I haven't blogged in forever, and for good reason. I am carrying our little baby Rosen #2! I'm about 11 weeks along now. In many ways this pregnancy has been remarkably similar to the last one, and in many ways it's been different. I started feeling sick around the same time- about 6 weeks. But this time it has lasted much longer. The intensity was about the same during weeks 6-9, thought I actually did vomit this time, but now it's decreased to almost nothing and it's just hanging on. For the past 3 or 4 weeks I've thought it was finally gone, and then it'll come back. The fatigue has been very similar to last time, thought with the added complication of having a toddler to care for. For 3 or 4 weeks I could barely get through each work day. Picking up Elijah after work felt like climbing a mountain. By the time I got home, I was just barely getting through until Elijah's bedtime around 7pm. The last few weeks my energy has slowly returned. I am able to get through my day and all the way to Elijah's bedtime without too much difficulty. But pretty much every night I'm in bed by 8 and asleep by 8:30pm. Then I'm up again at 6am to start all over again.
Daniel has been absolutely amazing through this pregnancy. He has really taken on a lot while I've been too exhausted and sick to do much of anything. For a few weeks he took care of Elijah and did most of my usual house cleaning and laundry chores. He has also cooked dinner nearly every night even though I am always too nauseated to eat it. A few times he has even satisfied my cravings and gone out to get something specific (usually ice cream related). He hasn't seemed as excited about the new baby this time. I think he's been too overwhelmed caring for Elijah and taking over all of my chores. But when we had our ultrasound last week (we had the 12 week ultrasound a little early), I could see his excitement for the first time. He had the biggest smile on his face when we saw our little jumping bean on the screen. Elijah was there too, and he pointed to the screen and said "baby!" It was such a great family moment. He told me after that appointment that he was really getting excited. It has been easy for me to be excited. I have loved literally every stage of Elijah's life. So how could I not be excited? I get to do it all over again!
I think I am just starting to show this week too. Many of my clothes are getting just a little bit tight. Which is perfect, because it's just starting to warm up now. I'm back to my habit of having a big bowl of fruit each day. My cravings have been exactly the same as my last pregnancy. So far, Elijah hasn't shown any understanding of what's going on. We point to my belly and say "baby" a lot, and this morning he finally did it himself, completely unprompted. I think as my belly starts to get bigger he might understand a little better. His teacher is doing a lot to prepare him as well. I am so grateful to have her and his whole school as a resource during transitions like this. They've been through this a hundred times with other kids, so they know exactly what to do.
We are exactly two years and one month behind my last pregnancy. The baby is due October 9, 2014. We have our gender ultrasound in early May. I truly would be happy with either a boy or a girl. If it's a boy, Elijah will have a little brother as a playmate, and we will get to reuse all of his clothes. But I would also be very happy to have a little girl to do girly things with. I think I'm hoping about 51% for a girl, and 49% for a boy. But overall, I could not be happier.
