Hang the streamers! Bring out the balloons!

I have entered my third trimester! Obviously I’m the only one excited about it since no one realized it besides me (Insert pity party here. I can hear the violins, can you?), but as of Sunday, January 17th, I am 28 weeks pregnant. And yes, I am excited! Although there is no party planned, we are having Chipotle and these days, that counts for something. I think I’ll get some ice cream too. I discovered a new flavor, ONE Cheesecake Brownie and it proved dangerous. Jeff and I split a pint the other day, which means he had 1/10 of it while I devoured the rest. Don’t let him kid you though, that boy can eat ice cream. It usually takes him two sittings to polish off a pint whereas in most cases, it takes me three sittings while pregnant to do that kind of damage.

Oh, and since we’re (do you like how I brought you all into this “conversation”?) talking ice cream…is it too much to ask for someone to get me some salted caramel ice cream from Bi-Rite Creamery? Soon? Or maybe NOW? I’d almost consider a plane ticket to San Francisco for some of that deliciousness. Unfortunately they don’t deliver. I checked. I know a place that does though if ever any of you is itching to shell out too much dough on a gift of ice cream for me; just ask and I’d be happy to provide you with that information. I mean come on, it’s the third trimester for crying out loud! I made it! (Ice cream delivery also makes a wonderful gift for just having a baby, coming home from just having a baby, one month anniversaries of having a baby, Mother’s Day and birthdays.)


There are 12 more weeks until my due date, April 11th, but hopefully it’ll actually be about 11 weeks until our babe arrives. Every day shaved off is great by me at that point since at 37 weeks, our baby will be considered full term. My next doctor appointment is on Monday (Monday, January 25th) where I’ll do my glucose test. Hopefully I don’t fail after all that ice cream I’m imagining getting sent to me over the weekend.

Doctor appointment: 26 weeks

Happy 2010! I have officially been pregnant for the last three years...well, during a period of the last three years anyway! On Sunday (Sunday, January 3rd) I reached my 26th week of pregnancy. Mostly when I think about it, things have gone rather quickly. Even so, April feels like an eternity away sometimes. Three months until we meet our baby. Three months is a long wait. Then I look at my belly and three months seems unreal. How can I be this big and still have so much longer to go? When we met with my doctor yesterday (Tuesday, January 5th), I couldn’t resist telling him I thought he must have done something wrong. Surely he missed that I was having twins! Dr. Chow laughed and assured me that there was no way he missed one and could guarantee that I was only having one baby. “This time,” he added with a shady grin.

My appointment was fairly straight forward. We heard our baby’s heart beating perfectly. I received my glucose water for my diabetic screening at my next appointment with a nurse practitioner. I’ve had a couple more migraines lately, but there was no major concern about those, or headaches in general, with my blood pressure being normal. I measured right on track. My doctor placed special emphasis on this point since I told him, "Everyone thinks I’m huge!" Rest assured everyone (he told me to tell you all), my size is perfectly normal. By the look of my stomach though, I can’t really blame anyone for thinking I’m larger than average. Heck, my own husband has looked at my belly and said, “That’s full-term!” more than a couple times.

And let me tell you something else: it wasn’t a good idea to tell Jeff how much I weighed. I was feeling pretty darn good about my five pound weight gain at this appointment. I received the eight pound shock during the last one, so I guess I was assuming I'd receive similar news this time. And with the holidays, I thought for sure I had gained ten. So when five pounds was the increment, I was kind of pleased. When I met up with Jeff again after my weigh in, I told him I gained five pounds. Then (obviously without really thinking) I said, “I weigh XXX.” Big mistake.

“What? No. Are you serious? Oh my gosh! You’re going to start giving me a run for my money! That’s more than you weighed at the end of your entire pregnancy last time, isn’t it?!” Even his smiling while asking didn’t make me feel better. Maybe that made it worse. “NO! I weighed more than that with Mirabella! I gained like 38 pounds with her (maybe it was 39).” And he still thought I weighed less at the end last time than I do now---I don’t know if I was bothered, or if I was actually flattered that he thought I only weighed XXX when I got pregnant with Mirabella!

Bottom line: don’t state your total pregnancy weight to your husband. There is just no reason to. You will be going about your business, packing on the pounds and not worrying much about it really. Amniotic fluid? Two pounds. Increased blood volume? Go ahead and throw on four. Make out with a few McMuffins...weekly? Tack a couple more on. You wanna look at a cookie? That’ll cost you. You know it’s temporary (or so you hope), so who really cares what the scale says? Well...your husband does. Not that he is going to go around telling people you are a fat lard, and not that he necessarily thinks you are a fat lard, but he’s thinking about that number. Yeah, that one. The one the scale said. He’s trying to wrap his head around that number. He’s in disbelief; could you really be that number? The worst part is that I probably could have convinced him I weighed 125 right now and he wouldn’t have known otherwise! But now he knows I weigh XXX and now I’m going to have to buy more cauliflower and crap. My stupid mouth.

It's a girl...

...or so my dream two nights ago indicated. This was my first dream regarding the sex of our baby, or about our baby in general that I can recall. For those of you who didn't know, like with Mirabella, we chose not to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. There was all kinds of craziness surrounding my dream (just like with my first pregnancy, I am dreaming all the time!), but then it was all clear and relatively normal when I was in the operating room about to have our baby. I was having a c-section and within what felt like about ten seconds (wouldn't that be nice?), the baby was out and she was a girl! She was plump and beautiful. And nameless.

Someone in the operating room asked what her name was (just like they did right away when I delivered Mirabella and it was so surreal to say her name for the first time), but oh my gosh, we didn't have one! And in reality, we don't have one!

Names have proven to be more challenging this time around, but hopefully we won't be leaving the hosptial with a nameless baby. We have a few contenders, but no decision yet. During my first pregnancy, I was telling everyone for the longest time that we hadn't made a final decision regarding names, but we had and just weren't telling people what they were (we didn't want to be influenced by other people's opinions and we wanted the name to be another surprise to everyone on delivery day). We decided on Mirabella's name maybe before I was even pregnant, or right in the beginning of my pregnancy at least. The boy's name came later, but we were pretty sure of it for quite some time. We think we're all set on a boy's name this time around, but I really mean it, we do not have a girl's name picked out.

When I was pregnant with Mirabella, I dreamt we had a baby boy...and we all know how that turned out. So, maybe this time it'll be the opposite again. Should we be getting prepared to blend our currently pink world with a blue one?

Photos: 24 weeks

These two below are from 23 1/2 weeks

Merry Christmas from our family to yours

Six months down

At 24 weeks pregnant (as of Sunday, December 20th) I've been very fortunate again in that I'm feeling so well and my pregnancy is going wonderfully. Right before I hit week 16, I felt my baby move and a couple weeks later, Jeff felt it too. Over the last eight weeks since I felt those first flutters, I've been feeling him or her moving a bunch ever since and have been loving every second of it. Especially lately, the baby moves constantly and not only can it be felt, now it can be seen!

I think it was at about 17 or 18 weeks when I was at the grocery store that the first person, the first stranger, acknowledged I was pregnant. It was sample day (go figure) and when the woman gave me a sparkling juice taste, she said that it was good for me, then looked down and said it was good for both of us. It made me so happy. Pregnant, not fat...thanks for noticing, dear sample lady! Surely other strangers noticed my belly before then, but this was the first time one had felt comfortable saying something I suppose. Well now that I'm 24 weeks, I'm obviously fully showing to the world at this point and have been since oh, about week one (or so it felt like to me!).

When my first trimester ended, the tiredness remained whereas with Mirabella, I remember feeling refreshed almost immediately once I got out of it. Although I didn't quite get that same pronounced burst of energy upon entering into my second trimester as I did then, I can't complain in the least. I'm quite sure I just need to get used to being tired for a while, years I suppose, but I am much less tired than I was in the beginning. I think the energy burst is coming, just a little late. Or, maybe this is it!

Previously (in my second trimester has begun post) I had mentioned that I was getting the same goofy butt pain I had gotten when I was pregnant with Mirabella. I have since forgotten to mention that it was thankfully short-lived and after only having it for maybe a week or so, it hasn't come back! I also had bothersome back pain with Mirabella in the middle of my right side, and that hasn't come back either. I feel tinges here and there, but nothing like last time. That was the worst. I don't know if it's still too early on for it, but I'm enjoying its lack of presence.

Jeff will concur that my absent-mindedness is in full effect. I can't seem to remember much of anything unless I write it down. I make lists for everything, online, in my phone, on paper, in my head and soon, on my forehead, I swear. I think absent-mindedness is putting it politely. Sometimes I'm an utter idiot! Brainless even. I find myself saying some of the stupidest things and of course, blame the baby for sucking the oxygen from my noggin. Common sense? On vacation. I forget food in the oven (after shutting off the timer thinking I can remember to take whatever it is out after just a few more minutes of cooking), on the stove and in the toaster. I'll fluff up clothes in the dryer I've forgotten to empty only to forget them again. It's a vicious cycle of fluff, fluff and refluff. (Hey, shouldn't I be taking a break from cooking and cleaning right now anyway?) I've forgotten to add street addresses on cards I've mailed; the tune of "Return to Sender (address unknown, no such number, no such zone...)" plays in my head. I wish I could remember the better examples, but why is it not surprising that my memory escapes me now? Somehow I remember to shower (well, most days) and pick up Mirabella at daycare, but I'm waiting for all that to change.

Another symptom of pregnancy for me that has come back this time around is the bloody noses. I've had several gushing nose bleeds in the past two months. They are more of a nuisance than anything. I'd much rather have a bloody nose than a migraine though, which have been sparse, thank goodness! I had a few early on, and one two weeks ago, so all in all, things are good in that area. I’ve had some cramping in my foot a few times, but nothing as bad as the handful of times they happened with my first pregnancy. Oh, and I get winded easily, especially when going up stairs (and especially with a nine month old on my hip while climbing those stairs) but that's standard. Surprising some with all the marathon running I do, but fairly standard nonetheless (haha!).

Listing these things is more to keep record for myself, not to complain about them. Really, how could I complain? I mean, it's not like someone forgot to put the cheese cup in with my nachos or something.

I love being pregnant. I am utterly grateful that I have been able to be pregnant twice in my lifetime and I'm incredibly blessed to have been given the chance to enjoy my pregnancies so much. Cheers to the bundle being in my oven for six months!

Our baby at 23 weeks

At 23 weeks, the baby weighs just over a pound, about as much as a mango.