Due Date 2014!

37 Weeks, "Early Term!" April 3-9
I had my 37-week appointment on Friday, which showed I had made no special progress in my "going into labor early" pipe dream. Then Saturday, I went on a hospital tour, even though I know the hospital pretty well at this point, the maternity wing is new and some things have changed in the last few years.

Kevin and James built the double-stroller, and Kevin cleaned and installed the baby's car seat next to James's car seat, so now we have no back seating for adults. He also wrote, Things My Wife Complains About #28: Pillows.

The weather finally got spring-like!

37 weeks +1 day, and 20 days to go!

Baby progress: Three years ago, when I reached 37 weeks with James, babies were considered "full term" at that point. But now, the science has changed a bit, and they call 37 weeks "early term" (as opposed to "early term" before 37 weeks). The baby won't be considered "full term" until 39 weeks because the baby's brain and lungs are still maturing.

The baby is supposed to be size of a Winter Melon or Swiss Chard (no idea what those are) and weigh about 6 1/3 pounds, but she's really probably over 8 pounds. She's practicing some skills: inhaling, exhaling, sucking, gripping and blinking.
 
Symptoms: Terrible acid reflux so I can only sleep with my head propped on 3 pillows and a lot of back support (like on the couch). My left knee hurts. Some contractions.
Cravings: Beef, fiber, strawberries, chocolate
Anti-cravings: 2% milk is like water, anything even a little spicy
My Weight Gain: 28 pounds, 4 pounds less than last time
Things I Miss: Walking comfortably, sitting comfortably, sleeping, clothing fitting me, alcohol, you name it
Compare to 37 weeks with James, haha, we were so clueless and wrong about everything.

38 Weeks, April 10-16

I had my 38-week appointment on Friday, but I didn't learn much other than I showed no signed of progressing. So we scheduled a sonogram for 39-weeks to see how big our baby girl has gotten.

38 weeks + 2 days

James birthday playdate. The weather over the weekend was nice, but then it got cruddy again. Ash visits.

Baby progress: Baby is the size of a pumpkin. Let's stop lying, she's probably like 8.5 pounds now. She has a firm grasp, and her organs have matured.

Symptoms: Floating spots, head aches, stuffy nose, contractions- some Braxon Hicks, some more like the real ones, random temperature changes, dramatic mood swings. I've been sleeping better because I'm exhausted all the time.

Cravings: Chocolate, water, vitamin C in any form.

Anti-cravings: Food sucks

My Weight Gain: 28-29 pounds (we had to get a new scale so my weight gain isn't very precise now- comparing it to my doctor's scale is still a little confusing), 5 pounds less than last time

Things I Miss: Not being pregnant.

Compare to 38 weeks with James

39 Weeks, "Full Term!" April 17-23

Thursday with James Finally started maternity leave. I had one blissful day before my contractions started. James's real birthday and Easter is Sunday, so I thought we'd open some presents today

Friday, April 18

This is not a normal belly shape, correct?

Baby progress: She's a watermelon, and she's still gaining weight!

Symptoms: CONTRACTIONS. OW. Headaches, dramatic mood swings, random temperature changes,

Cravings: Water, everything.

Anti-cravings: Coffee.

My Weight Gain: 28-29 pounds

Things I Miss: 

Compare to 39 weeks with James

I had my repeat c-section scheduled for the due date, April 24th. Our specific plans for baby were and remain a little hazy. We had a sonogram scheduled for Monday, April 21 that would tell us how big the baby is and give us a better sense of the likelihood of a VBAC working. But we weren't actually holding our breath for a VBAC. We figured if we got to the 24th, she was almost certainly going to be over 8.5 pounds which would make me a good c-section candidate.

I had some contractions on Thursday, April 17th as I was wrapping up my work. I thought the stress of working might be causing them, and they did suddenly stop when I wrapped things up. I had almost none on the 18th. Luckily I ran around getting stuff ready on the 18th. Also I took a whole bunch of photos.

Early in the morning on Saturday the 19th, stuff started getting kind of real. The contractions were 10 minutes apart all morning, but I didn't feel like it was a particularly big deal since they were mild and so far apart.  But by evening they were getting a little closer and a little stronger, and I told my mom she was on stand by....

TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST!

Spoiler alert: Suffice to say, today is the due date and Miranda is already here at home!

Compare to due date with James.

8 Months Pregnant 2014

29 Weeks, February 6-12
We visited Regan and Chris and James had a fun playdate with their girls Morgan and Payton.

Reading to Payton

Baby progress:  First hiccups I could feel (2/11)! Baby is about the size of a butternut squash (or acorn squash?) and maybe 2.5 pounds. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is getting bigger for her growing brain – which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton, which is now hardening. There's lots of rapid growth now!

Symptoms: Still throwing up once a week (when I overdo it with sugar), acid reflux, stuffy nose, trouble walking without pain- uh-oh. Evening grumpiness- big time!
Cravings: Burgers, bananas
Anti-cravings: none
My Weight Gain: 20 pounds, but still 1 pounds heavier than last time. Getting closer though!
Thing I Miss: Not worrying about the acid content of foods
Compare to week 29 with James

30 Weeks, February 13-19
Kevin and James enjoyed a snow day at home. We celebrated our last Valentines Day as a family of 3.5, and had our 30-week sonogram the same day. We celebrated Kevin's 34th birthday with Lukas and Sarah.

She looks like James.

Baby progress: Baby girl is supposed to be the size of a cabbage and weigh almost 3 pounds, but our sonogram revealed she's actually about 4.5 pounds. That's more the size of babies that are 33 weeks along, so she's really more like a pineapple. They didn't estimate her length, but we're not really worried about it. She'll probably be taller than me, because it would be hard not to be.

The sonogram technician said that she was already head down and was unlikely to turn around now, but I can feel her kicking and somersaulting all the time. She particularly responds to James crying or screaming.

The sono-tech also said the baby has some hair already, but given what a baldy James was, I am not holding my breath. I have a ton of hats all ready for her, and I'm probably going to get some decorative headbands soon too.

Symptoms: Absent-mindedness and clumsiness, stuffy/bloody nose, some seriously painful baby kicks, grumpiness. No throwing up this week! I think I learned to stop eating sugar when it starts disagreeing with me.
Cravings: Greek coconut yogurt, fish, LAVENDER- seriously.
Anti-cravings: Indian food. No thank you.
My Weight Gain: 21.5 pounds, just half a pound heavier than last time! (though last time I had gained 27-30 pounds already, but I started heavier this time)
Thing I Miss: breathing, going for walks out in the sun
Compare to week 30 with James

31 Weeks, February 20-26
Christina and I took the train to DC to enjoy Girls' Weekend with Laurie, Megan, Janice, and Ash.

Girls Weekend

Baby progress:  This week, baby girl is supposed to be about the size of a coconut or pineapple, about 3 1/3 pounds, but really now we know she's probably more of a cantaloupe, and about  4 3/4 pounds. She should now have toenails, fingernails, and some hair.

Symptoms: My left knee hurts (this happened last time too), stuffy nose, acid reflux at night (though mercifully not much during the day)
Cravings: Peanut butter, bananas, smoothies (mostly fruit, yogurt, bananas), chicken, lettuce (what, why?)
Anti-cravings: Beef
My Weight Gain: 21.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds less than I weighed last time!
Thing I Miss: Breathing
Compare to week 31 with James

8 Months!, February 27-March 5
Kevin and I finally decided on a baby name- it's mostly Kevin's choice of name (still a secret though). My mom came to visit and I showed her the nursery, and she helped me pick Itty Bitty's coming home outfit. Kevin and I went out for date night in Flushing, Queens.

8 months + 4 days

Baby Progress:  I had my 32-week doctor's appointment 3/3. It was pretty uneventful but at least they can see that she's still upside down. I guess that would be good if I had any faith that she was going to come on her own before passing the 8.5 lbs VBAC cut-off. They didn't try to figure out her weight.

She's supposed to be about the size of a large jicama and about 3 3/4 pounds, but since she was about 3 weeks ahead in weight last time, she's probably more of a honeydew melon right now, and certainly over 5 pounds by now. She'll probably gain about half a pound a week now. She's on track to be newborn-James-size at over 9 pounds. So she now has a deadline. If she's 9 pounds by the day before, she's coming out on her due date, April 24.

She "sleeps in" frequently, and stays up late dancing. She hiccups frequently. I am SO! excited!. to meet her!

Symptoms: Headaches, bloody nose, threw up again (after date night-yay), I am SUCH A GRUMP anytime I'm thirsty or tired, acid reflux but only at night, absent-minded, clumsy, cried one day because I was so tired.

Generally, this pregnancy has been much harder on both me and Kevin. The third trimester has been especially hard for me, I think because this time I'm older plus I have to take care of  James while I work from home. It's harder for Kevin because he's been getting up with James for 6-7 days a week, and generally picking up a lot of slack while grow a person.

Cravings: CHOCOLATE!!, grape juice, salt, one day I craved lettuce, vanilla a little, yogurt.
Anti-cravings: 
My Weight Gain: 23.5, still half a pound less than last time, but I'm starting to lose ground here. Possibly I haven't been drinking enough water?
Thing I Miss: Having physical and mental energy. I have none.
Compare to week 32 with James

Bonus belly shots:

Kevin calls this pose "Fashion preggo!"

James tickling my belly post bath (anything to avoid bedtime)

Carrying both my babies

And as of yesterday, I have exactly 7 weeks to go! Baby has a weight-deadline on April 24, 2014 at 9:30 a.m.!

7 Months Pregnant 2014

25 Weeks, January 9-15
I was supposed to have a doctor's appointment at the beginning of 24 weeks, but because of Snow Storm Hercules, we had to reschedule for this week. I met a new doctor in the practice and he surprised me with an unscheduled sonogram. I think I scared Kevin that something might be wrong when I called him into see her. She was hiding her face under her little fists, but the sonogram could focus past her arms so we could see her face anyway.  As the doctor pointed out, being able to see the entirety of her big eyeballs makes her sort of look like the Terminator right now. Kevin called her "cute." It must be love! She looked leggy to me, but all signs still say she is currently normal size, and the official file in my doctor's office still says my due date is April 24! So that's good.

25 Weeks on Thursday- I'm huge already!

Baby progress:  
Baby's now the size of an cauliflower or rutabaga. Head to heel, she now measures about 13 1/2 inches., and she's about a pound and a half. She's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair. Her sense of equilibrium is also kicking in, and baby's learning to distinguish right side up from upside down.

Symptoms: Stuffy and runny nose, everything smells bad, trouble breathing, bad acid reflux. Also, I threw up (the nefarious cupcake) and I thought it was random, but since then I've been throwing up about once a week
Cravings: Chocolate, sugar, fish, beef, cupcakes
Anti-cravings: Cupcakes
My Weight Gain: 17 pounds, but still 3 pounds heavier than last time
Thing I Miss: Not worrying about the acid content of foods
Compare to week 25 with James

26 Weeks, January 16-22
Baby progress:  Itty Bitty is still size of a cauliflower or a head of lettuce.She now weighs about 1 2/3 pounds and measures 14 inches from head to heel.

She is soaking up antibodies, getting her immune system ready for life outside the womb. Her eyes are forming. The network of nerves in her ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. And she's continuing to put on baby fat.

Symptoms: Lots of trouble breathing, bad acid reflux, everything smells bad, stuffy and runny nose. Threw up again. This time I was eating a frozen fruit bar.
Cravings: Oatmeal, raisins, grapes, granola in various forms
Anti-cravings: Anything that looks even a tiny bit old totally grosses me out. Super sweet things (even though I want them) make me feel a bit sick
My Weight Gain: 19 pounds, 4 pounds heavier than last time
Thing I Miss: Sleeping!, breathing
Compare to week 26 with James


27 Weeks, January 23-29
Neutral Milk Hotel was baby's first concert this week, and she kicked through all the music- to the beat! Kevin and I signed our wills on Monday, so now we can rest easy that our kids will be taken care of even if something happens to us. I also finally told my boss I'm pregnant at the end of the week. I work remotely so it's easier to hide the belly than if I had an office job.

 

A bit over 27 weeks, rocking my swing coat (thanks, Ash's mom)

Baby progress:  Itty Bitty is the still size of a cauliflower or rutabaga. She weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended.

Her lungs are developing, which combined with the opening of previously plugged nostrils means she's now able to practice inhaling and exhaling. Every "breath" is filled with amniotic fluid. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, her brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were born now.

Symptoms: Lots of trouble breathing, bad acid reflux, stuffy nose. I threw up after eating just a small amount of canned peaches after lunch. The I had to get up at night to throw up the ice cream I had after dinner. I see a pattern developing. I worry that this does not bode well for my glucose test at the end of the week.
Cravings: Protein: Hamburgers, BEEF, peanut butter, beans, seafood, fruit, peaches
Anti-cravings: peaches, veggies with a bitter taste
My Weight Gain: 19 pounds, 3 pounds heavier than last time.
Thing I Miss: Living Tums-free, eating sweets without puking, warm weather walks, hugging normally, jumping up from a sitting position without sucking wind
Compare to week 27 with James


7 Months!, 28 Weeks, January 30-February 5
Third Trimester! Final stretch!  I did my lucose test on Friday and it came back normal. But then I got a call a few days later that my iron was low so I was a little anemic and my vitamin D was low again. That explains my beef and hamburger cravings the last few weeks! So I'm tired from low iron, but I've also been working a lot this week- so I'm really really tired. And since James gave up naps in January, that means I had to give up naps in Jauary. Well, with another baby on the way, my napping days were numbered anyway.

 

28 Weeks

 
Baby progress:  Itty Bitty is now the size of an eggplant! She weighs 2 1/4 pounds and measures almost 15 inches from the top of her head to her heels.

Her lungs are mature enough that, if she were born right now, she has a great chance of being okay. Her skin is still pretty wrinkly (one byproduct of living in amniotic fluid) but will smooth as fat continues to deposit. She can open and close her eyes, which now has lashes.

Symptoms: Throwing up after eating sweet things, acid reflux, trouble breathing, trouble sleeping
Cravings: COCONUT, chocolate, Fruit loops?, Coca-Cola but I haven't indulged the last two.
Anti-cravings: Tatsoi is the grossest vegetable ever. I also don't like fennel.
My Weight Gain: 19.5, only 1.5 pounds heavier than last time- the closest I've been yet to my weight during James's pregnancy!
Thing I Miss: Being able to roll over. Not being constantly tired.
Compare to week 28 with James

Is it just me or does this snowman look a little pregnant?

I'm 29 weeks now. I'm looking forward to seeing Itty Bitty in a full sonogram next Friday!

6 Months Pregnant 2014

21 Weeks, December 12-18
Kevin wrapped up the fall semester this week and we started on a long break together. Nana visited and babysat for us when we went out to celebrate Sarah and Lukas's joint birthday, and James W visited us for a week. Poor James had to go back to the dentist.

We had a lot of fun celebrating Christmastime at home with James.  I had many cravings.

Baby progress: Baby is the size of a banana or carrot. Baby's digestive system is starting to work.
She kicks when James cries or when I sing lullabies to him.
Symptoms: Acid reflux!!! Baby kicks feel like ELECTROCUTION.
Cravings: Apple cinnamon cheerios, milk, rice pudding, mint, cinnamon, (ice cream, cookies). Apples, mango juice, strawberry everything. At one point, almost all I ate for 24-hours was apple cinnamon cheerios.
Anti-cravings: Coffee (I want it but it burns me with evil acid reflux)
My Weight Gain: 11 (last time 13-16?)
Compare to week 21 with James or maybe with week 22?

22 Weeks, December 19-25
Andrew came here for a brief visit before we all drove to the Cape together. We celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Kevin's family.

Baby progress: The baby is the size of a papaya. (Yum.) She's supposed to be settling into sleep cycles, and I can kind of tell. She usually kicks around at night when I'm sitting on the couch with Kevin, and when I go to sleep. In the morning she doesn't "wake up" until 8:30 am, usually after I've been up for a while.
Symptoms: ACID REFLUX. Made it tough to sleep some nights.
Cravings: Christmas goodies, chocolate, chai tea, everything.
Anti-cravings: Not really.
My Weight Gain: 13 (last time up 16-18, but don't forget I started heavier this time)
Compare to week 22 with James

The 3.5 Clous at the Cape on Christmas.

23 Weeks, December 26- January 1
We were still on the Cape at the beginning of this week relaxing with family. Casey and Jaime came up to visit and have drinks with us. We had a good drive back home, and we celebrated New Years Day with Lukas and Sarah.

Baby progress: The baby is the size of a mango or papaya. Her face is fully formed. She's getting used to a lot of the sounds she hears coming from outside the womb.
Symptoms: ACID REFLUX
Cravings: Nuts
Anti-cravings: None.
My Weight Gain: 15 pounds, but still 3 pounds heavier than last time
Compare to week 23 with James-- Holy cow, I looked much smaller last time. Uh-oh.

 

Jaime visiting- I'm 23 weeks pregnant

Six Months!, 24 Weeks, January 2-8
Nana came over to exchange presents for  "Little Christmas" before we took the tree down. Kevin started the winter semester on the coldest day of our lives.

Lots of cute presents!

Baby progress:  Baby is the size of an ear of corn. She's gaining weight, and her lungs are developing. Her brain is growing quickly now. She kicks when James, Kevin, or I sing, and sometimes when we listen to music.
Symptoms: Acid reflux but it's not as bad. I'm starting to have trouble sleeping already. I was hoping that would wait for the third trimester.
Cravings: Fruits of all kinds, Mango juice, pineapples, mandarins and other citrus fruits that give me acid reflux and BURN. Chocolate and chocolate ice cream which do not give acid reflux and seem to dampen it.
Anti-cravings: None? Everything sounds pretty delicious.
My Weight Gain: 16 pounds, but still 3 pounds heavier than last time
Compare to week 24 with James

Thing I Miss: This is the first week I miss anything which is lucky. To this point I haven't really missed alcohol. This week I thought several glasses of red wine would be sublime. I miss lying on my belly-- particularly while working at home-- to give my back a break. I miss not having to suspiciously weigh the likelihood that otherwise benevolent foods will burn like tequila shots. That's how I ate pieces of pineapple this week, like one evil tequila shot after another. But these are small sacrifices.

Today, I'm 25 weeks, and I'm just 15 weeks (or less) from meeting my daughter!

5 Months Pregnant 2013

17 Weeks, November 14-20
We went to Queens on Saturday but otherwise took it easy this week.

Baby progress: Baby is the size of an onion. She has been kicking a lot! I even felt her from the outside once, so I think Kevin should be able to feel her soon.
Symptoms: Acid reflux, tired (still- although not as much), stuffy and runny nose.
Cravings: Fish! Juice.
Anti-cravings: Anything spicy
My Weight Gain: 7 pounds (Last time 9 pounds)
Compare to week 17 with James

leaves

18 Weeks, November 21-27
This week we flew to Florida to celebrate Andrew's 30th birthday in Key West! Unfortunately, Kevin had so much fun that he brought a hardcore cold home with him.

At the end of the week, Kevin felt the baby kick for the first time!

Baby progress: Baby is the size of sweet potato or bell pepper.
Symptoms: Headaches. Stuffy and runny nose. I have lots of tissues with me. Luckily James loves running them to the trash for me. (Hey, I'm not sick! Just pregnant.) Some early nesting. And when I go back from Key West- oh boy, I felt AWFUL. Such painful acid reflux, and so early still!
Cravings: Fruit juice
Anti-cravings: None

My Weight Gain: 9 pounds, Oh no. I'm almost on the same schedule as last time! I even started getting more exercise again lately. Sigh. (Last time 10 pounds)
Compare to week 18 with James

 

Key West, Nov. 23, 18 weeks

 

19 Weeks, November 28- December 4 
Thanksgiving! We got a tree this week and started decorating! James and I caught Kevin's cold. Boo. Like pregnancy symptoms weren't bad enough without a cold on top.

Baby progress: Baby is the size of mango! She has a vernix caseosa on her skin to protect it. She kicks a lot. Every morning she's kicking by 8:30 a.m. and seems to move around in response to James screaming or to me singing to James.
Symptoms: The acid reflux feels like knives in my throat. Sometimes I wake up choking from it. Bad headaches. Hip pain, and trouble standing up sometimes because of it. Super stuffy nose. I feel awful this week.

Cravings: Lime juice

Anti-cravings: Wheat bread- GROSS

My Weight Gain: 10 pounds (Last time 12.5 pounds)
Compare to week 19 with James

Thanksgiving

Five Months!, 20 Weeks, December 5-11

Baby progress: We had our 20-week hospital sonogram where they check everything about the baby in detail, and the technician and the doctor said everything looked great. She was 14 ounces which is normal size for 20-weeks, but they said that my file said that at my 12-week sonogram appointment at my doctors office they had moved my due date up a week (to 4/17), so really I was 21 weeks already. I protested this because I don't want my baby to come out early if I have to get a c-section again, but so far, I've been ignored.

This is usually the appointment where you can see if the baby is a boy or a girl but I already knew this time from genetic testing. Nonetheless we confirmed visually: the baby is still a girl.

Also, the sonogram technician said that my placenta is in the back this time which means there is less padding between me and the baby. She has direct access to kick my internal organs. She said that this likely explains why I could feel the baby before 12 weeks, and why her kicks and movements feel so much more intense than they did with James. So maybe she's not fated to be a professional soccer player like I thought. Or maybe she is.

Otherwise, the baby is about the size of a banana. She has working taste buds now, so hopefully she enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner, and isn't suffering too much from my new experimentation in the kitchen.

We also went to Ben's 1st birthday party this week, and had a fun visit from Casey.

Symptoms: Painful hips, trouble sleeping already-- I took out the "Things I miss" category for this pregnancy because it seemed a bit negative, and I really haven't missed anything so far (not even alcohol!) but this week I started to miss being able to lie on my stomach. It's okay not being able to do it for a few weeks, but not being able to do it for so long makes me want to.
Cravings: Rice pudding, strawberry ice cream, cinnamon, saffron, soy milk, cranberry juice, citrus fruits.... poor Kevin.
Anti-cravings: Spicy food. A lot of packaged foods gross me out too.

My Weight Gain: 9.5-10.5 pounds (Last time 12 pounds)
Compare to week 20 with James

 

Belly at 20 weeks (or maybe 21 weeks)

Today I'm 21 weeks! Or possibly 22 weeks, depending on whom you ask. Due date?: April 17-24.

4 Months Pregnant 2013

13 Weeks, October 17-23
We went public with the baby news this week! A wee tiny bit early but after all the tests the baby has already had, and some light kicks I've been feeling, I just couldn't wait to reveal! Kevin and I are so excited about the baby, it was really hard to keep the baby a secret at all. This weekend we went to the farm with Rachel and Christina's families. We also told our immediate family the baby's gender. James turned 2 and a half, and we took him to the dentist to get his baby teeth cavities drilled.

 

The farm with friends

Baby progress: Baby is the size of a peach. She has vocal cords and fingerprints. Her body is starting to catch up with her head,which makes up just a third of her body size now. She has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries! Future grandbabies?
Symptoms: Sleepiness, acid reflux, mild nausea, sore boobs, bad skin
Cravings: Orange juice, Skittles, vitamin C generally, fish, cereal especially Wheaties
Anti-cravings: None really, but I still get really full really fast
My Weight Gain: 1.5 pound (Last time 5 pounds)
Compare to week 13 with James

14 Weeks, October 24-30
Second trimester! I finally started wearing maternity clothing part-time. I was already wearing the shirts a little, and I busted out the pants this week.

We visited with Jaime, Janice, and Darren in Arlington, Virginia, and we all took James out in his Halloween costume. We also celebrated Brian's 30th birthday!

The Red Sox won the World Series for the second time since Kevin and I have been together! Kevin drove up to Boston to watch the final game in the bar that lets you look right down to the field at Fenway. To paraphrase Kevin with a lot of license, "Someday my unborn second child will ask what I remember about her pregnancy and I will say, 'The Red Sox won the World Series!'"

Baby progress: Baby is the size of a lemon. She can now squint, frown, grimace, and possibly suck her thumb! Her kidneys are producing urine, which she releases into the amniotic fluid around her Her body's growing faster than her head. My baby's liver starts making bile this week and her spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells.
Symptoms: Faintness, dizziness, sleepiness, acid reflux, mild nausea, sore boobs
Cravings: FIBER (Mini-wheats cereal, veggie burgers, veggies, fruit, cardboard boxes look alluring), ketchup, soy products, sugar candy (not chocolate so much as Skittles)
Anti-cravings: None really
My Weight Gain: 3 pounds (Last time 6 pounds)
Compare to week 14 with James

Celebrating Halloween early with Fudgie, Darren, Janice, and Jaime

15 Weeks, October 31-November 6
Halloween! James went trick or treating for the first time! Next year he'll be going with his little sister (in the stroller). We announced to everyone that we were having a girl!

Baby progress: Baby is the size of an apple or navel orange. She's moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, so her lungs can begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms. Her eyelids are still fused shut, but she can sense light.
Symptoms: Sleepiness, acid reflux, sore belly, stuffy nose at bed time
Cravings: Fish, fruit, sugar candy (not chocolate so much as Skittles), Grapefruit juice
Anti-cravings: None really
My Weight Gain: 4.5 pounds (Last time 7 pounds)
Compare to week 15 with James

16 Weeks!

James is starting to figure out what's up.

FOUR MONTHS!, 16 Weeks, November 7-13
I had my 16-week check up at the beginning of this week. I really look forward to my appointments so that I can have reassurance that Itty Bitty is doing well. The doctor spent a little while search my belly for the baby's heartbeat because she was on the move, and I might have started freaking out except that I was pretty sure I'd just felt her kick while I was sitting in the waiting room. It's like she wanted to give me a heads up that she'd be running from the doctor.

Ash visited for the weekend, and Christina and Sarah came over Saturday night for some girl time.

I finally started getting my energy back! I had been expecting the exhaustion would life like a curtain exactly at 14 weeks like it did with James, so it was a bit of a surprise to have it linger and extra week an half. But then suddenly one morning- gone!

Baby progress: Baby is the size of an avocado. She's starting to be able to hear so maybe she heard James say, "Hi baby!" to her the other day. She's also growing taste buds, so pretty soon she'll be tasting my food.

Baby Girl kicked me really hard on Tuesday. I don't remember James kicks biting quite like that! Even later in his pregnancy! Maybe she found a sensitive spot.

Symptoms: Light-headed!, exhaustion lifted magically, carpal tunnel hand- OW!, acid reflux, sore belly, stuffy nose at bed time
Cravings: Grapefruit juice, mandarins, cream cheese, strawberry jam, fish, seltzer water (but I haven't been drinking the latter because it gives me too much acid reflux)
Anti-cravings: Wheat bread that I have eaten for years is suddenly gross cardboard.
My Weight Gain: 5-6 pounds (Last time 8 pounds)
Compare to week 16 with James

I'm 17 weeks today! April is getting closer!

It's a girl!

Since I will be 35 when the baby is born, we had some early genetic testing at 11 weeks. Actually, I might have been inspired to get the testing when the doctor told me I could find out the baby's gender early. A week later, on Monday, October 14th, the genetic counselor called and told me the baby was healthy and that she was a girl!

Welcome to this crazy family, little girl!

I had a feeling the baby was a girl, but it was a less definite feeling than I had with James when I was pregnant with him and thought he was a boy. Although, my strong feeling with James didn't come until later, and then he was confirmed a boy at 20 weeks. We got to find out much earlier this time! Of course we are thrilled! James even asked for a "seester" over a "broder."

This is how we told my mom over Google video chat:

Video chatting with Nana

And then I whipped out one of my dresses from when I was a baby.

3 Months Pregnant 2013

9 Weeks, September 19-25
The doctor called to tell me my Vitamin D is low which is strange considering I go outside most days for a walk. So now I'm taking a supplement for that. At least they're little and not huge like the prenatal vitamin horse pills I take.

We told our moms this week! Yes, it's early but after our first sonogram we were feeling pretty good and thought we could share the news with just our moms since we didn't want them to guess before we told them. We told them it wasn't public yet. Well, they both immediately got on the phone and told basically everyone they've ever met. I seriously got emails from Kevin's 3rd cousins congratulating me.

Our moms are happy because they're getting another grandbaby!

Baby progress: Baby is the size of a grape/olive! Baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form -- as do tiny teeth. The embryonic tail is completely gone.
Symptoms: mild nausea, cramping, sore boobs, hair loss, sleepiness, bad skin
Cravings: SALAD (had it at 9:30 AM one morning), FISH, nuts, American cheese
Anti-cravings: None really
My Weight Gain: 1 pound (Last time 2 pounds)
Compare to week 9 with James

9-week belly picture

James and Grandma reading "I'm a Big Brother"

10 Weeks, September 26- October 2
Cathy visited on Saturday, and on Sunday people came over for football and food. We took James's to his first dentist appointment. Sarah and I went to Fall for Dance. My nausea got much worse, then it lifted at the end of the week.

Baby progress: Size of a kumquat/prune, vital organs are in place and starting to work, nails and peach fuzz hair are starting to grow. Baby's head is bulging from his or her developing brain.
Symptoms: Intense awful nausea, vomiting, sore boobs, hair loss, sleepiness, bad skin, acid reflux already
Cravings: Cheeseburger even though it makes me ill
Anti-cravings: coffee, and pasta is kind of gross
My Weight Gain: 1.5 (last time 3 pounds)
Compare to week 10 with James

11 Weeks, October 3-9
My nausea came back. I learned the hard way that I should not eat Indian food while pregnant, even if it's only the first trimester- I felt ill for hours afterwards. Mom had her surgery and it went well! We had some extra genetic testing this week since I'll be 35 when the baby is born, but it's fancy new testing that's non-invasive... and tells you the baby's gender early!

Baby progress: Baby is the size of a fig/lime
Symptoms: SO SLEEPY, sore boobs, hungry but also full after a few bites, hair loss, bad skin, acid reflux
Cravings: Very cold milk, vanilla, dark chocolate
Anti-cravings: Greasy things, spicy things.
My Weight Gain: 1.5 (last time 3-4 pounds)
Compare to week 11 with James

THREE MONTHS!, 12 Weeks, October 10-16
I was looking forward to my sonogram on Friday- it's always a thrill to see the baby moving around. I think I've been feeling movement and maybe some kicks already, and I asked the sonogram technician if that was actually possible. She said that it might be because it's my second pregnancy and I know exactly what it feels like.

Then we found out the baby's gender on Monday from our genetic testing last week!! (We didn't find out with James until 20 weeks!) Stay tuned for an announcement on that!

Baby progress: Baby is the size of a lime/prune but really we're a week ahead size-wise, so the baby is bigger. Baby is developing reflexes, and baby's nerve cells are also developing.
Symptoms: Hungry, sleepy
Cravings: Cereal, Swedish fish
Anti-cravings: I think I want coffee and then I don't finish it...
My Weight Gain:  1.5 (last time 4 pounds)
Compare to week 12 with James

12-weeks and showing already, 10/11/13

2 Months Pregnant 2013

5 Weeks, August 22-28
This week began badly. My mother called to tell me that scans had revealed she had a growth on her kidney. We didn't know yet if it was cancer or not, but it was obviously a big concern for all of us, and we had to wait  two weeks for an appointment with a urologist to find out more. The connection to my last pregnancy is hard to ignore, since my dad had been diagnosed with kidney cancer around the time I got pregnant with James. I saw my mom over the weekend, and we all went to Ash's barn party.

With James and mom at Ash's barn party

I was so impatient for the sonogram this week. I really wanted to know everything was going well.

Baby progress: Size of a sesame seed, looks like a tadpole, neural tube and circulatory system are just beginning to form
Symptoms: SLEEPINESS, HOT FLASHES, headaches, nausea, bad skin, sore boobs, hair loss, getting hungry...
Cravings: Water, watery fruit, oranges, tuna, salad, lentils.
Anti-cravings: Kevin: "I was going to make tacos tonight." Me: Clutching stomach, "Noooooooooooo."
My Weight Gain: 0
Compare to week 5 with James

6 Weeks, August 29- September 4
Brady was here for the weekend, but luckily I wasn't feeling too sick when he was here.

Baby progress: Size of a lentil, the baby's kidneys, liver, lungs, eyes, and ear canals are forming
Symptoms: SLEEPY, NAUSEATED, HOT, mild anxiety attacks (not fun!), hungry, sad, hair loss
Cravings: Chocolate, salad, lots of water
Anti-cravings: Coffee and tea kind of gross me out
My Weight Gain: 1, oh dear, already? Disaster.
Compare to week 6 with James

7 Weeks, September 5-11
The doctors confirmed my mom has renal cell carcinoma, and scheduled surgery to remove her kidney for October 9.

Jaime visited and we went out for dinner and karaoke to celebrate Rachel and Christina's birthdays, and they figured out I was pregnant when I refused sake bombs.

Baby progress: Size of a blueberry, baby is growing brain cells, a mouth, tongue, arm and leg buds. It's doubled in size since last week.
Symptoms: mild nausea, back pain, sore boobs, hair loss, sleepiness, bad skin, cramping
Cravings: Strawberries!, corn, sushi, Thai food, soup
Anti-cravings: Coffee, hot dogs (I can't eat them anyway but they sound SO GROSS)
My Weight Gain: .5
Compare to week 7 with James

James discovers the wonders of the pregnancy pillow

TWO MONTHS!, 8 Weeks, September 12-18
I was SO EXCITED to finally have a sonogram on Monday to confirm that the baby was doing well and the heart was beating. The doctor told me the baby was already trending big! This is a familiar story for me. The baby also had his or her back to us. Mooning us!

Baby progress: Size of a raspberry, webbed fingers and toes, eyelids, and starting to lose the tail
Symptoms: mild nausea, mild panic attacks, cramping, sore boobs, hair loss, sleepiness, bad skin
Cravings: French toast, chocolate, fruit, salad, chicken, fish, nuts, American cheese- so yeah, everything
Anti-cravings: chicken
My Weight Gain: 0.5
Compare to week 8 with James

Baby's 1st sonogram! Mooning us.

Oh Baby! 2013

When I had James, I documented everything and took a lot of pictures. I was cognizant of the fact that I should try to do the same things for baby #2. Obviously, things will be busier this time with a toddler and a baby, but I really enjoy blogging and looking back at old posts, so I'm hoping I can keep up with it. That said, I think I might have been excessive to the point of being dull last time, so I'm going to try to keep it a little more condensed this time.

0-2 Weeks, Mid-to-Late July 2013
It's difficult to pinpoint when the magic happens, and most women are typically not pregnant in the first two weeks counted towards your due date. Just out of curiosity I took my temperature this month- and it peeked on Tuesday, July 30th, coincidentally also the 6-year anniversary of our first date.

We had great news when Kevin signed a contract for his short story collection, We Were Flying to Chicago, due out in May!

Kevin and me in Baltimore visiting his cousin Katie

2 Weeks, August 1-7
By now I started to suspect we were successful this month. I was hot all the time, I was moody, I was craving a burger I never got. I was drinking milk with ice cubes. But I didn't notice any change in appetite, so I thought it was possibly wishful thinking. (With James I wasn't hot, and wanted to eat ALL THE TIME). We had more good luck this week: I got a job!

Symptoms: So hot all the time! Very moody.
Cravings: hamburger, milk with ice
Compare to weeks 0-2 with James.

3 Weeks, August 8-14 
Then on 8/10/13, I had a very specific symptom I had with James on 8/1/10. By then I was also feeling some abdominal tightness or bloating. I got dizzy for the first time (like I had with James on 7/19/10 and a few times after). I felt nauseated. I drank a lot of water and made a lot of trips to the bathroom. Kevin's mom was here visiting and she asked me no less than 3 times if I was pregnant, but she knew we were trying so she was kind of playing dirty. Nonetheless, kind of funny that she was here the day I had my first avalanche of definitive symptoms.

Kevin and me on the LIRR after a night out in Manhattan

Then finally on 8/14, I took a pregnancy test. Kevin knew I was going to, so I got up early and then went back to bed. Kevin thought it was bad news because I didn't say anything so he snuggled me while I soaked in the good news. Kevin was really happy and cute about it when I finally told him that morning.

We asked James if he wanted a brother or a sister, and he said, "A seester!" Then we asked him if he wanted a sister or a brother, and he said, "broder/seester!" Just to double-check we asked him if he wanted a baby or no baby, and he looked like he was thinking about it and then said, "A baby! Yes!"

Baby progress: Tiny ball of cells, implantation!
Symptoms: TMI, abdominal tightness/bloating, dizziness, nausea, moodiness
Cravings: WATER!, Salad (Thai food- but I didn't get it)
Anti-cravings: Second cup of coffee: I went from drinking 3 cups a day to just one basically overnight.
My Weight Gain: 0
Compare to week 3 with James.

4 Weeks, August 15-21
Baby progress:  Size of a poppy seed, official embryo with amniotic sac and yolk sac (like a chicken) inside a primitive placenta
Symptoms: Sleepiness, sore boobs, bloaty, hair loss
Cravings: Water, water, water, water (also I ate cold tomato sauce one afternoon)
Anti-cravings: I ate ice cream 3 times this week, but each time it failed to hit the spot, so I gave up.
My Weight Gain: 0
Compare to week 4 with James

Kevin, James, and me in Vermont visiting Aubree, Patrick, and Avery

A little note on pregnancy weight: Before getting pregnant this time, I lost all but 5-6 pounds of the weight I gained with James. My plan is to "lose" that weight through this second pregnancy by: 1) gaining less weight this time (not having as much juice and ice cream as I did last time), 2) not randomly gaining weight after I have the baby like i did with James, 3) breastfeeding without supplementation this time. 

Things My Wife Complains About #26: Second Pregnancy

If you thought being pregnant the first time was hard, you should try being pregnant again. My wife is finding the whole second pregnancy thing pretty exhausting. As in, she's tired all of the time. As in, she fell asleep while I was writing this. She woke up to fall back asleep.

There are a few things that make the second pregnancy harder, such as James, James, James, and James. Last time my wife was pregnant, nobody in the house woke up at five o'clock every morning. Nobody screamed "I NEED THIS" for everything from a Curious George book to an abandoned pretzel. Nobody dropped a fork four to seven hundred times each dinner, and nobody insisted she admire lego constructions that are supposed to be "planes" or "bats" but actually look like wheelchair ramps designed by someone coming down from a bad trip.

Beyond fatigue that borders on hibernation, her symptoms include cravings so exotic I suspect she's participating in a reality show, and I'm being clandestinely filmed. After expressing deep concern at the absence of Panda Puffs this morning and simply writing "Graham Crackers" in an email, she appeared legitimately heartbroken that I failed to bring home a pumpkin pie donut, not to be confused with the pumpkin donut or pumpkin munchkin I fetched earlier (she didn't like either). A recent trip to Trader Joe's yielded no fewer than a half-dozen pumpkin items, despite my wife's claiming that pumpkin isn't a pregnancy craving.

As noted last pregnancy, there are no possible solutions. I can now say from experience that pregnant women become increasingly rational, fair, and kind throughout their pregnancy. So I have that going for me, which is nice.

12-weeks, 10/11/13

Due Date 2011!

I have heard "Happy Due Date!" a few times today. Indeed. Let me explain something, my circumference is 49 inches, and my height is only 60 inches. Weebles wobble and they might fall down.

40 Weeks, holy cow!

In lieu of a baby, I have received another nefarious pregnancy symptom today, some sort of pregnancy rash. It looks and feels like it I was attacked by a swarm of angry mosquitoes last night. I counted 18 bug-bite-like-bumps. I can't be sure which one of three different pregnancy rashes I have, but I'm fairly sure it's harmless. I called the doctor two weeks ago with a more minor case, and I got one of the doctors I don't regularly see. She was fairly dismissive of the whole thing, which I hope is a good thing. Then I showed my regular doctor at the 38-week appointment, but by that time the "bites" had mainly healed and she wasn't concerned.   I'm going to call again tomorrow, but my educated guess is that she's going to tell me to slap some calamine or Benedryl on it and deal with it until Wednesday. And then of course, I won't use Benedryl because it's a class B drug and I'm the world's most paranoid mother-to-be. I have some calamine in front of me, which I'm using very sparingly.

The baby has been very active today despite how incredibly full-of-baby I am. How does he find any room? I would say that maybe he's getting ready for his debut, but I'm tired of predicting his arrival only to be shot down by the baby. I'm just focused on Wednesday now.  In the meanwhile, I constantly feel little poking hands and feet. It's weird that I can distinctly make out most of the body parts now.

All day long he's been doing this.

9 Months Pregnant 2011!

36 Weeks, March 20-26, 2011

9 Months + 3 Days Belly Shot!

Milestones: This was a very exciting week! Kevin finished building the nursery furniture including the crib so I've been putting away the washed baby clothing and trying to set up the nursery to look how I would like it to look. Getting the nursery ready reminds me again how lucky I am to have the people in my life that I do. Almost every single item we needed was provided at the baby shower. I'm lucky to have so many kind and generous people in my life. Kevin and I just bought a few odds and ends that weren't on our registry. After a week, I'm still not done, but I promise at least a progress photo next week.

Kevin building the baby's crib on Sunday

We had possibly our last sonogram on Wednesday, and though the baby was covering his face again, we learned that he has A LOT of hair, and is weighing in at about 7 pounds and 13 ounces! "You're basically carrying around a full-term baby and you can never put him down." - Sonogram Technician. He's putting on more than an ounce a day, and still working on lung development, which seems to involve a lot of hiccuping.

From now on, we go to the doctor every week so they can check to see if labor is imminent. In that spirit, I'm going to try to post promptly and frequently so that if I suddenly have to go to the hospital there won't be anything left unblogged.

The baby's weight estimate made me think of the Baby Bets we placed in October. The program relies on some tricky formulas where you get or lose points for every ounce away from the baby's weight you are and every HOUR away from the baby's arrival. So you don't have to have the right gender or weight to win necessarily. But if it were more like college basketball, there would be 11 of you who would have busted your brackets already with a girl under 8 pounds. I think at this point, Jon is the front-runner, but it really depends on when the baby decides to show up.

Weekly Wisdom: I have been skipping this category until now, but I finally had a little piece of insight. Baby socks are the cutest thing ever. Unbearably cute. They are also some kind of matching game torture device, especially the completely white ones which still manage to be subtly different from each other. And because they are so small they have the ability to simply disappear into the time-space continuum. My evidence is that we threw 13 pairs in the laundry and got out 10 pairs and 3 socks without a match.

What I miss the most: Sleeping even somewhat normally or comfortably. HOT DOGS, and I don't even want to talk about how sad that is.
Craving: Strawberry juice, strawberry sorbet, cherry and strawberry yogurt, burgers, (hotdogs), peanut butter and strawberry jam
Anti-craving: None.
Symptoms: Most days I wake up at 5 or 6 am and can't go back to sleep for 2 or 3 hours, and then it's back to bed time. I'm sleepy all the time but sleep is the enemy. Also swelled hands and knuckles and back pain.

Oh and here's a fun demonstration of what a total joke pregnancy is. This is me reaching as far over the kitchen sink as I can. Granted if I were taller, or stood on a stepping stool I might be able to reach by getting my belly over the sink, but still, this is absurd.

And here's a fun baby trick. He likes to sit in the middle or on the left side of my body exclusively. And since he's so big, I can watch him do it.

This is so. Alien.

Baby-size: A crenshaw melon.Whatever, he's newborn size now, okay?
Weight gain: I haven't gained weight in 3 weeks so I will now admit to being at 38 pounds, but I am really not talking about it anymore.

As far as New York, generally, the weather still hasn't settled down here. Last week it warmed up, but this week was cold again. Not only did it snow and hail on Wednesday, but it actually thunder-hailed on Wednesday night!

All right, we're off to our hospital tour now. How exciting is that!

8 Months Pregnant 2011!

32 Weeks, February 20-26, 2011

Milestone: Hiccups! Well at least I can tell they're hiccups now. Also, we went to the doctor this week and contrary to the sonogram technician's experience and expertise our special gymnast did change position from having his head down to having his back up. In fact, I would describe his position as perfectly horizontal for maximum discomfort.  Of course, my doctor took the opportunity to tell me this might result in a c-section. I get it, okay, you're itching to cut the huge horizontal baby out.

What I miss the most: HAAAAAAAAAAA. I will say that I have significantly lowered my standards for what qualifies as a good night's sleep. As long as I don't have to go to the living room for a few hours, I consider it "good." As such, I have had all good nights this week.  I also discovered that with enough Tums I can now sleep on my right side and not just my left side all the time. It's a huge victory.
Craving: Vanilla. Kevin discovered the most delicious Trader Joe's vanilla creme yogurt. So amazing.
Anti-craving: Water is both my craving and my anti-craving.
Symptoms: Hugeness.
Baby-size: A large jicama, but um, wth is that?
Weight gain: This game is embarrassing but 32.5 pounds.

Grandma Clou turned 57 on Sunday.  Tuesday, Wendy and Clark came out to visit us and we went for some local Thai food. It was nice to have them finally see our place and we had some good though sometimes sad conversation. On Thursday we saw our doctor for a checkup again since now we're on an every-two-weeks schedule. The next appointment will include another sonogram (my favorite photo op). We also met with a third pediatrician and we agree we liked the second one we saw the best. So now we have a baby doctor!

Flowers from Wendy and Clark

Not pictured: the flan they also brought that I scarfed up too fast to photograph.

Third Trimester 2011!

28 Weeks, January 23-29, 2011

Kevin had off this week and offered me more babymoon and stabymoon opportunities but I was pretty depressed. It felt like the loss of my grandmother made the loss of my father more difficult. I spent as much time or more crying over him. And the end of the week was dedicated to helping mom move out of Ramsey which was also sad.

Milestones: The baby's head sort of sticks out of my belly sometimes. It's a definite small smooth round bump that protrudes, usually on my right side.  The baby generally seems to be higher up than he's been.  He kicks less but wiggles and pokes frequently.

What I miss the most: Sleeping every night. Every other night I can only nap for four hours before I'm up. On the off nights I sleep through the night because I'm too exhausted not to.
Craving: Juice, Ice cream
Anti-craving: Mildly spicy food makes my acid reflux burn to new levels. It feels like my throat is on fire.
Symptoms: Lots of trouble sleeping, ACID REFLUX, achy left knee, I alternate between being full after a few bites and being suddenly starving, evening grumpiness
Baby-size: Still an eggplant
Weight gain: 25+. I was hoping to gain only 25 pounds for the whole pregnancy, but now I'm in the please-no-more-than-35 camp. At 5 feet tall, I'm going to be a living beach ball. Or maybe I am already. You be the judge.

28 Weeks, and my bump is still square-shaped