20 Weeks - Half Baked

Half way to 40 weeks!  Although, if I'm being honest, I really hope that this one comes without an eviction and sooner than Annelise did.  Not too much sooner, but a little bit sooner.  It will be July after all!

It's been a quiet week after the events of last week.  Thankfully, the bleeding stopped on Monday and hasn't returned.  Praise the Lord!  I have had an incredible amount of pain; what I'm assuming and what my OB has told me is round ligament pain.  There are times when I can barely get off the couch it hurts so badly.  When I do finally manage to make it up, I walk all hunched over.  I definitely don't remember being in this much pain last time.

Drew and I ordered the crib yesterday.  We absolutely love it, and it's completely different from what we picked for Annelise.

It's a blackish, brownish, grayish color, sort of rustic in a way.  It converts to a toddler and a full size bed.  We also plan on ordering the long dresser that matches it, probably tomorrow when my coupon becomes valid.  Our hopes is that the furniture that we've bought Annelise and this baby will last them until they decide to buy furniture of their own.  Annelise's is still in great shape, minus some animal claw scratches on her bed.

I have felt movement like crazy since my appointment last week.  It amazes me how I've gone from feeling practically nothing, to movement all the time.  It's definitely reassuring.

I'm up about 14 pounds at this point.  I was starting to think about walking on the treadmill some before all these problems came up, and now I'm scared to do anything.  I have another ultrasound on March 13th, so hopefully I can get the okay to do some light walking, maybe some yoga.  I'm not totally against gaining weight, I know that happens, I just want to be healthy and not look like a swollen blimp come July.

Drew and I laid in bed the other night and began discussing baby names.  The conclusion?  There isn't much we agree on.  I have a feeling that this kid might be nameless until the birth certificate lady walks into my hospital room!  There are names that I like that Drew is mulling over, but I'm not really crazy about anything that he's suggested.  I'm not trying to be difficult, they just aren't anything I love.  We probably need to write names down and see how we like them on paper and let them sit with us for a little bit.  I'm sure that we'll eventually land on the perfect name.  We did land upon Annelise out of nowhere!

19 Weeks - Good News Bad News

Hitting 19 weeks have proven to be quite eventful!  Last night, I was complaining to some friends about some belly pain that I was having.  It was right around my belly button, and it would hurt more if I pushed on it, but occasionally, it would hurt without any pressure.  Most of them said that it was probably some round ligament pain, wasn't that big of a deal, but to call my OB in the morning.  I didn't think it was RLP, because I know what that feels like and this pain is different.  Regardless, I knew that I'd be calling my OB in the morning.

I woke up and made my way to the bathroom (of course) and discovered that I was bleeding.  Cue slight panic.  This was right around 8:30 AM.  My OB's office didn't open until 9 AM, so I hopped in the shower and began getting ready.  I called the office as soon as they opened and informed the receptionist that I was bleeding.  She asked how far along I was, and after I told her 19 weeks, she put me on hold to grab my chart and the nurse.  Once the nurse got on, I informed her that I was bleeding, but it was only brown, which isn't as alarming.  Still something to be concerned about, but not horribly alarming.  She told me to relax for the rest of the morning and to come in at 1 PM, where I would have an ultrasound and my OB would check me.

Once I got there, Sue, the u/s tech, took me back to the u/s room.  Since I was there, and I was 19 weeks, she went ahead and did the anatomy scan that was scheduled for two weeks from today.  Baby was in a great position.  The good news is that the baby looks perfect.  Heart, brain, bones, kidneys, everything looks just as it should.  Even my placenta and cervix looked great.  So, what's the deal with the bleeding?

The bad news?  I have an intrauterine synechiae.  This is scarring on my uterus that may or may not be what's causing the bleeding.  This scarring can pull on the placenta and cause a placental abruption.  Some complications can arise during delivery if the placenta doesn't detach and deliver properly.  If that's the case, my OB will have to do a D&C to remove it, and possibly a hysterectomy if the situation gets very complicated.  This has deemed me high risk.  We will have ultrasounds at least every four weeks to monitor this synechiae and the placenta.

I have been instructed to take it easier.  That is complicated with a toddler.  But, I have been trying to not lift her unless absolutely necessary and to rest as much as I can.  At this point, if something were to happen to the placenta, it would be a miscarriage.  The baby is still too little to be saved.  We have to make it to 24 weeks, which is Viability.  I'm assuming that if things continue to look precarious, then more precautions will be enforced then.  At this point, it's lots of prayers and rest to make it at least 5 more weeks without any issues.

Other than all of that, everything else is good.  I did find out that I have an anterior placenta, which explains why I haven't felt much movement.  That was reassuring.  Baby was moving like crazy during the scan.  Then, almost as if to rest any fears that I was having, I felt outside kicks tonight.  It was like my baby was trying to reassure me that everything would be ok.

I did find out the sex of the baby during the scan.  I called Drew as soon as I left the office to let him know how the appointment went since he couldn't come because Annelise was napping.  One of the first questions was whether it was a boy or girl.  I want to tell a few more family members in person before we share here or on social media.  I promise that I'll spill the news in a week or two.

To make up for it, here's an adorable profile shot of our little one.

Date Night with ZBB

One of Drew's gifts for Christmas was tickets to the Zac Brown Band concert that I discovered was happening at a local concert venue.  He loves ZBB and he was beyond excited when he opened the tickets up.  Tonight was the concert and so we got to have a little date night.  Annelise had fun with Nana and GG who came over to watch her.

We were able to get a decent parking spot since we arrived fairly early and only had a short walk into the venue.  Once inside, we got some drinks, then sat down and waited for the concert to start.

The first opening act was a band that was from Georgia and had an amazing guitar player as the lead.  Not quite sure what his name was.  The second opening act was Levi Lowery and he was ok.  His beginning sounds were a little slow, so Drew and I left for a bathroom break.

When Zac Brown Band came on, they were amazing!  I haven't been to a lot of concerts, but I have to say that this one was great.  He played for over two hours!

The stage had a small little runway, with a circle at the end of it.  When he sang "Colder Weather", he walked all around that part of the stage where people were and shook their hands.  Then, when he sang "Keep Me In Mind", he came off the stage and walked around the entire venue.  I think it was really cool that he interacted with the crowd like that.

The lady sitting in front of us quite literally rocked out the whole concert.  The band actually did a cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" (which one of the guitarists sang), and she lit up some weed.  Again, I haven't been to many concerts, so I was shocked to see this.  Drew was shocked that I was shocked.  I could understand if it was an outdoor venue, but I totally was not expecting that in an indoor venue.

I really liked how the band sat up some stools and had some hand percussion instruments and did a small set in a sort of intimate manner.

Drew and I had a great time!  He kept asking the whole night if the baby was ok.  Ha!  Towards the end, I was feeling sort of crummy from all the bass and it being so loud.

18 Weeks - Getting Started

I've thoroughly procrastinated long enough; it's time to get the weekly recaps started!  At this point, half the time I think, "I can't believe I'm 18 weeks already", and the other half of the time I think, "I'm only 18 weeks, I still have so far to go".  I am definitely larger this time around.  The bump emerged a lot faster.  I just chalked it up to the fact that everyone says that you show faster the second time around.  But, at my doctor's appointment last week, my OB said that he thinks this baby will be bigger than Annelise.  When I asked why, he said, "Well, you're measuring bigger.  Don't you feel bigger?"  Well gee doc, I certainly didn't feel like a fatty until you mentioned it.  I've gained 12 pounds so far.  I figured that I will probably gain more this time because I wasn't so sick like I was last time.

Speaking of that, I have felt pretty darn good so far this time.  I've only puked once, and that was because I gagged myself too much while brushing my teeth.  Pretty good, right?  I still do get nauseous, but it's mainly only when I'm hungry and need to eat.

Physically, I still feel ok.  I wake up sore from sleeping in a stationary position.  Mainly it's my back and shoulders.  I can definitely tell that I have a small bump when I get up from a sitting position.

When I was pregnant with Annelise, we had the crib ordered at this point, and names were being discussed regularly, and I was researching baby products like it was my job.  This time?  We've casually looked at cribs once while strolling through Babies R Us, and we've only tossed around a few names.  It's so crazy how laid back it is.  I'm sure that once I have the anatomy scan at the end of the month, and we find out the sex of baby, that I'll kick it into overdrive and begin buying and planning like crazy.

Annelise is obsessed with the baby.  She is always pointing at my belly and saying "baby", and she'll rub it and give it kisses.  When we went for our first ultrasound with my OB, as soon as he put the picture up on the screen, she pointed and said "baby.  So, I feel like she gets somewhat.  I hope that her love for the baby continues once the baby is actually here.

A couple of weeks ago, we made the plunge and became a minivan family.  So far, we love it and haven't really had any complaints.  I think that I'll love it even more once I have two kids to load inside of it.

While we were at the car dealership, I'm pretty sure that I felt movement for the first time.  I had thought that I had felt some, but nothing that I could definitely pinpoint.  They were all so tiny and would only be one bump, maybe two.  This time, I'm fairly certain that I felt baby.  Since then, I've felt more of what I'm assuming to be the baby.  But, nothing that I am absolutely positively definite about.  I can't wait to feel movement consistently.  This waiting is nerve wracking!

I think that I've mainly put off doing these updates because I haven't had much to talk about.  Hopefully I'll have more fun updates as the weeks tick by.