Second Trimester!

Yay!  Second trimester!  I can't say the first flew by, but I'm happy to be feeling better and slowly regaining my energy.  I'm still dealing with some spotting, which sucks, but it has been pretty harmless.  My heart palpitations have significantly decreased, which has been fabulous.  I got talked into getting back on Zoloft by both my OB and therapist.  I'm hesitantly taking 25mg and praying I don't have an alien baby.  I'm almost 100% sold on the idea of VBAC with the help of a doula.  Those are pretty much my latest pregnancy developments.  Oh, and I'm terrified of dying during childbirth.  Did you know the maternal death rates in the US are on the rise?  Yes.  I realize I'm insane. 

We are 98% set on the names Emmy Winona and Sawyer Harrison.  My family hates Sawyer, but whatevs.  I could care less!  I have been going back and forth with the name Annabelle.  I dunno.  It's a maybe.  We also like Gavin, but it's pretty popular.  And I'm not a fan of anything top 50.  We get compliments on Isla's name all the time!  Random people are always commenting on how beautiful her name is.   This means we have to find an equally awesome/unique name for baby #2.  Talk about pressure!  I think Sawyer fits the bill perfectly in terms of uniqueness/awesomeness...and Emmy is pretty without being popular.  We'll have our final names set by ultrasound day which is roughly 7 weeks away!

I had a dream last night that the doctor told me I was having a girl with a penis.  I was oddly okay with this in the dream.  In my head I was thinking we had the best of both worlds.  Can you tell I subconsciously want a girl?!  I am 99% sure we are having a boy though...which would be equally exciting! 

I think Sawyer and I are off to bed.  I do have things going on in my life that aren't pregnancy related...so I'll try to blog about those later :)

Phew!

Baby is still okay.  We heard the heartbeat via doppler for the first time today.  The doctor didn't give us the beats per minute, but it was fast and steady.  Still no concrete reason for the blood...so I've been instructed to call the nurse each time it happens and both the baby and I will continue to be checked after each occurrence. 

While my peanut baby is resting safely in my uterus, Isla is up in her room screaming and banging her head on the door.  Nap time isn't going over well lately.  In the evenings, Isla has learned that if she screams enough, her daddy will take her into our bed and watch a cartoon with her while they snuggle and drink milk.  Now Isla will throw complete tantrums anytime she is in her room in hopes someone will open the door and free her.  And I will not do it.  Call me the bad mama, but I cannot let Isla think that throwing a tantrum will give her what she wants.  It's frustrating that Andy and I do not agree on this.  Ohhh, it suddenly just got quiet up there.  I guess she either fell asleep or knocked herself out with all of that head banging.

Goodness, Isla alone can be a handful.  I cannot imagine what my life will be like when my little peanut is born in roughly 28 weeks :)

Ugh. Seriously?!

The bleeding has started again.  This time there are some tiny clots which I know can't be a good sign.  It's amazing how the blood waits until evening to make an appearance.  Just to mess with me.  Thank goodness I have an appointment tomorrow anyway to do further testing on the cervical irritation issue.  Currently there is no cramping and bloating as there was on Friday evening.  But I'm starting to fear this could become a high risk pregnancy...or that I could miscarry.  I am really trying to focus on the fact that God has a plan.  He knows what will happen to my little baby, and I really don't have any control over it.  I'm just getting really frustrated because this is all happening when I'm supposed to be entering the "safe" zone of pregnancy.  My baby looks like a baby.  He was kicking his legs!  His heart has been beating!  I don't want him taken from me.  It would be easier to handle had I not seen how adorable and developed my little guy is already. 

Please send good thoughts my way. 

Pregnancy rambling.

I am amazed at how different this pregnancy has been from my last one.  I LOVED being pregnant with Isla.  Aside from the exhaustion, it was perfect.  This time around, I am going crazy already and I'm not quite 12 weeks yet!

On Friday I experienced one of my worst fears: bleeding!  Ugh, so terrifying.  I was super bloated and crampy and totally convinced I was miscarrying.  After a frantic text to Kate trying to figure out what to do (emergency room or wait it out) I called my doctor and he said he would squeeze me in Saturday morning for an ultrasound/checkup.  Yay for Saturday hours!  There is no way I could have waited until Monday. 

I was the last appointment on Saturday and the waiting killed me.  After a quick exam the Doctor gave me an ultrasound himself (no tech on Saturdays) which I thought was incredibly nice!  Seeing the little baby kicking and watching his heartbeat was very reassuring.  The bleeding is due to cervical irritation, although the cause of the irritation is unknown.  I need to go back in for a few tests to figure out what is causing the irritation.  So until we get to the bottom of this, I'm on pelvic rest.  No sex, no working out, no heavy lifting, etc.  If the bleeding continues into the second trimester, my Doctor said there would be a chance this could turn into a high risk pregnancy.  Yikes.  So I'm hoping this all gets resolved quickly!

In other baby news, I took a gender urine test Monday morning and the result very quickly said boy!  I had been thinking boy for about a week prior after having a very vivid dream, so the test totally confirmed my thoughts.  Of course, these tests are not 100% accurate, so it will be interesting to see if it was right.  I've got about 8 weeks of waiting until my ultrasound!  I've already been calling the baby Sawyer (even though we haven't agreed on this name...) so I'm hoping my mother's intuition is right again!  I really had no doubts Isla was a girl long before the ultrasound...so we'll see.  I originally had my heart set on a sister for Isla, but a boy would be so fun too!  Obviously I just want a healthy baby.  I would even take a healthy hermaphrodite. 

It's weird being overweight and pregnant.  When I was pregnant with Isla, I was already showing at 12 weeks.  Now I'm just fat.  Still.  With Isla, I gained 15lbs the first 20 weeks.  And 35lbs the last 20 weeks.  GAG.  GROSS.  I've only gained 3lbs right now, and I'm hoping to gain no more than 5lbs by the 20 week mark.  Without working out, it might be kind of hard...but we'll see what happens.  I'm shooting for a 25lb pregnancy.  I weighed 185 the day I delivered...so my goal is to stay under that!!  I started this pregnancy at 155 so I think that is a realistic goal for me!

So yeah.  That's about all.  I'll start posting preggo pics when I actually have a baby belly!

Attack of the heart. But not a heart attack.

Yesterday I spent 5 hours in the ER because of my crazy heart palpitations.  After many tests it was determined that my palpitations are being caused by pregnancy hormones and STRESS.  Shocker!  Seriously though, having a crucial organ act completely crazy has been very unsettling.  Every 15 seconds or so my heart throws in an extra beat...it's called a Ventricular Ectopic heartbeat.  Most people get these once and a while, and they are totally harmless as long as your heart is healthy otherwise.  So that is what all of the tests were trying to determine...and yes, my heart looks healthy.  Phew!  The only way I can really combat these crazy heartbeats is to eliminate caffeine (which is pretty much done...usually if anything I'll have 1 Mt. Dew in the morning), eliminate stress, and have the baby.  The crazy beats should stop once the baby is born, sometimes sooner.  I've read some people notice a significant decrease after their first trimester.  Fingers crossed that happens for me too!   Having your heart wake you up in the middle of the night because it is pounding and racing uncontrollably reallllly sucks.

Okay.  Complaining done.  I hope this little baby becomes kinder to me soon.  Today I have a random burst of energy, and I'm only 10 weeks.  I'm hoping this lasts!  Andy will be confused/shocked/elated to find the house in a somewhat clean state today, and the mountain of laundry washed and put away!  He has pretty much done EVERYTHING around here.  Well, everything except for the resting and TV watching.  I've got that covered. 

30 weeks left!

A tired, lazy post.

I. AM. SO. TIRED.  Seriously.  Exhausted.  This little peanut baby has been stealing all of my energy.  The house is A MESS.  There are boxes everywhere.  Nothing on the walls.  Mountains of laundry.  Crap cluttering every possible surface.  Ugh.  This is no way to live!  But seriously, during my free time...all I do is lay around.  I'm not tired enough to sleep, but I'm far too tired to clean.

I have every intention of blogging more frequently.  But my computer is in the cold basement.  Not very inviting after a long day.  Since Andy is out for the night, I stole his laptop and I'm trying to catch up on blogs and Facebook posts.

Anyway, in a brief, bulleted fashion, here is what is up with me:

1.  New house = major problems.
2.  I'm having crazy heart palpitations and chest tightness.  Most likely due to hormones and stress.  EKG, Echo, and Holter monitor scheduled on Tuesday.
3.  Isla had her EEG today...I'm praying for good results!
4.  This pregnancy is far harder than my first.  I swear I'm having a boy.  Although I'm secretly hoping for another girl.  But it will totes be a boy.  I just know it...and I'll obviously be insanely happy either way!  Plus I think I like our boy name a little more than I like our girl name.  
5.  Isla is a daredevil/crazy child.  She will climb up anything.  I am in the bathroom for 30 seconds and come out to find Isla on the dining room table.
6.  VBAC vs repeat c-section.  Yikes.  Terrified of both.  Can I somehow burp up this baby?  Or poop him out?  These truly sound like better options.

I'll elaborate more in future posts.  Right now, it's time for bed!

Home Sweet Home

Home!

Not sure why this one is so blurry?  Anyway, check out the death staircase and the lack of a banister where the stairs curve.  Also there is no coat closet which is slightly problematic. 

The kitchen isn't very pretty...but it's much bigger than our current kitchen!

Master bedroom.

Isla's bedroom.

Upstairs bathroom.

Part of the basement.  Notice death staircase #2.  The open door leads into Andy's office. 

Huge laundry room!  I'm in love. 

Lovely fenced in backyard!

That is a quick glimpse into our new home!  It is 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, 2200 sq feet on a 1/2 acre of land. Oh, and there are more closets/storage areas than I've ever dreamed of.  The lack of a coat closet, however, is slightly puzzeling.  We have train tracks for both the metra train and freight trains directly behind us though.  My dad's house has tracks behind his house and we got used to the train pretty quickly.  These trains will be far more frequent, but I'm hoping they won't be bad! 

We'll have a guest room, so everyone is welcome to visit :)

Oh, and the tacky furniture is not ours.  We obviously haven't moved yet...and we probably never will if I don't get to packing!  Packing with a toddler running around is near impossible!  Isla either wants to take everything out of the box, or sit inside of it!  Thankfully I have a babysitter watching Isla at my dad's house today and tomorrow from 1-6pm so I can finish packing. 

Please remind me never to move again.  This is so exhausting.  This will be our 5th move in 7 years (my mom's townhome, MN apartment, MN townhome, IL apartment, and now our new house.  EXHAUSTING.