The first time you are pregnant, you can't wait to start showing. The first few months of waiting for your belly to pooch out are cruel. You cannot wait for that belly so that everyone that sees you knows that you're pregnant.
Subsequent pregnancies, you don't have to wait. Or at least I haven't had to. When the hormones hit my abdominal muscles they know JUST what to do. And they do it. And then this little momma is wearing maternity pants at the beginning of the second trimester. It has been interesting to watch my body change with each pregnancy. The differences, the similarities. Each baby grows its own way and makes my body its home.
The most interesting difference this time hasn't been when I show. I actually waited longer this time to start showing than I did with Elly. I was already pretty big at Evie's first birthday, and unless something crazy happens in the next couple of weeks, that won't be the case this time. I hope that means I won't be as humongous as I was with Elly. But I doubt I will be so lucky! The interesting part has been the fact that I'm already measuring ahead...and that doesn't typically happen until the second trimester. I've had a bigger belly in previous pregnancies. But the part the doc measures is the uterus height. Not the fat, bloating, constipation, etc. that causes extra belly. But just the uterus. And I know I've got belly from the icky stuff. But this time I've been able to really feel and even SEE my uterus grow.
At my last appointment, the doc said I was measuring one month ahead. One month! So I'm very anxious for my next ultrasound, and seeing if this extra growth is all uterus or all baby. On one hand I'm hoping its baby...since that's the healthiest way to grow. But at the same time, I don't want to have a 12 pounder!
Maybe by the ultrasound it will all have balanced out. Who knows
I do like having the lil baby bump. The next four or five months are the really enjoyable ones of pregnancy. Most of the woes and worries of the first trimester are behind me. I have more energy and look pregnant, but am not so pregnant that I'm miserable.
And sometime in the next few weeks I will probably be feeling baby move! I felt Elly at 14 weeks and Evie at 16. Depending on where the placenta is and all of course. I have felt some small flutters in the last week. I know a doctor will probably tell me it is just gas bubbles or whatever...but I can tell the difference. And its only been when I am sitting in such a way that my tummy is kinda cramped. I am looking forward to the real kicks and flips and hiccups. That is one of my favorite parts of pregnancy!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Goodbye First Trimester
Well, if the speedy passing of the first trimester is any indication of how quickly the rest of the pregnancy is going to go, I better start doing more blogging or I won't remember any of it!
I cannot believe I am already finishing up my first trimester of my third pregnancy. It has been a very busy few years and I wouldn't change any of it, honestly. I am so glad that my third child is going to be close in age to the first two (but not quite as close as them! haha). Elly will be nearly two when #3 comes along and Evie will be 3.5.
I have done the math and redone the math and I'm pretty sure I will have nearly 3 months of time off accrued to enjoy with the new baby. Plus some QT with my older two! And that should be a sufficient time to get the littlest one on schedule with the others. Hopefully. Of course I will only have that much time if I manage to not take any more time off in the next 6 months. Which, after my bout yesterday with a stomach bug (or something), may be more challenging than anticipated.
I might just be more excited about this pregnancy and baby than the other two. I hope that doesn't sound bad. But unlike my previous pregnancies, I really feel like I know what to expect all around this time. Not that I don't know there could be a monkey wrench thrown in any day. I know things can change. With Evie, it was my first time for all of it. I didn't know what to expect from pregnancy, labor, birth or a new baby. No clue. And despite all my reading and preparing I still couldn't have been truly ready for parenthood. With Elly, I expected everything to go like my first pregnancy, which it didn't. And I expected labor and delivery to be way faster, which it wasn't. And I expected things to be pretty simple when we brought her home, which couldn't have been further from the truth. I thought that since I had done the newborn thing once, it would be easy to do again. I didn't realize how much harder it would be with another child. Or how much more difficult things would be with the first child when we added a second baby to the equation.
Pregnancy is made some what easier by having two other children to take care of. Well, not easier I guess. But certainly speedier. There is no time to sit around and moon over being pregnant and pine over how much longer until the baby comes. Those 4 weeks between appointments that dragged by with the first pregnancy are gone in a flash this time around. I have jokingly wondered if I could push the appointments to maybe every 6 weeks because I just don't have time to go to the doctor every month! I dunno how I will manage twice a month and weekly appointments towards the end. And there isn't time to sit around and be sore or lie around with my feet up. There is far too much to do between girls, work and the house.
And this time, I feel like even though this pregnancy is way different than the previous two, I'm a bit more prepared for it this time. The second time every little thing made me worry because I hadn't dealt with it when I was pregnant the first time. Now it's "Eh, feels like stretching pains," or "Back pain from overdoing it," or "Cramps from not peeing often enough." I've been through pretty much all the normal stuff at this point, most of it twice, so I feel like I can trust my judgment on when I should worry and when to call the doctor. Maybe that just comes from being a more experienced mom at this point. It kinda helps prepare for a lot of different things.
I know that bringing home a new baby will be incredibly challenging. And I am going to try breastfeeding this time. So that's going to add a whole new level to the challenge. Last time I may have been overly optimistic. I wasn't prepared for how exhausted I was going to be or how difficult Evie would become. And nothing could have prepared me for the trial of having Elly hospitalized at 10 days old.
But I am excited and hopeful. The next 6 months are going to be busy, even without the pregnancy. With the pregnancy, it's going to be a bit wild. Elly's third and final procedure is next Friday. I have another doctor's appointment, including an ultrasound (YAY!) the next week. Evie's THIRD birthday is just a couple weeks after, with her third birthday party, which will be fun but a busy couple of days. Then September is my birthday, my nephew's second birthday and the big 20 week ultrasound. I will be finishing up Christmas shopping, picking out Halloween costumes, switching out summer wardrobe for winter, and finally getting to buy stuff for the new baby in October. Then there will be Halloween, decorating for fall, followed by Thanksgiving. I will, of course, be working on Turkey Day. But I'm hoping that my family will be able to get together that weekend for a big celebratory meal at my house. Hopefully my husband will let me decorate for Christmas the week of Thanksgiving again this year. I liked having the tree up and the house all pretty when family came last year. I would like to do that again. Then it will be my absolute favorite time of the year, CHRISTMAS! Sugar cookies, and gingerbread houses and lights and maybe a little snow. Christmas is going to be even more fun this year with Evie and Elly. And then once Christmas is over and the tree is packed back up and all the lights are put away...I will have between 4-6 weeks to get ready for a baby.
So see, it's really going to be a pretty busy rest of the year!
I cannot believe I am already finishing up my first trimester of my third pregnancy. It has been a very busy few years and I wouldn't change any of it, honestly. I am so glad that my third child is going to be close in age to the first two (but not quite as close as them! haha). Elly will be nearly two when #3 comes along and Evie will be 3.5.
I have done the math and redone the math and I'm pretty sure I will have nearly 3 months of time off accrued to enjoy with the new baby. Plus some QT with my older two! And that should be a sufficient time to get the littlest one on schedule with the others. Hopefully. Of course I will only have that much time if I manage to not take any more time off in the next 6 months. Which, after my bout yesterday with a stomach bug (or something), may be more challenging than anticipated.
I might just be more excited about this pregnancy and baby than the other two. I hope that doesn't sound bad. But unlike my previous pregnancies, I really feel like I know what to expect all around this time. Not that I don't know there could be a monkey wrench thrown in any day. I know things can change. With Evie, it was my first time for all of it. I didn't know what to expect from pregnancy, labor, birth or a new baby. No clue. And despite all my reading and preparing I still couldn't have been truly ready for parenthood. With Elly, I expected everything to go like my first pregnancy, which it didn't. And I expected labor and delivery to be way faster, which it wasn't. And I expected things to be pretty simple when we brought her home, which couldn't have been further from the truth. I thought that since I had done the newborn thing once, it would be easy to do again. I didn't realize how much harder it would be with another child. Or how much more difficult things would be with the first child when we added a second baby to the equation.
Pregnancy is made some what easier by having two other children to take care of. Well, not easier I guess. But certainly speedier. There is no time to sit around and moon over being pregnant and pine over how much longer until the baby comes. Those 4 weeks between appointments that dragged by with the first pregnancy are gone in a flash this time around. I have jokingly wondered if I could push the appointments to maybe every 6 weeks because I just don't have time to go to the doctor every month! I dunno how I will manage twice a month and weekly appointments towards the end. And there isn't time to sit around and be sore or lie around with my feet up. There is far too much to do between girls, work and the house.
And this time, I feel like even though this pregnancy is way different than the previous two, I'm a bit more prepared for it this time. The second time every little thing made me worry because I hadn't dealt with it when I was pregnant the first time. Now it's "Eh, feels like stretching pains," or "Back pain from overdoing it," or "Cramps from not peeing often enough." I've been through pretty much all the normal stuff at this point, most of it twice, so I feel like I can trust my judgment on when I should worry and when to call the doctor. Maybe that just comes from being a more experienced mom at this point. It kinda helps prepare for a lot of different things.
I know that bringing home a new baby will be incredibly challenging. And I am going to try breastfeeding this time. So that's going to add a whole new level to the challenge. Last time I may have been overly optimistic. I wasn't prepared for how exhausted I was going to be or how difficult Evie would become. And nothing could have prepared me for the trial of having Elly hospitalized at 10 days old.
But I am excited and hopeful. The next 6 months are going to be busy, even without the pregnancy. With the pregnancy, it's going to be a bit wild. Elly's third and final procedure is next Friday. I have another doctor's appointment, including an ultrasound (YAY!) the next week. Evie's THIRD birthday is just a couple weeks after, with her third birthday party, which will be fun but a busy couple of days. Then September is my birthday, my nephew's second birthday and the big 20 week ultrasound. I will be finishing up Christmas shopping, picking out Halloween costumes, switching out summer wardrobe for winter, and finally getting to buy stuff for the new baby in October. Then there will be Halloween, decorating for fall, followed by Thanksgiving. I will, of course, be working on Turkey Day. But I'm hoping that my family will be able to get together that weekend for a big celebratory meal at my house. Hopefully my husband will let me decorate for Christmas the week of Thanksgiving again this year. I liked having the tree up and the house all pretty when family came last year. I would like to do that again. Then it will be my absolute favorite time of the year, CHRISTMAS! Sugar cookies, and gingerbread houses and lights and maybe a little snow. Christmas is going to be even more fun this year with Evie and Elly. And then once Christmas is over and the tree is packed back up and all the lights are put away...I will have between 4-6 weeks to get ready for a baby.
So see, it's really going to be a pretty busy rest of the year!
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