8 weeks!

Here we are...almost a full month after finding out that our family was expanding by two feet (fortunately, only two feet!) Things are still going as well as can be expected, and life is good.

I finally figured out how to describe the nausea/hunger problems....it's like a hangover. You know, where most things make you a bit queasy, but you know you need to eat. So I basically feel like I've had a month long hangover at this point :) In general, though, it's getting better. The nausea is giving way to constant hunger. If I don't eat often enough, I get queasy. So it's an ugly cycle. And most foods are still not appealing. The thought of chicken repulses me, but I've been thinking about bacon a lot lately! Mmmm....bacon....

I haven't gained any weight yet, and my tummy seems to be about the same as it has been - but after a nice big meal, there is definitely a belly there!

The fatigue comes and goes. Some days I need a 2-3 hour nap, others I'm fine all day long (but am ready for bed by 10 pm at the latest!). I did actually sit down and scrap a page last night, though, and really enjoyed that! It felt good to be enjoying my hobby again. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some more scrapping time squeezed in soon - I'm just looking forward to this initial period of blah being over and done with!

And just for fun...the baby is about ½ inch long, its heart has four chambers, it's growing fingers and toes, its brain and nervous system are starting to develop, and its eyes, ears, jaws, lungs, stomach, intestines, and liver are starting to form.

This is what it probably looks like...sort of like a half-manatee, half-human...

7 weeks...and an ultrasound!

We had our first doctor's visit yesterday. As soon as we saw that little peanut on the screen and heard that heartbeat, a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders. I forgot what a magical sound that heartbeat is! It was just such a relief to know that everything was okay. We go back for our next visit at 12 weeks, July 27th.

Based on the size, the due date has been recalculated to be Feb 1st, 2010. That's the day after Roy's birthday, and the day before Sue's! But since Alex was late, I'm guessing this little one will be late as well :)

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good. The fatigue is subsiding (just a little bit!), as is the nausea. Of course, I still need to eat several times a day to keep the nausea at bay.

I haven't really had any exciting or interesting cravings. I did feel the need for pot roast a couple of days ago (I tried to get some, but got the wrong thing so it just didn't work out!), and I've been craving fresh tortilla chips...not the kind from the store, the kind you get at a Mexican restaurant :) And I've been plenty thirsty as well. Most foods are still unappealing, but granola bars are always a great stand by. I remember eating lots of granola bars with Alex as well - they're enough to tide you over and get the queasiness out of the way!

The doctor had some very reassuring things to say - based on the heartbeat, the chance of miscarriage has dropped to .5%. So of course it can still happen, but it's much less likely. Hitting the 12 week point will be a great relief, as will once the baby starts moving! But for now, we're taking it one day at a time.

Dr. Morton is the same doctor who delivered Alex, but she has since moved to a different practice, and subsequently, a different hospital. This baby will be delivered at Lexington Medical Center, as opposed to Palmetto Baptist downtown. We don't have to deal with downtown, which is a definite bonus, and, from the sounds of it, Lexington is a lot more progressive and open minded when it comes to birth. They have birthing balls, and offer doulas free of charge (Baptist charges up to $800 for one!), which is definitely something that will be worth looking into. A doula is basically a labor coach - they don't do anything medical, but help ease labor through techniques such as breathing and shifting positions. Doula-assisted births tend to have a reduction in the duration of labor, less use of pain relief medications, and in many studies a reduction in caesarian deliveries. Now, I'm not saying I'm against drugs (because that epidural was a wonderful thing!) but I do like the idea of doing things a bit more naturally this time around - like trying the other natural pain relief techniques before going for the drugs. But there's still at least 7 months before those decisions have to be made!

Now, on to more exciting things....here is Peanut's first photo shoot!



Measuring baby...Peanut is about 10.6 cm long, crown to rump.



Baby's heartbeat...a healthy 140 beats per minute!



Baby belly at 7 weeks, 2 days



And just for fun...this is what the baby looks like about now. Amazing how that'll turn into a real person! (picture from Wikipedia)

6 weeks!

Well, we're six weeks in and I'm feeling good! My main issues now are fatigue and queasiness. Luckily, I've managed to be able to squeeze in naps almost every day. There's also some light dizziness, but only if I'm sitting up for too long. As for the queasiness, I'm pretty sure that it's just caused by not eating often enough...and the reason I'm not eating often enough is because most of the time, the thought of food makes me queasy! So it's an ugly cycle. I'm finding that I'm having a bit of an aversion to meat, mainly chicken.

Alex decided to help with week 6's picture!

5 weeks...

We're 5 weeks in now, and feeling good! I think this is right about the time I found out with Alex...it was either 5 or 6 weeks, I can't quite remember.

The fatigue is definitely starting to kick in! I wake up in the morning and am already exhausted. Napping, of course, is difficult when Alex wants to get into everything.

There's not much nausea to speak of, but I do get a bit woozy when I don't eat often enough. There's a touch of lightheadedness from time to time, and I tend to get a bit irritable - and of course, it's those days that Alex decides to act up!

My tummy is getting a bit bigger as well, and my poor chest is already twice the size it normally is. But all in all, I can't complain!

I alternate between starving and the thought of food turning my stomach. No cravings or specific aversions yet!

I get the occasional twinges and cramps, which always make me crazy nervous, even though I know there's nothing to worry about. But since I know two people who have miscarried in the past six months, I can't help but be a little nervous! It's like knowing someone it happened to makes it more real...but since everything went so smoothly with Alex and I'm relatively healthy, I'm sure there won't be any problems!

Our first doctor's appointment is set for June 15th...only a week and a half away! I know that as soon as I see that little bean and hear a heartbeat I'll feel a lot better!

Here's my baby belly at 5 weeks...

And so it begins!

I always thought about 3 years was the perfect difference between kids. Chelsea and I are 2 years, 10 months apart, so when I went to see my doctor in the fall, I mentioned it to her. She recommended having the IUD out at least two to three months before starting to try for another baby, which gave me a lot to think about! We didn't even have to try to get Alex, so I had no idea how to go about this whole process. But it was okay, we still had several months to think about it.

I started to get really nervous at the idea of dealing with Alex AND another child. Did we even want more kids? Did we each have a microscopic chance of having a baby and Alex was that one random fluke? But gradually, the nerves subsided. I figured that it was better to get the IUD out and let everything start getting back to how it was before, and we could take our time and start when we were good and ready. So that's what we did!

Eric and Craig are more than four years apart, so he always thought that was a better gap. We realized that it probably wasn't going to happen as soon as we started trying, so I argued for starting when Alex turned 2. Eric didn't want to start that early, since he wasn't sure if he'd be kept around for Phase 2 of his project at work and wanted to security of knowing before we started trying. So we compromised on starting in April, when Phase 2 was set to start.

I got the IUD out and started on the pill until we were ready to start. However, the pill just wasn't agreeing with me. I'd never had any problem with it before, but I'd also never taken this particular kind before. After two months of misery, I decided I didn't want to be on this one any more, but it wasn't worth it to go back to the doctor to experiment with pills for just a few months. Eric asked me if I was really truly ready for another baby, and by that point, I was 99.9% certain. So we decided to go for it!

We both had high hopes for that first month, February. Alex and I headed to Colorado to visit Gigi for her birthday at the end of the month, and I just *knew* that I would get that positive on her birthday. Alas, the end of the month came and went, and so did negative after negative.

The second month, I again *knew* that this would be the month. We had tried all the different "get pregnant quick" suggestions posted online, and then I started getting all those lovely early pregnancy symptoms that I had with Alex - fatigue, sore breasts, a little bit of queasiness, and random cravings for cilantro, which I absolutely can't stand. But it was another month of disappointment.

The third month, we took a break. A baby conceived in April would have had a due date of early January, and we didn't want to risk a Christmas baby. We didn't really get back into the swing of things the following month, but I was still charting my temperatures - if nothing else, it let me know when my cycle would be ending, since nobody likes that kind of surprise! I was updating my chart when I realized that was my due date. My temperature hadn't dropped yet, like it usually does, so I figured I may as well throw caution to the wind and pee on a stick. I had no symptoms up to that point, so I knew I was just humoring myself. Well, guess my surprise when the faintest line appeared!

Like with Alex's text, I kept going back into the bathroom and looking again, not sure I could believe my eyes. We were heading to the park for a playdate, so I figured I'd take another one when we got home. Yeah, right, like I could wait that long!

So somehow I managed to squeeze out enough pee for TWO more tests, including a digital. Well, the digital ones don't leave much open to interpretation! When I read that beautiful word, I got so excited! I called Eric, then stuffed Alex into a "big brother" shirt we'd bought for a friend as a baby shower gift and headed to the park.

It took about 30 minutes before anyone noticed Alex's shirt! Everyone was very excited...we expected nothing less, of course!

I took another test when we got home, just to double check. It was still positive! I called the doctor to make the first appointment, and thus our adventure began...



I calculated the due date to be February 3rd, based on the charting. The doctor will confirm the date, or give us an updated date! It'll be around then, anyway.

And I'm planning to be MUCH better with taking pictures and documenting the journey than I was with Alex...so as a starting point, here's my baby belly at 4 weeks! I swear, the second line appeared and my belly popped out just a bit :)