19th Week: Daddy gets to feel baby kicks too!

After me telling Matt for the past few weeks that I've been feeling some kicking, he finally got his turn!!! I was laying in bed Tuesday morning with my hands on my belly and I actually felt the baby kick on the outside! I told Matt to try and feel, but the kicking had stopped. On Wednesday morning I felt the kicking again and this time Matt got to feel it too! Just in time for Christmas - could we ask for anything more?!?!?!

I'm feeling great - no complaints! My Baby Bump is really starting to pop out - perfect just in time for our beach vacation... Speaking of which, I don't have much time to write - I have to keep packing! We leave for Grand Cayman early Sunday morning and still have another Christmas party tomorrow!

18th Week: Mommy's feeling some kicking!

There was definite kicking going on in there this week! It still isn't very regular, but I know it's Baby Frantz making him/herself known :-) I feel it most often in the morning and at at night while I'm lying in bed. I just love this feeling - The perfect 30th Birthday present!!!

17th Week... Did I Feel Something?

Feeling GREAT this week :-) I seem to be back to my pre-pregnancy self... expect for getting up to go to the bathroom about 3-4 times/night! My belly is definitely getting bigger, but I still haven't really gained much weight... I have a feeeling that will change over the next few weeks with Christmas and our vacation to Grand Cayman coming up :-)

On Tuesday this week, after Madeline went to bed and we were relaxing in the living room I think I may have felt some movement. It was just a few times and was pretty inconsistent, but I think it was the baby! It has happened a hand-full of times since then (mostly in the evenings). I know it can be pretty irregular in the beginning so I'll continue to pay attention and give anther update next week :-)

16 Week... A very productive check-up :-)

Madeline and I went to my 16 week appointment this morning and everything went just as it was supposed to... We discussed some of the aches and pains I've been having, talked about meeting the other midwives in the practice, looked ahead to delivery time and my plan to have a doula with me, discussed the new Women's wing at the hospital and how (if it is finished) the changes might affect us, scheduled my 20 week ultrasound appointment with an OB (because all VBAC patients are required to), I got my flu shot and then listened to the heartbeat - 160 beats per minute :-) A very productive appointment!

On Wednesday evening/night I had pretty sharp pains in my lower right pelvis area and dull pains in my lower, right back, near my kidney. These were different from the normal round ligament stretching pains that I've had quite regularly in that this pain lasted from about 9:00 PM to about 5:00 AM. These pains were accompanied by a pretty bad headache. My motherly instincts told me that the pains weren't associated with the baby, but if they were still there in the morning I would definitely give the doctor a call. The pain in my lower right pelvis would surge every so often and get worse when I went to the bathroom, but when I got up in the morning they were pretty much gone all together. Since the pain went away I decided to wait and talk with our midwife about it this morning.

After seeing that there were no abnormalities (no signs of infection) in my regular tests we talked about what may have caused the pains I described. Cheryl mentioned that maybe I had passed a small kidney stone - this had actually crossed my mind the night before. She said if this is what is happened the pain will just go away and there really isn't anythign else to worry about. If the pains come back I will give her a call and see if there is anything else it might be. BUT for right now I am fine and everything seems to be back to normal :-)

No other big changes to report this week... I'm starting to feel a little bit bigger and I'm anxiously awaiting feeling the first movements from Baby Frantz!

15th Week... Actual Weight Gain or Just Too Much Turkey???

Today on the scale I was up about a pound from my starting weight, but I don't know if that is baby weight or turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie weight! I guess I'll give it a few days and then weight myself again to see if it sticks...

We can definitely feel my baby bump now, especially when I'm laying down! If the clothes I wear are form-fitting you can definitely tell there is a little something extra there :-) Some of our reading has mentioned that a few people start to feel movement as early as the 15th or 16th weeks. While I'm sitting and resting I really pay attention and a few times I thought maybe I felt something - but more than likely it was just some bubbles in my tummy. I think it was more around 19 or 20 weeks when I first felt Madeline moving around :-)

Other than that things haven't really changed much this week. My hips aren't hurting quite as much when I'm laying in bed , but I still have to switch positions quite a few times each night. The headaches are fewer and further in between, but the round ligament pain seems to have increased a little bit. In general I'm feeling great and looking forward to our next prenatal visit next Friday :-)

Here are a few pictures of Madeline and I from this week's photo shoot... She loves to sing to the baby (You are My Sunshine) and give the Baby hugs and kisses :-)

Week 14... Pregnancy Brain, Mrs. Clumsy and My Growing Belly

Once again, there isn't much to report this week. I'm feeling good and that's great! I do think that my "pregnancy brain" is starting to settle in. There is no scientific evidence to back any of this up, but MANY pregnant women feel like they tend to forget things more often when being pregnant - especially all of that short term memory stuff, like where you set your phone down or that you started a load of laundry that need to be put in the dryer. I don't think it's a physical change as much as the fact that you have so many more things running through your head. Whether consciously or not, I know that I'm thinking about being pregnant almost constantly and that just takes up more space in my brain... leaving less room for all of that short-term memory stuff :-)

I'm also feeling a lot more clumsy these days - dropping things and completely missing things that I try to grab too quickly. Again, I don't think this is a physical change, but has more to do with my mind racing all the time. All the thoughts of Baby Frantz running through my head has to mean that there is just less time to concentrate on all of those little things that I'm doing :-)

This biggest change this week is that I feel like I'm starting to "pop". Not enough that I think other people will notice (take a look at the picture and let me know what you think), but enough that I notice. I just can't suck in my belly any more and that means I won't be able to for at least another 6 months! I'm pretty sure this is earlier than the first time around (maybe more like 17-18 weeks the first time), but I also started off a little bigger with our first pregnancy and know I was more in denial :-)

I haven't actually gained any weight yet, but that isn't surprising to me at all. With Madeline I actually lost about 10 lbs. the first trimester and then gradually began to gain the pregnancy weight. My previous OB and I attributed this weight loss to feeling nauseous and not wanting to eat as much, along with the fact that I was just being so much healthier... Lots more fruits and veggies, eating breakfast regularly, eating smaller meals more frequently, less dining out, drinking LOTS more water, the elimination of all adult beverages and regular exercise. I think the same is holding true with this pregnancy, but because I started off a little lighter there wasn't as much to lose. So, the transition to a healthier lifestyle has probably lead to an even exchange of unnecessary weight I was carrying before getting pregnant and the extra weight I've put on because if being pregnant :-) CNM Cheryl agrees and says that everything is progressing just as it should! I'm predicting the weight gain will start really soon, but hopefully be pretty gradual, just like last time :-)

Still no need for maternity pants, but the selection of non-maternity pants that I have that continues to fit is gradually decreasing. My maternity attire may make an appearance sooner rather than later :-) The first time around I was like many first-timers and just didn't want to "give-in" and say that my normal clothes weren't fitting any more - and probably went a little longer than I needed in jeans that were just too big instead of buying my first pair of maternity pants. This time I know just how comfortable that 3 - 4 inch wide maternity band can be! I've already dug them out of hiding and they're just waiting to make their debut :-) I just wish that I could remember what I did with that pair of khaki maternity pants that I just loved when I was pregnant with Madeline... did I put them somewhere different than my other maternity clothes or did I lend them to someone and I just can't remeber who... dang pregnancy brain!

Week 13: Getting back to a Routine

Not very much to report this week... Food is tasting pretty good again and All-Day Sickness is limited to Only-Before-I-Get-Out-Of-Bed-In-The-Morning Sickness :-) The evening headaches have pretty much disappeared, but been replaced with a little reflux... another one of those things that is hardly worth mentioning because it has been so mild :)

All in all I'm feeling good and concentrating more on being has healthy as I can be. Not that I wasn't being healthy before, but eating and exercising regularly got pretty tough when I felt like losing my cookies all the time! I'm going to try getting back to some sort of exercise routine this week. My goal is to get on our stationary bike for at least 1/2 an hour 4 days a week and doing more core strengthening exercises now that we have our exercise ball here at the apartment. I'm sure I'll start off pretty slow, but getting into the routine is really what I need to do. I know that it will give me more energy and make me feel better in general. I'm going to need all of the physical stamina/energy I can get when it comes to the delivery!

12 Weeks... Heartbeat Sounds!

Not really anything new this week... I consider that a good thing! I'm still not feeling very good before I get out of bed in the morning, but once I get moving I'm just fine for the rest of the day :-) Still a few minor headaches at night, but I think the extra fluids I've been drinking later in the day have helped with that too! I have started to get a little energy back, so that's another good thing!!!

Today we went for another prenatal visit with Cheryl. My blood pressure is way down... 102/61 compared to the 122/75 it was last month. I think that has a lot to do with how worried I was during our last visit (at that time we still hadn't been reassured that there weren't any problems). Not much else happened at this visit, except that we got to hear the heartbeat again and this time it was super easy to find and really loud! We recorded the beautiful sound of Baby Frantz' heartbeat with our phone and have posted it here! Take a listen...

11th Week... Starting to feel better - Really!

This week I really started to feel better. I'm still not feeling all that great before I get out of bed in the morning, but once I have some breakfast I'm usually pretty good for the rest of the day (as long as I keep something in my stomach). I was really sleepy this week, but that may have more to do with how busy we were as opposed to anything pregnancy related :-) Feeling dizzy when I get up too fast has also continued - something that I remember from being pregnant with Madeline.

One thing that has seemed to get a little bit more intense this week is the hip pain I've been experiencing at night. I've ALWAYS slept on my side but this has become pretty uncomfortable. I've been waking up several times a night having the switch sides because my hips are hurting so much. I've noticed that if a sleep with a pillow between my knees that it helps a little so I'll continue to do that. I guess I really shouldn't be complaining about sleep discomfort at this point because I haven't even started to show any kind of "belly"... waking up several times a night from here until the baby arrives is just preparing me for the nuances of a new baby - right? :-)

One new thing that I've noticed this week are very minor headaches after dinner. Nothing that I feel I would need to take anything for, just something I've noticed. I've read this may be related to the amount of water I'm drinking. I'm so good at drinking a lot of water early in the day, but I always seem to reduce my intake as the day goes on. I'm going to try and stay more hydrated throughout the entire day and see if this helps...

Our next prenatal appointment is this Friday and I'm super excited to hear the heartbeat! I'll try and capture a recording with my phone and post it next Saturday. This appointment is one that I've especially been looking forward to... If everything checks out this week the chances of miscarriage are dramatically reduced and we'll announce our pregnancy to everyone we haven't already told :-)

Like I said, we've been pretty busy this week and I just didn't get around to taking my weekly belly picture. I'm going to take one tomorrow for the beginning of the 12th week and try to make it something I do every Monday :-)

10th Week... Spoke too soon

Well, I wrote last week about how I was starting to feel better but then for the next few days I felt just as icky as before. I'm still feeling nauseous on and off throughout the day, but now it seems more related to how often I eat. So, I'm trying to snack more often and that seems to help a little :-)

Have I mentioned how brushing my teeth makes me gag? This is definitely something I remember from my pregnancy with Madeline. It wasn't too bad the first couple of weeks, but it has been getting worse. I can't brush my teeth right away in the morning any more - so I've been waiting until an hour or so after breakfast. The gagging hasn't actually made me "lose my cookies", but I thought it might, so I hope waiting an hour or so will help me avoid that all together :-)

Not much else happening this week, but I've always thought that no news is good news!

This week I had Madeline join my weekly photo shoot. Here are some of my favorite shots...

We'll continue to take pictures together every week - I really think she'll love these pictures when she gets a little older :-)