Baby #2: Second Trimester

It's hard to believe that this trimester is drawing to a close. Other than feeling huge, I haven't really wrapped my mind around the fact that I'm pregnant and that a baby will be here in 3 months. We have barely talked about names, have made zero attempt to do any nursery-related projects and I had a dream recently that the baby arrived and I hadn't even unpacked the baby clothes we already have. I guess it's time to focus on getting ready for this baby!

Here's my recap of my second trimester:

Week 13: Morning Sickness. 
The last couple of weeks I have had a late onset of (mild) morning sickness… not sure if it is normal to show up in second trimester. To those of you who deal with this through the entire first trimester (or your whole pregnancy), I have some serious empathy. It is not fun.

Week 14: Emotional. 
I have been feeling a lot more emotional lately (very different than I was with Jack). The good news is that most of my icky symptoms have subsided.

 

Week 15: Bloated. 
I can barely eat a few bites before I am bloated and miserable. I am not even big yet. I don’t remember feeling like this with Jack. It is a terrible feeling.

Week 16: Good. 
I am feeling good this week. I have been doing between 80 and 100 real pushups in BootCamp each week, which makes me proud of myself. I am finally looking a little bit pregnant.

Week 17: Sick. Sick. Sick. 
I started the week with a migraine that lasted two days. Then proceeded to get a sore throat and chest cold. I don’t remember being this sick and miserable when I was pregnant with Jack. I guess that is because it wasn’t wintertime. Also feeling a lot of irrational anxiety about the possibility of blood clots this week. I give myself daily injections of blood thinners as a precaution, but I have felt really nervous lately.

Week 18: Showing. 
I still haven’t gained any weight, but I finally really feel like I started to show. There is no questioning I am pregnant. There have been a few times I thought I have felt the baby moving, but not sure. It will probably be soon. Also my cold has now lingered for a full week. My voice sounds like a frog. I wake every morning at 3am, coughing. It appears that being pregnant during the winter months has a different kind of misery than being pregnant during the summer months.

Week 19: Kicks. 
I started feeling flutters last week and then they began to feel stronger in the days to follow. By Thanksgiving I was definitely feeling distinctive kicks. This baby is a lot different than Jack was in the kicking department.
 

Week 20: Heartburn. 
The heartburn really kicked it up a notch this week. I finally made the move to Nexium and my days are much better now. Kicking from the baby is also holding pretty steady. When I go to sleep and mid morning seem to be the busiest time for this baby’s kicks.

Week 21: Strong. 
I am over my chest cold and generally feeling great. I am able to do quite a bit in my workouts. I love to feel strong. I am definitely looking pregnant now and have even had strangers ask me about my pregnancy. My funniest experience was a lady at the mall who told me that I was tiny. It sort of made me want to giggle because I have never been tiny in my life. I have always had a more muscular build and the word “tiny” has never felt like it applied to my body shape. Anyways, it was a nice unexpected compliment.

Week 22: A Blur.
This pregnancy feels like a bit of a blur. With Jack I tracked every week and experience. This time everything is flying by too quickly to really analyze. I finally gained a couple of pounds, but can still wear most of my own clothes.

Week 23: Braxton Hicks. 
This was a surprise. I had some BH with Jack in the last trimester, but these seem early and strong. A weird side effect is that I sometimes get lightheaded when I have these contractions. I read online that this can be because there is extra blood in your system to support the pregnancy and when your body contracts, the blood flow stops temporarily, causing a bit of a head rush. Thus the light-headed feeling. It is very strange. I feel the need to lie down more and have been trying to drink more water to ward off the Braxton Hicks.

Week 24: Large. 
We have been busy celebrating Christmas with family. All of a sudden, I feel exceptionally large and it shows. In some photos, I feel like I look ginormous; in others, not so much. I guess it depends on the day, how much I have ate and what I am wearing. I have gained just over 5 pounds. Also, my belly button has popped out.

Week 25: Exhausted. 
After 10 days of visiting family and celebrating the holidays, I am beat. Back pain is becoming a normal thing. Thank goodness for ice packs. I haven’t worked out in almost 2 weeks and I am nervous about starting back up. Just hoping I don’t hurt myself! I tried to wear maternity pants this week because my normal jeans are getting uncomfortable when buttoned… the maternity jeans just fell off of me. Time to get a belly band!
 

Week 26: Pain. 
After 7 days with a severe head cold, I started having chest pain when I coughed. After 2 days, it became a constant pain that radiated from my chest and back. It was excruciating. The on-call doctor at my OB told me to get checked for pneumonia at a walk-in clinic. The walk-in clinic refused to do an x-ray (which I was fine with). After some discussion, we both agreed that the pain was muscular. The doctor cheekily told me to stop coughing and the pain would stop! He also prescribed me Amoxicillin to help me get over the sinus trouble. It’s been a rough week, but hopefully I will be on the mend soon. 

Week 27: Ahead of Schedule. 
This morning I had my Glucose test and OB visit. As to be expected, the glucose test was gross and I was starving by the time I was done. My OB said the fundal height of the baby was measuring 30 weeks instead of 27, so she wants me to get an ultrasound in 2 weeks to see what is going on. I have been feeling huge, but thought maybe it was all in my head (though I have gained about 12 pounds over the last month). This measurement confirms that I am measuring bigger. Also, I haven't had a specific diagnosis, but my OB seems to think I may have pleurisy from my cold (the one that has lingered for 2 weeks). She prescribed some stronger pain medicine to help take the edge off. It really has been 7 days of the worst pain I have ever experienced.

That pretty much wraps up the second trimester. Three months to go and Baby #2 will be home with us. 

Baby #2 First Trimester

Baby #2: First Trimester

So I don't know if I will document this pregnancy to the same extent that I documented being pregnant with Jack (weekly updates may be too much this time around), but I would like to track my experience, and my blog seems like the best place to do that.

It's really hard to believe that I am 14 weeks already. Like before, I am high risk for blood clots, so I get to give myself daily injections in my stomach. This is probably my least favorite part of being pregnant.

Minus a few scares in the first trimester, this pregnancy hasn't been too difficult. That being said, it is different. I have had about 3 weeks of mild morning sickness, I eat a lot of pickles to combat a metallic taste in my mouth that always seems to be there, and have had a decent amount of fatigue. Like my pregnancy with Jack, I am working out 4x a week and plan to continue until I give birth.

Here is a brief recap of my first trimester:

Week 3-4: Pregnant? 

Suspected I was pregnant when I had hip pain and an excessively strong sense of smell and a periodic metallic taste in my mouth.  

Week 5: Positive. 

Confirmed that I was pregnant. Had typical early growing pains and heartburn. 

Week 6: Nauseous. 

Thankfully no throwing up. I felt like I was starting to show right away, but I was probably just hypersensitive. Below you can see the start of a baby bump at 6 weeks (or maybe I was just bloated).

Week 7: Anxious. 

This was a week marked by lots of anxiety. At the beginning of the week, I had some brown discharge/spotting. This was very scary and I was convinced that I was going to miscarry again. We went to OB a week early and saw the baby and heard a strong heartbeat of 150, which was encouraging. There was also a potential blood clot in my uterus with the baby that was worrisome (though it explained my spotting). 

Week 8: Hopeful. 

No real spotting this week. I started to share my news and it felt good to let go of the fear. I had an ongoing metallic taste in my mouth – pickles seem to neutralize the bad taste. I have been eating lots of pickles throughout this pregnancy. The medical term for this is dysgeusia, and I have it bad.

Week 9: Peace. 

By the end of the week, I was feeling oh-so-very-tired! Which is a good thing, right!? Ultrasound at end of week showed a baby that was on track in growth and had a strong heartbeat of 182. We also saw what appeared to be a blood clot at 7 weeks was actually a mass with its own blood supply. This was cause for greater concern, but we did our best to be at peace with this development.

Week 10: Beach. 

Enjoyed a relatively relaxed vacation (for us). I discovered that walking on sand does a number on my pelvis and hips. Everything hurt! I was also extra tired all week and experienced some mood swings and the start of some mild morning sickness. It's a good thing I told my family beforehand that I was pregnant... there was no hiding a slightly pregnant belly in a swimsuit!

Week 11: Tired. 

This was the most tired I felt in this pregnancy so far. I also experienced several headaches, but that might have been from working out and then not eating or drinking enough. Working out felt really good this week. I thought it would be hard to come back after a week of vacation, but working out always makes me feel better. Continued morning sickness this week.

Week 12: Relief. 

We saw a high-risk OB after some concern about high hormone levels (coupled with the mass in the last ultrasound). There was talk of a partial-molar pregnancy, which is enough to scare anyone. Thankfully, our high-risk ultrasound showed us a perfect baby. No mole and no sign of the mass that was apparent in the 9-week ultrasound. We were incredibly relieved. God is good. We believe in the power of prayer. This was my worst week of morning sickness yet.

First Trimester Overview:

So far I have had zero weight gain, though I am starting to have a more obvious baby bump. I haven't had a lot of cravings this trimester – the thought of food makes me not want to eat. However, I am eating lots of pickles. I don't think this is a true craving, it just balances out the metallic taste in my mouth. So far I have had a lot less heartburn than I had with Jack. 

That about sums it up. I will have periodic updates throughout this pregnancy. 

Baby #2 First Trimester  |  Second Trimester  |  Third Trimester 

Do You Feel Sick?

I think that once people find out that your are expecting, the number one question is: Do you feel sick? Thankfully I am among those who experience almost no morning sickness. Don't get me wrong, I have heart burn like crazy {just thinking about food sometimes gives me heart burn} and I have definitely had my share of fatigue, but no nausea for this mommy to be. I chalk it up to good genes {my sister and mom had limited morning sickness, but both experienced the heart burn}.

Before you get to thinking that I have gotten off scott free in the pregnancy, let me tell you the one thing I have to deal with that most pregnant women do not: I have to give myself daily shots in my stomach.

When I found out at my first OB appointment that this was a possibility I was devastated.  

I HATE NEEDLES. I can't even watch a nurse give me a shot and any time they draw blood I tense up through the whole process.

The reason for these lovely shots goes back to about two years ago when I had a blood clot. At the time my doctor's assumed it was due to birth control. My current OB ordered some additional tests at my first doctor's visit. She wanted to confirm that I didn't have any genetic disorders and we waited to start the shots until 9 weeks when we had the tests back and she did an ultrasound to confirm a heartbeat.

For the last month I have religiously given myself shots in the stomach every night. It has gotten easier but I still hate it. It costs a bundle {almost $1000 per month – we have to pay the full amount until we meet our deductible} and it hurts {though icing the area helps}. So no morning sickness for this baby, but lots and lots of shots to administer through the rest of the year...

Excerpts from my personal journal:

 6 Week OB Visit

March 18, 2011 

We went to our first OB visit. Daniel likes my doctor. A urine test confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. The doctor checked my uterus and agreed that it had grown and that I was about six weeks along. For now she has put our due date as 11-11-11. The worst part about the whole visit was the discussion surrounding my 2008 DVT/PE {i.e. my blood clot experience}. My paperwork from Presby in Charlotte was incomplete and Dr. Adams decided to order me a few additional tests. This meant they drew A LOT of blood. This was a painful experience, but it should be the most blood they draw at any one time. It left me shaky and the nurses treated me to an ice-cold coke. Dr. Adams wants to be proactive and put me on anti-blood clot meds {after we receive the official tests back}. This will most likely mean daily shots. This makes me want to cry. I’m trying to be a grown-up about the whole situation, but it really sucks. I HATE needles. I thought I was past the whole blood clot thing, but history is history and it is better to be safe than have something horrific happen.

We got ice cream from Chick-fil-a after the appointment and then went to Barnes & Noble. Finally we went to The Terminal for dinner. I had a great steak salad and Daniel had his usual Black Bean Burrito. It was hard for me to think of anything other than the needles in my future.

March 19,2011 

I stayed up late last night researching this whole blood clot thing. It was enough to make me scared and upset. The common treatment is daily shots of Lovenox. This means that I would be high risk of bleeding if I were to be in any kind of accident. It also can cause problems with epidurals and c-sections. Very scary stuff. Everything I have read seems to revolve around people that are positive for blood clotting disorders. My doctor says that I am more likely to have another clot since I have already had one, but it has been 2+ years and I have not had any indications that I will have another clot. I don’t want to be high risk. I guess you don’t get to choose that. There is very little information available online for someone in my exact situation – which I find to be frustrating. All of my reading was very upsetting and I had a good cry after we went to bed. I wish someone had clearly told me {before I got pregnant} that I would be high risk and that it would mean taking daily shots. I feel like I went into this whole pregnancy thing uninformed and it is very disconcerting.

 9 Week OB Visit

April 8, 2011 

Today was my 9-week check up. We found out that all of my tests for any kind of genetic blood clotting disorder came back negative. That is the good news. The bad news is that since I have already experienced one blood clot, I am more susceptible to another. So I get the joy of giving myself shots (at $30 a pop) for the duration of the pregnancy. We even had a phone consult from a high risk OB who agreed that this was the best course of action. I have the prescription in hand but it will be a few days before I actually have access to the medication. I guess I will just have to enjoy my last couple of days of freedom from shots. 

Dr. Adams did an ultrasound today just to make sure there was a heartbeat before she started me on meds. It was tiny, but it was there. We go back in four weeks and should be able to see/hear more.

I really like Dr. Adams. She is very direct and to the point. She doesn’t try to scare me. She encourages me to keep on doing what I am doing. She said that I can safely gain anywhere from 10 and 30 pounds. She continues to be ok with me running the half marathon and exercising. So far, so good.