I've always heard that a woman's pregnancy can be very different from one to the next. I have friends who have had drastically different pregnancies-- I mean, the first being easy breezy, and the second they're tossing their cookies multiple times a day and are flat out miserable. I was afraid of that happening to me with #2 since Audra was such a piece of cake. I never got sick with her (though there were days of feeling very nauseous), I wasn't even all *too* uncomfortable, even in the end. It probably had something to do with the fact that she was born under 7 lbs, but still, I wasn't aching with misery by any means.
With #2, it's true that some things have been different. For starters, I had food aversions instead of cravings. With Audra, I craved pineapple and tater tots (not at the same time). With this one, the thought of meat and also the smell of the greek yogurt we feed Audra both made me sick to my stomach. Luckily, those went away in the 2nd trimester. The other major thing that's been different this time has been how quickly my belly popped out. Literally, as soon as I found out I was pregnant, it made sense as to why my clothes were fitting more snug despite CrossFit and *attempting* a healthy diet (we really need to get better at that). By 3 months, I was showing like I did at 5 months with Audra. Now I'm almost to my 7th month and I'm showing like I did at 8.5/9 mos before. It seems like everything is about a month/month and a half ahead of where it was before... both in my belly size, and also fetal movement. I felt baby boy move about a month and a half earlier than I felt Audra move. Not sure if it's because I'd felt it before with Audra & therefore knew what I was looking for, or if it really did just happen sooner. Nic felt him move in my belly about a month earlier than before as well, and likewise with visibly seeing my stomach move when he moves. His movements feel a lot more powerful at this stage in the game than Audra's did. I'm not sure if that means he's just a bigger baby, or just stronger. Maybe both? People tell me boys are supposedly bigger (in general) than girls. Audra was even on the small side, despite being born 6 days past due. We'll just have to wait and see how little man stacks up when it comes to size.
This time around has been more difficult, as far as energy and motivation go. I said above that my belly is already quite large, and I feel like I feelt at 8.5/9 months before. It's hard to walk great distances unless I go really slow, bending over is quite difficult, and staying on my feet to chase Audra around and do housework gets exhausting really quickly. Sleep is poor, despite our TempurPedic (that I LOVE!). I had almost forgotten until it happened again, that my hips tend to fall asleep when I'm in bed. Whichever hip is down will fall asleep, then I'll roll to the other side only for the next hip to fall asleep too. Then I'll roll back over to the 1st side, but sometimes that 1st hip is still asleep & numb despite me being off of it for a while. ...sigh... I pretty much toss & turn all night long. :-(
But you know, I've got to count my blessings. I haven't gotten sick. I've got a healthy baby in there. And I've got an uber-supportive husband who is great about letting me get off my feet and helping around the house when he's able.
I've been keeping busy getting things ready for this little guy's arrival. It's been interesting to see how much of getting things ready for him has meant changing things for Audra. For example, we'll be transitioning her into a toddler bed any day now, to move the crib into his room. We'll also be getting her in a convertible car seat (this has been a long time coming, we just haven't gotten around to it), so he can use the infant seat. You'd think that because we already have one baby, we'd have pretty much all that we need for #2, but that really hasn't been the case. Well, I suppose technically we could re-use a lot of the stuff-- but a lot of it is all GIRL! So we're replacing many (not all) of those things. And I also just want him to have his own cute little room; a BOY room with his own things in it. I'll post pictures when I get the nursery done. I've got a lot of the things bought, just not in their right places quite yet. Before I post pictures of his room, I'll have to post pictures of Audra's room before it changes since I don't think I ever did that. So ya, another blessing this time is that WE'RE STAYING IN ONE PLACE! With Audra, I delivered her in San Antonio, came home to Lubbock about a week later, and then about a week and a half after that, moved to Virginia. There was no nursery prep, and that made me really sad at the time. So this time, we're not going anywhere and things can get decently ready. :)
Since we're so new to the area, it's been hard to find an OB that I trust and who has the same visions as I do for this birth. I have a few friends who have given birth since I've been here, but they both had home births... which I'm completely supportive of, but willing to do myself. I DO, however, want as close to a home birth as I can get while still in the hospital. There's a great birthing center in Norfolk, but it's across the water, which means having to cross the bridge tunnel. And God forbid I would go into labor during rush hour and have to sit in that traffic for an hour... no thanks. So I did some research online and found one doctor who had really great reviews. I began to see him, only to discover from one of my L&D nurse friends who's seen this OB in action, that he really isn't what I'm looking for. (He turned out to be one of those who delivers on his timeline instead of the mom/baby's. Plus I never quite felt at ease with him, anyway.) My L&D friend (who's new to the area too) was super helpful in talking with her coworkers and figuring out what practice would be a good fit for me. I took her recommendation and switched at around 20 weeks to the practice I'm currently using. They have a completely different feel from the first. There's a midwife and two OB's, all who deliver with the same philosophies. They've assured me that they will try their hardest for me to have a completely different birth than the one I had with Audra. (Hers was pretty stressful, as I chronicled here.) They all seemed rather appalled when I told them Audra's birth story. It didn't seem that bad to me, at the time, but now thinking about how much smoother it could (and SHOULD!) have gone, I guess it's right for them to think that. Hopefully this guy's birth can be the peaceful, calm, medication-free birth I so longed for the first time... I know the dr's will help me get there, so a lot of it will be up to me to just remember what I've learned.
I've been constantly amazed at how much a woman's body can change, all as a result of pregnancy. Last time around, I really didn't notice many changes, except near the end I started to get some chloasma dark patches on my cheek bones. They were never really enough for anyone to notice, and were easily covered up by makeup, but I could see them and knew they weren't normally there. Those spots and then the stretch marks, which I didn't get until about 9.5 months (BOOOO!) were really the only ways my body changed. This time, I've gotten the chloasma spots again (I noticed them right away), I've gotten a lot of little skin tags, and my vision has changed. A lot of people don't realize that your vision can change during pregnancy, but it's true! I had to increase the font on my phone and I notice myself holding other reading material insanely close to my face. Hopefully it'll change back, so I'm not going to see the optometrist quite yet. So it's been pretty interesting, all these new little things that have come about as a result of our little man.
It's just been so fun to think about him and wonder what he'll be like. Will he have blue eyes too? Or will he get my green? Will have have curly hair or straight hair? Will he get the tall gene from Pop? Will he be outgoing, adventurous and tough, like Audra, or will he be more calm, cautious, and take things in to himself? So many questions, all to be answered in due time. I just can't wait to meet this little guy!
Hopefully next post I can put up some pictures of Audra's cute little room. Sorry these have been so few and far between... I know that a lot of you family members who are far away enjoy reading these updates, so I'm sorry it takes so long! We've been pretty busy over here!
Love you all, hope you've had a great summer! :)
You are so right, the spots, the size, the tiredness, I was all like that with number 2 as well. I am happy you have a good plan for your birth and I hope it all works out. I meant to tell you when you were asking about my birth, I was able to walk throughout my entire labor, they just measured my contractions every 30 min or so. The walking really helped(with a walking chair), and they also gave me soda and gatorade to help feed the contractions when I was getting exhausted. And for pain I had a warming pillow which also helped. It was a much better experience. Although, don't be fooled, my initial descriptions of the birth to my friend who came to visit included the words "pure hell", but afterwards I felt awesome, I felt awesome for weeks, I can't describe it any other way.
ReplyDelete