Pregnancy Update (17/18 Weeks)

I will be 18 weeks pregnant with Baby #2 on Saturday.  The first twelve weeks – when I wasn’t feeling well – went really slow, but the last six or so have gone quickly.  Ever since I entered the second trimester, I’ve been feeling much better and – other than that big belly of course – most days I could easily forget I am pregnant.

That’s  not to say, of course, that I don’t think about this baby all the time.  Jeff and Sam and I are SO SO excited.  I think Sam is at a really fun age where – for the most part – he really does get it.  Sometimes, just randomly, when we are out with friends or something, he will blurt out “Did you know I am getting a baby?”  It’s so precious.  I know there will be hard parts too, but I literally cannot wait to see him as a big brother.

I wear maternity pants and leggings almost exclusively and my tops and dresses are about 50/50.  Lately, I’m really into wearing leggings with non-maternity jersey type dresses and long cardigans.  Thankfully, though I still feel pretty huge, I’m beginning to be a little more comfortable with the changes in my body and feel like things have evened out at least enough to where people don’t freak out when I tell them I’m not due until March…

One of the hardest things about this pregnancy so far has been that I’ve not been sleeping well. My doctor thinks it may be related to restless leg syndrome and/or an iron deficiency, but all I know is that I’m TIRED. It is really frustrating being exhausted at night but still unable to sleep. It also impacts my mood and my ability to be “all there” for my students, my family, etc. I’m really trying not to whine about it too much (except to Jeff – I whine about it A LOT to him), but it is rather unpleasant – especially since sleep has NEVER been a problem for me before. Hopefully we will get it figured out soon and come up with some way to fix the problem. In the meantime, if you have any tips or suggestions, I’m all ears. (I already have a pregnancy pillow, FYI.)

Another big thing that has been different this time around is that I am SO emotional.  That might be (probably is) related to the not sleeping, but it really is crazy.  I cry over EVERYTHING.  Case in point: I forgot to write down an open house for work that was scheduled for tonight on my calendar (we’ll blame that on “pregnancy brain”) and had already bought tickets for Sam and I to go to a play with friends at the same time.  When I went up to tell my boss about my mistake yesterday, I literally cried in her office.  Who am I? (She was wonderful and, thankfully, gave me a free pass, by the way.)

I’m not feeling any movement yet – which is slightly unusual for a second pregnancy – but we got to see the baby on ultrasound at my last appointment (16 weeks) and everything looked perfect, so I’m not worried.  I didn’t feel Sam move until close to 28 weeks because of the way my placenta is placed, so I expect it will probably still be a little while with this one too.  I can’t wait!

Speaking of things I can’t wait for… Our anatomy/gender scan is scheduled for early November when I will be 20 weeks. I’ll be out of town the weekend after we find out, so we are planning a little gender reveal party (just for family) the next weekend – November 15th.  It will really be simple, but I’m going to do a Superhero theme and play up Sam as a “Super Duper Big Brother.”  In addition to announcing the gender then (I think I will let Sam bust in to a piñata to uncover pink or blue treats), I also just really want to celebrate him and get him even more excited.

That about sums up how things are going for me lately… I’m VERY busy at school right now (it is already the end of the first nine weeks – which means I’m 1/3rd of the way through my school year). At night – when I’m not sleeping – I just lay in bed picturing our life with a new little one. In some ways, that stage with a baby feels SO far away and hard to imagine doing again; but, in so many other ways, it feels exactly right.  It will be here in just five short months!!

E

P.S. The boots I’m wearing in the photo are the Target riding boots I had on my Fall Wish List a few weeks back.  I bit the bullet and bought them for myself, and, so far, I really really like them! The wide-calf are a perfect fit, and i get lots of compliments on them. I definitely think they look like they came from somewhere a lot fancier than Tarjay… AND, if you want your own, I just got an email telling me that they are on sale this week (of course) at Target.com.