Expecting!!!!!

Most readers have by now heard our news....baby number 3 is on the way, due July 5th!  We are very excited, though a bit nervous about having three kids ages 4 and under!  This baby is coming a little earlier then we had originally planned but we are very happy with the spacing of the three kids.  They will each be 2 years apart, Katya and Reagan being a little less and Reagan and new baby a little more.  We really love how close in age the first two are so I think it is perfect to not have the last one too far back.  We plan on stopping with three children so hopefully there are not twins in there!!

I am 14 weeks today, just beginning the second trimester.  I am still nauseated off and on through the day but overall feeling much better than a few weeks ago.  I have been quite sick, sicker than my first two pregnancies but not as bad as with Reagan.  I had very bad nausea and vomiting with Reagan until week 20 so I am very grateful that I am feeling better already.  My food aversions were pretty bad but not as horrible as with my girls (I was surprised to find that I lost 5lbs with this one, more than with Reagan since I felt like I was sicker with R).  The nausea was not all day, everyday as it was with the girls.  It came and went and I was thankful to get some breaks from it.  The vomiting horrible.  On a good day I would only throw up once or twice, on a bad day it was all day long.  I could barely function on these days and they often fell on a day that Craig was working his doubles.  Vomiting is the most exhausting, dehydrating, draining experience.  It really took a lot out of me.  I was more exhausted then with my girls (something I had not thought possible!) and had achy, flu like symptoms.  I felt like I was walking through mud all day, barely putting one foot in front of the other and I would have to sit down often.  I have never let my house get so dirty for such an extended period of time! 

It if fun to talk openly about our pregnancy now; Craig and I have known since Oct 25th and it was hard to keep the secret!  I have had 2 midwife appointments and heard our babies heart both times.  I was so excited and relieved to hear the heartbeat via Doppler at only 9 weeks and 5 days.  We did not hear K or R's that early, in fact we did not hear R's even a week later (we got an ultrasound then to put our mind at ease).  Since I heard baby's heart beat we opted not to get a first trimester ultrasound so our first one will be the 20 week diagnostic ultrasound in mid to late February.  I am starting to get a baby bump, which I love, and hopefully I am starting to put back on the weight I lost during the first 3 months (though some days it is still a struggle to eat).

At 14 weeks, our little baby is fully formed, all major organs are in place.  He/she even has her unique fingerprints.  He/she is about 3.5 inches and weighs about 1.5 ounces.  The little one is moving around like crazy in there, though most moms won't feel it for several more weeks.  I swear I felt baby move at 10 weeks, and once or twice a week since but that seems crazy early.  It is pretty had to differentiate between baby and gas so I could be mistaken.  I do feel pretty certain that I felt this baby one night last week, at 13 weeks.  I felt Katya at 15 weeks (pretty early), but didn't feel Reagan until 17 weeks.

[I am adding in an addendum to this post which has been finished and scheduled for over a week]: 
On Monday I had a major relapse, and one of the worst days of vomiting yet.  I threw up every 20 minutes, for 5 hrs straight.  I then slept for about 2hrs on and off (while the girls were down).  I started throwing up again when I woke up at 2pm and it continued for a few hours until Craig got home and I crawled into bed.  About 3am in the morning I woke up without nausea for the first time and was able to take some Tylenol for the horrific headache I had had all day.  I threw up a lot of fluid all day but never felt as though I was dangerously dehydrated.  I am thankful that I did not end up in the ER needing an IV!  The next day I woke up achy and exhausted but not nauseated (not until the evening).   It makes me nervous that I will have more of these awful days.  Logically, I know I will get through it and I know it is worth it, but when I am having one of these awful days it is hard to truly convince myself.  It kind of reminded me of the second stage of labor, when all I could comprehend was ending the pain, my mind had no room to think about the outcome.      

Please pray for a healthy baby and a healthy pregnancy!  I am planning on never, ever doing this again!:-)  Love, Brenda