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Once upon a time, there
was a beautiful little girl named Samantha.
She was a happy little girl with lots of toys and more love from her
parents than she knew what to do with. The
only thing that Samantha could possibly dream of to make her life more complete was…
So, her parents
graciously obliged her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Okay, so the
truth. Yes, we are expecting our second
little bundle of joy! No, it wasn’t
intentional. Who would have guessed that
after 18 months of trying for our darling Lil Pea, we would find ourselves
unexpectedly pregnant after one… count with me, ONE overlooked evening.
We discovered our
unexpected gift while on our beach weekend.
Richard, whose intuition knows no bounds, suggested that he was kinda
thinkin’ I maybe, might be, pregnant on our drive up. I’d also been suddenly concerned that the
possibility existed. I’d been feeling
very tired, though I had attributed that to Sam’s midnight fussiness and
planning/packing for our trip. I had
also been irritable (in a BIG way), crampy, bloated, and had been having a lot
of pregnancy related dreams. I assumed
that this was due to my impending cycle.
Wrong!
Now, first, let me
correct anyone who might think that nursing is a “get out of jail free” card against
Dear Aunt Flo and pregnancy. It is not. I returned to my regular cycles in
April (the very next month after having Samantha). I’m not alone; there are plenty of women who
return to regular cycles even though they are nursing. Even for those that don’t, ovulation can still
occur without a cycle (though the odds of getting pregnant without menstruation
are only about 1% – 2%). For the first
four and a half months, I nursed exclusively.
Then Sam started eating some solid meals and was cluster feeding so much
that I ended up having to supplement with a bottle of formula a day. This is usually her midafternoon bottle,
these days. Anyway, beginning Samantha
on solid foods and adding the supplement to her routine could have (probably)
adjusted my progesterone levels. Guess
when I got pregnant? Haha, about that
five month mark. But that’s my
scientific explanation.
My theory on Surprise
Second Babies is that the only time a new mother has the energy to have sex in
the first place is when her hormones are driving her to do so. Thus, making it more likely to have sex when
ovulating. Thus, increasing the chances
of becoming pregnant. And when it’s late
and you’re tired and you’re, like, “okay, but let’s make it quick; I’m soooo
tired,” these things have a way of happening.
And, there ya have it.
Surprise!
I’ll be perfectly
honest, because that’s how I roll. At
first, I was terrified and a little disappointed. I wasn’t ready to do this all over
again. My first pregnancy was still very
fresh in my mind… so was delivery! *Ouch,
ouch, ouch* Richard and I have a lot
going on right now. We had plans to do
some work to the house, paint rooms, and do some home improvement
projects. Since money is tight, our
spare funds will need to be redirected to the upcoming medical costs and saving
up so Richard can actually take some time off with this next birth. Plus, I’d been doing really well with my
weight loss. I’m just about 50 pounds
under my pre-pregnancy weight (first baby)!
I was really hoping to keep that number going up and reach my weight
goal before getting pregnant again. And,
of course, the ultimate reason was that I enjoy Samantha so much. I really can’t get enough of her! Was I really ready to divide my attention on
another child? Would I be able to love a
second child as much as my daughter?
So, I’m sure you can
understand why I was a little bummed by the news.
But then, I started
thinking about it from a different perspective.
Richard and I really liked the idea of having our children close in
age. They would be great playmates
(hopefully) and hand-me-downs (if it’s a girl) would be a snap! The clothes wouldn’t even be out of style
yet, haha. The youngest would start
school only one year after Sam (which means I could go back to work sooner, if
we want) and, likewise, graduate (maybe, move out!?) one year apart. Then there’s the fact we’d be done having
kids at an earlier age. Baby #2 will
arrive when I’m 32 (that’s 52 when my youngest is twenty). That’s much more appealing that the 34 I was
looking at in our earlier plan. Don’t
ask me why it makes such a difference to me, but it does.
Then there is the
question of love… How could I not fall
in love with this second child?! After
all, my love for my husband grows deeper every day. My love for Sam knows no bounds. Surely, there will be room in my heart for
yet another endless love! I thought
there was nothing on earth that could make me any happier than I am right now…
I was wrong! Having another child with
the most amazing man in the world and “completing” our family is going to be a
wonderful experience! I can see us now,
all snuggled together on the sofa watching a movie or watching our kids
excitedly open their Christmas gifts. I
can see us all going to the park for a picnic and Richard teaching them to ride
their bikes in our cul de sac.
So, at the end of the
day, I’m excited. I’m thrilled
really. No, it didn’t happen as
planned. But I believe new life is a
wonderful blessing and I can’t wait to meet our next child. After all, the first one’s perfect – it
stands to reason the second one will be, too!
Haha!
And now, the business
of being pregnant… again…
We have our dating
ultrasound on the 24th, but we seem to be about 9 weeks along based
on my last cycle and “the feel of my uterus” at our first OB appointment. My sugars this go ‘round have actually been
running rather low. I’m mostly within
normal ranges with the exception of a few drops into the 60’s. I’m absolutely exhausted, weak, nauseated,
and an emotional basket case. I’ve
sobbed at commercials and raged at my hubby.
While I had a tiny taste of all of those things with Samantha, I am
feeling them 10 fold with this pregnancy.
I am to start iron supplements, asap.
I’ve only seen one
doctor from the practice I went to with Sam, but she seemed pleased with my
numbers and said if they continue to stay normal and my three month test comes
back normal I won’t have to continue testing (until they do a later glucose
test). Fingers crossed! They were pleased with my weight loss so far,
though it’s not where they wanted me to be either. Not much I can do about that, but keep on
keeping on.
The one thing they
wanted me to do is to wean Sam, since I’m still nursing. I’ve resisted. I told her that we’re already introducing her
to solids and generally supplement one (sometimes two) bottles a day. I’d really rather not give up the nursing I
have left. She cautioned me against uterine
contractions, which I’ve felt but they have lessened. So for now, she’s not pushing me to stop and
I’m not inclined to do so. As we add the
next meal to her diet, my nursing with be reduced again. And, if Dr. S (her pediatrician) gives the
okay, we’ll be adding a little water to her diet too. Her next appointment is Monday.
That’s the scoop,
folks! Sorry it’s taken so long to share
the news, but it’s been really busy around here! My mother-in-law has now moved into our
basement and my parents just spent this past week cleaning out their garage, so
I’ve been running around like a crazy person.
More on those things later, though!
This was meant to be about our newest little bun in the oven…
Any nickname
suggestions!?!?!?
