35 Weeks

28 Weeks

32 Weeks

 

With Eliza, I made it through my pregnancy with only 1 maternity shirt and 1 pair of maternity pants purchased at Salvation Army.  This time around, I actually had to buy maternity clothes and as you can see from the pictures even those are getting tight.  It's funny how different each pregnancy is.  I konw that some things are different simply because it is pregnancy #2, but other differences I attribute to expecting a boy this time around.  I created this little chart to document for my purpose the differences between my pregnancies. 

 

Characteristic	Baby #1	Baby #2
Morning sickness	Semi-nauseous all day for 16 weeks; threw up a lot	Semi-nauseous for 1 morning – threw up once after eating cottage cheese that may have been in the fridge too long.
Weight Gain	Total of 45 pounds	Barely 20 lbs at 35 weeks
Size	Despite the weight gain, I actually looked and felt relatively small – still fitting into most of my regular clothes.  I didn’t begin to feel uncomfortable until a few days before delivery	Despite the slow weight gain, I am a lot bigger than the first time.  My belly feels heavier and stretched to the max – some of my maternity clothes are too tight.  Started feeling uncomfortable weeks ago.
Exercise	Jogging until 7.5 months along; rode bikes, played basketball 5 days before delivery, played tennis twice a week, and went for walks everyday.	Didn’t exercise for the first 16 weeks; played basketball once and was so sore afterwards I said I wouldn’t do it again.  Now, walking is difficult and leaves me stiff and sore afterwards.
Legs/Lower Back	Mild swelling around the feet and ankles; slight pain in veins.  Minimal back pain	Frequent nerve pain shooting down my legs; no swelling, but charley horses and leg cramps 3-4 times a week.  Constant lower back pain.
Baby Position	High and in – often felt movement against my ribs	Low – constant pressure on the pelvic region and lower abdominals.
Fetal Movements	Only ever felt movement from the middle of my belly to my right side – never on the left.  Movements were plentiful, but small and soft.  Kicking never bothered me.  Bruce could hardly ever feel the baby moving.	Feel movement/kicks everywhere – sometimes on my right and left side at the same time.  Kicking is sharp and strong – it often hurts, bothers me, and takes my breath away.  Bruce can see my belly moving from side to side, and can feel the bed vibrate when he kicks at night.  Must be a boy!!
Appetite	No appetite for the first trimester, normal appetite for second trimester, and huge appetite for the third trimester.  Couldn’t stomach foods like broccoli or toast.  Craved sweets (candy) and cinnamon bears.	Normal appetite for all trimesters.  Can’t stomach the texture of bananas.  No food cravings.
Sleeping	No difficulty until 39 weeks	Haven’t slept well for second and third trimester.  Wake up to change position, and can’t get comfortable.
Braxton-Hicks	Never felt them until 38 weeks - infrequent	Started at about 30 weeks – infrequent.

 

I still feel fine - I just have a lot more nerve/leg/pelvic pain this time around.  I tire easily and have little energy to do things - which is completely uncharacteristic of me (that's the hard part to deal with - is that I don't feel like myself) A lot of it can be attributed to the fact that I do a lot more lifting and bending this time around than the first time.  I didn't have a toddler who refuses to walk to tote around; nor toys, sippy's, tupperware, ziploc bags, magnents, etc. to pick up off the floor multiple times a day the first time either. 

 

I'm on the home stretch.  Somedays I feel ready for baby to come; others I'm not so sure.  One thing is for certain - I'm down to less than 5 weeks so this baby will come whether I am ready or not.  I will certainly welcome him when he does come.

 

34 Weeks

 

A cute sidenote:  Whenever Eliza hears anything from anyone about baby brother, she pats my belly and gives it a kiss.  Today I asked her if she wanted a baby brother for Christmas and she nodded her head enthusatically with a big smile on her face.  I think she will be an excellent big sister - one that is full of love and wants to share.  Even though she says she wants a brother, I know she is in for a rude awakening when said baby brother makes his apperance.