30 Week Growth Scan - Izzie B

So far things have been going pretty well with Izzie and the pregnancy.  I was going to the doctor for check ups every four weeks until Christmas.  At that appointment, it was discovered that my uterus had not grown at all in the past four weeks.  For those who don't know, at every appointment, starting in the second trimester, they measure how high your uterus is (called fundal height) and it should correspond in centimeters with the number of weeks pregnant you are at that point.  I was 24 weeks at Thanksgiving and measured at 26cm (two weeks ahead), then at 28 weeks at Christmas, I was still measuring at 26cm (two weeks behind now).  It was determined that after the holidays I would come in and have a growth scan to measure baby and fluid levels to make sure things were fine.

This whole situation made me very nervous as I had always measured slightly ahead with Brady and there was never any concern.  Fortunately, from that point, we'd be coming in for appointments every two weeks, so I only had to wait until a few days after New Years for the scan.  Being home with family was a great distraction and we were back home before we knew it.  Of course, we got sick right when we got home and I was still a little iffy when we went to the scan.  I almost passed out during the middle of it and I was even lying down.

My biggest concern was low fluid and that meaning more constant monitoring and potentially having a preemie baby.  Fortunately, the scan went great. It was almost three weeks ago now, but at 30.5 weeks the tech double checked that she's still a girl (which she certainly is!), fluid levels were great, and Izzie B was measuring at 3lbs 14oz (60th percentile).  Since it's been three weeks and she should be gaining on average half a pound per week, she's likely close to 5lbs or over at this point (I'll be 34 weeks on Saturday).  She wasn't very cooperative to get any good 3D shots and all we got was the side of her head.  The top picture is her face in 2D.

I had a regular appointment with a doctor right after the scan and she was very pleased with the findings of the scan.  In the two weeks since my last appointment, the fundal height had increased from 26 to 29cm which was good (although almost two weeks behind still).  I had another appointment last week and right before that, I'd taken some belly shots.  Looking at the side-by-side comparisons from Thanksgiving, Christmas, and now, there was almost zero difference in my visible belly size.  That started to freak me out a bit, especially since I also compared the most recent one to Brady at the same point.  I was WAY bigger with him (although some people didn't assume I was pregnant most days).  My mom pointed out that I've gained so much less weight than I did with him and that might be a factor, but I was still so nervous that the fundal height was going to stay the same again.

When I got to the appointment, I was weighed and had only gained half a pound in two weeks.  That freaked me out because the baby should've gained almost a full pound in that time.  Of course, I had a ton of time to think about it as the doctor was running very behind and I was sitting waiting in the exam room for over half an hour.  Luckily, the fundal height had increased from 29 to 33cm and I was two days from hitting 33 weeks, so she was right on track.  We really have no idea where I'm hiding here, especially since I'm so short waisted.  I guess I should stop worrying and focus on the fact that I might escape stretch marks this time around (I didn't get any until 38 weeks with Brady and even then they weren't too bad).

Something I discovered after I had Brady was that I have Von Willebrand disease, which means I'm missing a clotting factor in my blood, making me more susceptible to bleeding.  Several of my immediately family members have it and complications after Brady's delivery, so it was enough to have me sent for the testing.  It was determined that I do have it, which means I need an IV of the clotting factor I'm missing during any surgery or procedure where there would be significant blood loss.  The doctor I saw decided that because of needing this IV, it would be best to induce before my due date and avoid me going into labor on my own (I was induced with Brady at 41 weeks and 1 day).  She said I could induce any day after I turned 39 weeks and suggested a Wednesday or Thursday as there would be a doctor in the hospital those days for the full day.  It was so surreal to think that I would get to choose my child's birthday and the same would go for any other children we have in the future.  It almost feels like a huge responsibility.

The scheduling lady called yesterday, and I went with Wednesday, March 6 (right between Brady's on Feb 19 and mine on March 11), which is only six weeks from today!  Eeek!  There's so much still to do.  With Brady I was ready to have him by this point, and this time I'm thinking we have to get a ton done and I hope there's enough time.  We are in the middle of painting her nursery, we need to dig out all the old baby gear from the basement, and of course Brady turning 3 and having his party.  Hopefully, she doesn't get any big ideas and decide to come early.  Of course, now I'm thinking because she'll be a little early, she'll be smaller than Brady (who was 8lbs 5oz) and need newborn clothes, which I purposely didn't buy many of because you  never know if bigger babies will fit in them.  I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Another great foot pic.

The arrow in this one is pointing to her calf.  The tech remarked at how toned it was.  She must take after Andy because I have cankles lol.

3D Ultrasound - Izzie B

Something we did when I was pregnant with Brady was a 3D ultrasound.  It's something that's elective and you pay out of pocket, but we thought it would be cool to take a peek at what he looked like.  They say you get the best pictures right around the beginning of the third trimester where the baby has some more fat on them, but before they get to a point where they're too crowded to get any good pictures.  Andy claims he could immediately tell what Brady would look like, but I couldn't.  We were excited to go this Monday and see if Izzie B looked at all like Brady (which was our hope).

She was far more cooperative than Brady was.  We have several shots of the back of his head.  She is active as always and was more than happy to play around for the camera.

You can see her sucking on her index finger in this one.  Guess I have another finger sucker on my hands.

Rubbing her eyes (which are now open and blinking).

While we were getting the ultrasound, neither of us could tell if she looked anything like Brady.  Once we put the two of them side-by-side, we were definitely able to see the resemblance.  I've shown this to a few people and they said if I hadn't told them, they'd have thought it was the very same baby (click on the image and it will become bigger).  We can't wait to meet her!  The biggest surprise will be what she'll have for a hair color.  I pictured Brady having red hair, but that didn't happen.  She could have any color from what we have in our families. 

An add-on when you get a 3D ultrasound is getting an animal with a recording of the baby's heartbeat inside.  We did this for Brady, so of course, we had to get one for Izzie.  This time it was extra special because Brady picked out her animal (his was a bear).

Second Trimester - Izzie B

Two down, one to go!  It's incredible that we're 2/3 of the way to meeting Miss Izzie B!  The third trimester starts at 27 weeks, so we've officially left the second trimester behind.  The second trimester is usually classified as the most comfortable of the three as you're done being sick and you're not too big yet.  I'd have to say that's pretty accurate, although I still feel pretty great.  The second trimester is also great because you have your anatomy ultrasound that tells you the gender of your baby (if you choose to do so) and at 24 weeks, your baby reaches viability (the ability to have a chance of survival outside of the womb).  Also, it's when you start to feel movement.  Baby also does a ton of growing, going from the size of my clenched fist (about 4.5 inches from crown to rump and a few ounces) to the size of a head of cauliflower (16.5 inches from head to toe and 2.5 pounds).  Of course, our baby girl will gain the most weight during the third trimester as she will likely be over 8 pounds like all the babies in our family (which includes Andy, my parents, me and my brothers, and of course, Brady).

It's very hard to believe I'm already 7 months pregnant!  The time is just flying by, which makes sense as I spend most of my days keeping up with Brady instead of sitting around dreaming of baby.  Time probably won't even appear to slow down as we approach the holidays and then immediately go into preparations for Brady's 3rd birthday.  I'm due less than three weeks after his actual birthday.

I also don't feel pregnant most days.  My belly still isn't very noticeable unless I'm wearing a form fitting shirt and it doesn't get in my way.  I have had a few moments of what they call "pregnancy brain" and even today, was searching for my scissors and Andy found them in the trash with the scraps after I clipped coupons from the newspaper.  I haven't had any problems falling asleep, and most nights I fall asleep on the couch while watching a few shows with Andy.  He often looks over and sees me fighting to keep my eyes open.  At this point, I only have to get up on average once a night to use the bathroom.

My weight gain is in check (thank goodness) and is already less than what I'd gained with Brady (even if I started up 5 pounds).  I'm up to a total of 15 pounds gained (remember the recommendation is 25-35) and with Brady I was up 19 pounds.  That means I gained 33 pounds in the last trimester with Brady and I know where most of that weight came from, so I know how to avoid that much this time.  The baby will make up about six pounds of what I gain in the third trimester, so that's of some comfort. At this point, my appointments have been every 4 weeks, but after my appointment at 28 weeks right before Christmas, they'll start to be every 2 weeks.  Once I hit 36 weeks, they'll be every week.  That means there will be less cheating between visits, then being good about a week before the weigh-in.

Izzie is a very active baby every day, so I never have to wonder if she's alright.  She's almost more active than Brady was, which is why I wouldn't have been surprised early off if she'd been a boy (although now we have proof otherwise).  I swear sometimes she is an octopus, because there's no way she can hit me in so many directions at the same time. With Brady, I could only feel him when sitting or laying down.  Izzie is so strong that she hits me when I'm standing up.  I often see my belly moving around with her very strong kicks and punches.  She's very quiet in the middle of the night, so that bodes well for when she comes home as babies establish their sleep patterns before they're born.

Once we found out that Izzie was a girl, we started buying a few things here and there.  I bought a handful of clothes (not nearly enough to cover her for the first three months even) and a few friends have sent gifts of clothes and hair bows.  We've told most family that we'd prefer baby items for Christmas as we don't really need things for ourselves.  My mom already got me my double stroller while she was here for Thanksgiving and other family members have been told we need girl clothes.  I still have to go through all of Brady's baby clothes and see what is gender neutral (I know I bought at least a few items).  We have all of the furniture already, and have the gear like car seat, baby swing, etc. from when Brady was little, so the big items are already taken care of.  I will get to do the one thing I've been dreaming of since Brady was born and that's decorate a nursery.  We moved around so much, we only ever put up a wall border in Brady's nurseries.  Once Brady moves out this Christmas, we can start painting and decorating.

16 weeks

20 weeks - Halfway there!

24 weeks 

(finally starting to get a little belly, not that I'm complaining as I don't tend to get any stretch marks until the very end, even if you can see my old faded ones with the camera flash)

The belly shot progression (from left to right) : 16 weeks, 20 weeks, 24 weeks. She definitely grew a ton between 16 and 24 weeks!

A comparison shot between Brady (left) and Izzie B (right).  Can you see the difference?

Brady loves to get in the action when I'm taking belly shots.  He sees me standing with my shirt up and he starts doing the same.  He then tells Andy that it's his turn for pictures.  This is Brady at 20 weeks.

And again at 24 weeks

Andy decided this would be a good opportunity to have Brady take "muscle" shots with his shirt off.

Brady is going to make a fantastic big brother.  Every time he goes to sleep, whether its for nap or at the end of the day, he makes sure to remind me that he has to kiss Izzie nigh-nigh.  Yesterday, he lifted my shirt, rubbed my belly, and said, "Baby is getting big."  Then he said, "Come on out baby!"  I told him, she has to get a little bigger before she can come out.  We'll see how he'll react when she finally arrives.  He's such a great helper around the house, so I'm sure he'll be the first one to jump up and grab a diaper or a bottle.

Family Portraits 2012

It's that time of year!  During the summer is when we go for our annual family portrait.  If you haven't noticed by now, I'm that mom who likes to match everyone up for pictures (if you can't tell from the family pics on the left side of posts).  I just love how it looks.  I don't go into a year planning out what we'll wear and usually something jumps out at me in a store or online.  It's always an outfit for Brady and then I spend some time figuring out or buying what Andy and I will wear.  I noticed the outfit Brady is wearing in this year's portraits, while doing some last minute shopping at Target before we left the country in January.  It was too perfect to pass up!  The colors were great and I knew they'd also look good on Andy and myself.

A week after we got home from Germany we found out we were expecting baby #2, so we decided to do our portraits in July instead of June so that the clothes I'd bought for myself would still fit.  I don't mind being pregnant in a family portrait (which I'm sure will happen at some point), but I knew I wouldn't have a belly until fall and I was happy with the outfits I'd purchased.

We'd already been through the ordeal with Brady at the first lederhosen session, so we weren't exactly surprised when he decided he wouldn't cooperate for us.  We are hoping he'll be better by the time it comes for Christmas portraits.  We did manage to get two very good portraits, so we left happy. 

This is probably my favorite of the two.  We're leaning because Andy was working hard to keep Brady still.  We have the mentality that if we keep smiling and looking at the camera, the photographer will get Brady in a good shot and we won't ruin it.  This one definitely shows off his crazy personality.  Below are a few where you can see us trying very hard to wrangle Brady in.

Believe it or not, I already have found an outfit for Brady for next year's family portrait.  I got a great deal on an after-Easter sale and took full advantage. We weren't pregnant at that point, so I had no idea if we'd have another baby by next summer.  The week we found out we were pregnant, I got the same outfit for another boy and for a girl it'll be easy to find something in similar colors during Easter this year.  We'll probably wait until September like we did when Brady was a baby so that the new baby can sit up on their own in the portraits.  It's a year away, but I'm already so excited for it!

First Trimester - Izzie B

We've officially reached the second trimester with Trap baby #2, so I thought I'd write a post about the first trimester.  I'm so glad I'll get to record more about this baby than with Brady because I was limited to Facebook back then.  Who says the first baby gets everything?  Not us!  We plan to record the same type of things (3d/4d ultrasounds and belly pics) that we did with Brady for all of our kids.  I'm an avid scrapbooker, so it would literally kill me not to have any pictures to put in them, so there will certainly be just as many pictures of this baby as there was with Brady.  Especially, when they change so much every day in the beginning.

There is some debate on when the first trimester ends, with some sources saying 12, 13, or even 14 weeks being the end.  I figure if you break each trimester equally, they'd be a little over 13 weeks apiece, so I feel the first trimester ends at 13 weeks.  Most say the first trimester is the roughest because most suffer from morning sickness, plus the risk of miscarriage is at its highest.  I was very fortunate to never be sick with Brady, and the only difference this time is that I had no appetite.  That turned out to be a double edged sword, because I am normally oversensitive to an empty stomach.  That meant every time my stomach got very empty, I started to feel pretty yucky.  The moment I ate something, I was back to normal.  Fortunately, my appetite has returned, so it's not a hardship to eat something to keep from feeling yucky.  There are times when I go too long without eating, like when I'm out shopping or running errands, and I have to stop what I'm doing and find something to eat.

The lack of appetite has been helpful in terms of weight control.  With Brady, I gained a total of 52lbs and have no intention of coming anywhere close to that this time.  My goal is 30lbs (recommended is between 25-35lbs), which would keep me under 200lbs.  With Brady, I gained 4lbs in the first trimester and this time have only gained 2lbs.  I get weighed again at the end of the month at my next appointment.  I had planned on starting this pregnancy about 15lbs lighter than where I started with Brady, but living in Germany killed that, so I started 5lbs heavier, which is why it's all the more important I don't gain as much weight (it took me 16 months to drop all of Brady's baby weight).

An exciting thing is that second time moms tend to feel their babies move sooner than their first because they know what to look out for.  Last night, I felt this baby move for the first time.  From the ultrasound, I could tell it's just as wiggly and energetic as Brady was (and still is).  I was 14.5 weeks last night when I felt it and with Brady, I was exactly 16 weeks (although not consistently until 19 weeks).

One of the things I did while pregnant with Brady was take belly shots throughout.  I think it will be fun to compare this pregnancy's belly with Brady's.  They say you show sooner with second, third, fourth, etc pregnancies and I feel like that's true with me.  Most women show by the end of their first trimester and with Brady I didn't really show until 24 weeks, and even after that people wouldn't recognize I was pregnant.  I have had to start wearing a few items of maternity clothes (which has been difficult since most are still in storage).  I'm in that "in-between" stage of showing and not showing.  I call it the "fat" stage.  It's a hump I am very eager to get over.  I definitely look more pregnant than fat when wearing maternity clothes, so that helps.

Most people choose not to bare their bellies when they take belly shots.  I feel that you get a more accurate progression without clothes in the way since you'd have to wear skin-tight shirts to get a good bump.  Below are the belly pics from the first trimester.

9 weeks

13 weeks

 (compared to Brady, I looked this big between 14 and 20 weeks, so definitely getting bigger faster this time)

 A progression picture from 9 to 13 weeks