Picture Pages: February

19 weeks

I noticed my linea negra starting to climb upwards within the last week, and this baby is definitely flopping around in there. 

Nursery is arranged and the carpets have been steam-cleaned, so it's a blank canvas ready for the gender news we hope to hear on Feb 29.

17 weeks

Earlier this week I had to get out my belly bands (work pants are getting a little tight), and the maternity clothes came out of the basement this weekend. 

Oh, how I forgot how much I HATE maternity jeans.  They're worse than too-small tights, what with all the yanking and squatting and yuxting to keep them up.

And tonight, for the first time, we felt the little bugger.  I felt the unmistakable scraping and poking for a few minutes before I called Brian over, doubting that he could feel from the outside what I felt from the inside.  But wouldn't you know it, the little guy/girl wound up and gave a hearty punch/kick right into Brian's palm.

Last weekend Cayden proudly gave up his toddler bed and changing table/dresser in exchange for a brand-new big-boy bed, so the nursery furniture has transitioned into the peacock room.

Picture Pages: January

14 weeks

And daddy painted the nursery.  Cayden is happy to tell anyone interested, "the baby's room is peacock."

He's insistent on a baby brother, although we keep telling him he would love a baby sister, too.

Picture Pages: Rounding out 2011

The backstory, then 10 & 12 week photos

After another frustrating ordeal getting here, we're on our way to #2.

We quit birth control in March and started trying in July, but my irregular periods kept us guessing again for a few months, until I succumbed to the temptation of charting and ovulation predictor kits.  We had just about given up again (remember last time?), and I scheduled a consult with Hershey's reproductive endocrinologist in October.

I also got a +OPK on Oct. 14 (25 days into my cycle), but ended up in the ER with shortpants after a suspicious fall at school that day.

Long story short, I POAS Oct. 29, the morning of Katie and Brad's wedding, and got two lines.  So later that day, on the way home from swimming lessons, we stopped to get a digital POAS, just to make sure.

So I called the RE on Monday, to see if the bloodwork from Oct. 29 read the same as my tests.  Nope, the qualitative bloodwork said negative.  So then I did a series of additonal POAS at the doc's request and started weekly ultrasounds/bloodwork on Nov. 4 to try to date this baby.

The official due date is July 14, but I think this baby is coming a week earlier, based upon my +OPK (even if ovulation was actually delayed by a few days due to the ER stress) and +POAS dates.



So, here are the first of the belly pics:

As compared to 10 weeks and 12 weeks last time around.  Weight gain through the first trimester has been almost identical to the first round (3 pounds), but I'm sensing an earlier shape shift in the mid-section this time.  And I'm already into my maternity bras from last time around (purchased at 22 weeks), so here's to hoping for no more shape shifting up top. :) 

Since I'm so close in timing to the first pregnancy (due July 22; delivered July 28), I'm hoping my maternity clothes from last time will suffice, perhaps maybe with a few additional add-ons.

And here is one of the first shots of ruby #2. July's birthstone is ruby, so until we know if it's a boy or girl (yes, we're finding out, hopefully in February), I'm calling him/her Ruby 2.