We've waited (and tried!) for over three years for this, and with all the anxiety of it going splat again, I've kept it under wraps for a little longer than I needed to.
We're having a BABY!!
Currently sitting at just under 26 weeks along, and the bump is long past being hidden. I should face it. this bump was visible from about 10 weeks, let alone 26 weeks! We have had scans and tests and so far, all is well. Our little boy (yes, a boy!) is growing well.
He's an active little one, quite different from Alex in-utero. I don't remember Alex ever being quite so active, and wriggly. This one (whom we have nicknamed Blueberry) informs me at 9am, midday, 4pm and 7pm if I have not eaten by then. He tries to kick and punch his way out through my belly button. I dread to think what this means for demand feeding when he is born!
With a 6.5 year age gap between the boys, this is like another first-time pregnancy. My body is reacting differently and it's all quite bizarre. So much for having done it all before. being pregnant with Alex was much easier and far more smooth-sailing, and I suppose being over 6 years older has something to do with it all. I recall previously having had a return of energy levels in the second trimester and now as I approach the third trimester, I realise my second trimester energy burst has gone AWOL, and most likely will not make it to me before third trimester exhaustion hits.
For the last month, I have been plagued with atopic eczema. I have never had eczema before. This is all new to me. So when the doctor misdiagnosed it as scabies or mites, I was none the wiser, and proceeded to treat the whole family and house - TWICE! Nobody else got itchy, and my skin just got worse. My obstetrician took one look at it and sent me off to see a dermatologist the next day. Believe me, I know how lucky I am to have gotten an appointment at such short notice. She diagnosed it as being severe atopic eczema, questioned my asthma medication and management and has prescribed lotions and potions. Less than a week later, I am much less itchy, though still looking rather plagued. I do hope this is the last of my pregnancy surprises. I have a new found empathy for eczema sufferers. If this is the ONLY unpleasant surprise I have this pregnancy, I will be very thankful indeed.
I'm off to do the glucose tolerance test today - wish me luck - and I have more follow up visits with doctors in the coming weeks for the asthma and eczema.
Oh, and why is the little one nicknamed Blueberry? When we first told Alex that there is a baby growing inside, he wanted to know how big the baby was, and we told him it was about the size of a blueberry, and hence, the name was conceived. Blueberry is now about 800g in weight and probably about the size of a small pineapple or most of a bag of flour. Maybe I should rename him?
