25... 26 Weeks - Almost third trimester already?

One more week until third trimester!

It's been a good two weeks. On Tuesday, we had another sonogram to take a closer look at our baby's heartbeat. During our first anatomy scan, the technician found an irregularity with baby Andrew's heartbeat. My doctor said it can happen randomly as the baby's immature heart is growing and developing, but she wanted to be sure that we couldn't replicate the irregular heartbeat on a second sonogram. If it was still there, she would then refer us to a perinatologist. I tried not to think about worst-case scenarios, but I was pretty worried until we had the second sonogram!

Luckily, Andrew's heartbeat looked perfect the second time around. Everything was just as it should be. It was fun to see him squirming around again - he's such a cutie! I can't wait to see what he looks like. His weight and measurements are still right on track, which is a huge relief! With Zoie, her seemingly small size and decreasing growth rate had my doctor so concerned that we induced labor right at 39 weeks. She actually turned out to be much bigger than predicted from the sonograms. I regret not having the chance to experience natural labor, so I'm incredibly relieved we're not faced with the same issue. I'm hoping for a natural childbirth with baby Andrew!

The hospital we are planning to deliver at in California sounds wonderful - they recently upgraded to wireless waterproof fetal belly monitors and offer birthing stools to women who wish to use them! How awesome is that? I've also picked out my new doctor and spoken with his office about our arrival. I'm getting excited thinking about the final trimester and meeting our little boy!

How far along are you? 26 weeks as of Friday.
 
How big is Baby? Our little guy now weighs over 2 pounds, and measures around 14 inches long from head to heel.

Weight Gain? This morning I was 140.8 pounds... So I'm up almost 15 pounds! Last pregnancy I was up only 11 pounds at this point. Humph. Gaining weight isn't fun.

Gender? A BOY!

Maternity Clothes? Yep! These days, fewer and fewer of my regular shirts can appropriately dress this bump.

Sleep? Just when it seems sleep is getting better, spring allergies flare up again and attack! Zoie and I have both been suffering from sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes. Definitely harder to sleep right now. Something outside is pollinating and it needs to stop!

Movement? Just as much movement as ever! It's getting stronger and making my belly jump more. Baby Andrew is still kicking my bladder, and sometimes it feels like I still need to pee right after I go!

Food Cravings? Chocolate, sugar, and all good things that are bad for you.

Labor Signs? Nah, still nothing.

Symptoms? Allergies have returned! Hello again, runny nose and itchy eyes. Last year I didn't experience spring allergies at all... so I think it's definitely a pregnancy thing!

What I miss? I miss having intact stomach muscles! As my belly gets bigger, my ab muscles pull apart (diastasis recti) and become weak. It's getting slightly harder to get up from the couch or the floor.

Best moment(s) of the week? I had a wonderful, relaxing Mother's Day where James took care of everything. He got me flowers and treats, and took the reigns with Zoie so I could relax. Ahhh :)

What I am looking forward to? James has a 4-day weekend for Memorial Day! Not sure exactly what we'll do, but we'll have fun!

Cheers,

Martha

24 weeks - And his name will be...

Andrew James Bowen

Baby Andrew is the size
of an ear of corn!

I love keeping James' first name in the family, and using it as a middle name will keep things simple (although James Jr. has a nice ring to it!). We love the name Andrew! It was actually what Zoie was going to be named if she was a boy. Personally, I like the nickname Andy, and James likes AJ, but we'll just call him Andrew until we get to know him.

Zoie can already say Andrew! Well, she pronounces it "ah-drew", but close enough. Her language amazes me so much every day! Her little sentences are so cute. She's really good at saying "thank you" whenever someone gives her something, and sometimes she'll say it for you if she hands you something. She loves saying "bless you!" when we sneeze, though it sounds more like "bleh blue". She can't get the sss sound down yet, but I think we're getting close!

Babies are still Zoie's favorite thing. She can spend 30 minutes swaddling, singing, and rocking her Bitty Baby. She loves her baby doll to do everything with her, and gets very concerned if forgets her doll in the next room. It's fun to encourage her imaginative play, she gets such a kick out of new ways to interact with her baby doll. She loved it when I made her baby doll use the sign language she knows! I think she'll transition pretty well having a real baby to help take care of!

How far along are you? 24 weeks as of Friday.
 
How big is Baby? Baby Andrew measures over a foot long from head to heel, and weighs around 1.25 pounds. He's about the size of an ear of corn. His skin is still thin and translucent, but it's starting to change! His lungs are developing and he's practicing breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid.

Weight Gain? I'm 137.2, so haven't really changed since last week. Still up 11 pounds.

Gender? Baby boy!

Maternity Clothes? Indeed, this bump is getting bigger. Might need to go shopping again for cute maternity items!

Sleep? Sleep has actually been good lately! Zoie's two-year molars are still in-progress, but they haven't bothered her much for the past few nights. I think once her teeth break through completely, we could be on track for a toddler that sleeps through the night!

Movement? Lots of movement all day! I can see my belly jump sometimes, but usually I'm so distracted with Zoie that I don't pay attention as much. Andrew's little legs are still right against my bladder (I think he's still in a breech position), so sometimes he'll kick and I'll feel a quick jolt of omigosh-I-need-to-pee that disappears in an instant. It's a crazy feeling.

Food Cravings? Coffee. Every morning I grind up my decaf beans with just a small amount of regular beans to brew in my french press. Just enough caffeine for a tiny kick, but (hopefully) it's not too much.

Labor Signs? Nope, nothing.

Symptoms? Nothing new, luckily! Continuing as usual. I haven't gained weight this week, but I just feel heavy in general. Pregnancy is alway such a good reminder to never let myself get fat - I really dislike feeling heavy!

What I miss? I'm definitely being more relaxed in this pregnancy with "the rules", but still it's a pain to watch caffeine intake, avoid lunchmeat (listeria....), sushi... and alcohol.

Best moment(s) of the week? The weather has been beautiful, James has been getting home from work a little earlier in the evenings, and we had a great weekend hanging out. Can't pinpoint one moment, it's just been good. Oh, and the new Avengers movie was completely awesome.

What I am looking forward to? We just booked our trip to Las Vegas next month for James' cousin's wedding! It'll be great to see his dad's side of the family, and enjoy a long weekend in an exciting place. We might even get to sneak away for a date while Nana & Papa watch Zoie!

Cheers,

Martha

22... 23 Weeks - Oh boy, oh boy!

A boy... we're having a boy!

Belly is starting to
feel heavy!

I still can't get over how excited we are. I would be crazy excited if we were having a girl too, it's just fun KNOWING! For me, it makes pregnancy so much more meaningful. Instead of just a baby inside me, it's our little boy! I think about him all the time and imagine what kind of baby he'll be. Will he be a champ at nursing like Zoie was? What kind of sleeper will he be? What kinds of little baby noises will he make? I'm so excited to meet him!

It's crazy to think about, but right now (23/24 weeks) is about the time where babies have a chance at survival if they deliver this early. Our baby only weighs about 1 pound! I don't think our little guy is going anywhere for several months, but it's interesting that he's developed enough at this stage that he could possibly survive (with ridiculous amounts of help) outside my womb!

Since finding out we're having a boy, I've been having fun sorting through the gender-neutral baby clothes we own and shopping for little boy clothes. Dinosaurs and puppy dogs and fire trucks, oh my! This is a fun new world. Zoie is such a good shopping assistant, she'll carry around the items I pick out and proclaim "Bay-bee! Bay-bee!".

Zoie knows there's a baby in my belly, but I can't convince her that there isn't one in hers too. It'll be so fun when the kicks are strong enough for her to feel and see! I think she's going to love being a big sister.

How far along are you? 23 weeks as of Friday.
 
How big is Baby? Our baby boy weighs over a pound now, and measures about 11 inches long from head to rump. He's about the size of a large mango or grapefruit! His face is fully formed, and he's listening to my voice and body sounds. He can even hear loud noises from the outside.

Weight Gain? I'm up to 137 now, so I've gained 11 pounds so far.

Gender? We found out last week that we're having a BOY!!!

Maternity Clothes? Yep, loving my comfy maternity pants. Starting to wear more maternity tops, but I have plenty of looser regular tops that fit.

Sleep? Lately, the only thing keeping me up is Zoie. These 2nd year molars are terrible! We are waiting for these last two to cut through her gums, and they're painful for her. It keeps her awake some nights, and this girl just wants to be held!

Movement? Our little guy is such a squirm! During the sonogram, we saw that he was in a breech position with his feet right next to my bladder. This explains my random urgency to pee when really my bladder isn't even that full... haha. I love feeling his kicks!

Food Cravings? Unfortunately I've been craving things like crackers and starchy foods. Nooooooo!

Labor Signs? Nope, nothing.

Symptoms? The whole varicose and spider vein thing is pretty lame. Apparently it gets worse with each subsequent pregnancy, but eases up after delivery. Thanks to pregnancy, the rising progesterone levels in my body cause the walls of my blood vessels to relax. This combined with the extra blood flowing through my body makes these veins (mostly on my right side) distend! Not only are they unsightly, but they ache by the end of the day.

What I miss? I miss feeling more energetic, agile, and flexible. My motivation to exercise is pretty low since my body feels more achy and stiff, but I know exercising more would help! I always feel good after doing PiYo, which I try to sneak in during Zoie's nap time.

Best moment(s) of the week? Watching our baby on the sonogram and finding out he is definitely a BOY! It's so exciting to have two kiddos, one of each gender!

What I am looking forward to? The new Avengers movie comes out this week - James and I are going to see it on Friday while Nana & Papa watch Zoie!

Cheers,

Martha

It's a... BOY!!!

WE'RE HAVING A BABY BOY!!!

How exciting to have the experience of a girl, and now a BOY!

We would have been thrilled with either gender, but now that we know it's a boy, it's SO exciting that we'll for sure have the experience of both a boy and a girl! If we ever have a third child, it'll be fun not having a preference either way.

This pregnancy has been a little different than my experience with Zoie, so I'm not shocked that we're having a boy! It was my guess all along, though I really had no idea. So satisfying to finally be able to call our tiny baby a HE!

The sonogram was awesome. Our little boy was kicking up a storm and flipping over, so we got to see all his limbs and body in action. He is most definitely a boy - the ultrasound technician said she would "guarantee this one!" His weight is exactly on track for how far along I am, so that's a relief! His anatomy looks perfect, and he has the cutest little profile! So excited to meet our little guy in August!

Cheers,

Martha

21 Weeks - Listeria scare, and our little family reunited.

What a long week it has been!

21 weeks! Yep. Bump.

Last week I started feeling pretty ill, with several flu-like symptoms. I thought it was a stomach bug, and tried to get some extra rest and drink more fluids. Luckily my parents and brother were staying with me, so having extra help with Zoie was great. They left on Easter Sunday though, and I still wasn't feeling well. That night around 9pm, I got a call from my Dillon's grocery store informing me that the Blue Bell ice cream I purchased had been recalled due to a Listeria bacteria outbreak at the manufacturing plant in Oklahoma! I checked the serial number on my carton, and it indeed came from Oklahoma. I had been eating this ice cream for the last week! And now I was feeling flu-like symptoms! AHHH!!!

If I wasn't pregnant, it wouldn't be as big of a deal. People can suffer flu-like symptoms from Listeria (listeriosis), but healthy adults usually recover in a few days. But a listeriosis infection while pregnant is a huge deal, because the bacteria crosses through the placenta and can cause miscarriage, premature delivery, stillbirth, infection to the baby... many awful things!

I immediately called the emergency line through my women's health clinic, and spoke with the on-call doctor about what to do. My gut was telling me that we needed to take precautions, because we had a real chance of a listeriosis infection. Whatever stomach bug I was experiencing had the same symptoms as listeriosis!

The doctor recommended that we do a blood culture for the Listeria bacteria, and start antibiotics while we wait for test results. He arranged for my visit to the hospital the next morning.

So I went in around 9am for a blood draw and to begin an IV drip of antibiotics. Little did I know... I would be returning to the hospital 3 times a day (6am, 2pm, and 10pm) for an IV of antibiotics! Each IV took 60 minutes to drip. Talk about a huge time commitment. I am so thankful that James' parents live nearby and could take care of Zoie while I made 7 trips to the hospital (and spent over 13 hours there!) before we got results from my blood culture 48 hours later. It was the best negative news I'd ever seen! Can you imagine completing treatment for several weeks if the results were positive??

Luckily, my stomach bug cleared up a few days later and I'm back to normal now. I'm still a teeny bit concerned about the high dose of meropenem (I'm allergic to penicillin, so this was the alternative antibiotic the doctor ordered) I received, because there aren't any human studies during pregnancy. It's assumed safe with no risk to the fetus, but besides animal studies, we just don't know. However, the risk of listeriosis outweighed the risk of the drug, so I'm confident we made the right decision.

What an emotional roller coaster. And of course, James was still away on his training mission while this happened... but at least I was able to talk to him on the phone. He finally arrived home late Friday night! What a relief to have our little family back together. Zoie is so happy her "dada" is home! She loves flying around the room in his arms and wrestling him with tickle sessions. It's been a long month, but hopefully the last month we'll ever have to spend apart! I can't wait for the next phase in our Army career.

How far along are you? 21 weeks as of Friday.
 
How big is Baby? Our little baby now weighs around 12.7 ounces, and measures 10.5 inches from head to heel. Getting closer to a whole pound! He/she is about the length of a carrot.

Weight Gain? I keep forgetting to weigh myself in the morning, but my afternoon weight was about 135. That seems high, but it fluctuates so much. So that's... 9lb total.

Gender? We find out on TUESDAY at 12:45pm CST!

Maternity Clothes? Yep, rocking the maternity pants and a couple maternity tops. I still have a lot of regular clothes that fit though.

Sleep? It's all over the place. Since my allergies have eased up, sleep is WAY better. I still have to sleep with my head propped up to avoid sinus congestion though.

Movement? Yep, lots of little kicks! Once in a while I can feel it from the outside with my hand, and soon it'll get even stronger!

Food Cravings? Now that I have my appetite back, I'm enjoying lots of things! Lately, coffee has been a big craving. Not the caffeine, just the taste. I've been weary of decaffeinated coffee since the chemical process it goes through is pretty questionable, but I just ordered some high quality decaf beans that use a chemical-free process.

Labor Signs? Nah.

Symptoms? I've mentioned varicose veins and spider veins on my right side, but now I'm also embarrassed to discover another swollen vein in an unfortunate spot...  a hemorrhoid! Ugh. I also have a hernia on my groin leftover from my first pregnancy that is aching more as this new baby grows and adds pressure. Pregnancy isn't the most fun thing in the world...

What I miss? I miss not worrying about food containing Listeria bacteria! It seems like suddenly there are news stories popping up about Listeria outbreaks in packaged foods. Yikes.

Best moment(s) of the week? Watching Zoie discover that "dada" is home! She climbed into our bed in the morning when she woke up on Saturday, and did a double-take when she saw James next to me. She climbed onto him laughing with big hugs and cuddles - she was so happy he was back!

What I am looking forward to? Tuesday can't come soon enough! I can't wait to find out the gender of our baby and see more details during our anatomy sonogram!

Cheers,

Martha

20 Weeks - Fun with Family!

Over the halfway point - this is getting real!

Forgot to ask my family
for a photo before they left!

Whew, my belly is getting big. I feel like I'm past 20 weeks already. Less than two weeks before we get to find out the gender! Then perhaps we'll share a name we've decided on.

Well, this has been a good full week. My mom and dad have been visiting, and my brother Tom was able to drive over for several days as well! I turned 27 on Friday, which suddenly feels a lot older than 26. We all had a great time celebrating with good food, and met up with James' parents as well! My sweet brother even baked me a cookie cake.

Yesterday I took my dad and my brother to hike the Konza Prairie Nature Trail. I'm enjoying all that Kansas has to offer before we move to California - I have really grown to enjoy this place. It's been a wonderful two years.

Konza Prairie Nature Trail

James should get back in a week! Zoie and I can't wait - she gets so excited when we talk about "dada". I don't think she quite understands time yet, but I feel like she knows he's coming home soon. He's going to be amazed with how much her language skills have developed in the last month! She has started saying more 2-syllable words, and even a 3-syllable word here and there. She's picking up new real words every day! In addition to real words, her babbling has increased tenfold. She'll constantly jabber and mimic the inflections of our conversations, and laugh a little too. She even makes funny hand gestures to really get her point across.

After dinner at So Long Saloon, yum!

In the midst of our family fun, I caught an unfortunate stomach bug that has brought me down for the last few days. Zoie had the same virus about a week ago. Hopefully we can move on and stay healthy for a while! Being pregnant AND sick is definitely not fun...

Today, we are back to a quiet house since family left this afternoon. Zoie had the best time playing with "Pa" (Grandpa), "Ga" (Grandma") and "Ta (Thomas) in the last week. Her favorite game was follow-the-leader with pull toys! She had quite an elaborate obstacle course to follow, which involved sitting, standing, running, and looping around furniture. She's going to be a little lonely now with just me to play with. Time for some more Nana & Papa visits with James' parents!

How far along are you? Turned 20 weeks on Friday.
 
How big is Baby? Baby #2 weighs about 10.5 ounces, and measures 6.5 inches from head to bottom, or 10 inches head to heel. Our little baby is working his/her digestive system by gulping down several ounces of amniotic fluid these days, and starting to develop meconium in his/her bowels. Those are sure fun diapers to change when the baby is born!

Weight Gain? I weighed in at 132.5 this week, so looks like I'm up about 6.5 pounds so far.

Gender? Maybe I'll try and move our sonogram up a few days since James is getting back earlier. But otherwise, it's on the 16th. I'm sensing that it's a boy, but I would be thrilled with either!

Maternity Clothes? I'm starting to wear more maternity tops, mostly because they are more flattering and make me look pregnant instead of just overweight.

Sleep? Between my stomach bug, congestion from allergies, and Zoie waking up often because her 2nd year molars are busting through her gums, sleep isn't great! Luckily, my mom was able to help with Zoie during the night so I could sleep more.

Movement? Feeling movement many times throughout the day! Getting stronger all the time.

Food Cravings? Well, I've had no appetite lately because of this stomach bug. I just want to drink juice and avoid meat. Not terribly healthy...

Labor Signs? Nope!

Symptoms? Allergy symptoms have eased up! Hallelujah. Huge improvement to my life when I can breath normally and taste the food I eat!

What I miss? I miss cuddling with Zoie without being concerned about squishing baby #2. This baby is starting to feel rather large in my belly! And it's only the beginning...

Best moment(s) of the week? Best part of my week was seeing my family loving on our kiddo. It's fun when you have so many people in your life who adore your kid as much as you do! I love being able to talk about Zoie when no one gets sick of hearing how awesome she is :)

What I am looking forward to? Having James home soon! And I'm excited to start planning for our move to California, it's coming up quickly in June!

Cheers,

Martha

18... 19 Weeks - The Bad and the Good

Wow, we're almost halfway there!

Getting bigger!

As you might have noticed, I missed my 18 week update! Last Saturday, our basement flooded with an inch of sewer water when the city sewer line backed up, and it took most of my weekend trying to coordinate help and manage the situation! It was quite the disaster.

Of course things go wrong when your spouse is away... but I wasn't quite expecting this. Luckily, I had professional help come within a few hours after noticing the sewage backup! The local plumber, the city sewer workers, and someone from a cleanup/restoration company ALL came Saturday night. The next morning, the cleanup/restoration team returned to strip all the flooring, carpet, and remove contaminated drywall from the downstairs. I was impressed with how promptly we were taken care of! I'm glad our landlord was quick to hire help.

As tempting as it was to be involved and salvage more of our stuff before it got wet, I had to keep myself away from the situation as much as possible. Being pregnant, I needed to be extra careful to avoid the contaminated water full of bacteria and viruses!

Luckily, we don't keep many household goods in the downstairs basement area, so we had limited damage to our personal belongings. Our camping packs got a little wet on the bottom, but nothing we can't bleach and sanitize. We lost maybe $100 worth of supplies - it could've been way worse.

Now that our downstairs is completely torn up, we're getting estimates from a few contractors to replace the flooring and drywall. I'm glad everything is clean, but I'm anxious for our laundry room and den to have a floor!

My parents are visiting right now, so it's nice to have some good to offset the bad! We've had fun going to restaurants and taking Zoie to the playground. Zoie calls them "Ga" for grandma, and "Pa" for grandpa. She wakes up in the morning exclaiming "Ga-Pa-Ga-Pa-Ga-PA!" and runs to knock on their door. It's so fun to see them bonding again after several months apart!

How far along are you? 19 weeks  as of yesterday.
 
How big is Baby? About the size of a large mango! Six inches from head to rump, and weighs 8.5 ounces. He/she is growing hair, kidneys are producing urine, and the baby is now developing a waxy coating called vernix caseosa all over his/her skin as a protectant from the amniotic fluid.

Weight Gain? My current weight is 131, so I'm up 5 pounds total. I just checked my 19 week blogpost from my first pregnancy, I gained exactly 5 pounds by 19 weeks as well! Right on track.

Gender? Our sonogram is scheduled for April 16th!

Maternity Clothes? My middle is definitely getting bigger, so my maternity pants are quite comfortable now. Haven't really started wearing maternity tops yet - my looser regular tops work fine.

Sleep? Sleep isn't so great. Even when Zoie sleeps through the night, I'll still wake up several times because I'm thirsty or my throat is dry. My allergies and congestion make it tough to breath through my nose at night.

Movement? Movement is getting stronger! I can feel kicks from the outside sometimes when I press my hand on my abdomen, but they're pretty gentle since the baby is still tiny.

Food Cravings? Not really, things have been pretty normal. Oddly, I'm not craving citrus this pregnancy the same way I craved it with Zoie. I have noticed that tomato-y things have been especially delicious though.

Labor Signs? Nothing.

Symptoms? Pregnancy allergies are the worst! It's been over 3 weeks now of constant sneezing, runny nose, congestion, sinus pressure, itchy eyes... Some days are better than others, but since the warm weather arrived here in Kansas my allergy symptoms have been rough! Last spring, I didn't have ANY allergies, but two years ago when I was pregnant with Zoie I did experience mild springtime allergies in Kansas. I hope they disappear when we move to California this summer!

What I miss? Starting to miss my old body. The in-between bump stage is always awkward. And since this is my second pregnancy, my veins (especially on the right side of my body) are really getting stressed with the added pressure of a growing baby. My right leg has a couple awesome-looking varicose veins, and a few sunburst-patterned spider veins. YAY.

Best moment(s) of the week? It's been nice to have the house full of family while James is away, I'm grateful to not be alone! I'm pretty blessed to have my in-laws living close by AND my parents visiting right now.

What I am looking forward to? I can't wait to be able to talk to James again - he's been in a 2-week training mission with no cell phone, so I really miss him! Hopefully by Friday he'll be able to contact me!

Cheers,

Martha