Pregnancy No. 2: Week 18 Recap

10/29 (18 Weeks) – Whoa! I can’t believe I’m already 18 weeks pregnant. Yes, I seem shocked every week, but that’s because Monday seems to creep up on me and my weeks change over on Mondays. This week was especially sneaky though. Last night as we headed to bed, I mentioned to Aaron that I was going to be 18 weeks which was 2 weeks from the half way mark and we were both really stunned when I put it into that perspective. Having a child to take care of already is kind of a distraction from counting the days, so it seems to have made this pregnancy really fly by!

Have I mentioned how happy I am that my weeks change on Mondays? My weeks changed on Tuesdays with Macario and that was just messy for note taking in my planner. The OCD part of me always wished I had a clean week of Monday-Sunday when I was pregnant with him. This baby knows just how to make mommy happy! *smile*

Today my only real symptom is pelvic pain. I feel great all around other than the pelvic pain. I don’t see it getting better at this point, as the baby will just keep getting bigger, but that’s ok. I actually prefer this over nausea, so I won’t complain! I’m just making note of it for record keeping. Maybe one day I’ll have a daughter-in-law who’ll want to know all of this stuff for her own reference!

I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed with wondering how I’m going to manage my time with two babies and work. One thought I’ve had was that I could start crock pot cooking to free up some time. Currently I go straight to the kitchen when I get home from work, and it would be wonderful to be able to sit with Mac give him some attention before I have to do anything around the house. I mentioned it to my mom and she went out and bought a crock pot so we could start that up! Hopefully, I’ll build a base of recipes we like and get in some good practice before this baby comes!

I’m still not really in maternity clothes. I’ve been wearing a couple pair of old maternity pants I have left from when I was pregnant with Macario, but that’s really only because I only have shorts for weekend wear and it’s too cold for that now, so I whipped out my old maternity pants rather than buying new weekend pants. My work slacks still fit just fine, I’m not even using the Bella band yet, however, I do seem to be getting really round in the belly!

I do also have some maternity shirts from when I was pregnant with Macario, but again I’ve really only had to start wearing them due to the weather. I’m not really needing them for fit purposes yet. I didn’t have a need for maternity clothes with Macario until I was 37 weeks (I think), but did wear them before that because of weather change and also because they really are very comfortable!

10/30 (18w1d) – Just one more week before my formal ultrasound with my doctor’s office. The gender ultrasound I had at 16w5d was at a private clinic and was purely for purposes of determining the gender. This time we’ll get more in depth info about how the baby is developing and also find out if baby seems to be 100% fine or if there are any issues we need to worry about and/or prepare for. Also, we’ll hopefully get additional confirmation of the gender (though it’s not like there was any doubt) and HOPEFULLY we’ll get a cute profile pic! So far this little guy has not been very cooperative in ultrasounds. He usually has his back or face to the Doppler so I have a bunch of skeletal looking images of him, but no cute profiles and I’m anxious to see if he will share his daddy and big brother’s nose! I could totally see the arrowhead shape of Mac’s noes from the ultrasound, so I’m wondering if I’ll get a chance to see that with this baby!

Pelvic pain is a constant (as I assume it will be from here on out). Today it has been slightly more intense than before. Last night I helped Aaron move our dresser into the bedroom and put away like 6 or 7 loads of laundry, so my guess is that is why I’m slightly more uncomfortable today. I have a doctor’s appointment scheduled for tomorrow because I noticed a bit of pink when I urinated. The nurse I talked to thought maybe I had a bladder infection, but the on call doctor didn’t mention anything like that. He just said that some spotting in the second trimester is common and usually not anything to worry about, but that I should be seen.

10/31 (18w2d) – Today is Halloween! I’m very excited to take Macario trick or treating tonight. I cancelled my appointment because I had no other incidents with the pink urine or any bleeding for that matter, and I noticed that when I held Mac my pelvis ached a lot more than when I wasn’t holding him. All of that indicated to me that I was just putting too much strain on my body and I just needed to take it easy. I don’t believe anything is wrong with the baby and my doctor feels comfortable with me not coming in as long as I call if things worsen or change.

I tried to take things easy last night and I slept with a pillow between my knees to help my hips from compressing and putting pressure on my pelvic area which seemed to help as well. I bet I’ll be sore tomorrow though (after trick or treating tonight).

11/1 (18w3d) – Well trick or treating was a little uncomfortable, especially when Mac wanted me to hold him. Fortunately, Aaron, his brother and my sister came along to help carry him (especially when he was tired toward the end). I had a lot of fun watching my little boy trick or treat though, so it was very much worth it and surprisingly I’m not nearly as sore today as I was on the 30th when I noticed the pink urine.

11/2 (18w4d) – Obviously the recurring symptom for this week has been pelvic pain and it still is. Today it has been very tolerable, but I’m not sure whether that is because I am used to it by now or it truly has eased up. Also, I haven’t mentioned it a lot, but some days I have very frequent urination. Most days it’s about normal, but some days it’s like I can’t stay out of the darn bathroom!

Today I woke up with such an urge to pee that my stomach was cramped up. That was uncomfortable. I don’t see that improving by much either!

11/3 (18w5d) – Woke up with a strong urge to pee the same as yesterday. This happened with Macario at about the same time (I think) and now it means my day starts earlier than usual. I could just go back to sleep before if I wanted to, but now when I get up Mac hears me and he’s ready to roll. Today we were flying solo (Aaron had a meet out of town) and we got lots done. Fortunately, my sister was around to help me with Mac. I’m having a hard time keeping up with him physically. My pelvis still hurts and now I’m feeling what I think is round ligament pain, so I’m slightly uncomfortable, but with a little help it’s definitely manageable and I got a lot done. Just hope I’m not too sore tomorrow.

11/4 (18w6d) – Awakened by the urge to pee again! I made it to the restroom without waking Mac and decided to catch a little bit more sleep on the couch so I wouldn’t wake him up on my way back to bed. He woke me up about an hour later so that was great!

I weighed myself today and I don’t seem to have gained any weight (or lost anymore) so I’m still down 5 lbs from my starting weight. Being pregnant seems to be my best diet trick! The weight just comes off when I’m pregnant. I really hope that this continues throughout the same as it did with Mac. This time I won’t squander the jump start on after baby weight loss (like I did after I had Mac).

I felt a little achey today (which I predicted) and I have a slight headache that never really got better so I took two Tylenol just before bed. All in all I feel ok and I can’t believe I’m going to be 19 weeks tomorrow! I’m also excited about my ultrasound on Tuesday!

Below are a few pictures from my gender screening from 10/20/12. I was 16 weeks and 5 days then.