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.