Expecting the Best: 12 Weeks

It is mind-boggling to me that I’m 12 weeks, all of a sudden!! I love that my dates changed 🙂 It was a pretty serious upper from last week. Obviously, since then, I decided to shift the day that my I’m posting my series, but it feels so much more organized in my head this way. (Oh gosh, I wrote that it felt more organized in my heads. Sooo maybe I’m not as together as I thought!)

Shall we begin?

Comparison/Size: My baby is roughly the size of a toy soldier, though likely not as skinny or as green. According to the ultrasound, the baby was 4.13 cms, crown to rump. Even though the baby is small, it appears that they need a lot of extra room to move around, because guys, the bloat is ON! But I’m thankful for it, actually. Through my first trimester, I have been fairly consistently nauseous, but I’m actually strangely happy to report than I gained weight!! I don’t think I shared numbers or anything back in the day, but I will say I have gained four pounds from my first weigh in around 6 weeks until now. I started this pregnancy actually a bit under the weight I was aiming for, so I’m happy to have gained a bit, rather than losing a bunch thanks to the constant nausea. I feel very well taken care of in that way.

How am I feeling mentally: Honestly, I feel pretty good. Probably the best I’ve felt yet. I feel some good reassurance that the baby in my womb is growing and thriving. As Theo’s due date comes closer, I’m definitely feeling more sadness and mourning in my heart. But I have learned as the days roll on that I am capable of missing my precious Theo, and wanting him to still be with us, while I celebrate the new life that God is growing in my body, and anticipating another little person joining our family. I was trying to organize my thoughts a while back and someone had said something that had really cleared up how I was feeling. Long story short, she told me that option 1, having Theo, would’ve been amazing. Truly wonderful. He would’ve been a perfect addition to our family. But option 2, having the little papoose, will also be truly wonderful. I didn’t have to choose, and the outcome was completely out of my control. And while I LOVE baby Theo, I also LOVE this baby. So I’ve been able to sort my thoughts out a little bit again, and remember that losing Theo was so so hard, and I wish he could be here with us, but I have been fortunate enough to be given another little baby to carry and love on, for which I am very thankful. So honestly, emotionally, mentally, all the ways, I’m feeling pretty good. Pretty hopeful.

How am I feeling physically: Eh :/ Same old, same old. Still pretty nauseous, and actively on my medication. I had my first bout of crazy right leg pain the evening after our lake day, which I was a bit discouraged about. If you’ve been around here long enough, you know my right leg gives out on my pretty early in pregnancy, to a point where any amount of walking will suddenly leave my leg in so much pain, it can barely hold my weight. In my pregnancy with Solly, it got to the point of crawling to the bathroom in the night, or hopping on one leg. It was the closest I ever came to thinking I needed to ride the scooter through the grocery store because I just couldn’t walk it all. With the first bout of it having reared its ugly head so early, I think I’m going to head to my physiotherapist sooner than later and see what she can tell me and how I can cope through it. The right leg and pelvic pain are what make my pregnancies challenging, so if there is any way to curb at least some of that pain, I want to learn how!

Appointments: YES! You may have already read, but I had an ultrasound on Wednesday, and a prenatal on Thursday! I learned that my baby is measuring according to the original dates that I had come in with, so that bumped me a few days further ahead in my pregnancy, which was so exciting. The baby was so active, moving all of its limbs, bouncing around, etc. We heard later at my doctors appointment that everything looked right and clear and as it should. Beyond that, I got my physical and entered in all of our family history information. All the details are in order, and my new due date is on record. We picked out the student doctor who would be following us this time around, but we won’t actually see him until the fall. I’m fine with that 🙂 I love appointments with my doctor on her own when I can get them. The best! The most exciting part of last weeks appointment was hearing the heartbeat. A nice strong beat, hanging out in the 150-160 bpm zone. The baby was sitting higher up in my uterus higher than either of us were anticipating, which is why it took so long to find, but I’m so glad we did. Got it on video and everything! It was a great, encouraging appointment.

Buys/Wish List: I finally bit the bullet and ordered some shorts online the other day. Mine are just pinching and hurting and uncomfortable, and finally someone pointed out that the tight tight shorts are only going to make me more bloated, which is correct! So I’m rocking some really old, out of style bottoms while I wait for my new ones to arrive. I really hope they fit!! Would love to just have some comfy bottoms!

How are the kids feeling: They’re happy. Dekker is probably the most talkative about the baby. He mentions it pretty much daily, just wondering how big it is, what its name is, if its a boy or a girl, etc. The kids have also been consistently praying for the baby before bed, which I like a lot.

The BEST thing about being pregnant this week: I think its pretty obvious. The very best thing was our scan, and the reassurance gained from it. Seeing the baby so active and SO developed already was amazing. That scan showed us as slightly past 11 weeks. My last 11 week scan had revealed to us that our baby had died, and coming off of that, this one felt like our very first ultrasound for our very first baby. It was all so brand new and exciting. I cried. It was just awesome to see life growing in my body. Unbelievable. Miraculous, no matter which way you look at it. I’m so thankful.

Anything else: Ummmmm…I don’t think so. I think I’ll start a gender prediction tally soon 🙂 feel free to wager a guess in advance, but I understand wanting to give an educated guess as well 😉 I feel like I know which way the scale will be weighted though, haha! We shall see!

Pictures: First, some ultrasound photos. The best of the bunch. I love that my ultrasound place has gotten past only giving out one picture! I got eight this last time!!

You can see both of little papoose’s hands here!

A footy foot!!

And that bumpity bump again! Its getting round! 😳

Part of me is shocked to already be showing, but hey, I’m 12 weeks! So I’m actually really happy about it. I’m looking forward to being super noticeably pregnant so no one has to wonder 😉

This was just such an uplifting week for me. I feel like I’m in a better space than I have been leading up to this point. I hope it just keeps getting better and more encouraging and exciting. Oh and hey, if anyone wants to pray for something specific, please join me in prayer than the baby’s placenta implanted behind the baby. My last three babies have had their placenta on top of them, and it takes so much longer to feel movement when the baby has to kick through a big slab of meat, basically. I want to feel that movement as soon as possible, and gain that reassurance that comes along with it. I know it seems like a small thing, but it would do a serious favor for my heart. So if you want to pray for a detail, there’s a little one 🙂

I hope you all started off your work week right! Enjoy the sunshine and avoid the tornados! ☀️🌪️☀️