I can't believe we are counting down the final days before Liam is here!
My back and pelvis are going to be so happy!!
But I am still feeling apprehensive! Nobody wants to have surgery. I'm nervous to be awake for it this time! It was pretty sucky that I had to be put to sleep to deliver Ava. I woke up back in my room and they brought Ava to me and said, "This is your baby!". Chris wasn't a part of her birth, either, since everything was so rushed and I was put under. He says they asked him if Ava was his baby, and he said "I guess!". We are both looking forward to witnessing the birth of our child this time around! It's going to be so emotional!!
I still remember walking from the car to the house when we brought Ava home. My belly jiggled like Jell-o with the absence of the baby I carried for 9 months! I felt so unbalanced. It was almost an out-of-body experience! It's bizarre to go into a delivery this time knowing what to expect!
I reeeeeally hope breastfeeding starts off a little better this time. I've learned a few things from last time - make sure that latch is right EVERY TIME!! I think that's what went wrong with Ava. She was getting enough to eat but it was so painful to nurse her from about week 2 through week 4. I wanted to cry (and sometimes did) each time I had to feed her. Toe curling pain from soreness. Ugh. I remember nursing her for the first time at the hospital and feeling like "ok, so this is what I do, right?!" and kind of waiting for the first motherly instincts to kick in. So I think breastfeeding pains got me off on the wrong foot with life with a newborn. It automatically made everything harder and I never wanted to leave the house because breastfeeding required so many things - burp cloths, nursing pads, nipple cream, and those gel pads (total lifesavers!!!). But! Ava and I made it a full 12 months, so we definitely made it through the rough beginning to the other side!
I had my pre-op appointment on Monday! I have to be there 3 hours early to get hooked up and monitored and pumped full of IV fluids. I hope those 3 hours fly by - that's a long time to sit around and anticipate his birth! We are hoping for a quick 2-day stay so we can get back home! We got about zero sleep with the nurses always coming in to check on me or Ava, so I'll be sure to get up and start walking ASAP!
My back and pelvis are going to be so happy!!
But I am still feeling apprehensive! Nobody wants to have surgery. I'm nervous to be awake for it this time! It was pretty sucky that I had to be put to sleep to deliver Ava. I woke up back in my room and they brought Ava to me and said, "This is your baby!". Chris wasn't a part of her birth, either, since everything was so rushed and I was put under. He says they asked him if Ava was his baby, and he said "I guess!". We are both looking forward to witnessing the birth of our child this time around! It's going to be so emotional!!
I still remember walking from the car to the house when we brought Ava home. My belly jiggled like Jell-o with the absence of the baby I carried for 9 months! I felt so unbalanced. It was almost an out-of-body experience! It's bizarre to go into a delivery this time knowing what to expect!
I reeeeeally hope breastfeeding starts off a little better this time. I've learned a few things from last time - make sure that latch is right EVERY TIME!! I think that's what went wrong with Ava. She was getting enough to eat but it was so painful to nurse her from about week 2 through week 4. I wanted to cry (and sometimes did) each time I had to feed her. Toe curling pain from soreness. Ugh. I remember nursing her for the first time at the hospital and feeling like "ok, so this is what I do, right?!" and kind of waiting for the first motherly instincts to kick in. So I think breastfeeding pains got me off on the wrong foot with life with a newborn. It automatically made everything harder and I never wanted to leave the house because breastfeeding required so many things - burp cloths, nursing pads, nipple cream, and those gel pads (total lifesavers!!!). But! Ava and I made it a full 12 months, so we definitely made it through the rough beginning to the other side!
I got my toenails painted baby boy blue - for Ava I did bubblegum pink - and that was one of the last things to do before Liam's arrival!!
I sometimes feel like I'm going a little nuts...I must be ready for Liam because I've been feeling bored!! Probably because I physically can't do a whole lot so I'm doing a lot of sitting around and just the bare minimum to get me and Ava through the day. I start off feeling pretty good in the mornings, but by the end of the day, I hurt everywhere! While it's nice to sit in the calm for a few hours before bed, I'm getting a little antsy! I definitely didn't get a burst of energy at the end of this pregnancy, although I won't make it all the way to 40 weeks so maybe it's that it's just early.
I've been ravenously hungry this week. One moment I'll be fine, and the next moment I am digging through the fridge - it hits me quick!
Sleeping has become difficult. I'm just so uncomfortable. My pelvis often hurts when I lay on my side, so I lay on my back. Sometimes I can't breathe that way, but Liam usually settles into my body a bit and once he's done moving around I can usually fall asleep. Some nights he takes forever to quiet down! I'm having a hard time being sleepy enough to fall asleep.
Overall, both pregnancies have been relatively easy.
1st Trimesters:
AVA: morning and evening sickness with lots of food aversions, no vomiting, breast tenderness/pain
LIAM: a bit more intense, random all-day sickness with a mostly-normal appetite, few aversions, no vomiting
2nd Trimesters:
AVA: racing heart rate occasionally, pregnancy hives (briefly), reflux (briefly)
LIAM: achy pelvis, back aches
3rd Trimesters:
AVA: achy pelvis, back ache, carrying high, swollen hands and feet
LIAM: achy pelvis, back ache, carrying lower, occasional reflux
I had more of a variety of symptoms with Ava, although some were for a week or less. Liam has just been more of a pain, haha! My ribs haven't expanded nearly as much this time - I haven't had to use bra extenders and I haven't been retaining water this time, either (I've also not been as good at drinking water this time). Weight gain has been pretty much the same with both - it looks like I will have gained around 45 pounds each time! I craved milk and chocolate milk with both; a lot of watermelon and Sonic M&M Blasts with Ava and comfort food, jalapeños, and apples with Liam!
Liam has been more "mobile" in the womb in that he's been able to change positions multiple times. Either Ava was just lazy or she didn't have room! I carried both transverse until Ava was turned externally and then until Liam flipped himself head down.
An update on Ava:
Ava seems to finally be more cautious around my belly. She has to sort of sit on my knee and lean on the side of my belly when I read to her at bedtime. She voluntarily pats and rubs my belly and says "hi bee-um" and smiles sweetly at my belly! It melts my heart! We've been telling her that Liam comes out to play next week, and I've shown her how to diaper her baby doll and put her in the baby swing, car seat, and we had her sit with the Boppy pillow to hold her. She gets to go and play in Liam's room and loves to dig in his closet! We can't wait to see what she thinks of baby Liam! She's always been mesmerized by other crying children - she just stares!
Her language seems to be exploding! While she's getting kind of lazy with some "old" vocab (more, please has turned into a grunt), she is making many more attempts to say a lot more things! Some new ones are "I see oooo!" = "i see you", "lil guy" = "Little Einsteins" (her favorite show), "A, B, O, P" = her version of the alphabet, "two!" = counting, and "kitty" has evolved into "kee kee!!"
She can also point out wayyy more things in a book than I realized. She can find a variety of animals and objects found around the house in one of her favorite books. She can even point out chocolate - that's my girl!! She's getting better at puzzles and knowing which piece goes where and she's improving on getting the piece to fit in it's spot. We've noticed she can match colors, and that she'll stop and correct herself if the colors aren't the same. Not every time, but some of the time! She's really into holding and carrying around a small stack of something - whether its a deck of cards or a box of bandaids. She likes to pass them one at a time to me, and then I hand it back and we start all over. She loves her seashells from the ocean we got a few weeks ago. She likes her little collections! She's become more playful in the backyard and digs in the sand and hunts for rocks. She loves her swing and listening for planes overhead and birds chirping and neighbor dogs barking. She could be outside all day, I think!
Eating can be hit or miss with her now. One week she will love something, and the next thing we know, she's refusing it. This week she was really into homemade broccoli cheddar soup and chili mac! Her new favorite thing is to sneak into the fridge when I'm digging around in there to pick out an apple and bite into it! She loves loves loves apples! She struggles with the skin since she only has 4 molars, so she'll just spit it out. She loves to help me pick out produce at the commissary and "putting food away" when we get home. She tries to take bites of everything so I have to try my best to stay one step ahead of her! Our loaf of bread got a little mutilated because I couldn't chase her down fast enough!
I just. Can't. Wait. To hold and love on Liam!! The time is almost here!!!
I have no idea how I'm going to be able to sleep tonight!!
P.S. How cool is this time-lapse video of my pregnancy?! (I hope it loads correctly!)
I've been ravenously hungry this week. One moment I'll be fine, and the next moment I am digging through the fridge - it hits me quick!
Sleeping has become difficult. I'm just so uncomfortable. My pelvis often hurts when I lay on my side, so I lay on my back. Sometimes I can't breathe that way, but Liam usually settles into my body a bit and once he's done moving around I can usually fall asleep. Some nights he takes forever to quiet down! I'm having a hard time being sleepy enough to fall asleep.
Overall, both pregnancies have been relatively easy.
1st Trimesters:
AVA: morning and evening sickness with lots of food aversions, no vomiting, breast tenderness/pain
LIAM: a bit more intense, random all-day sickness with a mostly-normal appetite, few aversions, no vomiting
2nd Trimesters:
AVA: racing heart rate occasionally, pregnancy hives (briefly), reflux (briefly)
LIAM: achy pelvis, back aches
3rd Trimesters:
AVA: achy pelvis, back ache, carrying high, swollen hands and feet
LIAM: achy pelvis, back ache, carrying lower, occasional reflux
I had more of a variety of symptoms with Ava, although some were for a week or less. Liam has just been more of a pain, haha! My ribs haven't expanded nearly as much this time - I haven't had to use bra extenders and I haven't been retaining water this time, either (I've also not been as good at drinking water this time). Weight gain has been pretty much the same with both - it looks like I will have gained around 45 pounds each time! I craved milk and chocolate milk with both; a lot of watermelon and Sonic M&M Blasts with Ava and comfort food, jalapeños, and apples with Liam!
Liam has been more "mobile" in the womb in that he's been able to change positions multiple times. Either Ava was just lazy or she didn't have room! I carried both transverse until Ava was turned externally and then until Liam flipped himself head down.
An update on Ava:
Ava seems to finally be more cautious around my belly. She has to sort of sit on my knee and lean on the side of my belly when I read to her at bedtime. She voluntarily pats and rubs my belly and says "hi bee-um" and smiles sweetly at my belly! It melts my heart! We've been telling her that Liam comes out to play next week, and I've shown her how to diaper her baby doll and put her in the baby swing, car seat, and we had her sit with the Boppy pillow to hold her. She gets to go and play in Liam's room and loves to dig in his closet! We can't wait to see what she thinks of baby Liam! She's always been mesmerized by other crying children - she just stares!
Her language seems to be exploding! While she's getting kind of lazy with some "old" vocab (more, please has turned into a grunt), she is making many more attempts to say a lot more things! Some new ones are "I see oooo!" = "i see you", "lil guy" = "Little Einsteins" (her favorite show), "A, B, O, P" = her version of the alphabet, "two!" = counting, and "kitty" has evolved into "kee kee!!"
She can also point out wayyy more things in a book than I realized. She can find a variety of animals and objects found around the house in one of her favorite books. She can even point out chocolate - that's my girl!! She's getting better at puzzles and knowing which piece goes where and she's improving on getting the piece to fit in it's spot. We've noticed she can match colors, and that she'll stop and correct herself if the colors aren't the same. Not every time, but some of the time! She's really into holding and carrying around a small stack of something - whether its a deck of cards or a box of bandaids. She likes to pass them one at a time to me, and then I hand it back and we start all over. She loves her seashells from the ocean we got a few weeks ago. She likes her little collections! She's become more playful in the backyard and digs in the sand and hunts for rocks. She loves her swing and listening for planes overhead and birds chirping and neighbor dogs barking. She could be outside all day, I think!
Eating can be hit or miss with her now. One week she will love something, and the next thing we know, she's refusing it. This week she was really into homemade broccoli cheddar soup and chili mac! Her new favorite thing is to sneak into the fridge when I'm digging around in there to pick out an apple and bite into it! She loves loves loves apples! She struggles with the skin since she only has 4 molars, so she'll just spit it out. She loves to help me pick out produce at the commissary and "putting food away" when we get home. She tries to take bites of everything so I have to try my best to stay one step ahead of her! Our loaf of bread got a little mutilated because I couldn't chase her down fast enough!
I just. Can't. Wait. To hold and love on Liam!! The time is almost here!!!
I have no idea how I'm going to be able to sleep tonight!!
P.S. How cool is this time-lapse video of my pregnancy?! (I hope it loads correctly!)
Tomorrow we will be a family of 4!! I'll update when I can!
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