Goodbye 1st Trimester

Goodbye 1st trimester, you will not be missed. Except that I will miss you. I will miss the rush of emotion when we found out we were going to be blessed with another beautiful baby. I will miss the constant torment of nausea and exhaustion - the constant reminder that my baby was taking shape deep within me. I will NOT miss not being able to eat - No, really I will not miss this. Not having an appetite and gagging when trying to eat is horrible. I will miss how simple, normally non-offensive smells sent me running to the bathroom - popcorn, chocolate flavored coffee, lunchtime leftover re-heats, baby corn, etc - not too sure if I will really miss this either! It makes working in an office really hard. I will definetly miss Addi's sweet face asking how much longer until her baby sister gets here! I will miss Addi taking such good care of me, rubbing my forehead or back, while I am again napping or heaving over the toilet.

14 weeks pregnant:

***Disclosure: I refer to new baby as 'she'. 'It' sounds too monster-like and if we call our new baby a 'him', Addi quickly corrects us that, "The baby is not a boy, it is a girl!" We do not know the sex of our new baby and I don't think we will find out this time! If baby is a boy, he will love reading this journal, being referred to as a baby sister all the time!! Oh, poor thing is going to develop a complex before HE is born!

What baby is up to:
- Baby is a lemon! No not really a lemon, but the size of a lemon! From perfect little head to perfect little butt, she is about 3.5 inches long.
- Baby is growing lanugo, soft hairs that cover her body, protecting her fragile skin
- Baby's liver is producing bile
- Baby is very active, constantly moving, stretching, and flexing. Baby's facial reflexes are allowing her to make all sorts of funny faces. She'll need the practice to compete with Addi's silly faces!
- Baby is practicing breathing by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid
- Baby's arms, legs and head are just about the right proportion to her body, now she'll just be packing on the weight and growing and growing, right along with her mamma!

Pictures of a 14 weeks old fetus. Just amazing.


pics from http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/Pregnancy/calendar/week/14

What mama is up to:
- Still sleepy. I never see my husband on the days he works. By the time he gets home around 9 pm I have been sound asleep for over an hour.
- HUNGRY, HUNGRY, HIPPO! Can't get this mamma full!
- I asked to have my computer moved into the lady's room!! I spend more time in the bathroom than at my desk! I dread each time I have to shuffle down there. The bathroom is always filled with a terrible cloud of citrusy bathroom spray. Oh, yuck. It's like walking into a cloud of citrus bug fumes, it is terrible.
- I am eager to see the doctor of Friday. It took 2 full weeks for the bleeding to completely stop. I am eager to see if the radiologist found a source of bleeding. I am also eager to start exercising. Hopefully, the doctor says I am ok to do that. Addi and I have been doing really light prenatal yoga in the evenings! It is fun watching Addi all contorted and bent over in funny poses! She gets a kick out of it! "Look at me Mamma, I'm doing it!"
- Although, infrequent and almost non-existent, I am pretty sure I am able to feel baby moving. Baby feels like tiny little flutters or bubbles. Movements seem to intensify when I am lying on my left side at night. Which makes sense, because in all the ultrasounds and when my doctor tries to find the heart beat with a Doppler they always locate baby in the lower left side of my abdomen. That is where baby prefers to hang and when I squish her prefered space baby moves around more! Ok, just a theory...but it sure sounds like I know what I am talking about!
- I have been having headaches in the morning and into the afternoon.
- I crave anything salty -chips, artichokes, nuts. I love cereal of any kind and could eat it for every meal!
- Emotionally, I am feeling great. I am not a crying, blubbering mess like I was a couple weeks ago! I am a bit mood-swingy (it's a word!), but I think that has less to do with the pregnancy and more to do with that is just who I am (Dylan LOVES this about me, by the way!!!)! I am not feeling anxious or nervous. I feel relaxed and calm. It hasn't hit me yet that I will be the mother of two children! I still don't believe that I am Addi's mother! I am sure that will come in a few months! In the back of my mind is the constant nagging of having to return to work after the baby is born. I just pray so hard a solution or alternative opportunity presents itself to me. I get a little more excited each week that pasts. I am so excited to see baby and big sister together. Addi will be amazing and I cannot wait to watch them fall in love with each other and interact. I can't wait to have a sleeping infant on my chest again and I can't wait for the smell of her/his little head.



My friend Ember is having a baby shower this weekend for her 2nd baby. I am excited to see her all pregnant! I haven't seen her in months, before she was showing. With the baby shower excitement and all the baby talk I am hoping it may make my pregnancy seem a little more real!