Baby #2: Weeks 19 - 20

19 weeks - see me at 16 weeks with Nicholas at the same spot here.

Dates: February 11 - February 24, 2014

Highlights: We've made it halfway! Exciting stuff. With Nicholas, I remember feeling like the first half of the pregnancy crept by at a snail's pace and that the second half went really fast (a little too fast!) Given that this pregnancy already feels like it's moving a lot quicker than my first, I have no doubt the second half is going to fly by. Time to start getting some items checked off my list! The highlight of the past two weeks was our 20 week ultrasound, which we had a few days before I turned 20 weeks. We were so happy and relieved to learn that baby girl looks absolutely healthy in every way and that she is indeed still a girl! She is already a little chunk and I am measuring 5 days ahead right now, but they won't change my due date unless it becomes a week or more ahead of my July 14th due date.

Symptoms: I'm definitely in that second trimester sweet spot. I still tire easily and pass out most nights before 10pm, but I don't have too much to complain about otherwise. Food tastes great and my appetite is huge (and growing by the week.) I am working out three times a week and feeling good. I continue to get pain periodically in my right hip, but stretching and the heating pad help when it flares up. Jason gave me a prenatal massage for Valentine's Day, and I used it this past weekend. It was glorious.

With all of my loves

What's Different: With Nicholas, I felt like I gained most of my weight right in my belly. This time, in true girl pregnancy fashion, it seems to be spread out all over. Also, with Nicholas, I got a really dark line down the center of my belly. I can't remember when it appeared, but interestingly, I see no sign of it yet.

What's the Same: My appetite is huge! I'm not craving sugar in particular, but it's also rare that a day passes when I don't eat dessert. Like with Nicholas, the one thing that does not appeal at all (much to Jason's dismay) is any sort of barbecue.

20 weeks

What I Miss: Now that I'm feeling good and loving meal times, it's tough to pass up that glass of wine with dinner. But I know I'll be enjoying a nice glass of wine soon enough...

What I'm Looking Forward To: Jason finished painting Nicholas' new big boy room this past weekend. We plan to get him moved into the new room by mid-March, and then it's time to start working on baby girl's room!

Nicholas Turns Two!

Towards the end of January, our little guy turned two! This year, we opted not to do a big birthday party. Instead, I took a half day off work and we brought cupcakes to his class and had a little party for him there.

Several other kids in his class had recently had birthdays, so he was thrilled to take his turn as the birthday boy (complete with birthday crown!), hear everyone sing "Happy Birthday," and share cupcakes with his friends.

Afterward, we headed home for cards, presents, homemade pizza, and of course more cupcakes!

Too busy playing with his balloons to pose for a picture. (Excuse the mess in the background!)

Yummy! Another cupcake -- this time Oreo flavored. (We took a video of him blowing out the candle, but forgot to get a picture, too.)

That Saturday, we took Nicholas down to check out Austin's new children's museum, the Thinkery. There were lots of cool exhibits, including an entire room covered with holes and Lite Brite style colored pegs that lit up when you put them in the wall, lots of water features (a friend wisely recommended we bring a change of clothes), and a full scale farmers market with little shopping baskets and every type of fake fruit or vegetable available for "shopping."

There is also a huge park across the street, so we made time to feed the ducks and take a spin through the playground.

We capped off our excursion with a tasty lunch at Austin's new In'N'Out. Yum. Way to turn two, buddy!

Baby #2: Weeks 17 - 18

17 Weeks

Dates: January 28 - February 10, 2014 (Finally caught up!)

Highlights: We celebrated Jason's birthday on the 31st and then cheered on the Seahawks with fellow Seattlites as they won the Super Bowl on February 2nd.

Symptoms: Fortunately, I don't have much new to report here. The nausea is gone, and I am feeling a little bit more energetic although I don't think I'll ever be one of those women who has a burst of energy during the second trimester. I am exhausted each night, and usually hit the hay before 10pm. Sleep has been good lately-- I always wake up once to use the bathroom, but I've been falling right back to sleep and my big body pillow is keeping me comfy.

17 weeks with my little helper

What's Different: Again, not much new to report here. I am really trying to drink a ton of water, so the headaches are getting better.

What's the Same: I gained more weight in the first trimester during this pregnancy, but now that my nausea is gone and my appetite is normalizing (although growing rapidly), I seem to be gaining about a pound a week, which was exactly what I did with Nicholas.

18 weeks

What I Miss: I'm missing the ease of throwing together a turkey sandwich for lunch. Without going out to eat every day, it seems like lunch time options are limited. I'm trying not to eat frozen food more than a couple times a week, but there are only so many egg salad sandwiches a girl can eat.

What I'm Looking Forward To: We are looking forward to the big (almost) 20 week appointment next week. We have also selected a paint color for Nicholas' big boy room and I'm excited about getting his new room all set up.

Baby #2: Weeks 15 - 16

15 weeks

Dates: January 14 - January 27, 2014

Highlights: We celebrated Nicholas' second birthday on the 23rd. It's hard to believe it's already been two years, and being pregnant again had me reminiscing about the final days and weeks of my first pregnancy. I am also starting to feel the baby move on a regular basis (every other day or so at this point.) I actually felt the very first movements right around 11 weeks, but it was so early that I wasn't sure if it truly was our little miss or if I was just feelings the remnants of dinner being digested. At my (almost) 16 week appointment, I asked the doctor about this and he assured me that it is possible for second-(or more)-time moms to feel the baby that early.

Symptoms: I've started getting bad headaches, particularly in the afternoon and particularly if I'm not adequately hydrated. I also experienced my first Braxton Hicks contractions right around 15 weeks. Again, my doctor said this is a little early, but not unheard of for second time moms. I'm also still feeling the occasional bout of queasiness, but it seems to be rapidly clearing up.

16 weeks

What's Different: Both the headaches and the Braxton Hicks contracts are new-- I didn't experience either one with Nicholas. Also different this time around is my exercise routine. Now that I'm in the second trimester and feeling a little bit better, I've committed to working out three times a week. I'm still doing my twice weekly boot camp, and I've added a third day of exercise (usually a long walk on the weekend.) I'm a little slower with the sprints at boot camp and can't quite lift as much weight, but feels good to be maintaining a decent level of fitness.

What's the Same: My right hip pain and general sciatica are both flaring up. Fortunately the exercise and stretching seem to help.

What I Miss: As the nausea fades and my appetite is coming back, I am really starting to miss my wine. To be expected I guess.

What I'm Looking Forward To: We've scheduled our big 20 week fetal anatomy scan for February 21st. (I'll be a few days shy of 20 weeks.) We already know the sex, but I'm just looking forward to seeing our little lady again since my last ultrasound was at 6 weeks. I'm also a little anxious and really hoping that she'll get a clean bill of health. It will be a relief to pass that milestone.

Five on Friday

It's been a while, but I'm happy to join the girls again for Five on Friday. Here's what's going on with us:

1.) Snow Days. I know the rest of the country has had it a lot worse than Texas, but we've been getting polar vortexed too. Today is the second full snow day we've had in the past couple weeks (as in schools and daycares closed all day), and we've also had two or three mornings with late openings. (Our daycare follows whatever the local school district decides.) Today there is literally not a drop of precipitation on the ground. The schools got lambasted last week for making a late decision to delay the start of school on a legitimately icy morning, so apparently they were playing it extra safe today. Don't get me wrong-- I love a snow day as much as the next person. It just makes it a lot easier to justify to your boss why you need to stay home from work with your kiddo when there's actually snow on the ground.

Actual snow a few weeks ago... maybe 1/8", mostly on the pavement.

2.) Gotta Love Texas Weather. Continuing with the weather theme... I took the screen shot below on my phone last night. It was 28 degrees. Right now it's about 31. But no worries. Tomorrow it's going to be 70. So strange! I've lived here for almost five years and am still not used to how volatile the weather can be this time of year. But, hey, I'll take it. This Texas transplant has gotten used to the sun and I would love a break from my polar fleece and bulky sweaters.

3.) Nursery Inspiration. I've been browsing the internet and some of my favorite stores for baby girl's nursery bedding. I didn't have anything in particular in mind, but knew I didn't want to go overboard with pink, pink, and more pink. I few weeks ago, I popped into Pottery Barn Kids on a whim, and I found the perfect inspiration piece. I bought this Brooklyn pillow sham and will use it as an accent piece in the glider, and then I'm thinking pale, pale pink walls, with aqua accents throughout the room. More to come!

 4.) Date Night Tomorrow! Last month my company debuted a new ad that runs in movie theaters prior to the start of the movie, and my boss has offered us to expense a movie ticket if we go see the ad. Done and done. Jason and I are heading out tomorrow evening to see The Wolf of Wall Street. We haven't seen a movie in the theater for a couple months, so I'm looking forward to it. Whether this preggo can stay awake for a 3 hour movie that starts at 8:45pm is another matter...

5.) Queso. Because a "snow" day calls for a yummy lunch! Nicholas and I made a run to Torchy's for brisket tacos, fresh guac, and the best queso in Austin. Bring on the weekend!

It's a....

We found out the gender of our baby a few weeks ago. We didn't do any sort of elaborate gender reveal this time around, but the three of us were giddy with excitement when we gathered on the couch to rip open the envelope and find out if we are welcoming a baby boy or a baby girl in July. I'll let Nicholas share the news...

 



It's....


A....


GIRL!!!!


We could not be more excited or thrilled! Of course, we're most concerned with just having a healthy baby and we would have been happy to welcome a baby boy or a baby girl, but it is pretty exciting to think about experiencing both a son and a daughter. And now plans are underway to welcome baby girl in just about 5 months! I'm trying to reign myself in when it comes to all those adorable girl clothes out there, but I figure that since we don't need to purchase much in the way of baby gear, it can't hurt to pad her wardrobe a little bit. : )

(Oh, and we made the video to send to my parents who were out of the country when we got the news, hence the reference to Bapa and Gammy.)

Baby #2: Weeks 12 - 14

13 weeks

Dates: December 24, 2013 - January 13, 2014

Highlights: We've made it through the end of the first trimester! Week 12 kicked off with Christmas at home with my family, which is always a highlight. Once I hit 13 weeks, I finally shared the news at work, which was a huge relief. Everyone was very excited and supportive. I am loving finally being able to flaunt my belly and give all of my big scarves and baggy sweaters a break. The biggest highlight of all was finding out baby's gender toward the end of week 14... I'll share the details tomorrow! We are extremely thankful that baby appears to be healthy and that we are finally entering the promised land of the second trimester. It's been so much fun to share the news with everyone!

Symptoms: I had a pretty good week while I was home in Portland during Christmas, but I backtracked a little bit with the nausea once we returned home to Austin. Week 13 was rough. It's definitely worse later in the day and in the evenings, and I'm still experiencing a lot of food aversions. Red meat really sounds terrible, and not much food is appealing. However, over New Year's one of my good friends dropped off her enormous U-shaped body pillow for me to use throughout the duration of the pregnancy, and I am loving my sleep with that thing! (Jason puts up with it taking up well over half the bed, and I've even caught him cozied up in it and reading a book before I've come to bed. I think he's a little jealous!)

14 weeks

What's Different: With Nicholas, I felt noticeably better at 10 weeks and my nausea was completely gone at 12 weeks. This time, it's definitely lingering longer. I've also noticed that I'm growing more in areas that were generally unaffected last time around (cough, my rear end, cough.) I commented on this fact one evening and Jason sheepishly admitted that he's noticed as well. Awesome. To add insult to injury, as of 14 weeks, I've gained 8 pounds-- twice as much as I gained with Nicholas during the same time period. But, I'm trying to just make healthy choices daily and not worry about it too much.

What's the Same: Still tired, still enjoying a variety of other tummy troubles.

What I Miss: I missed a nice glass of red wine at Christmas dinner and a champagne toast at New Year's.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Now that we know the gender, it's time to start planning the nursery! I didn't have many ideas in mind before finding out, so I'm looking forward to browsing some of my favorite websites and stores to get inspiration. And, a new nursery means it's also time to start planning a big boy room! Lots of fun stuff ahead.