So here's the 4-1-1.
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By now, most of you probably know that we're expecting again! Do you know what happens during the first trimester of pregnancy? That's right: your body builds a whole ORGAN (the placenta). Along with that comes being very very tired. Instead of writing on this little blog, I've been lounging on the couch, not doing housework, and letting Audra play. Granted, not a whole lot of rest is happening when you're caring for a baby at the same time. But in general, I haven't had the energy to put forth toward other things. But now? Now we're at 15 weeks and I'm feeling like a new person! I even swept, steamed & vacuumed the floors yesterday! And dusted! And did laundry! It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life! And I'm feeeeeelin' good!!!
I've been getting a lot of questions about this pregnancy, so let me answer some for you, in case you're wondering too. ;)
Were you trying to get pregnant?
Not exactly. We weren't exactly preventing it, either, if you know what I mean. We always knew we wanted our kids close in age, so we were under the "if it happens, it happens" umbrella. It happened sooner than we thought it would... so here we go.
Were you surprised?
I'd read that breastfeeding can make it harder to get pregnant. Considering I hadn't had a period yet, I was a bit surprised that I was pregnant. But it makes sense that we got pregnant very shortly after switching to solids, when I was breastfeeding a little bit less than before. Apparently the fact that I never had a period and got pregnant while breastfeeding means I'm a little "extra fertile." Well. Good to know.
Since you already have a girl, are you hoping for a boy?
Nic is definitely hoping for a boy! Of course. I think it would be fun for Audra to have a sister so close in age. Also, we (obviously) already have all of the girl things we would need, so re-using could save us some $. I'm pretty sure Nic is terrified of having another girl. He just keeps thinking about when they're both teenagers, and then possibly paying for two weddings around the same time further down the road. He's said repeatedly that if we have another girl, trying for a third will take some convincing. He DEFINITELY does not want THREE girls! I'm pretty sure he'll take what he gets (but he might throw a fit!). (That was for my teacher friends.)
When are you due?
I've gotten three different due dates: Nov. 27, Nov. 30 & Dec. 1. My OB is going by the earliest one since apparently there are certain procedures that can't be done until the 39th week, even if medically necessary. (My OB spent like 5 minutes explaining this to me, though all I really remember is what I just said.) So taking the earlier date would allow those procedures to get done if we need them without waiting longer. They aren't hard and fast about an induction at 41 weeks, especially since my due date has been so variable. We already said we'd just keep an eye on things at the end and just see how everything looks before scheduling an induction- if this baby goes over like Audra did.
Are you delivering on base?
We opted to downgrade our insurance so I can see a civilian provider instead of a military provider. I'll be delivering at one of the local hospitals, with a civilian OB. There were multiple reasons for this choice, the big ones being the availability of the OB and personalized care.
Are you going to try to deliver naturally this time?
A lot of you know that I wanted to deliver Audra naturally, but due to the crazy nurse and basically... FORGETTING EVERYTHING I WAS TAUGHT about delivering naturally, I ended up getting the epidural. I still haven't decided what I want to do this time around. Part of me really longs for that beautiful, natural birth I so badly wanted the first time. Another part of me still remembers the pain of contractions (after all, it WAS just less than a year ago), and wants to just take the easy route and get the epidural. We'll see. I'll keep ya posted.
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Audra turns one on MONDAY! JUNE 10th! It's so hard to believe that my beautiful tiny little floppy baby is now walking, climbing up on stuff (the dishwasher! her push toy! tsk, tsk, tsk.), destroying things (the toilet paper roll and anything paper, amongst others), identifying body parts, talking, and demanding my attention. It's amazing how far she's come! We're going to take some pictures of her eating a (not too) sugary treat for the first time on her actual birthday and celebrate just us, as a little family. A few weeks later we'll have a few of her little friends that she sees often & their families over for a bigger celebration. I'm thinking of a simple theme like 'girly colored polka dots.' Keep it simple. Nothing huge or overwhelming for this baby. Just us, a few good friends, some cake, and a few gifts. Just a fun day celebrating our little one year old. :)
This coming weekend, Nic's unit at the hospital is having a family camping trip in the Shenandoah Valley. We both love camping, but are a bit hesitant to go with Audra. She is a baby who is used to her routine, especially her nighttime routine. She just doesn't go down easily when getting put to bed somewhere other than home. Nor does she sleep very soundly at night while away. Usually, she'll sleep from about 7pm-6:30am without waking up. Or at least if she does wake up, she doesn't tell us about it. ;) When we're traveling, she often wakes up multiple times in the night, I think because of the unfamiliarity of everything. So that could make for some tiresome days while camping. Despite those things, we're still going to go. They're planning on going down Friday and coming back Sunday. We'll pack like we're staying the whole time but have already decided to not make it too hard on ourselves. If we feel like it's getting to be miserable instead of the fun that it should be, we'll just go home. It'll be an adventure, either way. I'll let you all know how it goes, and anything we did that made it easier. Or maybe what we should have done to make it easier. ;)
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All of that aside, things are going beautifully around here! It's summer and the sun is shining and we've been spending a lot of time outdoors. Last summer, Audra was just too little and demanding of our time and energy for us to get out and explore much. She HATED the beach when we tried to take her, and in general things were just too new and crazy for us to get out a whole lot. This summer, we've already been to the beach, the neighborhood pool, walking on trails, getting custard... (and that was all in one weekend!) And we plan on doing more of the same, more often. I'm still relishing in the fact that we can even go to a beach any time we want! And it only takes 10 minutes to get there! Nic and I have a goal of doing SOMETHING each day that he's not working. As in, not just sitting around the house and going to CrossFit. Like, actually going to a park or a beach or hitting the pool or hiking or paddleboating... the possibilities here are great so we're really just looking forward to doing them now that the weather's nice.
Happy summer!
Shenandoah Valley picture found here.
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