Tuesday, April 1, 2014

First Trimester Recap

Today marks the first day of the second trimester!

Somehow it seemed as if the first trimester went by in the blink of an eye. I think, personally, I’m still kind of in shock that we are having another, that each time we go to the doctor or see the baby it all seems so surreal. I really never allowed myself to think that we would have more kids.

All that being said, we are really excited and every time I see Elizabeth around other babies I get even more excited. She LOVES babies…fake ones and real ones and I know she’ll be a great helper.

I’ve made it so far with very little to complain about. I’m sure it’s genetics but I haven’t had any morning sickness, some nausea in the very beginning, and now I feel pretty good. With Elizabeth I was exhausted all the time, but somehow this time, although I’m tired it doesn’t quite feel as overwhelming as last time.

Things that are different this time around…I haven’t taken one picture of my belly! And as of this past week, yes, there is a belly! I’m still trying to wear things that don’t show it off as I’m not convinced that it looks like a real baby belly yet!

My belly probably looks similarly to when I was 14 weeks last time: 14 week update

In lieu of my longer posts like the last time around, all found under the Pregnancy tab, I’m just going to give brief updates here and there.

How far along: 14 weeks

Gender: Uncertain, although we may find out this week

Weight gain: 2 pounds

Maternity clothes: When I switched our closets a few weeks ago I put all my maternity things in. So I’m in maternity even if I don’t need to be quite yet because it’s what is in my drawers. Although I can still wear my regular jeans! Belly seems a bit higher this time.

Stretch marks: No…relying on Palmer’s Cocoa Butter in the jar

Belly button in or out: almost out…much earlier than last time

Sleep: amazing!

Best moment this week: Having family in town for the weekend and getting to see Elizabeth play with her cousins

Miss anything: Not yet!

Movement: Not yet, but counting down the days!

Cravings: Throughout the first trimester they were very much the same…fast food, pop, juice, and citrus. I’m still loving chips, any kind of juice, and pizza!

Looking forward to: Here’s where a prayer request comes in!!

We, as a couple, always opt in to the First Trimester Screen. Our insurance covers it and we like to see the baby one more time on ultrasound. With Elizabeth my blood work came back positive indicating an increased chance that she would have down syndrome. This time we knew it would probably come back positive again and it did. Although I’m 3 years older and our chances are a higher this time around. With Elizabeth we opted out of an amnio and instead did a Level 2 ultrasound which ruled out any DS markers. We did not know 100% whether she had it or not until she was born. This time there is a new blood test that can be done with 99.9% accuracy that can indicate DS in your baby. We opted to have that test done because again it was covered by insurance and we, as a couple, would rather know as soon as possible. Not to terminate but instead to wrap our minds around it, get advice, better understand what is to come, have the correct team in place at birth, etc. Along with DS the test also can indicate gender based on sex chromosomes. So hopefully by the end of the week we will know both of those things…or early next week. We are just praying that if the Lord would choose us, to have the privilege to bring up a child with DS, that our hearts would welcome that news, and that first and foremost, our baby would be protected and growing and sustained.

SO…we are looking forward to that test result!!


Happy first day of April…hope no one was fooled too badly! (BTW, none of this was a joke:))

3 comments:

  1. Praying for you.

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  2. Looking forward to hearing the results! We opted not to do any prenatal testing with my son, and we received a delivery day surprise when he was diagnosed with DS shortly after birth. Caleb is an absolute joy, and I'm so thankful God chose me to be his mommy. Whether your child has DS or not, what a lucky kid he/she is... and what fortunate, blessed parents you are.

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  3. Thank you Stephanie! Such kind and encouraging words:)

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