I'm in the middle of week 15 right now, and thankfully no longer feeling awful everyday. I was pretty sick all day, everyday for the first 13 weeks... which made those tick by so slowly. Now that I'm feeling better I have a feeling that this pregnancy is going to fly by. A lot of times we have so much going on that I forget that I'm pregnant. Until I look down! I don't know if it's because it's my third pregnancy or because I only had 15 months in between pregnancies this time, but some days I could pass for 7 months pregnant. I think my stomach is a bit weird shaped this time though... rather than bumping out forward I feel like my sides and back are pregnant too... my stomach is just getting really wide.
At my last doctors appointment I was already up 15 pounds, which was no real surprise to me. I always gain early and fast as soon as the pregnancy hormone is in my body. I'd prefer not to gain quite as much as I did with Lane this time around, but I have a feeling I may not have much of a choice. I don't care that much about the actual weight gain, because I know it will eventually come off.... I was just so uncomfortable physically with all that extra weight, that I'd like to eliminate at least a little of that. I tell myself I'm going to focus on being more active this time around, but considering the Minnesota weather is STILL so cold most days, that hasn't been happening much yet.
We've been asked repeatedly if we're going to find out the gender this time. YES, we will. We didn't with Jace and did with Lane, and I personally preferred knowing and being able to bond and plan more while pregnant. Everyone's different, but that was my experience. Most people also assume we were "trying for a girl". We weren't and we also aren't hoping for one. We love our boys and REALLY, TRULY, HONESTLY, just want a healthy baby and would be ecstatic to have either gender. This is our last baby no matter what... I think 3 is probably my sanity max! My appointment to find out the gender isn't scheduled until I'm 21 weeks, so we've still got a ways to go.
This pregnancy has been very similar to my pregnancy with Lane so far, and very different from my pregnancy with Jace. My cravings have been different than both of those pregnancies though. I crave a variety of things depending on the day, but crave a lot more fresh stuff than I did with the older two. Fruit, for example... I never craved before, and it is the best thing I've ever eaten this time around. (Especially green grapes... OMG!) I also crave other fresh stuff like vegetables, sushi, and chipotle. I also obsess over toasted tomato sandwiches smothered in mayo, which is strange because I couldn't eat any form of tomato or tomato sauce while pregnant with Lane or I would get violent heartburn. Unfortunately during the first trimester some of the only things that would settle my stomach were carbs... and there were night when I'd eat nothing but baked potatoes or French fries for dinner... which makes me sick to think about now. I'm hoping that my cravings for fresh foods sticks around and that will help me stay a little healthier this pregnancy.
I have had two ultrasounds so far this pregnancy (one at 8 weeks and one at 11 weeks). Everything looked good on the ultrasounds with the exception of a cyst on one of my ovaries. The doctor isn't concerned about it based on it's size and we will just continue to monitor it going forward. I was getting a lot of cramping at the start of this pregnancy and I think the cyst may have been contributing to that.
13 weeks
14.5 weeks
Our last ultrasound at 11 weeks
I haven't been feeling movement yet. I have felt a few flutters that I was pretty sure were faint movements but nothing I could pin down for sure. It's always nerve wracking before movement starts because I'm constantly wondering if everything is ok in there. Every time I have a doctors appointment my blood pressure is high at the beginning of the appointment because my nerves are shot. I blame having bad pregnancy experiences in the past on my doctor's office anxiety, and I'm hoping once I hit 20 weeks and feel regular movement and have my anatomy scan that some of that will go away.
Jace knows about the new baby and is VERY excited... he didn't seem to fully get it until he saw my second ultrasound pictures, where the baby actually looked like a baby. His eyes lit up and got really big. It was a moment I'll never forget. He's been asking repeatedly when the baby is going to come out, and getting him to understand that it's going to be a painfully long time from now isn't the easiest. Lane has no idea what's going on yet. I think once my stomach is really big and he starts getting a little older he might start to grasp that things are changing, but I don't think he's going to be prepared for the baby's arrival since he won't even be 2 quite yet. I am hoping to have him completely out of diapers by 22 months though. Maybe wishful thinking... but I'd like to have a couple of months of potty training under our belt to hopefully avoid as much regression. We're also trying to figure out when the right time to transition him to a bed will be. Jace was already in a bed by 18 months, but I can't imagine putting Lane in one just yet... he still seems so small to me! He also is not a climber so there's no need to switch yet. We've talked to Jace about the idea of having him and Lane share a bedroom and have bunk beds, which he's excited about. I'm just trying to determine if those are going to be a safe option for Lane at this age. Obviously he'd have the bottom bunk, but that won't prevent him from climbing up to the top bunk and potentially falling (or being pushed!) off. I'll have to find some people who did bunk beds that early and see their thoughts before deciding.
I can't think of much else to update on... I was sort of rambling, but I like to list every random detail because those are my favorite things to look back on later. I was looking back at my pregnancy updates with Lane the other day and laughing at certain details that I'd completely forgotten about that are the same or different this time. I only wish I would have blogged during my pregnancy with Jace. Just like with Lane's pregnancy, I'm going to try to take bump pictures regularly... even if I'm feeling hideous or huge, because the fact I have maybe 3 pictures of my whole pregnancy with Jace is so sad to me. So all that to say, we're expecting our third baby and can't wait to meet him or her already!
