First Doctor's Appointment

Eric and I went to the doctor together yesterday morning to see if everything is ok with our Littlest Knauer (LK). There were some tests done and an ultrasound to make sure the heart was pumping and that the baby is inside the uterus. Everything was "perfect". That was the word Lucia Robinson, ARNP kept using. She asked us a lot of questions and answered a few. LK's heart was beating very quickly and strongly, it was "perfect". LK's right in the middle of the uterus, "perfect". The measurment of our large-cherry-sized LK showed that our estimated due date was correct. We're still due October 8th. They had to take 5 vials of my blood for various tests. Afterward, I was even more tired than I was before. When we got home I took a long rest on the couch. The ARNP said that the height of the tiredness are weeks 8 and 9. I hope that proves to be true. I'm tired of being tired. :)

It's wierd... I know that I'm pregnant, but seeing the little thing on the screen with its little heart beating was... hard to explain how it feels. For me it was like, "Oh no, there really is a baby in there! Did we really want to do this? Can we really handle two children? This is really happening. We wanted this, right? It's started and we can't stop it now."

Tristan is excited about it. Today he was feeling my belly and he said, "Our baby is very soft and sweet". He pretends that he's playing with the baby. He holds the imaginary baby and tells it about Thomas the Train and Bob the Builder. He tells me that when the baby is sitting on the couch with him, it says "waaaah!" and he tells it to "be quiet".

Big brother and Sleepy Mama

I read somewhere that when you get pregnant for the second time, your body already knows what to do since it has been through this before. Therefore, things start moving into the right places right away, and a belly pooch shows up much earlier than it did the last time. Having read that brings me great comfort now that I'm in my 8th week of pregnancy and already am uncomfortable in pants or skirts that are not elastic-waisted. Usually I'm alright in the morning and the bulge grows throughout the day as water is retained and food is retained. However, this morning at the meeting I had to unbutton and unzip my skirt while we were seated there. My blouse covered it and I never buttoned it back.

Tristan is being amazingly understanding with my new condition. He will say, "While you take a nap, can I watch a show? Then when you wake up, will you play with me?" Today, of course, I said yes and then napped for 3 hours. As soon as I got up, I heard, "Oh, now you can play with me!" And I did. The first trimester requires a lot of sleep. And I've been having morning sickness, although not nearly as ferocious as last time; it's much much more mild. And mostly in late afternoon and evening.

By the end of the 8th week (Thursday) our littest Knauer should be about an inch long. He or she should have all of his or her fingers and toes and even a tiny tongue. His or her liver should be working to produce its own blood. His or her heart has been beating for 3 weeks. His or her head makes up 1/3 to 1/2 of the body size, and the brain is developing most of all. Amazing that people can be convinced that someone this size is not a person yet.

We will have our first doctor's appointment on Friday. We're looking forward to it. I didn't think Eric would want to go, so I didn't even tell him that I was going to schedule it. After I scheduled it however, he said, "Oh, I wish it was on a Friday instead of a Wednesday so that I could go". I was pleasantly surprised and called to change the appointment so that he can be there.

He and I both feel very differently about this pregnancy than the last one. Eric said he's less worried about me because we've been through it before and he knows now that it's likely that I won't die. I thought that was cute. I had no idea that he'd worried about that the first time. Neither of us is looking forward to the newborn period of little or no sleep. Neither of us is looking forward to diapers again. I had almost forgotten about them completely, until... I was talking to Tristan about all the ways he will be able to help with the baby when it's born. He said that he could put a movie on for the baby and give it toys and take it to the potty. :) That's when I remembered the diapers. Yuck.

Secret in Mama's Belly

Today is February 19, 2009 and there is a secret in Mama's Belly. That's the way Tristan talks about his new little brother or sister. If we ask him to tell some one THE SECRET, he will say, "There's a baby in my mama's belly". The first day we found out was January 26th, a Monday. Eric and I jumped on the bed to wake Tristan up and told him about the baby in Mama's belly. His reaction was a big-eyed grin and, "Let me see!" He's slowly understanding the concept more and more. We talk about it often. It's going to take a LONG time for him. I'm glad we have him already, he makes the time pass more quickly for us. :)