And Baby Makes Four!

This blog may need retitled.

I'm now almost 8 weeks pregnant with Baby Brink #2. Having suffered a pregnancy loss just 9 months ago, I'm cautiously optimistic this little bean will make it. The first ultrasound is scheduled for less than a week away, at which point Lucy may get the news that she'll be become a big sister in April. The journey to baby #2 ended up being longer and more challenging than I imagined, but in the end, I believe it will be worth it. I'm so excited for Lucy to have a sibling to grow up with, even through the 6.5 year age difference.

_____

Oh hey, I'm 17 weeks pregnant now! I guess it's true the second child gets the short end of the stick. I was so good about documenting my pregnancy via my blog and photos with Lucy; I haven't taken one bump photo. Maybe it's the fact I'm starting out bigger than I was and don't like being photographed or it could be life is just way more hectic six years later.

I often forget I'm pregnant, but when I remember, I feel instantly happy. I wanted this for so long and went through more heartache than I expected to get here. Unlike my pregnancy with Lucy, I am relatively laid back about this -- even with it being a more high risk pregnancy due to my age and semi-diagnosed gestational diabetes.  I'm so laidback I think I could go all 40 weeks without knowing. Crazy! I don't even pretend to have a "feeling" one way or the other. After all I thought Lucy was a boy until the anatomy scan.

Social media announcement at 12 weeks

Symptom-wise I'm feeling pretty good! My first trimester I had the normal stuff -- really just one week around the 9/10 week mark of nausea and heartburn. Second trimester has been great. My sleeping patterns are pretty off. Around 9 pm I just hit a wall and have to lie on the couch and fall asleep and then spend a few hours in the early am wide awake! I'm currently still belly sleeping but I expect that to end soon. My bump is getting more noticeable, and I'm moving into some maternity clothes.

We've heard the heartbeat two times now, the first of which baby gave me a scare and wouldn't let us find it very easily. Last appointment at 16 weeks HB was 145. Also on the clinical side, I have been referred to the Diabetes Center for gestational diabetes. I shouldn't have technically been diagnosed based on my three hour glucose tolerance test, but they're being more conservative considering how Lucy's birth went down. So now I have to prick my finger four times a day until the day I deliver. It's a pain, but worth it to avoid the complications I had with Lu.