BABY COUNTDOWN #2!

Yup… it is ON!! Due date: April 20, 2013. Hitler's birthday (thank you, Lisa G, for THAT horrifying tidbit!) After all the fruit and vegetable hoopla with Fraser, we can hardly go through this pregnancy without SOME sort of unconventional documentation… so sporting equipment it is! Some things are a bit of a stretch, but what the heck. We’re not exactly getting GRADED on this. Enjoy…

 

 

 

  

And yes, I started showing at week 10. Oh my.

Now for the juicy deets.

Yes, this is a planned pregnancy. Since we started trying, I stocked up on dollar store pregnancy tests (as I heard from several sources that they’re legit), but it took three positive ones to convince me that pregnancy was indeed the case. Now I’m a believer in dollar store pregnancy tests!

How have I been feeling? Well, weeks 6 to 10 were all sorts of crappy and exhausting. Worse than I remember with Fraser (and probably exacerbated by the fact that I was also supposed to be some type of half decent mother to Fraser when all I felt like doing was curling into a ball and sleeping and/or puking). I resisted any type of meds with Fraser, but this time around, I was totally open to it. I got me a prescription for Diclectin, but without benefits it’s $200 for ONE MONTH!! I managed to score some from Lowell’s colleague who had extra (BLESS YOU, AMY) which helped a lot.  Lowell has also been amazing. He changed 4 poopy diapers (of Fraser’s…not mine…but he WOULD change mine… he’s just THAT amazing) in ONE DAY… PLUS he stayed up with Fraser for 4 hours one night when he had a tummy ache (or so we suspected) and was in too much pain to sleep. Lowell is a fantastic father at any given time, but he has managed to amp up his awesomeness EVEN MORE, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Because I had been feeling so poorly- and because this pregnancy has so many similarities to my Mom’s pregnancy with Carlynne and me—my Mom and I were convinced that I was carrying twins. Mom and I were VERY excited about this possibility, but my Dad prayed I wasn’t, and Lowell was a little more realistic about it (i.e., in denial). When I thought (hoped) I was carrying twins, I confided in my friend Joelle (who IS preggo with twins) because I wanted to be pregnant with twins together. Since this is likely our last (planned) pregnancy,  I knew it was the only time I could celebrate being "pregnant with twinsies" (a little crazy, I know.... let's blame the pregnancy hormones). I had an early ultrasound which confirmed that there’s only one baby in there, and I’m not going to lie… I nearly cried. I had gotten VERY excited about having twins (twin girls, to be exact- just like I've always wanted), and we even had names picked out. Joelle- I loved being “pregnant with twins” together- however briefly!

Oh but this baby is not in there alone! She is joined by a cyst (which Lowell—whose “dad jokes” have gotten out of control—refers to as Fraser’s “cyster”). A dermoid cyst. Have you heard of such a thing? They are all kinds of sick and wrong. It’s a 3-cm ball filled with hair and teeth and junk. I know… WHAT??!!! Sick right? As my cousin, Ava, puts it: “teeth out of nothing is the most disgusting thing ever.” I would have to agree! Anyhoo, apparently it’s not entirely uncommon and as long as it doesn’t grow too fast, there it shall sit for the remainder of the pregnancy. It’s not interfering with the babe now, and periodic ultrasounds will continue to confirm that it doesn’t. If it DOES, well, we’ll cross that bridge if/when we get there.

When Kylie was pregnant with Ty, she had a cyst the size of a 2L pop bottle removed, and when my mom was 8 months preggo with Carlynne and me, she had her appendix removed. So really… I’m not too concerned.

I will be referring to this baby as a “she” because I WANT A GIRL! Since I really wanted a boy when we had Fraser, and we GOT a boy, I’m convinced that this is indeed a girl. CONVINCED. Because apparently I get what I want. (But if it’s a healthy baby boy with no prospect of eye problems, then I’ll still be tickled). And no, we will not be finding out the gender until the big birth day!

We have decided to refer to the fetus as our “Star” (unless we come up with something better). That won’t give Fraser a complex at all will it? The reason for the nickname is because the one thing that I cannot bear to deny myself this pregnancy is Starbucks (not the cheapest habit, but it sure is a delicious one). Also, it kind of plays on the whole athletic/sporting equipment theme, yes? I think so.

Speaking of cravings. They change like the wind… as do things that make me want to hurl (well, more so early on). One night I woke up craving lasagna in the worst way, so the next day I bought all the ingredients to make a delectable lasagna. By the time I got home with the groceries, however, the thought of lasagna made me want to up-chuck all over the kitchen floor. I made it anyway (gagging all the way through), and in the freezer it sits!

Let’s talk acne. I thought I was going to get through this pregnancy sans the acne curse but nnnnnnnnOPE! It just waited a little longer to appear this time. Super. At least the bacne has yet to make its unwanted appearance.

At my first doctor’s appointment, I realized how much I did NOT miss having poking, prodding, and gadgets up in my bizz. *sigh* good-bye dignity once again!

I finished nursing Fraser on his first birthday so as to optimize new baby’s nutrients. I don’t know if that was COMPLETELY necessary, but it was suggested to me, and nursing made me feel more nauseous anyway, so what the hey. Still made it to a year… yay me! I kind of miss those special snuggles with Fraser, but I’ll surely enjoy this small window of time where my bosoms don’t double as bottles.

Here’s the shirt Fraser wore to announce the news to our families this summer...

We found the idea on the internet (NOT Pinterest), but have since discovered that it’s all over Pinterest. So much for originality. Ah well… can’t win ‘em all I guess.

I look forward to visiting with you on a weekly basis as we introduce various sporting equipment corresponding to fetal size… YAY FOR BABY #2!