Alison's Second Pregnancy

10 days postpartum - Tired but happy

2008-03-05T12:29:00.003+02:00

It's been an interesting first week. So far so good I'd say. Anna is adjusting but does seem a bit mystified by the new arrival. She's regressed a little and wants to be the baby. She sucks on a pacifier and sometimes wants a bottle of milk to drink from. I'm sure it's a phase so if it makes her feel better I let her pretend. I know this is hard on her now but she's so much better off having a sibling.

The picture on the right is me yesterday (9 days postpartum). I actually got into a pair of my pre-pregnancy pants! I've been amazed at how quickly my stomach is shrinking. I have about 4 kg (8 lbs) to lose yet before I get down to my pre-pregnancy weight. With my first pregnancy it took me months to come down to a reasonable weight and I had to work at it. This time the weight seems to be falling off, at least so far.

The only problem I've had since coming home is a horrible kink in my neck and it just doesn't seem to want to go away. It's been 3 days and doesn't show any signs up letting up. I try to keep it warm and keeping my shoulders relaxed but no sign of relief yet. Maybe I can talk the husband into rubbing for me when he comes home.

JP is off to Helsinki tomorrow for business. It will be interesting to see how I handle having both kids by myself. It's a real trial by fire. Everything is an adjustment these days =). Millions of families do it so I'm sure we'll be fine.

One week post partum

2008-03-02T22:56:00.002+02:00

I should have put another picture on line. You would not believe how fast I'm shrinking. I haven't been brave enough to try on my old clothes yet but I'm getting there. Maybe I'll wait while JP is at work so he doesn't seem me jumping around trying to squeeze into jeans :). The baby is great. He sleeps so peacefully. He's a little angel. Anna is adjusting and she's taking it very well. We spend lots of time with her and have kept all of the normal things that we do like story time and jumping on the bed and morning snuggles. I'll try to get some pictures on line in the near future.

A new arrival !

2008-02-28T09:29:00.002+02:00

On February 24th, 2008 we welcomed a little boy into the world! He was 3260 g (a little over 7 lbs) and was 51 cm (20.1 inches). Labor only lasted a total of 2.5 hours. My water broke at 6am. JP's dad came to get Anna a bit before 8am and we sped off to the hospital. We got there at 8am and by the time I got into my hospital clothes I had to push. The little guy was officially born at 8.26am.

The labor and birth itself was so pleasant and calm! Sure the labor sucked but it was so short. There was no time for any kind of pain relief. It went so quickly that they didn't even have time to monitor the little guys heart rate. I had no machinery attached to me, no tubes, no needles and no intrusion. There was only one mid-wife and she was wonderfully calm. JP was a rock and so calm and he really helped me stay grounded. Hearing his soft calm voice while he stroked my head helped so much. The pushing phase only lasted 15 minutes. I had a teeny little rip that took 2 stitches but nothing else! After the birth they brought us a celebratory breakfast and then left us alone to enjoy our new baby right there in the birthing room. They dimmed the lights for us. They didn't measure or weigh him for about 2 hours. He only cried a bit just after being born and then was calm and looked around and then fell asleep.

The way I felt after the birth I can only describe as fantastic. There was no pain. I got up and had a shower and then walked to my hospital room. JP went home to get some sleep and I had a nap. Our little boy is so calm and chilled out. I've really enjoyed these first few days with him. I never knew that the whole process could be so wonderful :).

My stomach has shrunk so quickly and I'm still so positive. We'll see how it goes when Anna comes home. We'll have her home Friday evening. I thought it would be good if JP and I are both home for Anna's first day getting to know her new brother. That way she can get all the attention she needs. I don't want her to feel left out. She's a very important part of this family and I want her to feel that way. When she came to the hospital to visit she pointed at the baby and asked, "What is it?". I suppose he looks like a doll to her. We'll see how it goes :)

36 weeks + 1 day - I've made it another week

2008-02-20T13:47:00.003+02:00

We've made it past 36 weeks so as promised here's a new picture. It's not my most flattering but I was too lazy to take another one. I actually made it to the doctor yesterday. I never did make my second doctors appointment with Anna. Anna was born exactly at 36 weeks.

The doctor did his exam and said that I have some signs of imminent labor and basically that the baby could be born at any time. Interestingly enough he said that when the baby's heart rate begins to slow but is still strong and steady it can be a sign that the baby is readying itself for birth. He told me that if I suspect that I'm in labor to head to the hospital right away. It's all a matter of patience now. JP really wants this baby to be born on the 29th of February. He might just get his wish :).

35 weeks + 6 days

2008-02-18T13:00:00.002+02:00

The picture on the right says it all doesn't it? One more week of taking it super easy and then I can go back to doing everything as normal. Tomorrow will be a milestone. I've got a doctors appointment and I'll be 36 weeks along. With Anna I never made it to my doctors appointment as I went into labor.

The little one has slowed its movements a bit and doesn't kick as much as it did. He still moves around. I guess it's just getting tight for space in there. I'm sure when the baby is born I'll think to myself "why oh why did I complain about having nothing to do?"

35 weeks + 4 days - Still baking...

2008-02-16T17:43:00.002+02:00

Baby is still a resident so I'm happy. I'd like to keep him in there for another 1.5 weeks. Keeping him in there involves my being extremely bored. Sitting around trying to relax is difficult. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to sleep as much as I want but I can't do anything that I want to. I can't really go out or do too much, otherwise I get contractions that come fairly regularly at 10 minutes apart. That's not a good thing if I want baby to stay inside and grow a little bit more.

I've got my bag packed and all the forms filled out so I'm pretty well prepared. We have yet to bring in the baby bed from the storage but there's really no rush to do that as I'm sure I'll be in hospital with baby for 2 days or so and JP will have all the time in the world to go and set up the bed. Baby's clothes are all washed and so are his sheets so now all we need is the baby :). It might be good to make some food in bulk that can be frozen and heated up but at this point...I think we'll just order take-out if we're all too tired to make food after the little one arrives.

If it's a boy I really like the name Leo but JP's not so sure he likes it. His uncle is named Leo but I really don't care. We rarely see his uncle and the name just sits so well in English and Finnish. It's easy to say and easy to spell. I can't think of how kids would tease the name in English other than maybe Leo Peeo. It's similar what I did with Ian's name. Ian Peein. Ian's my younger brother in case you didn't know. If I make it to 36 weeks I'll post another belly picture in celebration. I'll be 36 weeks so you keep your fingers crossed and I'll keep my legs crossed. *giggle*

35 weeks - last picture?

2008-02-12T15:57:00.001+02:00

I've made it to 35 weeks. The little one seems to want to come out. I've been having contractions like crazy and have been ordered to rest. Ideally the baby should bake for another 2 weeks and get a little more weight. The baby has already dropped which means labor can start at any time so I really have to take it easy. Second babies don't usually drop until labor so you get the idea.

On the plus side, nothing will be done to stop labor if it starts. The baby is big enough that they will let things progress as normal but ideally they want a little more weight on the little one. 37 weeks is considered full term and due dates are placed at 40 weeks. The baby is head down and in a good position and pretty low in my pelvis. I thought it was my imagination that the shape of my stomach had changed but I was right. They checked the position of the baby with ultrasound today. It was nice to see the little one and his little head and spine.

The baby has dropped just enough that I've not been getting the usual jabs under the ribs. The baby has been growing fine and is very active. Basically this baby could be born at any time. This could very well be the last belly picture I post before the baby is born. Don't worry, I'll keep writing after the baby is born just to keep you up to date =).

34 weeks + 3 days - At home resting

2008-02-08T21:04:00.000+02:00

It's nice that I don't have to go back to work anymore. Now it's just waiting for this little one to arrive. He does big rolls now and some pretty intense kicks. He takes up quite a bit of room and his feet seem to have taken up permanent residence under my rib cage. Turning over in bed has become quite the chore and I'm often tired. It's probably due to the little guy growing and my lack of good quality sleep. I seem to nap a lot these days. It feels so good to lie down. My joints are aching and my lower back around my tail bone pop's when I walk. It's a strange sensation.

I've been reading a lot about painless childbirth. There are some interesting theories in there. The theory goes that when the mother is scared it tenses muscles up and slows the birth process down and because the body is fighting itself it causes pain. The uterus has no nerves in it. They say that childbirth shouldn't be painful as it's part of the natural process. I like the idea of it but I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I've written my birth plan and have asked to use the tub to help alleviate discomfort. There's only one in the hospital so I hope I can get it. I can always use the shower as there's one of those in every room. There's only a few weeks left so I'm sort of mentally preparing myself. When Anna came it was a surprise and I found myself semi-panicking and I'd like to avoid that the second time around if at all possible.

I've been getting lots of practice contractions. Some of them strong enough to wake me up at night. I just keep telling the little guy that he can't come out yet because he's too little. He has to get a little bit bigger. I'll be 35 weeks on the 12th. Anna was born at 36 weeks so you do the math. I have my next appointment on the 13th and a doctors appointment on the 19th. With Anna I never did make it to that last doctors appointment. I'm curious to see how things will go this time :) Anna keeps asking when the baby will come out. I'm a bit boring of a mommy since I can't lift her or run and kick the ball like I used to. I've told her when the baby comes out and my tummy goes away I can lift her and play like I used to. I do look forward to sleeping on my back and tummy again.

33 weeks 3 days - No more work

2008-02-01T20:31:00.000+02:00

Well, I've made it to the last day of work. I'm all done. I've cleaned out my desk and taken all my personal stuff home. What a relief to know that I won't have to go back and I can relax at home before the new baby arrives.

On the left is me at 33 weeks and 2 days or so. I had a prenatal appointment today. I've gained very little weight in the last 2 weeks. The baby seems to be growing well. The nurse said we'll need to keep an eye on how the baby is doing as the heartbeat was a little slow this morning as well but the nurse thought that maybe it was just because the baby was sleeping. I go back again in another 2 weeks and they'll measure me again. I've gained very little weight over all. I've gained 10 Kg (22 lbs) over all. I'm a little stiff in the hips and walking is getting a little difficult. Envision a great big duck and that about covers it. I'm in the home stretch though.

I've been home all week alone with Anna. JP has been in a city called Nokia delivering water with the army reserves and getting some army training. The city of Nokia's water treatment plant really messed up and mixed the raw sewage with the clean water. Hundreds of people got serious stomach problems from drinking the contaminated water. The water plant has been trying to fix the problem and clean the water for the past 2 months. They can finally shower in it but they still have to boil it before they can drink it. The army has been distributing clean water to those who need it. JP got called up for reserve duty. He likes it and it's a good thing to do so why not. It's strange to be without him for so long. JP's dad has been shoveling snow for me and sometimes heating the fireplace. JP's parents have been awfully kind. Anna and I will go there on Sunday to visit and Anna is going to stay the night so I can have one night's break without anyone in the house but me. It's a rare treat so I'm going to enjoy it. JP comes back on Monday night but I'm not sure when exactly. The picture on the right is of Anna. She's been wondering where daddy is and asks almost daily when daddy is coming home. I'm sure she'll be overjoyed when he comes home. I'll be happy too. I miss him when he's gone.

32 weeks 3 days - Sinus infections and rounder still

2008-01-25T22:22:00.000+02:00

It seems that my lovely flu that I caught from Anna is now a sinus infection. It's presumed viral and so I just have to sit it out and wait until it decides to go away. I think I've started blowing chunks of my brain out of my nose. I swear something looked alive today and extremely dark green. I saw the doctor today and he told me to just keep drinking fluids. If my fever goes up over the weekend to come in and they'd do a strep culture just to be safe. He seems to think it'll clear up though.

My doctor has a wonderful bedside manner. He really listens and gives great advice. It's great that even though it's not private health care we still always have the same doctor. He remembers who I am and even asks about the family both here and in the USA. Much better service out here in the suburbs than in the city.

I've got one more week left of work presuming that I'm healthy by then. I hope I am healthy by Monday. JP is off for some army reserve practice and will gone all week from the 28th of January until the 4th of February. I've been on sick leave again and I think I'll have been on sick leave for nearly 2 months. The doctor did say something interesting things, by the way. He said that sometimes a very healthy person that is rarely sick will have occasional bouts of illness that seem to go on and on like I have. He said that the brain sometimes resets and forgets how to create all the antibodies that it has previously made. The body gets sick and remakes the antibodies and then the person will be healthy again as they usually are. I thought that was rather interesting as I'm rarely sick...maybe once a year and it never lasts long. This year I've been sick for the last 3 months or so. Of course he said it could also just be bad luck. Exposure to viruses at just the wrong time. Lucky me.

I have my next prenatal appointment on the 1st of February. I'll try to get a picture of my burgeoning belly sometime in the near future.

31 weeks 3 days - still fluish but improving

2008-01-18T23:39:00.000+02:00

I'm almost done with work hurrah! I intend to enjoy my vacation before the baby is born. Anna will still be in daycare and I'll have the days all to myself and hopefully by then I'll be healthy and able to enjoy my time off.

I went through Anna's old baby clothes and found the stuff that would fit a boy. I'll wash those along with the clothes I got from the pack of clothing the Finnish government sends mommies to be. The clothes are cute this year. If you'd like to see what you get in the baby package you can click here for pictures

So nice that it's a free package. I got one for Anna too. I could have taken the money instead but the package is a much better value. I had another appointment with the prenatal folk. The baby is growing very nicely. He's up at my ribs. The nurse said she'd be surprised if I wasn't having problems breathing. I am getting acid reflux though and having a wicked case of it right now. I have another appointment in 2 weeks and then preparation classes on the 4th. I never got those classes with Anna. It was canceled and rescheduled but I went into labor before I could get to the class.

My prenatal appointments are every 2 weeks from now on as I'm getting closer and closer to the due date. After the next appointment I'll see a doctor and he'll makes sure that all looks good. I need to start filling out forms and really thinking about what I want when I go into labor. This time I'll do it early. The last time...I went into labor so early that I had to fill out the forms while in labor at the hospital. Talk about fun times. I've been told that they'll take another blood test in the coming weeks since Anna had jaundice (that's the yellow baby syndrome for those of you who have never heard the word jaundice). I have no idea what it tests for or what good it does but there must be some good reason for it.

I guess I'm just really gearing up for baby. I'm getting things cleaned up and organized both in the house and in my mind. Next I'll probably pull the bed out of the storage and make sure it's clean and ready. We picked up the car seat the other day. It's brilliant and a Graco. Here's a picture if you're interested though it's a different color. I love that it has a base. You just click in the seat and click out. No more hassling with the seat belt every trip.

I should head to bed. I'll need to head to the medicine chest to get some antacids and hope it helps. It's an early rise with Anna.

30 weeks 5 days - Sick again?

2008-01-13T23:05:00.000+02:00

Just when I thought I was over a cold and pneumonia, I've caught another cold from Anna. Anna has been sick all week and now when she's healthy it seems I'm coming down with a cold. I've been cautioned by my mother that I should take it easy as it's easy to get pneumonia again. I have another prenatal care appointment on Thursday and I think I'll ask for sick leave so I won't have to go back to work and I can take it easy.

The picture on the right is of me at 30 weeks and 4 days. I'm looking a little rough as I'd been taking care of Anna all week and JP has had very long days at work so neither of us had had any kind of break. This pregnancy is totally different from my first. With Anna I got big all the way around. My hips got wider and I just got big in general. With this baby the belly is growing straight out and I'm not getting any width at all. From the back I look as though I'm not pregnant at all.

My little guy is pretty active especially as I'm writing this. I guess I have anywhere from 5 to 11 weeks left in this pregnancy I suppose. I don't spend much time worrying about it as the baby will come when it comes.

29 weeks 2 days - Unexplained angries

2008-01-03T21:59:00.000+02:00

I'm so frustrated and I can't really trace the cause. Is it because work blows goats in a big way right now? Is it that I haven't seen salary in almost 4 months? Is it that I'm totally powerless to do anything about it? I take maternity leave in less than 30 days at this point and I'm looking forward to it.

I ended up having to give up on my boss when it came to doing the necessary paperwork for my maternity leave stipend. He was supposed to supply certain papers and financial information which he should supply by law anyway. When I confronted him about it a week before the deadline he shrugged his shoulders and told me he didn't really know what to do even though I'd told him exactly what I needed from him. How could I NOT be frustrated with that? Luckily I had 2 other options and took the best of the two. I think it will work out better in the long run. I'd spent over 2 months waiting for him to do what he promised and all he did was shrug. I would love to grab him and shake him sometimes.

Although the stipend will be smaller than what my salary would be normally, at least it will be paid on time and will be what I expect every time and I won't have remind them to pay it like I do with my current job. Yes....I think that's the source of my angries. I feel better having vented.

29 weeks - 2008 ring in the new year!

2008-01-01T21:33:00.000+02:00

Where did 2007 go? Have to get used to writing 2008. Its always a problem for me to get used to writing the new year on documents and whatnot. At any rate...we all survived Christmas. There were 13 of us under one roof. We got no peace and quiet and the kids were screaming. No one would take naps and the kids were cranky and over-wound. It was nice to get home.

The tummy is getting bigger. Strange to think I don't have that much longer. I'll go on maternity leave officially on February the 12th so I might as well make my last work day the 8th. If I stretch it and take my winter holiday in February I could leave on the last day of January. Not much to report really. My little one is getting very active and I've started feeling jabs of elbows and knees. I guess it's getting tight for space in there. Happy new year all!

27 weeks 2 days - On the way to recovery and Christmas

2007-12-20T15:08:00.000+02:00

It's hard to believe that Christmas is here yet again. As the week draws to a close things are winding down and the shopping is just crazy! I luckily got all my Christmas shopping done today early in the morning. It's odd when there are 6 people waiting outside Toys 'R' Us for it to open at 9am. I also stopped by the Panda Candy outlet. It happens to be a couple of blocks from us. What better way to get inexpensive chocolate!? I've hidden all the toys and will wrap them when Anna goes to sleep. Tomorrow I'll pick up the turkey.

I'm recovering nicely and feeling very good. I had a prenatal care appointment today and baby is growing well and is already positioned head down. I've started the third trimester. Baby seems to like to punch me in my bladder. My hemoglobin is at excellent levels. I was surprised since it dipped so low while in the hospital and now it's up to normal levels! No wonder I feel good!

We'll be going to JP's parents house on Saturday probably. I'm looking forward to having a video conference with my parents and brother during the weekend! I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

26 weeks + 1 day - Pneumonia

2007-12-12T22:22:00.000+02:00

I've just gotten out of the hospital for pneumonia. I was there for four days and they let me go home when the infection levels went down enough for me to be taken care of at home. I'm still on antibiotics and am on bed rest for the week. There was a little scare while in the hospital. I started having contractions every 5 minutes and that isn't good. That was really scary. I was thinking that I'd have to go through labor with pneumonia and the baby would be so tiny. Luckily it was a false alarm. They told me that because my body was under attack and under stress contractions are normal but everything looked good and baby would stay where it was supposed to.

I'm on sick leave until the 28th of December. It's so hard to sit still when there's so much to do but in the interest of my own health I think I'll do what the doctor orders.

24 weeks 6 days - Super boredom....blah...

2007-12-03T14:57:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow I'll be 25 weeks along and I'm oh so bored. I'm just going through the motions. I don't have anything to complain about and nothing to shout about either. I'm just getting over a bad bout of flu. The cough was and is terrible. This is going on 3 weeks of hacking and gurgling. Everyone was sick for a time. That was pure rapture.

I did go out and buy some new maternity clothes. It never ceases to amaze me how a few well picked bits of clothing can make you feel like a new woman. Anna and I went shopping on Friday and had a real girls night out. We went shopping and then went for ice cream. We had a really good time. I think we ought to make that kind of outing a normal occurrence. She had a great time looking in the big mirror at H&M turning and posing with me. She'd look at the clothes I was trying on and say, "mommy, cute!". I thought that was the sweetest thing ever. She's just so much fun to spend time with.

This week is a short week due to Finnish independence day on Thursday the 6th. Basically no ones going to be at work on Friday so that makes it a nice 4 day weekend. I'll try to get another picture of the ever expanding belly online. I've been slow with the entries due to lots of work and lots of flu going around. Bear with me.

22 weeks + 3 days - Let it snow and carseats

2007-11-16T12:40:00.000+02:00

I had a prenatal appointment yesterday. All went well and baby is growing rapidly. Baby is now up above my belly button. He's very active and has a good strong heart beat. I've gone to look at infant car seats as it seems JP's younger sister is expecting her 3rd child in May 2008. This means we won't be able to borrow their infant car seat as they'll be using it :). There are going to be lots of little babies around. Lord have mercy.

Anna has been at JP's parents for the past week as our regular daycare lady took the week off. We'll go pick her up today. Hopefully she won't harbor too much of a grudge. She tends to get upset with us if we're away from her for too long. I'll be glad to get my wild little monkey back. I miss her when she's not around to make me smile/grimace. At least it's been snowing nicely and she'll have had plenty to do outside. Fall is always kind of boring around here as it gets dark and the ground frozen so there's nothing to do. At least when the snow falls Anna has something to do. Snow and stars were a big discovery for her this year as she didn't remember them from last year.

I've added a nice little application you can see spinning on the right side of this page. It shows how the baby is growing and what week I'm in just in case you forgot or something :) It just looked like fun.

21 weeks 3 days - It's a boy ya'll!

2007-11-09T14:03:00.000+02:00

Well...I have had that ultrasound I told you about. The baby is healthy and has all of the organs in the right places. Ten fingers and ten toes and is very active. He looks to be a healthy little baby boy.

Yes, it's a boy! Of course there's always some risk that they saw wrong but the doctor did say that it was 99% sure that it's a boy. JP came with me and seemed rather un-phased by the whole thing. I'm sure under that tough quiet exterior he was grinning like a fool :).

I'm sure I'll be grinning like a fool for a while. Now I can start thinking about names and getting out clothes that are fit for a boy.

20 Weeks and 3 days - hanging in there

2007-11-02T13:35:00.000+02:00

Here we are in the 20 week zone. That means I'm half way. Shall we celebrate? The picture on the right was taken at exactly 20 weeks. I've got quite the nice belly at the moment. At least people are definitely noticing that I'm pregnant.

It's funny how people look at you when you have the pregnant belly thing going on. Either they look at me with that warm squishy adoring look or they just stare at my 3D belly as they walk by. I've scheduled myself for a thorough ultrasound on the 9th of November. They'll check all the organs and make sure there aren't any heart problems, etc. If we're lucky we'll see the gender. I personally am just dying to know. I hope the baby cooperates and positions itself correctly so that we can see. I'll be sure to keep you updated. Maybe I'll have another ultrasound picture to put here.

19 weeks 1 day - the daily grind

2007-10-24T10:47:00.001+03:00

Funny how pregnancy actually gets boring. It's hard to maintain the same level of excitement over a 40 week period. I'm just a walking talking incubator. I could also be seen as a small one room apartment with a tiny lodger. I could even be seen as a person with a very big parasite that will magically remove itself after 40 weeks. Ah the possibilities. I should be taking some more pictures but I just haven't gotten around to it.

I spent most of the evening yesterday picking up the house in preparation for the cleaning ladies today. God bless cleaning ladies, honestly! They make life so much easier and better. I recommend them to all my friends with children. Maybe I'll get around to that elusive belly shot later this evening.

We traded in our VW for an older BMW. It seems to be pretty good so we'll have to see. I'm just waiting to get out of work. I'd love to leave a few months early and really take some time off for myself before baby number 2 arrives but I'm not entirely certain how I'd work that one out. Where there's a will there's a way right?

18 weeks - Prenatal visit

2007-10-16T19:54:00.000+03:00

I've made to 18 weeks. I should have a teeny party. I had a prenatal appointment today and all is well. Baby had a strong heartbeat and is pretty active. I swear s/he is stretching in there. Maybe it's trying to make some extra room in there or something. At least I'm definitely feeling movement. It's tapping and pushing and kicking gently. My hemoglobin is getting pretty low though and I've had to start taking iron suppliments to keep the level from dropping any further. No wonder I'm tired...

17 weeks 3 days - New cars...hmmm

2007-10-12T22:06:00.000+03:00

It's now friday which makes me 17 weeks and 3 days. Here's a picture that was taken yesterday which makes it pretty current. I actually had a real photographer for this one...namely the lovely husband. He tends to take pictures when I have the worst expression, so in this picture I have a strange dreamy look very remenicient of 50's portraits. All in all I can't complain.

As you can see I have quite the little belly going on. I've gained about 6 lbs in total so far. That's not too bad when they say you should gain about 30 lbs in total. No stretch marks yet. I didn't get any the first time around so I'm hoping I'll be lucky this time around.

The little guy keeps moving around. I get the feeling he does a bit of stretching...at least it feels like that. Anna stretched all the time. You can see a picture of my little cutie on the left side. She got her first pig tails today and she was so very proud of them. Just look at that winning smile. :) We're due to pick up a new car tomorrow. Ok..it's a used car but it's new for us. Hopefully it'll be a decent car. We'll just have to see.

17 weeks - Almost half way?

2007-10-09T15:37:00.001+03:00

Jeez. Who knew time went by so quickly? With Anna it felt like the pregnancy lasted forever but this time it's flying by. When I get to 20 weeks I'll be half way already. Where on earth did the time go?

I have about 4 months left at work before I go on maternity leave. I'm trying to decide whether or not I'll go and have an ultrasound done to see gender of the little bean. I called one such place today and they some kind of 4D ultrasounds that cost over 200 €. I'm beginning to think that I really don't want a 4D ultrasound....not unless it's cheap or free that is. Why can't they do it with a normal ultrasound? I'll find out eventually but the suspense is killing me.

Do I get out all the cute little girly clothes and wash them in preparation or buy little boy clothes? At this rate it looks like I'll get out the non-gender specific clothes and wash those and worry about the rest later :). I have a prenatal appointment on the 16th where they'll measure me, weigh me and prick my finger and then I'll get to hear the heartbeat. That's always my favorite part. Nothing eventful going on thankfully. The pregnancy is going along swimmingly.

They promised snow by the end of the week. Luckily the chimney is up and works beautifully and we're now waiting for the inspector to inspect the frame of the house. After that things can really start happening :). It's so exciting!

Just me...

2007-10-01T15:00:00.000+03:00

Just me looking pretty decent for once. I thought it might be nice to put a rather fetching picture of myself here since I'm usually the picture taker I rarely have pictures taken of me.

15 weeks 6 days - Feeling good, great actually

2007-10-01T14:36:00.000+03:00

I'm feeling great. Sure I've got lots to do but none of it is getting me down. I've managed to keep from letting things get me down. It's interesting. Should I blame hormones or the self hypnosis I've been practicing each day? Whatever it is I like it.

The picture is from 15 weeks 3 days a.k.a. taken last weeks Friday. I should have a tummy by now shouldn't I? I have to have a look at the belly photo's I took while pregnant with Anna to see how I compare this time around. I feel like I'm huge but then again I am in my second trimester and am approaching the halfway point. Tomorrow I'll be 16 weeks along so in 4 more weeks I'll be half way. Where does the time go?

Anna was tapping my tummy saying wakey wakey. She's learning horrible habits from her father *grin*. The weather is turning colder now and is definitely autumn weather. The leaves are beautifully colored. I'm blessed because I suffer from eternal warmness and am happy in the cooler weather. Want to warm up...just take my hands. They're glowing nearly constantly nowadays. Funny with Anna my hands were almost always cold and now it's the opposite.

15 weeks 1 day - did I swallow a basketball?

2007-09-26T10:03:00.000+03:00

I've made it to 15 weeks and survived another blood test. I feel like I've swallowed a basketball. I really have to look and see if I was this big during my first pregnancy. The baby should be a little over 4 inches long by now. I'm still able to sleep on my stomach with some difficulty and I'm still sleeping on my back. I plan to do so for as long as humanly possible. When I sleep on my side my arms fall asleep and I end up waking up and having to settle down again. I wake up several times a night and find it hard to sleep peacefully through the night. If it's not my arms falling asleep then it's my bladder telling me to get up. Ah the joys of pregnancy. I haven't felt the baby move, or at least I don't think so. I chalk up any feelings to my stomach working. I suppose it could be the little one moving around in there but I can't say definitively that I've felt the baby move. I'm sure I'll start to feel something in the next couple of weeks.

I woke up this morning feeling like I was going to throw up and had a terrible headache. I figure it must have been low blood sugar. Monday the 24th was my birthday and i made myself a super sweet chocolate cake. I had a piece when we went to visit JP's parents and that was the last thing I ate before sleeping. It could be that it crashed my blood sugar during the night. I hadn't felt that bad in the morning for ages. No more cake for me thank you, pass that apple would you?

Anna has been sweet and petting my belly and saying baby. I'm not sure how much she understands but she must see the belly getting bigger. At some point I won't be able to lift her as much as she'd like. She's already 13 Kg (about 29 lbs) and she's quite the load. I'm feeling good so far and no pain! I'm so happy that the knife like pain I felt in the first pregnancy hasn't made a reappearance yet. I hope I won't have any discomfort at all. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

14 weeks 2 days - I'm always hungry!

2007-09-20T13:24:00.001+03:00

I'm always so hungry these days. I see food and it gets scared. Luckily I have lots of fruit around and not lots of chocolate. With Anna I always wanted sweets and chocolate but with this pregnancy I always want savory foods, salt, meat, well you get the idea. This crazy hunger is a recent development and seems to have arrived in the last week or two.

I've been good though....I've been eating breakfast every morning. It usually includes some whole grain cereal with dried berries. It's almost painful to eat because of it's lack of sugar but that means it's good for me right? I then usually have either pears or apples as a snack before lunch. Then I have lunch. I must admit I'm not always so good about the lunch. Sometimes it's salads and healthy things but today, I confess, was fast food. The chicken burger was awfully good and the fries were delicious *insert devious laughter here*. For dinner I'm going to reheat some chicken pot pie I made a couple of days earlier and add some rice to it in hopes of camouflaging the vegetables from my daughter.

Today I have video conferencing for school. The whole class is just chaos and I have told the head of the program that I will not do this again. On the plus side Finlandia University has offered me an online teaching position. eCollege works beautifully and I wouldn't mind teaching for them if I get to use eCollege. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Anna is getting quite willful and it's a struggle at this point to get her to do anything we want her to. Bed time is painful and so is getting out of bed. Putting on clothing is a joke. It's all we can do to convince her that putting on underwear and clothes is a good thing and that you can't wear PJ's to daycare. Now she's constantly hungry as well. I think she's going through a growth spurt. For all of her stubbornness she so much fun and an excellent snuggler. We are her favorite climbing toys after all. I never thought I'd have to protect my belly from so many daily assaults. She climbs, and jumps and just is generally all over me most of the time. She's going through a mommy phase...meaning that only mommy can help or put her to bed, get her milk, etc etc etc. When she's upset she runs to mommy and hangs off my pants. I drag her around the kitchen while trying to get dinner done as she's hanging from my pants leg yelling, "mommy, moooooommmyyyyyy, mooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmyyyyyyy". You get the idea. I hope this is a short phase. JP tries so hard to appease her but he mostly gets...,"Daddy, go away". In Anna's defense though, JP does tease her a lot ;).

She's also getting very good at procrastinating before bed time. "Mommy I'm thirsty, hungry or have to potty" It's sometimes hard to tell when she really needs something or if she's just trying to pull the wool over my eyes. If she can't get my attention she's learned that if she says, "mommy I have to potty" I will put down whatever I'm doing and help her potty. Ah...but this mommy is a learning creature. Now I've learned that she doesn't need me in the bathroom and I just tell her to go on her own. She calls if she needs me. She does push her limits :). I wouldn't expect anything less.

She surprised me yesterday by counting to 10 in English! We were in the car and there are speed bumps on the way home from daycare. I always count down to the bumps, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, bump! She responded yesterday by starting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...and then continued on up! It's nothing we've been consciously working on but she's caught on. Smart little thing. I talk to her about all sorts of things in the car on the way home. I ask her how her day was etc. Yesterday, my car was making a horrible squeaking noise and I said to Anna, "Mommy's car is noisy today. It's squeaky!" She responded, "terrible!". Pretty funny eh? It's amazing what little ones absorb on a daily basis.

13 weeks 3 days - First trimester is almost over!

2007-09-14T09:06:00.000+03:00

I'm sorry it's been a while since I've written. I've been swamped with the chaos that is my e-business course. I don't even want to talk about it as my blood pressure rises astronomically when I think about it. I think it's best to let sleeping dogs lie for a little while.

The pregnancy is going well. I've got a bit of a belly and I swear I've felt the little guy move. It seems a little early for that but I swear that's what I'm feeling. I've had another ultrasound done on the 6th of September. You can see it on the right. Click it for a bigger picture. You can clearly see the head on the left, its eye, ear and spine. The baby is facing downwards.

12 weeks - still coughing

2007-09-04T21:42:00.000+03:00

I've survived the worst part of the flu which of course struck over the weekend. I could do without all the phlegm and coughing though. The fact that I can't use any medication is a serious bummer. I can't even use Vicks vaporub. How bogus is that? I just sit around and watch everyone else feel better.

I've made it to the 12 week mark. This means that there is only 1 week left in the first trimester and I can start looking forward to feeling bright and shiny again. I'm tired of being tired. I forgot about how badly maternity jeans fall down. I've been pulling them up all day. How irritating. If I recall they don't get any better as the belly gets bigger. The baby should be the size of a lime by now. I have another ultrasound on the 6th of September and I'm looking forward to seeing the little one.

Flu in for the weekend

2007-08-31T15:38:00.000+03:00

What a day...I went to a meeting that got canceled and went to work only to be sent home sick. I came home and slept nearly 5 hours straight. Did I need the sleep?

I love it when I get the flu just before the weekend (note sarcastic tone). At least if it's during the week I can stay home and rest when Anna is in daycare but now I'll have to be a fully functioning mom. Argh. JP (the hubby) is probably going to try and get the chimney wrapped up this weekend so we can start heating up the fireplace. This week just turned cold like mother nature saying....That's it kids....summer is done with go get bundled up now. That would explain the flu. We do need to get that chimney done, so it'll probably be this weekend. I'll just be a boring mommy. Sick and pregnancy fatigue with a 2 year old running full tilt....Calgon take me away!

In a few weeks things are bound to get better as the first trimester ends with week 13. That should mean that all this fatigue should melt away and I should start feeling fabulous. That's what they tell me anyway. I'm off to get Anna from daycare. The skies do not look at all friendly. Big dark gray clouds that have rain written all over them. I'd better hurry...

Just an update to the 11 weeks stuff...belly picture!

2007-08-30T22:24:00.000+03:00

Ok, I've done it! I've taken my first belly picture after fighting a bit with my digital camera. I didn't have a photographer so I put it on top of our fireplace and it seemed to do the trick. I find I get less lip and better pictures from the fireplace so it seemed the obvious choice :).

It's taken from a most unflattering angle so you can see the little potbelly I've got going on. So far I just look like I've had too much beer and ham. I've actually only gained 3lbs or so. Thank's to mom for the sweater I'm wearing in the picture. I think it looks lovely.

Anna is starting to get the idea that she's going to be a big sister and she's of the opinion that she's going to get a brother. We'll see if she's changes her tune or not as things progress. I'm still trying to make up my mind as to whether or not I'd like to know the gender before it's born or not. Luckily I have time to figure that out. I guess I'll know at some point anyway =).

11 weeks 2 days - Merry-go-round schedule, new ultrasound, down syndrome tests

2007-08-30T14:29:00.000+03:00

Been a while since I've posted. I feel like I'm on a merry-go-round and can't get off. There's just far too much to do! Between running to appointments and dealing with everyday stuff and getting materials ready for my e-commerce class it feels like I never stop. Ok, I do have to stop to sleep and all but that doesn't count....does it?

The whole fiasco with the blood got better after the first post. I took time off work and went to the lab they asked me to go to and had blood drawn. They managed to get the red stuff out of me but it turns out they didn't sent it out in time or something happened in transit and my blood was rendered "unusable". Argh! So they had to poke me again. It was a different lady so I thought maybe my luck would change and she'd be able to squeeze a drop or two out but to no avail. She tried twice and dug around in there to my great discomfort. She eventually had to give up and sent me down to the official lab downstairs. There was a wonderful older lady who assured me that there was nothing wrong with my veins. She explained that the young whipper snappers are just too impatient. "The blood isn't going anywhere...you just have wait for it". Hardly felt the needle. Thank God for people that know what they're doing! I had another appointment just recently (must post more often) where they took blood yet again for testing for down-syndrome. They'll have to draw more in a few more weeks though. I'm beginning to feel like a living pin cushion.

I've had 2 ultrasounds by now and they've moved my due date to March 18th, 2008. I've got another ultrasound scheduled for September 6th that will also look for down syndrome. Everyone over the age of 30 is offered these tests free of charge. Isn't that lovely? There are some wonderful points about Finland.

My clothes are getting snug already but I still look like I've had too much beer and ham at this point. My mother sent me a lovely care package of maternity clothes bless her. Thank goodness H&M has reasonably priced clothing for everything else I'll need. I'll try to post more often as long breaks result in exorbitantly long posts.

9 weeks 2 days

2007-08-30T14:26:00.000+03:00

Here we are again. I’m pregnant. As much as we wanted both babies it’s always a surprise how quickly I get pregnant. I thought for sure that it’d take 6 months to a year to get pregnant. This time it took one month (Anna, my first, took 2 weeks). I stopped taking the pill in June and was confirmed pregnant on July 14th, 2007.

The hubby took things reasonably well and seems to be more comfortable with the second pregnancy. Maybe it’s because he know’s what to expect and that there are no huge changes to make (car, house, etc). I’ve relaxed much more with this second baby as well. I’m just waiting for the nausea and chronic fatigue to go away. Honestly…any day now. Seriously. Any day now. I eat and I feel sick. If I don’t eat I feel sick and it’s SO hard to get out of the bed. Concentrate at work, HAH I say. Did I mention the headaches? Ah well, I take comfort in knowing that it’s temporary. As for the good things, I’m still sleeping on my tummy, back and any position I want and enjoying it while I can.

Haven’t told the boss yet but have told parentals, husband of course, Anna, and a host of close friends. I figure I can wait to tell the rest of the world when the ultrasound comes back ok. When I hear the heartbeat and see baby swimming around I’ll feel a bit better.

I had my first prenatal appointment. I had to go to the main health centre because our local isn’t open until august 5th. The lady tried to draw blood 3 times in 3 different places and just couldn’t manage it. I felt like a pin cushion. I kept hoping she’d get it but no. Now I have to go to a separate lab to have blood drawn. I don’t mind having blood drawn but I mind the inconvenience of having to take extra time to go to another place when she could have done it right there. I’m glad she’s not my normal nurse. She was very appologetic though. Maybe my veins have shrunk. Seriously…how can you prick someone three times with intention and not get a drop of blood? She got more blood out of the tip of my finger.

I have my first ultrasound in a couple of days. It’s the same lady so lets hope she does better with the ultrasound than she did with drawing blood.