Category Archives: Second Trimester

Surprise!

Posted in Baby, Milestones, Pregnancy, Second Trimester, Toddler by

Geoff, Henry and I are so happy to announce that we are expecting Baby #2! Henry is very excited to be a big brother, and we can’t wait to be a family of FOUR!

I’m currently 14 weeks along (hello, second trimester), but here is the sonogram from a few weeks ago at our 8 week appointment. For the record, that’s a baby, not a shrimp.

So far my bump has been much more prominent than last time (click here for a comparison to 15 weeks with Henry). I haven’t taken many bumpies yet, but below are a couple from 13 weeks. I’ll add them here as we go so you can see them all in one spot. The ones from when I was pregnant with Henry are still up there, too.

13 Weeks
13 Weeks

So that’s the big news!! I’m way too busy with Henry to post weekly like I did last time (I mean, c’mon – I can barely keep up with the monthly posts), but I’ll do my best to post updates and new developments. Thanks to everyone who has sent us love and well wishes! Baby #2 is due March 22, 2016.

Week 25: Baby classes and birth videos

Posted in Baby, Childbirth, Classes, Firsts, Pregnancy, Second Trimester, Weekly Updates by

Little man is kicking away as I write this. He is most active during the day while I’m at work, then settles down a bit in the evenings, kicks me all night, and is very quiet in the mornings when I wake up. I love feeling his movements, and they are becoming stronger, but I’d really like other people to be able to feel them, too. I almost feel guilty when I tell someone he is kicking and they sit with their hand on my stomach for five minutes feeling nothing at all.

Luckily my family got to feel him while they were in town, even if they were just light little kicks, like tapping. Geoff has been lucky enough to feel the really big kicks that move my whole stomach (I love those ones).

In other news we had our first baby class on Monday night: Labor, Birth & Delivery. I’m not really sure what to say about it. I was excited/nervous before we left, and then I found the class to be a little boring. Don’t get me wrong, there were some interesting parts (touring the rooms, nursery and NICU, for example), but the rest was pretty standard.

They did show us two birth videos, which weren’t as scary as I thought they would be. Just kind of gross. We also watched a couple videos explaining the different stages of labor, which was interesting, but then we read through a Powerpoint of the exact same information we just watched in the video as a review. Overall, I think it was worthwhile, but I hope the second part of the class (next Monday) gets a little better.

This week according to What to Expect:

Your Baby in Week 25 of Pregnancy

Your baby is growing by leaps and bounds, reaching nine inches in length and passing the pound and a half mark. Under his skin, capillaries are forming and filling with blood and by week’s end, air sacs (also lined with capillaries) will develop in his lungs, getting them ready for that first breath. Mind you, those lungs aren’t ready for prime time just yet — but they are developing surfactant, a substance that will help them expand after birth. And speaking of breathing, your baby’s tiny nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open, and his vocal chords are getting ready to roar.

Nursery In-Progress

Posted in Pregnancy, Second Trimester by

Another jam-packed weekend has come and gone, and I feel like so much got done that I can’t remember everything we did!

I’ll start from the beginning. My parents came into town on Friday, and started clearing out the stuff from our office/guest room so that we can start to turn it into a nursery. Most of the stuff is going to my little brother, who is moving back to college next weekend, so the timing was perfect. We cleared out the room and got the first coat of paint on the walls on Friday night, which got me really excited.

My hibiscus tree is blooming!

My hibiscus tree is blooming!

On Saturday everyone got up early and got right to work. Geoff and his dad put a new window in the bathroom (we are so close to being done remodeling that room that I can taste it!) and the finished product looks beautiful. Meanwhile, my dad put another coat of paint on the nursery walls and brought in a dresser and the crib they bought for us, which I love! While all of that was going on, I ran to the grocery store to pick up some lunch to feed everyone and Ace Hardware to get some yard bags. When I got back, my mom and I (but mostly just my mom) went through all my gardens and took out all the weeds, trimmed plants that needed trimming, and even helped re-plant a few rhododendrons that had to be potted when we built the deck.

Geoff and I had to leave early in the afternoon to head out to a pedal tavern with our friends, and I literally could not stop my mom from working on projects around the yard, so we left her to it and went to meet our friends. Luckily, being preggo, I did not have to pedal on the pedal tavern, so I just got to hang out on the bench in the back. Everyone got a little tipsy wipsy, and even though I wasn’t drinking it was such a good time.

After we pedaled back to the bar where we started Geoff and I left to go over to his parents’ house to celebrate their anniversary with a cookout. While we were there, his grandma gave us a baby present – an Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers onesie jersey! I have no idea how she found it, because I cannot even find a picture of what it looks like online. It is made of jersey material and is actually from the NFL Pro line – so cute!

Sunday we took the day off (HAHAHA just kidding). Actually, we got up and had a quick breakfast, said goodbye (and THANK YOU) to my parents, then set up the crib. It looks SO GOOD. We obviously will need a mattress and sheets and stuff, but we have plenty of time for all that. I snapped a pic so you can see the crib and wall color. What do you think?

Crib

Pottery Barn Kids Kendall Crib in Simply White, paint color is Sherwin Williams Crystal Clear

It was the last day of the State Fair, so Geoff and I headed over for a few hours. I didn’t eat anything weird (we opted for the baked potatoes and corn on the cob over the deep fried cookie dough and chocolate covered bacon on a stick), but everything was delicious. I was feeling pretty worn out after that, so I plopped on the couch for some reality TV while Geoff headed down to the beach for volleyball, which brought an end to our crazy weekend.

Even though it was a lot of work in such a small period of time, my garden looks beautiful, the nursery is coming together, and I can’t thank my parents enough for everything they did this weekend!

Selfies + Bump = Bumpies!

Posted in Baby, Pregnancy, Second Trimester by

I’m clearly the worst at remembering to take bumpies every week. I had all these great ideas of taking a photo in the same shirt every week and then doing something artsy with the photos for the baby book. Whoops.

Here are some from yesterday (24 weeks). Little man is getting bigger by the week now, and he kicked me so hard yesterday that my whole upper body moved!

Week 24

(Sorry for the in-the-bathroom-mirror one but it was the only way to take one from further away. No one else was in there when I took the photo – I promise!)

Week 24: Three things I learned this week

Posted in Maternity Clothes, Pregnancy, Second Trimester, Weekly Updates by

Three things I have learned this week:

1. I hate demi-panel maternity pants.

I’m currently rocking some awesome red crop pants, but they have this stupid demi panel in them! It is pretty tight in order to hold the pants up, which isn’t the most comfortable. Even having it that tight doesn’t stop the pants from slowly inching down so I have to keep tugging them up every five minutes. And when I sit down the panel folds over in front. Plus it makes my bump look weird. Maybe it is supposed to be supportive or something? Whatever, I don’t like it. Give me a full panel or go under the bump – none of this halfway in between business.

2. I can get a free breast pump through my insurance.

One of my friends mentioned this the other day and I jumped all over it. I called my insurance company to see if I qualified, and it turns out all you need is a prescription for a pump from your doctor. I also have to order from certain retailers, so I checked their websites to see if they carry either of the two I had been looking at (they do)! Now I just have to order it and the claim goes right to my insurance so I don’t even have to get reimbursed. We will save around $300! I love saving money.

3. Never believe Chris Harrison.

I watch pretty much every season of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, so the show really doesn’t have to do much to get me to watch. However, I found this season to be… slightly boring. They really tried hard to make it seem dramatic, but in reality it just seemed like Des was too normal for the show, so nothing crazy happened. Yes, I know that Brooks leaving was supposed to be dramatic, but it came off more depressing than anything. And the fact that Chris Harrison said something along the lines of, “I know I say this every season, but trust me, this season finale is the most dramatic thing that has ever happened in Bachelor history!” had me all excited to watch it. Then nothing crazy happened other than the Brooks thing. Um, didn’t this happen already? I’m pretty sure Frank left right at the end of Ali’s season, so really, we’ve seen this exact situation before. Sort of a let down of a season. But of course, they reeled me back in by choosing JUAN PABLO to be the next Bachelor! I think that was the highlight of the season for me.

This week according to What to Expect:

Your baby’s facial features are really filling out… and your belly button may really be popping out!

Your Baby in Week 24 of Pregnancy

Your baby is about eight and a half inches long and weighs one and a half pounds, gaining steadily at a rate of six ounces per week. Much of that weight comes from accumulating baby fat, as well as from growing organs, bones, and muscle. Those little ears of hers are getting sharper and can hear very loud sounds, from a yapping dog to a jackhammer. Also by now, that fabulous face is almost fully formed, complete with eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair. Is your baby a brunette, a blonde, or a redhead? Actually, right now her locks are white since there’s no pigment yet.

Your Body in Week 24 of Pregnancy

If your former innie is now an outie, welcome to the club. Almost every expectant mom’s pregnant belly button pops at some point as her swelling uterus pushes on everything in its path. Things should return to normal after delivery, though your navel (and some other parts of your body) might look a bit, well, stretched. Just think of it as one more badge of honor that only moms get to wear. What other pregnancy woe is pushing your buttons? Well, probably your uncomfortably numb wrists and fingers, thanks to carpal tunnel syndrome. (Don’t worry — the sensations will disappear when you give birth.)