Baby is a... !!

If you actually read these ramblings weekly, you'll know that a few weeks ago we found out if baby-on-the-way is a boy or a girl. 

Just simply announcing the news to friends and family by telling them was too easy, so we made everyone work for it ;)

To announce baby Hartman's gender, Keegan had the idea of creating a word search that either had "boy" or "girl" as the only word in it, mailing them out to everyone, and letting them find the answer. I tried creating it myself, but I couldn't figure it out. So I stumbled upon this set by The MomBot on Etsy, and they were perfect! 

However, I also found these while I was browsing, and in true Etsy fashion, couldn't resist. These scratch off's by Inklings Paperie are So. Gorgeous. I didn't think paper could be gorgeous, but they are. So we got both, and figured half of everyone would get word searches, and the other half would get scratch off's. 

We assembled packets for everyone- with instructions to open the scratch off/word search first, and then a little card. Inside the card was just a cheesy little poem I came up with:

Soft and Sweet,

A bundle of joy,

Our family is expecting...

A Baby _____!

(you can probably guess what went in the blank, but again it's just too easy to say. If you really can't figure it out, keep reading ;) )

here's what it all looked like:

front of the word search...

...and the back!

cute little scratch off :)

packet for word search!

and for the scratch off.

And of course, once everyone opened them... these were the results!!

 

 So, yes, the Hartman family is expecting another baby BOY!
I will forever be horribly outnumbered in my house by Hartman men. Lord help me ;)

Oh, and just in case you still need "proof" that baby is a boy... Check out this cute pic the ultrasound tech snapped...

Yupp, it's a boy. No clue why she decided that was necessary, I believed her when she told me...

Either way, Baby Boy Hartman is healthy and on his way, come October!! 
 

{23 weeks!}

How far along? 23 weeks!

How big is baby? just over 1 pound, and just shy of a foot long (about the size of a large mango)

Weight gain: according to my bathroom scale, I'm down two pounds from last week. who knows.

Maternity clothes? getting dressed is a chore. i favor the sweats and keegan's tees.

Stretch marks? notta.

Sleep: is non existant, for the most part. Nothing new there.

Best moment this week: Aldon got to feel his baby sibling kick and roll! And today he was talking to baby, and I taught him how to say my choice for baby's name ;) Keegan and I can't ever agree on a name for baby (except middle name), so I figure it's time to bust out the serious ammunition and get Aldon on my side.

Miss Anything? My old wardrobe. I was lucky enough with Aldon that I could still wear regular jeans throughout my pregnancy, I just bought them in a size 1 or 3 so they were a little bigger. Not so fortunate this time, but even in extra small petite maternity pants there's room for one and a half of me. I don't like leggings (they make me look even shorter, if that's possible) so for now I've been dressing like a bum in sweats and then squeezing into whatever I can for when we have to leave the house. It. Is. Miserable. 
Movement: Tons of mega kicks and rolls, but only when I'm rocking in the chair at night. Ever since a few weeks ago we've been able to see the kicks, rolls, and jabs from the outside, too!

Food cravings: lemons, peaches, yogurt (preferably frozen) and recently gummy bears. I could eat a whole bag of Haribo. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: I'm back to where I can't stomach the idea of meat. uck.

Gender: stilll not disclosing ;)
Labor Signs: are a long ways away!

Symptoms: this week there's been a lot of heartburn (I don't go anywhere without my Tums, same as with Aldon), and calf cramps. Though the latter could just be due to hefting Toddler Wonder around.

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: practicing with Aldon in saying (my choice for) baby's name :) 

I am amazed at how fast these weeks are flying by! Yet at the same time I still have so long to go before baby is here. I've been stressing so much lately about how Aldon is going to like being a big brother... and how I'm going to adjust to loving them equally. I know most parents are worried about favoring a new baby, but I'm worried about favoring Aldon. Don't get me wrong, I'm over the moon about baby 2, especially since we were trying for several months to get pregnant with no luck, decided to give up and then bam! baby on the way :) But I can't help but feel I was much, much more... involved, I guess is the word, with being pregnant with Aldon than I am this time around. The 40 weeks seemed to stretch on forever and we could barely wait until the next doctor's visit. This time? I guess I'm just too busy to notice the little things that were such a big deal the first time around. Keegan will ask me if baby moved a lot during the day, and I'll have no clue because, while I could spend all day counting Aldon's kicks, I barely register this one moving unless I'm sitting down doing nothing (which doesn't happen much, because that's hella boring).

I'm sure that my worries are common to all moms, and I shouldn't worry about it, but it's kinda like this for me- you know how you tell other people their babies are so cute, and they very well may be, but in your head you're totally saying "mine is way cuter, hands down"? (don't lie. we all do it. except, for me, it's the truth) Well, I feel like that between my own two. Baby 2 may be perfect, but Aldon's already my little sidekick and I've had almost 20 months to dwell on how much more perfect he is than any other kid ;)  

But enough of that depressing talk... Tonight we're going to attempt to take Aldon to an outdoor movie at Crocker Park! During the summer they play a different movie every Thursday night, and tonight happens to be kid-friendly so we'll see how it goes :)

{22 weeks!}

How far along? 22 weeks!  

Weight gain: 12 pounds

Maternity clothes? yupp, they're essential.

Stretch marks? notta.

Sleep: is non existant, for the most part. Nothing new there.

Best moment this week: Getting the gender reveal packets put together! To surprise family/friends and make them work a little before revealing baby's gender, we put together little packets for everyone. One has a scratch off card that reveals "boy" or "girl", and the other has a word search where you need to find either "boy" or "girl." Both have another small card included (to be opened AFTER the game) with a little rhyme and whatnot from our family :)

Miss Anything? sleep. I'm. So. Tired. Last night I literally couldn't sleep at all. No, I don't mean I slept horribly. I mean I didn't sleep. Period. And of course with my luck it's the one day Keegan has to be in to work at 6 am, and stay until after 8 pm because of a networking dinner.
Movement: Tons of mega kicks and rolls, but only when I'm rocking in the chair at night.

Food cravings: lemons, peaches, yogurt (preferably frozen) and recently gummy bears. I could eat a whole bag of Haribo. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing comes to mind!

Gender: stilll not disclosing ;)
Labor Signs: are a long ways away!

Symptoms: latest development is a ton of pressure at the bottom of my belly, courtesy of baby rolling down there.

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: mailing out those packets within a day or two!  

Just for comparison fun, this was the belly the day we found out about peanut #2! (Feb 13). ~4 weeks

...and today, 18 weeks later! and only 18 more to go!

{21 weeks!}

How far along? 21 weeks!
Total weight gain: 10 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Mostly shirts, and elastic pants or pants the next size up (1/3, depending on the brand)

Stretch marks? notta.

Sleep: is non existant, for the most part. I'm the last to go to bed at night and the first one up in the morning, plus waking up in the middle of the night.

Best moment this week: we had our ultrasound today!! yay!

Miss Anything? sleep. I'm. So. Tired.
Movement: Baby really loves when I rock in the rocking chair, that's the only time s/he will move a lot.

Food cravings: LEMONS. and peaches! 
Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing comes to mind!

Gender: we were able to find out today, but we're staying tight-lipped about it for now :)
Labor Signs: are a long ways away!

Symptoms: oh i've got all the stereotypical ones- overly emotional, tired, achy. I want to obsessively clean all the time, but that's nothing new ;) 

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: cleaning and organizing baby's room a little more and making it look like a nursery! 

 

 

We had our 20 week ultrasound today with the perinatologist! Big brother Aldon & Keegan got to be there, of course. Aldon didn't get it at first that he had to look at the screen to see the baby- he kept looking down at the tech's wand on my belly all confused like 'really guys? this is what you're so excited about?', but then he saw baby and kept exclaiming 'hi baby! hi baby!!' It was beyond adorable. He also made a new bff with the doctor, they high-fived. 

 

 

The ultrasound went really well, the tech did her thing and then called the doctor in. The doctor comes in and immediately says "Now, everything's fine, except..."

 

Oh, great. 

 

Cue mini heart attack...

 

The 'except' turns out to be a little spot on baby's heart. On the ultrasound, it shows up as a bright white dot. It's called an "Echogenic Cardiac Focus." It was explained to me in medical geek speak and regular terms...

 

"ECF is present in 3-4% of all 2nd trimester fetuses...it represents microcalcification and fibrosis of the papillary muscle or chordae...it does not represent myocardial disfunction, cardiac structure abnormalities, congenital heart disease, or abnormal growth or tumor inside the fetal heart..it is a soft marker for aneuploidy...ECF is seen in 20% of all fetuses with Down Syndrome"

 

In my case, baby's ECF is in the left ventricle (which is most common), and is the only present marker for aneuploidy (like Down Syndrome). Basically, there's a bright white spot in baby's heart that is like a calcium deposit. It's very common. Before this was found, my doctor calculated the risk of baby having DS to be about 1 in 1200. Now, it's about 1 in 600. Still a very, very, very low risk. I could go on to have an amniocentesis to be sure, but under the doctor's advice (and common sense), that's not necessary- the risk is so low it doesn't justify the invasive procedure (there's a greater chance of my membranes rupturing from the amnio versus baby having DS or another aneuploidy). There's a beyond 99% chance that this will go away by the 3rd trimester and baby will be born perfectly healthy. 

 

Whew.  

 

In other news, this weekend is the Art Festival at Crocker Park (Westlake's $400 million "outdoor lifestyle complex")! We're (ok, me) are pretty excited!! And next week Keegan starts work in Cleveland, lots of things happening! 

:)

{banana}

How far along? 20 weeks! (+ 1 day) baby is the length of a banana!
Total weight gain: 10 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Mostly shirts, and elastic pants or pants the next size up (1/3, depending on the brand)

Stretch marks? Had a horrible scare this week, but I'm happy to report that nope, no stretch marks still. A remark I made generated a lot of hate on fb about how upset I would be if I got them. Seriously, who would be happy? And no, I don't consider them "badges" or "proof" of carrying my child. I have proof. For instance, with Aldon I have the proof of a nice emergency C section scar... you don't really get any more physical proof than that. I don't think they "ruin" anyone's body or make a mom ugly or anything like that, it's just something that I would rather not have. sheesh.

Sleep: is non existant, for the most part. I'm the last to go to bed at night and the first one up in the morning, plus waking up in the middle of the night.

Best moment this week: Keegan got to feel a ton of movements! Lots of kicks and rolls.

Miss Anything? I'm not afraid to admit it- alcohol. I miss being able to kick back with a glass of wine (hell, maybe even two) after a long day. Or just any day, if I felt like it. And especially now that the weather is warming up, sangria sounds divine.
Movement: Baby really loves when I rock in the rocking chair, that's the only time s/he will move a lot.

Food cravings: LEMONS. In any form.
Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing comes to mind!

Gender: I thought we would be able to have my 20 wk ultrasound today, but I guess not. More on that later.
Labor Signs: are a long ways away!

Symptoms: This week brought on the lower back pain that plagued me with Aldon. Oh joy. I remember sitting in class with him and never being able to get comfortable because the chairs would just KILL my back (I was in class until literally the day until I had him, and went back when he was a week old. Full time. Yea, I'm a badass...) It sucks.

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Scheduling an appt with the perinatologist! (again, keep reading!)

I met with my new doctor here in Ohio for the first time this week, and it is such a relief. I loved my old OB, and may or may not have had unstable thoughts about kidnapping him and making him practice in Ohio because I didn't want to switch.... Aaaannnyway.... I had a great first impression from this doctor, especially about the whole TOLAC/VBAC vs planned c section debate swimming around in my head. I loved when he reassured me that if I opted for TOLAC/VBAC, and even at like 8 cm "decided labor sucked" (as he put it), I could just "throw in the towel" and request my c section, no questions asked. 

I'm still undecided what route I want to take- I didn't have a fun time having a c section with Aldon; recovery sucked, I felt sort of disconnected from him until he was about 2 weeks old because I never even got to see him be born and didn't get to take part in taking care of him (other than nursing, of course) since I was stuck in bed recovering. The pain meds I was given didn't do anything for me, but I was refused anything else and kind of felt like the nurses were treating me like a mini drug addict in training or something. However, having a c section is all I know, and that knowledge (even if it wasn't fun) is comforting versus the unknown. 

I also loved how my OB made sure to make me feel like there was no pressure to decide either way, he would support my decision whatever I chose. I've mentioned how comforting a repeat c section sounds before to some other moms, and I've been met with the "well why wouldn't you want to go natural" talk, as if that route is bad parenting (fun fact: normal labor and delivery is actually more stressful on a baby than a c section, so I learned today. Yea, shove it).

Also, since the Cleveland Clinic is ginormous, it was pretty comforting to know there's three CC hospitals within minutes from my house for whenever I go into labor! Back when I was pregnant with Aldon and living up north, I had to drive an hour to get to a hospital that could deliver a baby. Huge difference. 

The disappointment in today's visit? No 20 week ultrasound :( Ultrasounds are the best part about being pregnant! (Well, other than the baby itself, I suppose. maybe.) Since I'm in the big city now, I'm referred to a perinatologist for all ultrasounds, I have to call and make an appt on Monday :) 

In other news, sweetie pie Aldon so far is taking his job as a big brother in training very, very seriously! He points out all the other babies we see, no matter where we are. He also is obsessed with my belly, and is constantly yanking my shirt up to "see" the baby, talk to him/her, and give snuggles and kisses. Here he is doing just that: 

:)