First Prenatal Appointment

This pregnancy's first prenatal appointment yesterday morning was much shorter than my first appointment last go around. I do not know if it because this is my second pregnancy and they think I have it all figured out or if this is just how Margaret's new practice works.

I still had to fill out a decent amount of paperwork, and after a bit of waiting out front with Jarrett, we were called back and I peed in a cup -- the first of many, many in the coming months, I now know. I was then weighed, and in comparing their scale to ours at home, I had gained two pounds since I weighed myself after first finding out that I was pregnant (but who knows if our scales are calibrated at all the same). So, basically I am starting out at 124 on their scale. We then went back to an exam room where the nurse took my blood pressure (94/70), and we met with Margaret. It was so good to see her and talk to her, and she genuinely seemed to remember us and gave us hugs and asked about Elsa.

Margaret was slightly concerned about my being sick for so long, and spent a decent amount of time looking up sinusitis and the type of antibiotic I should be on. She asked that I call her after getting back home to confirm what Dr. Owen put me on, as well as the dosage. I did as told and left a message with the front desk, and Margaret called me yesterday evening to confirm that I was taking the proper medication. I also confirmed with her that snow tubing should be safe at this point in the pregnancy. :) Obviously, I will still use my best judgment and will be cautious.

Because my cycles were longer just prior to getting pregnant, she feels that I am probably not as far along as the calendar would show, which was my prediction as well. She did a manual exam to feel my uterus and try to place where the baby might be, and then she attempted to find the heartbeat with a Doppler device. After an extended and honorable attempt, she gave up. She assured me there was nothing to worry about, but that it was probably just too early at this point. She said the earliest she usually hears the heartbeat is at eight weeks, but that she almost always hears it at ten weeks. Her new office does not have the equipment to do ultrasounds or she would have done one, as she feels it is important to date the pregnancy early on, I guess because she believes a better prediction can be made the earlier you do it. This becomes important down the road so that doctors are not trying to push to induce birth once you have hit 40 weeks. So, she had me schedule an appointment with See Baby to have an ultrasound done next Wednesday morning. After that ultrasound, we should have a much better idea of the due date.

After seeing Margaret, I had blood drawn for various tests and then scheduled my next appointment for the morning of Wednesday, February 16. We spoke briefly with Margaret about screening for defects, etc., but just as we did last time, I think we are going to avoid most, if not all, of these tests. So it is probably likely we will not find out the sex of the baby until the 20-week mark, but I guess we will just see how it goes.

Sick of Being Sick

No, its not even morning sickness. I have now come into contact with three viruses back to back since early December. I think they have all been colds, though I do not know for sure. This last round, which I have been dealing with now for nearly two weeks was confirmed by Dr. Owen on Monday to be a sinus infection -- the first one I have ever had, at least that I know of. There have been fevers (the highest being 101.1 degrees F), so there has been Tylenol, and now I am on an antibiotic for ten days. I am certainly not fond of taking medication of any sort while pregnant, but every thing I am or have been taken is supposed to be totally safe for the little one inside of me.

I was never very sick while pregnant with Elsa. I think I maybe had one cold. But with pregnancy squashing my immune system, and this time around having a toddler bringing home all sorts of germs, I have definitely been bombarded. Thankfully, I am starting to feel a little better and am headed into an extended girls' weekend up in the North Carolina mountains, so rest and relaxation (and... maybe a little snow tubing) are not far away.

The Nine-Week Belly

Here is my belly at what is nine weeks (yesterday), according to calendar dates. I go in for my first prenatal appointment this Wednesday, so I am sure they will give me a better idea as to how far along I really am then.

I think I

(1) have bad posture in this photo,
(2) enjoyed the holiday food quite a lot this year,
(3) am showing my lack of going to the gym because of sickness, or
(4) am just plain ole' starting to protrude already.

What is funny is that I think I am starting off lighter than I was when I got pregnant with Elsa, though I am fairly certain those pounds will catch up with me in the end. I do not really care all that much, as long as I am able to lose it all as quickly and easily as the first time around.

Just to compare, here is my belly at what we thought was eight weeks (again, according to the calendar) when I was pregnant with Elsa.

Pregnant, Just Like the First Time

Well, if this is not déjà vu in its most realistic form, then I am not sure what is.

Jarrett and I tried, like the first time around, for a summer baby. It was not in the cards. Just as I found out I was pregnant with Elsa, I took a test on New Year's Eve morning that came back with a very faint second line. Last time around I really questioned this faint whisper of a result. This time I knew a little better. But I questioned it anyway, as I am wont to do with many things in my life. So I took another test a couple of days later. And another a few days after that. Just as I did three years ago.

So there we have it. Jarrett and I are expecting our second child, and these two little rascals could come close to sharing the same birth date.

I would have things no other way than to be with Margaret, the midwife who delivered Elsa, again throughout this pregnancy. Since Elsa's birth, she has started her own practice, Intown Midwifery, which is located so much closer to the house. We are talking something like 20 minutes compared to the 45 minutes to an hour-plus it took me to get to my appointments with her during my first pregnancy. And the hospital she delivers at, Atlanta Medical Center, is that much closer too, which is absolutely fantastic. My first appointment at Margaret's new practice is scheduled for January 26, so I look forward to hopefully seeing her again and getting a better idea of this little one's due date.

In the meantime, I am feeling really good with just a few minor waves of nausea here and there. Being gluten-free put my thyroid levels back to normal prior to getting pregnant, so even though pregnancy could be throwing things out of whack again, I definitely started out in a great place healthwise.

Excitement lingers around my every move and as I think into the future. As much work as it is to be a mother, I cannot wait to hold this teeny tiny baby in my arms come fall.

First test.

Second test.

Third test.