READ THE SHIRT

So, there's no real way to hide it any longer: I'm pregnant!!!! We found out on Friday, August 29th, the day before Nikos' baptism, and couldn't be happier. My due date is May 11th (though I'll likely have a scheduled c-section on May 7th or 8th), and things have been going really well so far. We are so excited about the new Littlest P., and we think that Nikos is going to be the sweetest, most wonderful older brother. We've been blessed with one wonderful little person already, and are certain that #2 will be just as great!

And in case you were wondering... I have been blogging about all of this in secret! Of course! As of right now, all of those blog posts are being made public, so you can go back and look for them. The subjects are all marked with an asterisk (*), or you can click here to see them all on one page. We've already seen the little peanut on ultrasound one time, and will hopefully find out the sex on December 17th. Hooray! :)

*Shortness of Breath

I had a realization today... For no obvious reason, I found myself very short of breath while trying to deliver a science lesson this afternoon. I instantly thought back to when I was pregnant with Nikos, and that happened a LOT. And believe me, I am used to talking quite a bit, and don't usually have this problem! I actually had to stop talking to just catch my breath for a minute, and the kids laughed (I did it in an exaggerated way and told them that I talked too much-- so true!). Anyway, isn't that weird? The baby is the size of a fig-- not exactly pressing on my lungs yet. I think that I must just have a higher oxygen requirement, now that my body is pumping so much more blood. It was like I'd run a few laps, when I am quite sure I did not.

Ah, the joys of pregnancy! :P

*Meet the Peanut!

I had my first doctor's appointment today, and was surprised to get an ultrasound! If you'll remember back to my first appointment with Nikos, I was sorely disappointed to NOT get one. The letter that the office sends out clearly states that there is an ultrasound at the first visit (to date the pregnancy), but the Nurse Practitioner I saw that day assured me that I was incorrect and made me feel like a huge idiot. She was actually a substitute for my REAL N.P., who had just broken her arm and was out of commission for a while. In talking with her (the real Nurse Practitioner) today, she told me that her substitute had been unfamiliar with the old ultrasound machine that they use, and had avoided doing the ultrasounds for the first three or four days when she was substituting. And of course, with my luck, my appointment fell during those first few days. I ended up getting an ultrasound at the second appointment, but was still baffled (and irritated) by the letter I had gotten from the office. It just didn't make sense!

Anyway... I went to the appointment today thinking that it would be no big deal-- we'd go over my medical history and I'd pee in a cup, just like last time. Gus had today off from work (Columbus Day), and my parents had come down to help him work on various projects around the house. Since we didn't expect any excitement at the appointment, Gus stayed home with my dad and kept working, while my mom decided to tag along with me to the appointment. And then I was floored when the N.P. told me I'd be having an ultrasound. Before I knew it, I was staring at this little gummy bear on the screen, flapping its nubby little arms and legs and twisting around!

It was so awesome, seeing this little peanut and knowing that it's real!! The nurse said my due date is definitely May 11th, and that I'm measuring about 10 weeks and 3 days. We saw the heartbeat flickering and everything. After that, I got sent down the hall to do my bloodwork (they had to draw 6 vials' worth, yuck!), and then we headed on home. All in all, a great day, I must say! :)

*Uh-oh...

On a whim, I decided to try on my bridesmaid dress for Mike and Steph's wedding last night. And it's a good thing I did, because it doesn't fit!! I can't get the zipper up-- and it's not because of my bloated belly. It's because of my RIBS! They seem to have expanded overnight, and there's just no fighting against bone structure, you know? So I will be taking the dress to the seamstress today to see if she can fix it. The dress is way too long, so it has to be shortened, anyway... And I'm hoping she can use some of that extra fabric to sew in a little panel next to the zipper to give me some more room (the zipper is on the side, which is pretty fortunate, I think). I'll also ask her for advice on what to do about the belly region... I can't really predict how big I'll be in two months, especially since I'm already bigger with this pregnancy than I was with Nikos. But when I stick my stomach out as far as I possibly can, that part of the dress still fits. So I might be okay there.

It makes me so mad, though, because I intentionally ordered a larger dress, knowing full well that I could possibly be pregnant by the time of the wedding! But I didn't know my rib cage would expand so soon. I wonder what other fun surprises are in store for me this time around...

*Compare and Contrast

It's interesting, being pregnant a second time... Instead of everything being brand-new and foreign, I actually have a basis for comparison this time around! Still, things have been kind of different.

For one, I don't have the "afternoon sickness" that I had with Nikos. With him, the nausea would hit me like a ton of bricks at around 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon, and I could barely force myself to eat dinner. Plus, I'd be in bed at around 8pm, partly because I was so tired and partly because I felt like garbage. With this pregnancy, I don't feel nearly as nauseous-- but I feel it off and on all day long. It usually gets better if I have something to eat or drink, but I still feel borderline-queasy for most of the day. And although I am definitely tired, I've been able to stay awake until at least 9:30 most nights.

In exchange for my sickness not being as sudden or severe, my skin seems to be much worse this time. I feel like a teenager-- my face keeps breaking out! With Nikos, I had pretty good skin throughout the pregnancy, so this really stinks. And being pregnant, there aren't a lot of products that are safe for me to use to remedy the situation. Darn it!

Anyway, there you have it... My first trimester compare-and-contrast! Based on my observations, I am going to go way, way out on a limb and predict that this baby is a girl. But who knows? I thought Nikos was a girl, too, until I saw his ultrasound (at which point I could definitely see that I was wrong!). Gus is convinced we're having another boy. I guess we'll know for sure sometime in December! :)

*Sickness

It's baaaaaaack... This afternoon, right around 4pm, I went through a phase where I swore I could smell everything in the house. And I could still smell basil on my hands, despite having washed them numerous times (and I only touched the basil briefly, hours before). My head started to throb, and I just wanted to throw up. I drank some water and took some acetaminophen for my head (it's okay to take while pregnant), but ugggghhh... Everything just suddenly came back to me from when I was pregnant with Nikos! I could barely function! I was so glad Gus was home, so I could just rest on the couch for a bit and hope for it to pass (which it did, around 6pm). But tomorrow, and for the rest of the week, I'm on my own... These next few weeks could be rough ones, if tonight was any indication! :(

*Single Mother of Two...

Ok, so one of the two happens to be an embryo slightly larger than a poppy seed, but still! I really don't know how single parents do it. My hat is off to them, because this week has been completely exhausting. Gus has been in Panama on a business trip, so it's been just me and the kiddo. That alone is enough to make anyone tired. Throw in a pregnancy, and I could just pass out right here and now. And then add to that a sick cat (who peed all over the floors that the aforementioned kiddo crawls on), and a few meetings at work that I had to run, and it's just been a glorious week!

As if that wasn't enough, Gus called last night to tell me that his flight (through Houston) has been canceled due to Hurricane Ike. Greeeeaaaat... I struggled with an uncooperative internet connection and eventually managed to find and book another flight, this one going through Dallas and landing in L.A. Then I booked him a rental car to make the drive from L.A. to home. It was a pain, but it worked... Gus should be home in about half an hour! I am so excited to not be a single parent anymore (until the next trip, at least).

*Overexertion

I guess it's my paranoid nature starting to kick in, but I'm really afraid that this pregnancy is going to be so much harder than the last for a single reason: Nikos. He still needs us a lot, and we're constantly bending, twisting, lifting, etc. to take care of him. I actually started feeling a little bit crampy earlier after I lifted him out of his crib, so I tried to rest for a little bit and drink some water. It went away very quickly. Still, what am I going to do once I start to get a belly? His crib mattress is down pretty low, and the crib doesn't have a drop-side-- I don't think I'll be able to bend down to get him without totally squishing baby #2! Seriously-- what am I going to do?????

I guess it's not as much of an issue when Gus is home. He's just going to have to start taking over more of the physical baby care activities. But this week, he's in Panama for a business trip, so I'm flying solo. I think I'm going to have to make a conscious effort to be really careful! sigh... I think it will also help when Nikos can walk. But we'll see!

*One Word: Exhaustion

Wow, am I tired! I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm pregnant. Or that I was at school for 13 straight hours yesterday (we had Back to School Night for the parents-- it went really well!). No, I'm sure it had nothing at all to do with either of those things. :P

In other news, I scheduled my first prenatal appointment! Hooray! I'll be seeing the same doctor/nurse team that I saw with Nikos, and I am so happy about that. I feel like I really got to know them, especially towards the end of my pregnancy, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing them (and the office staff) again! The big day is Monday, October 6th, but I know that it will be a boring visit-- standard paperwork, medical history, blah blah blah. Nothing to write home about. The one after that should be when I get my first ultrasound to date the pregnancy. THAT will be one to look forward to!

4 weeks, 4 days pregnant... The Littlest P. is currently developing a notochord (primitive spine), heart tubes, and the first blood cells!

*Telling the Family

With Nikos, we kept my pregnancy a secret a little while before telling everyone. But with this one, we were presented with the opportunity to tell everyone in person, since we'd all be together for the baptism. So even though I am barely 4 weeks pregnant, we decided to spill the beans to our parents, siblings, and koumbari (Nikos' godparents and our wedding sponsors... who are like close family).

After the baptism, I kept trying to pull my parents aside to tell them, but it just wasn't happening with that many people around. So Gus and I walked them to their car when they decided to go home. Along the way, I asked them what they were doing in May (much like I asked them about October when I told them I was pregnant with Nikos). I thought for sure my mom would catch on right away, especially since she knew we were trying. But she didn't! She said, "I don't know-- why? What are we doing in May??" So I said... "going to a hospital..." at which point she shrieked, "YOU'RE PREGNANT?!?" (I was actually worried that the guests at the party might have heard her yell, but I don't think they did). Anyway, they were both happy. Of course!

We did the same thing about an hour later, when my brother and his wife decided to leave. I flat-out told them that I was pregnant. I think they thought I was joking, because they were both asking me, "Are you serious??" Anyway, they were happy, too (of course!) and now have more experience! I am hoping my brother won't freak out when it's time to hold baby number two in the hospital. He was really on edge last time.

We never did get a chance to tell Gus' parents that evening, mainly because they were running all over the place and taking care of their guests. But the next morning, after we all went to church so that Nikos could take communion with his godparents, we went out to lunch. Nikos was still wearing his white baptismal outfit, so I took him out to the car to change him into something else (I could just see him making a huge mess on his crisp white clothes!). The "something else" was the big brother t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I brought him back into the restaurant, and Gus sort of stood him on the table so that everyone could see. Maria (Nikos' godmother) read the shirt out loud, but it didn't register. A minute or so later, Gus' sister said, "Wait-- are you PREGNANT???" Much confusion followed, as some people had not been paying attention to the shirt and didn't know what was going on. But in the end, everything was straightened out, and there was much hugging and happiness. So Nikos got to share in the "telling" process, too, even though he can't talk!

We are all so excited to have another little one in the family... I can't wait to meet Nikos' little brother or sister!! :)

*Big News!

I am writing this post on Friday, August 29th, with the intention of making it public at a later date. I just wanted to write everything down now, while it's still fresh in my mind!

Long story short... I AM PREGNANT!!! :) It truly is amazing how things work out. We knew we were ready to start working on baby number two, but there was one big obstacle: as a teacher, I have to use my sick days in order to get paid during my maternity leave. With Nikos, I used up all but one-half of a day, so my sick time was almost completely depleted. With this in mind, we decided that our efforts to try for a baby were going to be a "limited engagement"-- that is, we would try ONLY during the month of August, in hopes of getting pregnant with a late May/early June baby. If that didn't work, we would hold off on the baby-making for another year or two, until I had enough sick days stored up for a decent maternity leave.

It took me seven months to get pregnant with Nikos, so I was convinced that we wouldn't be lucky this month. I consoled myself with thoughts of drinking great wine at Mike and Steph's wedding in Napa in November. Gus and I also said we would take a vacation together next summer, if I wasn't pregnant. While those things sounded fun, I really just wanted another baby-- a little brother or sister for Nikos! Still, I was not optimistic.

Just like the last time I got pregnant, there weren't really any huge signs. I always hear people say that their breasts started to hurt, etc., but that just isn't me, I guess. I have been exhausted all week, but that's nothing unusual, given that school just started up again. Everyone seemed exhausted, to be honest. I also felt bloated, but blamed that on the fact that I was eating a lot of junky food. The only sign that made me possibly suspect that something was up was my sense of smell... For the past few days, I have noticed more smells than usual. And some of them really bothered me. Like on Wednesday night, when I stepped out of the shower only to find that Gus had taken my bath towel (he was doing laundry). I quickly grabbed a clean towel from the laundry basket on our bedroom floor, and started to dry off with it. It smelled AWFUL-- like it had been sitting in the washer for a while before being dried. Kind of like vinegar. I was so nauseated by it that I opted to dry off using my hand towel-- no joke! And when I complained to Gus about it, he swore up and down that he could not smell a thing. That's when a little lightbulb went on in my head! ding!

Today, after work, I got home and saw the box of pregnancy tests just sitting there on my bathroom counter, just daring me to take one. I knew that it was probably too early, since most tests recommend waiting until 14 days after ovulation (today is day 11 for me). Still, I figured, "Why not?" I took the test, set it down, and it appeared to be negative right away. No surprise. But I carried it with me into another room, and glanced down a minute later. WAIT-- was that the beginning of a second line???? I ran into the dining room, where the natural light was better. Yes, there was definitely a second line, and it was getting darker. It didn't get especially dark, but it the world of pregnancy tests, "they" say that "a line's a line!"


Being the planner (and daydreamer) that I am, I had a shirt made months ago for Nikos to wear on exactly such as occasion! It said "Have you heard the news? I'm going to be a big brother!" I dug the shirt out of its hiding place in my dresser, and dressed Nikos in it. I then took him out in the yard to attempt to take some pictures (for blogging purposes, of course!), but my model was uncooperative and kept trying to crawl off the blanket. So we went back inside and played for a bit, waiting for Daddy to get home.

And of course, Gus had to work later than usual! And then he stopped to get us dinner at Chipotle on his way home, making him even later. By the time he walked through the door, it was just about bathtime for Nikos. I tried to hold Nikos so that Gus could read his shirt, but he just wasn't noticing. Finally, I said, "Hey! You haven't even commented on your son's new shirt!" He took Nikos from me, read the shirt, and gave me a look. Not a look of excitement, but rather one that very clearly meant "Really? You got him a big brother t-shirt and you aren't even pregnant yet? Aren't we jumping the gun a little?" So I said, "But it's TRUE!" Gus was in shock!! He thought it was still too early for me to test, and wasn't expecting that news at ALL! But the shock quickly gave way to happiness and excitement, and we began to discuss various details (due dates, rearranging furniture to make another nursery, names... that sort of thing). Anyway, that brings us to right now! We're having another baby, due sometime around May 15th! And this time, it happened on the first try! We feel so excited and blessed... So stay tuned! :) :)