She's Havin' a Baby Again!

In a few short months this blog will be needing a bit of an overhaul. Leah will have to make room to share it with her new little sibling. Baby #2 is due to arrive on May 13, 2010. That will make Leah a big sister by 27 months.

All has been well with the pregnancy so far. I did have a bit of spotting around 6 weeks that turned out to be nothing to worry about. And I've been getting one cold after the next, making for some frustrating coughing, runny nose, throat irritation and sore ribs. But no morning sickness to speak of. And while I've been quite tired, I actually feel like the exhaustion might have been worse with my first pregnancy. Although a very plausible explanation for that is that pregnancy exhaustion is really nothing in comparison to the sleeplessness of the first few months with a newborn, so I just have a new benchmark now.

Overall I would say being pregnant while chasing an active toddler around is much more physically challenging than it was while sitting at a desk. Although I think the activity level is helping me to gain weight at a much slower pace...definitely a good thing. And while I would say that this pregnancy is certainly no less important than the first, it definitely gets a lot less of my attention. The first time around I was constantly looking at pregnancy websites and books and talking about it. This time it's a bit more of a background topic - I think I may even be a month behind on What To Expect When You're Expecting. But I think all this is pretty normal. I am busier than last time around and the novelty just isn't the same.

I'm now just shy of 17 weeks. I have my next OB appointment tomorrow, but we've entered the phase where each appointment consists of waiting around to be seen for 45 minutes or so, having the doctor measure my belly and feel for the fundus (top of the uterus), and listening to the heartbeat. Of course I never get tired of hearing that heartbeat. But the appointments are fairly routine...although I do of course hope they remain that way.

The big 20 week ultrasound ought to be right around the end of the year. Hopefully we'll be able to schedule it after Shafi's return from Bangladesh but before he is back at work in the new year. And we will be finding out the gender then...so stay tuned.

I haven't yet scanned in the previous sonograms, but I will post them as soon as I have them. Not a whole lot to see in a 12 week picture, but it was very exciting nonetheless. Leah went with us to the appointment and sat on Shafi's lap. She behaved pretty well. She seemed to understand when we showed her the baby's head, and at one point the baby lifted a hand and we told Leah that the baby was waving to her, to which she responded "Hi baby."

We've been telling Leah about the baby and that she's going to be a big sister since the very beginning. We're not quite sure how much she understands. I have had several friends have babies in the last couple of months, so I think seeing them go from 9 months pregnant to actually having a newborn might help. She does pat my belly and say hi to the baby. She'll even try to share her water or her puppy (the lovey she sleeps with) with the baby by holding it up to my belly. And if you ask her where the baby is she will point to my belly. But she has also been known to say "baby" and pat her own belly...so maybe she doesn't quite get it yet.

We made the big announcement to my family over the Thanksgiving holiday. We thought it would be fun to wait and tell everyone in person. So on Wednesday we put Leah in a "big sister" t-shirt. My grandmother noticed the shirt right away and was very excited for us. My parents, however, did not notice the shirt, but when I walked into the room my mother gave me a quizzical look and said, "Are you pregnant?" Good thing I am! Alan and Rachel were away for the holiday but came over on Friday night - they both noticed the bump right away.

We're very excited to be adding to our family. And we have no doubt that Leah will make a great big sister.