Surprise!
I’m pregnant with baby number two, and super excited to share the journey… in the form of Bumpies.
The Bumpie Boards… whoever started using these old fashioned letter boards are my favorite person. I have almost no proper photos of my first pregnancy, or monthly milestone photos. I wasn’t nearly creative enough to come up with these ideas (yet), and the phone editing apps weren’t where they are today.
I’ve been using the letter boards for years now, for First Day of School and other announcements. They secure a caption right in the photo. It’s fun to get creative, and now there are so many different fonts, colors, and even symbols.
I made my first Bumpie board at ten week. Seriously- it said already ten weeks. The dress was ordered almost immediately when I found out. Y’all, I had big bumpie plans.
But I couldn’t convince myself to take a picture because I still felt horrible. Then time got away from me. I made a few more, planning to take them, but couldn’t find good lighting in the house or a safe area in town with a solid background and minimal onlookers.
Sixteen Weeks
Finally, at sixteen weeks I was quite literally annoyed by it all and took the first bumpie in the dark staircase in my townhouse. Then we took a short drive and snapped a few more with a beautiful sunset. It was worth it.
Seventeen Weeks
I finally saw a teeny bit of a bump around seventeen weeks, and had this brilliant idea for a bumpie board. But the green dress was still in the wash, so I put a festive orange and black outfit on instead. Unfortunately, the shirt did little to make it seem like an obvious bump. Oh well.
Eighteen Weeks
It was back to the dark hallway for the 18 weeks bumpie. This backdrop wouldn’t even be bad, if there was a window or a sky roof, but the lack of natural lighting impedes any decent photo.
My nipples are more prominent these days than the bump. Which is not cool as a cucumber.
Nineteen Weeks
We had a scheduling conflict the week before, where they had told us to schedule the anatomy scan a month prior (for twenty weeks) but the desk person apparently misunderstood and scheduled a general checkup (for eighteen). I had my general checkup at seventeen weeks and even mentioned how I was scheduled to have the anatomy “next week”.
Alas, I went in at eighteen and did not have my scan… since it’s supposed to be at twenty weeks. Everyone knows that. But we were still super annoyed, because it was no fault of our own.
Either way, we hit the bullet and risked an $1,100 lab fee (pending insurance acceptance) for the blood test we had opted out of at thirteen weeks. It could have taken up to ten days, but we were discouraged and frustrated. We did it anyway so we could possibly get our baby sex results a little bit earlier than the actual twenty week anatomy scan. Thankfully, my some miracle, it came in four. (And so far it looks like insurance covered it)
Twenty Weeks
Officially half way through the pregnancy! We didn’t actually eat most of the donuts, and they were nice and hard (lol), so a perfect prop for this week’s Bumpie. I originally thought I would make a 2 and have the donut as the O, but I wasn’t feeling too many edits this week.
We decided to make the pregnancy “Facebook official”. We went with a pizza themed announcement. TBD if our monthly baby updates end up pizza themed, donut themed, or a basic Etsy tag.
Check out my Twenty Week Update post here.
Twenty-One Weeks
Baby girl is already as long as a carrot, or the size of a hedgehog. She’s starting to get super active, and I feel her moving throughout the day. As for symptoms, the restless leg syndrome is back. It’s almost impossible to fall asleep, even though I’m definitely in pajamas and resting by 10pm. The bump has hit a point where strangers can recognize it, which is very different from my first.
Twenty-Two Weeks
My Spotify Wrapped says I’m a Swiftie, so here I am… halfway through my 2nd Pregnancy Era. 🖤
Baby girl is the size of a bell pepper, and weight a whole pound. She is definitely stretching out (all up in my diaphragm, giving me hiccups all the dang time). The restless leg syndrome at night has calmed down a bit, thankfully. I’m constantly thirsty again, which means it’s back to lugging around a water jug. I’m also exhausted 24/7, which is only going to get worse as baby girl continues to grow.
Twenty-Three Weeks
Holy moly this kiddo is so active. It’s incredible how different she is than CA was. She is constantly moving and kicking around, and she’s even had hiccups twice now (which is the craziest feeling).
I posted her Top Name Option in a baby name forum, specifically asking between two spellings. The trolls came out. Multiple people told me how much they didn’t like the name at all, even giving alternatives (that didn’t even align with the vibe of the original). Multiple people told me that the assumed nickname was far too popular- I mentioned nothing about using that nickname. Some offered alternative spelling to the ones I listed, which is fine though not helpful. One person even went as far as to say that if you total all the spellings, it’s #7 in popularity. Keep in mind, I mentioned nothing about wanting a unique name… I was strictly looking for the spelling that would have the least likelihood of being mispronounced.
Twenty-Four Weeks
Tricare denied my referral to the specialist for a followup ultrasound, after my 20 week scan showed a partial placenta previa. Multiple phone calls later, we found the issue, but it still easnt fixed before the followup appointment.
I ended up tempting fate and having the ultrasound done anyway, even without the authorization. Whatever. The mistake was not my fault, and they should have fixed it by now.
Good news is, the placenta is fine. Cervix is fine. No reason for concern.
Then after I got home, I got an email that my referral was finally approved and I could reschedule my “missed” followup ultrasound appointment. Oops.
Twenty-Five Weeks
Baby girl has been so different from big sis. I can’t recall a single instance of CA having hiccups while in utero, but this little squish gets them every single day. Sometimes she’ll get them twice a day!
Hiccups are, apparently, very normal at this phase. It means the diaphragm muscle is practicing moving, which will later lead to breathing.
Twenty-Six Weeks
We’re in the final countdown… Next week is officially third trimester, and I am totally in denial. Except for car seats and a small bundle of clothes, baby sister’s arrival is sneaking up on us for sure. We’re holding off on a proper nursery, since we plan move after she gets here, but that also makes it harder to truly grasp just how soon she’ll be joining us. Let’s just say, now that I’m not working so much, I will be dedicating the next 12 weeks to nesting and getting this house (no matter how small it is) ready.
Twenty-Seven Weeks
This week my pregnancy rhinitis has been absolutely out of control. This is congestion caused from hormones, and can’t be treated with cold meds (since it isn’t a cold). I’m so stuffy all the damn time, and can’t breathe whatsoever.
I finally scheduled my 1-hour glucose test, which had been pushed after the holiday. But when I got to the office, they told me they couldn’t use the Fresh Test alternative that I had already had approved… twice. I had asked the midwife AND nurse, but apparently they changed their mind. So the lab lady sent me to a third party clinic that had more data to perform the test, but I hadn’t brought my ID and insurance card with me that day, since I hadn’t originally needed it. I ran home, then tried to go to a LabCorp on that side of the water, and there were no appointments available for 3-4 days each. So… I guess I’ll go on Monday, which is 28 weeks. It’s late, but still in the proper window, so my doctor’s office will have to deal with it.
TBH, I didn’t even have an issue with glucola last pregnancy. If I had been told upfront that I couldn’t use the Fresh Test, that would have been different. The issue is, I asked TWICE, and then purchased the Fresh Test on my own.
Twenty-Eight Weeks
Lil Sis has been incredibly active. She is probably going to be an acrobat, based on all the movement. Even at my checkup, the midwife student “couldn’t find” a good spot for the heartbeat, and my midwife told her “oh yea, this one is all over the place.” (Heart rate has been a consistent 140 throughout)
After jumping through many hoops, I was finally able to get my first glucose test for gestational diabetes. I used the Fresh Step, which is an alternative to the traditional glucola drink. Results came back normal, thankfully.
Twenty-Nine Weeks
Sleeping has become difficult. Between vicid dreams, hearing voices at night, and waking up to pee… I’m also having the hardest time turning from one side to the other.
Thirty Weeks
Lil Sis has been so active. She is getting heavier (apparently she will double in size third trimester, but i already feel huge!). We can see her move, not just feel her, which is so alien dystopian for me.
Watch this video for a full 30 Weeks pregnancy update.
Oh, and I’m so hungry all the time, which makes sense if she’s planning to grow so much during these last few weeks.
Thirty-One Weeks
We put in an offer on a house.
Check out this video to see the houses we looked at.
Originally, when we moved into this Base Housing townhouse, we planned to be out in 6-12 months. When I found out I was pregnant, we decided 12 months (June) was the most logical.
But then… between Ryan’s rank increasing his BAH, paired with the annual raise of BAH, when January rolled around we started paying about $500 more for the place we had been living in all along. There had been no improvement to the house, just BAH adjustments. And while it was worth what we were paying before… suddenly it didn’t feel worth it anymore. We were still struggling with cardboard boxes that had not even been unpacked, we were trying to justify the fact that a baby didnt actually need a nursery, and pretending that we could make it work a few more months. But we couldn’t.
• Closing Date: 2/27
As for baby specific updates, Lil Sis is head down already and having a blast with her feet up in my diaphragm. Another fun detail I never experienced with my first. She’s also pushing on my intestines in a way that causes the feeling of intense constipation (even when actual bowel movements are arguably regular). Her movements are visible, which freak me out but Ryan and Big Sis love it.
Thirty-Two Weeks
This week, my bumper group toured the hospital we will be delivering at. (Check out this video) We chatted about the different rooms, manual induction processes, pain management, and golden hour procedures. I’m pretty excited about this hospital, and hope it will be an entirely different experience than last time.
Baby girl is confirmed to be head down, but still sitting very high. Her feet are all up in my ribs, giving me immense pressure when I try to breathe. She also moves constantly, except for a few naps throughout the day.
We are finally starting to physically and mentally prepare for arrival. We are in the early stages of prepping a hospital bag, taking inventory of nursery items, and have a bassinet ready (thanks Auntie Lolo!)
Thirty-Three Weeks
Thirty-Four Weeks
Ok, I didn’t take a bumpie this week because I had my maternity photos a two days before officially hitting 34, and I had this brilliant idea to use one of them. Except it was so cold, so Ryan stayed in the car and didnt snap one for me (I didn’t even ask). I’m pretty excited to see the photos, not only because I never had professional photos taken with CA, but to see what magic the photographer could pull together to hide the I am so fricken cold expression on my face.
I ended up throwing a quote from Grease (Between Doody and Frenchie), but didn’t have the energy to change out of my sweats. I basically live in Ryan’s sweatpants and rotating between 2-3 hoodies.
Thirty-Five Weeks
Whelp- this was unexpected.
Monday hit 35 weeks, then I woke up on Tuesday with a horrible headache. It was so rough that I didn’t feel comfortable driving CA to school, and napped the entire day. Ryan came home with baby-safe Tylenol, which cut the headache long enough for us to go to the house closing. Because you know, we decided to buy a house and all.
(Hooray- we’re homeowners! Watch this video for a recap)
After the Closing, I was still feeling crummy. My headache had returned, so I checked my blood pressure at the kiosk at Walmart. It was high! Yikes. After speaking to my mother, who asked what my MIL said (both are nurses, but MIL is L&D)… we decided to call my hospital and speak to the midwife on duty. After describing the headache, fuzzy vision, blood pressure, and some swelling, they told me to come in.
We spent the evening the hospital, where they checked my blood pressure every thirty minutes for tel hours. They also did a urine test and blood test. Ultimately they sent me home, but it became very clear that I won’t be carrying this baby to 40 weeks.
Two days later, I returned for a BP check and 24 hour urine check. Both were concerning, but not worrisome enough just yet. So now we wait!
Thirty-Six Weeks
We will not be making it another month.
Due to the blood pressure and urinalysis, indicative of pre eclampsia, my medical team scheduled induction for March 12th.
Update: Baby is here! Read my birth story here.
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