Where's baby?

This morning, I was sitting in the desk chair while Henry was playing. He came up to me and stood between my legs, which I decided became a good opportunity to talk about baby. He's not yet 14 months, so I know his understanding is limited if anything, but maybe getting used to hearing the word will make the transition less shocking. Here is what transpired:

Mama: Henry, did you know there is a baby in here? [points to belly]

Henry: [touches belly where Mama points]

Mama: your little brother or sister is right in here! [again, pointing to belly]

Henry: [looks at Mama, then again at her belly]

Mama: Henry, where is the baby?

Henry: [lifts up Mama's shirt and proceeds to look for baby; doesn't see him/her, so grabs the top of Mama's stretchy pants and pulls down; still no baby]

Mama: [giggling hysterically]


Henry has a lift-the-flap book called Where is Baby's Belly Button? On every page is a picture of a baby with some part hidden behind or under something, i.e. baby's eyes under the hat. He loves this book. On the last page, it asks, "Where is baby?" Baby is hiding under a blanket, and when Henry lifts this flap, we make a big deal: "THERE he is!" He knew if he kept lifting or pulling things, he'd find that baby Mama was talking about. *grin*

A peek at baby!

**I can't understand why this picture keeps uploading sideways, and I can't seem to fix it. So, forgive me for any strain incurred at the necessity of craning your neck in order to see it in it's intended orientation.**

Here is our first glimpse of the new baby. This was taken today at 8w5d. We had our first sonogram and OB appointment this morning. It was surreal to see the little "gummy bear" on the screen moving, his/her little heart just beating away (182bpm!). I think it's especially difficult to grasp this early, as it's too soon to know a baby is even there (except for all the nausea, heartburn, and digestive issues.) I was awe struck, and immediately felt humbled by God's miracle growing inside of me.

Henry went with us to the doctor's office. He elected not to take his nap beforehand, against my advisement and insistence (you can put a baby to bed but you can't make him sleep - you can quote me on that). I feared the worst, but of course he really is such a great baby and did really well considering. He wanted to run around, and so was squirmy when we were holding him, but he wasn't fussy or difficult. He even had to go longer than usual before lunch, and was such a trooper. I'm so proud of my little man. And, thankfully, he made up for his missed nap and took a nice long three hour siesta this afternoon. Rest time for Mama, too!

My OB says everything is measuring right on track and looks good so far. We're continuing with progesterone therapy for at least two more weeks. We'll do one more draw at that time and reassess. Meanwhile, I have another 4 weeks ahead of me before we get another status update. My next appointment is September 8. At that time I'll be almost 13 weeks and at the end of my first trimester. We won't see baby that day but we should be able to hear baby's heartbeat on the doppler. September 8th doesn't sound that far away, but I know the days will go slowly as long as I'm counting. And I will be counting. :)

My due date got bumped up a day to March 20 instead of 21. What I really think happened is that the doctor read the little dial correctly where the registrar didn't. I knew it was the 20th, but I didn't argue when I was originally told the 21st. What difference does one day make? This means I will be 9 weeks on Saturday. Woohoo!!

A new little pea in the pod!!

Yep - we're expecting again! If you hadn't guessed - or already heard - the "life changing event" I mentioned in a previous post is referring to learning of a new pregnancy. The newest little House will make his/her debut in March of 2010, God willing.

And, if you recall, that post mentioned how this life changing event has really consumed me over the past month. That couldn't be further from the truth. Between not feeling well most of the day and spending what little time I have online reading up on my pregnancy and baby info (like I don't still have it all memorized from being pregnant just a short time ago), I've completely neglected my blogs. I truly want to use this blog to sort of chronicle or journal about this pregnancy, so I need to step it up. I'm already 8 weeks in!

To answer some of the questions you might have...

* yes, we were trying; no, we really didn't expect it to happen so fast
* Henry and the baby will be 21 months apart if baby goes full term
* we don't have any gut feelings about what this baby is; Daddy thinks maybe girl but is mostly just basing that on how different this pregnancy is so far physically
* we will be over the moon about either boy or girl - can think of really good reasons to want either
* my first appointment is tomorrow, Aug. 13; we're having a sonogram also
* we've found that I am progesterone deficient again this time, so I'm taking supplements again
* we haven't really talked names yet; I doubt we will until we know the sex
* we should be able to know the sex sometime in late October

So far, I'm finding that I am having a hard time physically. This pregnancy is just different from my last. I'd say the prevailing symptom of early pregnancy last time was fatigue and mild heartburn (which progressed to violent heartburn as the months went on). I did experience some nausea, but I don't remember it being this miserable. I do also have heartburn - the last couple of days being really noticeable - but the most misery-inducing symptom for me this time is all-day nausea.

I am not typically a person who vomits. Very few times ever in my memory, with the worst case being a stomach flu in college. No matter how sick I feel, I never throw up, so I never get even a moment's relief. I'm not necessarily wishing I were vomiting, but I can't help but think I might feel better after doing so, even for a few minutes. It makes food taste funny, and makes my appetite and appeal for foods very volatile. Some days I'm hungry, others I'm not. Some days I can eat anything, but most days very little sounds good enough to eat. It hits really hard in late afternoon and evening, making it hard to cook supper a lot of nights. There have been several frozen pizza meals because it's all I can stomach. The icing on the cake is constant bloat/gas/general upset in the digestive system. Is it September yet???

Despite all this, we are very excited and very happy to be adding to our family. Stay tuned for updates!!

What does Henry say?

At 13 and a half months, everything about Henry is growing; including his vocabulary. I recently made a list of all the words he is saying, has said in at least one isolated incident, and those he is signing. There's several more words that he understands but isn't verbalizing yet. I may amend these lists as I keep thinking of more words to add.

Words Henry says regularly or when prompted:
mama
dada
light
book
uh-oh
duck
moo (cow sound)
ba-ah-ah (sheep sound)
ooh-ooh-ahh-ahh (monkey sound)
oodle-doo (rooster sound)
night-night
ball
ear
eye
blue
bird
hat
amen
bye-bye

Words Henry has said at least once, but won't necessarily say when prompted:
paw-paw
tractor
green
red
nana (banana)
bubble

Words Henry can sign:
bye-bye
all done
more
milk