23rd Week - Unexpectedly Uncomfortable...

My last line from my last post was "I'm still feeling great and truly enjoying pregnancy again this time!"... Well, most of that is still very true - I'm enjoying this pregnancy as much as the first, but this past week I've started to experience some of the unpleasantries associated with being pregnant...

Sleeping is never something that is easy during pregnancy. Between increased trips to the bathroom and some hip pain, a full night's sleep never comes uninterrupted, but lately I've started to feel a few new aches and pains that I don't remember having with Madeline. The pain is in the middle of the lowest part of the pelvis. It doesn't hurt while I am up and moving around or laying in bed, but rather when I lift my legs to change sleeping positions or hoist myself out of bed to make another trip to the bathroom. I looked it up online to see if it is normal and I believe it is may be Symphysis Pubis Diatasis - something they describe as "harmless and quite normal". After reading more about it, I learned that things are just starting to loosen up to make way for delivery day :-)

Another new development this week - one that I've never experienced before and hope I don't have to experience again - is something that I won't get into on the blog... let's just say that sitting down has not been a pleasurable experience for the past few days...

Other than these things I've still been feeling well and continue to enjoy all of the movement going on in there :-) I think this one may be just as lively as Madeline!

22nd Week: Settling Down & Clothes Shopping

Things are finally starting to settle down around here after Christmas, vacation, starting a new job and breaking ground on the new house. Being so busy has really made the last few weeks fly by!

I survived my second week of work and I'm liking it more each day. Baby Frantz keeps me company all day and lets me know he/she is still there by kicking all the time :-)

I realized very quickly that my belly is definitely getting bigger and that I really needed more clothes to wear to work. So, last weekend I got out all of my clothes from my last pregnancy and started trying them on. Turns out I'm just not the same size that I was the last time around. I'm happy that the clothes are too big, but that meant I needed to do some shopping. For those of you that know me, I don't go shopping very often - especially for myself, and when I do I am definitely a bargain hunter. I was worried that I might spend a fortune, but was VERY happily surprised when I walked into the first store and ALL of their maternity clothes were on sale!!! I got pants, shirts, sweaters and a jacket - and saved 60+% off the original prices! I should have enough to last me for a while (as long as I don't start packing on the pounds) and just be able to supplement with the occasional deal I find here and there :-)

I'm still feeling great and truly enjoying pregnancy again this time!

21st Week: Ultrasound!

We got back from Cayman late Sunday night and we had such a great time! Monday we all headed to Waconia for my 20 week ultrasound - they are more fun each time! This one took about 45 minutes and Baby Frantz was VERY active the whole time. They took a lot of pictures and said everything looks great! The couldn't get a profile picture, so I might be lucky enough to get another look at my next appointment so they can try and capture this elusive shot :-)

After the ultrasound we met with a new Doctor - OBGyn Andrea Huldeen. She talked with us about VBACs and said that I was a very good candidate. Of course she went through all of the risks, but she also talked about all of the benefits. It was an emotional appointment... talking about all of the limitations associated with being "high risk" because of the C-Section I had because Madeline was breech. But after all was said and done, we really believe that VBAC is the way to go and we'll do everything we can to help make it happen :-) Seeing Dr. Huldeen was something we needed to do but we can't wait to see CNM Cheryl at our next appointment!

Here are the ultrasound pictures we got to take home:
The ultrasound technician said that all of the measurements she took indicate that Baby Frantz is exactly 1 lb. right now ~ just where he/she is supposed to be :-)

On a different note, Tuesday was my first day at my new job... I love my new position and try not to get too distracted by all of the kicking :-)

20th Week: Half way there!

We've spent the entire week lounging on the beach and Grand Cayman and it has been WONDERFUL! Baby and I have been soaking up some rays and making lots of sand castles with Daddy & Big Sister Madeline :-) I consider myself lucky that our vacation fell right in the middle of the second trimester - I feel wonderful!

Here are a few shots of my belly on the beach:I'm so glad we have our own rental house and private beach with only family around. It makes letting my new belly hang out that much easier :-)

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!