Oh Baby!

Yay, appointment day finally arrived! This afternoon we got to see our little baby on the big screen!
Everything looked great! Only one baby (phew!), and despite the location of my recent weight gain, the baby is really in my belly, not my rear. Speaking of weight gain, I'm up 3 lbs. I think that's normal. ?? Which means I'm only allowed to gain 22 more. Haha, yeah right!
Anyway, we saw #2 right away, and his/her heart was beating away at 154 bpm. Which is what Jack's was early on. So I'm thinkin' (and www.babybpm.com agrees), this might be another boy.

And the Chinese Gender Predictor is saying the same thing:


*sigh* I love ultrasounds. Despite the minute-by-minute, gag-inducing reminders that there is definitely a baby in there, it's always good to see the little one and know everything is right on track. Unfortunately, our pictures didn't turn out that well. But we could see its hands and feet moving around. And even some of the facial structure. Although it was a little harder to concentrate this time around because Jack wouldn't sit still. What else is new? I didn't think it was worth it to get a babysitter for a 15 minute appointment, and Jon didn't want to miss out on the photo op. So he held Jack, and tried to make whatever was happening on the screen seem exciting, but Tank was more interested in playing with the lamp.



The doctors say I'm 11 weeks, 1 day today. I think I'm only 10 weeks. #2 measured right in the middle at 10 weeks, 4 days at the ultrasound. Which to me, considering my first kid was slightly on the larger side, means my date is probably more accurate. But the doctor's always win. They're sticking with my April 14 due date. Now don't get me wrong, I'd much rather be 1 week closer to the glorious second trimester. But I'd hate to end up overdue, and have a doctor threatening to evict my child at 42 weeks when I'm really only 41. I guess that's still a ways off, and if things go the way they did with Jack it won't be an issue anyway. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go pull my cranky didn't-get-a-good-nap-this-afternoon little boy out of the trash can.

First appointments are never that exciting

Remembering my much-anticipated first appointment last time, I knew not to expect much this time around. I had to wait a week for my referral to go through, which sent me back to the MTF (military lingo for Military Treatment Facility). And I'm okay with that. We do have an option where we could see a civilian doctor and pay deductibles/co-pays out of pocket. But we're going to give the Naval hospital another shot. Although Jack's birth wasn't my ideal experience, it really wasn't that bad. And since I'm familiar with the clinics and doctors now I'm a lot less anxious about the whole process.

I've had a few people ask me if I'd ever want to have a homebirth. I've thought about it, and it would be an amazing experience, but in the end I just don't think it's for me. (And I don't think my husband would ever go for that). We've had several friends give birth at a local midwifery center here, which would be my first choice, but for Baby #2 it's the hospital again. So we're praying for another natural childbirth, hopefully without an induction this time. I guess in some small measure it's my way of redeeming the hospital birth. My chance to show the doctors that there are people like me who want to give birth in the hospital, and want to do it as naturally as possible, and are absolutley thrilled with the experience. And now that I've said all that, back to the first "appointment"...

I recognized the nurse's voice as soon as she picked up the phone. She was there for almost every one of my appointments with Jack. She also recognized my name right away. "Haven't we seen you here before?" "Uh, yeah. I just had a baby 10 months ago." "Ohhh yeah, WOW, well ..., congratulations." We've kind of been getting that response a lot lately. It's okay people. We're really excited about being pregnant again. You can be happy for us too. :)

The doctor doesn't want to see me until 11 weeks, or somewhere around there since I'm still not sure what my actual due date is. I was just a tad disappointed. I LOVE that first ultrasound. The one that shows you a little teddy bear with a beating heart. *sigh* Eleven weeks just seems so long to wait. Oh well, I have my morning sickness and extreme exhaustion to tide me over right?

So anyway, instead of meeting with a nurse first she just asked me to stop by the clinic some time and fill out some paperwork and get my bloodwork done. So I did. In addition to peeing in a cup I also had to give 7 vials of blood. 7 VIALS! I was a little nervous about this because last time I almost fainted and the nurse had to rush me some juice and a candy bar. Well, ... it happened again! Except this time I had a man and he did not get me juice and a candy bar. :( I'm so embarrassed. I'm pretty good with needles and pain. I think it's just a mixture of being pregnant and nauseous, and losing a bucket of blood all at one time. From the moment he put the needle in I knew it was going to be bad, the blood was barely trickling through. By the second vial the corners of my eyes were starting to get black. By the third vial I had to ask him to stop. Then he made me put my head down for a little.

"Are you feeling better?" he said.

"Not really."

"Do you know where you are?"

"Yeah ... but I can't really hear anything, is that normal?"

Apparently it is. He gave me another few seconds to recoop (which wasn't really long enough but there was a crowd of sailors outside the door and I just wanted to get out of there) and then stabbed the other arm. I don't think my blood has ever flowed so slowly before. I was tapping my foot to try to stay alert, counting down each vial as it finished. I always think it's funny how they band-aid a cotton ball to your arm. Really? It's a needle hole, I don't think I'm going to start gushing blood anytime soon. Especially since you pretty much just took it all. The band-aid on my second arm wouldn't stick. So Nurse Man proceeds to pull out 3 inch wide wrap, to hold the band-aid, which holds the cotton ball, which covers the tiniest prick in my arm. Completely unnecessary.

I ski-daddled right out of there as fast as my faint little heart could take me and immediately took myself to Chick-Fil-A for a high-carb meal complete with sugar infested Sweet Tea. I wouldn't normally fuel my little zygote with caffeine this early in the game, but he/she is lucky if she got any of that sweet tea by the time it got through my starving system.

And that was the first apointment. Phew, so glad that's behind us. Bring on the ultrasounds and dopplers please. Those appointments are so much more fun!

The day we found out about #2

We had just gotten back from our vacation and had a small hunch that change was in the air. Jon had just been invited to apply for a temporary position overseas which involved 3 months of training (starting in Sept.) and 6 months of work (time which we would be apart). Although not ideal, we both knew it was a great opportunity for his career. Since we're planning on being married another 70-80 years, 6 months didn't seem like too much of a sacrifice. So although not crazy about being a single mom for 6 months, I was supportive of his decision. ...And then I saw the second little line on the pregnancy test.
Now you may be wondering what cute little way I had cooked up to tell Jon. Especially after my awesome Dad pancakes last year. Unfortunately, it didn't play out as well as I had envisioned. It was August 12 and Jon had just gotten home from work (hours later than usual I might add). He immediately started talking about his application for the new job. We started to sit down to dinner and I asked him to get a "special treat" out of the oven. He opened it up and there was one lonely bun. He didn't get. "It's just a bun ... and the oven's not even warm." Then I said, "Yes, I know ... there's a BUN in the OVEN." Then it hit him. That made our decision about the overseas job much easier and I'm happy to report that my husband will be by my side throughout this whole prenancy and delivery.

I went to the clinic for a blood test that night. I was disappointed to find that I would be seeing the weird doctor that I did not like, the one that had offered me a perscription for birth control less than 2 monthes before. A perscription that I had obviously never filled. :) He walked into the room and the first thing he said was, "I take it the pills didn't work." Blah to awkward doctors!
So I'm sure some people think we're crazy for having children only 18 months apart. But we're very excited about Baby #2 and can't wait to go through the whole pregnancy, childbirth and (my not-so-favorite part) the newborn months all over again! We hated keeping it a secret but, for several reasons, originally decided to wait until the second trimester to make the big announcement. We also thought it would be more fun to tell everyone in person when we came home in October.
Well, it didn't work out that way. As many of you may know, my husband is not known for his secret-keeping-skills. The fact that he had kept this news under wraps for over 3 weeks was pretty impressive! So I wasn't too upset when he caved this weekend and alerted my in-laws to their 8th grandchild's existence over a lovely outdoor seafood dinner. We didn't want to leave my parents and the rest of our family out so we dashed over to Michael's for some iron-on letters that spelled out B-I-G B-R-O and made Jack a t-shirt to wear. The next night we sent a text message with the picture to my parents, then our siblings, and then to a few of our friends. Within a few hours the news had leaked onto good ole' Facebook and when we decided to make an "official" announcement. And that brings us to the present. Me sitting on the couch, exhausted before the day even starts, chugging water and munching on saltines. Other than some blood tests and paperwork, I haven't been to the doctor yet. I think I'm somewhere between 8-9 weeks. As of right now, my due date is April 14 but I think that will change once we have our first ultrasound in two weeks. I'm pretty sure these next 2 weeks can't go by fast enough. I hate first-trimester anxiety!! In the meantime, I'll be sure to keep you updated on all the details of second-time mommyhood!

Mama takes a beating courtesy of Baby J

So, I know what you're thinking, "Where've ya been Janine?" Well, I'll tell you - leaning over the toilet. :( On Friday I reached the hallowed 12th week mark, the alleged end of trimester one and the so-called beginning of the glorious and energetic fourth month. Not so here. Lil' J must have had a growth spurt this week because the hormones have been a-kickin'. I have to admit, something is definitely different. I'm not falling asleep at my desk anymore and I'm not feeling that all day nauseousness. Instead, I get hit with that sudden urge with barely enough time to reach a bucket ... if I'm lucky. But enough about me, pregnancy isn't all about throwing up several times a day. Let's focus on the little one that Uncle Jared has so lovingly dubbed "J."
Lil' J is about 2.5 inches now, which makes Mommy wander just what is taking up all that room in her expanding waistline. Baby can move his/her arms, fingers and toes and can smile, frown and suck its thumb. "J" is also just about fully formed at this point and its boy/girl parts are beginning to develop, although we still have about 8 weeks to go before we find out what we're having. Which brings us to an entire separate debate - to know or not to know. Which I suppose I'll touch on in a later post. For now, I need to get back to one of the 5 pregnancy books I'm currently reading.

10 week-a-roos

With impending motherhood comes the urge to speak Baby-Talk. Ergo, I will no longer announce my gestational age in weeks, but rather week-a-roos. It is not a "bottle" it's a "bah-bah." And when a chill falls over our love nest at night, I will be reaching for a "blankie." On a side note, Dr. Meltzoff actually calls this "parentese" and despite popular belief, this kind of speech is a wonderful tutorial for young children because of it's clear and elongated vowel sounds. And because the sentences are generally short, simple, and repetitive, they're easy for toddlers to mimic. So, now you know.

Now back to being 10 week-a-roos. It would seem that my morning sickness has let-up some. I am now only sick in the morning (as the term would suggest) and then usually around the time I get home from work. Aside from that and complete, utter exhaustion from about 2:00pm on, things are going quite well. Unfortunately, my new habits of relaxing on the couch after work until going to bed at 8:30 are not very conducive to my responsibilities as a grad-student.


My parents came to visit over Easter weekend. It was great to spend some time with them, but one of the highlights was shopping with my mom for maternity-clothes. Between my mom and the ready-to-serve sales associate at Motherhood Maternity, I ended up with half the store in my dressing room, and if you've ever been in the packed-out Motherhood, you know that's a lot. Now I hardly look pregnant, but that is not a problem for these experts. They provide you with a "pregnancy pillow" you can strap on to add about 3 months to your abdomen while you try on clothes. This was fun for about one fitting. Somehow the lumpy cotton blob under my shirt just wasn't drawing up the expectant mother excitment that I thought it would. But it did little to hinder my spending capacities and between there and Old Navy we still managed to blow the budget and hook me up with a sizeable wardrobe. As much as I enjoy wearing brand-spanking-new clothing, I'm trying to hold off as much as possible on these only because I know that someday, in the coming months, I'm going to be wishing I could still wear the clothes I can now.

Now I know what you're thinking, "Certainly she can't be in maternity clothes already!" But alas, this small bump has nearly pushed me over the edge. If you ever visited me at work, and saw the way I now wear my pants, you too would realize how appealing an elastic waistband sounds right about now. Give me a few more weeks of this rubber-band trick and I'll soon be crawling to my "secret-fit belly" stretch jeans.

Baby J's First Photo Shoot

Today was the appointment I have been waiting for my whole life ... or at least since my dud appointment last week. I've been able to schedule the majority of my appointments at the clinic on the base where Jon works which is slightly closer and does not involve crossing any bridges or tunnels. When I first arrived the entire clinic was undergoing a tornado drill, so everyone in the office had to cluster into the receptionist's room. The evidently-efficient receptionist decided to do what she could with my file while we were all waiting. Nothing like shouting your height, weight and last menstrual period across a room full of strangers. Or, as in my case, shouting it twice because the sweet women didn't speak very good English.
Despite my half-day appointment last week, the staff must have failed to do their job, leaving today's nurse to go over my complete medical and family history. But I have to admit, we had a great time bonding over listeria warnings and stretched ligaments.
After a few tests she brought Jon into the office for the ultra-sound. It was amazing! Baby looks like a little teddy bear, with a big head, round stomach and stubby little arms and legs, which were flailing about during the ultrasound. We also got to see the heart beating! We held our breath while she looked for what she thought could be a neighbor (sooo not ready for two) but she determined it was only a full bladder. (Doesn't take long for that these days.) And so we were sent home with two pictures to share with our family and friends, and another appointment scheduled in 4 weeks.
Now that we have no-doubt-about-it confirmation that this baby is real and in it for the long haul, I feel like I can stop being nauseous. Now if only my body would get the memo...

BabyCenter Says ...

Early pregnancy symptons
"Heightened sense of smell - Many newly pregnant women find they're overwhelmed by gag-inducing smells early in pregnancy. This may be a side effect of rapidly increasing levels of estrogen in your system."

No kidding. Last week my nose was stuffy, this week I could put German Shepherds out of business with my new uber-sensitive sniffer. I can't pack my lunch in the morning without gagging over the grilled chicken. I can't wear my perfume. I can't open the trash can without holding my nose. And I can't grab a snack from the refrigerator without getting hit with the overwhelming scent of garlic and onions.

Our first-floor/quasi-basement has a distinct smell - musty and damp with a hint of leftover air freshner that Jon insisted on purchasing. As soon as you open the guest room door it hits you. Unless you're me. Now I can smell the guest room whilst sitting on the couch, on a different floor, on the opposite end of the house. This is torture!

Now I know somewhat what it feels like to be a dog, and should we ever own one ourselves, I may be more aware of the smells our family produces around this animal with a keen sense of smell. I've been there myself.

When something so wrong, feels so right ...

Just for the record, I am not one of those girls who enjoys throwing up. I prefer to only taste my food the first time around. But the past two weeks have completely revolutionized my thinking. Now, if I go more than 30 minutes without feeling nauseaus, I worry that something may be wrong. As disgusting as it is, I want to feel sick just so I can feel normal, just to know that everything is going exactly the way it should. But as my very wise co-worker says, "If satan can't have you sick, he'll have you scared." So I'm determined to make the best of these humbling moments.
In the meantime, I've become quite familiar with the toilets both here at home and at work, and getting downright sick has become almost second-nature. I'm a pro.
Unfortunately, my normal menu is no longer appetizing. Raw meat makes me cover my mouth and run out of the room, a cool, crispy salad with italian dressing makes my stomach turn, and scrambled eggs ... eh, I can hardly type the words without getting queasy. This baby, on the other hand, prefers cheeseburgers, french fries and milk shakes! But I've been able to compromise with saltines, apple juice and granola bars ... most of the time. As all the good books say, at this point in the game, just go with your cravings, or something like that. :)
And so, as much as I'm hoping to drag this pregnancy out, I must admit I'm looking forward to the start of the second trimester and the end of my mortal enemy - morning/noon/night sickness.
P.S. No lie, all this talk about un-appealing foods has resulted in yet another tango with the toilet bowl. I'm going to close this post before I lose the rest of my dinner. :(

The Highly-Anticipated First Appointment

My request for a civilian obstetrician was over-rode resulting in a referral to the local Naval Hospital. By local I mean 40 minutes of heavy traffic, one tunnel and one drawbridge away.
I managed to still get to my first appointment a few minutes early, which was good since I had to park on the 5th and top level of the parking garage and the find my way through buildings 1 and 2, to reach the 4th floor of building 3 and find the doctor's office. After a short wait I then heard that my trip that day was actually not for a doctor's appointment, but rather for new baby orientation and a meeting with a nurse. So first was a 30 minute slideshow educating those of us in the room on our first pregnancy, followed by three videos detailing the first, second and third trimesters.
The office was understaffed that day, so we were all forewarned that it might take some extra time for us to each get called back to meet with a nurse. In the meantime, we were being entertained by trimester one. Thirty minutes later trimester one ended and, without a nurse to put in the next video, we were only entertained by a blank movie screen. At this point the remaining mothers-to-be began nodding off in their seats for some much needed naptime.
Of course, I was the last to be called. For the next 10 minutes, Nurse Shirley referred to me as "'Lil Mama" and took my weight and medical history. Then she sent me down to the first floor lab for some tests and a reminder to arrive with a full bladder. Like that would be difficult- being pregnant and trapped in a waiting room for 3 hours. Nearly 4 hours after my initial arrival, I was finally able to wrap up my visit with some bloodwork. I made the mistake of handing her the wrong arm, the one with the hidden vein. So she dug around with a needle for a while, finally hit something right, and proceeded to withdraw bood. Unfortunately, she didn't choose the most productive vein and after an eternal 60 seconds, we both realized neither of us had the time to wait until the next 8 vials were filled. So the blood-sucking nurse profusely apologized and proceeded to stab the next arm.
At this point, it has been over 5 hours since my last meal and, as I had failed to bring along a snack, I was starting to feel the lack of nourishment. Fortunately, this arm was much more compliant and we were able to get all the vials full before the darkness started creeping into the corners of my eyes and my entire body broke out into a cold sweat. And so, although Nurse-Stabs-A-Lot may not be very fast at drawing blood, she sure is fast at retrieving snacks. Next thing I knew I was chugging some cranberry juice and cramming down a Kudos bar. A minute or two later I was able to walk out, head held high, with wobbly legs and shaky hands clutching what was left of my cranberry juice.
And so ends the world's most anti-climactic first appointment.

Baby's First Vacation

We went to Key West this week to visit some of Jon's friends from the Coast Guard Academy. It was my first time in Florida and we had perfect weather. We spent some time on the beach, out on the boat and by the pool. Did some touring and lots of sightseeing.
The first day there I was so busy looking at the beautiful homes and architecture that I ran into a tree branch and scraped the top of my head. The second day there I stepped on a fish bone and ended up with a fish-rib poking through my flip-flop. I'm beginning to wonder just how safe my baby's carrier is going to be over the next 8 months.

I'm only 6 weeks along but I've already gotten a pooch and just this week nausea has begun to kick in. Flying was the most difficult. Just when did airlines stop serving mid-flight snacks?? I spent most of my traveling time praying that the Lord would either help me not throw up or pee my pants. It would appear that I've reached the food and bathroom addiction stage. I now carry snacks in my purse and always scope out the nearest bathroom. Sounds like good preparation for motherhood!

The News is Out

Being Jon and Janine, we don't like to waste any time. Less than 12 hours after getting my positive home-test, I was sitting in the doctor's office getting my blood drawn. Confirmed! I called Jon, who was working that night, to let him know. At the time, I was unaware that Jon's co-workers sometimes listen in to his phone calls in case the dialogue pertains to "official business." It did not take long for this particular person to determine that this phone call was fairly "unofficial." Too late. And so the first to hear of our exciting news was none other than Jon's fellow Coasties.
When Jon works the night shift for the whole weekend we see very little of each other. So without adequate time to discuss our "news release" we had decided to hold off for a few days until we could think of a fun and creative way to share.
The ladies I work with have pretty keen baby-dars (I'm something like the 8th person to get pregnant in our building this year) and so the secret was out within the first half hour of that Monday morning. Of coure, everyone was compelled to silence until we could figure out the best way to tell everyone.
As much as we wanted to drop the bomb in person, we knew we wouldn't be able to wait that long. So we finally developed a scheme. That Tuesday immediately after getting home from work, Jon and I ran out to the beach (the cold, wet beach) and snapped some shots of our footprints in the sand. A few computer clicks later and we had our announcement. Then we just had to wait until we knew our families were home, and off went the email. Our phones were ringing the rest of the night.
By the time we had finished updating our family and close friends it was time for bed. When we awoke the next morning, the news was OUT! (credit goes to Facebook) So much for trying to tell everyone personally. I succombed to sending out a mass email to everyone we know and following up with as many phone calls as possible. If there is anyone out there that is still unaware of the newest Tillman family development, you have my apologies. (But obviously you never email me or I'd have your current address and would have sent you an announcement.)
I think the best thing about babies is that they make people so happy! :)