Second Time Around

Oh pregnancy...so many ups and downs...but I actually really enjoy being pregnant. I know not many feel the same way, for understandable reasons, but I've been blessed with great and fairly comfortable pregnancies so far and that allows me to really enjoy this chapter in my life. I've been able to teach through both of my pregnancies and that is a tremendous blessing in and of itself.

I haven't done a very good job of documenting the progress of this pregnancy with photos but I've kept up my journals. My mom kept a "baby journal" for each of my siblings and I; Spencer and I wanted to do the same for our children. I decided to document each pregnancy in the baby journal for the child I am carrying so the correct information is in the correct place and easy to find. I'm glad I decided to do this because it's amazing how quickly I can forget things in the moment I thought I'd never forget!

13 Weeks
I found I was very surprised by the subtle yet distinct differences of this pregnancy when compared to my first experience. Spencer and I were able to get pregnant right away...still Fertile Myrtle, still no complications here! I had a positive pregnancy test on December 9th but I knew weeks before then that I was pregnant. I actually got frustrated waiting for a pregnancy test that would finally confirm what I suspected. Perhaps this time around I knew what to look for so I was much more attuned to the slight indicators that pop up in the early weeks.

My morning sickness seemed to set in a week or two later than last time but when it came it made quite an entrance. Rather than a dull steady level of nausea I had crippling waves of sickness--not to the point of throwing up often (luckily) but I could not shake the feeling. One day I would feel great and the next day I could hardly move because of the sickness and exhaustion. I did start throwing up occasionally an evening here or there, for no rhyme or reason, still can't figure out what might have been the trigger.
I tried my acupressure bands which worked wonders last time and while they helped dull the sickness this time nausea was my constant companion. I tried sleeping more, eating more, drinking more (although that was difficult because even water would trigger nausea with that slushy feeling that comes from drinking a lot), it was difficult to find relief. Plenty of protein, vitamin B6, and Unisom were recommended to me and they helped immensely. Three B6 throughout the day and one Unisom at night were the most effective in helping me keep up my usual pace. Spencer has been such an angel in taking care of me and helping with Leone.
Some other similarities:

• Both of my sisters and I are pregnant at the same time.
• I tend to run cold during pregnancy while some women run warm.
• I didn't want anything to do with sweets--even chocolate. 
• Potatoes, prepared in any fashion, sounded and felt good.
• Cheese always sounds good.
• I'm tired but I can usually squeeze in a nap every other day. If I go any longer I regret it the next few days. Soon after becoming pregnant Leone decided she wasn't going to take naps anymore (!!!).

Now we have "quiet time" later in the afternoon. I set her up on our bed with a cup of water, a doll or two, her blanket, and plenty of books and tell her I'll be back in two hours. She used to resist, saying that she didn't want a nap or that she wasn't tired, but I would just say "This isn't nap time. You don't have to sleep, just look at your books and I'll come get you when quiet time is over." Once I pushed the time back a bit from her usual nap time I'd find her asleep every time I went to let her out. Phew!

Some differences:

• I'm seeing the Certified Nurse Midwives rather than an OBGYN. I'll still deliver in a hospital (many people assume that since I'm seeing the midwives it means I'll be doing a home birth) They can still prescribe an epidural if I choose to have one when the time comes (but I plan to go natural again).

There are about 9 Midwives and you meet with each one throughout your prenatal visits because any one may be the attendant at the birth. So far I have LOVED my experience with the midwives. My visits don't seem so rushed and I learn so much at each appointment.

• I have been craving Pink Lady Apples. No other apple will do. Before pregnancy I would eat a Pink Lady apple and they were good but they were so tart they would make my stomach hurt. Not any more! I don't think any other apple will ever satisfy me ever again....now I need a Pink Lady apple.
• I didn't have any particular cravings or food aversions with Leone. As long as meat or fruit were involved I was happy.
• I don't want anything to do with hummus. I used to love hummus but even the name makes me sick. I just can't....
• We couldn't find the heart beat at our first visit. I was anxious waiting to hear the fast but faint beat of our new baby. We had to do an ultrasound to make sure everything was fine. On the screen was our tiny baby laying quietly with a fast fluttering heart in its chest. I was so relieved! At the second visit they had a hard time finding it again but eventually we caught the heart beat. All is well with our baby, we've since learned that my placenta is on top which made finding the heart beat while the baby is still small difficult.
• I didn't want to learn the gender of our baby this time around. I thought I would like being surprised...but really I was agonizing over it (I'm such a planner) so by the time our 20 week ultrasound rolled around I had decided to find out. 

This was one of those "Do I look pregnant or fat?" moments. Thank goodness for the honest opinion of  Mom and sisters!

I know I don't look thrilled, but I promise I'm happy.

22 Weeks
My waist thickened as it should during the early months of pregnancy but people seemed so surprised to learn that I was pregnant. I didn't really pop until 20-21 weeks, I could still wear my pre-pregnancy pants and button them! I think this may be due to the height at which I am carrying the baby in my torso (At 32 weeks I can still pull on my pre-pregnancy jeans although I can no longer button them..but I can wear them with a belly band or rubber band). It may be due to the fact that I don't usually wear tight tops and that I have a large chest anyway. Despite all of that I certainly looked pregnant to myself!
Since Leone was born with a duodenal web we had an ultrasound with Maternal Fetal Medicine (these are doctors that work with high risk pregnancies) to see if this baby would have a similar issue. Everything looked great in the ultrasound and the doctor said we could have another ultrasound later in the pregnancy to be sure but even then the results may not be definite. He said it was like being struck by lightning--it's very rare and random but your odds of being struck increase if you've been hit before. We were happy to see that everything was as it should be so we decided to forgo the later ultrasound and we'll just keep an eye on things when the baby arrives.

We would be happy with a boy or a girl but we were secretly hoping for a boy for two reasons: it would change things up a bit and we had two boy names we both loved but no girl names.
So of course we are having another girl! We are thrilled! I love having sisters and I hope that Leone and this little one will develop a relationship they can cherish throughout their lives.

We went out to dinner to celebrate and ordered Leone a pink lemonade to commemorate our new baby girl. Then we took her picture and sent it to family to announce the news:

Showing Leone the ultrasound photos really helped her figure things out. She's now realizing that not everyone has a baby in their bellies. Leone has always enjoyed her baby doll but all this baby talk has sparked a new interest in her doll and all babies. Leone will be such a good helper when this baby comes!

Then we had to buckle down and find a girl name. I wasn't feeling any of the names from our previous lists so we were basically starting from scratch. Plus we wanted to find something that was in the same style as Leone....kind of shot ourselves in the foot with that one ;) 

I've experienced quite a bit of pelvic pain since early second trimester. I've been doing lots of stretches, exercising, yoga...anything I can think of to help relieve the pain. My midwives say that many women experience more discomfort in their second pregnancies and beyond. At times the pain would take my breath away but increasing my water intake and regular stretching and using movements that keep my pelvis symmetrical help.

32 Weeks

As of today I am at 32 weeks. My pregnancy has been described as "textbook" and one midwife even said I was her star patient of the day since all my stats were right on target and everything was going well. I still have some pelvic pain but in the past two weeks the pain has reduced greatly. My pelvis did start doing this strange "popping" which is a lot like when your knee or knuckles pop but it's painful and disconcerting to hear. It would come when I would move from sitting or laying down to standing. All of a sudden my range of motion would be reduced and I would be in pain until my pelvis made a loud "POP" and then I could move. During my midwife appointment yesterday the CNM I met with recommended I see a chiropractor since it sounds like some joints may be out of place rather than typical round ligaments relaxing. I haven't had a pop in about a week but I may still go just to be sure. 

We may have decided on a name but have only told a few people. It took us so long to decide we don't want to jinx anything.

My due date is August 7th. I'm starting to feel the heat of the summer (although we  have been enjoying unusually wet weather with cooler temperatures this year). Leone heard the baby's heart beat for the first time yesterday, she was fascinated!

I'm still craving Pink Lady Apples and now I have this thing for corn-on-the-cob too. Sweets don't gross me out anymore but I still don't eat them very often.

Baby has moved head down and I'm feeling some relief in my ribs. This baby makes big movements which I think is fun and reassuring.  We look forward to meeting our sweet girl soon. Until then we're looking for a larger apartment and playing outdoors as much as we can.