end of 2nd tri

i'm almost finished with my second trimester already! today i am 27 weeks pregnant and just finished up my glucose test. miraculously, i did not make a scene (faint, vomit, cry...) so i feel like i might be getting better at the whole blood draw experience. it's kind of blowing my mind that i could be this far along with the my second pregnancy. being that we are on the house hunt and currently live in a condo with NO extra space for a baby, we have done nothing (and i mean nothing) to prepare for this new baby. i haven't sorted through clothes, haven't thought about getting the infant seat ready to go, haven't prepped in any way. in fact, finn is still sleeping in the crib and i don't even know where the pack n play is, so this baby will have to find a comfy drawer or something.

we are hoping to get finn out of the crib and onto a floor mattress to transition him (he's slept this way on trips and will be fine in his big boy bed, as well) but we have no storage for the crib so we can't take it apart or move it elsewhere! last time i was planning a nursery, organizing baby goodies, buying my stroller...this time? ugh. when i think about it all i start to panic and sweat, so i'm pretending that i'm hardly pregnant and have plenty of time.

24 weeks

compare to 24 weeks of first pregnancy. i think my belly is smaller this time!

this picture is actually 24 weeks 4 days because i didn't get around to taking one on sunday when i usually do. it was an eventful day, though, as i managed to fall on the snowy sand dunes of our beach. i slid and caught myself, but i did land on my belly and felt some cramping and tightening just after. to be safe, i called the dr. and they wanted me to be monitored. i spent 6 hours (typical for a fall on your stomach at this point in pregnancy) with the monitors watching his heartbeat and my (very small, infrequent) contractions. in the end everything was/is fine and baby is still healthy.

i have been battling an awful cold for the past 2.5 weeks and haven't managed to work out or eat well, so i softened up and for sure gained a few pounds. most of it, as i can tell, has been in my thighs :( i'm hoping feeling better and spring weather (when it comes) will help me to stay motivated in the later months.

 

how far along? 24 weeks

total weight gain: 22 lbs :(
maternity clothes? yes, mainly for comfort
sleep: pretty good aside from the sciatic pain and pelvic pain
best moment this week: finn's 3rd birthday party with family and friends (unrelated to pregnancy)
movement: yes. he moved the most/biggest just after the fall while i was monitored and it was crazy!
gender: boy
labor signs: none
belly button in or out? stretched
food cravings: lemon! i made homemade lemon curd for a variety of desserts and breakfasts
what i miss: feeling healthy, pelvic bones that are not breaking apart
what i am looking forward to: we're still actively house hunting with fingers crossed!
milestones:i made it to 24 weeks, viability, so that feels (obviously) good. my next appointment is for my glucose test, which feels surreal like it's impossible that i could be that far along already.

21 weeks

compare to 21 weeks from my first pregnancy.

i think i look much rounder in the belly this time. depending on the time of day and how much food/water i've consumed, the belly can appear much larger! i'm feeling pretty good at this halfway (and a week) point but i have bad sciatica on my right side and it definitely affects my movement and sleep. i am still working out 3 times a week on average and have continued to do my hour long kickboxing class thus far. my goal of holding a 30 second plank throughout my whole pregnancy is continuing strong. i don't think i weigh less than last time around but i am stronger/fitter so i guess that's what's important!

how far along? 21 weeks

total weight gain: 17 lbs this morning (down 2 lbs from 18 weeks?)
maternity clothes? yes. i actually just cleared out my closet of tighter fitting/nice non-maternity items
sleep: pretty good aside from the sciatic pain
best moment this week: hmm, it wouldn't be walking around chicago for 3+ hours (fun but ouch)
movement: yes, rolls and kicks but baby doesn't like when i put my hand on my belly to feel
gender: boy
labor signs: none
belly button in or out? stretched
food cravings: lemon! i made homemade lemon curd for a variety of desserts and breakfasts
what i miss: honestly, i want a cocktail so bad!!
what i am looking forward to: buying a house so i can start planning a nursery
weekly wisdom: i think i'm going to delete this from the survey...i never have any!
milestones: just past halfway

big brother, little...

we had our anatomy scan on 1/25 and all went well. obviously, we found out that baby #2 is a boy. it's hard to imagine being a mom to two little (and eventually, big) boys but that's where i'm headed!! finn really thought this baby was a girl (he told people it was prior to this without "coaching") and he is having a bit of trouble understanding that it really is a boy. good thing we've got some time to prepare him :)

 

baby is very healthy and we were lucky enough to have a long u/s with tons of pictures and every little detail examined. hb was 167 (so don't let people tell you that high heart rates = girls!). and we saw that little organ beating away, all 4 chambers looking great.

 the baby was very active and i was actually surprised not to be able to feel that all of the kicking and arm swinging. at this point, the movement i can detect must be full rolls and changing positions. baby boy had his behind his head at one point and covered his face a number of times. his feet were so cute! all of his limb measurements are great.

for the first time ever, we we treated to a 3d view. i often find these a little disconcerting because of the textures but this shot was a pretty good visual of his peanut face. (and it looks like daddy's nose!) finn was extremely scared of the 3d portion and could not handle it, so we only looked for a minute.

true to form, i did go out yesterday and buy a little something (in grey, not blue!) for new baby brother. he is bound to get mostly hand-me-downs and it's hard to imagine him wearing all of finn's things as his own. now that i know gender, i can begin to do some real planning. names, nursery...oh and we're buying a house so that might take up some of my time, too!

18 weeks

compare to 18 weeks from my first pregnancy.

i have been feeling a lot of movement, especially at night. mostly just rolls and swirling feelings, but every so often i get a clear, single jab or kick. a few days ago i got a good one and asked mr. h3b to try and feel from the outside. we waited and baby did the rolling after only about a minute. so movement felt on the outside by another person at 17w6d. i checked back on my last pregnancy and the time frame was very similar.

how far along? 18 weeks
total weight gain: 10lb. i didn't gain any weight between 11 and 15 weeks, but then came the holidays
maternity clothes? some of both. maternity is more comfortable, though
sleep: decent overall. i get up to pee 1-2 times per night
best moment this week: feeling movement on the outside
movement: yes, but not hard kicks yet
gender: we find out on jan 25
labor signs: none
belly button in or out? in but shallow
food cravings: tomatoes in balsamic vinegar
what i miss: i always miss champagne!
what i am looking forward to: finding out the gender in two weeks
weekly wisdom: splurge on a few nice maternity items. last pregnancy i bought myself more expensive jeans and loved them. they are still too big on me right now, so i need alternatives. i found some great skinny jeans that were way more than i'd normally spend, but i can wear them almost daily and i (think i) look good and thus, feel good.

oh, hello!

it's true! my absence has been caused by the first trimester of my 2nd baby. today i am 14 weeks 2 days and finally not feeling quite as sick or tired (mostly). i can't wait to get back to blogging about my big boy who is almost 3 (THREE?!) and the new little baby that i'm just getting to know.

movement

i finally caught some good movement on video the other night. while baby h3b is a mover, he is also quite camra shy. whenever i bring out the flip video, he settles down and refuses to do his crazy rolling. this video has some quiet points, but you can see a ton of movement near the middle.



and you can compare that to a few clips from earlier in my pregnancy when he was doing kicks rather than big rolls. i don't have the date to know exactly when these were, but between late 2nd tri and early 3rd tri.

glucose results

i got the call today.

i beat the glucose test. pregnant people have to score under 140 and i got 105. i am so good at drinking glucose drinks. i celebrated with 2 chocolate truffles and a dq peppermint chocolate blizzard.

glucose win!

ugh, glucose

today was less than fun.

my glucose test was at 8 am, which is early and i'm not used to being up and ready to go. sahw and all that... so i was rushing around and tripped into my coat closet over some shoes and a small step. i fell only to my knees then hands, so i didn't hit the baby/belly and it really wasn't that bad of a fall. when i got myself up, i noticed my toe was in a lot of pain, but i had to get to my appointment.

the glucose drink wasn't so bad, honestly. it's sweet, like hyper gatorade, and i had to drink it in under 5 minutes (no problem). 10 minutes went by and all of the sudden i was so dizzy and nauseated. i went to see the dr. and she had me lay down for the hour to wait for the blood draw because i was close to passing out. i didn't faint from the blood (it wasn't fun, but i was already laying down) and was able to drive home fine.

i felt sick and dizzy for about 4 hours and realized my toe was also throbbing. i checked it out and sure enough, it was swollen and black and blue. so yeah, based on my experience with broken toes (gymnastics), i've got one. i can't bend or touch it and it hurts all the time. i've got a nice limp going on...

i get the results from the glucose test on wednesday.

hope i pass!

26 week belly

compare to 18 week belly in same shirt. 


how far along? 26 weeks
total weight gain: at least 25 lbs
maternity clothes? yes, my hips/thighs grow like whoa
sleep: ugh. not at night
best moment this week: feeling baby hiccups! and mr h3b feeling so much movement, all over
movement: yes, like crazy
gender: boy
labor signs: none
belly button in or out? popped (note this in bare belly pic above)
food cravings: no real ones
what i miss: not getting indigestion from everything i eat
what i am looking forward to: nursery time in january!
weekly wisdom: exercise during pregnancy. i am an idiot...why didn't i do this?
milestones: baby's first hiccups?

26 weeks

less than 100 days to go!

i am 26 weeks now. 26 years old, 26 weeks, due on march 26. you may remember that 26 is quite possibly my least favorite number. but that's ok. step one of having a baby might be letting go of things like this. or maybe step one is letting go of sleep. step two is letting go of irrational hatred of specific numbers.

i finally feel pregnant in the way that things are heavy and uncomfortable. the belly, the boobs, the rest of me...it's all so heavy and round and soft. fabulous in terms of growth and what is supposed to happen during pregnancy (celebrities may not be aware), not so in terms of a good night's sleep, walking around, or finding a comfortable way to sit for more than 5 minutes. i guess baby h3b is just getting heavier, moving a lot, and dancing on my bladder for much of the day and i just need to get used to that. he's going to get bigger and i'm going to get more uncomfortable.

it's not all horrible. i still love being pregnant. sure, the switch from feeling fabulous to feeling like an achey whale was quick one, but in the end i have a rockin' baby bump, cleavage that practically touches my chin(s), and a healthy little boy that nudges me lovingly to let me know all is well. people can clearly tell i am pregnant and i get questions all of the time. when are you due? do you know what it is? any names? i've never had so many obvious stares in my life. no one hides the fact that they want to check out the belly.

i have my glucose test during monday's appointment. can't imagine that will be fun, but i'm crossing my fingers that i pass the one hour and don't have to go back for more stabbings. i'm going to ask my dr. about starting prenatal yoga for stretches and such, since my neck, back and hips are suddenly painful all day, everyday. i may not have mentioned that i'm pretty sure my pelvic bone split in half over the course of the week. oh, the pain.

14 more weeks ;)

25 week belly

how far along? 25 weeks
total weight gain: 25 lbs
maternity clothes? yes - new citizen's jeans make this girl happy
sleep: not until we find somewhere to live in january...
best moment this week: seeing baby h3b again on u/s
movement: yes, tons
gender: boy
labor signs: none
belly button in or out? popped
food cravings: omg i eat a lot.
what i miss: holiday cocktails!!
what i am looking forward to: picking a name and setting up the nursery
weekly wisdom: be thankful for the time when you don't have pressure all of the time. that free, empty feeling goes away and then you're carrying a sack of flour or two down by your pelvic bone all day
milestones: catching movement on video

belly video

here is a quick video of my belly at 25 weeks. if you watch carefully, you will see herman munstertiger rolling and kicking. he does this for hours everyday and i've been trying every night to get it on video.

his movement has finally appeared up by my belly button (rather than lower on my stomach) and is strong enough to feel and see from the outside.

25 weeks

um, when did that happen?

i've made it to 25 weeks. it seems insane. but then i look down and see this huge belly and i'm not surprised. my baby is growing strong and i feel pretty good. over the last week, i've gotten an increase in hip and back pain, combined with lots of low pressure. i guess the baby and his gear (amniotic fluid, etc.) are getting heavier.

sleep eludes me for multiple reasons, but at the top of the list would be my inability find a comfortable position. i am a stomach sleeper, but i cannot be on my belly. i find myself on my back and that's no good either. so i try to rotate onto each side...but this keeps me and mr. h3b from getting quality slumber time. adding to my insomnia: the house hunt. it is not going well and that stresses me out. i know there are bigger things than finding a house before baby comes, but i had never dreamed i'd be bringing my first baby home to an apartment. and not this one we're in now...oh no. we've got to move out of this one (not because we're bad tenants, it's a property problem) and into another one (yep, another pregnancy move...).

so yeah. whoa is me. it's definitely put a damper on the holiday season (i only have one tree this year) and the coming months - when will i get the nursery started? will we have enough space? where will (g)parents and family stay when they visit? i don't want the first few weeks after herman munstertiger comes to be filled with hopping over moving boxes, overnight bags, and air mattresses...i imagine things will be stressful (and yes, happy, too) enough without all of that. it is clear that i am entering a nesting stage and want to feel a bit more ready. we have no names picked out. very little baby stuff. and this is not my style, even if it will all work out (as i keep hearing...).

but, that is all small picture. big picture is that baby h3b and i are healthy. mr. h3b has a great job and we will find a house. in the mean time, we will have somewhere to live and we'll make do with what we have.

all will be fine.

3rd ultrasound

i'm back from my 24 week appointment and follow-up ultrasound. it was nice to see baby h3b again. he was very good this time and gave us the necessary profile shot. the pictures didn't come out super clear, but i could make out the forehead, nose, lips, and chin even better as the tech was showing me.

he is still a he (we have another crotch shot to prove it, but i'll spare you) and weighs 1 lb 11 oz. his heart rate was 119 bpm and his measurements for belly, femur, heart, etc. all look great.

i had a nice chat with my dr. and, following my scale reading this morning, asked about my weight gain. so far, i've put on...and please, no gaping mouths here...25 lbs. already! i about fainted right there. but she said it was fine. the more i gain, the more i have to work off after baby, but that she wasn't worried a bit. (insert image of breastfeeding while on the elliptical - yeah not worried, either...). i got my h1n1 shot and my next appointment will be in 2 weeks for the 1 hour glucose test.

must limit candy...

24 week belly

how far along? 24 weeks
total weight gain: at least 15 lbs
maternity clothes? yes
sleep: i sleep, but i wake up quite sore
best moment this week: eating an entire frozen pizza by myself. best, worst...eh
movement: yes, tons
gender: boy
labor signs: none
belly button in or out? popped
food cravings: just food. i am never full
what i miss: having only 1 chin
what i am looking forward to: picking a name
weekly wisdom: you don't need maternity lounge clothes. i was going to pick up some pj pants from old navy maternity for $15 each. i found regular sets (top and bottom) at target in size large for $10!
milestones: seeing giant kicks and rolls from the outside - missed them on video camera, though

special for you this week - my front! there might not be many of these as my belly feels like it's going through a growth spurt. i foresee stretchmarks...

23 week belly

well, i don't have my standard covered and bare comparison shots this week. it was just too busy! so instead, i have the above photo. after i put up one of my christmas trees, i asked mr. h3b to take some silhouette shots. i really like how it turned out and hopefully we'll do another closer to christmas to see the changes.

how far along? 23 weeks

total weight gain: after thanksgiving? i have no idea...
maternity clothes? yes
sleep: on and off
best moment this week: having my family see the bigger belly and my sister feeling kicks
movement: yes, big kicks i can see from the outside
gender: boy
labor signs: none
belly button in or out? out
food cravings: no
what i miss: um, back to cocktails. i am sorely missing my winter weekend mimosas!
what i am looking forward to: picking a name
weekly wisdom: do not eat at taco johns
milestones: getting my stroller? it's the first big baby item we have

23 weeks

stuffed from turkey!

i'm 23 weeks now and being pregnant at thanksgiving is excellent. i got to eat. and eat...and eat some more. herman munstertiger loved all of the goodies and was moving all around after the big meal. mr. h3b and i spent the holiday with my mom, dad, and sister. lucky for sister, she got to feel little baby kicks. everyone was surprised by how much my belly has changed (my dad hadn't seen me in person since 8 weeks). it was great to be with them and made me excited for them to meet baby h3b.

in other exciting news, i finally got to open my stroller! awhile back i ordered a quinny buzz 3 in capri blue from babies r us - i found a 50% off coupon from baby cheapskate and snatched one up the second mr. h3b agreed to it. it's been at my parents' house and my mom brought it down for me. it's amazing and adorable and i can't wait to take walks and get out and about with it. hilarity ensued when i put one of my miniature dachshunds in it. he loved being pushed around and wanted to get back in when i took him out. i think he'll be jealous when i have a real baby to use it...

everything else continues to go well. belly grows, baby kicks. my hips and back hurt a little more each week and my sleep is interrupted by at least one bathroom break and no less than five tosses and turns that require heaving my body and my body pillow around in the bed. i feel good, though. in my pregnancy prime, where everyone loves the belly and i still feel like i can walk without waddling. my next appointment will tell me how my weight is going (meaning, how soon will i waddle) and hopefully we'll get a good picture of his profile.

ultrasound next week!

22 week belly

how far along? 22 weeks

total weight gain: at least 15 lbs
maternity clothes? yes
sleep: my back aches, but i sleep
best moment this week: seeing the kicks on the outside
movement: yes, although it has decreased a bit these past few days
gender: boy
labor signs: none
belly button in or out? i think it has popped out
food cravings: no
what i miss: having only 1 chin
what i am looking forward to: picking a name
weekly wisdom: don't fight with your husband while registering - we had fun because it wasn't all serious
milestones: registering

22 weeks

not many milestones.

this time is kind of weird. i am obviously pregnant, enjoying being pregnant, and happy to be healthy...but there isn't much to report. weekly changes these days can be summed up in the expansion of my bump. i eat a lot, my sleep is so-so, and i have a big round belly. we have taken to calling the baby herman munstertiger, a lovely name suggested by the proud daddy. he insists that we'll say it so much we'll end up liking it enough to actually use it. i am sure that won't happen, but i did find myself saying "it puts the lotion on herman munstertiger" this morning while slathering on the belly balm.

mr. h3b and i are house hunting, which is really fun to do with the thought of having a baby in less than 20 weeks. no pressure! we are going to register at babies 'r us tomorrow, an experience i am both looking forward to and dreading. there are so many things to look at and to know...and yet people have babies with just a blanket or two, a dresser drawer, and not much else. i don't mind getting sucked into the baby buying world because it' a fun time and all, but with the walls of pacifiers, bottles, and other baby gear, it's all very daunting. but, mr. h3b loves shopping, especially when it involves not buying anything and looking through a million and one baby blankets to decide which one is the cutest.

cannot wait!