Feeling movement just now

I'm about 21 weeks or so, and just started feeling baby's movements. I was 17 weeks in my first pregnancy when I started feeling the same movements, so I'm about a month "late" into it this time. But it's finally happening. :)

The family and I went camping this weekend, and made the sore mistake of not bringing pillows. It was the most uncomfortable sleep ever. I don't think I had any more than 4 hours of sleep between the two nights we had out there. On the first night, I made every effort to keep Gerard warm and comfortable, so that kept me awake for the whole time except for about an hour or so. Second night, I tried to keep myself more comfortable and it didn't work, and then I realized I left Gerard cold instead. Next time we go, we're bringing pillows. It was hard to sleep and get up, my back hasn't improved at all despite my recent massage and regular chiro visits.

We haven't thought of anymore names, but we've been calling baby girl a certain name already. It's not decided on yet, but it's sounding nice though.

He always makes me smile

Every day that I get to see my Gerard makes my day much better. He's such a good kid. Well behaved and ever curious. We are getting him to learn how to be a big brother by teaching him how to help me around the house. He's only 15 months old but is learning how to pick up items on (polite) demand. I will need his help when new baby comes in December. He likes to rub my tummy whenever I ask him about the new baby. I'm doing my best to introduce only the good things right now since he'll have every opportunity later to learn about the bad things later. But I feel that establishing good habits and manners at home now will go a long way, and so far, he's just on the track I want him to be. I would like for him to establish trust and friendship with those around him -- I've already noticed it's in his nature to be warm to most people, especially other kids. We need him to know how to treat other kids because he's getting a sibling soon, and I want him to be the brother she looks up to. I certainly don't want him to be the kid that other parents try to avoid at the playground because he's throwing sand around or pushing others. At some point, he will have to learn how to distinguish what's bad and good among those around him (and I can definitely tell that he's already distinguishing this with some people), and then learn how to deal with it. He's such a good, good kid that the love I have for him just keeps getting deeper when I see him grow up. He's certainly the future I look forward to having -- to see what kind of person he becomes.

Gerard is going to have a....

.....sister!

Today we found out I'm carrying a baby girl. Just what we were hoping for! I can't believe it... although I had no instincts, for some reason I was ready to hear we were having a boy (it would have been PERFECTLY ok too, if that was the case). But now we'll have one of each!

Here comes the hard task of settling on a girl's name. Why is it so hard for us? We decided on a name for Gerard the afternoon we found out he was a boy. We are leaning on a name for a girl, but it's not settled just yet. Until then, we will not reveal what it is :)

As far as pregnancy, the myth that if morning sickness is presence throughout the pregnancy means you're having a girl applies to me. I've been having really bad gagging sensations since the beginning, this morning I vomited a little bit. But just about every morning, thoughts of certain foods or even no thoughts at all drive me to gag. Oh well I know it's worth it. :) 

We'll find out in a couple of days

This is the week (hopefully) we find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Being a very busied mom of a 1 year old toddler hasn't allowed me much time to think of this pregnancy the way I did in the first. I haven't had any baby dreams! In fact, I've had more dreams about snakes -- my worst phobia -- than this pregnancy. I don't even have that instinct of its gender. With my first pregnancy, I started having instincts just weeks before we learned of its gender, and I even had an accurate dream about it.

I had my most recent prenatal appointment last week, and things actually look good. It was a quick appointment, since I didn't really have any questions except if it's ok to get a massage and see my chiropractor. I got the massage that evening, and it felt really damn good. The massage therapist took the pain away, but they returned this weekend. I've been having the worst back pains, pain I never experienced in the first pregnancy. I also felt my first leg cramp of this pregnancy this weekend. It's the most heinous cramp in the world!! I do plan to get another massage next month, and continue to see my chiropractor. I was okayed to get my back cracked, although my OB seemed to discredit the importance of chiropractic care. I see one because my insurance covers it and it's much cheaper for me to get temporary fixes there than to see a masseuse every month.

With the back pain haunting me everyday, it's been really difficult to sleep. I've been waking up in the middle of the night from pain. It's hard for me to switch from my left to the right. Last night, I tried to roll over, but I got stuck. I yelled for papa Egan to help me roll over because it was impossible to try it again alone.

As for baby movements, I've rarely felt any at this time. I think I felt something a couple of weeks ago, since it certainly didn't feel like gas ;-) At my last appointment, doctor said it was moving a lot but of course I couldn't feel it.

I'll be sure to update again after this ultrasound. We have a name lined up for a boy, and we're still tossing up girls' names (which seems to be so hard!!) Whatever it is, we're very excited to expand our family. Big bro Gerard will love having a new baby around! 

Second appointment today

A couple of nights ago, I had my first pregnancy-related dream. Short and typical at this stage: I was spotting, or it was sort of a light flow period. For some reason, I didn't freak out at all, but if I saw that in real life, I would have freaked a little.

I had my check-up with Dr. Rittenhouse today. Everything looks great!! No gestational diabetes this time... the results of my 3-hour glucose testing also pointed to signs of good chromosomes: no Down's syndrome. Well, I still have a second testing to finalize this, but everything's looking just great. I am still of course dedicating myself to eating right, as hard as it is.... but I just kind of realized that everything I eat anyway has the nutrients I need. I know they're not enough, but I'm getting my protein, folate, etc etc... I'm just lacking calcium in my daily eating.

We heard a very soothing heartbeat, and baby salamander moved when I laughed from joy. The heartbeat detection went away but we heard the good stuff, so there was no more need for doctor to search for its location again.

Next appointment is in 5 weeks. We may know by then if we're having another boy or our first girl. My instincts? I REALLY COULDN'T TELL. I haven't had any dreams at all about its gender, as I did in my first pregnancy (and the dream was so right). It doesn't matter, this baby just needs to be healthy! 

4D ultrasound

Last week, we went to the perinatal lab for some 4D ultrasound. I'm on early for my integrated screening. We saw the little salamander, it's about 2 inches long. It was moving its limbs all around, we saw its head and full body and even the umbilical cord. It's always a wonderful sight to see it from this view, but of course, it's even more wonderful to see it and hold it in person. Hopefully I'll find out the results tomorrow with my OBGYN and I cross my fingers for positive news. More updates when I know! 

The dog wakes him up

Last Memorial Monday, we all slept in well into the morning hours. It was after 9am, when Gerard got woken up by a dog barking outside. One minute he was asleep, next second his head was up in the direction of the bark's sound. It just stayed up for a while, until I mentioned it was a dog.

Now we've never exactly noticed this dog's bark before, so it must be new to the neighborhood. We've been hearing it bark in the mornings, and every time then, Gerard waits for it when I ask "where's the dog?" He'll go up to the veranda door and look for a dog. He even knows how to say it: "dooh!"

Just thought I'd share. It's cute!

Last week, I took an ultrasound for the new baby. We took Gerard with us, and like any kid his age, he was all over his place. Couldn't stay put or amused with anything for more than a minute. This might be the last time we take him to any appointments because he's just too much to handle, and we need to also focus on the new baby's fetal developments.

Speaking of the new baby, Gerard has learned to rub my tummy whenever I ask him where the new baby is. The cute part is he smiles while he's at it! I love my little guy!