Pregnancy #2 Recap

Tomorrow I will be 39 weeks pregnant, and although there are no signs of impending labor and delivery, I wanted to be sure to get in one more post on this pregnancy. I was a bit surprised at how much I had already forgotten about my last pregnancy that I would like to try to document as much as possible this time around.

In general, I know I have felt more aches/pains and general discomfort this time around. I'm not sure if that is because it's the second time, or because I have much more to do this time around since I'm home caring for a toddler rather than sitting at a desk 40 hrs a week.

The pregnancy started off with a fair amount of nausea mostly in the morning or around supper time (worse during the later times). That went away around 13 or 14 weeks. I think the exhaustion of the first trimester was about the same as my first pregnancy except it wasn't as easy to find time to rest. I would even find myself falling asleep when reading my daughter her bedtime stories! I definitely felt like I was showing sooner and even my midwife commented that I had "popped" quite early on. Although, looking back now I'm pretty sure no one that didn't know me already could tell during the first trimester. I did wear a maternity dress at a wedding when I was about 11 weeks and I definitely noticed some people that knew me looking at my stomach. But then, when we did our Christmas pictures and I was somewhere around 18 weeks, I had mentioned that I was pregnant and the photographer said she didn't even notice!  At times I have had pretty bad heartburn and indigestion although thankfully that was just  from about 25-30 weeks (ish). In books I have read about heart "palpations"  and I did notice that a few times right in middle of my pregnancy. I didn't have any symptoms other than I could feel my heart beat and it felt slightly irregular. I wondered if I was imagining it until later I read about it.  In the third trimester I definitely got more tired again (although I think a bit of it stayed the whole pregnancy).  Now in the mornings sometimes I feel out of breath and my body almost feels heavy like it isn't getting enough oxygen, it's weird and only happens for a minute or two in the morning, I have no idea why. I have had the Charlie horsing in my calf but it wasn't as bad this time. In the mornings it would wake me up and I could stretch it out before it got really bad. That lasted for about a month I would say. Now that I'm at the end I have been having some groin pain and back pain that has been quite uncomfortable. It is usually worse in the morning too but the back pain is sometimes worse at night. My feet have also been pretty achy if I am on them a lot during the day, which indefinitely remember from last time.

Although I do remember being quite emotional during my last pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, I think I have had more anxiety this time around. I think part of that is I'm just more anxious now as a parent than I was before, having a child will do that to you ha. So now that I'm at the end I'm really anxious about how everything will go. I think I'm even more scared of labor this time around even though my labor with Kylie was quite manageable. I'm nervous about my husband always being like a two hour drive away when he is at work, and also that my parents and our family is at least a two hour drive away as well. I don't anticipate a very quick labor but I can't help but worry a bit. I am very apprehensive about having to leave Kylie overnight and how she will do away from me for so long since we don't get to practice that much with our family being so far away. I'm really hoping we won't have a prolonged stay at the hospital and that baby will be perfectly healthy. Now that I have gone further than I had with Kylie I'm nervous I'm going to end up being induced. Even though I already suspected they had Kylie's due date a bit wrong and really she wasn't "early" and my charting to get pregnant had the due date at May 8th (then also confirmed by the first ultrasound), I'm still irrationally worried.

Toddler Easter Basket

Kylie's third Easter basket at 2.5 years old included:

• sidewalk paint
• watercolor paint
• two Easter themed stamps I found at Target
• a package of Annie's fruit snacks
• three Reese's peanut butter eggs
• the books Little Lamb and Miss Rumphius
• Eeboo brand puzzle I found at our local bookstore
• Grimm's Wooden Rainbow toy (I think it's just the "small" size, as opposed to the Mini or Large).

Pregnancy #2: 32 Weeks

It's still unreal to me we are getting so close to becoming a family of four! I am getting really anxious now for both labor and delivery and also managing two kids! I think the thing that scares me the most is envisioning keeping up with a toddler while running on infant sleep!

This last trimester of pregnancy has me quite tired again, but I have been finding energy to power through just out of necessity I think. There is so much I need to get done before the baby gets here; finish the nursery, organize closets, make space in the living room for baby gear, organize the basement, prepare some freezer meals. I guess nesting has presented itself a bit early, probably because I know it's going to take right up to the due date to get all of this done! As a consequence of this, my feet have been aching pretty much round the clock these last few days because I am trying to get so much done. Add Daylights Savings to the mix and today I just don't even want to move! At least the heartburn/indigestion has let up. Speaking of that, I feel like I might have "dropped" a bit, but I really have no clue. I didn't even notice it myself with Kylie. But I did notice I have had less heartburn and I was having a bit of hip pain the other day and I read that could be a symptom of engagement. So maybe, but really who knows! I have been seeing "stars" here and there, which I don't remember happening as frequently with Kylie but it only seems to be if I go from laying down to making large movements (like bending down to pick something up) and my midwife wasn't too concerned since my blood pressure hasn't changed much.

I had a 32 week ultrasound last Friday and got lots of fantastic news, as well as some fantastic pictures! The ultrasound was scheduled to check my low lying placenta which is now 4cm away from my cervix which means I can try for a vaginal delivery again. I am soooo happy about this!! Baby is head down and they estimated her weight to be 4lbs 1oz. I'm really interested to see how big she will be when she comes out because if she really is already 4lbs it seems like she might be significantly larger than her sister who came out at only 5lbs 10oz. The tech did say her femur bone measured pretty small and she might be small like Kylie and I am lengthwise but she didn't give us any percentile or crown to rump measurements. I'm hoping to remember to ask the doctor about that at my next appointment. The tech also seemed impressed at how well the baby was making breathing movements, so that was pretty cool. It seems like both times she has mentioned something that implies the baby is developing somewhat advanced, which makes me wonder if I will go early again. But I really didn't think I was going to this time, based on my conception chart showing a due date of May 8th (where the midwife gave me a due date of May 3rd). I'm really getting anxious to see how it will all play out. Will she come early? Will she come late? What will labor be like this time? Will it go faster? Will I know that it is labor? So many unknowns, and in some ways that makes me crazy! But I also know how fast time goes and I'm not going to wish away any of this pregnancy, especially because it might be my last.

Pregnancy #2 UPDATE! and Bump Photos :)

I've wanted to do this post for so long now I don't even know where to begin! Pregnancy #2 is definitely a lot more tiring since I have a toddler to keep up with! But all in all I have lucked out again with a pretty easy pregnancy so far. I have definitely had some heartburn, (as with my first), but a tums will take care of it. I think I have gotten at least one new stretch mark right next to my belly button. It's hard to stay sitting down on the floor to play with Kylie for long periods of time, especially after supper when my stomach is extra full and I have had sore feet a handful of times, but that is about the only thing I have to complain about. My only real concern is that I have a low-lying placenta, so I have to wait until an ultra sound scheduled at 32 weeks before I will know if it has moved up enough for a vaginal birth. I am really, REALLY, hoping it has/will, because I am a little terrified of having a c-section, but it is really out of control so I guess we will cross that bridge if/when we come to it.

Baby girl #2 LOVES to move around in there, and as anyone who has been pregnant knows, it is the best feeling ever! I could just sit and watch my belly move all day! She will pretty much be moving anytime I am sitting or lying down. I can feel her a lot if I am driving in the car, but the most active times are when I am lying down while Kylie naps or when we are sitting in the recliner for story time before bed.

Kylie likes to kiss my belly a lot and gives her baby sister hugs. She also likes to use her doctor kit stethoscope on my belly. She likes her big sister books and I think has a good grasp of what's going on, but I just don't think she understands when it is the baby is coming. Since I'm due early May, I've been telling her the baby will be here in the Spring, but I think at this point since I have been pregnant for so long (especially for a toddler's sense of time) it is probably hard for her to understand. I think having the next ultrasound will help remind her of the baby inside and also I would like to go and show her the nursery in the hospital some time so she has some what of and idea. I'm pretty apprehensive about leaving her to give birth, because we have yet to do an overnight away. We don't have any family in the area so that makes it hard to practice. I would like to try at least once before its actually go time, but again, since our family lives two hours away I'm not really sure how we would do that. But we will get it figured out :)


Now for the BABY BUMP:

 13 Weeks

15 Weeks 

20 Weeks 

27 Weeks 

 

30 Weeks

 

Ages and Stages: 30 Months

TWO AND A HALF!!!

Two and a half! I cannot wrap my head around that one. It was like I only conceptualized you in my mind as reaching two, and now you are half way through your third year already. This will likely be my last monthly update, but hey I did pretty good I would have to say!

This month you have been loving pretending you are Snow White, and I am dopey and acting out the scene where you are sleeping on the beds and we wake up. You also will get your broom and sing "whistle while you work". Within the last week you have started to pretend to be Sophia the First, and we even made you a special amulet you will wear haha. The other night you made me read that book four times in a row! And you don't usually do that. You have also been enjoying "building things" with our little blocks, castle block set, and the larger cardboard box "bricks" we have. We have also been doing more painting for the last few months, with water colors and the coloring books. But I think your favorite art activity is when we get out a big piece of freezer paper and you tell me what to draw and then you color it in. Alvin, Simon, Theodore and Frankenstein is a popular request but we have also done the Peanuts crew and characters from Peter Pan.

You still say funny things daily. Plus you can say normal things and it is hilarious, mostly because they just seem to adult for a two year old! The other day you told me, "But, that's not true". And then we were trying to get you to do something and you were saying "NO." and then you looked up and said "My answer is no." BAHAHAHA. You then explained, "ya that's what Elsa says" which is exactly what she says in a book we have. So funny. I don't remember if I wrote this last month or not but a while ago you told me to just "let him be" about one of your stuffed animals you were putting to bed.

You enjoy playing with little kids in general but sometimes are concerned about kids you don't know, especially boys. The other day we were at Playland Adventures and a 5 year old boy got on the bounce house you were on and you kept saying to him "No, don't get me!". And when we went to a new playgroup last week you had a bit of trouble sharing with the other kids (although that isn't very surprising given you age). I would like to keep going to give you more opportunity to play with kids your own age. You really don't like going to Library time anymore for some reason so we have pretty much given that up. You still love gymnastics though!

IT"S A GIRL!

So we found out back on December 7th, but I just never got around to updating the blog! Daddy wasn't able to make it to our ultrasound so I made him this box to open with KyKy when he got home.

Hoping to do another pregnancy update soon!

Ages and Stages: 29 Months!

Hi my darling littler girl! You are still the sweetest thing ever, no surprises there :). Lately you have been apologizing for lots of little things. You will say "I'm sorry" in the cutest little voice if you knock over some blocks or do something little. It melts my heart, and makes me feel a little bad since it's usually not anything you need to apologize for! But that doesn't mean you have stopped looking for ways to "make mommy nervous" as you like to say, or laugh and keep doing something sometimes when I say no. You still have your lively spirit that is for sure!

Another funny new phrase you have been saying a lot has been, "I smell something" or asking, "What do I smell" when there is something fragrant in the air. Most of the time, it has been when mommy is trying to sneak a chocolate kiss left over from your stocking hehe. But the other day at library time one of the little girls had used a very yummy smelling shampoo and you said "What do I smell Mommy? It's candy. I smell candy." Too freaking cute and funny.

You have learned to count and put up each corresponding finger on your hand, which you love to do anytime you want to count anything. You actually haven't been counting to far past 10 for the past few months. It has been harder to get you to concentrate on it, I think because your mind is more capable of deeper thought now and so you start to think about something else. You do a better job actually count things now though, like if there is something on the page of a book, rather than before when you would just count as high as you can as fast as you can.

You have of course loved to play pretend for a year now, but recently this has come to also include imaginary things. So before usually you would pretend to be someone or an animal or you would say we were someone or an animal, now you will pretend that someone is there when there isn't anything physical around. You will carry imaginary food or items and give them to us too. Or the other day you were pretending something and pretended to go over to the "Big Red Barn" which was the space near our fridge. You will also "move" things around on pictures in a book. For example one time you said that the person in the book was sad so you gave him something to cheer him up.

You are again trying to escape clothing whenever possible! You are also more vocal against sleeping lately saying things like "It's not nap time." or "It's not bed time. It's time to play, mommy will you play with me?". You don't get too mad about it (or at least usually), you are just more articulate where as before sometimes you would just be more whiny or cranky. You have been sleeping great though! Along the same lines, you will tell me to "say yes" sometimes when you ask me something now. Most recently it was when you asked to go to Memere and Papa's.

Also wanted to add that you have been doing extra well with the potty the last few days, and telling us on multiple occasions when you have to pee (not just poop). Although it's not uncommon that there is about an accident a day around here. I put you in pull ups at night (and they are typically wet when you wake up) and if we go somewhere, but usually you will keep them dry while we are out.  You stray dry through nap most of the time so I usually don't put one on you then.

And  the last thing I want to mention, just because I can see wondering when we started later, is that we started you on a daily vitamin this week per your daddy's request. We went with the flintstones toddler gummies as they passed my inspection of ingredients and have no artificial sweeteners or colors. The first day, you of course wanted more than the serving size of two,  but the next day you were fine.