21w 3d

There is not much new to report but I thought I would check in. Most days I feel pretty good but there are some, today is one, where I'm not feeling that well. I'm not sure if anything triggers it. I don't think so and I have heard where some women are ok for a few weeks and then in the middle late part of the pregnancy they begin to feel sick again. Blech.

Jack is really liking the idea of a little brother. Yesterday he told me and Eric that Daddy, Mommy, Baby Brother and Jack would make a good team. :) I swear, he melts my heart on a daily basis. He's also telling people that the baby will cry a lot and that he's going to rock it and feed it. I'm trying to get him to understand that babies cry and that is their way of communicating. I want him to be as prepared as he can be.

That's about it. I have a routine appointment on December 9th and will get another ultrasound around the second week of January to check the growth. I'm feeling the little guy daily but it's still not strong enough for Eric to feel. The picture I've posted is from 21 weeks.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Well, I just couldn't do it. 18w6d

I thought I could wait to find out what we're having but I just couldn't! Eric and I went in, I gave the tech the card and told her what we were planning. Toward the end of the ultrasound, she told me she was getting ready to measure the legs so I might see something if I looked. I didn't turn away and I really thought I saw something. At the very end I said, ok, we want to know! She asked me what I thought it was and I said boy. She said you're right! Yay! We're having another sweet boy! I was hoping for another boy like Jack. I know all kids are different but it's going to be so great for him to have a little brother.

We got to see the baby yawn, play with the umbilical cord and bounce around. It is such a neat experience. I could feel the baby while she was doing the scan. Everything looked perfect and the baby is measuring 3 days ahead, which is totally normal. The pictures we have aren't that great but I'll try to post some. The heart rate was 154. I was kind of starting to think it was going to be a girl.

I go back in on December 9 for a routine checkup at 22weeks then I go in at 26 weeks for the diabetes testing, and I'll get another ultrasound at 28 weeks to check on the growth. Things are really moving fast now!

Eric and I went over to his grandma's house to tell them and Jack. We told Jack alone and he just looked at us when we said he was going to have a little brother but when we asked if he was excited he said yes! The we wanted him to tell everyone else. He wouldn't do it for a few minutes but then told everyone he was going to have a little brother! I think he's excited. :)

This 11/11/11 is turning out to be a pretty great day.

Exciting Week! 18w 5d

Tomorrow Eric and I will have the anatomy scan where they will look at all of the baby's body parts and tell us if everything is fine. Normally, people also find out the gender. I'm wondering if we're going to see something that gives us a clue. I wouldn't be too upset if that happened. :)

I am also feeling the baby now. I've been feeling what I thought was the baby for a few weeks but it's only one bump and then nothing for days. Now, consistently, I feel him/her after dinner when I'm sitting on the couch. What reminded me that I needed to do this entry was feeling the baby while sitting at my desk. It is really the coolest and most surreal thing ever. There is a life in there! It still blows my mind.

Jack has made up his mind that he wants a girl and he wants to name her Princess. That comes from one of his favorite cartoons. :) I don't think he'll be too disappointed if it is a boy though. He's been rocking his baby doll and feeding it, etc so he'll be ready for the baby. I think he is so excited! I hope it stays that was once he/she is here. I'm still thinking boy but now I'm not 95% certain like I was before.

Aggg! I can't wait for our appointment tomorrow. I'll have some pictures and will scan them as soon as I can.

17w 3day Appointment

I went into this appointment thinking that I probably hadn't gained much weight because I really haven't been eating much more than I normally do. I really haven't been all that hungry. I was very wrong. I gained 6 pounds in ONE month! I just don't know what to say. The doctor said it was ok but that he didn't want me to gain 6 pounds every month. I'm hoping it was my breakfast bar and coffee (decaf) that I had before the appointment. I'm trying not to worry about it but have started watching what I eat.

The baby's heartbeat was strong and around 152. All is well. Next week we'll have the anatomy scan and I can't wait to see the baby again! We debated taking Jack with us but I think we'll leave him at his Nan's house. The appointment could be 30 minutes or more and I don't think he'll sit there that long.

I talked to the doctor about being induced or not and it doesn't look like I'll have much of a choice. Contrary to what my hematologist says, they do not what me on blood thinners when I give birth because that increases the chances of bleeding more. Hopefully we can just wait as long as possible before they induce. I know it will be within a week of the due date, so anywhere between March 31 and April 7. Last time they induced with Jack and I had not progressed at all. The doctor was afraid they would have to give me another round of pitocin. I don't want that to happen again.

Ok, pic of me at 17 weeks. I'll let you know how it goes next week!

Eventful week

What a week we had last week. I was home with Jack while Eric's parent re-cooperated from an upper respiratory cold. I was with him Monday - Thursday am. It was so nice being there with him and I was able to get some work done while he played. Tuesday night we were up from 2-5am because he had a bad dream (I think) and then we were up just as long Wed night/Thurs am.

Jack was starting to get stuffy and had a runny nose. I thought it was the flu mist he got Tuesday afternoon. Turns out it was a respiratory virus that he picked up somewhere. Wed night around 1:45 am, he woke up crying and coughing and had a hard time breathing. Eric and I tried to run a hot shower thinking the steam would help his breathing but Jack was too upset and would not calm down to allow it to work. He kept telling me that he needed medicine and that his throat was hurting. I gave him water and noticed he was shaking. At that moment I told Eric that we needed to get to a hospital. It was the longest ride of my life. Jack was struggling, crying, coughing, and very upset. We finally get to the ER and the triage nurse said he had croup. This is something Eric knows about well. He and both of his parents suffered with this when they were children.

Once we got into a room, the staff gave him a breathing treatment, which opened up Jack's airway and he was able to breath within a few minutes. His O2 was 93 so they decided to give him steroids to open things up a little faster. Once Jack could breath easily again, he was so happy and chatty. The doctors observed him until 4:45am and we went home. Jack was asleep before we hit the highway. We were told that croup is caused by a respiratory virus and because children have small airways anyway, the irritation and swelling in that area can cause difficulty breathing. Cold air can help open things up so we'll try that should this happen again. It was such a scary thing to go through and to see your child in panic is worse. He is now suffering through the cold but doing much better. We were both up by 8:30am and other than an occasional cough, you couldn't tell anything happened. Jack was his happy self.

Sunday we decorated pumpkins and they turned out pretty well. Tonight we will trick-or-treat by visiting family in the area. I can't see Jack going up to a strangers house and I think he'll like seeing people he knows. He is going to dress-up as a Carolina Panther. Pictures to come!

The baby is doing well. I think I felt movement over the weekend but can't be sure. I didn't feel it again so it could have been something else. I have an appointment tomorrow that should be uneventful. I will talk to the doctor about not inducing. We'll see what he says. I also have my hematologist appointment on Thursday. He will just test my blood levels and I will likely not have to see him again until Feb or so. At the hospital Jack said he thinks we will have a girl with pretty hair. :) We'll know soon enough.

I think the morning sickness is gone! 15w2d

I woke up on Saturday with NO SICKNESS! None! It just hit me while I was making breakfast, that I felt normal, and I felt pretty great all day. Sunday rolls around and I still felt pretty good! Here we are on Monday and I think I might be cured. :) It was 15 weeks on the dot last Saturday.

Jack and I also listened to the heartbeat on Saturday and it was 151...still thinking it's a boy. So the only things that are still sticking around are feelings of being tired even after 9 hours of sleep and this bad taste in my mouth ALL THE TIME. This is definitely pregnancy related. I didn't have it with Jack but it started soon after I got pregnant with #2. Yuck!

Next week I go in for my 16 week appointment. It will be pretty routine but one step closer to seeing my baby again on November 11!

Not feeling exactly like I thought I would be

Throwing up in the car, on the way to work is not exactly how I thought I would be feeling at 14w4d. Fortunately I had a grocery bag. I have been off of the prometrium for two weeks now and this week has been pretty bad. I was feeling much better by 13 1/2 weeks with Jack. Could this mean a girl? I stopped taking my B6/Unisom cocktail for the nausea because I WAS feeling better. It looks like I'm going to have to start taking that again. At least I know this will eventually end - I just hope it ends way sooner than delivery day.

Jack has names picked out: Sir Topham Hat if it is a boy and Sir Topham hat Girl if it is a girl :) For those not schooled in the Thomas the Train cartoon, Sir Topham Hat is the Director of the railway and Jack LOVES Thomas. He also likes the name, Jackson Leo Hudson, which he doesn't seem to mind sharing. :) Jack still seems excited. I told him we would have to get through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, his birthday, and then the baby would come. He brought me a little heart sticker and said it's Valentine's Day! :) He is so sweet.

I think I might have felt the baby moving around. It's hard to tell and still so early but it's possible! The picture posted is me at 14 weeks.