Very active baby

On December 6 I went to a holiday party for Momtourage and was lucky enough to wear a pretty maternity dress lent to me by the Organizer, Lori. It was a lot of fun and I certainly enjoyed the food there!

That weekend Angela, Wayne, Megan and Katie came to CT to celebrate Christmas early since they were going to be in IL for Christmas this year. The girls were very excited to see my belly and offer their name suggestions. They are both thinking / hoping it's a girl. We shall see!

Bringing Ian to the different library storytimes / sing-alongs has been a little more difficult lately since Ian sits on my lap during the first half until he is warmed up. Sitting on the floor with him sitting on me puts a lot of pressure on my belly.

December 18 Ian and I visited Kate and Liam at their house. It's so fun to be pregnant at the same time again with her. Kate is due April 14, which is 3 weeks after my due date. She is having a girl and loves the name, Samantha. She said this pregnancy feels so different from the last one which is just another confirmation that I think I'm having a boy. But I''ll be VERY happy if I do have a boy since I have all the clothes, toys, etc that I will need. Plus Ian will have a playmate. But I will also be very happy with a girl. As long as the baby is healthy!!!

I went to my friend, Gail's house for a GNO / Yankee Swap one night and my friend, Melissa (I used to babysit her daughter, Annabelle) was there. She had a baby 3 weeks ago and you couldn't even tell! She was so skinny! I can only hope to be so lucky!! It took me forever to get back into my pre-pregnancy jeans last time...

On December 23 I had another OBGYN appointment. Now I weigh 146lbs! I gained 7 pounds in 3.5 weeks. I was utterly shocked! But Dr. Shafi says it's nothing at all to be concerned about and a lot of it is probably water weight. I sure hope so! So far I've gained 25 pounds in 27 weeks. Now if I can only gain 1 lb / week from now on I will be ok. I also had my glucose screening test. When Ian saw my cup (of that orange sugar drink) he kept saying, "cup, cup" and wanted my cup. I don't think he would have liked it too much! Dr. Shafi was having a hard time getting a strong heartbeat on the monitor so she just wanted to check the baby's position via ultrasound. What a special treat to see my baby again! She couldn't get a strong sound because the baby's head is up and is facing my back. But she said there is plenty of time for the baby to flip head down.

Merry Christmas, Baby Due! We all really enjoyed Christmas with Ian this year. But I kept thinking how next year I will have TWO KIDS to celebrate with! It seems so unreal.

My rib and back pain are soooo annoying. I have extreme back pain all morning (which Dr. Shafi said to take Tylenol, baths and heat compresses to relieve otherwise I'll need physical therapy) and by the time the back pain is gone, my right rib starts hurting! But at least I don't have leg cramps (so far...) like I did with the last pregnancy. But this back pain is awful especially because Ian wants to be picked up and carried. I have been taking Tylenol though here and there and it really helps.

Did Ian move around this much in utero? My heavens, this baby seems to never stop! I wish Ian could feel the baby kick and understand it. But I love how he lifts up my shirt and says, "baby." Lately though he pushes on my belly; like trying to squash it down! LOL!

When people ask me how I'm feeling, lately my answer has been, "I'm so over this pregnancy and ready to be done." It's true. I cannot fathom another 3 months. It's so much harder this time around. I'm absolutely exhausted physically. Bending down to pick up Ian's toys or food he's dropped is a full on workout it seems. And my moods are up and down - poor Nathan. I just don't have a lot of patience and it doesn't take much to tire me out. But it really is all worth it for Baby Due. I just cannot wait to meet him / her!!!

26 weeks, 3 days

28 weeks

Nathan feels baby kick

Anokhi Bock was visiting her in-laws again in MA so I got to bring Ian down to visit with her, Bela and Asha. Turns out Anokhi is also pregnant and due only 4 weeks after me! So it was nice to talk about pregnancy-related things. The second she saw me, she said, "My gosh, I am already so much bigger than you!" Which is funny since I feel like my stomach is huge.

Nathan felt the baby kick on November 18. He has admitted that it kind of freaks him out a little to feel the baby. He says it did last time too. I guess I can see that. But it's so nice that other people can feel these movements too. And I feel like this baby moves around a lot more than Ian did when I  was pregnant with him but it may just be that I notice it more this time. There was one night the baby woke me up in the middle of the night kicking and I couldn't go back to sleep for about 2 hours from all the movements! The baby isn't even born yet and is already keeping me awake in the middle of the night!

Me, Nathan and Ian drove to PA this year to be with Aunt Val and everybody for Thanksgiving. Going on long car trips while pregnant is quite annoying since it's impossible to get comfortable. But we all had a wonderful time and the baby enjoyed the enormous piece of cheese cake I had after my Thanksgiving meal! And Hae finally got to feel the baby kick.

At my November 30 doctor appointment, I was very nervous to step on the scale considering all the Halloween candy I ate as well as the big Thanksgiving dinner. But I was pleasantly surprised when it read 139 pounds. I only gained 3 pounds in 4 weeks! Hurray! Now I'm hoping I continue to gain only 1 pound per week. The baby's heart beat also sounded great at 140. Ian really enjoys listening to it.

My friend, Gail Heneghan had her 3rd baby, Connor, and I got to hold, feed and burp him when he was just over 2 weeks old. It was a little strange holding a baby that little and trying to burp him. Of course, Ian was jealous the whole time I had the baby. He kept tugging on my hand for me to get up and play with him. I hope he's more understanding when his baby brother/sister arrives! But it really was quite amazing to hold little baby Connor. And Melissa Murphy had her 2nd baby, Grace, via c-section just yesterday. I can't wait to meet her and see how Annabelle is as a big sister. All these new babies makes me that much more excited to meet Baby Due!

I am very physically exhausted at this point. Carrying Ian up and down the stairs is a huge chore but he refuses to go down the stairs most of the time. And putting him in his car seat is a work out. I'm going to have to adjust how I do things so I'm not constantly out of breath and feeling like I need to lay down.

20 weeks, 4 days

24 weeks, 2 days

Genetic ultrasound, 20 weeks!

On Friday, October 21 I had my 18 week ultrasound down in Boston. Getting to the actual building was quite an adventure.. We went to the original building where I had my last ultrasound only to find out once we got there that they had moved to a completely different building a number of blocks down. Instead of paying the $8 for parking (even though we were there only 5 minutes) we decided to leave our car in the garage and walk (of course we didn't bring the stroller.. we left it in the car and didn't have time to go back and get it since we were going to be late for my appointment) the 15 minutes to the new building. Luckily Nathan carried Ian the whole way. We managed to get there just in time only to have to wait about 20 minutes until we were seen. And sure enough, the first thing the technician asked when we walked in was, "Do you want to find out the gender of the baby?" I immediately said, "No" before I could change my mind! It was so nice to have a good 10 minute ultrasound to see all the parts (minus the 'gender defining parts of course) of the baby and to see him/her move around so much. And Ian kept saying "baby" as he looked at the monitor. He did so well during the appointment. The coolest part was definitely seeing the heart beating and then finally the baby's profile. It took a while to see the profile - I had to empty my bladder during the appointment so that the baby had more room to move around so that we could in fact get that profile shot. And we sure were happy once we did! After the first technician did her measurements etc. a doctor came in afterwards just to go back over everything to make sure what the technician saw and measured was the same as what she saw. So it was so wonderful to have another 'round' of looking at my baby. It really is absolutely amazing that I'm growing another baby in my belly. I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl! But I'm about 99% sure it's a boy.

18 weeks

We went to Douglas' Halloween Party again this year. And at one point, apparently one of Doogie's friends walked up to him and asked if I was pregnant. HA! I think it's pretty obvious at this point!

We were obviously in CT for that weekend, but instead of driving back with Nathan Sunday morning (we drove separately) I decided to stay back so that I could take a nap and then leave after lunch. I got no sleep Saturday night and just couldn't drive without more sleep. And it was a good thing Ian and I didn't head back because Nathan texted me around lunch time to say we were without power! It had snowed the day before, October 29 and caused a lot of branches to fall down. So Ian and I stayed in CT a few more days. Being pregnant, uncomfortable and sleeping in freezing cold weather would not have been fun!

Ian and I went to a playdate at Kristen Chantrell's house that week we were in CT and talking to her about having a 2nd child was quite reassuring. I'm very nervous as to what life is going to be like with a second, but she said things are actually easier because you already know what to do and you feel more 'complete' with the second one. And her hospital was also 45 minutes away so it makes me feel a little better that other people are willing to travel such a distance when they are in labor. But she went into labor at 2am with her second child so there was no traffic. I can only hope for such luck. Anything but rush hour time since I will have to wait the 30 minutes for Nathan to get home from work so he can pick me up and we can drop Ian off at my friend's house. There is just so much more to think about this time around which seems strange since I've done it before. But having to worry about Ian is a lot. Kristen said she had 3 plans on where to bring her oldest child when she went into labor depending on what time of day it was and who was home. I may need to do the same thing even though only 2 people have offered to take care of Ian. I wish my family was closer.

I had my 20 week OBGYN appointment on Friday, November 4 and I was shocked that I now weigh 136 lbs! I gained 8 pounds in 5 weeks! But I was reading my pregnancy journal from when I had Ian and I did the same thing (gained 9 lbs) around this time in my pregnancy. It makes sense - I was reading that women in their 2nd trimester crave sweets more than anything else. And it's true! With all this Halloween candy at my house I have been eating a lot of sweets. The doctor isn't concerned and just says I need to watch what I eat and try to exercise. Taking Ian for walks is going to get more difficult as the weather gets colder. But the baby's heartbeat sounds great at 150. And it's weird that I can't do public cord blood banking in MA because my hospital doesn't offer it. There is only 1 hospital that does and will only do so if you deliver M-F from 9a-5p. So strange. Oh well. The doctor also said the cramping I have been experiencing is not a cause for concern - it's just round ligament pain. Phew.

Later that night Nathan and I got to bring Ian trick-or-treating for the first time!! Since Billerica was without power, 'Halloween' was rescheduled which made me relieved because I didn't want to miss it. A few times while we were out I kept thinking that next year at this time I will be bringing 2 kids around (most likely carrying Baby Due in the Bjorn or something). So fun! Bringing Ian trick-or-treating was a fun way to celebrate my half way point in my pregnancy!

I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier but what I crave are sweets, cereal and salad. Most days I have 2 bowls of cereal (one at breakfast and one after dinner). And the sight / smell of garlic makes me a little sick.But I've been able to eat kimchi this time around - I usually just take a Tums right after to prevent heartburn. And the most annoying symptoms I'm dealing with are exhaustion, lack of energy, breathlessness and nasal congestion. I'm really hoping I don't experience nighttime leg cramps this time - that was awful. But one of the best parts of being pregnant is how great my hair is! I can go over a week without washing it (as long as I have blow dried it straight). I forgot what a luxury that is!

Flew to VA, felt baby kick for 1st time

Being at the 2nd trimester has truly been wonderful. I feel almost back to myself, minus the nasal congestion and breathlessness. Wearing the BellaBand again hasn't been too fun, but I'm not quite ready for maternity clothes. I haven't had any cravings other than chocolate but have been eating a lot of apples and cereal.

On September 30, I had my OBGYN appointment and now weigh 128 lbs. So far I have gained 7 pounds in the 15 weeks. I'm going to try to gain only 1 lb / week from here on out so I don't gain more than 35 pounds. We shall see! It's so much harder this time around because I don't have time to exercise like I did before and I'm not part of a gym anymore. Ian and I will continue with our walks as long as it's not too cold and that's really all the exercise I can count on, unfortunately.

The next day was Pat and Devon's wedding and it was very fun to be around my whole family and for them to see my big 'bump.' When me and Angela posted pictures of the wedding on Facebook I realized I definitely looked pregnant in the pictures so I had to finally put my good news on FB publicly. A couple of people commented, 'I was wondering if you were pregnant because some of those pictures sure looked like it!' There really is no more hiding it now.

I had my second blood test for the serial sequential test on October 5 and got my results on October 11: Less sthan 1 out of 10,000 for Down Syndrome and 1 out of 5,400 for Spinal Bifida. Hurray!!! Those are fantastic results and I was so relieved when I received them. And this time around I didn't have to play phone tag since the nurse called me while I was in VA and I was able to answer the phone. She actually called 3 times that morning since I didn't answer the first 2 times. How great!

On October 8, me, Nathan and Ian went apple picking in New Hampshire. It was definitely a fun time and extra nice to bring Baby Due there in utero. I told Nathan, "Next year at this time we will have 2 kids to bring apple picking!" Thoughts like that light us both up. :)

I felt Baby Due kick for the first time on October 9 while I was on a flight to VA with Ian on my lap!!! The kick was on my left side and it was about 5 minutes after we took off. And then the second time I felt it was on our flight on the way back on October 15. Maybe having Ian on my lap makes the baby move around more! It was a great feeling.

16 weeks, 1 day

Hurray, morning sickness is gone! Ian says "baby"

Thank goodness my morning sickness went away a little after week 10. Phew! I wasn't able to take much more of that.

I saw Douglas when I was around 10.5 weeks and the first thing he said when he saw me was, "wow, you are really showing!" And it's true. There is no way I can hide being pregnant unless I wore a huge trench coat! I'm definitely showing A LOT earlier than I did with my first pregnancy but this is completely normal. Luckily, I am able to wear my bella band so I can still wear my normal pants. I'm hoping not to be in maternity clothes for a while although I do wear the maternity sweatpants.

When I went to my OBGYN (Dr. Farah Shafi @ Harvard Vanguard of Burlington) at week 11, I weighed 122lbs. I gained 1 pound! When the doctor first put the instrument on my belly to hear the heartbeat, Ian started laughing! He also thinks it's funny when I have to pee in a cup. I think it's going to be fun having him at my appointments.

I've been to the beach a couple of times and thank goodness I still fit in my normal bathing suit. The maternity bathing suit, which I did try on, is much too big. But my bras aren't going to fit much longer. My breasts are getting tender now and a little bigger.

On September 6, I had my Serial Sequential Test (almost 12 weeks along) to determine what the chances are my baby will have Down Syndrome. All ultrasounds are done down in Boston. I picked up Nathan at work and the 3 of us drove down. When Ian first saw the baby on the monitor, he said, 'baby!' I could not believe it nor could Nathan. It was clear as day which the ultrasound technician also said. He had never said the word 'baby' before so it was truly amazing. He said it 3 more times during the appointment and besides seeing Baby Due for the first time, it was the best part of my day.

Baby Due at 11 weeks, 4 days

I ended up developing a bad rash which I thought was pregnancy related. After seeing the OB, the rash got worse and I saw a dermatologist who prescribed a cream stronger than the one I was currently using. Apparently pregnancy rash doesn't develop until the 3rd trimester. I hope I never get it because dealing with the one I have right now is awful! I'm just glad I didn't get it at the same time I had morning sickness! I think the cause of this rash was the extra 3mg of folic acid I was taking, which was prescribed for my 1st trimester because of the anencephaly Kevyn was born with.

I'm hoping my cravings for sweets diminishes soon or I'm going to gain a ton of weight! I'm loving chocolate (as usual), twinkies, cookies, donuts, soda, basically anything sweet. Luckily I'm also craving fruit.

I hit the 12 week mark on September 9th and I couldn't have been happier. It is just such a relief to hit that mark. Hurray!

13 weeks, 2 days

Thank goodness for visitors

For the past 3 weeks we had 2 separate visitors come to stay with us: Chris Metzger and Laura Emerson. It not only helped because they were playing with Ian and giving me a break, but I didn't vomit as much as I would had they not been there. There's just something about having people over that makes me not want to vomit while they are there.

On August 10 I had a playdate at Beth Lamfers' house and had no intention of telling her or Jessica Fennelly that I was pregnant. I wore a baggy shirt that hid my bump and everything. But at one point they were talking about me having another baby and Jess asks, "are you pregnant?" How can I lie to them? It was almost a relief to tell them since I hadn't been hanging out nearly as much as I used to. I haven't gone to a single Momtourage event in weeks since most events are in the morning which is my worst time of day.

I have been craving nothing but sweets. Going to the grocery store is the worst because I just buy whatever looks good! Today I bought Twinkies for the first time ever. I'm also buying ice cream, cookies, pizza, donuts and any other sweet that catches my eye. I'm hoping that come the second trimester that craving will diminish and I will crave healthier foods! Right now a couple of things cause my stomach to turn: garlic (just the smell alone), lasagna and the smell of Ian's meatballs.

I had my first OBGYN appointment on August 16 (8.5 weeks pregnant) and it was 1.5 hours! Good thing Laura was here so she could watch Ian. Bringing him with would have been very very difficult. I weighed in at 121 pounds which is smaller than I was when I was pregnant with Ian. I met with Megan Bride, NP who will be on my OB team. She was very nice and extremely thorough. We decided that I will do the 'serial sequential test' again like I did with my first pregnancy to find out the likelihood of this baby being born with down syndrome. Unfortunately, I have to go into Boston for any and all ultrasounds and they only do one at 18 weeks. Thankfully, because of this extra test I'm doing, I'll have the 2 ultrasounds. Megan Bride also prescribed me Folic Acid to take in addition to my prenantal vitamins just for the first trimester. I didn't do that with the first pregnancy but every doctor is different. She said everything looks good so that makes me happy!

We finished painting Ian and Baby Due's new room upstairs. I am very excited to get it all ready since I wasn't able to do that when I was pregnant with Ian. We are going to buy a toddler bed for Ian so that the baby will have the crib. I'm looking forward to bringing out the baby blankets, onesies, and the crib mobile. It's going to be fun going through the 'newborn - 3mo' tub downstairs with all the clothes etc. I'm a little overwhelmed knowing I have to do all this all over again since I have already forgotten so much of it. But I know it will come back to me and between me and Nathan I know we will be fine. Will sure be different though having a toddler running around at the same time! I wish Ian understood what was going on but he is just too young. I wish he understood why I am in the bathroom all the time throwing up and why I am always laying on the couch instead of playing with him and why I don't want him sitting on my tummy. But I know he is going to be an amazing big brother!

Morning sickness, told family!!

Unfortunately, morning sickness has started earlier than it did with my first pregnancy. I was 6 weeks, 3 days along when it started before and this time around, it started a little after 5 weeks. I'm already looking forward to the day that is over! It's so much harder dealing with morning sickness while taking care of another child. I thought it was bad having it while at work but this is much harder. Poor Ian just plays in the living room most of the day while I watch tv on the couch. I just want to lay down all the time.

On July 27 Ian and I went to Rochester, MA to visit with Anokhi and Derek Bock since they were in town from Chicago visiting their family. And somehow, yet again, they were the first ones to know I am pregnant! I had no intention of telling them but when Anokhi asked me if we were thinking about having other kids, I told her 'yes.' Then she asked, 'are you pregnant?' How could I say no? It was liberating to tell someone though. And she gave me a hug and congratulated me. I just find it so funny that even though I no longer work for them and don't even live in the same state, they still knew first. 

We decided it would be too hard not to tell family members at my birthday party. So when Angela called on my birthday, I told her and she was ecstatic! She was laughing at the fact that this baby is due only 6 days before Ian's birthday. HA! That night I went out to dinner with Nathan and Ian and was very happy to eat, thank goodness. Evenings are usually the better time of day for me in terms of nausea.

On Saturday, July 30 people came over for my birthday party: Mom, Dad, Grandma, Douglas, Tara, Ella, Owen, Michael Mukai, Kate, Joe and Liam. I put out little mints with baby feet as well as confetti baby feet all over the food table on the deck to give a subtle hint at my pregnancy. 

I originally wanted to have Ian wear a 'big brother' t-shirt but I couldn't find any in his size. Oh well. I couldn't wait for people to figure it out! At first, people were getting food etc and not even noticing the decorations on the table. I finally pointed it out to my Grandma, asked 'do you like my mints?' She said yes. I said 'they have baby feet on them.' She said 'yes, those are cute.' I was like, are you kidding me? You don't get it? So I told her right then, 'I'm having a baby!' She could not believe it and gave me a huge hug. Luckily, Douglas was standing right there and so he found out. Tara was the only one who saw them and asked me, 'what's with the baby feet all over?' I gave her a look and she figured it out. They were the first 3 people at the party to find out. Grandma told me I had to go over and tell my mom who was pushing Ian on the swing. I brought my Mom a baby foot mint and asked if she liked my mints. She looked at me and freaked out asking if I was pregnant. She hugged me for about 5 minutes and cried for about 10! HA! Then my Dad figured it out based on my mom's reaction as did the rest of the people there. Kate and Joe gave me a hug as did Michael. Michael, of course, said that now Kelsey will want a baby even more now! :)

It was great to tell people and have them all understand why I'm in bed by 930pm every night!

Me, Nathan and Ian went to the Stone Zoo July 30 and I was very nervous I was going to be sick the whole time there. But God answered my prayers and I felt fine, thank goodness. I had to walk away from the yak and the farm area because of the smells but other than that, it was a great time and Ian had a blast. I remember going to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago with Nathan while I was pregnant with Ian so it's nice to know I've brought Baby Due (our new nickname for this baby, Due pronounced doo-ay, Italian for number 2) to the zoo as well.

I'm pregnant... again!!!

Yesterday I took a pregnancy test in the morning and just knew it was going to be positive. My periods had gone back to 28 days in between therefore I was 6 days late. It took all of 10 seconds for the test to show the 2 lines telling me I was pregnant again! I could not wait to tell Nathan when he got home from work. I told Ian right way, who at 15 months old, had no idea what I was saying. But of course it still felt good to tell someone.

I went online to look up my estimated due date which I knew was going to be around Ian's birthday since the 1st day of my last period was June 17 and when I was pregnant with Ian, it was June 30. Sure enough, my EDD is March 23, 2012; only 6 days before Ian's 2nd birthday. I called up the OBGYN to make an appointment and after asking a few questions, the lady on the phone also told me my EDD was March 23 / 24. I cannot believe it. Their birthdays are going to be so close! I am shocked we got pregnant on the first try considering it took us 1.5 years to get pregnant with Ian. The FIRST TRY! How am I going to manage planning birthday parties? I will ask Hae once we tell her the good news since Nathan and his brother are 1 week (and 2 years) apart.

All day I couldn't get this news off my mind. I kept telling myself, 'Rebekah, you are pregnant. You are having another baby.' I just couldn't believe it. I went to Carter's with Ian in hopes of finding a 'big brother to-be' shirt for him to wear that day so when Nathan got home and read the shirt he would realize I was pregnant. But no such luck. Instead, I painted 2 signs upstairs in Ian's (and baby #2's) future room:

I wanted to paint directly on the wall since we will be painting it anyway but I didn't know how much time could elapse in between painting the message and the actual wall since I knew we wouldn't be painting the green in the room right away. I figured this would be a great way to tell Nathan since we are currently painting and working on Ian's room upstairs right now. I am very much looking forward to finishing it and moving Ian up there and leaving room for the new baby's crib and things. I'm really hoping they will share a room at least for a while until we figure something else out.

When Nathan got home from work I kept trying not to smile. I didn't want him to know there was something going on. So I told him I had to show him all the work I did upstairs.  He carried Ian upstairs and followed me. Unfortunately, my 2 signs had fallen down but after I taped them back up he stood there reading the 2nd one: Baby #2's crib. Due 03.23.12. He took a few seconds (which seemed quite long) before smiling and asking, 'you are pregnant?' I of course couldn't hold in my smile and responded, 'yes!' He hugged and kissed me and we went back downstairs so Ian wasn't breathing in all the paint fumes.

The only disappointing thing now is that I cannot paint or even be upstairs to do any work! Oh well. At least I get out of changing the kitty litter box, which Nathan realized a couple of hours later.

I go to the OBGYN on August 16 when I am 8.5 weeks pregnant. I'm looking forward to it but wondering how I am going to entertain Ian for the entire hour long appointment. Should be interesting! He will be going to all my appointments. So different from the last time I was pregnant!

I'm already feeling a little nauseous but I'm really hoping that goes away and never actually turns into vomiting. How can I handle that while taking care of Ian? I'm already missing caffeine and cold cuts. I almost forgot what it was like to be pregnant - all the sacrifices you have to make. But it's all SOOOO worth it and I'm looking forward to going through it again. And I'm really looking forward to telling my family and friends! Last time we waited until 10 and 12 weeks but I think this time we will wait until 8 weeks. Everybody is coming here next weekend for my 30th birthday party. It's going to be so hard not telling them! I thought it was hard last time but this time will be even harder since I live close to my family unlike living in Chicago last time. So much fun though!

I'm having another baby! Ian is going to be a big brother! Hopefully he will be getting a little sister... :)