Sunday, August 21, 2011

Baby #2's nursery decor

The art:








...and the mobile:



I love Etsy!

one at 17 months, the other at 15 weeks

The big kid is continuing to amaze us at every turn. She can repeat nearly every word we say to her, and more of them stick than we thought possible. Charlotte has begun telling us (asking us?) to do things- "Daddy, grass, no!" means, "Daddy, please mow the lawn. The grass is so tall it trips me." "Hungry, eat, please, lemonade," means "I'm famished and need to eat NOW, and I need some lemonade, please." "Read Elmo Grandma, please," is "Read me the Elmo book that Grandma gave me, please." I'm awed by the fact that, 9 times out of ten, when she gets fussy I ask her to tell me in words what's wrong, and she calms right down and tells me!

It often takes an hour or more for Charlotte to fall asleep, even when she's noticeably tired. She's content to play in her crib, babbling with her caterpillar, lambie, and babies. Sometimes, she'll holler, "Momma, Daddy. Momma, Daddy!" But I think she's just checking to see if we'll come get her like we do in the morning (I usually wait to get her out of bed in the AM until she calls us to get her). When she gets no response, she goes back to her toys. We're still on 2 naps each day, except on the rare occasion when she sleeps until 7:30 in the morning- then we skip the AM nap. She's usually up at 6, and out of her crib by 6:30. I'd like to drop the morning nap soon, though, because I start a new job this week which will have me gone from 1:15 until 6:30 every day, and I don't want her to sleep away so much of the limited time we have together. It's also tough to squeeze in our trips to the grocery store, music class, and library story hour when the morning is interrupted for naptime. I may experiment with skipping the morning nap for the next few days to see what happens. We'll just move the afternoon one up from 2:00 to noon.

Charlotte knows, but doesn't necessarily understand, that there's a baby in Momma's belly. When she's on the changing table, she likes to reach over and pull up my shirt so she can kiss my belly. When we tell her she's going to be a wonderful big sister, she smiles and nods like she actually understands what we're saying.

Nursery prepaprations have begun. I selected some art from etsy and a terrific artist made a coordinating mobile for me (photos to follow in a separate post). The room is currently our office, and chock full of paperwork, computers, printers, desks, etc. It's also home to the litter box, so we'll need to get the cats used to finding that somewhere else well before Baby arrives. Our home's previous owners painted the room pink, with blue sky and puffy white clouds on the ceiling. We need to do a complete paint job. That's part of why Charlotte is in the room she has... we didn't want to empty out and paint the office at the time.

The second trimester has settled in already. The nausea and exhaustion are gone, although I still indulge in a little afternoon nap now and then. I haven't felt any movement yet, but heard a big one last week while listening to the heartbeat on the doppler with my midwife. Because I had GD with Charlotte, I was tested early for it this time. I'm happy to report that I passed, with plenty of room to spare. I'm off the hook until 26 weeks, when they'll test again. We passed on the "sequential screening" for DS. The process caused us a lot of unnecessary stress last time, and since the results are far from definitive we just don't see the point in putting ourselves through it again. So, there was no NT scan. I did have a "size/gestational age" ultrasound at 12 weeks, though, and Baby was measuring 2 days ahead (aka perfect). I'll meet with an MFM and have a level 2 u/s at 19 weeks, but won't have the bloodwork done that was part of sequential screening. When offered, we'll also decline the amnio. This baby is what he is (it's an odd date, so today the baby is HE), and no amount of testing can reveal the complexity of just who that's going to be.

I suspect, already, that this one's a boy. We will not be finding out before birth-day, but this pregnancy just feels different than my first. I know, I don't have a lot of experience. Some of the differences... 1) I've gained weight more rapidly than with Charlotte (14 pounds already); 2) Baby's heart rate is significantly lower than Charlotte's at this stage (143 bpm at 14w5d); 3) I've developed a little bit of acne, while I had super-clear skin while pregnant with Charlotte; 4) Milder nausea, but more constant, this time than last; 5) my belly is flat- it protrudes, just as you'd expect of someone who's pregnant, but the front surface is completely flat. I was very round with Charlotte, like carrying a watermelon; 6) I've gained weight all around my torso, instead of just in front. So, there you go... my first prediction. I wonder how many times I'll change it before we meet Baby.

I feel great now that the "flu" of the first trimester has passed. Most of the time, I don't feel pregnant at all. I've lost my taste for coffee (again), but have no real aversions or cravings to report. I'm terribly thirsty, but that could be becaue it's summer. None of my clothes fit comfortably and I'm trying to get by without buying much of anything since summer will be over soon. I can wear what I wore with Charlotte once the weather cools a bit. Bras are the biggest issue now, actually. There's not enough room between boob and belly for underwire, and I have yet to find a reasonably supportive no-wire bra. All the bras I began wearing when I stopped breastfeeding are too small in the band, while all the ones I wore before & during my first pregnancy are too big in the band.

Charlotte's finally napping (took her 45 minutes to fall asleep this time), so I will too. Be well everyone!