mystery baby part 2?

After much discussion yesterday, I think James and I are going to wait to find out the baby's gender until he/she is born. We have another week to decide, but I think we'll be waiting.

James said he's having trouble bonding with this baby and (as last time) thinks it's because he wants a boy so badly, he thinks he'll be disappointed if he finds out it's another girl (not that we would be unhappy with either).

I kinda see his point --- last time I wanted a boy so badly I honestly think I would have been disappointed to find out at the ultrasound it was indeed a girl. However, when she was born, I cared not what it was, and I was sooo in love. I'm fine waiting, since we did last time, but the back and forth stuff he's doing is driving me crazy! I had mentally gotten ready to find out, so I'm now shifting back to 'mystery baby' mode.

And I'm happy here.

18wks 2days

to find out or to not find out?

Since I've been about 5wks pregnant, I've had a pretty strong feeling that this baby is a boy.

Charlotte calls the baby 'baby sister', no matter what we do to convince her otherwise.

We didn't find out the gender with her. I was adamant that I wanted it to be a surprise. I never regretted not finding out. I *LOVED* not knowing. From the beginning with this one, I told James if he wanted to find out, then we would. I've gotten really used to the idea of finding out this time - and I think it'll be good for Charlotte to know.

Occasionally I get a patient at work that hasn't found out - and it kinda makes me wish we weren't finding out this time.

Last night, I had a dream that this baby was a boy. I told James, and he told me he thinks he may not want to find out this time. I was very surprised to hear that from him - but I'm completely on board if that's what he wants. I honestly go back and forth with what I'd like. Now that's he's mentioned that though - I really like the idea of not finding out as well. Ultimately, it's up to him. I don't care whether the baby is a boy or a girl. I just have a strong feeling it's a boy.

We'll see!

quickening

I was laying awake in the middle of the night last night - couldn't sleep. And I felt the little quivering movements in my uterus. They say you can feel movement earlier with your second pregnancy. I [still] feel a little skeptical that I was feeling the baby - but only because it's so early. Those movements were pretty distinct and I don't think it could have been anything else.

I'm excited to start feeling more movement so I can feel like I can really start bonding with this baby.

13wks 4 days today. We're getting there!

Crouton Henry and the heartbeat

So coming up with a 'working name' for this little one has proven to be a little bit of a challenge. Seeing as Sprout just kinda fell into place around the 18wk mark ... and that one is fun, because we still call her Sprout.
We couldn't use Sprout again, but what could we use? We're going to find out the gender this time, so we may move away from the working name later, even though the name is going to stay a secret until after the arrival.
My father in law emailed us about a month ago and asked what name we were calling it right now... Henry? Ruby? So the name Henry filtered in ... but then I really liked the idea of calling it Crouton.

So James started calling it 'Crouton Henry' and now it has stuck.

And we got to hear Crouton Henry's heartbeat for the first time this morning. 148-152bpm.

Bliss.

movement

I was sitting on the couch this afternoon, leaning forward with my stomach kinda pressed into my jeans, and I felt it. I don't know that I could describe the feeling. It kinda felt like little popping bubbles, like fizz in a glass of soda. But it was there. And then it was there again. I'm only 11 weeks 3 days today so this seems crazy.

But it really was there. I know it was.

22 months

It's so hard to believe my little Charlotte is 22 months old! It seems like yesterday I was writing out her birth story. It's been awhile since I've shared anything about her on here (or anything for that matter). She's growing like a weed, outgrowing every article of clothing I have for her before she can even wear them. Talking up a storm, her vocabulary is out of this world. Running, playing, causing trouble.
Yesterday she had her first swimming lesson at the Community Center. She HATED it. She cried for the first 20 minutes, until she got to jump off the side into my arms. That part she LOVED. "Again, again!"
Then, last night, I was changing her diaper ... it had been about 2 hours since I had last changed her diaper. And she was dry. She has never been interested in going in her little froggy potty but I figured why not? And lo and behold, she did it!

yolk sac

My OB's office called me this morning to check and see how I was doing. I explained to them that it felt more like the ligament pain that I remembered from my last pregnancy, however they still wanted me to come in for an early ultrasound. So..... away we went. James came with me, I think more because we were a little worried that things wouldn't be okay. The sonographer started the ultrasound, and, voila! Uterine pregnancy. One sac. In that teeny little sac, a yolk sac containing our little sesame seed. It was sooooo reassuring.
She also saw a cyst on my left ovary- which is where a lot of my pain has been.