Week 21 - 5 months!

With Darling Daughter #2:
With Natalie:I am now 5 months pregnant!

I had my 20 week appointment last Thursday with Dr. Gaines. Everything looked good -- he was able to find her heartbeat right away. We discussed how I'm not feeling her as much as I did with Natalie. If I'm not feeling her within 2 weeks, I can call in to get another ultrasound just to be sure my placenta isn't blocking her kicks etc. I am starting to feel her a little bit more (maybe every few days) but I may still go in for the extra ultrasound if she doesn't pick up more -- just for the added reassurance that all is good.

We also discussed my VBAC vs. c-section options. As I expected from him, he's more for going straight for a c-section mostly because my last c-section was not due to fetal distress (which would be dependent on the baby) but rather my body not laboring on it's own. I'm still planning to wait and see how things are going come 37-38 weeks.

I'm starting to get sore hips at night sleeping (so it begins!). I have to keep rolling over periodically throughout the night. I expect this to only get worse here on out.

My belly is starting to feel harder with my uterus up much higher.

Our baby girl is about the size of a large banana right now. She probably weighs around 10.5 ounces by now. Baby's legs have grown longer and are now in the proper proportion to the rest of his body. Our baby can now swallow and has started swallowing amniotic fluid.

Week 20 -- Half Way!

With Darling Daughter #2:

With Natalie:
Wow...half way already! I can't believe how much faster this pregnancy is going compared to my pregnancy with Natalie.

This week our daughter should be about 9-10 oz. and have a crown-to-rump length of about 6 inches. The amniotic fluid has reached a volume of about 12 ounces. Our baby's heart is beating at a rate of 120 to 160 beats per minute. The baby's sense of smell is present now.

I can feel that the top of my uterus is now right at my belly button. I have to pee all the time -- especially at night. I've started getting up 2-3 times a night now. I think I've started feeling her move around as of last Wednesday (19w1d); however, the feels are very different than they were with Natalie that I'm still not entirely sure. I'm looking forward to my doctor's appointment on Thursday to discuss the type of movements I think I'm feeling and to find out if he thinks I have an anterior placenta.

Week 19

With Darling Daughter #2:

With Natalie:
This week has been a very emotional week for me. For some reason, I've felt more emotionally effected by things going on in my life than I typically do. I know pregnancy hormones cause a lot of mood changes which I'm sure is the main reason for this (work being incredibly slow right now doesn't help either) but I definitely didn't have this type of emotional roller coaster with my previous pregnancy. Hopefully, these hormones level off soon.

Another difference I've noticed compared to my last pregnancy is that my nose is dry constantly!!! Sometimes if I rub it the wrong way, it actually hurts! This was not something I experienced last time.

My belly is getting pretty big now although I think my uterus is starting to slow down in it's expansion because my belly is starting to look more in lines with the size at 19 weeks with Natalie. As mentioned previously, the uterus expands quicker in the beginning with a second pregnancy; however, the baby is not actually growing faster etc. Eventually the uterus stops it's rapid expansion and continues on a normal growth rate as with a first pregnancy.

Our baby probably weighs close to 7 oz. now and is 5.5-6 inches long. Buds for permanent teeth are now forming behind the buds for baby teeth. Baby's toes are not quite as developed as her hands, but they'll catch up. The baby spends about 6 hours a day awake and 18 or so asleep. This is about the same ratio as a newborn.

Week 18

With Darling Daughter #2:

With Natalie:

I still don't feel like I'm feeling the baby yet. A friend suggested I may have an anterior placenta where it's in front of the baby with the baby closer to my spine and thus, I may not feel her as quickly or as much as I did with Natalie. I was reading more on the anterior placenta and it sounds very possible especially given that Dr. Anderson had such a hard time finding the heartbeat at my last appointment. I'm going to have to ask about this at my next appointment on July 23. I really hope I start feeling flutters by then. It's hard to not worry during this stage of the 2nd trimester. There aren't all the aches and pains of 1st trimester to remind you constantly that you're pregnant but yet you're not feeling the baby kick yet! I know all is fine based on my last ultrasound last week but it'll just be reassuring once I can feel her move around.

My weight gain has been much less than it was with Natalie at this stage even though I look much bigger in the belly. So far I've only gained 1/8 of what I gained total with Natalie, and I'm almost halfway through my pregnancy! I think one reason is that I recently weaned Natalie from breast feeding. From what I've read, the body tends to hold onto about 5 lbs while breastfeeding so it's possible that extra weight fell off after I weaned and thus, lowered my overall weight gain that would have occurred from being pregnant. My doctor said the amount of weight I've gained looks fine so I'm not worried. I'd love to gain less overall than I did with Natalie -- easier to get it off later.

The baby should be about 5-5.5 inches long and weigh around 6.5 ounces. You should be able to see the chambers of our baby's heart in an ultrasound now. His/her vocal cords should be fully formed also. Over the next week, our baby will start forming hair on his/her head and forming teeth buds.

I'm thinking of decorating the nursery for daughter #2 in green/pink elephant theme. Here's the one I like the most, Bella Bedding by Cocalo:

We would keep the bottom of the walls below the chair rail in the nursery the cream color it is now and paint the top a light green. Natalie will be moving into a larger bedroom, which is now her playroom. We had already painted it the light lavender that the nursery is now in preparation for her moving into it eventually. We're thinking of transitioning Natalie to a toddler bed the month before DD#2 will probably arrive to give Natalie time to get used to her new surroundings before getting used to a sister. We're looking into a toddler bed and new bedding for Natalie -- the bedding will still be lavender color like what she has now.

It's a...

Girl!! Natalie's is going to have a little sister! We're very excited. I think it will be wonderful having two girls close in age. Unfortunately, we can't re-use much of Natalie's clothes given they're different seasons (Natalie's newborn short-sleeve jumpers just aren't going to work in December) but that just means I get to pick out more cute outfits!

I had my "big ultrasound" this past Wednesday. We waited till today to show the photos because we wanted to tell our parents first. Emile's parents were traveling this week so we waited till they got home today. We told both sets of our parents that we were having a girl by having Natalie show them her new toy on the webcam -- a little baby girl doll! They loved it.

The doctor said everything looked great on the ultrasound. Everything is where it should be and measuring on-track. We were relieved. Here are some photos.

Thumbs up!

Hand and leg.