For the past several weeks, I've been holding in a huge secret. I'm talking BIG. I'm not a fan of secrets to begin with. Well, the cat's out of the bag now, thank GOD. It is with great excitement that I am able to say, our little family is getting a little bigger! That's right. I have a bun in the oven. I'm with child. The stork is on it's way to Baltimore this July!!! Woo hoo!
We actually did a pretty slick (if you ask me) announcement on Facebook back in the first couple of days of January, on my husband's birthday. We put up the picture above with no mention of a new family addition, and just as I had thought, only a handful of people noticed that both Major AND Jack were wearing matching Big Brother shirts. Sneaky, sneaky! So here it is, a more FORMAL announcement. Hurrah!
A few years back, after Michael and I got married, we made the decision together to expand our family of 3. So we started trying for a baby. It took a while to conceive. In fact, it took a lot longer than I ever thought it would.
I mean, you always hear those stories of girls getting pregnant after one-night-stands or on their first sexual experience ever, and it just seems like getting pregnant is so easy. At least they make you think that, so when it didn't happen after the first, second, third, or even sixth month of trying for a baby, to say I was frustrated was an understatement.
And just when I threw my hands up in the air, and "gave up," we discovered we had created our little baby, our little boy, Jack Houston. I couldn't have been more excited. Seriously. All I dreamed about as a little girl was having a family with kids and an awesome husband, all happy and healthy. After a long road, I found my forever in Michael and in Major, and my dreams kept on coming true, over and over. Praise God. I couldn't have felt more blessed than I did that day I saw the positive pregnancy test, and then the next and the next. (Yes, I took 5. I had to be sure. I'm sort of paranoid and not quite the most trusting person ever.)
After 9 (or 10, whatever) long months, our little man entered this world on March 21, 2015, and made me a mom of 2 boys. TWO BOYS! My world was rocked in the best way. As Jack grew and matured into the little toddler version of himself, I have become enamored with watching him, and his sweet little personality bloom. I LOVE watching Major and him play together, run around together, laugh together and love each other. It makes my heart soar in ways I never knew it could.
But our little family didn't quite feel complete. I knew I wanted another baby. I mean, I knew pretty soon after Jack made his debut. I wanted him to have a partner in life close to his age, someone to grow up with, since Major is nearly 7 years his senior. There will come a day, after all, when our little Major-man won't be so little any more, and he'll be a busy teenager and then will be off to college, and Jack will still be a little boy in elementary school.
Michael was on the same page as me, so we decided to try for a baby. But, once again, we got to a point where I seriously had given up. With negative test after negative test, I was really deflated. But, once again, bam! A positive pregnancy test just when I threw in the towel! It's amazing how God's timing works, huh?
So here we are, in week 13 of my second pregnancy, my 3rd child. These first couple of months have been a whirlwind of emotions and craziness. Not only was I dealing with morning sickness, emotional rollercoasters and general hormonal craziness, I also was dealing with Christmas, the New Year celebration, winter break and all that comes with having both boys home and Michael off work all at the same time, as well as my own personal hell of strep throat, followed by bronchitis and a stupid lingering cold.
It's been a lot, but it's also been exciting. I'm thrilled to expand our family, and I'm thrilled to share the news with my friends and family, as well as anyone who is curious to hop on board the ride that is my pregnancy journey. Feel free to leave questions and comments below in the comments section.
And now that the 1st trimester is pretty much over, I plan on keeping a pregnancy journal to track my progress, thoughts, feelings, changes and any other tidbits I want to add, much like I did for my first pregnancy with Jack. And what's interesting to me is that yes, I've been pregnant before, but it's true what they say, each pregnancy is different.
To document this journey, I'll be following the same format as I did with Jack's pregnancy journal, and I'm really excited to get started. Some of you may be wondering WHY I'm doing this, and it's really quite simple.
On a personal level, I want to be able to look back and see what was going on with me, my family and my changing body as I grow another life. I want to be able to reflect back once the child is old enough to understand, and show him or her what it was like before they entered the world. I want to share the experience with my other children, my husband and my other family.
Another reason? We live in Baltimore, while the majority of our extended family resides in Texas and in other parts of the country, so to keep this journal will also serve to keep them posted on the goings on with the little nugget.
Plus, I have found that reading other women's journals documenting their pregnancy has been not only fun, but really helpful.There's just something about reading other women's thoughts and reflections that is comforting. I think it's the whole, "you're not alone," thing. So if that's why you're here, I hope you get something out of it!
Enough with the rambling! Let's get on with it, shall we?
EDIT: I have decided to combine weeks 12 & 13 and went ahead and dubbed this the 1st Trimester bumpdate.How pregnant am I? I took a positive pregnancy test on Nov 18th of 2016. The 12th week began on Jan 11, 2016 and the 13th week began on Jan 18, 2016.
What's going on with baby?
WEEK 12: Nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and synapses are forming furiously in your baby's brain. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.
WEEK 13: Fingerprints are forming on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head - which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (about the size of a pea pod) and weighs nearly an ounce. (Thanks BabyCenter.com )
Weight gain: At week 13, I'm up 2 lb from the day we found out I was pregnant.
Last pregnancy, I gained somewhere between 30 and 35 lb total, so I'm anticipating the same this time around, but we'll see. Who knows.
Body & Changes/Symptoms experienced: Over the past few weeks, there have been a lot of changes in my body. The changes happen really fast, but achingly slow at the same time. What I mean is that it seemed like the day or two before I even took my positive pregnancy test, I was violently ill. I'm talking never-ending trips to the bathroom, vomiting and dying all over the place. I was excruciatingly tired all day long, starving and emotional as can be.
Since then, my horrifyingly bad morning sickness has dissipated to just the occasional nauseous wave, and I thank my lucky stars I am no longer throwing up. Seriously, it's so much better without the vomiting.
When I was pregnant with Jack, my morning sickness lasted much longer. So I'm glad this pregnancy is shaping up to be a bit different than the last in that way. Unfortunately, I've been having some pretty serious headaches in the mornings, so that's been yucky.
Aside from the jaw-dropping exhaustion and the desire to sleep all the time, I actually don't feel all that bad. I don't give in to the "need to sleep" except every now and again. I try not to nap only because it makes me feel guilty. I know, I know... I shouldn't feel that way, but I just do. OK? It's not to say that I don't take a nap if I feel like I NEED ONE. Like today. I needed one, bad. I took one. It was all good. But so far, usually I'm able to make it to 9:45 - 10 p.m. without too much difficulty. JK, it's with a lot of difficulty.
Starting around week 8, a not-so-fun symptom cropped up that I did NOT experience with my first pregnancy with Jack, and that's explosive, horrible, painful and ugly cystic acne all around my chin and jaw line. NO THANKS. Vanity aside, it HURTS. I still have a little bit lingering around. I just am grateful it's starting to die down. Ugh.
This week is also the week where I started to "show" a little. Sort of... During weeks 11 and 12, as well as this week, I wake up flat-bellied, and then by the afternoon, I have a little baby bump going. It doesn't quite look like a baby bump, and more like I've indulged a little too much. I've found that pants that are even the least bit snug around my belly area are becoming increasingly more uncomfortable, but I'm not yet into any maternity wear. My clothes all still fit just fine at this point. I am pretty excited to go shopping for some new duds though. Just sayin'.
Other than the tiredness, the semi-bump, and the horrifying acne, the other symptom reminding me that I truly am pregnant is my starvation. My constant hunger is insane. But I get full SO fast. It's really quite infuriating, because like 15 minutes later, I'm starving again. Like, hardcore hunger. The type where I ACTUALLY have to apologize to my husband for the things I have said in hanger. Literally.
Exercise: I walk every chance I get, which is a lot living here in Baltimore. I chase Jack around, a lot... PLUS I also have started doing yoga every once and a while, and I really enjoy it! Basically, even though I'm not "working out" every day, I'm already way more active this pregnancy than I was in my last.
Clothes: Non-maternity still, though by the end of the day, my jeans waistband gets REALLY uncomfortable, and sometimes, I have resorted to the "rubber band trick," where you use a hair tie to stretch the waistline of your buttoned pants. I much prefer cozy sweats or looser yoga pants or something along those lines.
What I've been eating: EVERYTHING. This past week, I've been starving ALL THE TIME. I want all the food. But for sure, everything is - once again - different than my first pregnancy.
Last time, I wanted to eat like a teenaged boy. I craved pizza, pasta, french fries, burgers, sushi, chips, and all the things spicy, and salty. And not to say that I don't love pizza, burgers and pasta still, but I've been leaning more towards salads. I mean, normally I love salad, but I am LOVING salads right now. Way more than usual. I'm also loving oranges, a lot. Look at me, heathy-ish!
But the biggest surprise has been the emergence of my sweet tooth. Normally, my non-pregnant self has zero sweet teeth. I mean, I love my fruit snacks and fruit by the foot, but in no way am I someone who loves to sit down with ice cream, or cake or pie or... anything like that. But for some reason, I REALLY want all of those things. But I have decided NOT to give in to such cravings, except every once in a blue moon.
Any movement? It's just too soon to feel anything, BUT we did get to see our little nugget moving and dancing and squirming up a storm during our 1st trimester scan!
Sleep: If, and only IF I'm not woken up by either one of my boys for whatever reason, I actually am sleeping through the night. Well, ish. I do have to get up at least 1-5times during the night to use the bathroom. I am having to pee a little more frequently these days, with my growing uterus squishing my bladder and all. Ridiculous. However, I don't wake feeling rested. I'm just tired all the time. Growing a person is tough business, let me tell you. I'm also having really bizarre dreams, and I hear that's another side-effect of pregnancy.
Emotions: Ev. Er. Ey. Where. EVERYWHERE. I am an emotional wreck. I swing from happy to angry and frustrated faster than you can snap your fingers. I also feel things a lot harder than I normally do too, which is already intense as it is.
I cry at all the things, including my love for my cat, Karen. I don't know why, or what it is, but when I look at her, my heart explodes. It's bizarre, I know. I don't understand it myself. It's a confusing time, folks.
Purchases: None. I'm hoping to reuse as much as possible from my first pregnancy/Jack's first months, but if it's a girl?? I feel like I'm going to go CRAZY and buy ALL THE THINGS.
What I miss: Restful sleep, but I've been missing that for about 2 years. Nothing new.
What I'm looking forward to: Feeling the little baby move. That's my favorite! I also am really looking forward to finding out if we're having a boy or girl. We should find out soon, thanks to the genetic screening test we took, to check for any chromosomal abnormalities. The test will put my mind at ease (or not...) as well as let us know whether it'll be another little man, or if we will welcome a lady into the mix. (EDIT: WE FOUND OUT!!!)
Best moment of the past few weeks: I have 3 best moments, actually.
The First: Deciding to take Major with me to yoga one night was awesome. I wasn't sure about it at first, afraid he'd get bored, or not want to do it 1/2 way through the class. But as it turned out, it was a great way for the two of us to be together, do something different, and bond in a new way. I love spending time with my oldest in ways that I can't quite with Jack yet. I love our relationship, and I can't wait to go again!
The Second: We had our 1st Trimester Scan, Friday the 13th, and getting to see our little baby move around, and kick and squirm, and to see it's strong heart-beat was amazing. I live for moments like that, holding my husband's hand, hearing Jack scream "BAAABBYYY" while pointing to the monitor... I just wish Major could have been there to see too, but he'll be with me at my next appointment. I am just really excited to see our little one. I love him or her so much already.
The Third: We know the gender!!!!! Stay tuned...