Baby #2 - Week 20

Bring on the second half of pregnancy!

How far along: 20 weeks + 3 days

How big is baby? So instead of measuring from crown to rump, baby can now be measured from head to toe - so all of a sudden, she seems a lot bigger. The size of a banana, wow!

Image credit here

Sleep: The nights have just started getting colder {finally - Autumn, where have you been?} and that means nice, snuggly nights under the blankets.

Symptoms: Not a lot this week. Things have been fairly quiet, except for the discharge. Ew.

Best moment of this week: I filled out the hospital pre-admission forms, and now wait to be called for our official check-in and orientation. Do we really get to have a baby in a hospital this year?

Miss anything: Still with the scalding hot baths.

Movement: Sadly, it's still pretty much non-existent. I did fall asleep on my stomach last night, and wake up to one, two, three little ninja jabs - maybe I was squishing her? Nothing since, though.

Food cravings: Salt and vinegar chips, please.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week, feeling pretty much normal!

Gender: Girl!!

How's your mood? I'm back to being a little bit flat. Happy to be into Week 20, hopeful that baby girl is doing ok in there, sad that my belly isn't as obvious because of my usual pudge, nervous that baby isn't moving as much as she should be.

Looking forward to: Getting through another week, since I have an OB booked in for next week.

The Bump: Not a great deal of change this week. Also... pasty.

20 weeks!

Today is 20 weeks - we've officially reached the halfway point. Now THAT is something worth celebrating.

Just look how far we've come! :)

19 weeks + 5 days

Here we are, muddling our way to the halfway point.

Since the morphology scan, I've been feeling pretty crampy and having lots of discharge. (Ah, the joys of pregnancy!) Last night the cramping really ramped up - I hardly slept, had maxed out on water and Panadol, and really struggled to stay calm through it all. Combine those symptoms with a lack of movement, and I was feeling pretty stressed out this morning.

Thankfully I have the most wonderful of Obstetricians (and his lovely staff) who are always accommodating when it comes to my anxiety - and so I popped in for an impromptu visit to check on the baby. She was fine, hanging out and fast asleep, heart racing away at 155bpm.

He is going to start me on fortnightly visits a little early, and will be keeping an eye on my cervix measurement. It's not bad at the moment, but it's worth keeping an eye on. Since the baby seems to be doing fine, I think it's probably more for my peace of mind than anything else, but I appreciate it all the same.

The newest development? Baby has flipped bum-down into the Breech position, and her butt is quite literally pressing over my cervix - which could well be the reason for the pressure and cramping. Please tell me that she has plenty of time to flip head down over the coming weeks, right? Breech was never even on my radar, I've been more worried about getting through each week as it comes! 

Now.. how about some more little pictures from last week's morphology scan?

My littlest lady, just hanging out and being cute. 

Hiding her face behind her hands. And a leg off to one side for good measure.

Practicing ' the Thinker' pose.. she was opening her mouth & sucking on her fingers.

Baby #2 - Week 19

This has been a big week. :)

How far along: 19 weeks + 2 days

How big is baby? This week baby is apparently close to 15cm long and about as big as your hand.

Image credit here

Sleep: Getting there! I'm getting up to pee a little less, so I'm really enjoying that aspect.

Symptoms: Lots of cramping again this week, which is hopefully more growth.

Best moment of this week: Seeing our baby girl at the morphology scan, putting her fingers into her mouth!

Miss anything: Hot baths filled with floaty Lush goodies. And I mean HOT baths!

Movement: I think we might be on the cusp now, as I'm feeling more tightenings and the occasional shifts.

Food cravings: I feel like mushrooms. Is that weird?

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not too bad this week.

Gender: Girl!!

How's your mood? I'm excited this week. Feeling hopeful that maybe, just maybe, we can start being hopeful that there's actually going to be a new baby in a few months time - still scared, but just a little less.

Looking forward to: Hitting the halfway point in a few days time. This has felt like the slowest pregnancy OF ALL TIME, even though I'm sure it hasn't been that long really.

The Bump: Definitely starting to feel like it's showing now, and it's not just my usual belly. What do you think?

Another Little Lady

Oh, what a day.

I will write more when I have the energy to type properly, but I wanted to share this little snapshot of our newest little girl.

We are so, so in love.

18 weeks + 5 days

I was lying on my bed, flat on my back. Pajamas hastily shoved up and aside, bare belly exposed to the elements. I'd already used my doppler and found the baby's heartbeat softly beating away, giving me the flash of temporary reassurance that all was okay in that particular moment in time. 

The lights were off, and it was just the two of us. 

I placed my hands over my stomach, shut my eyes, and waited. 

And waited.

And waited.

What was that? A hardening, my belly clenching around itself involuntarily. I took deep breaths, in and out. It hardened again, and relaxed. Maybe it was just my breathing?

I relaxed again, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Another tightening. And another. My hands instinctively moved towards the area in question. 

What was that? 

A slight twitch. Then nothing. It was probably nothing. Another little twitch. I felt that!  

I think I just felt my first movements.

Oh, I have been waiting for this. My heart is full. I closed my eyes, and slept. And had the best sleep of my life, right after. 

Thank you, baby girl. 

18 weeks + 3 days

Let's talk cravings.

Right at this exact moment? I'd just like my senses to come back, so that I can smell or taste ANYTHING.. thanks so much, sinus infection of doom.

In general this pregnancy, I've wanted mostly savoury things this time around. Think crackers, cheese, chips, sandwiches. 

I have quite a few memories with foods. 

I remember being in high school and sitting out on the oval, eating watermelon chupa chups in the summer. I remember my parents making us home cooked semolina porridge with brown sugar, and how it always brings back memories of my childhood. I remember how I quite literally lived on chai lattes while pregnant with Georgia. 

And now that I'm talking about food, I could totally go for a loaded baked potato.. which is a bit awkward, since it's only 8.30am in the morning. 

Written as part of #MicroblogMondays on Stirrup Queens.

Baby #2 - Week 18

Baby! Mooooooooooove, please. Big, giant, movements. Help your momma out over here, ok?

How far along: 18 weeks + 2 days now.

How big is baby? Research says that the baby is approximately 14cm long & the size of a sweet potato!

Image credit here

Sleep: Not great at all, to my sadness. The cold turned into a flu, turned into a sinus infection, and I've been struggling to breathe when lying down. This poor little baby, I hope it's managing okay in there - because I've been feeling like a pretty awful host.

Symptoms: Not a lot this week, actually. I've mostly just been feeling rubbish.

Best moment of this week: Hitting 18 weeks is a pretty nice little milestone. :)

Miss anything: I miss sleeping!

Movement: Well, after last week's 'maybe' moments, this week has been back to quiet on the movement front. I am desperately waiting for the reassurance. I know, I know, it'll come.. eventually.

Food cravings: After watching Masterchef last night, I now want calamari. Which is weird, because I don't eat seafood.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Just this horrible lurgy.

Gender: Girl!!

How's your mood? I'm mostly cranky and miserable - but I'm trying to be positive that all will be okay.

Looking forward to: Saturday and my 19 week scan... I want to see this little lady again!

The Bump: BLUMP.

17 weeks + 6 days

We are still a house of sick over here - only this time it's ME that's down!

The doctor thinks it's either a really bad cold or a mild flu virus as I'm showing symptoms of both - but regardless, there's not a lot to do but keep hydrated and rest up. 

Still no real guaranteed baby movement, which is so frustrating. I'm worried about the baby being okay, I just want to feel something, anything! (Well, apart from belly rumbles and/or gas.)

I'm not quite sure what I'm feeling right now. I'm excited to be getting through the weeks, but then I freak out that I'm getting too far ahead of myself and should still be cautious. When am I 'supposed' to relax? When does this feel less like a hopeful dream & more like a reality?

I look at pictures of this little baby, I listen to calming music at night & I visualise what this little person might turn out like. G cuddles my belly and talks to the baby & I think about her finally getting a sibling, and it fills me with so many emotions. 

I'm scared that I want this so badly for all of us.

Baby #2 - Week 17

I feel like we're back to going slowly again, but hopefully it keeps on keeping on. :)

How far along: 17 weeks + 3 days along.

How big is baby? These fruit comparisons always did get weird - isn't last week's avocado bigger than this week's onion?

Image credit here

Sleep: The dreaded cold lurgy has come back, and so none of us have been getting much sleep around here.

Symptoms: Mostly cramping. Makes me a bit anxious, but I'm hoping that means things are growing.

Best moment of this week: Seeing the baby again last week, and getting that cute little 3D glimpse of her.

Miss anything: I had a platter full of deli meats and soft cheese in front of me at a party on the weekend and I wanted to dive in headfirst and eat all of the things... but of course, I restrained!

Movement: On Mother's Day, I thought I felt something. Then on Tuesday morning, I had Georgia sitting on my lap and I swear I felt a nudge. Nothing since though, and nothing constant.

Food cravings: I feel like hot chips and gravy.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Cooking meat. Barf.

Gender: Girl!!

How's your mood? I'm nervous this week, for some reason. Nervous that things have gone so smoothly these past few weeks, nervous that there might be something scary happening I don't know about, nervous that the morphology scan will show something scary. But also hopeful... hopeful we might just get there in the end this time.

Looking forward to: The weeks continuing to disappear, and the morphology scan in a fortnight's time.

The Bump: Still more belly than bump, bring on the growing, growing, growing!

Thoughts this Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to...

• Mums who have older children, who get to share their day with their grown up kids
• Mums who now have grandkids, who get to experience the day with even more little ones
• Mums who have wee ones, who will celebrate with a child of their own for the first time
• Mums who are single parents, who are the entire world to their little family
• Mums who have lost, who are missing the child/children they carried in their wombs & hearts
• Mums who have yearned, who are still waiting for their chance to become a parent
• Mums who have no children, who find this day so challenging
• Mums who have passed on, who we miss so, so much

I'm still floored that I'm somebody's Mother. For so many years, this day was bittersweet, and now I'm one of the lucky ones. I'll spend my day visiting my Mum/MIL, and hopefully getting to cuddle my little lady and spend time together as a family.

I'll never forget the sadness and yearning this day brought, and my heart is with my friends who are still in the trenches with no end in sight. You're not alone, even though it might feel that way as you're surrounded by reminders of the day. Be strong.

16 weeks + 5 days

Had such a wonderful OB appointment today.

My BP was the lowest it's been this pregnancy so far (sweet relief!) and everything looks really, really good!

Baby flashed us her bits pretty early on - she is DEFINITELY a she! It seems crazy, but I needed to see for myself; just hearing it from the NIPT results was one thing, but yep.. girl parts!

She measured at 17 weeks, a nice big skull and stomach, bendy little limbs and seemed very sweetly squished in there - and a big, frustratingly placed anterior placenta blocking all the wiggles out. I know I'm disappointed to not feel movements yet, but I'm just glad things look good - easy to see umbilical cord, thick placenta, decent amount of fluid.

We have our morphology scan in a fortnight, and then we'll see our OB again a fortnight after that. It will be amazing to get through all those milestones, let me tell you. I just hope all continues to go well. 

I'm so, so happy. Completely and utterly over the moon, happy. ANOTHER BABY GIRL! 

Baby #2 - Week 16

Come on time, keep chugging along.. I can't believe it's MAY now!

How far along: 16 weeks and change. :)

How big is baby? This week, baby is as big as an avocado.

Image credit here

Sleep: Sleep is good, but I'm having irrational crazy rage dreams again! Last night it was dreaming about ordering a burger from McDonalds (I KNOW) and having a full on argument with a manager because it took too long to get food, and the burger was totally tiny. *sigh*

Symptoms: Cramping again this week, gross discharge, a lot of anxiety to know that everything is continuing as it should be.

Best moment of this week: Hearing baby's heartbeat consistently on the home doppler.

Miss anything: Hot baths.

Movement: Still nothing at all. It's starting to stress me out, but it doesn't matter so long as baby is fine.

Food cravings: I still want a strawberry milkshake.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing much this week, I'm feeling pretty blah food-wise -just that nothing sounds good, you know?

Gender: Girl!!

How's your mood? This week was a bit flat. I got scared for a while, had a lot of panic with some ridiculous amounts of discharge and cramps, and just general worry about the pregnancy. Hubby got diagnosed with whooping cough, so it's been a pretty crazy week health-wise.

Looking forward to: Seeing the baby tomorrow at the OB's office.

The Bump: Not that much different to last week, but I'm just hoping baby is growing well in there. :)