Baby boy it is!

Well, my intuition was dead wrong. I'm having a boy! I was SURE this baby was a girl because of the entirely different pregnancy (sickness, carrying different, etc). But I am not the least bit disappointed. In fact, I was preparing myself to be a little disappointed if it was a girl because I really wanted Evan to have a brother. If I'd had a girl first, I would have wanted her to have a sister. We are elated that we'll have two little boys chumming around together.

The only thing that's giving us grief is finding a name for him! Oh man, it's hard this time. Steve is set on a particular family name and I am set on another name. Tonight I told him we're both going to have to give up the names we want and find a compromise. Those discussions always end in silence and the TV comes back on. lol I reallllly want to pick a name for him soon so I can start "bonding" with him in my own way. I called Evan "Evan" for months before he was born and I really liked that. I felt like I knew him in some weird way because I'd called him by name so many times. Hopefully we'll agree on a name soon.

Baby Boo is moving around lots now. Steve felt him for the first time about a week ago. I think the sweetest thing on earth has to be feeling your baby move inside your womb. I describe it to Steve as little, tender thumps. It's truly precious.

I broke/cracked my rib last week by coughing too much/long/hard. Who knew that was even possible?? I'd had a sore throat and cough for a week and a half and it got bad the night before Thanksgiving (go figure..right before all the doctor's offices close for 4 days). Coughing brought me to tears several times due to my rib. I didn't know it was cracked, but knew something was really wrong. My doctor's office confirmed it when Monday finally rolled around, but since then it's gotten lots better. It's still very sore and tender, but I don't whince in pain every few minutes.

I note this only because the weirdest things happen to me during pregnancy. Since this blog will go in the baby's book, I have to remind myself of all these weird things! When I was pregnant with Evan, I got some pinched nerve and literally could not sit or bend. I had to stand or lay. After going to the hospital and getting an awful shot where the effects lasted over a year due to her clipping a nerve when she gave it to me, I managed to regain the ability to sit the next day, but not after a painful, exhausting experience. Seriously...who does this stuff happen to???

I'm really praying for the rest of this pregnancy to be healthy as well as an easy delivery and healthy baby! So far our little guy is perfectly healthy, right on track. Despite my pregnancy woes, that's all that really matters.

Comparing belly pics

This is crazy! The first picture is when I was 17 weeks pregnant with Evan. The second picture is current and I'm 18 weeks pregnant with baby 2. My belly is shaped completely different this time! I carried very, very low last time and I'm definitely carrying higher this time. I just thought this was cool. :)

17 weeks pregnant with Evan

18 weeks pregnant with baby 2

Correction

Well Dr. Trabue and Andrea think I'm having a boy. Dr. T was wrong last time. Andrea has pretty good intuition. Two more weeks until my ultrasound to find out!

16 weeks...a girl?

There isn't one single person that thinks I'm having a boy. I'm not sure why that is and it certainly doesn't make it fact, but I'm surprised by the overwhelming "girl" vote. But I think it's a girl too. Guess we'll find out in a few weeks! I've already been exploring boy names and boy decor just in case. I'm prepared either way. My friend Julie gave me all these adorable boy clothes that Evan's just now fitting into. I wouldn't mind having another boy to put in those sweet clothes! And if we have a girl, watch out. A perfect excuse to break the bank! Oh man, that's gonna require some MAJOR self control that I'm not sure I have.

The past 4 days I've had a stomach bug. OMG it's been awful. I just can't seem to catch a break this pregnancy. I barely got over the nausea and now this. I keep telling God that this baby better be a DREAM after this pregnancy! :) I'm so happy to finally be at 16 weeks. It's been a long road already but I'm confident it's going to get better really soon.

We move into our new house in 2 weeks! Sooooo excited and soooo dreading the unpacking. But it will all be worth it. We don't plan to move again for a very, very long time. I can't wait to setup Evan's room, the bonus room and the baby's room. Evan's room is huge...almost as big as our Master. And it connects to the bonus room, which he will love. Sorry little baby, your room's a little smaller, but closer to Mama's room.

I really can't fathom all the changes we're about to go through again. But we're excited about them and we're trying to prepare the best we can. We haven't slowed down since we got married, so why start now?! I'm so looking forward to being close to our church and my MOPS group. And while we'll be father from some family, we have friends in Nolensville, Brentwood and Franklin and some family in Eagleville. I hope that there's great people in our neighborhood...hopefully a good mix of young kids, grandparents, middle agers and a few teenagers that like to babysit! Guess we'll find out soon enough. Let the new adventure begin...

Those ARE kicks!

15 weeks and I definitely felt the baby kick! Ah, so sweet. Brings all the joy to pregnancy. I just told Steve it's a shame men don't get to experience that feeling because it is so magical. Knowing there's a life inside me is surreal. This is when the fun begins.

My belly is definitely looking pregnant too. Last time I was able to conceal it for a few weeks longer, but this time the belly is out! I'm glad though. That's the fun part of pregnancy when people KNOW you're pregnant. I went to a class at the gym the other day and one lady said something to me about being pregnant. It was nice to know that she actually knew I was pregnant rather than chunky. I am literally dying to know if this baby is a boy or girl. I think I'm more anxious to find out this time than last time. I don't care which sex it is, I just want to start planning how I'm going to decorate the room and buying gender specific clothes and blankets!

I worked in the church nursery today. I was in Evan's class. And let me say that he does NOT like it when I hold other kids. This little girl wanted to sit on my lap because she missed her daddy. And Evan acted like I abandoned his love forever! Geez, I'm worried about bringing the new baby home. All my thoughts race to how my niece Chloe pushed her newborn baby brother off the table (he was in a bouncy seat). I know that Ev will get used to it, but something tells me I'm gonna have to work really hard when I first bring home the baby to make sure Evan knows he's still my baby too and I've not deserted him. I know that he'll eventually LOVE having a brother or sister. The kid needs someone to play with desperately!

Are those little kicks?

I believe so. I'm not 100% sure because they're so light, but I'm almost positive that I'm starting to feel the baby kick sometimes. It's early, but I've heard that some women do feel their baby move as early as 14 weeks with their second pregnancy. I hope I start feeling more kicks. This makes it all real.

Just like last time, the beginning of pregnancy is sooo long. You don't have any positive evidence that the baby is actually there. Only negative evidence...nausea and fatigue! Once the bump starts showing a good bit (where people know you're pregnant and not fat), the nausea and fatigue subsides and you start feeling movement, then the fun begins. Thus the much loved, second trimester. :)

Finally better?

I don't think I was sick today. Hooray! 14 weeks today. Still got psycho hungry a few times, but I can deal with that. Dying to know if this baby is a boy or girl. Honest to God, I'm thrilled either way. Just want to put a gender on it. :)

Music to my ears

Today we heard baby's heartbeat steady and strong! The nurse and the doctor both found it on the first try. Last time with Ev, they couldn't find it once and freaked me out. Heartbeat was 156...on the fast side which usually means girl. Then again, they said that last time. :) It was nice that they found it immediately. It's kind of nice knowing what to expect at these appointments this time around. I immediately knew what those loud swish noises were on the doppler...kicks! They sound like karate kicks...amazing that I can't feel them yet. I have a feeling that it won't be much longer until I can feel the baby move though.

My doctor gave me LOTS of options for delivery this time, which was extremely comforting. He said he'd allow me to have the baby up to 10 days early, I could opt for a c-section, I could push for an hour and then go for a c-section, etc. These options were definitely not on the table last time, so I greatly appreciate having them now (especially after a hard delivery last time). Once again he thinks I'll have an easy delivery, but then again, he said that last time.

My next appointment is in a month and hopefully he'll let me have an ultrasound then. He may make me wait another week, but it's exciting to know if we'll be having another boy or a girl! Around that same time, we'll be moving in our new house. So much excitement, I can't contain myself! Happy happy. :)

Seriously

I am 12 weeks. I'm not supposed to have nausea any more. And night time nausea...what's up with that??!! I want this to end soon so I can try and enjoy being pregnant.

On a happier note, Baby Boo is 2 inches long now. Kinda crazy. I took a picture of my belly today and compared it to my 15 week picture when I was preg with Evan. I'm not looking too bad. Actually I'm smaller now, which shocked me, but I am 3 weeks "less pregnant" after all. The first pic I took last time was at 15 weeks. There for a while I was feeling really fat this time, but it comes and goes. I think it's all the wonderful bloating that this stage entails. I'm so paranoid about getting fat because the 17 lbs I had to lose after I had Evan took me FOREVER to get off. I thought it'd be easier this time to be really strict with myself but I've been so freakin sick that food on my stomach was the only thing that made me feel better. I hope the nausea goes away so I can feel like exercising again. With all that said, I'm happy where I am right now.

Still no girl names picked out. Still favoring one boy name, but no middle name. We have so much on our plate right now with selling the house, we haven't had much time to think about baby names. At least we have a while.

My next dr appt is in a week and a half. Even though I won't get anything exciting like an ultrasound, I'm looking forward to going. It's always exciting to get closer to week 20 when we can find out if it's a boy or girl!

Can't sleep

I thought you're supposed to sleep a lot in your first trimester. Not so with me. I'm awake waaay more than before. Ugh I hate this. I'm tired of getting up at 3:30, 4:30 in the morning. I go to bed later and it still doesn't help.

But on the bright side, I'm feeling less nausea now. Can't believe my first trimester is almost over. Hallelujah! Gosh, it's been a long road. We have so much going on right now, that it's hard to grasp the reality that we're having another baby. But there's a girl at my MOPS table that has a newborn. I couldn't help but stare at that baby girl thinking, "Wow, I'm gonna have one of those soon!" I literally couldn't take my eyes off her. It's crazy how you forget just how little newborns are. I think that I'll appreciate the newborn stage this time more than I did with Evan. I was so sleep deprived and overwhelmed that all I could think about was when I'd get sleep again. Now, I'm already used to not sleeping much, so I'm ready.

Why is it so hard to come up with a name?

We've already been through this once before...coming up with a name for our baby. It wasn't too hard with Evan because that's the only name we could agree on. At least we agreed on it! The girls names are the hardest. We never agreed on a girls name last time, and thankfully we didn't have to. And so far we can't come up with a girls name this time either. We pretty much have a boy name, but only the first name. But everyone thinks I'm having a girl this time. So much so that my sister-n-law already bought me a girl baby gift! Everyone in my fam and Steve's fam, and all my friends want a girl. As if I can pick at this point! I'm almost afraid everyone will be disappointed if we have another boy. Well I won't be. I love my little Evan and would be delighted to have another boy. And at least we already have his name picked out if "it" is a "he". :) Anyways, guess I'll keep plowing through baby name books to find a girls name and a boy middle name. The good thing is we have time. :)

This baby has a mind of it's own!

The baby got his/her first jet ski ride this weekend. Hehe We went camping at Center Hill with my family and I took one of the jet skis out for a bit. There’s nothing as relaxing as gliding on the water on top of a jet ski. So therapeutic. Anyways, I was sure to be extra safe and not pull any stunts since I’m pregnant. I think the baby liked the experience. :)

My nausea is somewhat better now. I still get sick, but it’s not nearly as bad as the first several weeks. Maybe I truly am getting used to it. Gwen was able to get me some greatly coveted Zofran and that’s definitely helped. Thank God for her!

I’m amazed at how many cravings/food aversions I’ve had so far. I didn’t have this with Evan. For instance, if you know anything about me at all, you know I’m a huge Diet Coke/Diet Dr. Pepper junkie. Now, I can’t stand them. Too sweet. I’m sure this has contributed to my sickness…major caffeine withdrawals. Also I’m a chronic gum chewer. Now, I can’t handle minty gum or peppermint or sometimes any gum at all. Before I was pregnant, I very, very rarely wanted McDonald’s. Now, I could eat a breakfast burrito and a kids cheeseburger everyday. Last night we went to Jim and Nick’s (our good ole standby restaurant) and I couldn’t eat their cheesy muffins. !!!! This is of major concern. I usually can eat the entire basket myself. If I start craving pickles and mustard, I will lose it. (I loathe them!)

And finally, my belly is already pushing out there. A lot of it has to do with me eating so much this past 6 weeks trying to curb my nausea, but there’s definitely a bump there. Yesterday I even felt a twinge of sciatic nerve pain. Oh crap! Let’s pray that beast doesn’t return this pregnancy! Oh and most delightfully, another part of my body has gotten bigger. All women know what I’m referring to here. :) They didn’t grow any last time, so it’s kinda fun to be shopping for bigger bras now. Woot!

Baby Confirmed

Today was our big “first appointment” day. I am officially 8 weeks and 6 days, making my due date April 9, 2010. Steve and I were very excited to see our little baby bean on the ultrasound machine! Proof that he/she exists was vital to me, making this horrible nausea worth it all. It was amazing to see the baby even though we’ve already been through this once before. It truly was as exciting as it was with Evan. And I was in awe of how much detail we could see this early! We clearly saw the head, arm nubs, feet, and heartbeat. The baby was moving around in there already! I don’t think we saw Evan move at this stage. I can’t believe he/she was bouncing around and even turned to face us. It was so sweet.

Yes today was truly an awesome day. I feel so happy and blessed to be having another baby. I can’t imagine having two kids. I wonder what he/she will look like, if they’ll be similar to Evan and look like him or not at all.

Even sicker!!!

Dear God. I don’t think I was ever this sick last time. I’m in puke purgatory. I can’t puke, but I feel like I’m going to all day long. Man. I bet I’m having a girl.

So sick ;(

Oh my gosh, was I this sick the last time? Yes, I think I was. It was just a long time ago and now it’s a distant memory. But it’s all coming back to me now. Oh gosh, I hope this morning sickness ends soon, because it lasts allllll day. It’s miserable. :(

A new little Meisner to join the family

A day that changed my life…once again. I’ve been battling this “stomach bug” for 4 days now. Acting pathetic, thinking I was dying, sleeping all day, totally miserable. Fortunately this fell over the weekend, but today’s Monday and Steve had to go to work. So I have to force myself to get it together and take care of Ev.

For the past two days, I can think of nothing except for how delicious a Krispy Kreme donut would be. I want one. No. I NEED one. I drag my pathetic self to the car, along with Evan and head to Krispy Kreme. It’s at that point that I realize the lengths I’m going to for this donut. I’ve been sick, sick, sick and now I’m in the car headed to Krispy Kreme? Oh man. Maybe my Mother-N-Law was right when she told Steve this weekend that I was probably pregnant. And then there’s the thoughts of mom telling me that she thought she had a stomach virus when she was pregnant with Andrea. Oh man. Better stop by Walgreens on the way home.

Sure enough. “Pregnant” appears on my pregnancy test. No way. NO WAY! I’m as shocked as when we were pregnant with Evan. I tear up. I’m thrilled. I just can’t believe I didn’t know. This “stomach bug” has been kicking my butt and I had no idea! We’re gonna have another baby. Wow. How am I so blessed?

This is how Evan and I told Daddy the news...