Baby Update · Daily living

Baby #2: Week 21

It’s been a fairly uneventful week here, although we did get to enjoy a long weekend with Andrew which was nice.

How far along: 21 weeks on 16 Jan 2018
Approximate size of Baby: the size of a carrot or a baby bok choy (10″ head to toe)
Gender: I have no idea
Weight gain: 2 lbs
Symptoms: back pain, fatigue, eczema, food aversion/nausea
  • Back pain is really only when I’m on my feet for an extended time cooking or cleaning.
  • I think the light sleep is contributing to me feeling tired a lot.
  • Eczema on my chest is manageable but still there. I try really hard not to scratch it, and I use Sudocrem after I shower at night.
  • Some food aversion around dinnertime. Random nausea here and there. It often makes me gag, but it passes pretty quickly.

Maternity clothes: Yep!
Stretch marks: no new ones
Belly button in or out: in
Sleep: Weird. I feel like I’m sleeping very lightly. I wake up frequently, but not to the point of being fully awake. One weird thing is almost every night I wake up convinced that I forgot to brush my teeth. Weird because I always brush my teeth before getting into bed. 
Best moment this week: Finally getting a call to set up our anatomy scan
Miss anything: Sushi — once in awhile I see a picture of sushi on Facebook, and I really want some. 
Movement: Yes! Considering how long it took for me to be sure I was feeling baby movement, I was surprised that both Gerrit & Andrew have been able to feel kicks and jabs from the outside already.
Cravings: Green grapes! Gerrit & I almost polished off a whole bag of them in one sitting. Still loving green apples and extra sharp cheddar cheese, and the raspberry sorbet craving is back. 
Looking forward to: Andrew’s parents coming into town this week & Andrew’s graduation from UPT! Then after the weekend we have our anatomy scan. Big week!

Baby Update · Daily living

He or She… What Could It Be?

Once again, we are not finding out the gender of this baby, but I thought it would be fun to look at the old wives’ tales and do some comparisons.

Old Wives’ Tales for Gender

Carrying high or low

Baby’s heart rate <140 or >140

Mama craving sweet or sour/salty

Chinese calendar (based on lunar age) says:
(This was a tricky one! Just using my age with the Western calendar, it said I was having a boy, but when I did the lunar age, it said girl.)

Mama’s skin is good or bad?
(I’m actually not sure on this one either… I’m not having any breakout, but I am dealing with eczema this time around, so I guess it could go either way.) 

When dangling a ring on a string over the belly, did it go back and forth or in a circle? 

Did Mama have morning sickness or no sickness? 

Has Mama been moody or mellow? 

Have Mama’s feet been colder or warmer than normal? 

Mama’s intuition says… 

Just based on these 10 things, it looks like we’re in for another boy! But… I was pretty sure Gerrit was a girl and was 100% wrong, so take my mother’s intuition with a grain of salt, haha! Click here for a look at the old wives’ tales for my first pregnancy too.

And an up-to-date comparison of the belly:

I will make up an actual Baby Pool where everyone can vote when we get closer to the due date, but as of now, what’s your guess??

 

Baby Update · Daily living

Baby #2: Week 20

It’s hard to believe that we’re halfway through this pregnancy, give or take! I feel like the first trimester went really slowly, but the holidays really sped things along.

We had our monthly appointment this week, and everything is looking good. The doctor says the heartbeat is “strong and fast.” 🙂 It was a pretty quick visit, and we got a referral to the hospital for the anatomy scan. Looking forward to that, since we’ll get to see how everything is going in there!

How far along: 20 weeks on 9 Jan 2018
Approximate size of Baby: the size of a Belgian endive or a banana (6-6.3″ long)
Gender: I have no idea
Weight gain: none (back at pre-pregnancy weight)
Symptoms: back pain, fatigue, headaches, breast tenderness, dry skin
  • Back pain isn’t horrible, but I definitely feel it when I’m on my feet for a lot. I had one evening with this pinched nerve feeling in my lower back… that was pretty unpleasant. I hope I don’t end up dealing with sciatica…
  • Fatigue was high on the symptoms list this week, but I had a cold, and that contributed to me sleeping poorly.
  • I had 3 days in a row of a very persistent headache.
  • You’d think nursing for so long would have my boobs toughened up, but no.
  • Still randomly gagging/dry heaving.
  • My skin issues are improving. I mentioned it to the doctor and got the response I expected: “This cream is helping? Okay, just keep using it then.” Thankfully, Sudocrem really has helped clear up the worst of it. I’m using a coconut oil lotion after I shower now too to help prevent any more issues.

Maternity clothes: Yes. I still wear some regular tops, but I can see that that might not work much longer.
Stretch marks: no new ones
Belly button in or out: in
Sleep: It wasn’t very good when I was coughing and congested. This cold bug has been pretty quick to get through my system though thankfully… sleeping much better as we hit the end of week 20. 
Best moment this week: Finding out Andrew’s assignment! I’ll be honest, it’s more of a best/worst moment thing because it wasn’t what we were hoping for, but at the same time, it’s nice to not be worrying about it anymore.
Looking back, when I was 20 weeks pregnant with Gerrit, Andrew was sewing on Staff Sergeant rank. This time at 20 weeks, he is nearing the end of pilot training. It’s pretty amazing how life has changed in 3.5 years!
Miss anything: Not really. Now that I’m mostly feeling better and I can feel the baby moving, I’m feeling pretty happy!
Movement: Yes! It’s pretty exciting to feel movement every day now!
Cravings: I had a few nights in a row where I craved sugar. A friend sent sugar cookies as part of our Christmas gift, and I’ve been using them as my midnight snack. Other than that just pasta. I think I eat pasta every day now.
Looking forward to: Baby’s anatomy scan, even though we aren’t finding out the gender. Hoping to get a call from the hospital soon with that appointment!