Focus (or the Lack, Thereof) on Baby

I've finally published my earlier pregnancy drafts that I wrote before we announced Baby #3.  I actually forgot about them for awhile.  Oops.  Also I realized that I forgot to ask for print outs from my first in-office ultrasound so I don't have any baby pics to show yet.  Oops.  I feel a little bit bad for Baby #3 who I know won't get the same level of attention that Desmond or even Kaylynn got.  I'm too busy caring for the other two to focus on this one much.  I have managed to start knitting a baby blanket like I did for the other two so that's good.  I haven't touched it in a couple weeks but hopefully I've started it soon enough to finish it by February.  Especially now that my morning sickness is subsiding, sometimes I completely forget about being pregnant.  I am trying to get belly pictures every month.  Hopefully I can keep that up the rest of the time.  I want give as much of myself to this baby as I was able to give Desmond, but reality is that Kaylynn never has never had my exclusive attention, and this baby will share me three ways.  Parenting is a constant adjustment and this is another big one.  I know we'll find our new groove, but it worries me sometimes.

In other news I had an extra doctor's appointment about a week ago.  I thought I might have been leaking amniotic fluid.  I won't go into details, but it was just weird and had me slightly worried.  I called advice and they said to come in and be checked.  Everything checked out just fine.  Good to know!

First glimpse

Monday was the long awaited first check up.  The kids only knew I was having a check up because my tummy hurt.  The doctor did the in office ultrasound and we could clearly see the flashing heartbeat.  That makes me feel so good!  We asked Desmond who's heartbeat that was and his first guess was Mommy's and when we said no he guessed, "Mine?" It was cute.

It was fun telling the kids that my tummy has been sick because there's a baby inside!  Kaylynn didn't quite understand and was quite upset (crying) the rest of the day because she wanted the baby out so she could hold him.  Desmond looked hard at the ultrasound picture and then slowly realized what we were saying and a huge smile came across his face.  

Although he denied being excited he really is.  He's telling everyone we meet that there's a baby in my tummy.  The word is out!  We'll be telling Aunt Marcia tonight when she comes to babysit for our anniversary date night.  My parents will find out this weekend when they come watch the kids for our anniversary getaway.  Most everyone else should find out at Desmond's birthday in a week.  Then these blog posts can get published.

Trying everything

Yesterday my Psi Bands arrived and I was hopeful that accupressure could curb my queasiness.  I've been playing around with tightness and shifting the location up and down, but nothing seems to be working.  I think it might help slightly but I still feel sick.  Blah!  It's hard because its pretty much all I can think about, and I don't feel like doing anything... Especially making food for the family.  A strange aversion for me right now is bread.  Normally I LOVE bread but it just sounds gross to me right now so the kids haven't been having too many sandwiches lately.

I've also tried sipping peppermint tea, peppermint candies, ginger chews, eating smaller more frequent meals, but unless I'm actively taking something in, the nausea just keeps coming.  I know from last time that I can't just try to eat my way through the first trimester.  I think I gained 15 pounds last time in as many weeks, and I still felt sick.  Gotta just endure it.  

I'm determined to keep my weight in check.  I don't want to gain more than five pounds in the first trimester and i'm already nearly there with four weeks to go.  We're planning a tenth anniversary cruise and I'll only be six months postpartum.  I don't want to be a blimp on the cruise!  I need to keep exercising, but let's just say intensity and bouncing around don't mix we'll with an upset stomach so I'm struggling to stay active right now.  I might join the gym again to have a commitment, and next week some friends and I decided to start a weekly walk/run.  This has got to work!

Renovating the extra room has been on pause because I feel so crummy.  I need to at least get it cleaned out and hopefully sanded, textured and primed in the next two weeks because my mother in law is coming for Desmond's birthday and she sleeps in that room. 

All day sickness

Oh, yeah.  Here it comes.  I am near the seven week mark and today I felt icky most of the day.  It's not very strong but it's fairly constant.  Last time this lasted until about sixteen weeks if I remember right.  How am I going to survive ten weeks of feeling sick while taking care of two kids?

Today was simply a bad day.  I lost my cool and cried about my mommy failures.  Growing a baby is no easy task and if the kids could just give me 15 solid minutes to catch a nap... Well, I guess I'd always want more.  Best not to lay down at all than to be continually interrupted. 

There is one upside.  This means my hormone levels are increasing to support a growing baby.  That's a good thing.  Two weeks feels like an eternity to wait for ultrasound confirmation that everything's okay.  Then I think we'll announce our secret.

Baby #3

After trying for about 9 months we are excited that Baby Studer #3 is on the way!  I am almost six weeks along, and so far I've been extra sleepy but not much else.  My cycle has been a bit off this year and the regular doctors won't test anything until after a year of trying has passed.  The naturopath was eager to work with me on balancing my cycle, and it must have worked because the first month of treatment I got pregnant!

With baby on the way I've launched into home renovation mode to clear out the extra room converting it to Kaylynn's room so the smallest room can once again be the nursery.  I want to start now because I know it will take longer than I think, and by the third trimester I might not want to be painting walls or ripping out carpet.  Of course emptying the extra room means moving some things into our room so we're planning a closet overhaul there, too.

It's hard to think of all the transitioning that will need to happen to make room for this newest little member of our family.  Desmond will move to the back seat of the van.  Kaylynn will move out of her high chair at the table.  And a mom can at least hope to potty train a two year old, right?

I'm not looking forward to gaining weight.  Each of the other times I've gained around 60 lbs and I really don't want to do that again!  I've been watching what I eat and exercising often.  I was actively losing weight before I got pregnant and even a little afterwards.  I don't want to eat too little, but I don't want to eat too much.  I need to figure out a happy balance.

I'm seriously thinking about not finding out the gender and letting it be a surprise.  We have all we need for a boy or a girl.  We'll see if I have the self control to wait.