Baby H: Week 13 (times two)

Just like last time it's so nice having the news out of the bag with everyone so I don't have to worry about who knows and who doesn't. Quite frankly, besides our immediate families, I don't see that many people on a regular basis that it would be hard to keep this belly under-wraps but the freedom of not having to worry about my belly, mentioning this new baby, not ordering a drink at dinner, etc is so nice. 

As far as this pregnancy goes I'm in a much better place than I was a few weeks ago in terms of nausea but am not quite over the hump yet. I do find myself dry heaving if I don't get something (preferably carb loaded) to eat shortly after I get up and certain smells throw my stomach upside-down occasionally. It's not a certain scent in particular but more of something really unexpected. As far as energy goes it's hard to say if it's coming back at this point. I have been sleeping horribly at night, not getting a full nights sleep in I don't even know how long, which definitely makes me extra tired by the end of the day/week. I'm also in the midst of third year rotations that has it's own level of exhaustion associated with it. 

Specific cravings are still staying away for the most part but I still find myself thinking about a certain item for days until I get my hands on it. I've been somewhat turned off from the idea of lots of meat, specifically just a piece of meat like a steak or grilled chicken with something on the side so I'm looking for protein in other ways. I'm happy to report that I am up only one pound since my last doctors appointment a month ago and only up around three pounds total. With how quickly this belly took off I was nervous it'd be much more than that. 

Speaking of the doctors, we had my 12 week appointment the other day and it was a combination of good, frustrating and stressful. I had told my doc we wanted to do the first trimester genetic screening with this babe but somehow it was lost in translation when I set the appointment. I was supposed to have an ultrasound and blood work done but neither was scheduled. Not to be high-maintenance but it's hard for me to make appointments with my crazy schedule, let alone ones that will take a longer amount of time so when I asked the receptionist to confirm I was peeved it wasn't right. And to make matters worse, there wasn't an ultrasound tech in the office that day, we had an overly tired, skipped-his-nap Mark who was about to lose it and I had an exam to get to shortly after. Thankfully they called another office who was willing to see me over the lunch hour but things didn't get better yet. I went in for my scan and don't know if the tech was annoyed to work over lunch or was rushing because of my test but he was super quick and literally didn't say anything about baby, no input about measurements, no mention if he was seeing what he wanted to, didn't even tell me the heart rate. And was gone by the time I got myself cleaned up and dressed so I couldn't even ask. So here I am freaking out about our baby and whether something was wrong as I'm headed to take a two hour exam. Needless to say my brain was elsewhere for the 100 questions. I was able to call the nurse line and get all the info by the end of the day and thankfully everything is looking great with baby! But it was a stressful many hours and I was beat. Baby was measuring 13w4d with a heart rate of 155 and the genetic markers so far are checking out normally. 

Here's to the start of second trimester little one. Thanks for joining me on this journey!

Baby H: Adding to Our Family

J and I have always known we wanted more than one baby (the jury's still out on a third but two was always the plan) and the older Mark got the more and more we started to think about what we wanted the dynamics of our family to look like. 

Just like last time around our decision about kiddos is based largely around my med school journey. Sure it would be nice to have the freedom and flexibility other families have but frankly, we just don't. I am currently in my third year (of four) which will be followed by a residency program with a length of anywhere between 3 to 7+ years depending on the specialty I choose. From what I've heard through the grapevine having babies is harder in residency than in medical school, not to mention we are currently close to both our parents and might have to move out of the state/across the country for a residency program. With all that said it was easy for us to come to the conclusion that we wanted our second baby to arrive while I was still in the school part of things. 

So with that decision made we knew we had approximately two years to welcome this new baby into our family and started talking even more specific in terms of timing. We decided, again fairly easily, that we ideally wanted our two babies to be the farthest apart that they could be while also having baby #2 be the oldest that s/he could be when I'm starting residency. Aka we didn't want babies one year apart but also didn't want a two week old as I begin my program. With all that said we did the math and jumped on board about growing our family. 

We were thrilled to find out we were expecting our second bundle on August 21st, 2015!

And yes, that meant we were incredibly lucky a second time in that it took no time at all for me to get pregnant. Just like with Mark we had a bun in the oven after one month of trying. And just like the first time too, we both knew when it'd be possible to see those two pink lines so J was with me the morning I tested. The interesting thing is that I was just as nervous, if not more, the second time around to see if we would be parents again. I don't know if it was because of the ease of things the first time that I was convinced it wouldn't be so easy again but those three loooong minutes of waiting were just as hard with this babe. And seeing those positive tests was just as rewarding and life changing. 

My estimates and my 8 week ultrasound measurements agree with Baby H #2's due date as May 1, 2016. J is hoping this babe will be a week late and arrive on his birthday while I'm hoping baby comes a week early because it fits better with school, ha. It'll be very different for me being pregnant through the winter vs through the summer with Mark but regardless of anything else, we cannot wait to meet our spring time bundle!

Photo taken at 8w5d with a heart rate of 169

We love you more than you know little peanut! 

We are so excited to watch you grow in momma's belly the next 6 months and welcome you into our family.

Baby H: Weeks 4-12 (times two)

I cannot believe I am lucky enough to be in this place again, posting pregnancy updates and growing the newest member of our family in my belly. I absolutely love looking back at each week of my pregnancy with Mark and so while it might be more challenging this time around to stay on top of these posts, I'm doing to do my darnedest to give baby #2 the same amount of attention 

So let's catch up shall we!

4 weeks: I still can't believe that I am so blessed to be starting another pregnancy already. Life is really just trucking along this week and being so busy makes me often forget that I'm actually pregnant. I did have to step out of an OR during my rotation this week because they brought in the X-ray machine and I just wasn't going to put myself and our little teeny babe at any risk, even under a lead jacket. You are far too precious little baby and momma's here to protect you forever. 

5 weeks: I'm not sure if its from being a human incubator or from finishing my surgery rotation but I'm definitely getting more and more tired at the end of the day this week. I've also started watching my caffeine intake, limiting myself to what's considered safe, which could also be contributing. Otherwise I'm not having any obvious "I'm pregnant" feelings yet which also explains my neurotic testing again to make sure the two lines still showed up. My first doctors appointment for this new babe is officially scheduled and it's on Mark's first birthday. Life sure is crazy sometimes isn't it?!

6 weeks: For some reason it's been harder for me to keep this little babe a secret than it was the first time around. Only one of my girlfriends knows (partly because she's in the same boat as I am) but I keep finding myself thinking "no Jayme, don't say anything" when I want to spill the beans. My starting weight this pregnancy is about 5lbs higher than it was with Mark and so far it's holding steady. I've had occasional bouts of lightheadedness, nausea and a flushed feeling when I get too hungry so I've been carrying Justin's Almond Butter packets in my scrub pockets to whip out at a moments notice. Otherwise no other pregnancy symptoms so far. I did have my first "hunch" of what this babe's gender might be but again, I'm not telling! 

7 weeks: Just like my first pregnancy, week seven brought with it the nausea! Thankfully I haven't actually gotten sick yet, again like last time, but it definitely isn't any fun to be stuck in an OR or a patient room as my head starts to spin, my stomach gets queasy and my saliva starts going like crazy. Keeping on top of hunger and hydration and carrying peppermint gum seems to do the trick for now. Looking back on my posts from last time made me realize my boobs haven't been sore AT ALL this time. Which on one hand is fantastic but on the other hand is tough when I'm already worried/anxious/convinced there's not actually a baby in there. Two more weeks till we get to take a peak and I can't wait.

8 weeks: Holy cow was this week loooong. I am at the stage where my exhaustion is at its peak. My work schedule makes it so I'm never home before 6ish so afternoon naps are out of the question making me fall asleep on the couch most nights shortly after Mark goes to bed (sorry hubs!). As far as other symptoms go my nausea has seemed to dwindle some the last few days (knock on ALL the wood), my boobs occasionally get a twinge in them and I'm thirsty all the time! I've started brainstorming potential ways of sharing our news with family and friends and think I have a few options depending on when we decide to announce. In all honesty, it might be the bump that dictates when we tell. I'm not sure it's staying hidden for much longer!

9 weeks: Dang you nausea! This week has definitely been the hardest and even involved vomiting in a tupperware in my car on my way to work. Yep, really. My nose also has kicked it up a notch in sensitivity which left me gagging in my mouth in the cafeteria with all my co-workers around and quickly darting out of a patient room because some smell set off my stomach. Here's hoping it goes away soon because it's hard to explain random vomiting without coming out about this babe. The end of this week held our first doctors appointment and everything is checking out perfectly! There's just one babe in there (thank goodness!), heart rate around 169 and everything else looking great.

10 weeks: This week has been so much better than the last few. My boys ended up with quite the tummy bug that I seemed to escape and am beyond thankful for that! At the beginning of the week I was still nauseous all day every day and even threw up a few times but then I remembered my doc suggested B6 & ginger. It's either a huge coincidence or man does that stuff help! I took both right when I got them and haven't felt nauseous since. Hallelujah! The belly is definitely growing and I honestly haven't stepped on the scale at all yet so I have no idea if I should be worried this thing will be massive by the end. We're in "figure out a way to tell our families" mode because I don't think I can hide it much longer.

11 weeks: We officially told our moms this week and it was so great spreading the news with them. With this belly of mine growing so quickly it's nice to have it out of the bag with the people we see the most. As an update from last week, it's definitely the B6 & ginger helping my queasiness as I skipped it a few days in a row and fell right back into the nausea. My energy "seems" to be getting better as I'm not exhausted every single day anymore. There are days where I feel great and then others where I'm beat but I'll take it for now. Surprisingly I'm having very few cravings this pregnancy, don't know if that's from being more busy and not having time to think about foods or what. I do sometimes get an idea in my head that I HAVE TO HAVE but the foods are never consistent day-to-day.

12 weeks: It seemed like this belly popped a few weeks ago but is staying pretty consistent now which is definitely a plus because I was nervous I'd be huge by spring. In the middle of this week I had what I believe was a stomach bug of some sort and it was horrible! I was at work, had to run out of a patient room to throw up in a trash can and ended up leaving early because I just couldn't shake it. With a prescription of Zofran (which I'm fine taking in moderate amounts), some Sprite and graham crackers I was thankfully able to rest and was feeling mostly better, yet drained, by the evening. It was pretty rough not feeling well on top of being pregnant and I'm nervous to go through the whole winter now.

Week 13 update coming soon!

Welcome to Our Patch

We are thrilled (and maybe a little crazy) to be adding a new little member to our family! 

Just like last time I'm one day shy of 13 weeks and so excited for this journey. 

More details to come!

Mark's Firsts: One Year Birthday

Mark's first birthday party was weeks ago and here I am blogging about it now. I wish I had a better excuse for the delay but frankly, I don't. And yet I wanted to be sure to document this special day. Our first born's first birthday! Because it sure was a magical day. Filled to the brim with love, pork sliders, sunshine, blue frosting and those we cherish most. 

It was a celebration of our first year as parents. A celebration of all Mark has learned and how much he's grown. A celebration of those people in our lives who helped us when we needed it, when we didn't think we needed it and just for the sake of being there for us. Mark has grown into such a wild, spunky, independent, free-spirited boy and we can't wait to see what the next year brings. And what better way to sum the last year than with a party!

Happy belated Birthday Mark!

Thankful v19

Lately I've been thankful...

[+] for daddies who love their kiddos fiercely 

[+] for late starts and early releases 

[+] for baby buns

[+] for yummy coffee creamers to spice up my morning cup

[+] for spunk, lots and lots of spunk

[+] low-maintenance hair and make-up to pair with my scrubs

[+] for easy bedtimes and sweet milk-breath

[+] for cheap yet yummy candles to burn in the evenings

[+] for getting to be a wild boy mom 

[+] for free breakfasts, and lunches, and snacks

[+] for weather that doesn't quite feel like fall yet

[+] for other momma friends and their advice and encouragement

[+] for a toddler boy who's learning so many new things

Happy hump day!