Namaste

I had my ob appointment this morning.  Usual stuff, measure the fundal height, check the heart beat with the doppler, and ask if I have any questions.  Of course, I rarely have an appointment when I don't have a question (or two or three or ten).  Today one of my concerns was my lower back.

I am not kidding when I tell you that I am in pain morning to night and if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night and need to go to the bathroom, I wince with almost every step I take.  When I have to lean over to get Superman out of his crib, it feels as if my whole lower back spasms.  When I am sitting on the floor playing with Superman and he decides to toddle off to another part of the house, there is a part of me that wants to plead with him to stay in one spot because getting up and down can be so painful. 

I have tried Tylenol and that did absolutely nothing.  I tried stretching and that helps a little, but I am not entirely sure I am doing the right stretches.  I tried heat and that feels good at the time, but doesn't provide any longer term changes.  I need help and I thought that physical therapy was going to be the route I would go. 

Imagine my surprise when my doctor looked right at me and said that I must find time for yoga.  She said that she has had patients completely transformed during their pregnancies because of it.

I have to admit, I did yoga for most of my pregnancy with Superman and it was amazing.  I looked forward to it every week, even when I was exhausted from teaching all day.  The problem is that it is in the afternoon and I don't have childcare.  The idea of paying an extra $25-35 every week so that I could go to yoga seemed silly (cost of class plus childcare).  So I had bought a DVD, but the only time I can really do it is when Superman is sleeping and frankly all I want to do when he is sleeping is rest.

But, the doctor said do yoga (and some other stretches she gave me) for 2 weeks and if I still didn't feel better, she would refer me to a physical therapist.   I want to feel better.  I want this pain to go away so I can enjoy my son, my pregnancy, and get back to normal a little bit.  So I tried it today.

I am so mad at myself for not doing it sooner.  My back isn't feeling better right now, in fact, it kind of hurts a little more.  But while I was doing the stretches I could feel the muscles in my back and abdomen engaging, working hard to keep my core strong.  This is exactly what I needed.  It may take the full two weeks, but I am hopeful that this may be the end of my back pain.  Fingers crossed!

Baby #2: Week 21

February 25, 2011 

How far along: 21 weeks 

Baby's size: (the length of a ) Banana 

Symptoms: Lower back pain still an issue, heart burn was MUCH better this week, having to pee A LOT!

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well, although every so often I end up on my back and not on the pillows on an incline.  I end up waking up and have to adjust so that I can breath normally.  Also, can someone explain to S that sleeping till 7:30 would be great?  He has been waking up at 6:30 and I am exhausted!

Total Weight Gain: This week ?? I haven't weighed myself recently and I don't feel like running upstairs to weight myself so let's just say I didn't gain any this week. :)  Total gain= +3

Maternity clothes:  Yes

Best moment this week: Finding out that we were having a boy.

Movement: On Wednesday I started really feeling the baby.  I was laying down during S's afternoon nap and was feeling a ton of kicks.  It continued that evening.  Unfortunately, every time I put my hands on my belly, the baby wouldn't kick. 

Food cravings:  I tried a Shamrock Shake and it was okay, but nothing I am craving any more.  I really haven't craved anything this week. 

Gender:  BOY!!!

Labor signs: none

What I miss:  Being pain free and my word retrieval skills.  I can't believe how bad it has gotten.  I struggle to come up with the right word at least once in almost every conversation.

What I'm looking forward to:  My husband being able to feel the baby kick.

Weekly Wisdom (aka what I learned this week):  I am sure I have said this before, but the second time around is so different for me in terms of anxiousness and anticipation.  Last time I could barely wait to find out the gender that we paid to have an extra ultrasound done early.  This time around, I was fine to wait and then when it was time for the ultrasound, I was more interested in seeing a healthy baby and was going to be okay if we didn't learn the sex. 

Milestones:Feeling some great kicks and learning the gender.

Emotions:  I am crying over everything.  I cried when I read other people's blogs (like when I read that Alysha from The Tarr Pit had her baby!) or watching The Biggest Loser.  My sappiness has reached a new level!

Exercise: This wasn't a great exercise week.  I only went to Boot Camp on Wendesday (for 60 minutes) and didn't swim at all.  Next week I will get back on track!

Tandem Nursing:  
Officially over. 

Till next week!

It's a....

BOY!!!

    Today was our anatomy scan and it went great!!  We got to see him drinking amniotic fluid, sucking on his hands, and moving his arms and legs.  Everything looked great and was measuring right on.  In fact, he was measuring 21 weeks and 1 day, 2 days further than where we actually are.  

      When it was time to look for "the parts" the technician moved the wand over my belly and as it passed over that area of his body, I saw "it".  I asked if I saw what I thought I saw and she said she thought so.  Sure enough after a little bit of maneuvering, there were his boy parts loud and clear.   

    I am so thrilled to know that I am going to be a mom of two boys.  I feel  like this was absolutely the way it was supposed to be and although my husband was convinced he was going to be a girl, he is over the moon happy too.  

     Knowing that I have a healthy baby boy growing inside of me is just making me grin from ear to ear.  I really might be the happiest woman in the world right now. 

He has my piggy nose!

Not a girl...

I have to be honest, I was worried that it was going to be a girl.  Girls are great.  They are cute and you can dress them up in pretty dresses, but there are too many variables that worry me.  What if she was just like me?  Would we butt heads day after day?  Would she hate me?  I realize that all of this could still happen with my boys, but I feel like there is an increased risk with a girl.  Also, I am an outdoorsy person and would be very disappointed if I had a little girl that didn't like to get outside and get dirty.  Again, could this happen with one of my boys? Absolutely and we would figure it out.  I just think there is a great risk of it happening with a girl.