Little Saka Sugar #2: The Third Trimester

Shortly after entering the third trimester, at around 28 weeks, I took an oral glucose tolerance test to screen for Gestational Diabetes. Thankfully, this time I passed the 1-hour test, despite having eaten a half pint of ice cream the night before. Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky with iron, and like with Eloise, I tested anemic. With Eloise I took liquid iron supplements, which tasted metallic and nasty and I had a hard time adhering to taking it every day. So with my midwife's blessing I tried to increase iron intake with dietary changes instead. The recommendation for pregnant women is 27 mg of iron a day, so I ate a cup of Grape Nuts cereal every day, which has 32 mg of iron, plus a cup of orange juice to aid absorption. At the next prenatal visit I was retested and sadly was still anemic, so I went back to the liquid supplements. I got in a routine easily though. I guess I was so low in reserves at that point I just couldn't catch back up with diet alone.

We hired the same doula as we had with Eloise, her name is Carrie Cohen. We thought she was fabulous and provided great support during a long labor to both Evan and me. Even though labor and delivery isn't as scary this time, we still want the calm and confident support and guidance she provides. Plus she documented the labor and took our first photos, things we wouldn't have had otherwise. We had two appointments with her prior to birth, which included reviewing our birth plan and practicing labor positions and partner supports such as counter pressure and using a Rebozo. I'm also studying Hypnobirthing again by rereading the book and listening to the audio tracks every night.

At around 32 weeks, I began having low back pain that quickly worsened over the course of a few days. I have scoliosis - my spine curves in the shape of a C - and between a heavy belly pulling on my spine and relaxin loosening my joints and ligaments, the pain became quite severe. I couldn't walk from the bed to the adjacent bathroom without excruciating pain. After a trip to labor and delivery to rule out preterm labor, I was referred to an acupuncturist and advised other supportive measures like prenatal massage, a heating pad, and bed rest. I expected back pain with Eloise and never had it, so I didn't expect back pain with this pregnancy and got it. At first the news of bed rest was incredibly depressing. It required some quick adjustments including closing my practice a month earlier than planned with phone calls to all my clients, a change in childcare, and hiring support for all usual household duties including cleaning, groceries, pet care, etc. It was a hard adjustment but then once all of the Plan Bs were in place it got less stressful. After three weeks of twice weekly acupuncture, in addition to bed rest, two massages, and daily time with a heating pad, my pain has significantly improved. Even so, I hit my physical limits quickly so I continued to maintain the modified lifestyle until delivery.

This pregnancy I have also started to feel contractions earlier. When I went into labor and delivery for back pain, they kept me for several hours because I was registering contractions every three minutes. Like last pregnancy, I have an irritable uterus, which means I have frequent but irregular contractions that aren't actually labor. Annoying and uncomfortable, but something I'm used to that doesn't worry me this time.

At my 34 week appointment I had a cervical check and was 50% effaced but not dilated. That means my cervix has softened and shortened. Cervical checks really do not provide any insight into the timeline of labor and delivery but it's a good thing that my body is preparing. And, a quick ultrasound in the exam room confirmed that baby is head down and in a good position for a vaginal delivery. It also confirmed that he is quite large - or, as my midwife said, "healthy" and I'm "all baby." Weight gain has been about the same as with Eloise for most of the pregnancy, but at around 35 weeks has started to outpace her by a few pounds. I'm guessing it's a combination of being on bed rest and also having a larger kid in there.

Third trimester has been much more unpleasant this time around so I'm hoping for an even earlier labor and delivery than with Eloise. Especially because I think the kid is going to be bigger. Only 1.5 weeks until I'm full term and then he's welcome to make his entrance ASAP. I would much rather be holding him in my arms than in my belly. We are so very excited to meet him and complete our family.

Little Saka Sugar #2: The Second Trimester

We had our anatomy scan ultrasound at 18 weeks, which checks to make sure all the organs and body parts are there and functioning normally, which they were. It's also the time we found out the sex of the baby, and it's a boy! Grandma Harris watched Eloise while we went to this appointment and we stopped by Helen Bernhard Bakery and asked them to ice a cupcake to surprise her in a fun way with the news. It's the bakery just down the street from us that made our wedding cake. We all celebrated together with tasty bakery treats. Here's what the belly bump looked like at 18 weeks:

About a week later, our whole house came down with a stomach virus, starting with Eloise. It was the first time she had ever vomited and it was scary and awful. She threw up twice in as many days, but thankfully still felt well enough to play during those days. Shortly after I caught the virus and was hit harder, probably because my immune system was compromised from being pregnant. I was very sick for about a week and almost lost all the weight I had gained in the pregnancy so far: 7-8 lbs. I was advised to go in for IV fluids if I went 8 hours without peeing, and there were a couple times I went 7 hours. I had a difficult time keeping anything down, including water or Gatorade. Unfortunately, this happened over the Christmas holiday so we had to cancel our travel plans to Arizona. Evan had the time off of work so he watched Eloise, but then he was hit, too, so thankfully Grandma Harris come up one full day to watch Eloise while we both were sick. That was a rough week but we survived and I caught back up with weight gain over the next couple weeks. So strange that I had a stomach virus at the same point of pregnancy as I did with Eloise, except this time I wasn't hospitalized and I was in the U.S. Much better!

Pain from Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction has been much worse much earlier this pregnancy, so I saw an obstetric physical therapist early in the second trimester. She gave me some tips about managing pain and some exercises that strengthen the adductor muscles, which apparently helps support the symphysis pubis. I also got a prescription belly support belt, which helps take the weight and pressure off the joint. It's very uncomfortable and doesn't seem to be that effective, unfortunately. It's just something I have to live with, and that's okay because it's temporary.

Then, at around 22 weeks, an irregular heartbeat was detected at a routine prenatal visit so I was referred to perinatology for follow up. I spent about two hours with baby's heart being monitored via ultrasound, and the heart arrhythmia was confirmed by the perinatologist. The baby's heart skipped a beat about every 5-10 beats. A heart arrhythmia is detected in about 2% of pregnancies, and among those, most resolve by the end of second trimester. Apparently it is often the result of an immature cardiovascular system, and once further developed, the heart beats normally. We had a follow-up appointment in perinatology two weeks later, again his heart was monitored for two hours, and thankfully was beating regularly. We were discharged back to our midwife for normal prenatal care again. A part of me worries that there is an undetected heart problem now, and he could be one of those kids that shockingly drops dead on the football field, but most of me is relieved and believes that his heart is healthy. Because we were seen in perinatology we also got the fancy 3D ultrasound pictures. Here he is at 22 weeks and 3 days:

And at the follow up at 24 weeks and 5 days:

And, here's what the baby bump looked like at 25 weeks:

Aside from the stomach virus and the heart arrhythmia scare, I felt better during the second trimester than I did the first. I started feeling movements and kicks from the little guy. This pregnancy I took prenatal yoga weekly at the same place (Yoga Shala) and with the same instructor as I did with Eloise. It feels great physically and it's fun to be in a room full of other pregnant ladies at various stages of pregnancy.

As soon as we found out this baby is a boy, Evan and I started on our name lists. We're using the same convention as with Eloise, which is that we create our own lists and share them. We each have veto power, eventually narrow down to our top names, and ultimately I get to pick the first name. With Eloise we easily decided the first name and then got stuck between two middle names. We both liked both middle names equally. One was a family name on my side, and one was a family name on Evan's side. After being stuck for a while, Evan negotiated a deal that we use my family middle name for Eloise and he would get to use a family name from his side for the second kid. So, for this kid, he quickly narrowed the middle name down to two family names and I'm leaving it to him to choose between the two. Once again they are both great middle names.

Little Saka Sugar #2: The First Trimester

Little Saka Sugar by Woody Guthrie has become one of my favorite children's songs and now we are expecting our second! I haven't documented this pregnancy like I did with Eloise because it seems to be flying by much more quickly, and it's a very similar experience. I am, however, cherishing it just as much as I did the first time. We only want two kids so this is the last time I will have the opportunity to experience pregnancy.

We got this positive pregnancy test on September 6, 2014. Unlike with Eloise, I had been tracking my cycle for a month prior to starting to try for a second kid by taking my basal body temperature daily and also taking daily ovulation predictor tests, so I knew exactly when I ovulated. As a result, and with good fortune, we were able to conceive the very first month of trying. Not what I was expecting but certainly a wonderful outcome! According to the date of ovulation, that makes the due date May 20. According to the first day of my last period, the due date is May 17. And according to the first measurement ultrasound, the due date is May 16. So, take your pick. I'm not invested in any particular date knowing that he'll arrive when it's his time to arrive, probably sometime in the first half of May.

We really liked the midwife that delivered Eloise, Jodi Arnoff Farerra, so we chose her for prenatal care this pregnancy. She is competent, respectful, and calm under pressure. She also has a lighthearted bedside manner that I appreciate. Per policy, our first prenatal appointment had to be between 8-10 weeks, so there was a period of a few weeks of holding our breath and hoping I didn't miscarry. Once you see a heartbeat on ultrasound after 8 weeks then chances of miscarriage are less than 5%. So, our first prenatal appointment was at 8 weeks and 3 days, and thankfully we saw a heartbeat! Here's the first ultrasound picture, and also a picture of what I looked like at that time.

I started showing about a month earlier this time around, and have continued to look about a month ahead of what I did before. Apparently your uterus never shrinks all the way back and your abs, joints, and ligaments give way more easily. All the body changes have been much easier to handle this time around because they're familiar. Likewise, the symphysis pubis dysfunction I developed during the third trimester last pregnancy due to a running injury returned very early in this pregnancy, as my OB predicted. I was able to run one race, the Volcano Race PDX on Mt. Tabor around 8 weeks, before the pain returned and I was benched. No big deal to me this time, pregnancy is temporary and the sacrifice is so worth it. Here's our first family of four photo, but no one knew except us and a few family members.

We announced our pregnancy more broadly at the end of the first trimester during a vacation to Maui. Evan appropriately drew this heart in the sand on Baby Beach.

My morning sickness and fatigue this pregnancy started earlier and lasted longer, however, it wasn't as intense as last time. And since I opened a private practice after Eloise was born, my work/life balance is better and I have been able to take much better care of myself so it was all around easier. After we returned from Hawaii, I had some of the genetic testing available to mothers of "advanced maternal age" (called Elderly Multi Gravida since it's my second, by the way). Technology has advanced since Eloise and the blood test I took, MaterniT21, had 99% accuracy. Thankfully, this kid has a <1% chance of having Down Syndrome and some of the trisomies. As before, we wouldn't have terminated the pregnancy, however we wanted to know in order to have time to prepare.