Here Comes the 2nd Trimester!

For those of you who are following along for pregnancy updates, this is for you. For those of you who really just want pictures of Emmett, scroll down to the next post. :)

Sunday marked the end of the first trimester! YES! I don't know about everyone else out there, but the first trimester went by a lot more quickly with the second baby than it did the first for me. And I'm very happy with how well things have gone. When I was pregnant with Emmett I threw up 4-5 times each day and could pretty much only eat broth, bread, and oranges for the first three months. I cried a lot, Casey worried constantly that I wasn't eating enough, and it was miserable. This time around was SO MUCH BETTER. I have been sick of course, but I only throw up once or twice every other day or two and I can eat pretty much whatever is available, with some rare exceptions here and there. I cannot tell you how much more manageable it makes life when you can still eat and keep your food down with some predictability! Also, I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to throw up in the privacy of my own bathroom at home and not having to try to time it between classes at school. Emmett has a hard time if he sees me throwing up. The first time he saw me he stopped what he was doing and asked, "Okay? Okay? Okay?" and when I couldn't stop to respond he started to cry. Now when he sees me throw up he goes straight into inconsolable freak-out mode and screams hysterically for several minutes even after I've finished. It's pretty sad stuff so we try to avoid letting him see me get sick whenever possible.

So now that we're done with the first trimester, we're all wondering what's coming next. Last time around I started to feel pain and discomfort around the 15th week (according to my journals). At 16 weeks I went to my midwives for a catheter, and at 17 weeks we made our first trip to the ER and I met my urologist, Dr. Putman for the first time. That led to a somewhat traumatic weekend.

At 14 weeks now we're getting a little nervous about what's coming, however, so far so good! I can feel my tummy stretching out, but that's it so far and everything appears to be working normally. It will be nothing short of a miracle if we can get through this pregnancy without problems, but I'm optimistic that perhaps this time we can make it a little longer before trouble hits. A large amount of scar tissue from my childhood surgeries has actually plastered my bladder onto the uterus. I will leave it to your imagination to think of what happens to the bladder as the uterus grows and stretches, but to be quite honest, it is not really my favorite thing.

Casey is wonderful and always sidetracks me whenever I start to think about it or worry too much. He doesn't let me dwell on things we can't control, which I think is a lovely plan. We play games after Emmett goes to bed and watch movies. We plan vacations that we'll never afford, giggle over the silly and adorable things that Emmett does each day, and dream about how wonderful it's going to be to have another sweet little one in the house. I'm glad that I picked such an amazing person to go through life's challenges with me.

If I remember, I'll post a picture from our last ultrasound so you can get a glimpse of the next baby. I've been so lucky to have an ultrasound at 4, 8, and 12 weeks and to see the baby grow from a dot on the screen, to a little worm with a heartbeat, to a wiggling baby that kicks and waves. What a miracle!

Also, I think we're having a girl. I would still be VERY excited for a boy, and I'm not going out and buying oodles of pink just yet, but I just feel like it's a girl this time. Casey likes to tease me for being so certain. We'll find out if I'm right in just a few weeks. :)