15 Week Appointment and Ultrasound

I had a routine appointment (or so I thought) this morning. Started off with my weight - I've lost another 1.5 pounds, making it somewhere close to 14 for the pregnancy. (According to my scale at home, I've stayed the same!) They "scolded" me and told me it was going in the wrong direction, but all in a playful tone. They just want me to make sure I'm eating when I can. I feel like I've been REALLY bad in the food department the last couple weeks, so I can't believe I was still losing. I'm going to try to keep it in check though, so I don't have a 10 lb weight gain next time! Lord knows I had enough extra going into this pregnancy that there's room for some loss there!

I told my doctor that I've been VERY sore this time around, much more so than with Kate. My uterus is very tender especially when I twist wrong, when Bailey walks across me, or if Kate bumps into me or somthing. I've even been borderline crampy for about a week. Dr was a little concerned about that, so he did a pelvic exam and said everything looked/felt normal, but he wanted to get me in for an ultrasound just to make sure everything was looking good.

So off I went! The baby is SOOO cute!! Last time it was still pretty much a blob but this time, there was my fully-formed little baby, squirming, punching, kicking, and everything. So magical. She spent lots of time looking at everything. Cervix was long and closed, great! Baby is perfectly healthy and measuring just as it should. Heart, bladder, brain all look good. At the end, she said.. "So, are you finding out the gender?" My heart stopped... THIS was my chance!! But I broke down and said, "No... I want to know, but my husband doesn't." She said, "Then I'm not telling you a thing." I said, "So, you mean you can actually tell right now at 15 weeks??" She said, "I have a pretty darn good guess!" So I joked "Well if it's only a guess, then you can tell me because it's only a guess!" She said, "I'm pretty good at what I do." And left it at that. Hmph. Deep down I really do want another surprise, but for some reason this time around it's just so hard to follow through!

It makes me suspect girl though because I was looking. And I mean LOOKING. She never told me to look away, so she snuck a peek at the goods sometime during that whole process and I sure had my eyes peeled. I really feel like I could pick out boy parts if I had to! I suppose you never know how sneaky those u/s techs can be though! Probably just wishful thinking though.

So, I survived not finding out. They said they're not sure if they'll do a 20 week u/s because they just got all the growth & measurments they need out of this one, but "we'll see." My dr tends to hand out ultrasounds pretty readily if you want them, so I have a feeling I'll be back for more! I also want them to keep an eye on fluid level since I had polyhydramnios last time, so I'll remind them of that at my next appt.

Without further ado, here's weatherbaby 2! Oh yeah - heart rate 137. WAY lower than last time!





I love this one - how the baby is just reclined with it's legs propped up.



Otherwise I'm doing pretty well, other than some headaches. I did this in the second trimester with Kate too, so I suppose I should have suspected it! They are so annoying! Tylenol and/or Coke usually helps, but it's still annoying to have to take Tylenol, I'd rather not expose the baby to any medication, even though it's safe.

I also wanted to make note of my cravings this time around. First and foremost it's peaches - make that FRESH peaches. Soooo yummy! They can't really even be grocery store peaches - every other Thursday I drive by a farmers market stand on my route for work. I pick up a bag of peaches fresh from East Texas each time I drive by, and immediately fall into heaven. They are so soft, sweet, and juicy, I just can't get enough. SO good.

Second is Subway. I eat it at least twice a week for lunch! I've always sort of liked Subway, but this time I just HAVE to have it.

My last, and most bizarre, is fake butter. For some reason real butter doesn't taste "buttery" enough to me, so I keep a stash of of "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter" on hand for butter emergencies. :) So weird!

Recap Up to This Point

I've heard that famously first pregnancies get all the glory and attention, and then no one cares every pregnancy after that. Haha! But a sweet friend asked me if I was going to blog about this time around, so I'll do it! So that way, this baby will have a good record about his/her pregnancy as well.

I found out I was pregnant on Saturday, April 3, 2010. We were in Chicago visiting my sister and her family. I knew that we'd be visiting them during the time I'd be able to find out, so I packed a few pregnancy tests. It was THE faintest line in the world... I seriously didn't know if it was there or not, but deep down I knew it was. It was even fainter than Kate's first test line!



I kept it to myself for the day, but told Jeff that I THINK I may have gotten a positive. We decided to try again the next morning with a digital test because there would be no mistaking that! So Easter Sunday morning, we got up and tested. We brought Kate into the room and waited while the hourglass on the test blinked FOREVER, then finally said, "PREGNANT" YAY!!!!


We told Kate she was going to be a big sister! She, of course, had no opinion other than reacting to our excitement, being 23 months old. :)

We sent Kate upstairs to breakfast wearing her "Big Sister" shirt. (Yes, that I had packed in advance, "just in case.") (I had a feeling about this month!)



Andrea and Steve totally didn't see it at first, and we had to specifically point it out to get them to notice. :) They were shocked and excited!

I had been on Metformin again for about a month, getting my body ready to try to get pregnant again. We were thinking it may take a few months to get my body fully cooperating again. The first month was a dud with no ovulation, but I had a clear ovulation the second month! We weren't expecting it to happen so quickly, but are absolutely thrilled that it did, since we had to try so long to get Kate.

The first few weeks of pregnancy, let's see, where to begin... As soon as we were home from Chicago, my doctor brought me in for some blood tests. My levels came back pretty low, but still a positive result. We tested every 48 for about the next week or so. My levels were doubling appropriately, but then I got a call that my progesterone levels were dangerously low, and falling. (As in, not high enough to sustain a pregnancy.) They called in a prescription for me, and told me to go wait AT the pharmacy for it to be ready, and take my first dose as soon as it was ready! Through the following week or so, (I think we're at week 5 or 6 at this point?) they continued to test my progesterone levels, getting bad results each time. They doubled my dosage, and the following week they finally started to rise. Not to wonderful levels, but acceptable. They want your progesterone to be a MINIMUM of 15 during pregnancy, and at my lowest I was at 3.9. I leveled off at 14.9, though my most recent level taken was 12.1.

They scheduled an ultrasound for 6 weeks, to take a look and see how things were going in there. I knew that at Kate's 6w4d ultrasound, we had seen not only her, but her heartbeat. I didn't expect to see a heartbeat (though it was possible) but I certainly expected to see the baby, aka the fetal pole as it is termed at this stage. We saw hardly anything. We could see the gestational sac as well as the yolk sac, but no fetal pole, and certainly no heartbeat.



I was scared to death. They told me that it was not great but ok - I could just not be as far along as I calculated. Well I knew that wasn't a possibility - because of my charting, testing, and tracking, I know with 100% certainty which day I ovulated. They also said the fetal pole could be hiding behind the yolk sac. They wanted to wait 10 days and repeat the ultrasound. They said that would be more than enough time to be able to see on ultrasound whether or not the baby was growing.

Several days later, I started spotting. I tried not to think about it too much, since I had spotted with Kate too and she was perfectly fine. All I knew was that as long as you're not seeing red blood, everything was ok.

The next morning I woke up to red blood. I was sure I was losing the baby. Of course it was a Saturday morning so I couldn't call in to my doctor. Thankfully the bleeding stopped that morning and never came back. When I spoke to the doctor on Monday they were very understanding reassuring, and told me they would bring me in for an ultrasound if I wanted, but told me it would still be best to wait until that Friday for my original scheduled ultrasound. I was feeling ok about it at that point, so I agreed.

Friday morning we went in for the ultrasound. I immediately knew the baby was at least growing as soon as I saw the screen.



There was CLEARLY a baby there! Then the tech found the heartbeat (137 bpm), and I started crying. I was trying to be positive the whole week, but I had really tried to prepare myself for the possibility the heartbeat may not be there. But it was. Praise the Lord.

So that about wraps up the drama - from about week 7 or 8, things have been pretty smooth. God taught me a lot about patience and trust in that time. So much is completely out of our control, and our children belong to the Lord anyway, so I just prayed that this one would be given to us as well.

I had another ultrasound at 9w2d to make sure everything was still going well, and it was!



Measuring right on schedule with my December 15 due date. His or her heart was beating away at 170 bpm.

This pregnancy is somewhat different than Kate's already. I think in general, I'm sicker. With Kate I had nausea come and go sporadically. This time, there are several time periods during the day when I feel awful, and it peaks at its worst from 4-8 pm. I haven't hardly eaten dinner in about 7 weeks!

Here is my first belly picture taken at 10 weeks.



With Kate's pregnancy, I looked like that at about 14-16 weeks. Haha.

I had my 11 week appointment today. Everything is going well! I had lost 4 pounds since my last appointment 2 weeks ago (totaling almost 15 pounds for the pregnancy so far) so my doctor told me to EAT! Whenever and whatever I want. :) That's always fun to hear. Too bad I'm feeling too sick to actually follow through! We also heard the baby's heartbeat through my tummy on the doppler for the first time. My doctor said the baby was playing hide and seek with him - it took him a few minutes to find it, but he finally pinned him/her down and got it. :) He said he could hear the baby swimming around in there to get away! I'm always amazed and how aware and able-bodied they are in there at such an early age.

So I think that about wraps up the first trimester! I still have a few weeks to go before I officially begin the second trimester. I have started the weaning process on the Metformin (YAY!!!!!!!!!) so I really should be feeling better soon. Plus I have about a week left of Prometrium, my progesterone supplement. That is also known to make you feel sick. So I should feel like a new woman in the next few weeks. I can't wait!

We are so thankful for this baby and this pregnancy.

Kate is Going to be a Big Sister!

The big news in our family is that we are expecting another baby!! I am due December 15th, the day after my birthday! It has been a rocky pregnancy, to say the least, but all is well now, and the baby appears to be healthy and thriving! We are very excited to see who this precious little person is going to be. Here is the latest ultrasound a little over a week ago at 9 weeks, 2 days.

Should Have Known Better

I should have known better than to brag about Kate's health. She woke up Sunday morning with herself, her bed, and all of her stuffed animals just covered in vomit. Lovely. The poor thing must have thrown up in the middle of the night, but never said ANYTHING until the morning! Of course we were in Oklahoma too, so not even home for her to be sick! Later that day, the bug worked its way through her stomach and gave her more problems. She still isn't fully recovered in terms of appetite, but at least she hasn't thrown up anymore. But now she seems to be developing something else. Her nose has been running like a faucet today, and now she's been having a coughing fit ever since I put her to bed. I see a long night of little sleep ahead.

2 Years

I'm a week late, but our little Kate has turned 2! I really don't know where the time went. She is such a big girl!



She is such an amazing little girl. Her vocabulary is increasing by leaps and bounds, and it is so much fun to watch her figure out language and communication. It is also very nice to be able to talk and reason with her, and have her give me her own input back! She is giving us good 3 if not 4 - 5 word sentences. I am thankful for every day we have with her.

She is also on a good stretch of health! (Knock on wood!) Right before we went to Chicago for Easter she came down with a little cold, but that means she's been healthy now for about 6 weeks! That's just about the longest I can remember! Maybe the whole tonsil thing is finally paying off. At her 2 year checkup, she weighed 34.25 lbs (99th percentile), and is 35.75 inches(95th percentile) tall. So she continues to grow steadily! She's wearing size 3T and even 4T in some stores.

She is still a great sleeper, going to bed by 7:30 (or 7:00 on night's she's crabby... ha!) and sleeping until 7-7:30 am! I appreciate that very much. :) I need to be better about updating the blog. I'm sure there are so many cute things she does that I never write down and forget about.

Thank you, God, for blessing us with our precious little daughter. Happy Birthday Kate!!

Meow Meow Poo Poo

More pretend play! It is SO adorable to watch Kate act out her experiences through her point of view. Yesterday I got a sample of the new Pampers Cruisers diapers in the mail from P&G. Kate wanted them as soon as she saw them, so I handed them down to her. She ran over to her favorite lovey of all time, her kitty Meow Meow. She said, "Meow Meow poo poo!" and took him over to a pad on the floor. She laid him down, and proceeded to act out a diaper change! When she took the imaginary diaper off Meow Meow, she even said "Eeeeeewwwww!! Icky poo poo!!" Ha! She opened up a diaper and laid it down on top of MM, but couldn't quite understand how to strap it on. Then she picked him up and said "All done!"

Among other news, Kate is sick again. Not sure what it is this time, but so far she's running a low grade fever and coughing. I think we're going to wait this one out and see if we can make it through without a trip to the Pediatrician, but we'll see.

Here's a quick pic of Kate. We took her to the Dallas Arboretum last weekend for my mom's birthday. We had a great time and saw some beautiful flowers!

Pretend Play

I feel like I've said this at every stage (except 18 months) but I must say, I think 21 months is my favorite! Kate is SO much fun right now. She can understand just about everything I tell her, and her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds as well, so she is able to communicate quite a bit with me. My favorite thing has been the beginning of pretend play. We first saw it with her buddies or her kitty Meow Meow. She teaches Meow Meow how to do things like climb stairs, jump off edges, and then praises him when he has done a good job. :) The most fun to watch her play is in the bath. She has 4 bath toys that are her favorite. She usually portrays herself as the dolphin, me as the turtle, and Jeff as the pelican. I think the crab is anonymous. :) She takes these toys through different courses of events. She makes "me" (the turtle) carry the dolphin around, saying "Are you ready?" "Ready." "Here we go!" And then they travel around the bath tub. Every once in a while the dolphin falls, and Kate says, "Are you ok? Ok?"

Sometimes she will put Jeff and me (the turtle and pelican) up on a shelf. Then she (dolphin) will kiss us both, then say "bye bye!" and swim off for a while. The sweetest was when she brought the dolphin up to the turtle, made them kiss, then said, "Awww, Mommy, I wat choo." (I wat choo is how she says I love you.)

Today I took Kate to a park here in town. So during her bath I watched her re-create all the fun activities she did at the park, there in the bath tub with her dolphin. Slides, climbing the sides, running across bridges, etc. Anyway, all that to say just how much fun she is, and how amazing it is to see the world through her eyes, and her interpretation of the things going on around her!