Announcing Baby Larson #2!

We are so excited that there is going to be another little Larson.  Baby Larson #2 is expected to arrive April 30, 2014.  Audrey's going to be a big sis!

We had Audrey announce the news to our family for us.  We bought a "Big Sister" shirt for her and had her wear it when my parents arrived to watch her for they day.  I think Grammy and Gramps were really surprised!

We took a lot of pictures, and that's how we told my sisters, Carl's parents, and Jennifer Larson. What fun news to tell!  I was with Amber when we showed her the pic, but Ashley was at home.  So we texted the picture to her.  She called right away when she got the picture and said, "I swear, if you tell me you're getting another dog..."  We laughed so hard... so funny.

I was supposed to have my 1st doctor's appointment at 8 weeks, but on the day of my appointment, I had a stomach bug and was up the entire night before really sick.  Like immobile from the bed/bathroom.  So I rescheduled and couldn't get in until 10 weeks.  Seemed like eternity to go in and hear the heartbeat and make sure all was ok.

But we finally went in on 10/9/13 and all is really good!  After the first ultrasound, they moved up my due date just by 2 days because of the baby's measurements and development.  (Original due date was 5/2/14.)  I thought I was 10 weeks along and they told me I was 11 weeks along.  So, there goes my first trimester... just like that.

Here are our first pics of the baby!

Heart beat was 179bpm:

I always tear up when I hear the heartbeat.  So incredible.  

My doctor that I see is not a high-risk doctor, but they do have one of the best high-risk doctors in the area in their practice.  I'm assuming this is why they have the 3D ultrasound just standard now.  I know they didn't have the 3D when I was pregnant with Audrey, just 2.5 years ago.  Here are the 3D pics.  Pretty crazy.

We then went back to the doctor on 10/23/13 (just 2 weeks later) for another ultrasound (my 12-13 week ultrasound) and to meet with the nurse.  Here are the pics, just to compare the baby's development within those 2 weeks.  The changes you can see comparing the 3D pics are really incredible!

I am going to start doing regular blog posts to journal my pregnancy.  I really enjoy looking back at my posts from when I was pregnant with Audrey, so I think it's totally worth it!

Since I'm so late in posting now, I will use this opportunity to sum up the entire first trimester (4 weeks, from when we first found out, through 13 weeks).

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  7 pounds throughout my entire first trimester.  I think it's all in my boobs... seriously.
Maternity Clothes:  I have a lot of maternity clothes from my cousin, and I also have my maternity clothes from when I was pregnant with Audrey.  But when I pulled out all my clothes, I realized they were all summer clothes (for the most part).  And I need all winter clothes now!  We had a really cold week a couple weeks ago, so I went out and bought a bunch of flowy shirts and sweaters (not maternity, though I know they'll be fine as my belly gets bigger) and some maternity sweaters and shirts.  My shirts still fit.  However, I feel uncomfortable if they're not really long shirts or if they are not flowy around my middle.  I'm still wearing my regular jeans.  I have a pair of jeans that I can still button comfortably, but I have a pair of skinny jeans that sit low (thankfully) but I have to fasten with a rubberband.  I need to buy some maternity jeans pretty soon I think.  I'm starting off this pregnancy a lot leaner and in better shape than I was last time around (to the tune of 20 lbs) so the maternity jeans/pants I have now are just way too big.
Gender:  We scheduled our "Level 2 Ultrasound" for December 17th, and we will find out then what the gender is.
Movement:  Sometimes I feel little flutters, but I don't believe it's the baby yet.  I'm hyperaware this time around since I know what to expect.  But I still don't think it's the baby.
Sleep:  Almost immediately after finding out I was pregnant, I was getting up 3-4 times a night to pee.  Seriously.  I haven't had a nice, long interrupted night of sleep in a longgggg time.
Cravings:  Early on, I had almost identical cravings to when I was pregnant with Audrey... mac n cheese, bagels and cream cheese, pop tarts, cheese anything.  A lot of my first trimester was very similar to Audrey, so it makes me wonder if we're having another girl... ??
Symptoms:  Starting around 5 weeks, I had the worst heartburn.  And it lasted about 2 weeks.  I remember having heartburn with Audrey, but not that early on.  I bought some antacids but I didn't even have to take them after I bought them because the heartburn just went away.  It makes me wonder if it was my body adjusting to the extra iron from the prenatal vitamins?  Although, I had been take the same vitamins for at least 4 or 5 months before I got pregnant.  I guess I wasn't taking them as religiously then, though.  Who knows!  Glad it's gone, though.  I had some queasiness, but never enough to get sick (except for when I was really sick... not pregnancy-related).  My motto was to just keep eating and keep a full stomach, then I wouldn't feel sick.  The first-trimester tiredness hit me HARD this time around.  I remember it being bad before and falling asleep on the couch at like 7 or 8pm after a workday, but this time it just seemed worse.  I guess I have more responsibilities this time around.  I definitely slacked on housework, and there were many nights that Carl would give Audrey a bath and put her to bed without me even getting off the couch.  But I really can't even complain.  I felt really great most of my first trimester.

Overall, I was really lucky to have such a great first trimester.  To the point that I was glad to see the ultrasounds and hear the heartbeat to believe I am pregnant!  Most days, I really just don't feel like I am.  I guess that's a good thing!