The news? We're having another baby!
I'm due September 4th and am currently 33 weeks along. Things have been going great with the pregnancy overall. Here's Baby Schmidt #2 at 20 weeks:
I had great intentions of journaling throughout this pregnancy. My memories of my first pregnancy were spotty and I wanted to make sure I kept track of everything this time around. Well, obviously that didn't happen. But here's a quick recap of the pregnancy so far.
Physical stuff:
We found out I was pregnant on Marla's birthday. It took a while for it to feel real, and I found myself constantly comparing this pregnancy to my first one. In general, I would say this pregnancy has been similar to my first, just... more. More symptoms, more weight gain, more hormones, etc.
I didn't have any morning sickness with Marla, but got hit with it a little this time around. It wasn't awful, but enough to make me miserable from time to time, particularly between weeks 8-12 or so. I was also a lot more tired than I ever was in my first pregnancy. On a positive note, I haven't had as many headaches as I did with Marla. I got a major headache at least weekly for about half of my first pregnancy, but experienced far fewer of them earlier on in this pregnancy and they basically disappeared by about 16 weeks.
In addition to the nausea and fatigue, my belly popped out much earlier in this pregnancy, which means I've been in maternity clothes since about 12 weeks. I've had a lot of mild aches and pains, especially in my back and hips. I blame this mostly on chasing a toddler around, putting her in the car seat, etc. I feel physically exhausted most of the time.
Much like in my first pregnancy, my appetite has been huge. Even in the first trimester when I often felt sick, I wasn't stopped from eating a lot. These days, I've had a little heartburn and the baby is getting big enough to make me feel full after eating just a few bites. Oh, and the weight gain? I don't want to talk about it.
All that being said, I've been feeling good for the most part. Just pregnant. :)
Emotional Stuff:
We're incredibly excited about this baby, but the experience is much different than the first time around. I'm not worried about becoming a parent or having the responsibility of a newborn, but I'm anxious about how a second child will change our family dynamics, how Marla will adjust to the change, and how I'm going to handle caring for a toddler and a baby at the same time.
Marla is notoriously territorial and jealous around other children, so I'm mostly concerned with how a new baby will impact her and our relationship. It's also hard to imagine loving another child as much as I love her, but I'm assured by pretty much everyone that it's possible. And while I'm freaked out about the multiple children thing, I'm really looking forward to watching them grow together as siblings. As guilty as I feel about splitting my time between two kids, I know I'm giving them both an irreplacable relationship that will shape their childhood and last a lifetime.
In some ways, it feels like Marla just came into our lives and is still our baby. But as I prepare for a new baby, I realize how much she's actually grown and how distant those newborn memories are. I think I'm forgetting the really hard parts and remembering fondly the things I no longer have with Marla: a child who doesn't talk back, poop that doesn't stink, maternity leave, multiple naps per day, etc. I know all the hard stuff will still be hard, but for now I think it's best that I put it to the back of my mind and just focus on the excitement of bringing Baby #2 into the world.
Baby Stuff:
We decided not to find out the gender of this baby. I use the term "we" loosely, since it was entirely my decision and Jeff really wanted to find out. I have the sense that it's a girl, but that may be due to the fact that I already have a girl and can't really imagine anything different.
Girl OR boy, this baby is doing great so far. I thought at first that it moved around in the womb less than Marla did and would thus have a more laid back personality, but lately it's been nonstop activity, so that may not be true. I've been measuring on target and baby's heart rate has been strong throughout the pregnancy. And, if the ultrasound pictures are any indication, we know baby has a larger-than-average head and a strange obsession with the placenta. Oh, and of course we know it's cute. Below are the pictures to prove it.
Seriously, he/she had his/her face smashed up against the placenta during the entire scan. He/she may have been trying to eat it? Snuggle it? Tell it secrets? Regardless, these pictures remind me of this priceless blog post by Honest Toddler. And this one, too.
Nose and lips.
Skeletor.
Foot!
