Oh Baby! | Week 30 Bumpdate

Let me just ask this question real quick: how the heck has it only been 10 weeks since my last bumpdate?! Seriously, I feel like it was FOREVER ago! This pregnancy is moving at a snail's pace! I feel like I've been "almost 30 weeks" for a while now. We've got 10-ish more weeks before baby girl makes her debut, but I'm sure this last stretch will go by quite quickly!

How far along? 30 weeks

Due date: May 26, 2016

Baby's size: A large cabbage | 15.7 inches and almost 3 pounds according to BabyCenter.

Gender: A precious baby girl!

Symptoms: Some sciatic nerve pain. Also some round ligament pain. The most notable symptom--and most worrisome--is the fact that my blood pressure is creeping up at my doctor's appointments. After my BP was high at my 27 week appointment, they sent me over to Labor and Delivery to be monitored for a couple of hours and to run some labs. Thankfully my blood pressure was completely normal the entire time I was there and my labs all came back great, so they sent me home, advised me to get a home blood pressure monitor, and instructed me to check my BP daily and keep a log. For the past two weeks, my blood pressure has been normal at home, but it was slightly elevated at my checkup this week. I'm convinced that I have "white coat hypertension" and am reassured that I have normal readings at home. The doctors are trying to ensure that I don't have or develop preeclampsia; luckily my only symptom is elevated blood pressure at the doctor's office. I don't have protein in my urine and I haven't started to swell, so that's good news. I'm also not having severe headaches, blurry vision, or upper abdominal pain. Praying that the signs and symptoms of preeclampsia stay at bay for the remainder of this pregnancy.

Weight gain: 16 pounds.

Maternity clothes: All day, every day. I just ordered two new dresses, one of which will be worn for Easter.

Cravings: Fruit and chocolate. And occasionally I want a pre-bedtime bowl of cereal.

Movement: This girl is a wiggle worm! She loves to let me know she's in there, especially if I'm sitting or lying down or if I've recently eaten. I love it! Yesterday she was particularly active, and I was also feeling some significant ligament pain, so I'm guessing she's growing in there.

Sleep: It's not great. I have a tough time falling asleep, and I'm waking up at least once a night for a bathroom break. Also, Max is waking at least once a night as he gets adjusted to sleeping in his new room, so that's fun. I have found, though, that the more sleep I get at night, the more tired I feel during the day. I actually have more energy after the nights when Max wakes me up a few times. Weird!

Miss anything? I'm preemptively missing wearing normal clothes comfortably. I'm already a little apprehensive about the early postpartum period right at the beginning of summer. I remember that time right after Max was born; there's nothing that makes a newly non-pregnant gal feel more self-conscious than needing to wear summer clothes with a postpartum belly. I just remember feeling so frumpy, jiggly, and uncomfortable. Also, Arizona. I typically go out to visit my mom at this time of year (she's out there for work for 6 weeks), but I've skipped the trip during both of my pregnancies. Hopefully I'll get out there next year!

Best moment this week: Finding out that my 3-hour glucose test results (yes, I failed the 1-hour test...by 1 measly point!) came back normal. No gestational diabetes here!

Worst moment this week: Still having high-ish blood pressure at the doctor's office, even though it was lower than last time. They want me to do a 24-hour urine collection next week and have blood drawn to run some more tests, checking protein and creatinine levels. They had me do this at the beginning of this pregnancy to get some baseline numbers since I was induced due to high blood pressure when I was pregnant with Max (although in that pregnancy, the only time my BP was high was at my 38 week check-up). Depending on how the next few weeks go with regard to my lab results and blood pressure, the doctor said I might need to deliver at 37 weeks.

Looking forward to: Finishing baby girl's room. Seeing baby girl at our ultrasound on the 28th. One thing I am NOT looking forward to is that 24-hour urine collection. It was tough enough collecting all of my pee in 24 hours when I was just 8-weeks pregnant. I can only imagine how much fun it's going to be at 30 weeks with a big ol' belly in the way! But, I'll do anything to ensure baby is okay.

How's dad? He's been very encouraging throughout all this blood pressure stuff. I'm a natural worrier, and not being able to "fix" this makes me feel pretty helpless, but he always finds a way to calm my fears and reassure me that everything will be okay.

30 weeks with baby girl, 3/17/16

30 weeks with Max, 3/16/14

In case you missed:

Announcing our pregnancy
How we told our people
Week 20 Bumpdate
Old Wives' Tales Gender Predictions
Gender Reveal

And baby #2 is...

...a baby. Just kidding. No really, it is a baby. And a healthy one, too, praise the Lord. We were worried that we wouldn't be able to find out the gender yesterday at our anatomy scan when the ultrasound tech said the baby wasn't in the best position to get the images she needed. But then she had me turn on my side to get the baby to flip.

And then, completely nonchalantly, she said, "Ok, that's a girl."

Victor didn't even hear her. He was helping Max name the animals in the video he was watching.

"Babe, it's a girl!" I announced. "Max, you're going to have a baby sister!"

"What?! A girl?!" Victor consulted the screen. "Man, last time I thought it was a girl, and it was a boy. This time, I thought it was a boy, and it's a girl. So basically it's always the opposite of what I think it is." Add that one to the old wives' tales--or perhaps old husbands' tales--list!

Victor then asked the tech how sure she was that it was a girl, and she explained that she wouldn't say anything if she wasn't 100% sure. She then showed us the three lines on the screen and said, "The absence of a penis is not how we decide it's a girl. We have to see girl parts!"

Of course, I would have been happy with another boy, but we are SO EXCITED (and Victor's a little nervous) about having a baby girl! For weeks, I've been referring to the baby as "baby girl," not so much because I had a feeling it was a girl, but more because I've had a name in mind for a girl since before Max was born that I was hoping I could use this time around (which we will be keeping a secret, especially since I need to get Victor 100% on board with it). I didn't have any boy names that I was in love with, but this girl name, it's a winner.

Max still doesn't understand the concept of having a baby sister. But he knows the little nugget in the ultrasound photos is the baby, and he knows the baby is in my belly. In fact, last night, as Max worked tirelessly to avoid going to bed (which I hope does not become a habit--that was exhausting), one of his stalling tactics was to ask to kiss my belly over and over again.

As for those old wives' tales, I guess they were sort of true...but only because I did a bajillion of them. I guess the odds were in our favor.

Hooray for baby girls!

Gender Predictions | Old Wives' Tales

We have our anatomy scan this week, so in just a few short days, we'll know once and for all whether Max will have a little brother or sister. Our family and friends have had a great time speculating for the past 4 months whether there's a little gent or a little lady growing in my belly. I thought it would be fun to put some old wives' tales to the test to see what they collectively predict. We'll know soon whether their predictions are correct!

Boy or Girl? Old Wives' Tales for Gender Prediction

Chinese Gender Chart:  I consulted 3 different websites for a Chinese gender prediction chart. They take the mother's age at conception, along with either the month of conception or the baby's due date, and give you a prediction. 2 said girl, 1 said boy.

Verdict: Girl

Wedding Band Test: Place your wedding band on a loop of string and hang it over your belly. If the ring swings back and forth, you've got a girl. If it goes in a circle, you're having a boy. It swung in a circle.

Verdict: Boy

Needle and Thread Test: Similar to the test above, but opposite predictions (weird, right?). Hold a needle dangling from thread above the palm of your hand. If the needle swings in a circle, you're having a girl. If it swings back and forth, you're having a boy. This test was performed on me by two different ladies at Victor's cousin's baby shower. Both times, the needle swung in a circle. (It swung back and forth for Victor's cousin. They're not finding out their baby's gender, but according to this test, a boy is on his way in February!)

Verdict: Girl

Baby's heart rate: above 140 bpm or below 140 bpm. At each appointment, baby's heart rate has been between 150 and 160 beats per minute.

Verdict: Girl

Mom's hair: dull and limp or thick and glossy. I was still losing a lot of hair due to postpartum hair loss when I got pregnant this time. I'm not losing as much hair, but still lose some. My hair doesn't have much body, and it's not too shiny, either. But it's always been that way. I really haven't noticed much of a change from what my hair usually looks like.

Verdict: Inconclusive

Cravings: sweet or salty. My cravings haven't been too strong this time around. The biggest craving I've had is for a bagel and cream cheese after seeing someone eating one in a movie. What do carbs fall under???

Verdict: Inconclusive

Sleeping position: right or left side. Now that I can't sleep on my stomach anymore, I usually sleep on my left side.

Verdict: Boy

Bump: High or low. I feel like I'm carrying right in the middle at this point. Might be too early to tell.

Verdict: Inconclusive

Skin: breaking out or blemish free. I've been breaking out more during this pregnancy than I'm used to.

Verdict: Girl

Toddler boy's interest in belly: This was for realz on a list of gender prediction items I saw. If a toddler boy (must be boy, doesn't have to be your own child) shows interest in your belly, you're carrying a girl. If he couldn't care less, it's a boy. Max loves to kiss my belly and hasn't tried to blow a raspberry on it at all.

Verdict: Girl

Morning sickness: yes or no. I was fairly nauseous during the first trimester. I never actually got sick, but I felt pretty rotten.

Verdict: Girl

Hands: soft or dry. Up until recently, they've been very soft, even without the help of lotion. They're getting drier now. This could be due to the cold weather, but we'll say it's a predictor.

Verdict: Boy

Balance: graceful or clumsy. Haven't done much tripping or falling at all.

Verdict: Girl

Demeanor: moody or pleasant. Definitely moody, much to Victor's dismay.

Verdict: Girl

Big brother's prediction: Ok, this one I totally made up. I drew a pink bow and a blue bow tie on a piece of paper and asked Max "Which one is for the baby?" He pointed to the pink bow and scribbled all over the bow tie. I later circled the pink bow for emphasis. Obviously he wants a sister.

Verdict: Girl

Results:

Girl: 9

Boy: 3

Inconclusive: 3

I must say, if we're expecting a boy, these old wives' tales are gonna have some 'splainin' to do! Look for a post later this week to find out what we're having!

Oh Baby! | Week 20 Bumpdate

I decided not to do weekly "bumpdates" for this pregnancy (I didn't even take weekly bump photos when I was pregnant with Max!), but I figured it's a good time to update you all on what's growing over here since we're halfway through this pregnancy! I can't believe we're at week 20 already. This entire pregnancy has felt like it's crawled by, but the halfway point really snuck up on me!

How far along? 20 weeks

Due date: May 26, 2016

Baby's size: A banana | 10.5 oz and 10 inches from head to toe (according to BabyCenter). At my 19 week appointment, the doctor said my fundal height is measuring right on track.

Gender: Unknown--we find out next week!

Symptoms: Fatigue (though not nearly as bad as in the first trimester), round ligament pain, and occasional dizziness. Also, my nesting instinct is kicking in. I want to organize all the closets and PURGE as much as possible!

Weight gain: I'm up about 5 pounds at this point.

Maternity clothes: Yes, and so happy about it! I was able to hold off on maternity pants until about 16 weeks. I probably could've gone longer, but all of my jeans needed to be washed at that point, and we all know how jeans get a bit more snug right after a wash. Not worth the discomfort! I also went through my closet last weekend and packed away all of the shirts that are too short to cover my belly (which was most of my closet) so I could free up some hangers for my maternity clothes. My mom and sister gave me some cute new maternity tops for my birthday/Christmas, and I washed all of my maternity clothes from my last pregnancy and put them up in the closet.

Cravings: I don't have too many, which is weird to me. I'm loving bagels and cream cheese for breakfast, and munching on red grapes is a favorite of mine. I've also had a hankering for deli sandwiches occasionally, but it's not earth-shattering that I can't have one.

Movement: Yes! I started feeling this nugget move at around 16 weeks, which was much earlier than I anticipated. I didn't start feeling Max move until 18/19 weeks, and at our 12-week ultrasound in November, the tech said my placenta was in the front of my uterus, which usually means you feel movement later. Regardless, I'm loving feeling the little pokes and flutters inside! The baby is most active at night or if I sit for a while after eating.

Sleep: Elusive at this point. I'm having a hard time falling asleep, and I wake up a few times a night, sometimes for a bathroom break but not always. My favorite sleep position is on my stomach, but it's starting to get pretty uncomfortable to sleep that way now, so perhaps the transition to sleeping on my side has caused my sleep to take a hit. I never used a pregnancy pillow during my last pregnancy, but I'm thinking I might try one this time around. Any recommendations?

Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach; I wasn't able to start sleeping on my stomach again until I stopped breastfeeding Max...he was almost 11 months old by that point, so I think I've got quite a bit of time before I can sleep that way again. Also, deli sandwiches.

Best moment this week: Seeing Max's face light up when he heard the baby's heartbeat at my appointment on Monday. He had been enthralled by the Curious George episode he was watching on my phone, but when the heartbeat came through the doppler, he was awestruck. So sweet. He was also so well-behaved the entire hour we were at the doctor's office.

Worst moment this week: Monday night, Max had a rough night, sleep-wise, which means Mommy did, too. He was up crying from 2-3 AM with what I believe was head congestion and teething pain, and he woke up crying again at 4:30 AM. Add to that the fact that I initially had a hard time falling asleep that night and you have yourself a very sleepy mama on Tuesday!

Looking forward to: Finding out the baby's gender next week at our anatomy scan! Hoping for news of a healthy baby!

How's dad? He's great. He's an old pro at this whole "pending fatherhood" business, haha. Much like my last pregnancy, he asks me at some point every week, usually one night after Max is in bed, how far along I am so he can look it up on babycenter.com. He likes to stay informed.

Check back next week for some gender predictions based on old wives' tales, as well as a gender announcement later in the week!

In case you missed:

Announcing baby #2

How we told our people

Oh baby! Round Two | How we told our people

Y'all, I feel like this pregnancy is d r a g g i n g. Seriously. We announced our pregnancy to the world just a few days shy of two weeks ago, but it feels like it was two months ago. Every day I ask myself how far along I am, and after some date crunching I realize I'm still only 13 weeks and some change. Whaaaattt?! 

In pregnancy's defense, I've never been good at waiting. This makes the early weeks of pregnancy crawl by at a snail's pace. Both with Max and with this pregnancy, we waited until after our first prenatal appointment to tell our families. Call me overly cautious, but I wanted to be sure there was actually something growing in there before we told people about it. That meant we had to wait close to 5 weeks from the time we found out we were expecting before we spilled the beans to anyone. Keeping a secret for that long from some of the most important people in your life is tough business!

I had my 8 week prenatal appointment with my obstetrician on Thursday, October 15. Victor's mom came to watch Max while I went to the doctor. I had a pretty wicked cough at the time, so it didn't raise any red flags with my mother-in-law that I had a doctor's appointment. Then my mom and sister came to visit the next day, and Victor and I planned to tell them all when we were all together for dinner that Sunday night. 

My original plan for announcing this pregnancy was to have Max wander out into the kitchen wearing a "Big Brother" t-shirt. I had seen them everywhere, so I was sure I'd be able to find one; but, being the superstitious gal that I am, I didn't want to buy one before my 8-week appointment (can't jinx it, folks). That gave me only a day and a half to find a shirt before my mom and sister came. And of course, I couldn't find one. Carter's had one available online, so that was out of the question since it wouldn't get here in time. At Kohl's, I was able to find little onesies that said "I love my brother" and "I love my sister," so I grabbed those out of desperation, thinking I could have Max walk out carrying both of them. 

On Sunday morning, my mom, sister, and I went to Target, and I did some sneaky searching to see if a Big Brother (or any kind of "brother") shirt had miraculously appeared since I was there on Friday. No such luck, so I grabbed a 4-pack of plain white onesies, muttering something about wanting to have some for layering this winter. I was really planning to write something clever on one of them, but I still wasn't sure what. During Max's nap, my mom and sister headed to Old Navy, so I quickly wrote my message on a onesie and hid it in my nightstand. Once they got home, we got started on dinner preparations.

The whole weekend, I was worried that my mom or sister would ask me about how the baby makin' was going since they knew we had been trying for several months and that I was getting pretty frustrated. Luckily, they didn't ask...until we were making dinner on Sunday. I quickly lied that it was going OK and that I was supposed to get my next period in the next week or so, and that squashed any further questions. My heart was racing; I'm a terrible liar, and my sister can almost always tell when I'm trying to get one past them. It seemed to work this time, though!

Selfie-sticking during dinner prep, all while lying through my teeth!

Once everyone arrived for dinner, my nerves were getting the best of me, so I took Max upstairs to change him into his onesie; I didn't even tell Victor I was doing it. I just wanted to get it over with! My heart was pounding out of my chest and I was shaking like a leaf--I don't know why I was so nervous! Max and I came downstairs and I held him close to me while I announced, "Max wants to show you all his new shirt." Then I put him down and he walked toward everyone.

He had pants on when he showed everyone his shirt. This was taken right before bathtime.

The first person to say something was my sister, and she shouted, "What?! You little sh*@! You lied!!!" Everyone else caught on shortly after and there was lots of squealing, clapping, and celebrating. My original plan was to get photos/video of everyone's reaction, but I forgot; it probably would've been shaky/blurry anyway since I was such a bucket of nerves. We didn't get any photos from the dinner, actually. #fail. But people have plenty of lovely memories from that night, so I guess it's okay.

Everyone is so excited to add another baby to our brood! I'm so glad we were able to tell everyone together this time!

In case you missed:

Announcing Baby #2

A special announcement...

photo by Dottie Millwater Photography

Yep...you saw that right.  We're adding another superhero to our squad in May 2016!

We are so thrilled to be expecting baby #2 in the spring!  This baby is due on May 26, 2016.  Max was due May 25, 2014.  It seems as though God wants us to have May babies!  Max was born a week early, though, so he should turn 2 before his brother or sister is born.  But I suppose it goes without saying that we will have one big birthday party for our two littles in years to come!

So far in this pregnancy, I've noticed some similarities and differences in my symptoms compared to when I was pregnant with Max.  I know every pregnancy is different, so I will take this one at face value, but it's hard not to compare.

Similarities:

• Fatigue.  I was SO TIRED all the time during the first trimester with Max.  I was teaching kindergarten full time then, so I think it was even worse the first time around.  By the end of the day, I was a zombie.  After we announced we were expecting Max, my friend and coworker said, "I knew it. I kept thinking, 'Either Rachel is mad at me, or she's pregnant.'  I was so worn out by the end of the day that I was quiet and short-tempered...I just wanted to take a nap!  I even almost fell asleep at the dinner table once!  This time around, I'm still feeling the exhaustion, but it's different.  I don't feel persistently exhausted like I did in my first pregnancy. If I'm really tired, I can take a short nap during Max's naptime.  I was so tired on Monday afternoon that I willingly slept through the Ellen show...that's a big deal, guys!  If I'm in the house, I always watch Ellen!
• Spidey-sense of smell.  I've always had a very talented nose, but my skills increase ten-fold when I'm growing a baby.  Victor and his family love red wine.  I've never been a huge fan of it, but I would drink it occasionally (when NOT with-child, of course).  However, when I'm pregnant, I can smell a glass from across the room, and it's not a smell my nose appreciates. Also, the smell of tuna/other canned fish makes my stomach turn.
• "It's just emotion taking me over."  Do you remember that song?  I believe the Bee Gees sang it first.  Then Destiny's Child covered it (I love their version).  Anyway, I digress.  I feel all the feelings when I'm pregnant, which can be quite overwhelming when I'm already a sensitive person.  I cry at the silliest things.  I watch the Ellen show every day, and her little acts of kindness make me bawl my eyes out. A little boy who loves the James Bond movies got to meet Daniel Craig last week on her show and when he went in to hug Daniel, I started to well up.  5 Seconds of Summer's "Amnesia" came on the Ariana Grande Pandora station during one of Max's dance parties and I started crying while really listening to the lyrics.  I also might be a little irrational from time to time.  Sorry Victor.

Differences:

• Nausea.  I was not very nauseous when I was pregnant with Max.  I could get occasional waves of nausea, typically when I was a passenger in a car, but I wouldn't say it was a persistent symptom.  It's a different story this time around.  Almost every night (yes, night), I get hit with nausea right around dinner time.  That's why I'm not referring to it as "morning sickness," because it's rarely in the morning.  How disappointing is it when you cook a yummy meal for your family and then you can't even eat it?  I made salmon a couple of weeks ago and ended up eating cereal for dinner because I took one bite of the salmon and almost tossed my cookies. The other night, I went to bed fighting nausea.  What the what?!
• Heartburn.  Flippin' everything gives me heartburn these days!  I had some heartburn with Max, but I could usually pinpoint what caused it (Simply Lemonade with Raspberry would always cause it), it was later in the pregnancy, and it was pretty infrequent.  I don't think it bodes well for the remaining 28-ish weeks of this pregnancy that my heartburn is pretty bad this early.  Send me your TUMS coupons...I think I'm gonna need them!
• Still not in maternity pants.  This is a big win.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE maternity clothes. I vowed never to go back to regular clothes after spending 6.5 months in them last time. They're so comfy and forgiving.  I was regularly wearing maternity pants at 10/11 weeks when I was pregnant with Max because I was so bloated and uncomfortable that I couldn't bear wearing regular pants.  Not this time.  My box of maternity clothes is still in our back garage right now, and I don't have plans to pull it out until this bump pops.
• Cravings.  I haven't had too many.  Last time, I wanted Chipotle burritos all. the. time.  Not so much this time.  I saw Eugene Levy eating a bagel with cream cheese in a movie a few weeks ago, and it was ALL I could think about for 3 days until I went to the grocery store and bought two sesame seed bagels and some whipped cream cheese.  Other than that one incident, I basically want sweet stuff, mostly fruit.  I'm having a love affair with apples right now (sorry, watermelon).

Again, we are so very excited to become a family of four next year, and we are praying for a healthy baby and pregnancy.  We will be finding out the gender of this baby so we know if we need to stock up on girl clothes or if we're all set with Max's overflowing bins of outgrown duds.  We got all gender-neutral reusable baby items for Max (swing, bouncer, car seat, etc.), so we won't need to get much else in that department.  If this one is a girl and we end up having a third baby, we'll likely keep that one a surprise. But we're definitely finding out this time.

I don't think I'll do weekly "bumpdates" with this pregnancy, but I will update you on some pregnancy-related things from time to time.  I plan to share how we told our family next week!