Pregnancy #2 - maternity pictures

Really these were only partly maternity pictures.  Having an adorable 2 year old means she pretty much takes over any photo shoot. :)

These are at 38 weeks. We took them the same place we did Abby's maternity pictures.

Pregnancy update

I mentioned in my last pregnancy post about how I was again measuring really small, 32 weeks instead of 37.  I went in again this last Thursday, after spending the week drinking tons of water and eating lots of protein to see if we could get that measurement up.  Nope, didn't work.  My uterus measured 33 weeks instead of 38, so again 5 weeks under.  The midwife was really concerned, so scheduled me for a growth ultrasound the same day.

Eric came down from work to be at the ultrasound too, and we got another peek at our little girl.  Just like the other two ultrasounds we've had, she was not being photogenic at all so we didn't get any fun views of her.  But I guess that wasn't the point of this one.  So baby girl measured out at an average 36 weeks, which didn't seem so bad.  Until they said that the only reason she averaged 36 weeks was because she has super long legs.  Her other measurements were in the 33-34 week range.  They were particularly concerned with her abdomen measurement, which was 33.  I guess this is an important one for growth indicators. Looking at these specific measurements, she is right at the 10 %tile, which is borderline IUGR (intrauterine growth restricted).

Basically they are worried that she is not growing as well as she should be, that for some reason she is not getting all the nutrients she should.  The midwife told me she would consult with the other midwives and with my back-up doctor to see whether I would be able to continue care at the birth center.  I was devastated. Being able to birth naturally in the environment I choose is so important to me that it was so hard for me to realize that might not happen. Knowing that we needed to do whatever is best for baby did not make it any easier to hear.  She also said that if the doctor feels that her growth is being restricted enough, he might want to induce me to get her out and eating faster.  Again, something that is not at all part of what I wanted.  Eric was wondering why I was already tearing up when they hadn't even said that anything was for sure, but even the possibility was hard to hear.

I had to wait til Friday to hear back from the midwife. She said that after talking to the doctor, he wants me to come in so he can do an assessment.  In the meantime I need to have bi-weekly non-stress tests, drink lots of water, and rest a ton.  Apparently he wanted me on bed-rest, but the midwife said she didn't think that was necessary. And if I go into labor before meeting with the doctor I would still at least be starting at the birth center, they would just be consulting with the doctor.

So not terrible news yet, really nothing is decided yet.  Tomorrow we have our first non-stress test at the birth center, and then hopefully meet with the doctor before Wednesday.  I am currently 38 weeks 3 days, so maybe this little girl will just quickly come on her own.  

Pregnancy #2 Weeks 31-37

Things are sure moving along quickly!  Here I am already 36 weeks.  Pregnancy wise, not too much has changed. I'm just getting huge.  More discomfort with sleeping and general moving around.

This last week in particular (week 37) has been super uncomfortable.  The weather has been so hot and humid for SD and we don't have the option of AC so it gets really really warm in our apartment. Fans only do so much.  Yesterday I jogged/walked to a dentist appointment and just about died on the way home because it was so hot. Probably wasn't a great idea right in the middle of the day. I think I need to take it easier with the exercising outside if it stays this hot.  I've been having round ligament pain which the midwife says is probably due to trying to move too quickly/too much.  So I guess I need to slow down a bit.

Some more fun things from these past few weeks:
-Felt baby girl hiccup for the first time.  With Abby, I remember that it seemed she was always hiccuping.  I've only felt baby girl hiccup maybe three times. Abby was sitting next to me during one of the times and she thought it was the funniest thing.
-Watching her move.  Since she is getting so big, it's fun to watch her little feet poke out and my stomach roll around while she moves.  Abby has lots of fun with this too.  So much that we'll be out somewhere, like at church, and she will start trying to pull up my shirt to 'watch baby.'
-Started baby girl's quilt.  I've been putting this off but finally was feeling the time crunch and started.  I'm almost done and will post pictures then.  It's been so nice making something for her and focusing just on her while I do it.
-Also finally started getting things ready for her.  Have a carseat, clothes are out ready to be washed and folded.  Ok, really that's it.  But at least it is a start!

Since we are at 37 weeks now, we are officially good to have the baby at the birth center if we go in to labor.  Our window of time is 37-42 weeks. We had an appointment today and apparently I'm again measuring really small.  Only 32 weeks.  Which is going backwards - I was 34 weeks last week.  It was a different midwife so I don't know if it was just due to different people measuring, but she was super worried.  So next week if it isn't better, she thinks we should do another growth ultrasound.  Hopefully we won't need to do this.  Or maybe baby girl will decide to come and then we won't have to worry about it! Abby came about 5 days before her due date, so we are thinking and preparing for this girl to come about a week early.

We'll see!  I'm getting super excited to meet her!

34 Weeks

36 weeks

Children's museum visit

After hearing about how amazing the new Children's Museum is, I finally made it down there with Abby. We had a ton of fun and Abby loved it.  Maybe we'll have to think about getting passes here at some point.

Here are just a few pictures of Abby playing around.  It was a day where she absolutely refused to let me do her hair so her hair is a bit messy but she is still adorable.

This room was all musical instruments made from things you would find in the kitchen

Rain house - Inside this little room it sounded like rain and has giant puzzle pieces on the floor. Abby loved it, though I think all that water sound contributed to her wetting her pants while inside. 

Bubbles bubbles bubbles!

Loved this room the best.  Everything was built to look like fruits and veggies and other foods.  Like this cantaloupe wedge rocking thing

Celery tunnel

Relaxing and reading a book in the reading room

This was pretty fun - Outside they have a few large objects - a tractor, some barrels, etc with huge buckets of paint and the kids just paint and paint these things over and over. 

Clay time.  Abby told me this was a tractor.  She couldn't wait to show it to Dad. 

Midway visit

I happened to find out that the Midway was having a free admission day for everyone wearing red white and blue on Flag Day (yes, this post is that old), so we jumped at the chance.  Visiting the Midway Museum has been on my list of things to do but the steep admission fee has deterred us.  We attempted one other time to go on a free day but that didn't work out. (see here).

We had a great time and Abby especially loved all the planes.  

Flying the plane with Abby

Abby in the cockpit

Patriotic little girl!

On the flight deck

She thought this was the greatest thing. :)

Also loved the mess hall

Yay for big boats and planes! And for free admission days!

Moving time!

Yep, we've moved!  We lived 4 years in our last place, with 2 of those years being in a one bedroom apartment with a kid.  A teeny-tiny one bedroom apartment, only about 450 square feet.  And we made it work.  We were even very seriously considering sticking it out with two kids.  Did lots of research on murphy beds and couch beds.  With rent being so expensive here in SD, it just seemed so unattractive financially to spend that much more a month on rent. But in the end, we decided to move.  

And we are so happy we did!  Our place is about twice a big, and best of all, has two bedrooms!  This has made everyone so much happier.  I was worried Abby would take a while to get used to being so far from us at night, but she absolutely loves having her own room.  And overall, her sleep has improved a ton.  And it's so nice not having to sneak around her to use the restroom or when we go to bed! An extra bonus, for Abby especially, is that we just happened to move a couple doors down from one of her little friends at church.  She is always checking to see if his door is open so that she can run over and say hi!

We've been here a couple weeks now and are pretty much settled in.  Here are a couple pictures from us having fun unpacking.

 

 

Pregnancy #2 Weeks 27-30

This pregnancy is sure flying by!  I am well into the third trimester and past week 30. I almost wish I could slow everything down so I could just focus on this little girl. I couldn't be more excited for her, but often I forget I'm pregnant since Abby is constantly requiring my focus and attention.  I haven't even given any thought really to a name for her!  I want to take time to at least make a few things specially for her, a quilt and some little skirts/dresses are on my list.  Maybe even a blessing outfit??  

I am sure more uncomfortable this time around, so baby girl doesn't let me forget for too long that she is here. She has started making huge kicks and movements, some that are really quite painful.  It feels as though she is punching her arm out and then just keeping it there!  It's fun watching my stomach move up and down as she moves though.  Abby has finally felt baby sister move a couple times.  She thinks it's funny that baby sister is kicking her. 

This pregnancy itself is going great.  For the last few midwife visits, they have been becoming increasingly concerned though about her growth.  I have been consistently measuring small (like one week behind), and then the last two visits, so starting with week 28ish, I was suddenly measuring 3 weeks behind, 25 weeks instead of 28.  They were pushing for an extra ultrasound, worried that she wasn't growing enough.  Now, this happened with Abby too, and I was so worried, but the extra ultrasound showed that she was just fine.  So I was hesitating, really not liking the potential extra cost of an ultrasound when I was pretty certain everything was fine.  They agreed to wait til the next visit (week 30) to see how I measured.  Sure enough, I measured at 27, 3 weeks behind.  So they told me we had to do the ultrasound.  We went in the next day.  The first thing the technician says is, "wow you really are small for 30!"  But as she starts measuring the images, baby girl was right on average.  Just where she should be.  Apparently I have a deep pelvis so my babies just sit further back and so when they measure my uterus, it comes out smaller. It was a relief to know she was fine, but I really had already known that.  Sure was fun to see the little girl though!  

Abby was of course watching the whole time and when the technician had two pictures up on the screen, Abby looks at me and asks, "Two babies?"  It was so cute and funny.  Nope, just one in there!

At 30ish weeks. I feel like I am huge, no matter what those midwives say!