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.

Week 17 - 4 months!

With Darling Child #2:


With Natalie:
Not much has been going on this week for me as far as the pregnancy goes. I've had a few aches and pains there and there; some stretching but nothing that is uncomfortable yet. I'm still not sure I'm feeling the baby yet. With Natalie, I felt her for sure at 17w5d -- that's coming up quickly here. As with Natalie, I find the first part of the second trimester to be stressful -- I don't have the abdominal achiness I had in the first trimester to remind me I'm pregnant but yet I can't yet feel the baby kick. I'm looking forward to our big ultrasound (anatomy scan) to confirm that everything is fine (and hopefully to find out what we're having!). I'm definitely not complaining -- it's nice not having difficult pregnancies. I hope it continues this way.

Our baby is now roughly the size of my hand outstretched. He or she has a much more normal "human" appearance now. Our baby is now able to hold his/her head more erect and his/her body and limbs are longer in proportion to his/her head. Pads are forming on the tiny fingertips and toes. Soon those individual swirls and whorls will be apparent. Our baby's eyes are looking forward now, but they are still firmly closed. Our baby's skeleton is transforming from cartilage to bone. The bones remain flexible to make the journey through the birth canal easier.

I decided today to buy a maternity swimsuit -- wow, they really don't make those to be flattering! The top looks cute over my belly but those shorts just don't help the look of the thighs!! But I want to start taking Natalie to the pool and lake so I'll suck it up. I was actually contemplating just wearing my halter-top bikini. I don't have stretch marks from Natalie so I don't mind others seeing my belly but I was more worried that others around me might be uncomfortable seeing a pregnant belly (although they shouldn't be).

Week 16

With Darling Child #2:

With Natalie:
Last Thursday, I had my 15 week appointment with Dr. Anderson. Natalie came with me :). She got to hear her sister/brother's heart beat. It took a little while for Dr. Anderson to find the heartbeat because it turns out our baby is sitting higher than he originally thought. He/she was already up under my belly button. Overall the appointment went well. Everything looks good. Dr. Anderson and I also discussed his thoughts on attempting a VBAC. He saw no problems with me trying a VBAC based on my history. He also said there is not much difference between the risks due to c-section vs. risk due to VBAC (although I'd like to avoid all risks of complication!). He suggested waiting to see how I'm progressing around week 37 or 38. If I haven't progressed at all, I may have to plan for a c-section given they can't induce (because I've had a prior c-section). If I have progressed some, then just to ride it out and see how things go for a VBAC. Sounds like a good plan to me.

I don't think what I was feeling last week was the baby as I haven't felt really anything since before my appointment with Dr. Anderson. I'm hoping the baby kicks start soon! Overall, I'm still feeling pretty good. Much less tired now which is nice. I definitely have a nice baby bump formed now! Emile had gotten me a gift certificate for a massage for Mother's Day and our anniversary. Now that I'm out of the first trimester, I was finally able to use it last weekend -- it felt wonderful! I can't wait for my next one.

The baby weighs probably about 2 3/4 ounces right now and by the end of this week will be about 3 1/2 ounces and the size of my hand spread open wide! Our baby's nails are well formed. He or she has to emptying his or her bladder every 40-45 minutes. The limb movements are becoming more coordinated and vigorous. The head is erect and the legs are developed.

Week 15

With Darling Child #2:

With Natalie:
There hasn't been much of a change for me this week on how I'm feeling. I'm still tired although I think it's starting to get better. I'm starting to notice some tingly feelings in my abdomen -- it may be the baby I'm feeling. It's mostly to the left of my belly button. We'll see how things progress by next week before I'll say for sure. :)

Our baby's bones are getting harder each day. His/her skin is very thin and transparent; you can see blood vessels through the skin. Lanugo, a very fine hair, covers the body and will continue growing on our baby until around the week 26. Our baby will be about the 4 1/3 to 4 2/3 inches by the end of this week. Between this week and week 17, our baby will have grown from about the size of a softball to the size of my hand stretched out.

My next appointment is this Thursday with Dr. Anderson. I'm looking forward to hearing our baby's heartbeat on the Doppler again. Natalie will be going with me to this appointment. :)

Week 14

With Darling Child #2:

With Natalie:
My friend, Jimmie, suggested I show pregnancy photos for each week side by side to see the difference. I thought I'd give this a try with this blog. As you can see, I'm already much bigger at 14 weeks than I was with Natalie -- and there is no mistaking that I'm pregnant. I've decided to stop trying to suck it in -- being pregnant with the second means I'm more than likely going to look pregnant much sooner. Not that I don't want to look pregnant, I'm just not yet ready for the weight gain. But I can't deny it anymore -- a woman at the store last night asked me whether Natalie was going to have a brother or sister! Looking back at my pregnancy photos with Natalie, I think I may already look 17 or 18 week pregnant.

And on top of it, the top of my belly button is already starting to stick out. With Natalie, that happened at around 21 weeks!

I'm still pretty tired a lot and am starting to get more hungry. Plus, I've noticed when I lay on my side, my hips are starting to hurt again. I'm really going to need to increase my working out (or stick with it!).

Our baby is now the size of my fist and by the end of this week will be close to the size of a softball. S/he is beginning to practice inhaling and exhaling movements. The eyes and ears continue to move and develop, the neck is still getting longer, and our baby's chin no longer rests on his/her chest. The hands are becoming functional, and the baby is beginning to learn to move/use them (such as flexing them). At this point, our little one is receiving all of his/her nourishment from the placenta.

Week 13 -- 3 months

Today has been an interesting day -- a bit scary! I fainted in the shower this morning. Natalie had slept in so I thought I'd jump out of bed and get a shower in before she woke up. Well, I forgot I typically need to eat before taking a shower, especially when pregnant. I started to feel light headed so I sat on our tile seat in our stand-up shower. As I was asking Emile to get me something to eat, I fainted, slide off the tile seat while scraping my back along the seat and then hit my head. The next thing I know, Emile was tapping my face with me on the floor of the shower. Apparently I was out for about 15 seconds. It took me a while to feel ok with getting up off the floor -- I laid there eating crackers. I managed to get into the kitchen to have a bowl of cereal but unfortunately, about a half an hour after fainting, I threw everything up. I've been feeling queasy all day long.

I had Kinsey, our nanny, take me to my OB's office in the afternoon. Dr. Gaines checked my eyes to make sure I hadn't had a concussion. He also checked for the baby's heartbeat with a Doppler -- the first time I heard the heartbeat! Unfortunately, Emile wasn't there to hear it although we've seen it twice now. Everything is fine -- baby's fine, I'm fine. It was just a blood pressure issue with getting up from bed and into the shower too quickly and not eating anything beforehand -- pregnancy just makes it worse. Plus, apparently I have pretty low blood pressure to begin with so I need to make sure to drink a lot of fluids and not get up from things too quickly.

Dr. Gaines also commented on my c-section scar. He stated that if I have a c-section again, they'll remove the raised bump but in order to avoid it again (he stated it is a Keloid scar) that I would need to have steroids injected into my skin before the incision to avoid it forming again. Apparently, it's genetic and could form again.

I can't believe I'm starting my second trimester already. Time is flying by. Our baby is now the size of a peach, and has started to resemble a baby with well formed fingers and toes! Our baby's vocal cords have begun to develop, and more and more of the organs are functioning every day. All twenty baby teeth are formed beneath the gums. Our baby's bone marrow, liver and spleen have taken over the production of red blood cells. Although our baby's intestines were originally formed inside the umbilical cord, they are now moving into the abdomen. Fuzzy hair is beginning to form on our baby's head and is white (unpigmented) right now.