Checking in...

Happy 29 weeks! (Technically 29 weeks, 2 days) Only 75 days til our due date of February 20th---eek!!!!!

I had my monthly OB visit last Wednesday--up a total of 18 lbs (still on the lower end of average weight gain) and Baby Boy's heartbeat was nice and strong.  I had to do my Gestational Diabetes test that day, which is never fun---the combo of drinking what essentially amounts to super-sugary flat orange soda plus having three large vials of blood drawn is pretty awful.  Haven't heard any results yet, but from what I remember with Emma's pregnancy they only call you if there's a problem.  So no news is good news, I guess!  Next appointment is Wednesday, Dec. 12th--the start of appointments every two weeks.  Coming down the home stretch!

A little belly comparison for you---much more round with Baby Boy. 

29 weeks with Emma:

29 weeks with Baby Boy:

Brian and I have painted the baby's room and moved Emma's old baby furniture in there.  We painted the inside of the closet a nice bright blue (we painted Emma's pink before she arrived), to give the room a little color without it being overbearing.  Two walls are a rich chocolate brown and the other two walls are the beigey/gray you see around the closet.  The birch tree decals have been ordered and are currently en route.  I'll post a pic below of what they'll look like.  They'll go behind his crib along one of the chocolate brown walls.  Brian and I are planning on doing some wall art using slices of tree branches, and that will likely go above his changing table.  That part will wait until after the holidays, though--too much going on right now and we'll be traveling soon.

Blue closet:

 

Birch Tree decal (we won't have birds, though):

 

We're 99% sure that our little man's first name will be Hudson.  Have to leave a little wiggle room in case of last minute changes, right? ;)  No middle name yet.  We're debating between a bunch of them that we like.  We'll figure it out eventually!

Here are a few cute pics to wrap things up...

The belly can officially be used as a coffee table:

The onesie that Brian ordered for Hudson:

Have a great night!

Nesting, Emma's Big Girl Milestones

This past weekend Brian and I finally moved all of the "baby" furniture out of Emma's room and into her little brother's room.  Emma started to pout and cry a little when she saw the crib/toddler bed leave her room, but as soon as she saw her new big girl bed she was very excited.  She looks so tiny in that big bed!

Baby Boy's room looks like a bomb hit it.  We have the furniture in place, but we still need to paint.  That will probably happen this weekend or next.  I really just want to get things settled in there.  My nesting instinct is starting to kick in big time. 

We still don't have a name for Baby Boy yet.  We've got about 10 names on our list, but can't seem to commit to one yet.  I think the next step will be to "try out" a different name each day and see what feels right.  Hopefully that will help us narrow it down.  I'd like to know his name before he arrives--- I feel like it helps me bond better with him. 

Back to Emma--- she's been doing SUCH a great job with the potty!  We are on Day 6 with wearing big girl underpants and she's only had a handful of accidents (which are our fault, as we weren't quick enough in getting her to the potty).  She still doesn't really tell us that she needs to go until it's too late, so we're being pre-emptive and bringing her to the bathroom every 1-1.5 hours.  So far, so good.  Yay Emma!!!

-----------------------------------------
How far along am I? 26 weeks

How am I feeling?  I have good days and bad days.  I went to my follow up appointment with my physical therapist today.  It was overall good news.  She's hopeful that I'll be able to avoid bed rest and showed me some new exercises and abdominal work to do to help.  I'll have one more appointment with her and hopefully will be done with that.

Movement?  All the time!  This little guy loves to get active after meals and especially at night and early in the morning.  I was hoping he'd be a little Buddha Baby and be very calm, but I have a feeling he'll be a mover and a shaker just like his sister!

How big is baby?  About the size of an eggplant. :)

Total Weight Gain?  As of my last OB appointment, it was just shy of 13 lbs.  According to my pregnancy weight gain chart, at 26 weeks a healthy weight gain amount is 13-20 lbs total. 

Next Appointment? November 28th, week 28.

24 weeks

I had my monthly OB check up today, and all is well.  Baby Boy has a strong heartbeat and I'm measuring right on time.  Dr. Smith is sending me to a prenatal physical therapist for the back and hip/rear end pain I've been having for a few weeks now.  My appointment is tomorrow morning, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll be a miracle worker.  Per Dr. Smith, all of this pain is "normal for a second pregnancy."  Well, normal sucks, Dr. Smith. :-P

This little dude is constantly moving....and do I mean CONSTANTLY.  His favorite time is right around the time I'm ready to hit to hay, so it's always fun to try to fall asleep while the little guy is kicking me and rolling around.  Right as I type I can see him moving to my right side... it's his favorite place--- low and on the right.

Brian has been able to feel him moving from the outside for a couple of weeks now, which is always exciting.  Hopefully we'll decide on a name soon.  We're such planners that I know we can't do the "we'll wait to see what he looks like" thing.  Plus, we have to get things personalized ;)

Total weight gain thus far is 12.8 lbs (twelve point eight), not bad at all, in fact I'm at the "low normal" range.  I'm pretty sure I had gained more with Emma by now, so in that respect Little Dude is being kind. :)

Happy Halloween!  Love, the Pirate Family.....Arrrrg, Matey!

Halfway There!

We hit 20 weeks yesterday, and all is well :)

Baby Boy's heartbeat was nice and strong yesterday during my appointment.  Dr. Bass had a hard time getting the heartbeat on doppler because our little guy was moving around so much, but eventually he cooperated with us.

Overall I've been feeling good.  I'm still battling some muscle pain in my rear end and legs--Dr. Bass thinks it's a form of deep sciatica and suggested I speak to a physical therapist to see if there are any exercises or stretches that can help.  He also gave me a script for some sexy compression stockings (God, pregnant women are HOTTTT right?!!) to pick up which should help.

I'm up 9 lbs total so far, which puts me a little behind on the "recommended weight gain" chart, actually.  I feel huge, but others keep telling me I look tiny---at least my face hasn't puffed up....yet.  Here's a 20 week comparision of how I looked during Emma's pregnancy, and then this one.

Emma--20 weeks along

 



Baby Boy Trumpatori-- 20 weeks along

We haven't chosen a name yet, but we do have a few in mind.  Right now we're keeping them to ourselves and trying them out--saying them out loud and seeing how they feel.  Naming a baby is no easy feat--- I mean, Emma was going to be Camden until about 6 weeks before her birth!  Now, I can't imagine her as anything but an Emma.  We'll keep you posted once we decide :)

It's a......

BOY!!!!

 

We are so excited to know that we will be welcoming a little boy into our family!  The ultrasound tech told us that she wanted to be able to see the "goods" at least three times before she told us for sure--about halfway through the ultrasound, she popped the above message onto the screen for us. :)

 

Now, let the shopping commence!!!

 

Oh, and here's one 3D pic of the Little Man--he's covering his eyes with his arms, so cute...

 

 

16 week Check Up

I went for my 16 week check up yesterday and saw Dr. Smith.  He's a nice man, in his late 50's, I'd say... with grey and white hair and a mustache that sort of makes him look like a friendly walrus.  Emma would love him ;) 

The thing I like best about Dr. Smith is that he gets to know his patients--not just medically, but personally.  He's been my regular Ob/Gyn since we moved to NC in 2006, and it always baffles me how he remembers the littlest things.  Now, I'm sure the cynics out there would say, 'Oh, I'm sure he makes notes in his chart to remember.'  Nope.  I checked my entire record after he handed it to me once the exam was complete.  The only bit of personal info (aside from obvious bio info) is Emma's name and birthdate.  But.... he does remember that we have a Bernese Mountain Dog, that I grew up in New England, and that my husband is a veterinarian.  He also listened patiently and understood when I told him that I was anxious that we might have to wait on the "big ultrasound" to be scheduled AFTER our vacation at the end of this month.  Once he heard that, he promptly wrote in my chart (in huge letters):  "Sono BEFORE 9/22."  Thank you, Dr. Smith. :)

So... the front desk has scheduled our "big ultrasound" for September 21st at 8:00 a.m. 

I am looking forward to seeing the baby again.  I was able to hear his/her heartbeat yesterday via doppler (150 bpm), so that was comforting.  This is the strange part of the pregnancy, where you LOOK pregnant, and you FEEL pregnant, but you don't feel any movement yet.  It's a weird paranoia that sets in sometimes, the what-ifs can really kick in at this stage.  I think after we have the ultrasound to confirm that all organs are intact and functioning (and hopefully find out the sex of this baby), I will be a bit more relaxed--- at the very least I'll be more relaxed for our vacation to the Outer Banks!  Woo hoo!  Beach, here we come!

First Trimester Screening Results

On August 8th Brian and I went to Maternal and Fetal Medicine at WakeMed to have the First Trimester Screening. The screening includes an ultrasound (to measure the fluid behind the baby's neck) and bloodwork.  It gives you an indication of the risk of the baby having Down's Syndrome or Trisomy 13 or 18.

The ultrasound portion was first and went well.  Interestingly enough, the tech said that I was measuring 8 days ahead of the predicted due date.  Which means my due date might change from February 20th to the 12th, but my OB wants to wait until the "big ultrasound" in about a month to make any decisions regarding changing the due date. 

Anyway, during the ultrasound portion of this screening Baby Trump didn't really want to cooperate for the tech (sound familiar? Emma was the same way.), so it took about 15 minutes to get the shot she needed. The fluid measurement looked great, just needed to have the blood test to confirm that all was well.

Our bloodwork came back a few days later with great results:

Risk of Down's Syndrome---- 1:8,009 births
Risk of Trisomy 13 or 18---- 1:>10,000 births

So far, so good!  In another month or so, we'll be able to have our anatomy scan/gender confirmation ultrasound.  Hopefully THIS baby will be more cooperative during that ultrasound!

Uh oh.... Double Trump-le! Baby #2!

Surprise! (It's ok, WE were surprised, too!)

Baby Trumpatori #2
Estimated Due Date: February 20, 2013

Feeling a bit queasy this time around. Wondering if it's the fatigue making me feel sick or the prenatal vitamins. If anyone has suggestions on how to quell the nausea, please fill me in!

Had our first ultrasound this past Wednesday. Dr. Rush says all looks well. Baby's heartbeat was 176, "Chugging right along," as Dr. Rush said. :)

We'll keep you updated as things progress!