I think the journey to conceiving our second bundle of joy seemed much more up and down than the journey we took to conceive Noah...and this time, ironically, was much shorter. With Noah, we waited about a year and a half and our new little bundle only took about six months...but I think when you already know the joy of having one, the anticipation of two times the love is just harder to wait for...and we don't have to wait any longer!! I knew a few days before I actually got brave enough to take a test, or three, that I was actually pregnant, but there's just always that nagging though in the back of your mind that you could just be making it all up. Knowing for about 5 weeks before the news went public was so difficult, I don't know how people wait until the end of their first trimester to share the good news. I admire them.
Plus, the end of week 5 began my journey of nausea and more nausea, so it was especially hard to keep quiet at work...I'm sure I looked (and still look) like a complete zombie. This sickness is more constant and relentless than with Noah but I really feel like I am much more prepared to manage it, and as long as I eat every hour or two, I'm okay and I haven't actually gotten "sick" yet. The problem is, working second shift and having a toddler, means short nights and more snacking than ever before. I feel like all I do these days is eat, and to top it off, this pregnancy also did not come with the utter exhaustion I had with Noah. Nope, this time, I'm an insomniac, never sleeping more than about 3-4 hours at a time, which means every time I wake up, the nausea hits me hard, and I'm eating all night as well as all day! I'm honestly at the point that I'm running out of foods I want to eat and really, I'm just tired of eating in general, but I can't really do much about it...so eat, it is!
I've also discovered that I only sleep comfortably on the couch, which is sad because I miss my bed! I'm sure Tony's living it up and hogging all of the sheets, and the couch isn't bad, but I'm really hoping once this first trimester is over, I can move back in...move over Tony, you didn't get rid of me forever!
The only other new-ness I can think of so far with this pregnancy is...I had to go to the dentist during week 6 of my pregnancy because of this searing pain I was having whenever I tried to brush my teeth. I mean, I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, and if I even touched my tooth with my toothbrush it was immediately nauseating, goose-bumps head to toe, doubled-over PAIN! It was the weirdest thing...the verdict...I have pregnancy-induced gum trauma...really?! So, I switched to Sensodyne and am working on my Vitamin C and Calcium intake. Oh, and I had to swish warm salt water 4-5 times a day, try that when you are nauseous...gross!
And finally, after a VERY long prenatal appointment, which I was thrilled Tony could tag along for, it was our date "day" for the month of March...how romantic...the other new news we received is that this baby has given me a "pretty loud" (in the words of the NP) heart murmur. I guess this is common in pregnancy, although I never had it with Noah, and they are sending me to a cardiologist at Aultman Hospital for further testing/monitoring. Always something interesting with my pregnancies, but it's nothing we can't handle!
Well, I mostly needed to write all of this out so I wouldn't forget the significant parts of my first trimester with this little one...although there's still more time left of this part of the pregnancy, which is fine, I'm not wishing any of it away. Being our last, I'm determined to enjoy every second of it, even if it means I'm as big as a house by the time I deliver because all I can do is eat for the next nine months.
We will definitely find out if it's a boy or a girl, we can find out sometime mid-June, and I honestly up to this point don't "feel" like it's one or the other, but, admittedly, we are both really hoping for a girl. I know everyone says it's much more economical to have a boy, and from a clothes/toys/experience viewpoint, we totally agree. But given the fact that our only remaining empty room has pink walls and even pinker carpet, it sure will cost a lot more to recarpet than it will to buy some cute pink clothes and barettes! And I've always dreamed of having a little Princess that would be protected by her big brother. But hey, if we have two boys, then I get to be the Princess, so that's not such a bad deal either!
As far as the boys go, Tony is over-the-moon excited and although I chose one of the worst days to be due -- youth Sunday -- in perfect youth minister's wife fashion -- he already can't wait to cuddle with our new little bundle and see what he/she looks like! And Noah...well, although he's too young to understand yet, is not real happy about the news. Whenever we try to get him to understand there is a baby in Mommy's belly, he scrunches up his eyebrows, points emphatically and declares, "No, Mommy, Not!" And he hits my belly when he gets mad at me...but at least we have awhile before he really needs to be on board with the whole concept. I mean, he will have had us all to himself for almost 3 years and 9 months by the time this little one comes along...can you blame him?! But it's really cute when he says, "Big Brother" and he did smile at the ultrasound picture on Friday when we brought it home, so that's progress!
Our family of three is about to be a family of four and we are so grateful God chose to hear our prayers and give us the desire of our hearts. Praise be to God!!!
