Anyway, I am currently less than 2 weeks away from my due date with this baby and I do have some updates. This pregnancy has actually been COMPLETELY different from my pregnancy with Alex. With Alex, everything was pretty uneventful. I took forever to show any sort of belly at all, I felt amazing the entire time, the baby bump was all cute and round all the time and I never experienced anything even close to labor until I was put into labor at 41 weeks 1 day.
With this one, I started showing much earlier. I know that is normal for subsequent pregnancies and don't get me wrong, I loved it! But I definitely had a belly by 15 weeks this time (I believe there is a picture of me at 16 weeks in my last post about Baby #2). Speaking of showing, I have also gained much more weight with this pregnancy. The good thing is that I STARTED this pregnancy quite a bit smaller than I started my pregnancy with Alex, so the Doctor did tell me that he wanted me to gain more weight with this one. Once I passed the 20lb mark (the amount I gained with Alex) I got worried. Dr. Bale told me I would be in trouble if I only gained 20lbs with this one based on my starting weight. I was on a sprint at first with the weight gain, gaining 5lbs per month! Luckily I was able to curtail this a bit by getting more exercise (aka running around with Alex at the park etc.). Now that I'm almost finished with this pregnancy, I am right in my target weight gain range (phew!).
With Alex I felt GREAT the entire time. There were very few discomforts and absolutely no issues/worries/concerns. With this one I had a very eventful second trimester - and not in a good way! I found myself having some contractions off and on. Although Braxton Hicks contractions are normal at this point in a pregnancy, they are not normal at the frequency I was getting them. I was instructed to drink a lot of water and take it as easy as possible when I started feeling them. Luckily I was not dilating or anything from these contractions and baby was safe. We had another scare around 26 weeks. I woke up and found that I was bleeding. It was extremely scary! My mom took me to the ER and I got checked out. Thank God everything checked out alright. But it definitely took a toll on my nerves. I also got another ultrasound just to be sure everything was okay. We never did figure out exactly what the cause of the bleed was, but baby was just squirming away in there and everything was closed and healthy on me. Like I said, that was just more of a scary situation than anything else.
Now about the bump. For some reason this baby likes to put him/herself into some strange positions. Because of this, I often have a very strange shaped baby bump. As far as actual movement, I really don't feel a ton with this baby. It may be because I'm comparing it to Alex when he was inside and there was constant motion. But this baby makes very subtle movements and then stays there and makes my belly look quite strange. Here is just one example. Matt took this this morning shortly after I woke up:
Kinda freaky and REALLY funny! Most of the time I just have an extra little lump on my right side, but as you can see above, sometimes this child just likes to stretch out and stay like that!
Labor. Oh how I was so blissfully unaware of what the end of a pregnancy was SUPPOSED to feel like with Alex. I was 41 weeks along and barely even dilated at all. People assumed I must feel awful and I thought they were crazy. I was like, "Oh, it's really not that bad!" Yea, that's because my body wasn't doing anything at all to get him out. Now I understand why women are so uncomfortable toward the end of their pregnancy. This baby dropped at about 35 weeks. I distinctly felt the head slip slowly down and it has stayed there since. Dr. Bale confirmed that the head was engaged at my next appointment. It has only gotten lower since and I feel like I am walking around with a bowling ball between my legs. I have also been having quite a few contractions. These started towards the end of my 36th week and have only gotten more frequent as time has gone by. Last Wednesday I woke up with frequent contractions and I started timing them. They were 5 minutes apart, but were not getting any more intense and they were only 45 seconds long. Eventually they started getting farther apart and then stopped all together. This happens from time to time lately. At my last appointment I was dilated 2 cm and was 80% effaced. Dr. Bale gave me his home phone number in case I go into labor over the weekend. THIS. JUST. GOT. REAL! My due date is 11 days from now and if I do not go into labor on my own before the end of the month, Dr. Bale said we will schedule another induction.
Gender. I have gotten a lot of questions as to what I'm "feeling" I am having. I'm still going with boy. I think it has more to do with the fact that I can't fathom having a girl after having a boy than anything else. I just picture my experience with birthing Alex and each time I see a boy coming out of me. I can't picture a girl. However, based on how I have been feeling (so VERY different than with Alex) I would think it's a girl. From what I hear from other women though, every pregnancy is different no matter if it's a boy or a girl, so I am still going with boy. For the record, Matt is on team girl. At my last doctor's appointment, Dr. Bale asked me how I've been feeling. I told him I have good days and I have bad days. He asked what happens on bad days. I told him my symptoms and he said, "Oh, pregnancy!" Smartass! When I explained that I didn't feel any of these things with Alex he said, "Well, it's probably an ornery little girl then!" So Dr. Bale is also on team girl. We'll see who's right soon!
Pictures. I left off my last post with the news that we had just had our 20 week ultrasound. So here are some pictures we got from that ultrasound. I think they look a lot like Alex!
And here are a couple from my ultrasound at 30 weeks (after the bleed):
And no, I have not been able to take weekly belly pictures, but I have some. Here are some from 32 weeks (compare to 32 weeks with Alex):
And here are some at 36 weeks (Compare to Alex at 36 weeks):
I also had my mom take some pictures at 38 weeks which haven't been emailed to me yet and my BIL, Jason, took some of me with Alex and Matt yesterday. As soon as I get those I'll post some more. But the baby is definitely getting big!
A couple people have asked me what I've been craving this pregnancy. With this one, I have been craving more salty foods. I have wanted Lion's Choice a lot and have been loving Chili Cheese Fritos! I have also been really into pasta. This craving has given our sweet little baby the womb name of Alfredo. Of course I don't turn my nose up at sweets either! I eat Ted Drewes quite often and haven't yet turned down Haribo Gummy Bears. But I think my main craving has been watermelon.
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I have felt very fortunate to be pregnant in the nicest summer that I can remember! So not only is watermelon in season for this pregnancy, but I also don't have to deal with too much heat and humidity! Also, I was able to go to a Cardinals game . . . in the middle of August . . . In St. Louis . . . at 38 weeks pregnant!
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Okay, so that's about all I can think of to update for now. If there's anything I missed or anything else anyone wants to know, feel free to call me and we can talk. But try to do it soon because baby will be here soon!
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