Update: 24 weeks

I stole this weekly questionnaire from my dear friend Katy, due with baby girl Khloe Margaret in January. I love reading hers, so I may start doing these on a weekly basis!

 

How big is baby? My weekly BabyCenter.com email tells me Baby Girl is 12.5 inches long and just over a pound (about a pound and a quarter). Still a scrawny little thing!

Weight gain/loss: Up eight pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm pretty happy with that number! I was shocked to learn how little I had gained at my doctor's appointment this morning, for several reasons: 1) I weighed less when I started this second pregnancy than I did with my first, so I thought I would gain weight a little faster. 2) I don't feel like I've been taking awesome care of myself. I have been working out regularly, but I end up eating meals on the road more often, and I've been eating more packaged meals at home, just because it's hard to find a solid chunk of time to make a healthy, fresh dinner every day. Ford is a demanding little dude and seems to get very upset when I'm cooking (??). I have wondered if a Learning Tower would help so he could at least see what I'm doing. But then again that seems like a really expensive stepping stool. 3) I just feel bigger in this pregnancy! Maybe it's mental, but I swear baby girl has popped out sooner and more obviously than Ford did. Maybe it's because she's so high, it's just more apparent?

Sleep: Decent! I've been battling the flu and a gnarly upper respiratory infection for the last week or so, which means I sometimes wake up coughing violently. Also Ford's night terrors have picked up again. :-/ But I can't blame any lack of sleep on the pregnancy, so that's certainly something to be grateful for.

Movement: She's just so busy! Ford was a wild man in the womb, and this little one is living up to her brother's legacy! I noticed the other day that I hadn't felt a kick for about an hour and got worried. Then I realized that an hour is no big deal, but I've just become accustomed to CONSTANT movement! This morning at the doctor's office she was making my shirt move with all her kicks.

Symptoms: Y'all. Ugh. LEG VEINS. OMG!!!!!! I knew this could happen, but I was hoping I was just gifted in the vascular department. But alas, I have two nasty looking veins on the backs of both of my knees. Big ones. I asked Dr. Norwood what I could do, and he told me I need to get compression stockings! Ahhhhh! He also said this was super common, and I insisted that I didn't have anything like this with my first pregnancy. He said it's a lot more common with second pregnancies and that it will get worse with every pregnancy after this one. Guess I've got to say goodbye to cute skirts for the next several years until my childbearing days are over. Then I'm getting total reconstructive surgery on my legs. Mark my words (kidding... sort of... but not really).

Belly button: So out. It's been an outtie since I was, I don't know, 15 weeks? Before I was even really showing. It popped way early with Ford too. With him I had to tape it down with masking tape so it wasn't a huge distraction through my clothes, and I'm close to that point with baby girl. I guess I have a shallow belly button! 

Food cravings: I don't know. What makes a craving a craving, anyway? Sometimes certain things sound good, but that's true whether I'm pregnant or not. I haven't had anything that makes me want to stop what I'm doing and procure said food item. Some foods I've been enjoying a lot lately are apples and peanut butter (I LOVE apples this time of year), roasted Brussels sprouts, oatmeal with raisins and honey, boiled eggs (I end up eating a lot to try to get up to the right amount of daily protein I need), avocado toast... I also was really excited to find the LAST pint of Ben & Jerry's Cannoli ice cream at Central Market! This is a limited batch that has been highly hyped but very hard to find. And it did not disappoint. SO GOOD!

Gender: Sweet Baby Girl!
What I miss? Randomly -- and maybe THIS should go under cravings -- but cider! Not like a big gallon of apple cider with cinnamon, but like the 4-5% alcohol kind served in a cold bottle! Kind of embarrassing that I miss an alcoholic beverage, but mmmm, I do. Just keeping it real.

What I'm looking forward to? Spending time with family over the holidays. Looks like we will be spending a good 10+ days in San Antonio/Boerne. I'll enjoy the slower, more leisurely pace, and the help with Ford! 

Big Brother: At almost 16 months, he's just the cutest hot mess I ever saw. From minute to minute he alternates between incessant whining and the biggest belly laughs. A toddler in every way! He has so much personality, saying TONS of words (including please and thank you, unprompted!), and loves running as fast as he can, especially if someone is "chasing" him. He's actually getting hard to keep up with when he's really running! Maybe I'm just getting slower (ha ha). He LOVES babies, often pointing them out while we run errands or read books ("Bay! Beeeee!"), but I don't think he understands that he is going to be a big brother.

I can't believe how quickly the weeks are flying by!

Bump Watch

Partly because I don't have as much time, or patience, and partly because my tummy is not as cute after having carried a baby to term plus one week, I'm not going to be doing the same type of belly shots I did last time (always in the same outfit, against the same wall, with my skin showing, etc.). But here are a couple of shots of The Bump this go-around!

 

Almost 21 weeks -- I HATE the way I look in this picture (!), but for the sake of humility, here you go.

23 weeks -- Working out at the gym during Thanksgiving week to offset the extra calories in advance!

Anatomy Ultrasound

Today’s anatomy ultrasound was a little bit anticlimactic, given that we got the Baby Girl Gaultney news last week, but it was still such a treat for Brad and I to get to peek at the little lady together! We kept our cards close to the vest and didn’t tell the technician that we already knew the baby’s sex. We weren’t dishonest about it, but we didn’t volunteer the info. I figure my doctor and the ultrasound tech must have a little bit of fun getting to have a part in the “surprise,” so why take the wind out of their sails?

Still, I can never hear, “The baby looks great!” enough, so it was so much fun. They saw all of the good things they wanted to see – four chambers of the heart, three vessels in the umbilical cord, a high posterior placenta (the ideal placement), two halves of the brain… all of that good stuff. I will try to post the ultrasound video later (we got a DVD at no cost, hooray!).

Brad had to leave right after the ultrasound, so the doctor-patient part of my visit, I did solo. I used the opportunity to have a little heart to heart with Dr. Norwood. First of all, I love love love my doctor. From everything I can tell, and I’m a pretty good judge of character, he is a good man. And he likes me a lot. He says I’m his favorite patient (I’m sure he tells a lot of his patients that, but still), we have wonderful conversations, we both love art, we both live in East Dallas, we’re both July babies… I know all of this sounds silly, but I genuinely like him as a person.

But I really needed to clear the air. When I hit the 40-week mark with Ford, I started to feel a lot of pressure from Dr. Norwood to induce, even though the baby and I were healthy and everything was going fine. And you may remember, he felt quite sure that I would need a C-section anyway (praise God, I didn’t). He didn’t deliver Ford because he wasn’t on call, but the day after Ford was born, Dr. Norwood told me he would have been “sharpening the knives” pretty early on. Just altogether very discouraging and frustrating to hear. I had “interviewed” Dr. N when I was 8 weeks pregnant with Ford to make sure we were on the same page about birth – avoiding C-section unless really necessary, and not inducing until 42 weeks… and even then, not just shooting me up with Pitocin…

Since this is the halfway point of my pregnancy, I am starting to think more about what the birth of baby numero dos will be like. And I can’t stand the idea of ending this pregnancy the way the last one did – with fear, frustration, discouragement and sadness. Even though my birth experience the first time around was wonderful, the week before was tough. Toward the end of my appointment today, I shared my concerns with Dr. Norwood. To paraphrase a line from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, he couldn’t have been more surprised if he woke up with his head stapled to the carpet. He said we must have had a serious misunderstanding because he never would want to make a mother feel pressured to induce unless there were a good medical reason. I reminded him that he scheduled my induction date, and I just happened to go into labor the day before I was to be induced. He apologized and said we must have just gotten our wires crossed, and that usually it’s the other way around… Around 38 weeks, women come in with a gun to his head demanding that he induce them, and he has to tell them “no.” I said, “Good, because I really trust my body and I don’t want to put myself at a greater risk of having a C-section,” and he said, “Yes, I think that’s about the sixth time you’ve said that… I think I understand.” Haha.

So I feel better about things. I’m still not sure what happened last time, but I am more confident that Dr. N and I are on the same page. And if I need to, I do feel like I could switch to his partner, Dr. McCants, who delivered Ford and was extremely patient with me. After today, though, I don’t think it will come to that.

Ultrasound video and pictures soon!

Profile comparison

This is from my gender reveal ultrasound at El Centro - Ford is on the top at 20 weeks, baby girl is on the bottom at 19 weeks and some change. So fun to compare their profiles!

The Gender Reveal

The verdict is in! Baby Gaultney No. 2 is a GIRL!

But wait – our anatomy ultrasound isn’t until November 1. So how do I know the sex, you ask? Well why don’t I just tell you!

Our five-year anniversary was on Saturday, October 27. We had big plans for celebrating in San Antonio, the city where we got married. I had won a two-night stay with valet parking at the Westin Riverwalk, and Brad made us a bunch of reservations at really fun and yummy and occasionally shi-shi restaurants. Yay!

I wanted to get Brad a really good gift, but he doesn’t particularly love/need “stuff.” He likes experiences. So after I tried to get him a couple of anniversary “experience” gifts that fell through (a pack of Crossfit training sessions was one, but I won’t tell you the other in case I try to resurrect it later), I thought, “Hey, he’s so eager to know the sex of the baby – what if there’s a way we can find out early?” I contacted El Centro Community College, which has an ultrasound school, and after a few emails, I had an appointment to come see the clinical director for an ultrasound! Since it didn’t work with my timeframe to do one in the classroom for instruction purposes (I wanted to do the appointment before October 27, but they didn’t have an ultrasound class until October 29), I had to pay $35. But all of that money goes toward student enrichment programs, and it is a very reasonable price compared to an ultrasound at a doctor’s office or at a vanity ultrasound place. So on Tuesday, October 23, I secretly went to El Centro for my appointment. Brad watched Ford while I “ran an errand.” The technician could not have been sweeter, and she spent TONS of time with me! She showed me the baby’s face in 3D, the heart, the cord, bloodflow, kidneys, bladder, hands, feet… everything! It was such a beautiful moment. Then when it got to the gender part, I looked away and she wrote the sex in a greeting card I had brought. She also sealed up all of the pictures inside.

In the interest of full disclosure, at the beginning of the ultrasound she was calling the baby “he, him,” etc. I asked if she was hinting at something and she said, “Oh no, I always call babies ‘he.’” Then after the part where she identified the sex, she started saying “she, her” and so forth. So I had an inkling, but I didn’t want to start thinking a certain way.

I had planned to wait until October 27 before telling Brad about the card. I had these visions of us walking along the San Antonio Riverwalk or sitting at a fun restaurant, and I would just pop out the card and say, “Here’s your gift!” But within about 20 minutes of me getting home that afternoon following my visit to El Centro, I couldn’t stand not knowing. I asked Brad if he wanted his anniversary present early. He said, “sure.” So I asked him if he knew what it was, and he said he thought so. So I asked him if it was a big present or a small present. He said “medium.” Then I asked him, “If you could know RIGHT NOW if we’re having a boy or a girl, would you want to know?” That caught him totally off guard! He said yes, so I handed him the card. He peeked inside, we saw the words “Sweet Baby Girl!” and started jumping up and down and cheering. Of course, that totally freaked Ford out, so the celebration calmed down pretty quickly.

It was so fun to find out together like that. And we are so excited to welcome a sweet baby GIRL in March! Bring on the ruffles and bows!

Boy v. Girl - What the Old Wives Say

Image via Getty Images

I did this same exercise before we found out Ford's sex (click here to read that post). Thought it would be fun to update it for this pregnancy! Just for fun, I'm going to do a run-down of how I compare to the old wives tales. Again, anatomy ultrasound is scheduled for Nov. 1!

Old Wives Tales Comparison 

(Adapted from Smonk You and With Two Cats)

The baby's heartbeat was clocked at over 140 = Girl (It has been consistently 140 or above)
According to the Chinese gender chart = Girl
Sleeping on left (boy) or right (girl) side = BOTH (No matter which way I start off sleeping, I end up on my back. No lectures about sleep positions, please.)
Short time to conceive = Girl
I feel no nausea = Boy (I felt nauseous for about two weeks REALLY early, but never threw up, so I don't know. I haven't felt nausea since I was about six weeks)

I'm not craving citrus = UNDETERMINED (I like citrus... but I don't really have any cravings. I have been drinking a lot of Fresca, which is a grapefruit soda... so maybe girl? I don't know.)

I am gaining weight = Girl (this seems like a weird question, because at 20 weeks, of course I'm gaining weight. But even though I feel bigger than I did with Ford, I'm gaining slower... so I don't know.)
I'm not breaking out = Boy
I'm feeling clumsy = BOTH (I have always felt clumsy, so no change)
No weight gain in my face (I hope) = Boy
I'm craving salty and sour stuff = Boy (I'm not craving anything, but I actually want cookies and cake and other sweets WAY LESS than before I was pregnant)
I'm not moody = UNDETERMINED (I don't know. I don't think I'm stereotypically hormonal, but being a parent has made me a lot more emotional. Sometimes I cry at news stories when kids die or get separated from their families. And yesterday I was pretty short with Brad. :( So maybe yes??? But 95% of the time I'm a cool customer.)
I'm carrying high (girl) or low (boy) =  Girl (SO high!)
My hair has become thicker and shiny = Boy
Hair on my legs is not growing faster than before = Girl
Feet are not colder than before I was pregnant = Girl
Brad has not been gaining weight = Girl (he's been losing weight! And looks awesome! He works out really hard.)
Craving fruit or meats and cheeses = BOTH (again, no cravings, but I'll eat any of these.)


Grand total:
Girl = 8
Boy = 5
Either = 5

It looks like the old wives tales have us paying for a wedding in a couple of decades. Of course, there's parental intuition too. Brad says he can feel it in his bones that it's a girl. I honestly have ZERO feeling. I guess because this pregnancy has felt different than my last, I wouldn't be surprised if it were a girl, but I could also see us having a house full of boys. We will be OVER THE MOON excited either way. Truly.

Last time I was so excited to find out the gender so that I could register and start planning a nursery! I am still undecided if I'm going to register this time, and it looks like our babies may share a nursery... so there's not a lot to do! But we will be ecstatic to know for sure, pick names, and just imagine our life with baby no. 2!!! And we'll probably make a Facebook announcement when we know the gender, so that's really something to look forward to!

Pink or Blue?

Brad and I are taking our time with telling friends we are expecting again. I just love that period of having a “secret” that only we know, so I like to enjoy each little announcement as a milestone, and I don’t feel rushed to spread the word. We started telling friends around 14 or 15 weeks, but even then we didn’t make a big Facebook announcement or anything (we’ll probably do that after we know the baby’s sex). As we ran into people at church or had dinner dates with friends, we would just kind of say, “Oh by the way, guess what! We’re on the baby train again!” 

And often when we tell someone, we get a question or comment along these lines: “Are you hoping for a girl?” or “Do you have a ‘girl’ feeling this time?” or “OH, I hope it’s a girl!” or “How fun would it be to have a boy and a girl?!”

                                                                                                                                                            

With Ford, I don’t remember getting asked what I “hoped” for in terms of gender more than a handful of times. This time, it’s often the first thing people ask or comment on. I can honestly say I will be equally happy with a boy or a girl. I have had a hunch I would be a “boy mom,” but then this pregnancy has been different from my first in a lot of ways (some nausea and fatigue early on, and now the occasional headache), that I’m starting to wonder if a girl may be in our future after all. Brad, meanwhile, is TOTALLY hoping for a girl, and he is pretty convinced it’s a girl, too. It makes me a little nervous—like, the expectations are REALLY high, I just don’t want him to be disappointed if we have another boy. He insists he won’t be, but I don’t know.

We set our anatomy ultrasound for November 1, so it won’t be long now until we know for sure!

A few notes

I can’t let a whole month go by without a post! So just a few quick notes:

• I have had three doctor’s appointments so far. All seems to be well! I will never get tired of hearing sweet baby’s heartbeat!
• We had a first trimester combined screening a couple of weeks ago. As part of that, we had an ultrasound to measure the baby’s nuchal fold (measurement can signal or rule out certain chromosomal abnormalities). We did the same test with Ford, and it took at least half an hour to get the measurement. With this baby, after about 30 seconds they were like, “Okay, got the measurement!” I convinced the tech to let us have fun watching our baby for a few minutes more.
• I’m feeling a little different this pregnancy. Most days, I still forget that I’m pregnant, but there were about two weeks RIGHT at the beginning (4 – 6 weeks GA) where I just felt vaguely car sick all the time. No barfing, knock on wood, but I have been a little more tired (I think chasing around a 13-month-old might have something to do with that), and I have started getting migraines again. I hadn’t had a migraine since before I was pregnant with Ford!
• Ford has no idea what’s coming. Brad tells him there’s a baby in mama’s belly, and he just kind of smiles and keeps doing whatever he was doing. Sometimes he’ll point at me and say “baby,” but I don’t think he’s putting two and two together. Not that I expect him to!
• Brad and I went on a cruise with his company this month. I started feeling kicks on the cruise, at just 13 weeks! Ford started moving early, too (16 weeks), and I was on a TETCO trip when I started feeling movement that time, too!
• Since we’ve gotten back from the trip, Ford seems to have developed some separation anxiety. He doesn’t want to let me out of his sight, and he’s a lot whinier and anxious than he was before we left. Makes me feel some serious mom guilt! I’m hoping we get our go-with-the-flow, happy toddler back soon!
• I have another doctor’s appointment next week. I always look forward to those!