A Good Week

This past week has been a really good pregnancy week. The nausea is essentially gone, I am not quite so hungry and I am not as tired. I have still been napping quite a bit, but I think that is more because of staying up late to watch the olympics than being pregnant. The one thing that still plagues me is chicken. I can eat it if it is shredded, but chunks just get to me. I think there just needs to be enough other stuff and flavors that I can't actually taste the chicken and then I will be fine.

The best thing about this past week was hearing the baby's heartbeat! Kyle bought me an at home doppler for my birthday when I was pregnant with Ella and we decided to try it out this week, not really expecting to hear anything because it is still early, but after about 20 minutes of trying we found the heartbeat! It was very fast, about 176 beats per minute, which is normal at only 11 weeks pregnant. On Friday I have my 12 week appointment, which would be more exciting if we hadn't already heard the heartbeat.

I feel so grateful to be through the rough early weeks and so excited for the upcoming months. I love the second trimester; none of the morning sickness, starting to show, and feeling the baby move, without being super huge and uncomfortable. It is strange to think in 2 months I will be noticeably pregnant and my baby girl will be 2 years old! Where has the time gone?

Belly Growth

When I was pregnant with Ella I didn't start showing until about 17 weeks and I don't think I gained a pound until my 20 week check up. This time around is definitely different. The battery is dead on our scale so I don't actually know how much weight I have gained, but I am pretty sure I have gained some weight. My jeans are getting a little tighter and when I lay on my stomach it feels like there is a little bump. I read in my pregnancy book that my uterus is about the size of a grapefruit now, so it makes sense that I would be able to feel it right now. I have also heard that the uterus grows faster after your first pregnancy, so I was expecting to start showing sooner, but not quite so soon! I will be 10 weeks on Friday, and I am guessing I will have to start wearing maternity pants in the next few weeks.

It is interesting to think back to how it was when I was pregnant with Ella and compare how different it is now. I don't think about being pregnant or daydream about what it will be like to have this baby nearly as much as I thought about Ella. I think part of that might be because I know what is coming and I am scared! I know in the long run we will be so happy to have another child and it will be great for Ella to have a live in playmate, but I am also anticipating lots of sleepless nights and crying. Right now most of what I think about is how to survive the exhaustion, intense hunger and nausea. I am so thankful that Ella takes a really good afternoon nap. This morning I had a headache and just felt awful all morning, but I napped when Ella did and woke up feeling a ton better and didn't feel sick the rest of the day. Hopefully I will be able to train the baby to sleep at the same time as Ella so I can get a nap in every once in awhile! I'm not holding my breath... :)