Bigger and Better and the Blog Status

What I see when looking down, taken yesterday.

My plan for a second baby was always that we'd try to get pregnant while I was in the editing phase of my dissertation. Of course, the universe had other plans. 

April: First my IUD was not retrievable by the local family medicine PA (let me assure you that wasn't fun) and required a sonogram to locate it.
May: Our local medical clinic doesn't have a sonogram machine so I had to go all the way to town for the scan. Once the sonogram confirmed it was still there I had to book an exam with a proper OB/GYN to have it removed.
August: And what a headache THAT was! I was warned that I'd likely require medication or a mild sedative since there'd be...um...some uncomfortable prodding of my cervix. And because of that, I'd be required to have a driver come with me. So we had to organize extended childcare for Eddie so Dave could go with me to town (4 hour round trip).  All that nonsense for the OB/GYN to easily pull the IUD right out. Dave had settled down in the waiting room with all his water exam study materials only to see me emerge smiling and drug-free 10 minutes later. At least we got to go out for a sushi lunch date before coming home. My dream of conceiving right away didn't happen and I was feeling a little lousy about it. Was I too old? Suddenly infertile? Are the hormones going to take a long time to dissipate?
December 18: filed my dissertation and celebrated with a lavish sushi dinner at Livermore's Hanabishi with a complementary glass of plum wine.
December 20: discovered I was pregnant!

I was in Mountain View when I took these tests and texted them to Dave.
 He thought they were ovulation strips and didn't bother to respond, figuring I was just letting him know my status. 

December 25: started feeling really awful (nausea, extreme bloating and fatigue)
Mid-February: finally started feeling like a happy pregnant lady rather than a sleepy bloated balloon who didn't want to eat anything for fear of barfing and heartburn.

At 10 weeks I had one of those fancy blood tests for sex determination and genetic screening. I had the OB write the sex on a paper and seal it in an envelope. We have decided to not open the envelope and will just wait for the surprise come late August.

Right now I'm 23w4d along and I've gained about 23 pounds. Ouf, it seems like a lot but I'm right on track with my weight gain compared to Eddie's gestation.  In fact, I'm only a week later in this pregnancy than I was with Eddie. The baby is due August 21, almost exactly a week after Eddie's birthday.

Even my shadow is looking pregnant these days.

I've been walking a lot...and had to get fitted for proper walking shoes to accommodate my increased weight. 

And here are a few more pictures of my belly and pregnancy shenanigans to keep the post interesting.

In the last week I've had a terrible time sleeping. My entire back has been aching after just a couple of hours in bed. I posted a want ad on the local Facebook trading post for a pregnancy body pillow. A family sold me a Snoodle the wife used only once. Dave picked it up while I was cooking dinner. The dogs approve of it and so do I! I haven't slept this well in a long time. 

I bought a fetal doppler from a friend and it's been so fun to listen to the heart beat whenever I want! Especially when I couldn't feel the baby move yet. I started to feel it at only 13 weeks this time! OB says I have a posterior placenta so it makes sense that I felt it sooner.

I'm still contemplate my return to the blog--whether to keep this one public vs. private or to start a new private blog. Living here, we've lost our anonymity and that's a combination of troubling and annoying. Most likely I'll keep this one public and just start a new one. I'll keep you "posted."  Haha.