2nd Child Syndrome

Let's talk differences between your 1st and 2nd pregnancies!

Baby #1
You freak out when you get a BFP (big fat positive) on the pee stick and take 6 more to confirm that indeed you are pregnant.

Baby #2
You freak out when you get a BFP and you trust you are pregnant because you aren't about to spend $60 dollars on pregnancy tests.

Baby#1
You call the doctor and insist on being seen as soon as possible.

Baby#2
You wait a week, then call the doctor, then nod smartly when they tell you to come in 4-6 weeks later.

Baby#1
You immediately start reading every pregnancy related book, magazine, website and blog in order to prepare.

Baby#2
You forget to publish your BFP on your OWN blog until you are 3 months along.

Baby#1
You immediately purchase just one small smooshy, overpriced, sweet, lovely, cuddly, soft size newborn outfit to cherish.

Baby#2
You refuse to buy a thing until you know the sex of the baby considering you have 47 diaper boxes full of hand me downs saved from Baby#1.

Baby#1
You relentlessly search the interwebz and design two complete nurseries from ceiling to the tiniest monogrammed personalized PBK accessory, one for each sex of course.

Baby#2
You glance at crib sets, remember how you only use a sheet and bumper and balk at the cost of something you could make on your own.

Baby#1
You cry at your ultrasound when you get your first glance on the miracle growing inside of you.

Baby#2
Distracted by your firstborn who is now eating super awesomely unhealthy snacks from the vending machine while your husband tries to keep him from destroying the high tech U/S room you laugh and remark that the baby totally looks like a dinosaur. The U/S tech looks like you like you are a freak.

Baby#1
You find out the gender of baby and immediately text.call.email.facebook everyone you know and announce the name.

Baby#2
3 weeks after you find out the gender you have a hormonal breakdown when your husband has no names he loves and a lot of names he hates. You choose a name via a tight compromise, all the time fervently reminding him that your first born bears the name Maximus. For real.

Baby#1
You ache and groan with the pains of pregnancy while you relax on the couch with your feet propped up, pregnancy books on the coffee table, craving of choice on your belly.

Baby#2
You feel your pelvis being broken within your body and debate on if it's REALLY neccesary to bother the doctor while your first born crawls on top of you and repeatedly asks you if Steyya is here yet?

Baby#1
You work tirelessly on the perfect nursery and it's finished and glorious by 24 weeks gestation.

Baby#2
You shut the door to the nursery because your dog ate through the carpet and the pad, scratched the furniture and broke the blinds when your firstborn left the door open leaving said dog locked in during a blizzard. At 30 weeks you remind yourself you REALLY need to get moving on the nursery. For real.

Baby#1
After 12 weeks you feel like you are "in the clear" and you anticipate the birth of your perfect baby.

Baby#2
Having experienced the pain of watching your friends and family lose babies late in pregnancy, have gorgeous perfect babies with genetic problems and reading too many blogs about babies lost on the internet you pray every single day that yours is healthy. But you know even if yours isn't that everything will be ok because God is God and He is faithful.

Baby#1
You marvel at the wonder that is God taking all of YOU and all of your Husband and combining the two of you into this tiny perfect being that flips and rolls inside of you. You are growing a human, freakishly amazing.

Baby#2
You marvel at the wonder that is God taking all of YOU and all of your Husband and combining the two of you into this tiny perfect being that flips and rolls inside of you. You are growing a human, freakishly amazing.

Holy Pelvic Pain

I like to think of myself as a low maintenance OB patient. I mean this is my 2nd go round. And heck, even with my pregnancy with Max I prided myself on not being "That Patient". You know the one, the nurses have memorized her number on the caller ID and they SIGHHHHHHHHHHH before they pick up and answer her 477th question. Yeah that one.

I was not that patient! After all, I love to read so I read just about every pregnancy book out there. And these were the days of 2 full time incomes and no children. Heck I sat in B&N and read entire books with all my spare time. SIGHHHHHHHHHH, where did that time go?

ANYWAYS, there were TWO times I called my dr. when I was pregnant with Max.

Situation A) I was spotting in the first trimester and yes it was red and yes I sort of freaked out. After a 4 hour evening spent at the ER we got to see baby and were reassured that all was well.

Situation B) After working approximately 50ish hours at my previous life of torture, ahem, I mean my old job I got sick. Like exhausted, very very achy, feverish and couldn't hold my head up at work. Rob was out of town for pre-deployment training and my parents were out of town somewhere. I came home and felt like death. I called the office, which was closed and by the time the nurse called me back I had vomited and was crying. She told me to wait it out OR I could go to the 5th floor of L&D if I felt it was neccesary. Hello, 3rd trimester vomiting and flu symptoms? Yes I went, thankfully my MIL was able to meet me and hold my hair back as I repeatedly was sick AND got stabbed like 7 times before they got an IV into my hand just under my thumb. I was severely dehydrated and exhausted. My hours at the torture chamber were quickly shut down to 8 hours per shift, no more than 40 hours per week. Oh wait, thats what people work at normal jobs? Ahem, note this was my PREVIOUS as in no longer employed at the torture chamber job. Amen.

SO when I say I am low maintenance I mean it. I only call if I feel like death or have a genuine concern about the health of baby. We have a new doctor this go round, we will call him Dr. Slinky. Well Dr. Slinky loves me. I mean after all I am in and out in 12-14 minutes flat. Heartbeat good, chart good, weight gain is totally under control, urine is cleared, measuring on track, oh your 2 year old is climbing on the rolling stool about to bust his head open, Yep! You are good to go Jessica, see ya in a month! I like Dr. Slinky too.

So a few weeks ago after I FINALLY stopped wretching violently at everything and anything lil Baby Stella decided to bring on the pelvic torture. I don't know if she is laying horizontally doing the breaststroke in there or what but my hips have been in pain since the beginning. No big deal, I am a former dancer, I am sure my hips are jacked up in some way, I mean they hurt on a regular basis. BUT the pelvic pain is way more torturous than ANYTHING I encountered with Max. What I mean to say is that it doesn't hurt when I sit with my feet elevated. Which is awesome. Except for the fact that is hurts VIOLENTLY when I stand, walk, put pants on, teach dance, tap, lay down and the worst is when I attempt to change positions in bed. I found myself biting my pillow last night. And at 30 weeks pregnant I am just saying it was definitely because of pain, ahem, if you know what I mean. I mean if you know what I mean it was not because of. Umm my mom reads this blog.

Yeah so now comes the dilemna. Do I call or not call? I mean this would be my first call to Dr. Slinky's office. Def not enough to make me "that patient". But I am 30 weeks pregnant. So when people ask how I feel and I say, "oh ya know I feel like my pelvis is broken and I would prefer to rip it out of my body at this point" in turn they reply "Oh yeah, well you are at that point, I'm sure it's normal"

AHHhhhhhhh Normal is NOT wanting to singlehandedly rip out your pelvis people. I have a fairly high pain tolerance *I think*. I have had a baby before. I have been at "that point" before and I most certainly could function without this ridiculous penguin waddle I have mastered that semi helps the pain of moving.

Thank the good Lord I am not still working at the torture chamber. I mean sure, I have my own personal backstroke champion rendering my pelvis completely useless. But even though it hurts like crazy, nothing about Stella Katherine is torture, well unless she decides to not sleep for the first 10 months of her life...like some other little adorable child I know, cough cough, maximusowen.

Holy Pelvis Pain.
Jesi

Spoiling Stella and Mama

Did I mention what we are having...




I know I can hardly believe it myself. I told Rob that I had always been so assured that we would have all boys or at least SEVERAL boys before a girl that I was a little bewildered that we were already getting our sweet girl! After much deliberation we finally settled on a name and I ADORE it. Her name will be Stella Katherine although I do intend on calling her Stella Kate in that oh so southern fashion of using first and middle names together. Katherine is also the first name of one of my dearest friends although we traded her "C" for a K. We certainly hope that she grows up to be as special as Catherine with a C. Several people have been poo pooing our name choice but I just know that once she is here they will realize that it is her perfect name. Stella means Star and Katherine means Pure and Virginal. Our pure star is growing well and we are feeling incredibly lucky and blessed to have another healthy child on the way to meet our mad Max.

So today Daddy already started a tradition of spoiling sweet Stella and this mommy. He cleaned up the house and did all the dishes which are my absolute LEAST favorite thing to do in the world, especially when pregnant. Then he sent me out for a pedicure and it was an hour and a half long and full of all sorts of smell goods and feel goods. After that I got to pick up my favorite lunch ever which is the Trio from Inspirations Tea room. It is SO good and my favorite girly food. I had homemade creamy tomato soup, a chicken salad croissant, a salad with raspberry viniagrette, and their fabulous berry scones with heaps of lemon curd. I even got my very favorite iced vanilla tea to go and it's so stinkin good.



It was a wonderful Saturday and I am so so thankful that I have such an awesome husband who is already spoiling Stella and I. I love to think about how much she is going to have him wrapped around his finger.