22 Week OB Appt

I headed to the OB clinic this morning with my unexpected companion, Jillian. I generally try to get care for her on OB appt days, because I usually have to wait awhile on Dr. J, and it is usually stressful to take a 2 year old to a dr. appt, whether it's for them or  not. She was under the weather today, so had no choice but to accompany me. The sickness created a bit of a subdued demeanor in the wild child, so it actually worked in my favor. She was relaxed in the stroller, eating snacks, and making sure I behaved when I was on the exam table. Because I have a raging sinus infection that won't go away, I got a more thorough exam that included listening to my lungs, looking in my ears, etc....all that stuff that happens when Jillian goes to the dr. Her eyes were fixed intently on me, and she complimented my behavior at the end with a "Mommy's a big girl, mommy gets a sticker!". She perseverated on the sticker piece long after we left, and just couldn't understand why I didn't get a Dora sticker for my good behavior.
Baby-related facts are as follows....
-BP was 102/50
-Weight gain this month was a hefty 6 lbs (oops...), bringing my total weight gain thus far to 13.5 lbs.
-Baby heart rate was good (no number given), but a bit difficult to find given her activity level. Yep, we've got another mover and shaker cooking in there! Jillian really liked hearing her sister's heart beat for the first time.
-Now begins the belly measuring (pubic bone to top of uterus) and I measured at 23 cm....pretty right on, if not a bit big for gestational age
Dr. J. gave me a second antibiotic to try for this nasty sinus infection, instructed me to take Benadryl at night so I could get some rest, and wrote me a script for some compression stockings (sexy!) thanks to some varicose veins that are already rearing their ugly head (I don't remember having them with Jillian, and if I did, I certainly didn't have them at only 22 weeks and never needed stockings). I'll go back on March 23rd for the routine glucose tolerance test and another appt. 

The Name Game

This poor baby doesn't have a name. Most people wouldn't be nervous about that, considering we have about four months left in the pregnancy. For us, it is a big switch from last time since we knew for several years before having children that our daughter (should we have one) would be named Jillian. After we learned that we were definitely having a girl the first time, we briefly glanced at a baby name book just to be sure, but absolutely nothing appealed to us outside of Jillian. That was her identity from the start. Currently, we have spent many evening hours scouring websites, a new baby name book, and our brains for another girls name we like just as well. We are attracted to classic, clean, feminine sounding names that are not overtly popular. At the same time, we do not want an unusual name that people have trouble spelling or pronouncing. Though there are a couple of one syllable names I really like, I won't consider using them due the short nature of our last name. Creating a list with those parameters is more difficult than you might think. Unofficially, we have a short list that we talk about often, bouncing back and forth between our favorites. As of last night, we have two names we both feel are "better" than the others on the list. Of course, I like one and Matt likes the other. As I was reading the chapter on narrowing down choices in The Baby Name Wizard Book, I  found a helpful suggestion. The author states that once you have a short list, you need to realize that all of those names are "good". She suggests that we focus on all the things we like about the names, and not critically try to pick them apart (what we have been doing). Rather, she proposes we take each name for a trial run for a day, referring to the baby as Name A for a day, and Name B for another, and then see which one feels harder to give up at the end of the day. So, that is what we are doing. Today, our daughter shall be referred to as Name A, tomorrow we'll call her by Name B. We'll see how that goes! You didn't think that I was actually going to tell you the names, did you???? Baby #2's name will be revealed to others (including Jillian, because she has loose lips) only after she is born.

About Halfway

That scary picture above was taken late at night the very day of that first positive pregnancy test (October 23rd). We were getting ready for bed, and Matt suddenly exclaimed that we had to take a picture of my belly's starting point just as we did with Jillian. Please pardon my tired, disheveled appearance. What you are supposed to notice is the relatively flat belly and jeans that were once loose in the waist.
Now, here we are nearly four months later, at what is somewhere around the halfway point of this pregnancy. Technically, I am 21 weeks and 2 days pregnant (that is counting by my last period, and the gestation that marks my medical chart, despite the changed due date). If you count backwards from the "official" July 1 due date I am 20 weeks and 3 days. Take your pick. It's about halfway. Matt took a couple shots of the growing belly tonight. Not sure what he was going for in this first pic, but it definitely screams "Moooo!"

A more appropriate belly shot (disregard the open drawer in the background, we were amidst dinner clean-up when I remembered to have him take this picture). Respectably large, to be sure.

Just for fun.....halfway with Jillian (June 2008). Younger, and definitely smaller!

Sharing the Love

Up until last night, Daughter #2 had been only sharing those delightful little kicks with me. Each night when I settle into bed, she starts her dancing. It's been pretty light, but definitely noticeable to a second time mom. I have tried without success to get her to do some for her dad on more than one occasion. Last night she was feeling cooperative, and when I told Matt to put his hands on my belly she stepped it up a bit. He said, "Wow she is really moving in there!" It was cute to see his face light up as he felt her in there making herself known. Maybe someday soon she'll do some dancing for her sister....