Mommy's Due with Baby #2!!

12 Weeks!

We are so, so excited to be expecting baby #2 this summer!! The word is out and I'm happy to make it 'blog official' so I can start documenting my pregnancy on here! As of today, I am 14 1/2 weeks which means the first trimester is over! I'll start from the beginning...

Eric and I have always known we wanted our kids close together in age. I stopped nursing Ethan at 10 months in hopes of getting pregnant again fairly soon. Thankfully, we were blessed and didn't have to wait too long and found out I was pregnant on November 1! I didn't really have a cute way planned to tell Eric, but we were up in Indianapolis for our nephew's birthday party and I put a little card on the dashboard of the car that said, "guess what?? we're pregnant!!" Then we had a whole hour drive back to let the good news soak in and think about life with two! Literally the day after I took a positive test, the pregnancy symptoms arrived =/ It started with all day nausea which is similar to what I experienced with Ethan. It was a constant feeling of not knowing if I was hungry or if I needed to get sick...from the second I woke up to the second I feel asleep at night. I tried everything - the crackers, the bland food, the ginger ale, the eating small meals throughout the day, you name it.

14 Weeks!

Weeks went on and the nausea was intensifying to the point of vomiting every day. On top of that, the sheer exhaustion was setting in and it was starting to take a toll on me - physically and mentally! I heard several women say they didn't notice pregnancy symptoms with baby #2 as much because they were too busy taking care of their other child. Well...that was most definitely not the case for me! I could barely take care of Ethan - and certainly not to the level he deserved. I would lay in fetal position on the floor while he played, could hardly prepare his meals without getting sick, and the second Eric got home from work I would pass him off and be done for the night. Around week nine, I called my doctor to get medicine that would help with the nausea. Unfortunately, the first dosage didn't seem to help as I was still getting sick every day even on the medicine. Finally, around week 11 they were able to prescribe a higher dosage of the day time medicine and also give me a night time pill to take. The difference it made was incredible!! I felt like a whole new person! As of week 14, I'm still on the medicine and still feel woozy every night around dinner when there is a lapse in between the day and night time medicine. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I can maybe get through one more round of the medicine and then not need it anymore!

We started telling our families pretty much as soon as we found out! We're horrible at keeping secrets - especially an exciting one like this!! We love sharing such great news and seeing their reactions and how happy everyone was. We are so blessed to have a big family and love the fact that it keeps growing on both sides! Christmas was the perfect opportunity for us to share the news with our extended family and friends as we announced our pregnancy through our Christmas card! We absolutely loved getting the phone calls and texts from everyone...so fun surprising people!

We've had two appointments up to this point...the first appointment was to confirm the pregnancy and we got to see our little peanut through an ultrasound. The little bean was around 7 1/2 weeks old. Our second appointment was just a check up and to hear the heartbeat which was loud and strong! We will go back to see Dr. Stowell (who delivered Ethan) Friday for a heartbeat check and then we can find out the sex in February!!! That's when the fun begins with trying to pick a name, nursery decorations, etc.!

The black mass you see is baby's brain!

We know this pregnancy is going to fly by and the end of June will be here before we know it! Ethan and baby #2 will be 22 months apart (Kristen, we planned that just for you!!!) =) For now, we will continue to feel the love and blessings our family and friends have poured out since receiving our news. We are so lucky to be able to share this pregnancy with them and look forward to giving updates here on the blog! Here's to our FUN journey with baby #2!!

How Far Along: 14 1/2weeks!

Size: Baby is now measuring 3.5 inches and weighs about 1.5 ounces - about the size of a lemon!

Development: Baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck their thumb!  Baby's arms have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body.

How I'm Feeling: Good as long as I'm on my medicine! Only time I really start to feel icky is around dinner time when there is a lapse in between the day time and night time medicine. Other than that, I'm feeling well and looking forward to getting some exercise back in my day now that I'm feeling better! Also enjoying my little bump!

Cravings/Aversions: Early on, I had major aversions to pretty much everything, but that was just because I was feeling so bad and getting sick. Since being on the medicine, my appetite is much more level and I can't say I've had too many cravings. I went through a spell where I wanted chocolate milkshakes, but I only gave into that twice =) No crazy tomato craving like the first time around!

Boy or Girl: Only time will tell! So far, majority of people think girl since my pregnancy has been so different from Ethan's. But, some people still say boy because there are so many boys in my family! Also, the Chinese Gender Predictor Test says boy all the way!!! I will do the old wives tales like I did with Ethan when I'm a little further along (just for fun)! We can officially find out in February!