Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Pregnancy: Round 2

So...yeah. I'm pregnant. Almost 18 weeks pregnant, actually. (otherwise known as sooooooooo close to the halfway mark!) But I haven't blogged much about it. In fact, I haven't written much about it at all. When I was pregnant with Piper, I blogged fairly regularly, took weekly photos, and kept a private journal on the side with additional notes, milestones, photos and feelings. Recording my pregnancy was a priority for me, and my diligence paid off in the form of a keepsake book that I treasure.

But this time? Well....not so much.
It's not that I'm ANY less excited about this pregnancy, or this baby. I'm so grateful to be pregnant, and could not be more thrilled to welcome a new baby into our family. But I'm also tired. And busy. And somehow, as much as I'd love to go over the top documenting all the pregnancy milestones this go round, I haven't been able to devote the time to it that I would like. BUT- even though it's a bit harder to keep up this time around, I still have big dreams. I haven't been doing the best job compiling all the memories from the past few months, but I've still been taking pictures and saving little snippets behind the scenes as much as I can. My goal is to get all of these little mementos and shots into a scrapbook at the end, using the digital format of Project Life. I'm still a long way off from having anything pulled together, but there's still time, right?! (Should I mention I still don't have a final book from Piper's first year? Yeah....it's an uphill battle at times...)

It's a bit daunting to keep up with all the recording, when all the living doesn't slow down. But it's worth it to me. So it's time to start backlogging the past few (ok, 10) weeks. Better late than never!

doctor visits:
First time: Found out we were expecting exactly one day after my missed period, and counted down the minutes until my eight week appointment.
This time: Finally got a positive test three weeks (Yes, THREE) after my missed period. Didn’t go to the doctor until 11.5 weeks. Turns out when you wait that long you get to skip the boring first appointment and go right to the good stuff- hearing the heartbeat!


Belly pics:
First time: I set up a semi-permanent chalkboard-backdrop photobooth in our guest room.  Each week Dustin took my picture, and I added a letter to the baby (including its current size, as compared to produce!) with notes from that week.









This time:
I ditched the backdrop, in favor of (mostly) outdoor shots, but haven't yet figured out the final editing format. Again, I'm a little behind here, but at least I have the photos!
Here are my weekly portraits, from week 8 to week 16. (and yes...I'm digging the stripes. That may never change.)

 
“morning” sickness:
First time: I got sick one time- week 17.
This time: I was nauseous from week 6-14. (it’s actually the reason I suspected I was pregnant in the first place). Those weeks were a grueling blur of constant cracker eating, and gingerale sipping. I never actually threw up (thank you, thank you, thank you) but I wanted to; most of the time.

appetite:
First time: I was starving in the very beginning...but only got to about an 8 on the “I’ll eat your arm off scale”.
This time: I was staaaaaaarving.(Picture me as Chris Farley). It was rampant, ravenous hunger (again, week 6-14...and still occasionally). Eating also seemed to stave of the nausea, so I had no shame about shoving my face all day.


diet:
First time: No alcohol, no soft cheeses, no lunchmeat.
This time: I’m still laying off the booze- but have loosened the cheese rule. As long as it says pasteurized, I think I’m good. Welcome back to my life feta and goat cheese.

symptoms:
First time: I had lower back pain (a result of a broken tailbone a few years ago), constant heartburn,  sore muscles, and general fatigue.
This time: The lower back pain is minor if anything, I haven't had even a hint of heartburn, my muscle aches are definitely present (a fact I blame partially on not drinking enough water) and the fatigue....Oh my goodness the fatigue. I'm exhausted this time around. It's lightened up a bit now that I'm in the second trimester, but I'm still craving a nap most afternoons.


weight gain:
First time: Maybe 3 pounds by this point?
This time: I think I gained 5 pounds before I even knew I was pregnant. I could baaaaarely hold off telling my office until after my first appointment, because I was running out of clothes to cover my rapidly growing belly. It’s like my body remembered what being pregnant meant, and decided to get a jump on it. Now I’ve gained a total of 8 pounds, so it’s definitely slowed down, but I’ve basically looked 17 weeks pregnant since about the 8 week mark. (please don't mention the grilled cheeses. I choose to believe they are unrelated).


cravings/aversions:
First time: Nothing of note. (lame, I know)
This time: Cravings have been a lot stronger this time around (which might be related to all the nausea.)
There was week in the beginning where I wanted a chocolate milkshake every night (something I wouldn’t normally drink ever, let alone daily), and I crave grilled cheese sandwiches around 9pm most evenings (Dustin is practically a professional sandwich flipper at this point). The only other thing out of the ordinary is my appetite for salad. I could eat three salads a day. Or in a row. Mmmmmm salad. (Don't worry though- cheeseburgers and mac and cheese are still staples in my life).

heart rate:
First time: Usually in the low 140's. (at our twelve week appointment it was 143- the old pager code for "i love you." I'm a dork for knowing that, and a bigger dork for telling you.)

This time: Mid 150's. There is probably a wives’ tale that correlates this fact to the implication that this baby is a boy. Or a girl. Or a baby alligator. But I don't put much stock in all that. (Though I do hope it's not an alligator...We only have one bathtub. It's just not practical.)

movement:
First time: I first felt Piper move at 17.5 weeks. From her journal:
I had felt flutterings for the past few days but none so definitive that they qualified as Official Baby Movement Milestones. But last night as I lounged in a recliner playing an intense round of “Angry Birds” on Dustin’s iphone, I felt it. The unmistakable feeling of a baby moving. My baby moving. And it was a little weird, and a lot wonderful. I told Dustin non-chalantly that “I just felt the baby move”. He lit up, totally surprised, and jumped over to put a hand on my belly. Of course he couldn’t feel it yet, but he wanted to be a part of it. He asked me what it felt like, and I explained the best I could- mostly recycling comparisons I had heard before because that’s as close as I can get to describe the tiny little wiggling I had just experienced. I had dreamed about it forever, wondered and questioned, and in the end it just happened. It was somehow both the hugest deal ever, and curiously casual- momentous, but immediately familiar.
This time: I heard that second time moms often feel the baby move a few weeks earlier than the first time. So I set a goal for myself to feel the baby at 16 weeks. Yes, I realize that setting a goal for a fetus is pretty dumb. But hey, that's my M.O. As the 16 week mark came and went, I was pretty much freaking out that I couldn't feel the baby yet. I knew that it might not be possible for a couple more weeks, but I still worried that something was wrong, and this was the sign. But two days shy of 17 weeks, I felt it. I still doubted whether it was a real baby moving in there, or if it was just the extra few pieces of pizza I had, shifting around in there. But as I continued to feel it, there was no denyin telltale flutterings of a wiggly little babe. Best feeling ever.

spazzing about:
First time: I feared people finding out before I was ready. (how many excuses for not drinking can you come up with at work happy hours?)
. And then once the news was out, I continued to worry about the baby being ok. I worried about all kinds of things: not gaining enough weight, fearing the baby might be smaller than normal, or had stopped growing entirely, not feeling movement soon enough or often enough, and just general concern about the baby growing and developing normally and on schedule. 
This time: I've actually worried quite a bit less this time. I don't have any false assurances that just because I had a normal pregnancy last time, that it will be the case this time. But I think going through the process once before reminded me that there's not much I can do. I try to listen to my body, and maintain balance, but mostly I just pray that our baby is safe and normal, and try to keep the worry out of it. That said, I do have a (pretty much) irrational fear that I'm somehow carrying
twins. I don't really have any reason to suspect such a thing, I think my rapid weight gain, and increased nausea just freaked me out a bit. It's definitely not the worst thing that could happen, but I'm still a little panicked about the idea of having three kids under two. Hopefully God knows we're not ready for that.

looking forward to:
First time: In the first few months, I counted down to a few milestones, most notably the first the 12 week point (when we finally got to hear the heartbeat), and then our first ultrasound (scheduled around 20 weeks). 
This time:
The ultrasound!! The first part of pregnancy did drag a bit, but in general it seems we've been steadily marching ahead. I'm partly shocked that we're practically halfway through already! Our appointment is scheduled for 7:30am next Friday (You know I'm excited if I actually want to be somewhere that early!) and I can't wait. I need to see that (singular) baby swimming around in there. I want to count its fingers, and see its little profile. And of course I'm dying to find out the gender. Last time we found out but kept it a secret for a while. This time we've decided to share the news with friends and family much sooner. I can't wait to find out if we'll be adding a girl or a boy to our family, and start the fun stuff- planning a nursery, picking a name, and buying teeny tiny clothes.

A pic from my birthday. Twenty nine years. Seventeen weeks

So little baby #2...fear not. I may be a touch behind (and a lot sleepy)...But you are very much wanted, very much anticipated, and will be very much celebrated. Scrapbook or not.
 

16 comments :

  1. I had an irrational twin fear when I was pregnant with Katie. I'll admit I think it was because I thought just one more would have us in over our heads! And the salesmen at work could see I was bigger faster the third time and would say things like, "Are you sure it's just one in there?" Rudeness abounds in all forms when one is pregnant for the third time in four years!

    Your pregnancy journal with Piper is amazing, something truly to be envied. However, I think baby number two will appreciate knowing how he or she was different, even though anticipated just the same!

    Love the belly pictures! You are gorgeous, pregnant or otherwise!

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    1. Gah....twins are so scary!! I love hearing the crazy things people say to pregnant people. All of a sudden it's like free reign to say whatever comes into your brain!

      And thank you for the sweet compliments...I will take those any day!

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    1. Thanks Ali! I love that you're following along!

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  3. Love this post - I liked reading your comparisons between the two pregnancies. Fun that you will have all of this documented! Pretty pretty pics!

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    1. I trying to keep plugging away....I'm lucky I had the notes from the first time or I would have completely forgotten what it was like!

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  4. beautiful post(s), courtney! i often read & don't leave a note -- so here it is in bulk form!

    i enjoyed reading all of these little details & tucking away some of these tidbits & tips for the future! congrats, again. hoping for happy, healthy weeks + months + years ahead.

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    1. thanks for reading natalie! glad I can give you some tips for someday.....

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  5. It was like you were reading my mind- I just said to myself (not out loud), Courtney hasn't blogged about the new baby yet, right? i need deets! lol
    SO excited for you and Dustin and for Piper! Siblings are the best gift ever.
    love the comparisons between the two pregnancies.
    twins are THAT scary... really, truly.

    praying for a happy, heathy pregnancy and can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl!

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    1. I just try to give the people what they want, diz! ;)
      If you say twins are scary, then I know it's true!!

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    2. i meant AREN'T THAT SCARY!!! arghhhhh auto correct was not a freudian slip!

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    3. and then there should be a period after arghhhh auto correct. it was a freudian slip! arghhhh again!

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    4. hahahaha I still 100% believe that twins ARE that scary. You know it, and I know it.

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  6. caitlin (short) laroccoJanuary 25, 2013 at 10:18 AM

    You are just fully of great ideas!! aaannd I want to copy them when it's my turn ;) where did you keep the journal?? was it online or just a doc on your computer? I want to be proactive but also make it easier to copy into a book when the times comes!!

    thanks girl!

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    1. Thanks Cait! There's a ton of ways to do a pregnancy journal. For piper I kept it in a word doc. That was dumb. Don't be dumb. ;)
      The much better plan is what I do now- keeping a private blog. I do pipers page through blogger- its just like a regular blog but you can set it so no one else can see it. (I set up Dustin as an admin so he could view and add to it too...but ask me how many times he's done that...) the benefits are many:
      -It's accessible from any computer, so no matter where you are you can write or edit entries
      -it organizes everything by date
      -you can write and save pics all in one place
      -you can download the blogger app, allowing you to update from your phone too. (warning- it's pretty much the worst app ever. it's impossible to format things etc., but it at least allows you to jot quick notes, and then go back and edit it on a computer later.) Plus- you can upload phone pics, which saves you a step- you don't have to import them into your computer first.

      Then when you're ready you can turn the whole thing into a book really easily. I use blurb- it's not the cheapest site but the convenience is worth it. They have a feature that allows you to enter your blog's address and it "slurps" up all of your posts and automatically creates a book. Then you can edit it from there as much as you want. You can add more pics, enter more text, change the layout... whatever. But it gives you a really easy starting point. The look of blurb isn't as "scrapbook-y" as a shutterfly version might be, so it depends on what you're into. It doesn't have many *or any?) cute clip art or words or backgrounds etc. But if you're going for a clean modern look it's pretty great.

      Hope that helps....Someday!

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    2. caitlin (short) laroccoJanuary 25, 2013 at 5:50 PM

      Thank you! HUGE help ;) I'm saving these great details!! have a lovely wknd!

      oh and can you email me your address? I made a tiny little something for your little lady (well not made, just hot glued two things together ;)) I'm caitlin.short @ gmail .com

      thanks!!

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