Well, if you haven't heard yet, we're pregnant with baby number 2! Yay!
It's interesting- this pregnancy has been pretty much exactly the same as my first one. I wanted to recap what symptoms I felt each week so that I can remember and compare for future pregnancies. I love remembering all of the little details, even the ones where I am sick and feel miserable, because it's amazing to me to remember what it takes to bring these little miracles into the world. With Henry my first trimester was really, really hard, but the second and third trimesters were so wonderful! They definitely had their quirks, but I remember thinking "if I can just get through those two months of nausea in the first trimester... I can do this!" This first trimester has also been very difficult (and a little harder in some ways because I have a crazy and adorable toddler), but I think I was able to handle it better emotionally this time because I knew what to expect.
Anyway, moving on! These are little excerpts from my journal:
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Week 4 and 5: Found out I'm pregnant! Henry and this baby will be 20 months apart. We are so excited! At first not experiencing many symptoms, but definitely tired. Cramping a little bit here and there. Starting at week 5 I began to feel like I had to eat every 2 or so hours or else I felt completely famished and sick. I whipped up a few freezer meals so that when nausea hits I can still feed my family some yummy meals. Last time I recall that cooking dinner just did not happen and Kyler had to cook a lot.
Week 6: Hello nausea! We had wicked colds last week and I couldn't understand why I was still waking up and feeling so gross all day when Henry and Kyler have been better for days. Finally it hit me that I was experiencing morning sickness!! (well, all day sickness in my case.) Also SO. MUCH. CRAMPING. It makes me nervous because they feel very comparable to menstrual cramps, which can be a sign of miscarriage. My doctor gave me nausea medication and that has helped a bit.
Week 7: Bloating is the worst! How do women even hide their second pregnancies?? My belly is quite ready to tell the world. Flowy shirts it is for the next few weeks! We really want to wait until we know the gender to announce. (If I can hide my belly until then!) I didn't get to keep my pregnancy with Henry a surprise for very long, so I am determined with this one. I am starting this pregnancy weighing less than I started with Henry, but my body is just ready to show. Gah! Nausea is still bad. I feel best in the mornings but by night time I just feel gross and tired.
Week 8-10: Cramping on and off. Hungry every hour or so (even during the night.) So tired. Feeling like a lame wife and mom at this point. It's so hard to play with Henry or get things done. We moved during this time and Kyler has been a huge help to me. It's been hard to find the energy to unpack and clean, but if I do it in the mornings I'm able to make some progress. Kyler has been amazing at picking up my slack without complaining. He is so helpful and positive even though he has a ton on his plate right now. He's pretty much superman.
I also feel like a lame friend because socializing and play dates haven't happened in months. I just do not feel like pretending I feel well unless it's for a special occasion. I keep thinking I've gotta be having twins in order to be this bloated, but still haven't gained weight.
Week 11: First doctor's appointment. I really love my doctor. She is so chill and relaxed but is great at answering all of my questions. She used the Doppler to find the heartbeat and found it immediately, phew! The instant she put it to my belly, there it was. 178! Music to my ears. Now it's totally real. We are having another baby! I get to have my gender ultrasound at 16 weeks, probably a few days before Christmas. I can't wait! We will announce it to everyone around then. :) I have only gained two pounds so far, and I'm still below the weight I was when I first became pregnant with Henry, and yet my belly is just ready to poke out. :)
Week 11-16: the nausea is subsiding, which is amazing. But now it's replaced with a sour stomach and throwing up. I was so hoping I could skip the throwing up this time, but as weird as it sounds I take comfort in my pregnancy sickness because I know it's a good sign for baby. I seem to throw up every other day, so it's nice to have a little break here and there. I threw up on Thanksgiving and Christmas morning, you'd think I'd get a free-holiday pass or something but I guess not. :) With Henry I recall feeling back to normal around week 17/18, so hopefully that's the case with this baby! Also my baby bump is official as of 14 weeks. I don't think it's only bloat anymore. :) harder to hide but still possible!
(although technically I passed the 1st tri after 14 weeks, since we're still keeping it a secret I'll still log how I'm feeling with this post.)
December 22 (16 weeks): had our ultrasound and saw baby is healthy and precious, and it's a GIRL!!!!! I was so sure I'd be having a boy since my pregnancies have been almost the exact same. Can't wait to have my precious little daughter. :)
Christmas (16 weeks): Announced to all our family, friends, and Face Book! I actually was able to keep it a secret for the most part, success! It was so fun to keep the secret for so long, and we really appreciated all of the excitement and support we received with our happy news. :)
Week 17- I have had a terrible cold for the last two weeks, but it's starting to ease and I actually have energy again! Huzzah! I have had no desire to do crafts or cleaning or anything really, but yesterday I had the energy to make 22 adorable bows for baby girl. (lest you think I'm nuts, it only took an hour. They are just so easy to make. :) I am just a little excited. I am so happy to be starting to feel good again. It has felt like a lifetime of chronic illness has gone by, and I am ready to feel (almost) back to normal! I also felt baby girl kick every day this week, which is so fun. I didn't get to feel Henry until I was almost 22 weeks because I had an anterior placenta, so it's lovely to feel her sooner.
Week 18- It's like I am a new person. I can't believe how great I have felt the last few days, I had forgotten what it feels like to have energy and to behave like a normal human being. :) I had a cold for about a month, and once it was almost gone it developed into laryngitis (lost voice and terrible sore throat.) Kyler gave me a priesthood blessing with some pretty amazing promises and ever since I have been feeling SO much better each day. After 3 months of some seriously crazy sickness, I am enjoying feeling so well and am feeling so excited for baby girl. :)
I can't even tell you how many pictures we had to take in order to get this semi-blurry one. This kid never. stops. moving. :)