My bouncy little mouse, I love you!

My curious Gerard is a bag of energy. Lately he's been vomiting from so much active hyperplay. The other night, when he was already in bed having his milk, I thought he would be asleep in a few minutes. Instead, he fought his way out of bed, and so we just let him play it off for a bit. There he went running from one end of the couch to the other, jumping on pillows, and then.... that sound of ready-to-vomit, and finally, the vomit. He calmed down after he got cleaned, and his papa stayed by his bedside until he finally went to sleep. But oh boy, the kid does not stop until his fuel is empty.

He has been able to pick up more words since my last entry here. In his own toddler talk, we can clearly hear these words: key, tree, tow truck, bye bye, bike, bird. He isn't a blabbermouth for his age, but when he does talk, it's to point to something in specific. He's very very fascinated with trucks. He points to the very object that we ask of. Where's your feet/shoe/belly button/ear/hair/eyes/nose/teeth? He can identify the main people in his life either by pointing to them in person when asked, and also in pictures. He knows his grandparents very well, and his older cousin/favorite playmate. He likes to grab us by the hand to show us something, or for help in what he needs (once he grabbed my hand to lead me to bed, when I totally forgot it was his bedtime already). He has learned how to march, in his funny version. Every morning he is stubborn about getting up. Too bad for him, mom and dad have an early day so he doesn't get to sleep in like many other kids do. But all I have to do is ask him where his papa is, and he knows to point to the bathroom because that's where he usually is. And when papa comes out, Gerard lets out his big morning smile.

We took him to the California Academy of Sciences, and he wasn't too impressed with much of its exhibits. He was more into the elevator and playing on the steps. He did pick out a stuffed albino alligator at the gift shop, which he so loves dearly.

In less than 3 months, he will meet his new baby sister. Maybe he'll understand what I mean when I ask him "where's baybay?"

Some 12 weeks left.

Big sigh! Where do I begin?

Since my last entry, the weight of my belly has exponentially grown. I'm told that I'm carrying "low" and I guess it's true because I feel so much pressure below my hips. The numbness of my hips are really bad in the middle of the night. I wake up almost every night to adjust myself, and even then, turning from one side to the other is a painful task. I can't stay in bed too long either as it hurts my body to be inactive.

In the last couple of weeks, the pressure on my joints where my legs connect to my pelvis (OK, I really don't know the medical term for that -- 'scuuuuse me!) is straining my body. I have the hardest time getting up from my seat. It's the kind of pain that gets me screaming explicits. Even with my toddler around. The best remedy is for me to walk it off, but I get tired walking short distances.

Speaking of my toddler, he's in this phase where he likes to sit on us while we're laying down and bounce. He keeps going after my tummy area. I suppose to him, my balled up belly looks as bouncy as our exercise ball. Of course I protect my belly with my arm, but how can I get mad at the little guy? Everything he does, even if it's something I don't like, ends up being cute. But this is not his blog (I keep a separate one for him), so back to my baby girl who's ever active in my belly, I hope she's alright in there while big bro has fun.

I took my second 3-hour gestational diabetes test and should get results this week. I feel like I know what the results are already. :( My first test came early by order of doctor, and the result from that showed I was "close" to being diagnosed and that I should watch my diet. Well, I watched... but that's all I did. I stopped eating brown rice to eat white rice again, something I rarely did in the first pregnancy. I've also been drinking a lot of sugared drinks. I'm weak at this, and it's nothing I take lightly, but I just wish I had better control of my strength.

This Wednesday is my next appointment with OB, he might have the results for me then. I am damned if I have to poke my finger for diabetes monitoring again. I hated it in the first pregnancy, I won't like it any more this time either.

On to other big news, we're in escrow for a house so if things go well, we'd be moving next month. Already told papa E that I will not help with moving this time around, but I'll pack boxes. We have a bit to do with the house -- paint the interiors, fix the deck, upgrade the electrical system and build a bedroom... long story. The house is supposedly 3 bedrooms but whoever lived there last looks like they tore down one of the bedrooms to expand the kitchen, so if that's the case, I want to bring that bedroom back. The third bedroom is on the first level of the house which we plan to turn into a lounge/guestroom, but not for any of the kids to sleep in. Baby girl will sleep with us for a while, and big bro will have to sleep in his own bed. When they're both big enough but still in their younger years, they'll have to share a bedroom.... but I'm hoping by then we'd moved to a much bigger house.

Aaaaand we have not officially decided on a name yet but we're still referring to baby girl by a certain name, so until we agree on it, then it's still up in the air.

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!