tight. What a stinker! Then the tech left and we waited about 15 min for the Dr. We were so ecstatic that the baby is healthy but just a smidge bummed we could not tell the sex. Then the Dr came in and did a few more shots of the placenta and such. The placenta is very low we need to come back a few more times to make sure it doesn't cover the cervix at any time. If it does, I can not have a vaginal birth. Then the Dr did a quick once over of the baby one last time and lo and behold my child opened its legs wide open at the very last minute. What did we see???? (scroll down)








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BOY PARTS! Yup! We were right, haha. Baby 2 is definitely a boy. His name will be Luke David. We rewarded his good behavior with a huge Mexican buffet for lunch. :) We are going to go shopping to get him a few little boy things later on today and then are going out for lobster to celebrate. Yay for Baby Luke! I am so excited to have two little boys close in age. I am one happy, lucky mommy.

18 weeks today

I have started to feel real movements! I swear this baby is doing somersaults in there. I feel this rolling pressure back and forth like he/she is pushing off the sides of my stomach doing laps. :)

Only a few more days until my ultrasound. I will come right out and say it. I think I am having a boy. I will literally be shocked if little baby is a girl. Everyone else seems to think so though, so we'll see! After the u/s, we are going to go out for lobster and then go buy baby 2 an outfit. Gosh, I hope he/she is cooperative and shows his/her goods so I can stop with this "he/she" stuff!

My tummy is smaller than it was with Nathan. I am obviously pregnant looking, but I don't have the big basketball look going on. I am flatter all over my tummy. I still am having trouble gaining weight even though I am eating nonstop.

That's my update!

3rd appt

I just got back from a prenatal appt. It was pretty good. I didn't get to see my normal Dr but that is OK. Got to hear the heartbeat which is always reassuring. The heartrate was 141, but the funny thing is how the baby was kicking and moving around like crazy. I kept hearing "THUMP WHOOOOSH THUMP WHOOOOOSH!" It was a flashback from my pregnancy with Nathan. He would do the same thing.

I declined my triple screen after talking to the Dr. He advised that the u/s would pick up any major defects and if I would decline an amnio anyway, there is no point. I did have blood drawn though because my thyroid was elevated from my last blood test and they wanted to recheck it.

I talked to him about how much I did not want to go to the larger hospital and he said there was about a 5% chance---if I go into labor at night when only one Dr is on call and another woman goes into labor right before me and opts to go to the large one. That is the only time I'd have to go, which is good.

We spoke about VBACs and honestly I think the Dr was trying to scare me. He kept telling me if I ruptured I could bleed to death in 5 minutes and stuff like that. He had looked at my chart and assumed I was going for a repeat C section because of my prior birth. My other Dr is a lot more supportive.

So now I have my doula urging me to labor at home as long as possible and my Doctor telling me to come to the hospital at the first sign of labor. I am thinking I will go in when my contractions get painful. I have a lot to think about.

Overall, a good appt. I am so looking forward to my u/s on Monday. Oh and we decided on complete names: Luke David or Rebecca Mary. So excited!

17 week update

I am now 17 weeks along and everything is going great. This has been a very smooth pregnancy (besides the morning sickness at the beginning). My only complaint is all the stomach aches I have been getting, especially after I eat. But all in all, I am feeling very good. This baby is very laid back and I can pretty much eat whatever I want besides sweets. I had the same aversion with Nathan though. This baby really likes "real" home cooking like meatloaf, chicken, veggies, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, etc. I am also craving various things dipped in hot sauce, and other dips such as queso and guacamole. This baby has diverse tastes (as long as it is not sweet!).

My ultrasound is in 10 days. I am so very excited!!! I hope this baby cooperates and I can tell boy or girl. I have some shopping to do if my little one is a girl. :) I have been doing a lot of research on carseats and such. I will start buying things soon so I don't have a lot of expenses at the end.

I am feeling baby 2 move more at night. He/she seems to like to be awake and active after 8pm. I can't wait to feel those real kicks soon!

Nathan is doing well. He is such a sweetheart. He is eating us out of house and home and I love it. He is so thoughtful and smart. I can't believe I am going to have two babies soon! If baby 2 is anything like his/her brother, I am a lucky mommy.

Why hello, baby!

I think I think I think I am feeling the baby move! I am almost 16 weeks. I feel little thumps and pokes very late at night when all is quiet and I can concentrate. I also feel little movements when Nathan is laying on my lap leaning against my belly a bit (don't worry he isn't hurting me, haha). I am so excited! I can't wait to start feeling this baby more and more.

2nd appt

I had my 2nd prenatal appt today. Just the usual urine and blood tests. I had a pap smear and exam. I got to hear the heartbeat. Baby 2 is quite cooperative, lol. It was so hard to hear the heartbeat and the baby moved up so we could all hear clearly. :) Heartrate 154. The Dr was not concerned about my weight loss. He said the baby was growing perfectly and was right on schedule. I scheduled my next appt for June 23rd and my ultrasound for June 26th at 9:15am. Woohoo! I can hardly wait.

General update

Things are going pretty darn good. I am feeling generally OK, although I have been getting killer stomachaches at night. In turn, I am not sleeping well. I am eating well but still not gaining weight. I have been craving spicy and sour things: hot sauce, lemon popsicles, jalepenos. I get odd cravings where I need something right away but then do not crave it again. Last week it was crunch wraps from Taco bell. Last night it was crab dip.

I bought Baby 2's baby book (a cute one with an old fashioned animal theme) and a few new baby books for Nathan. I just love new books and these are particularly exciting for me, hehe.

Nathan is 19 months and just so darn big. I love my sweet boy so much. Here are some things I want to remember about Nathan at this stage:
*How serious he gets when he plays trucks. It is not a joking matter. Also, he lays on the floor and gets sleepy as he pushes them around.
*How he goes around giving everyone their shoes out of the coat closet saying "Das SHOOOOOES" when he wants to go out
*How much he loves coloring with markers and taking the tops on and off. He loves to draw circles and calls them "trucks"
*How he says "luuuh yoo!" and points
*Flirting with waitresses whenever we go out to eat. He loves to smile and wave and chat with them.
*His new fascination with organic squeezable yogurt tubes. He gets so excited when you give him one.
*His truck radar: he can enter a room and if there is a truck anywhere in it, he finds it within seconds. Also we went to the bookstore last night and he saw a huge rack of 100s of books with the spines only showing. The first book he happened to go for was about trucks of course.
*how completely and utterly filthy he gets when he plays outside. He loves to dig in the dirt, color with sidewalk chalk, and fill his trucks up with various treasures
*The last few nights how he wants to snuggle on the couch with me near bedtime and pretends to sleep and shakes his head when Mike tries to get him to put him to bed.
*How he purses his lips and makes big "hmmm mmm" sounds when he smooches

I just love this stage. I can't wait to see my two kids together. Can't believe I have two kids even if one is not officially "here" yet, haha :)

Woohoo

I am so very happy. I am feeling a million times better. I finally have my appetite back and have so much less nausea. I have been cooking and doing more housework. It is wonderful to be feeling more like myself. I am almost 12 weeks long. Only a week or so to go until 2nd trimester! I am still pretty tired, but again not as bad. I stopped losing weight but have not gained any back yet. Still have a pretty good belly going on though! :)

Nathan is doing very well. He is sleeping all night in his big boy bed and doesn't even need Mommy to put him to bed anymore! Mike brings him up to his bed and he falls asleep quickly and stays there all night. What a big boy! He is such a sweet little guy. He brings me so much joy. It is hard to believe that I am going to have my second baby pretty darn soon!

First appointment

I had my first prenatal appt yesterday. It was amazing! I had no idea I'd get a sonogram to see the little one. So exciting! I got to see his/her little arms and legs moving around. He/she was shifting back and forth looking like he/she was trying to get comfortable. There was this huge sac of amniotic fluid and my little one was all snuggled up to one side. It was surreal to see that little heart beating so fast. The heart rate was 192--pretty darn fast! Nathan and Mike got to see which made it even better.

The Dr was very reassuring and seemingly on the same page as us. He is all for a VBAC with limited interventions. He made me feel very confident in him. I am going to look into hiring a doula soon.

I am measuring a few days later than I originally thought but not enough to change the due date. I even got pictures of my little one to take home! He/she looks like a little gummy bear. :)

I am pregnant!

I wanted to start a pregnancy journal to update friends and family about my newest addition. :) I am due Thanksgiving day, 11-23-06 with baby #2. I am 9.5 weeks along now. I have my first prenatal appt today and I am so excited but also nervous. So far this pregnancy has been much more difficult than my one with Nathan. I have been much more nauseas and queasy. I have no appetite at all. I can only eat a small amount and then I feel extremely stuffed. I look forward to feeling better and getting to eat again! :) I am much bigger than I was with Nathan as well. I had a belly poking out before I even found out I was pregnant! I had people asking if I was pregnant before I even knew. I was in maternity clothes at 5 weeks. Now at 9.5 weeks I have people assuming I am about 5 months along. Wowee. I will update later after my appointment. :)