First of all, YES, I was just pregnant and YES, this was planned. I get these two questions a lot!
When Jan and I decided to start having children, we knew two things: 1) we wanted two children and 2) we wanted them close in age (16 to 18 months apart). Of course, we realize that not all things go as planned, but these were our initial thoughts.
Abigail was conceived on the first attempt. I had a pretty easy pregnancy - no sickness, barely any pains, moderate weight gain (35 lbs), etc - and outside of my epidural issue, the labor and delivery wasn't too bad.
Abigail learned to sleep through the night by the time I returned to work and was/is just a super, easy baby. She doesn't cry or fuss a lot and is an absolute joy in our lives.
So...when Abigail was 7 months old, we decided it was time to try again. After all, our only experience was easy-peasy!
Luke was conceived on the second attempt (I miscounted the calendar the first time). Luke's official due date is November 30, so the kids should be about 17.5 months apart.
We feel extremely blessed and realize that conception is not easy for everyone and we do not take it for granted.
Luke at 20 weeks, 5 days
Pregnancy
This pregnancy has been very different.
I started to show much earlier this time around and was wearing maternity pants at 10 weeks - I hate anything tight around my waist.
As of last week (Week 25), I have gained a total of 7.5 pounds (vs 14 with Abigail). But I started this pregnancy 10 pounds heavier - I happily made the decision not to kill myself trying to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight when I knew we would be trying again soon.
At our 16 week appointment, my doctor couldn't find the heartbeat. On the verge of a total meltdown (tears and hysteria), we immediately had an ultrasound. The heartbeat was there and strong but it was hard to find/hear because of my placenta previa. The placenta has since moved upward with my growth and doesn't appear to be an issue any longer.
I have been pretty uncomfortable this entire pregnancy. He seems to sit very low and has caused major back pains. Last week (25 weeks), I experienced severe cramping (I assume because of his location) and had a stress test. His heartbeat was fine and I wasn't contracting - I was just very uncomfortable and in a lot of pain.
Needless to say, hopefully the next 14 weeks will be less painful and less exciting!
Gender
Jan and I did not have a preference as to whether this pregnancy resulted in a boy or girl. As cliche as it sounds, we truly only wanted a healthy baby (one that would hopefully be as easy as Abigail, ha). I felt like we had the girl thing down pretty good - not to mention the extensive wardrobe on hand, so having a girl would be good. At the same time, I knew a boy would teach me so much more and open my world to another dimension.
We are thrilled and feel so fortunate to experience both a daughter and son!
His Name
This child, whether a boy or girl, would be named after my mother (Abigail is named after Jan's mother). Once we knew it was a boy, we decided the middle name would be Bradshaw (my mother's maiden name). The first name, Luke, took a little longer to decide upon but we both love it! And yes, we realize he may get Luke Skywalker jokes but at least Star Wars is a classic, ha!
If Luke had been a girl, the name we had picked out was Rebecca Claire - Rebecca is my mother's first name and we would have called her Claire.
26 Weeks Down, 14 To Go!!
No comments:
Post a Comment