Well My Little one

I am starting to enter the home stretch, the last quarter of this marathon. I only have a 11 weeks to go, which compared to having 29 behind me is a very small number. I am starting to realize the reality of it all and getting excited to hold this baby inside me. She is very different. Instead of kicks and turns I also feel this strange bubbling sometimes. Its like she is giving me raspberries from the inside! Its really funny. The typical ailments are started a lot earlier though. It makes me a little nervous about how I am going to feel at the very end of this pregnancy, but what can I do?

Finally, a Midwife!

Blogging should be a joyful thing, so I suppose that’s why we’ve spared our readers from the latest unpleasantness. As some of you know, Aimee had been hoping to have a different birthing experience than the “Don’t push, the Doctor isn’t here yet!” method. Yeah, that is what happened with Eva. The OB’s were great otherwise, just a little lacking in the area of timeliness. That, and Aimee and I believe there are many problems with the whole system of healthcare as it relates to birth in our country today. So to increase her level of care and decrease her chances for interventions and C-Sections, we began searching for a midwife.

Over the course of several weeks, we asked around, checked many web sites, made lots of phone calls to local midwives, and spent entirely too much time on the phone, and on hold, with our insurance company. After all this legwork my initial concerns materialized: Our insurance wasn’t going to cover it. The reason? Credentials. We were told our plan covered midwives at the same rate as OB doctors which obviously got our hopes up, but then later found out that is only if the midwife is a CM, APN (certified midwife and advanced practice nurse.) That sounds fine until you realize that there are no advanced practice nurses that have their own practice – they all work under a doctor. And of course, if they work under a doctor, the doctor won’t let them deliver babies at people’s homes on the side. The result? We basically can’t have a home birth with a midwife and have the insurance cover any of it. A nice little catch-22 they have going in their favor.

Thankfully we found a midwife we really like and Aimee has switched her care from the OB. Ultimately this will still cost us more than it would than if it were covered by insurance, but we feel strongly enough about it to justify the cost. Aimee had her first appointment today and enjoyed it so much more than the OB, and it makes me happy when my wife is happy. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for the situation and for a healthy and safe delivery in our own home for baby #2.

Month 5 Belly Pictures

Sorry we haven't been keeping up! Here is Aimee's tummy as of November 22:

Excited

Well I am getting very excited. Despite the fact that she is always kicking my bladder and my colon! Keeping me in the bathroom very frequently. I got out Eva's smallest clothes and got a little drawer ready for our baby girl. Eva wants to kiss and talk to her throughout the day and is getting more and more excited when she sees babies.

I am getting kind of out of breath which to me is early. Not sure why its so soon, but I don't care :). Even though I am tired I have tried to take a nap a couple times a week and even took a nap with Eva the other day!

I have been trying to explore all my birth options, but my insurance company is making sure they keep me in my place and stay in that cookie cutter shape they think works for all women. Whatever! I just have to let go and let God work it out. I don't have any control over anything anyway. Comforting and frustrating.

I saw an interesting documentary - Business of Being Born. Just throwing it out there!

Very funny video! Monty Python did a birth skit:

20 Week Check Up

Yesterday I had a doctor appointment for our baby #2. It was a quick appointment but Eva and I got to hear the heart beat, 154 beats pm. Everything seems to be going well!

Its a girl!

19 Week Ultrasound! Check out these new pictures. The first you can see the knees near her face. Click on them individually to see them larger.

Walkin' Funny

Well a couple of days ago my feet felt really tired and I started to realize that I was walking kind of funny. But I couldn't correct the way I was walking. I feel like I am walking like an elephant. My proportions are changing! And my extra bump in the front is making me change the way I walk. My feet are much more tired the past couple of days because of this.

I am feeling pretty good! I am just a little more tired. With the way I have been walking I have been propping my feet up a lot :).

Just a few more days and we will get to see how the baby is developing! Tuesday at 9 AM.

Also, Justin felt the baby move two nights ago.

Movement!

Yay! This morning I was laying on my back at 5:30. I was half awake when I felt the baby turn completely over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay! I was so excited. I put my hand on my tummy and felt the baby maneuver to their other side. Wonderful, wonderful day!

Get to see the baby on the ultrasound a week from today!

I want eggs Benedict so bad! Its midnight and I have no eggs and no Canadian bacon!

How am I feeling?

This pregnancy seems so different, but so much the same. I am still having the nausea and definitely a picky eater. But picky in different ways. I want seafood all the time and honestly nothing else sounds appealing. Dairy grosses me out. Meat is uninviting. I eat it, but its not something I look forward to.

I can't believe that I am almost half way done. That scares me. I am excited and looking forward to the baby coming. It will be wonderful to be able to have two. All of the crazy challenges will just have to stay away hehe.

Should we find out or not?

Oh man, its coming down to the wire. In 11 days Justin and I could find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl... and well we are pretty sure that we want to be surprised. But now, knowing that it is coming up, I am having my doubts! Am I a party pooper? I don't know! I just don't know if I am going to go crazy or not at the end not knowing...dah!

Dr. Appt - 16 Weeks

I very happy to say that today Eva and I got to hear our precious baby's heart beat for the first time! Last time the Dr. said that he could hear it, but I honestly couldn't and it made me a little bit worried. I have a short video of the Doppler reading (the heartbeat) to share with everyone! The only issued that the doc was concerned about was that I haven't gained any weight. I assured that I am just eating healthier and actually exercising for a change so it must be balancing out :).

Justin and I are pretty set on being surprised about the sex of the baby this time around. There is an old wives tale that says if the baby's heartbeat is faster or slower then that can indicate that its a boy or a girl - just by the doppler reading. DON'T TELL ME WHAT THE WIVES TALE IS PLEASE! But today I mentioned that to the doctor and asked what the heart beat leaned toward. She said, "its 145 - right in the middle". So! I am taking that as a sign that the surprise is the way to go for us. So nobody ruin it, hehe.

Brother or Sister for Eva?

That is the question. I may have spoken too soon when I told Aimee I wasn't crazy about being surprised. I finally got warmed up to the idea of being surprised by the gender, and now she is over the idea. She wants to find out for fear of all green and yellow clothes everywhere. I told her I am still open to the idea, but I don't think she wants a surprise anymore. I can't blame her; as now we are getting closer to the next ultrasound and it is within our power (probably, anyway) to find out if Eva is getting a sister or brother.

Eva tells me she wants a sister every time I ask. I hope she handles it well when she gets a baby brother :)

First Trimester? Adios!

Well I am 13 weeks today! I have been feeling so much better overall. I still feel tired and have my nausea moments, but excited to see that I am out of the woods and into the light. Our next ultrasound is on October 14th. Eva loves to talk to the baby in Mommy's tummy and give him/her kisses. I'm getting a little "bump" in the front... here we go!

So often I think to myself, "oh my gosh I can't believe we're doing this again." I think I'm more scared this time than last time, but more relaxed at the same time. Its very strange. I am so excited I just hope that I will really step it up and be what these little guys need me to be!

Mulling Things Over

Justin here, Aimee's been doing the updates and I haven't in a while. So I found out about Aimee wanting to be 'surprised' about the new baby's gender - not by her telling me - but by reading this blog! Hmmph.

I am very "type A" and this is generally not something I am comfortable with. Planning, foreseeing, solving, those are my things. I have no problem with a natural birth - I am not that bad where I insist on knowing the due date... but being surprised by the gender is something I would like to do after we have both a girl and a boy, thus we would already be 'prepared'. Plus Aimee doesn't like getting lots of green and yellow "gender neutral" clothing. And we all know that is what everyone buys you -- clothing -- no matter what you ask or register for.

So how would this work? I guess I have a few weeks to think about it...

A Surprise?

I'm thinking about possibly being surprised about the sex of this baby... It just seems like it would be such an exciting moment! We'll see.

1st Ultrasound and New Due Date

This morning we went for our first ultrasound for baby #2. They wanted to have a more accurate due date. The issue was that my cycles in general use to run 6 to 10 days longer than average, I am still nursing so I have only had one cycle so far AND I had taken a test earlier and it was negative. All things considered they didn't want to solely base my due date on the 1st day of my last period.

So we are exactly 7 weeks today according to the ultrasound. They are going to go with that date which would give me a due date of St. Patty's day!

It was so amazing to see the baby! We could see the head, the cord, the yok sac, the sack around the baby, the heart beating (looks like a flash), and could kind of make out the little legs. I wish the pictures were as clear as the screen we watched, but theses will have to do!

Our little peanut is about 15mm! Amazing! Check out this website for an update on the baby developments!

Salt

During the past few weeks I have had a change in my taste buds. I have had Justin check that my water tasted OK before I continued to drink it because to me it just did not taste right. Especially last week, when I didn't know I was pregnant. Everything just tasted blah and icky for no apparent reason. I had a delicious pasta dish in front of me and yet it had no flavor. I had to apply salt all over my dish 3x! Now that I know I am pregnant I know that I can't do that no matter how much I would like to.

I crave salt. It is the only thing that awakens my tongue and makes it respond positively to my food. Is this what I am suppose to be like as a Christian? The kind of person that makes people desire to be around me because of the potent yet pleasurable encounters they should have? The Apostle Paul encouraged us to "let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:6). Someone who is all salt and no grace is miserable to be around. Overly pushy or opinionated and trying to force people into uncomfortable confrontations - because they think they are doing the other person a favor by "saving their soul". They should probably work on their sales pitch a little more. Too much salt leaves a bitter and unappetizing aftertaste.

Well I just found it challenging to think of salt in this new way. Every person will want a different amount of salt than another. So I need to be sensitive to how much I season my conversation. Big sigh. The more I think about it the more I think that it is probably an art that will take a long time to excel at!

Baby Daddy

Justin is excited. He is already talking to the baby and making sure that the baby is loved as the little ears are forming. He always makes sure his babies know Daddy's voice :).

How Am I Feeling?

Inside my belly I feel like I felt when I was in my last trimester with Eva. I know it sounds crazy, but I feel like I need to take deeper breaths and that my insides are stretching dramatically. Even though the baby is only 13 mm it sure feels like more :). I loved being pregnant with Eva but I had no idea how amazing she would be. So while I was pregnant I know that in the first trimester I allowed myself to complain too much about how sick I was. This time when I look at Eva and how healthy and perfect she is I am excited about what is happening inside of me and I am not going to let myself get hung up on "being pregnant" but rather the fact that I'm having a baby.

Initial Report

I am about 7 weeks and due around March 9th. The baby's heart has been beating since week 3. Its crazy to think that there has been a little heart beating inside me for 4 weeks and I didn't even know it! Here is where baby Honse is at:

SIZE: 13.0 - 18.0 mm

TIME PERIOD: 48 - 51 days post-ovulation

Head and Neck

The head is more erect and semicircular canals start to

form in the inner ear which will enable a sense of balance and body position.

Thorax

Septum primum fuses with septum intermedium in the heart.

Pelvis

The gonads form. In about a week, the sex of the

embryo will be recognizable in the form of testes on a male.

Limbs

Knee and ankles locations indicated by indentations.

Legs are now at their proper location, proportional to the embryo.

The critical period for the lower limbs is about to end.

Toes are almost completely notched and toenails begin to appear.

Joints grow more distinct.

Spine

The trunk elongates and straightens and the bone

cartilage begins to form a more solid structure. Muscles develop and get stronger.

Baby #2

Just this morning I took a prego test and it was positive! Tears came to my eyes - I am so happy. I had already taken a test a couple weeks ago and it came out negative, even though it was suppose to be an early detection test. Two nights ago I had a dream that I had a baby boy! So funny. Boy or girl I am excited.

Taking Justin to work, right after we found out, we heard a very appropriate sermon by Adrian Rodgers on the blessing of many children. Here are the verses he shared:

Psalm 127:3-5

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

In this day in age I feel that it is important that Christians continue producing godly children. Raising up a new generation who will love those who need hope and who will be a light to those in the darkness. The Lord said, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." Our children are, hopefully, the future laborers for the Lord.

Please feel free to leave a comment for a wee one to welcome the baby.