Quack

Apparently, I'm starting to waddle. I don't necessarily think it's the weight of my belly and I don't think I do it all of the time. Yet, sometimes when I get up in the morning, my hips are sore and stiff and therefore... I waddle. After I've been sitting at my desk for more than an hour, my back and hips hurt, therefore... I waddle. After I've been sitting on the floor, my hips are a little stretched and out of joint, therefore... QUACK! Okay, I waddle.

Everything else is going well. At my six-month appointment, I was fitted for a pregnancy belt, which should alleviate a little of the back pain. Baby Bacon still seems on the big side, but I'm trying to reserve judgment on that until a little later. My doctor thought Scarlett was going to be a big baby too. During the surgery we heard my doctor mutter, "huh." Turns out she was only 6 lbs, 6 oz. She just seemed big because I didn't have as much space to hold her in there! I'm waiting to see if that's going to happen this time around. Next appointment I also have my glucose screening, which could also be an answer for Bacon's size. One thing's for sure, it's not the extra "eating for two," since I'm not able to do that at all!

I'm happily waiting the day where Scarlett can feel Bacon kicking. It's very slight now to any outsiders (Ben barely felt it), but he's very active in there. He really enjoyed the ballet, as he was moving and kicking the whole time to the Nutcracker music!

What's in a name?

Now that it's assuredly known that Baby Bacon is a boy, we've been getting a lot of questions about names. "Have you decided what to name him yet?" "Do you have any finalists?"

Yes, Ben and I have been scouring the baby names book for names that we love, amassing a finalist list of about 10 names. We both went through the book, making notes of names that we like, love and have to have! Once we were finished, we traded lists and went through the veto process. In the end, we have a nice list to mull over. I can say that Ben is more focused on the meanings of the names and whether we can "pull them off." He loves the names Ari and Tyrone, but doesn't necessarily think that they would be appropriate for little Irish Baby Bacon! I'm more concerned about the aesthetics. Do I like the name; does it have nicknames; is it easy to make fun of; does it sound good with Coleman?

In the long run, we've decided not to share our finalists. Apparently (and I didn't know this before last night), Ben had encountered some people who thought that our picks last time were ridiculous, even including the name Scarlett. I can't believe that someone would actually call your name picks stupid, especially to your face, knowing that these are the names that you love. But, I guess it happens.

I can say that a huge amount of the names are Irish in origin. I don't think we meant to do that, but it just happened! I can also tell you that some of the names that we have had on our list forever have fallen off this time around. I'm sad to report that Baby Bacon will not be named Ari or Gavin. :( However, there are some great names on our list! We'll probably go into the surgical room with about 5 and decide once we see Bacon what his name should be. Worst case scenario, he remains Baby Bacon!

Five months or nine months?

Since learning the sex of our child at the last visit, things seem to have been moving lightening quick. And yet - super slow. It's strange how that goes.

Most noticeably, I've ballooned. I'm about 23 weeks along, but look like I'm nine months big. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, I was no skinny minny to start with! I don't mind looking so big, but the problem is that I feel big. I feel huge and clumsy, like getting up from the couch is a major undertaking. I'm sure if I'm not waddling already, it's coming soon!

With Scarlett's pregnancy, I felt like I was made for it! After the first three months, I felt so good! I loved being pregnant - every single minute of it! This time around, it's not going as well. Besides being tent-like, I also ache; have heartburn and unceasingly bad headaches. My body has been out of shape and I can feel it in every bone and muscle. Nights are incredibly hard, as I wake every hour or so to toss and turn from one side to the other. It isn't long before my hips start to ache, so I flip again. Maybe it's just my body preparing me for getting up every couple of hours to feed the baby. I don't know, but I'm not enjoying it!

Despite all of my aches and pains; complaints and grumbles, I feel incredibly blessed. This baby is so loved already and I feel so lucky to be able to have another one. For every complaint I have, I silently give thanks and my belly a quick rub. Baby Bacon (as Scarlett proposed for a name) will be well received!

It's a pointer!

Looks like the doctor was right all along... it's a boy!

The rest of the anatomy scan went well, as planned. Measurements were taken, organs were inspected, giant head was wowwed over. Looks a little on the big side, but the ultrasound tech said it could just be a recent growth spurt. Based on the size of my tummy, that's entirely possible.

We took Scarlett with us and she was a little less than thrilled with the announcement of the sex. So we've been spending a lot of time listing all of the big sister/little brother people she knows. We're also coming up with every benefit we can think of to why having a little brother might be just as good or even better than a little sister! If you can think of any, feel free to post! Ben should know best, being a little brother to a big sister! She'll be happy once the baby comes, I guarantee it!

Things are moving now!

Last night I hit a big milestone... I felt the baby move for the first time! Lying unsuspectingly on the couch, having just eaten some of Scarlett's Halloween candy (don't tell!), I felt a little flutter. I've been definitely feelings things way deep in my belly, but it's been mostly gas, stretching, tightening... things like that. This was my first definite feeling of quickening. Yay! I can't wait until its strong enough for Ben and Scarlett to feel too!

Next week (I'll be 20 weeks along); I have my actual anatomy scan ultrasound. After all of the crap I dealt with in my last two appointments, I'm expecting this one to be fabulous. If it isn't, I'll have some deep thinking to do. I don't really want to, but I may change doctors' offices or even just doctors within my office. I may also try out this company in Omaha called Storkvision, recommended by my friend Shana. They do supplemental ultrasounds and guarantee to find out the sex. Even though they are a little expensive and aren't covered by insurance, the idea of a guarantee, as well as a DVD of the entire event, is really appealing. I guess we'll see how it goes next week.

Shy and uncooperative

Friday was supposed to be the day that our family found out whether we were going to be adding another little girl to our mix or evening out our family with a boy. We were well aware that 18 weeks is still on the early side for this procedure (which includes the full anatomy scan), but we were so excited that we brought Scarlett for the special news. Disappointingly, it didn't happen.

The baby was plenty active and healthy, but when the doctor moved the ultrasound wand over the baby, he/she suddenly became very shy and curled up and/or turned away. :( I know this happens, but I was still very disappointed that the neither the sex was determined, nor the anatomy scan completed.

Unrelated to the baby at all, really, I was just disappointed in the appointment in all ways. It's partly my own fault for scheduling an appointment on a Friday afternoon, right? I certainly shouldn't expect a quality appointment to discuss the baby's health in an environment that seemed already closed for business, should I? My last appointment was also on a Friday afternoon, and although it also seemed rushed and uninformative, I thought it was a lone incident. Never again. The doctor's office was nearly empty, not just of patients, but also of staff. The staff at the front didn't ask for my insurance info, a co-pay nor did they offer to schedule a follow-up. The heartbeat was measured, a brief ultrasound conducted, with a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am attitude all the way around. When the doctor (not my regular, I should note) couldn't manipulate the baby into showing it's goods, she left to get an ultrasound tech, only to discover that they'd all left for the day. Why let someone schedule an important ultrasound appointment if you don't have the staff to cover it? Seriously!

"I'll tell the ladies up front to schedule you again in 3 weeks," was what the doctor said as she ducked into her office. Yet, when we arrived at the front desk, the lady knew nothing about another appointment and was hesitant to schedule anything, that not being her actual job. She sent me back to the actual ultrasound scheduler, who informed me that she was pretty much booked solid for the next 4 weeks. We finally squeezed me in and I left, dejected, disappointed and angry.

I probably won't do anything about this piece-of-shit of an appointment that I had, but it feels good to get it down on paper (or blog, as it may be!) and out of my head, where I was sure to fester over it for another month or so.

No more Friday appointments!

16 weeks - Already uncomfy

Well, we've hit another bench mark. 16 weeks - Woohoo! As I mentioned in the last post, the appetite is starting to re-emerge, albeit slowly. I only lost two pounds between the first appointment at 8 weeks and our most recent at 14 weeks. Of course it's not healthy to lose weight at all during pregnancy; a two pound loss is pretty small compared to the amount I lost the first time around.

Body-wise, I'm pretty uncomfortable already. Feeling the pushing and pulling of my lower abdomen as it readies itself for baby growth, is a strange feeling. I get a lot of twinges/cramps as my skin stretches and as my uterus expands. I've also intermittently had leg cramps, itchy feet and tingling arms and hands - all normal happenings.

Alongside all of the changes, I've been doing a lot of reflecting. I've been really emotional (also normal) about everything, but especially about Scarlett. It seems that everything she does that makes her seem grown-up has been making me teary-eyed. I almost lost it at parent-teacher conferences because the teacher said that she was sensitive, I cried a lot yesterday when she was sick with a fever and watching her suddenly learn to blow bubbles made my heart hurt! She's going to be a fabulous big sister and we're extremely lucky to have her.

I've also been thinking about some family members that lost their little baby a few months ago. The sadness that I feel for them is overwhelming, although I'm incredibly happy that they had a chance to meet their precious little boy. The strength that they have shown in dealing with such an unfortunate situation has been inspiring. I think about them often.

Lastly, I've been thinking a lot about friendships. It occurred to me that I have an entirely different set of friends during this pregnancy than I did during Scarlett's. The reasons are many and too complicated to delve into, but I really do miss some of my older friends. I don't think I've entirely healed from the heartache of losing a couple of very closer friends due to circumstances that I don't feel are my fault. But, just like Scarlett, I'm super sensitive (and even more so now), so I may be making a mountain out of a mole-hill. I'm extremely lucky to have very supportive friends, some that I've just made in the last few years, that I have reciprocal relationships with. I realize that I have everything I need to make me happy - a loving, supportive husband, a beautiful daughter, supportive friends and family and Lexapro! (Just kidding on the last one - I haven't taken that since learning of my pregnancy!)

As I approach a weekend full of friends and family activities, I'll be thinking of all that I'm thankful for, including this little peanut growing inside of me.