It's a B-O-Y!!!!!

We are excited to announce the birth of our new baby boy to the world. Jonathan Jacob "Jack" San Nicolas was born Monday, October 26, 2009 at 5:03pm and weighing in at 6 lbs 5 oz, 17.5 inches long. Jen's C-section went smoothly, as she felt nothing but numbness throughout the entire surgery, in fact she didn't even know they had started yet and they were half way done! Jack is teeny tiny guy but is thriving and growing leaps and bounds already.

The Countdown's On!

Well, this time next week we will have a new baby. My C-section is scheduled for the evening of Monday the 26th. With the timing of the surgery, my time in recovery and the visiting hours ending when they do, we are asking any potential visitors to wait to visit until Tuesday at least. This way we can bond with our new little angel and get the initial breastfeeding underway without interruption. Matthew will be staying with my parents while I'm in the hospital and for a few days after. He has taken a real liking to babies so let's hope that trend continues for awhile. Tony will be taking 4 weeks off of work, which I am so grateful for. It will give me a chance to physically recover and for the 4 of us to bond as a family. I'm definitely not so nervous the second time around. I know what to expect, I know what to do...its the lack of sleep and constant diaper changes that I'm a little apprehensive about. But it all goes by so fast!

20 Weeks and 3 Days

I had my monthly OB-Gyn appointment today with Dr S. I have now gained a total of 2 pounds with this pregnancy, which I was surprised that it wasn't more since I am really puffy (probably from the pizza we had for dinner a couple of nights ago). Exercise and eating smart is keeping me on track. I don't limit my calories but I don't let pregnancy be an excuse to get out of control. Especially knowing how salt can affect me and the water rentention I incurred with my previous pregnancy. We discussed my "low-lying" placenta, which she reassured me isn't anything to worry about. It is not in a "previa" position and it is common for a low placenta to occur when there has been a previous C-section. I need to be cautious of heavy lifting, nothing over 20 pounds and to only lift Matthew when it is necessary. Luckily, he hates to be carried which makes it better for me.



The Mattman came to the appointment with me since Tony has Reserves this week. I'm truly amazed at how well behaved he was at the Dr's office. He just played with his Hot Wheels and sat in his stroller with limited whining. I'm still having a bit of nausea...mostly as a result of diapers. I'm trying to introduce potty training but with lingering morning sickness, I'm finding it is not a successful operation for Mommy. The Braxton-Hicks still hit me with intensity some days but they aren't frequent enough to worry about. I'm having a lot of pain in my left hip, mostly first thing in the morning, so I'm sure its a result of sleeping positions. Overall, feeling pretty good, especially when I can squeeze in an afternoon nap.

19 Weeks and 5 Days...

...is how far along I am as of the print out from the Ultrasound Tech today. I had my routine anatomy scan of the baby today. Matty and Tony accompanied me so they could see the miracle of life doing back flips inside me. All is well and good- the heartbeat, the weight, major organs look great. The kidneys were measured and looked to be the appropriate size so there are no signs of hydronephrosis at this time, which is a relief. There is a 30-50% chance of this baby having the same issues as Matthew had and so far no signs. Matthew showed signs when I was 16 weeks along so this is very good news. My placenta is in a low-lying position, although they said it would be premature to call it "previa" but I will have a subsequent ultasound in 8 weeks to make sure the placenta is progressing its way higher in my uterus. I see Dr S next Wednesday so I'm sure we will have a more in depth discussion about this at that time.

I'm feeling pretty good these days. I still have days where I get nauseous and earlier this week, I was sick all day. I should be past all that, but then again I am still changing diapers so that may have a little something to do with it. I get tired but that is to be expected. No one told me that the Braxton Hicks would be more intense this time around. Wow! Talk about an attention getter. On Wednesday, I was at my mom's and had some major contractions and this evening as well. I wouldn't go so far as to say they were painful but they did get my attention for sure.

...and baby makes 4!

The rumors are true, we are expecting again! On March 7th, I took a pregnancy test because I was late and felt like I'd gained 50 lbs and it was positive. We were in a state of shock and didn't tell anyone for awhile. In fact, I called my mom on April Fool's Day and it took her and my dad almost 10 minutes to realize I wasn't jerking their chain.

Its amazing how early you start showing with a second pregnancy. At Matthew's birthday party in March, I was hoping their wouldn't be any comments about how fat I was getting. However, after I told people I was pregnant, they would say wonderful things like "I thought you were gaining weight". For the record, I haven't gained a single pound to date, my stomach just looks like I'm smuggling a bowling ball.

We probably won't be finding out the sex with this baby either (mostly because we like to annoy you), especially since the surprise was thwarted to due to visits with the peds urologist in the weeks prior to having Matty, there was no way around it. As for the hydronephrosis/reflux that Matthew had, there is a 30-50% chance that this child will have a similar experience. Matthew's new urologist has been a bank of information for us.

I've been to the OB-GYN twice now. I have a new doctor as we have new insurance. I really like her alot, she's a little more laid back than my previous doctor, though I would have gone back to him if I could have. I'm guessing we are having another boy because at my initial visit, the baby moved so much, Dr S couldn't verify the fetal size in the ultrasound so I had to go to a perinatologist for verification. At that appointment, this child didn't stop moving either. The technician suggested I ask Dr S for ritalin instead of prenatal vitamins. I had my 2nd appointment today and all is well. I'm still not gaining weight but because I was so sick in my first trimester, she had prescribed Reglan to curb the nausea. That definitely helped me function with an active toddler in the house. I'm still nauseous when I first wake up in the morning but I'm down to just one dose a day. I'm carrying high again, probably due to my tilted uterus. I'm also having unbelievable tailbone pain. I had this with Matthew but I remember it going away after I stopped working at AMN. Dr S said it will be subsequentially worse with each pregnancy ( so maybe we'll stop with 2?). Meanwhile I sit on pillows and get in the pool as much as I can.

So now you all know why I haven't blogged more. Between morning sickness and a busy toddler, I haven't been up to it. I'm hoping to make more time to blog so I can keep a record of this pregnancy too. Stay tuned....