it's different the 2nd time around

i was extremely optimistic thinking that jeremy would start sleeping through the night like gabriel did at 5.5 weeks. well, he's 7 weeks old and we are nowhere close to sleeping through the night, let alone taking regular naps.

this time around, i'm doing whatever i need to do to survive the day:

• i'm co-sleeping with jeremy, so that i can breastfeed him to sleep, unlatch him, and then i can sleep. the problem when i wake up is that he is tucked right against me, and i'm literally about to fall off the bed :P
• we are napping together on the couch - i've tried to no avail to get him to sleep in the basinette. after an hour of solid crying (jeremy, that is), i give up and he gets to sleep in my arms.
• it seems as though i don't have enough milk for jeremy, so we are giving him a bottle of formula at bedtime to help him get to sleep.
• chris has driven jeremy around the 'hood a few times in the middle of the night, just so i can get a couple hours of sleep before the 2/3 a.m. feeding.

at 7 weeks, i'm definitely getting cranky at the lack of a household routine. part of my new routine this week is picking up gabriel from school in the afternoon.  i'm fortunate that for this month chris is still taking gabriel to school in the morning, but starting in march i'll be doing drop-off and pick-up. thankfully march is a short month with our 2 week spring break!

baby's first cold

it was inevitable...gabriel caught a cold right before christmas and right after new year's, jeremy caught his first cold. we figured there wasn't much we could do for him since he was only a couple weeks old, but after hearing his cough worsen and his stuffiness wasn't subsiding, we took him to the brentwood medical clinic to be seen by a doctor. i have to say, i will never go to the clinic again when dr. li is on the rotation.  she was the worst doctor i have ever seen.  she totally dismissed us when we talked about his symptoms and said she couldn't diagnose J without hearing him cough.  and then when he did cough, she totally said "that's normal for babies".  bottom line, she told us...he's not sick, and it's normal for babies to be stuffed up.  um, ok.

once we left the clinic, chris told me that she was a quack. he had seen her a few years ago, and she misdiagnosed him with a cold (and basically told him to "tough it out") when he actually had pneumonia!  once he told me that, we made an appointment to see our family doctor. because J was almost "normal" by this time, my doctor agreed it could have been a cold. i just wanted to get a proper examination done and our worries were laid to rest.  it was also an opportunity to have J weighed.  at his 1 week check-up, he'd gone down to 6 lbs, 12 oz., so we were glad to see that at 3 weeks, he was back up to his birth weight despite being sick.

J is now fully recovered from his cold, and we are still trying to figure out days/nights with him.  we've had a couple days where he's had cat-naps, and then he sleeps great at night, and then he flips to sleeping all day and deciding at bedtime that he wants someone to entertain him.  we have also hit his first growth-spurt, and he is feeding every hour...not fun!  and at bedtime, i need to supplement with formula...it's the only way to get him to sleep.  gabe never had formula so this is new to us...i hope it's just temporary until my milk supply can catch-up, which is ironic because with gabe, i had too much milk.  but then again, J is only 4 weeks old, and i can't actually remember when i started to store and freeze my milk last time.  the milk bank might be in my future again :P

our christmas gift

after what seemed like a never ending 9 months, we welcomed jeremy kenji into our family on wednesday, december 18 @ 9:41 a.m., weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces.

because this was a planned c-section, everything felt different than gabriel's birth.  we checked into the case room (a.k.a. labour/delivery) at 7 a.m. for our 9 a.m. surgery. the nurse checked all my vitals (and was a bit horrified at the hives on both my legs), chris got his hospital scrubs on, and then came the needles.  for a week prior to D day, i was stressing out about the number of needles i would be needing, and most of all the IV hook-up since it hurt really bad last time.  my nurse was actually quite good, and pinched me really hard to distract me from the actual pain of the IV insertion. chris said she was good because she was a fellow South African.  whatever :-)

then she told me about another injection (heparin) that is given to all surgery patients to prevent blood clots. not only is it another needle, but it was injected into my belly, and would be administered before surgery, after surgery, and once daily while i'm in the hospital. UGH!  so, she gave me the first dose, and as she did it my reflexes kicked in and i hit the nurse, inflicting more pain upon myself. it's not the first time i've hit someone with a needle...when i had my steroid injection for my trigger finger, i kicked the doctor as he was prepping the dosage for me :P

just before 9 a.m., we were called to move to the pre-operating room.  once there, a stream of people came to check on my vitals and introduce themselves to us and their role during my surgery (and once again, there was mild panic on everyone's faces when they saw my hive-riddled legs...hoping that i wasn't having a reaction to the iv or the heparin).  my OB was checking in on me as well, and provided us with updates on our wait time.  we were only a few minutes behind schedule when i was wheeled into operating room #10. once there, my anxiety kicked in and i was freaking about the epidural. maybe because it was christmas-time, or because it was still early in the day, but everyone in the room was in a good mood, even the anesthesiologist was singing a happy tune.  thankfully i respond well to drugs, and within a minute i was already losing sensation in my legs.

with gabe's birth, i thought the surgery went a lot faster getting him out...perhaps because his heartrate was erratic that they were a bit quicker at getting him out.  this time, it felt like eternity before we heard baby's first cry...obviously it wasn't that long since he was born at 9:41 :P immediately after his birth, chris was by his side cutting the umbilical cord and snapping some pictures :)  because i was also having a tubal ligation, chris and jeremy went back to the case room for measurements and newborn screening tests and some father/son bonding time.  at 10:40 a.m., i was finally wheeled into recovery. another difference from 5 years ago, was that while i was in recovery (once i was able to wiggle my legs, and they were sure i wasn't having any side effects from the epidural), the nurse brought jeremy back to me to start breastfeeding.


shortly after 12 p.m., i was finally taken to the maternity ward, and we were reunited as a family.  we had a bit of quiet time as a three-some before my parents brought gabriel after school for a visit.  it was a bittersweet day because we missed gabriel's first winter concert at kitchener, and we actually pulled him from the evening performance so he could spend time with us.  at least my parents were able to attend and took some photos and videos for us.  i had also signed up as a volunteer for their gingerbread building activity, so instead my dad ended up going with gabe.  and unfortunately gabe missed the last day of school festivities because of the snowfall since my parents weren't quite willing to drive in the miserable weather. so instead, he had a pajama day at home and my mom made pancakes for lunch :-)

it seems as though dec. 18 was a very busy day for births...we were #6 that day with my OB performing another c-section right after me.  i have to say that hearing (some) women in active labour is probably the worst thing i've ever heard in my life.  while a c-section is no walk in the park, at least there isn't any screaming, moaning, or crying :-)  the only pain is inflicted by me when i hit or kick people with needles!  hahahah!  on this particular day, the maternity ward was almost at full capacity...we were fortunate to get a private room, one of the last rooms in the wing. on our 2nd night at least we didn't have any neighbours beside us, so we got a bit of peace and quiet (aside from our screaming night-owl baby).

i've been working on this post for over a week, and i've now noticed more differences between my surgery recoveries.  my hives got progressively worse after i had the baby...they spread to my arm while i was still in the hospital, and then after i was discharged, they spread to my belly.  jeremy is over 2 weeks old now, and the hives have dissipated but my skin is still bearing the scars from the hives and now my skin is drying out and flaking off :P  another weird thing is that my skin has changed colour on my belly.  originally i thought it was just the iodine that i didn't wash off properly, but after 2 weeks of scrubbing, i could have permanent discolouration...will have my OB look at it when i see her next.  i feel like i recovered pretty quickly from surgery, and i often forget that i should be relaxing and taking it easy while my body heals itself.  so every once in awhile, my body will react and get angry for overexerting myself.  with gabe's recovery, i don't recall taking any painkillers once i got home, but this time around, i'm literally counting down the minutes till my next dosage. 

with jeremy's hourly feeding schedule right now, i've neglected gabe a lot and he's been spending a lot of time watching tv and using the ipad.  i just don't have the energy time to focus on entertaining a 5 year old.  it also doesn't help that he's been sick, my dad is now sick, and my mom has injured her knee and has limited mobility.  so, i'm very glad that school resumes on monday, and he'll be out of the house and i can just focus on me and jeremy during the day.

4 more weeks until i have my freedom!  and it's not a moment too soon, as my parents will be off on their next travelling adventure.

9 months and raging!

this is it!  baby's arriving earlier than we thought thanks to the hospital revising their OR holiday closures.  so instead of working till the 18th, i'm now in the home-stretch with my last work day being the 13th!

i am beyond ecstatic that my pregnancy is nearing the end...i just can't take anymore of this.  i've developed an allergic reaction to something, and for the past week one of my legs has been covered in hives.  i have a prescription cream and i'm taking benadryl, but nothing is working.  i don't know if NOT being pregnant will help the situation, or if i will need to see a dermatologist for further treatment.  i also realize that while i had serious sciatic issues with gabe, my last 4.5 weeks of pregnancy were pretty mellow since i started maternity leave early.  this time, my plan to work until my surgery day has me exhausted and i'm definitely experiencing other pains this time around.  and why did i think signing gabe up for twice a week swimming lessons until the 18th was a good idea?! i hate to say it, but my mom was right...too much :P

i also have so much to do at work, but i've also hit that "i-don't-care" wall, so we'll see how productive i am over the next few mornings :P  i also have lots of fun things lined up this week, like my pedicure, facial, and a work dinner.

i had thought all our christmas shopping was done, but more names pop up that i need to shop for.  i also realized we haven't actually bought any presents for the baby...which seems kinda pointless cuz he won't need anything, but then it's his first christmas so we have to do SOMETHING! so it looks like we'll be hitting the mall again this weekend :P  and weather-permitting, we'll go check out the van dusen christmas lights before baby arrives. 

and still speaking of christmas, i might be a bit ambitious thinking that we'll do christmas like every other year and nothing changes.  but as my surgery date looms, i'm getting anxious about it all.  at least with gabe, i had no idea what was about to happen. i was also fortunate with my recovery since my mom came over every day for 6 weeks to help out :-)  this time, i need my parents to keep gabe occupied since it's the school's christmas break and chris will be back at work right after my surgery.

today was my last prenatal OB appointment, and i can't believe that in a week's time we'll have a baby with us!

week 33

so i actually drafted this a few days ago, but never posted it.  since it was started, i ended up at the hospital for a non-stress test and a fetal fibronectin test. i've been having a lot of BH contractions lately, and on wednesday they culminated in a self-imposed bed rest for the cramping to go away.  so yesterday i decided to see the OB on call at my clinic, and he sent me to the hospital. after an hour of monitoring, i had several contractions but they were all very mild, and the baby was looking good.  just as a precaution, the fetal test would determine if i could be going into labour in the next week or two.  a positive test result at 33 weeks would mean further observation and possible injections to help ensure baby's lungs are fully developed in case i ended up delivering early.  a negative test result meant no further action would be required and i would see my OB next week for further monitoring.

fortunately within a couple hours i heard from the hospital, and they had my official diagnosis...irritable uterus.  so now i just have to deal with these annoying "contractions" that hit me throughout the day - sitting, standing, walking - there isn't anything i can do to stop them...i just have to switch from whatever i'm doing to something else.  another problem is that i could be dehydrated, so now i have to drink more fluids...which is not fun considering i pee every 45-60 minutes already. there are other possible causes of irritable uterus but nothing definitive.

so for now, it's business as usual, but if the "contractions" become more painful, or other symptoms develop, i have to go back to the hospital...but at least next week my regular OB will be back from vacation, and will be keeping an eye on me!

anyways, below is my original post for week 33 :-)

i'm getting close.  that's what i keep telling myself.  assuming all goes according to plan, i have just over 5 weeks until baby lok arrives.  between now and then i have a checklist of things to do:

• coordinate 2 closets with storage options (almost done!)
• consolidate (i.e. toss) some of gabe's toys (done!)
• buy a changing table (since this post was drafted, we bought our table)
• sort and wash cloth diapers, clothes, and toys in prep for baby's arrival (clothes are ready!)
• i've already inherited a bouncy chair and bumbo seat - VERY excited about this!
• swap ikea poang chair for glider and ottoman
• buy a fish (baby's present to gabe)
• christmas shopping - UGH!!
• 1 more ultrasound
• 2 more blood tests
• get a steroid injection for my trigger finger (i was waffling over this one, but the pain is pretty constant now and i can't close my hand to grip a pen)
• and my hospital bag is packed!

my ultimate goal is to have everything ready by end of november (except for the fish) so by the time i'm in my last few weeks, i can stay relatively calm and relaxed.  easier said than done, when every single activity triggers BH contractions or the baby shifts position and really pushes out on my belly :P

i've also signed gabe up for more swimming lessons, which will end right before baby arrives.  we worked really hard and he passed sea turtle, so at least for sea otter i can watch from the sidelines.  i'm not sure how well he'll do on his own, but we've got some momentum right now and we're thinking positively.  if all else fails, we'll take a break and try again in the spring/summer.  in an effort to maintain my sanity in the new year, gabe's got ski lessons and floor hockey to keep him busy for 9 weeks :-)  lots of father-son bonding time!

with both pregnancies, i feel like they're never-ending, but as i'm approaching the home-stretch, it's hard to believe we'll be a family of 4 in a few weeks.

birthday boy!

my little man is 5 years old!

this year gabe had some anxious moments leading up to his actual birthday.  he was convinced that once he turned 5 years old, he had to leave his school and go to a new one.  he was especially concerned about having a new teacher.  i spent the week leading up to his birthday reassuring him that nothing was going to change and that his teacher was still going to be ms. edwards.

on his actual birthday, i sent rice krispy squares for him to celebrate with his friends.  at school, they make birthday announcements over the PA system, and they go to the office for their birthday pencil present.  apparently gabe got a bit nervous at all the attention during the birthday singing, but he was like that at his preschool birthday celebrations as well :P

for his birthday dinner, we let gabe choose the venue and menu.  he opted to stay at home and make hawaiian pizza. and coincidentally, he wanted a pizza-making birthday party this year.  so, we booked rocky mountain flatbread and invited 9 of his little friends.  the kids had a great time making their own pizza and colouring their chefs hat.  this was the first time that all the parents were able to drop-off their kids and have a bit of free time.  but that meant chris and i were responsible for the kids...and believe me, we were head-counting every time anyone left their seats :P


the past few months have been a bit stressful as we prepped for kindergarten and tested out the waters with new experiences. i love to hear about his school days, the friends he's making, and how excited he gets about showing me his "yoga" moves (i've never heard of "pretzel" or "table" before). we've also had some hurt feelings when another kid thought it was his special helper day and gabe didn't speak up to correct the teacher, and when an older student called gabe a "wiener" at the playground, and hearing that one of his lunch buddies keeps getting upset with him (reason unknown, according to gabe). the momma bear in me just wants to wrap him up and protect him from these sad and hurtful moments, but gabe is so innocent (at least i think he is!) that he doesn't know how to respond.  so, we've been using these learning opportunities to speak up and remember to ask these other kids why they're upset with gabe, or what situation caused the name-calling.  there's that fine line between telling the teacher about inappropriate behaviour vs. being a tattle-tail. i don't want gabe growing up to be a snitch, but i also feel like he lets other kids railroad over him sometimes. it's hard being a mom watching from the sidelines :(

but on the positive side, gabe has developed friendships with a few of his classmates (most of them are boys!) and they have a great time together.  thanks to this wonderful dry weather we're having, the fun continues at the playground after school.  i've also met some parents while watching from the sidelines, but i have to say, i'm just not interested.  i blame it on my pregnancy.  with 2 months to go, there are days i should be in isolation and not allowed near others.  my stretch marks are itchy, i've developed some sort of red spots, and this baby is causing serious pressure pains on my right side making me feel lopsided.  i was hoping that being in the pool twice a week would ease some of the pressure and turn the baby around...he might've turned around, but instead of feet kicking me in the right side, i think he's head-butting me now. 

8 more weeks to go.  8 more weeks to go.  i can do it.

"Fall"ing into routines

i'm really not sure where the time has gone...it's not like we're super busy, and we certainly didn't take any vacations over the summer.  but alas, the cooler weather has arrived and a new routine schedule has been created.

as for kindergarten, gabe's transition went really well!  for the "meet-the-teacher-interview", i took my mom with me for support, and to introduce her to the teacher since she would be doing the gradual entry. we warned the teacher about previous anxiety-riddled events, and she took lots of notes on gabe.  but alas, the worrying was for nothing...on his first day of K, i said goodbye from home, and he went off with chris and my mom, and HE DID GREAT!  the biggest test was going to be on my day off when i would do drop-off, but again...HE DID GREAT!  he lined up with the other kids, turned to me and gave me a big hug, and marched into class without a backwards glance.  i was a little surprised how easy it went, and was in a bit of shock...one of the mom's just chuckled at me...my boy's growing up :) and now that September has come and gone, he's been assigned to his permanent teacher and i am very pleased with the outcome.


our routine is becoming the "norm" now, with lunch prep every night and discussion about what will be eaten for recess vs. lunch. gabe's go-to meals are ham & cheese or jam sandwiches, and his daily vegetable is cucumbers.  pretty boring, but at least he's eating his food :-)  he's recently branched out from hawaiian pizza and will actually eat pepperoni pizza now. 

we also have one activity on the go right now...swim lessons! because gabe is still in the parent participation class, i was determined that he would pass this level before he passes the "age limit".  we've had 2 lessons so far, and much to my surprise, HE'S DOING GREAT!  there's only 3 kids in the class, so we get lots of 1:1 attention, and it helps that we go twice a week so there isn't time to "forget" skills.  once he passes this level, hopefully we can keep up the momentum and continue in january...but with a new baby, and ski lessons every sunday, i'm not sure how we'll manage :P

on the pregnancy side:  i've had my 5th ultrasound and everything with the baby is looking good with all the measurements on target.  the only red flag has been my fluctuating blood pressure.  combined with the elevated protein levels from my quad screen test (which could be an early sign of potential placental problems), my OB is recommending monthly ultrasounds, blood tests, and check-in appointments every 2 weeks from now onwards. the best news this week was that i passed the gestational diabetes test...whoo-hoo! on the downside, i will have to get a flu shot this year :(

halfway there!

reading back on my blog from 5 years ago, it was at the 20 week mark of my pregnancy that i went on short-term disability and modified my work hours to 50%.  and now, just past the 1/2-way mark of this pregnancy, i'm pleased to be doing much better with my sciatica.  the mornings are the hardest, and i still feel twinges throughout the day, but nowhere nearly as bad as last time.

the biggest issue right now is the headaches.  they come on daily, and sometimes i get up to 3 headaches a day.  my OB said i could take tylenol throughout my pregnancy, and i'm trying to save it for the really bad days, but they seem to be more frequent.  i hate to complain about the beautiful weather, but the heat is just compounding the problem. also, if i don't take meds to combat the pain, they actually turn into a migraine, complete with nausea (case in point, i was sick on our trip to whistler).

i've now had my 3rd ultrasound, and this baby is RI-DI-CU-LOUS!  besides being very active, it's  very poorly positioned...the technicians just can't get a measurement of the heart chamber :P  i relieved my bladder, i lay on my right, i lay on my left, she jiggled my belly, and i jumped up/down for 3 minutes.  no change.  so, baby boy and i are scheduled for a 4th ultrasound in 2 weeks time.  yes, baby boy.  now i'll be outnumbered 3-1 by males.  seems only fitting that all the gambling boys had male offspring...las vegas should be very happy about this :P

there was much relief that came with today's ultrasound...learning the baby's gender (now all we need to do is come up with a name!), and getting confirmation about the "notching".  pleased to report that the blood is flowing normally and notching is not a concern!  yippee :)  my appointments with my OB are being ramped up to every 3 weeks just to keep an eye on my blood pressure (which so far has been fine) and to monitor my overall well-being since the blood tests showed abnormalities.

i felt my first kick at 19 weeks, but nothing much since...just the occasional movement when baby rolls around.  i can only assume that since baby is positioned weirdly, that's the reason why my sciatica hasn't been bothering me nearly as much as the 1st trimester. overall, i'm feeling pretty good, and we're making baby steps to getting our home ready for gabe's transition to a single bed, and moving our furniture around to eventually fit a crib.

and i can't believe kindergarten is just around the corner!  we're coordinating with my mom so she can help us with the gradual entry and help minimize gabe's anxiety as he starts a new chapter in his life.  it's also a new chapter in my life as i go back to work 5 days a week!  i'm still only working at 90%, but it's so strange to not have a free weekday to book appointments or run errands.  of course, i'll be on maternity leave soon, and work will be a distant memory :-)

pregnancy confusion

no, i'm not confused about being pregnant - that's pretty obvious and straight forward.  but for some reason, since i saw my family doctor at 5 weeks to get referred to an OBGYN, everything has been confusing and less than straight forward.  it's a good thing this is my second pregnancy because if i were a first-timer, i'd be pretty fed up right now and in need of a stress test!

i had originally gotten a vancouver OB recommendation from a colleague and asked my family doctor to see if i could get in with her.  after a week of not hearing back, i followed up and my doctor's receptionist sounded so confused.  she actually said to me, "you're pregnant?"  so more days past and finally i heard back and she told me that the referral was denied since i live in burnaby, am not high-risk, and delivered in burnaby previously.  ok fine, i thought it might be a long-shot.  so then i asked the receptionist to forward a referral to an OB who saw me a few months after gabe was born, and had checked my c-section recovery.  after another week passed by, i followed up with the OB's office, and they didn't have my referral, and advised they prefer phone referrals vs. faxed referrals (but no faxes had been sent in lately).  so i called my doctor's office again with the latest development and the receptionist seemed confused..."oh? has anyone taken your blood work yet?" no, you fool, because i've been waiting for a referral to an OB so i can get all my blood tests done at once!!!!!  after many back and forth phone calls, at the 8 week mark i finally had an OB appointment and all the paperwork started for my blood work.

ironically, the day after my 8 week appointment, i started to have some spotting.  so, my boss drove me to the OB clinic and i was given a check-up, and a rush request put in for an ultrasound.  the following week i went for my dating ultrasound and was given the revised due date of dec. 28.

my first set of blood test results came back normal - nothing to worry about.  yah! then i went for the quad screen blood work in mid-july, which tests for down syndrome and neural tube defects.  3 days later, my OB called and asked me to come in to discuss the results because i had tested positive as a higher risk for downs and ntd's.  cue freak out.  i had a migraine for the rest of the day.  and then i was in a fog for 2 days as i anxiously waited to hear from the hospital for a detailed ultrasound appointment.  by friday afternoon, i hadn't heard from anyone so i called my OB's office, and there was more confusion.  the OB had told us we'd be going to women's for the ultrasound, but she sent the referral to a private clinic. so the receptionist would talk to the doctor on monday morning.  monday had never dragged so slowly...by 10 a.m. i was calling my OB and they were just working through the appointment bookings that came through over the weekend.  just before noon, my OB called and i had a 7:30 a.m. appointment the next day for my detailed ultrasound, followed by an meeting with a genetics counsellor at women's.

wednesday morning - the ultrasound went smoothly, baby was very active, and most of the measurements were taken.  because we're only 17.5 weeks, she wasn't able to get a few heart measurements or see the full face clearly.  so, we'll have that done at our 20 week ultrasound.  she also said the doctor would be able to tell us the gender which she put in our file, but because they like to give results after 18 weeks gestation, there's still a possibility of an error for us.

the appointment with the genetics counsellor - it started off with a surprise.  apparently when my quad screen blood test was matched against my 9 week ultrasound, somehow the dates were messed up.  so when they were doing the down syndrome and ntd results, they showed up as positive. in fact, the ultrasound was incorrectly dated, so the original test results were inaccurate based on how far along i was, and i was given a negative rating - meaning i was not a high risk for downs or ntd. all that anxiety was for nothing! i think the confusion was that my original due date was dec. 22, but after the 9 week ultrasound, they pushed me back to dec. 28.  that's my only rationale for the mix-up.  bottom line, it was good news.

then the other shoe dropped.  in the quad screen test, 2 of the anolytes they measure were on the high end (normal = 1, mine was 3+).  because these 2 anolytes weren't for down syndrome or ntd (and the ultrasound showed baby's spine was perfectly fine), they classified it as "reason unknown".  the other red flag came from the ultrasound.  the technician was checking the blood flow to the placenta and discovered "notching" - an irregular blip in the flow.  because of these 2 incidents, the counsellor is recommending that i be considered a higher risk pregnancy, requiring more check-ups.  my OB won't have the official genetic report until later next week, so i'll be doing more follow-up with her to see what i can/should be doing differently (if anything at all). i also want to know what happens further down the road if the notching is still an issue :P

all of this on top of my ongoing sciatica issues :P  so, at 18 weeks along, i'm definitely frustrated with this pregnancy experience, and can't believe i still have 21 weeks to go.

happy birthday to me!

this post has taken me forever to create and get posted online :P  but here goes:

it's official...we're pregnant with baby #2!  since this wasn't a planned pregnancy, it took awhile for me to get over the shock, and for the fog to lift off my head.  a few weekends ago we shared our news with friends, and their excitement for us has brought me around.  my biggest fear about being pregnant was the pregnancy itself, and the labour/delivery with gabe wasn't a great experience either...so having a 2nd baby was an unlikely event.

everyone knows that my pregnancy with gabe wasn't the best, and it looks like i'm in for a repeat with this one.  when i was only 6 weeks pregnant, i took the proactive step of going to physiotherapy to get some stretching exercises to minimize my sciatica.  well, the stretching has helped a bit, but it looks like i'm in for another painful pregnancy.  on quieter days, i can get through it all with minimal pains, but just having one too many activities can push my nerves to their limit.  it got pretty bad last night, and i was suffering on both sides so ultimately i just went to bed to forget about the pain :P

new for this pregnancy was the queasiness.  in my first trimester, i felt the need to eat all day long just to ward off the ill feeling, and luckily i was ok and never had to throw-up.  i've also been having a lot more lower belly pain - nothing severe - but if i stand up too quickly this baby is just reminding me of his/her presence. i was also getting morning headaches, which was likely due to my interrupted sleep - i'm usually awake every 2-3 hours :P

before we told our friends about the pregnancy, we explained everything to gabe and he took the news well (i've asked him in the past if he wanted to have a little brother or sister, and he's adamantly said NO!). now that everyone is openly talking about the baby, he's very excited and always likes to remind us that there's a baby in my tummy and that we should use our quiet voices (i'm not sure when we've ever yelled in front of gabe?!).  hopefully he'll still be as excited once the baby actually arrives!

our original due date was dec. 22, but after my OB sent me for a dating ultrasound, it got pushed back to dec. 28 - yup, my birthday :P  so this poor child of mine is going to be stuck with a christmas-time birthday.  as i'm just past 13 weeks, today was the first time we got to hear the baby's heartbeat and since i scheduled it on my day off, gabe got to accompany me he was very excited to be included.

in the meantime, we've taken a stroll down memory lane at my parents' place looking at all of gabe's old baby stuff that needs to be dusted off and freshened up for this new little one.  it's also giving way to some anxiety about where everything will go in our little home!  somehow we will make everything work for us, and we'll be a cozy family of 4 by the end of 2013!