Dilated to 2!

This morning I went to see my midwife for my weekly appointment. She checked me and I'm already dilated to 2 cm, 40% effaced and the baby is in station -1. Yay!  Avery was this "far along" a few weeks ahead of schedule, so this doesn't mean I will have the baby anytime soon necessarily; it's just that much less work I have to do once I'm in labor, so I'm all for that :)

What I Learned: I am dilated to 2 cm already.

Old Friend

This morning, Jared, Avery and I went to McCarty Park to play on the playground. Upon arrival, I realized that there was a Lutherans for Life Walk/Run going on in the park so of course I immediately started looking to see if I knew anyone there.  I unfortunately didn't recognize anyone. After the race had begun, I saw a pregnant woman arrive at the playground with two kids and realized it was my friend Meg, whom I haven't seen probably since right after Avery was born!  I had heard that she was pregnant but didn't know when she was due.  After talking to her, I found out that she is having a boy and is due on July 10th.  Her two older kids (I think they are 4 and 6), were huge since the last time I saw them (obviously 2 and 4 is a lot different than a 4 and 6 year old!).  It's crazy how fast time flies when you haven't seen someone.  The ironic thing is that they live about 6 blocks away...we've gone on several walks in that direction and always stop at their house but they just have never been home, and next thing we know, it's been a year and a half!

What I Learned: My friend Meg is having a boy in July.

Maternity Photo Shoot

Today I did a portfolio photo shoot for Sarah (with Fresh Frame Photography).  This basically meant that Sarah will use the photo shoot for her portfolio, so she got to try a few things to see how they turned out so she knows what works and what doesn't work for future photo shoots.  The photo shoot was really involved, with multiple locations and outfit changes.  The surprising part was that I really enjoyed it, despite it being 40 degrees outside and having to wear dresses, go barefoot, and lay on the beach, pretending it was summer.  I was shocked because I usually a)don't like getting my picture taken, b)feel really uncomfortable trying different things that I might possibly look weird doing or that passersby can plainly see.  I can honestly say that I mostly have Sarah to thank for making me feel really comfortable and relaxed but I also just think that being pregnant (and possibly just being older) makes me feel way less self-conscious about what other people think and I find that I really like that.  I hate to say it, but I used to be more self-conscious about things than I ever should have been and am glad to see that I am not like that anymore.  I guess I never really realized that I changed until I had to pose in front of a  camera and think summery thoughts instead of worrying about what the other people on the beach might be thinking about how crazy I was to lie on the beach!

What I learned: I am less self-conscious than I used to be, which allowed me to participate in an amazing photo shoot with wonderful results (thanks Sarah!).

VACATION!!!!

For the sake of time (and for fear of boring you), I will try to summarize this as quickly as possible.

Jared, Blake and my dad planned to go to Michigan on a fishing trip the first weekend of May to Jared's family's cabin. I wanted to come along with Avery initially but seeing as it will be two weeks from my due date and after the whole Georgia "vacation" debacle, I decided it would be more trouble than it was worth for me to go. My in-laws have been trying to convince me to come along so they can see me and Avery at the cabin while the men are fishing. Then today, Charmaine emailed me with some wonderful ideas and this is what was decided:

We are leaving on Thursday to drive to MI. I will be dropped off in Lansing at my best friend Mollie's house while Ken, Blake, Jared and Avery continue on to Flint. On Friday, they will all drive up to the cabin while I stay at Mollie's. On Sunday morning, Mollie, Matt, Lucy and I will head up to the cabin to join everyone else and stay until Monday evening. Then Mollie's family will head back to Lansing and we will head back to Flint, eventually heading for home on Tuesday. This means that a)I get to see Mollie, b)I get two days to RELAX FOR REAL while Avery is up at the cabin with everyone else and c)I still get to go to the cabin (because I do really like going).

The only bad thing is that I have never been away from Avery that long and hope that he is okay (and that I'm okay!) with being away from me for two days. But, if I'm ever going to take a break (and the clock's ticking so I don't have much time left before baby #2 arrives and I will be without a break for awhile again), what better situation to leave him in than in the care of three of his grandparents, both of his godparents and his father at a cabin, especially when Avery's favorite thing on earth right now is to play outside?

Thanks Charmaine for thinking of such a wonderful idea :)

What I Learned: Avery and I are going to go to MI after all and I will get a real break for two days!

Cantaloupe

I looked ahead on babycenter to see what my baby weighs now (since technically every Friday is when I start a new week of my pregnancy; they just send you the email the following monday). It said that the baby at 34 weeks weighs about 4.75 pounds, about the weight of a cantaloupe. Now I never would have thought that a cantaloupe weighed more, almost a pound more on average, than a pineapple. But sure enough, I picked up a cantaloupe and it does weigh more than a pineapple, I guess because it is more dense. It's just not something I ever would have guessed.

What I Learned: A cantaloupe weighs more than a pineapple.

33-Week Appointment

Today I had my 33-week appointment with my midwife. I found out that based on my last ultrasound, the baby is in the 46th percentile for growth. I also found out that I've gained 21 pounds total this pregnancy, which is a little ahead of the pace I gained with Avery, but I also started out about 15 pounds lighter this time around, so I guess I needed to put on a little bit more weight for the fat and water :) The appointment went well and I continue to have a normal and boring pregnancy. Yay!

What I Learned: Baby #2 is growing just as he/she should; I've gained 21 pounds so far.

I'm carrying a pineapple

According to my babycenter.com email today, my baby weighs about 4 pounds and is 17 inches long. The baby weighs about as much as a pineapple. Yikes! I looked ahead to see what the last one was, and at 40 weeks, I will be carrying a small pumpkin. Geez. When you look at it like that, it seems so much heavier! And, that's not including all the other extra weight you carry due to a significant increase in blood, the placenta, your giant uterus, etc.

What I Learned: The baby weighs the same as a pineapple.

Jicama

This week, according to Babycenter.com, my baby is roughly the size and weight of a jicama. I have never heard of a jicama or seen one. So of course I looked it up.

A jicama is also called a Mexican Turnip or a Mexican Yam. The jicama is actually the name of the vine, but people most commonly call the edible root of the vine a jicama. Jicamas resemble potatoes and the starchy inside is most like an apple. It is most commonly eaten raw with salt, lemon or lime juice and chili powder. It is also used in soups.

What I Learned: What a jicama is.

Ultrasound

Today I had another appointment with my midwife and after much deliberation, I decided to tell her that I am starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that I don't feel this baby move much at all. It's not that it's just less than what Avery moved. It's that it's rare that I feel the baby move at all. So we decided that it was best that I get another ultrasound, more to calm my fears than anything else, but since there was a slight chance that there could be something wrong, it was better to check to make sure that everything was okay.

So I went back in at 2:15 to get it and of course, the baby was moving for the entirety of the ultrasound. It was probably the longest I've ever felt the baby move! The ultrasound showed that the baby was perfectly healthy and normal, growing just as it should be with a normal heart rate. I am glad that I was worried for nothing and that everything is okay, but felt silly that the baby made me look like a liar to the ultrasound tech! Silly baby.

What I Learned: The baby is doing perfectly okay, despite its lack of movement. I am hoping this means that the baby is as docile outside of the womb as it is inside :) A calm, quiet baby that sleeps well would be wonderful! Haha.

Shower Curtain

Every month or so I take our shower curtain liner and soak it in bleach and then wash it as it accumulates mold and other shower residue. I have done this so many times and for some reason was under the impression that when I washed it in the past, I put the washing machine setting to "heavy duty" for the wash cycle to make sure it gets clean. Well, apparently I was wrong because this time I did that and it tore the shower curtain! Luckily, the tears are small enough that it is still usable and functioning but I'm sure I will have to replace it sooner now than I was originally planning. I guess pregnancy fog not only makes you forget things but makes you remember things incorrectly. That's my excuse at least...

What I learned: Don't wash the shower curtain on heavy duty mode because it will tear.

Feeling Faint

This morning in church, I couldn't sing for choir because I started to feel so faint that I had to go lie down in the nursery. This happened a few times when I was pregnant with Avery and this is the second or third time this has happened with this pregnancy. It's odd that it always happens at church but I realized it's most likely because a) I'm constantly standing up and sitting down (which makes it even more difficult than it already is for my blood to circulate throughout my body) and b) I guess I'm getting out of breath when I sing because I'm not taking deep enough breaths. Luckily, I was able to make it through the late service and sing. I hope this stops happening though because Easter is just around the corner and I don't want to miss out!

What I Learned: I feel faint in church easily when I'm pregnant.

Pregnant!

Ok so this is a lame post because I can't really say much other than the fact that I found out today that one of my friends is pregnant! I can't reveal anything else at the moment but I am really excited for her. Sorry for the suspense and lack of information, but there it is.

What I Learned: My friend is pregnant :)

The Odd Pains of Pregnancy

When I was pregnant with Avery, around the third trimester, I would occasionally get these weird sensations/pains in my butt (sorry if this is tmi...). It would feel like a nerve was being pinched combined with the need to pop or crack my hip. It is more uncomfortable than painful and has sharper pains when walking or if I move a certain way. Well I just started getting this again and it just seems so odd. I have never read anything about this specific kind of sensation. Well today in my weekly email from babycenter.com, it actually talked about it! It said this was called posterior pelvic pain:

Then there's what's known as posterior pelvic pain, which you may feel deep inside your buttocks (on one side or both) or in the back of your thighs. This pain can be triggered by activities such as walking, climbing stairs, getting in or out of a low chair, twisting, and lifting. Positions in which your hips are bent — such as when you're sitting in a chair and leaning forward — may make posterior pelvic pain worse.


 It's good to know this is a real thing as it's kinda hard to describe.

What I learned: The sensation I'm feeling in my butt is called posterior pelvic pain and is normal during pregnancy.

English Hothouse Cucumber

I am currently helping Sarah out with a photo project by posing in pictures that include me holding produce that corresponds to the size of my baby in utero. Every week I get an email from babycenter.com that details the length and weight of my baby and compares it to a fruit or vegetable. Sometimes they choose a fruit or vegetable based on length and sometimes on weight. This past week, it stated that my baby was approximately the length of an English hothouse cucumber (14 inches) (see picture here). But what really is an English hothouse cucumber and how is it different than a regular cucumber? Wikipedia for one doesn't even have a page for it! But according to this website, a hothouse cucumber is longer and has less seeds. Okay, that's really not that much different.

What I learned: A hothouse cucumber, often just called an English Cucumber, is longer and has less seeds than a regular cucumber.

More babies!

This morning Avery and I went to playgroup. We haven't been in awhile because a)there hasn't been one lately and b)Avery missed the last two because he was ill. This playgroup had the biggest turn out of any playgroup we've ever had. There were 19 kids there I think! I met some new moms as well as meeting some new babies. One of my friends who was due to have her baby sometime in January showed up with her baby and I had no idea she had had him yet! I felt completely out of the loop but it's my own fault because I haven't been on facebook for weeks and that's the only way I would have found out anyway. It made me realize that as dumb as it might sound, I really need to keep up with facebook more as it's how I remain in contact with so many people and how I find out news, like people having babies!

What I learned: My friend had her baby a few weeks ago (and I completely missed it!).

Pregnancy Fog

So I have mentioned this before, but I take notes in my phone every day to keep track of the things I learn and then when I have time, I catch up on this blog, writing a few at a time. It started out that I would write on this blog every three or four days and slowly, it has turned into waiting a week or ten days between writing. This is getting very difficult for me because even though I take notes as to what I learned, I find that I'm not able to remember what my notes mean sometimes! Or I write down something simple that I learned but I don't remember where or how I learned it. I really need to get better at writing more often so that I don't have to remember things from 10 days ago. I have to remember that the memory fog of pregnancy is real and that I suffer greatly from this!

What I learned: The longer I wait to write posts, the harder it is to remember what I actually learned each day.

I Forgot

This has become a very familiar phrase for me as of late: "I forgot." I find that I have to say it more than usual and it's really starting to frustrate me. I was never one to remember everything anyway, but now that I'm pregnant, it seems that I forget A LOT.

For example, today I forgot to go to a friends' daughter's birthday party. We received the invitation for it over a month ago, I RSVPed, put it on the calendar, and then...forgot to go. And you know what we were doing all day today? Nothing. We sat around, watched some football, I cleaned/rearranged our bedroom...nothing of importance that would cause me to forget a birthday party. I just thought of things to do to occupy my time since it seemed like we had nothing to do all day. I felt so bad and stupid and annoyed.

What I learned: I am apparently even more forgetful than normal whilst pregnant, and it's even worse this time around.

Halfway There!

Today, Jared and I went to my 20-week appointment and to get the ultrasound. I will admit that I was starting to feel a little worried because I haven't really felt the baby move yet and I just felt like something was different from when I was pregnant with Avery. Then when my midwife was trying to find the heartbeat, it took her three minutes! Finally she found it. This was such a relief and she said it seemed like the placenta was in front and the baby was behind it, which made it hard to hear/find the heartbeat. The baby was also way lower than she expected, which just means that it took her longer to find it because she was looking higher.

At the ultrasound, the tech confirmed that the placenta had implanted itself in front this time (with Avery, it was posterior), which means that every time the baby moves, the placenta acts as a cushion, which is why I haven't been feeling the baby yet! I felt so relieved that I wasn't crazy and that there was a reason why I felt things were different. The baby was also sitting breech with it's head up and sitting cross legged. The baby's feet were basically just sitting on my cervix, which was another reason I haven't felt any kicks. All of these things are completely normal, it is just very different than how Avery was positioned.

I can't believe that I am 20 weeks already! They did move my due date to May 25th (from the 18th) based on the size of the baby, but I'm fine with that-it means more time for them to not intervene!

What I learned: My instincts were correct that something was different with this pregnancy. The baby is also perfectly healthy and normal!

Self-weaned

This may be more of a realization than something I learned, but realizing something means you didn't know about it before you realized it, so that's the same thing as learning something new, right?

Today I realized that Avery hasn't nursed at all for about week and a half-two weeks.

Since he still wakes up a lot at night, I thought night-weaning him might help him make the transition to sleeping better and for longer. The problem is, then he got sick, so we couldn't deny him liquids when he asked for them, so we started giving him a bottle at night. Eventually, he never asked to nurse any more during the day. Anytime we thought he was thirsty (because he hadn't had anything to drink in a few hours) we would bring him a bottle of milk and he was perfectly happy and content about this. I never once had deny him nursing because he just stopped asking for it. Next thing I know, it's been almost two weeks and he no longer nurses. I know that this is normal for a toddler to self-wean when their mother becomes pregnant. I wasn't actually intending to wean him any time soon, preferring to let him self-wean, but I had no idea it would happen so quickly and easily.

I am both happy and sad about this change. I am happy because a)it was beginning to hurt a lot due to me being pregnant and b) I was honestly getting tired of nursing him on and off all night. But I am also sad about this because he is growing up :( Obviously this was going to happen regardless of how long he nursed, but it was such a wonderful bonding experience that we've shared for the entirety of his life and it's sad that it's over.

Now, if only he would sleep through the night so easily...

What I learned: Avery self-weaned (well, during the day; we prompted night time weaning) in less than a week.

The Second Time Around

When I was pregnant with Avery, I spent a lot of time thinking about being pregnant and reading up on pregnancy, birth, parenting, babies, etc. I also had the "luxury" of having a boring and mindless job which gave me plenty time to think about things all day. For example, I would wonder if the baby was a boy or a girl, what he/she would look like, what my baby could hear, what he/she was feeling, how was my birth going to go. etc. I basically thought about nothing else for nine months and in return, I was super prepared for the pregnancy, childbirth and parenting. I was really educated on a lot of different topics I never knew much about, like unnecessary medical interventions, breastfeeding, babies' sleep cycles, co-sleeping, slings, and attachment parenting. I was ready to be an awesome mom (and would like to think I am doing a good job!).

Now that I am pregnant again, I discovered how little I think of baby #2. The obvious difference is that instead of sitting at a desk doing data entry for 40 hours a week, I am now taking care of a toddler full-time and clearly don't have as much time to daydream about whose eyes my baby will have. But is that really the only reason I don't think about it that often? I wonder if it's because it's easy for me to think, "I already read all the books and did it once before so now I'm a pro and know everything." As I was thinking about this today, I realized that it is really bugging me that I don't feel as connected to my baby yet like I did with Avery (in utero I mean) because I think that since I was reading all the books while I was pregnant I learned about things as they were happening and could relate. Now that it's been almost two years since I've read some of those books, while I've retained a lot of the knowledge, all of the little details are what I feel like I'm missing about my baby's developments and milestones.

I am suddenly worried that I am short changing my second child already and he/she hasn't even been born yet. I never want to do that (as I'm sure most parents don't want to do!) and while I'm sure I'm being overly paranoid about the effects this is having on my unborn child, I still feel like he/she deserves more attention, at least mental attention, than I am giving him/her now. I have therefore decided to go to the library (hopefully tomorrow) and get some of those books and read them again (Go Dr. Sears!). I know that it's going to be impossible to match the excitement and novelty of my first pregnancy and birth because everything is so new and you don't know what to expect. But that doesn't mean I know what to expect for my second child, or any subsequent children for that matter. While my medical knowledge and parenting style will remain the same, each child is uniquely different and I need to start remembering that now, yes, even in utero, so that my second child can feel special and unique from the get-go. I'm not giving birth to Avery #2; I am giving birth to another child. Yay!

What I learned: I have been too busy to realize and fully appreciate the presence/miracle/person-hood of my second child (coming soon!) and there is no good reason for me to not be actively thinking about this child as I did for Avery. I need to get on it!