Halfway already?!

18 weeks, 6 days: The obligatory (and super cute) profile shot:

Jazzercise in the womb: You'd think I could feel it!

Hey y'all!: face forward shot with his little heart beating away

Showing off my nasal cavity and waving hello:

Yep, it's official: girls don't have those :)

Making up for my lack of photos in the last post, here are all of the ultrasound photos we got at our anatomy scan today.  The tech took about 30 more, but they were all filed in my chart for reference.  Those pictures show a very healthy, unremarkable (yet quite remarkable!) baby boy.  Everything measured on target, looked healthy and couldn't be better.  Officially a singleton, The Bean is getting quite comfy in there.  The doctor met with me for about 5 minutes after the scan to confirm that everything looks good, and scheduled me to come back in 3 more weeks.

Last week, Week 18, I started feeling little baby kicks.  They are very slight and only happen when I'm sitting very still, but unmistakable to a veteran mama.  I felt Ben much earlier than The Bean, but today confirmed that this is because his placenta is front and center, cushioning most of his movements.  When I can feel him, it's because he is working on his jazzercise routine and really getting busy.  The combination of the kicks and seeing my little human on the screen this afternoon helped me understand that THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!  I am not reliving my pregnancy with Ben, and I am not talking about someone else, I am having another baby!  Holy cow!  I have to be honest, it's been harder for me to bond with The Bean.  I'm chalking it up to being super busy chasing a toddler around and not sitting around, dreaming about nursery colors and newborn onesies.  But this week has changed all of that.  My little guy is half cooked and will be here in as much time as it took to get this far!  He is super cute, too.  I fell in love all over again watching him squirm around while the nice ultrasound tech tried to measure his head and leg bones.

The Bean probably has a name.  This was a long conversation (19 weeks long) that became quite boring at the end.  We kept landing on the same 10 or so names, and by we, I mean me.  Jacob agreed with one or two, but we couldn't quite work out a name combo.  Until THE name.  I threw it out over chicken fingers at our friendly neighborhood restaurant and Jacob didn't say "that sucks".  A few minutes later, he said "I could live with that" and I slept on it to see if I could too.  Sure enough, I still love it.  The first name is his top choice, and the middle name is mine.  Backwards from Ben's naming ceremony, where I chose the first, and he the second.  In true Turner fashion, we'll probably keep it a surprise because 1. it's the only surprise left, and 2. we'd like to avoid the "You're naming him WHAT?!" conversation with friends and family.  It's not completely outrageous, but there's always that insensitive guy who proceeds to share a story about how he knew someone by that name who picked his nose, or remind you what embarrassing word the name can rhyme with.  Anyone who has named a child can relate to this.  Because I am pregnant and emotional over things like Alltel commercials, I want to avoid this situation.

I have finally arrived in the glorious "honeymoon trimester".  The morning sickness is gone except for the occasional "I think I just threw up in my mouth" situation (sorry, it happens).  I LOVE my new curves and believe myself to be rocking pregnancy, but am savoring it because I am approaching "Your baby is due WHEN?!" status, followed by "Are you carrying twins?" to end with "I didn't know bellies could stretch that much!".  I'm carrying The Bean front and center, just like Ben.  I'd like to think you can't tell I'm pregnant if you're behind me at the checkout line because he's all out front.  I feel pretty wonderful and am still a manageable enough size to work in the yard (my favorite spring/summer past time).  Oh yeah, and my health is stellar.  Like I said, the honeymoon trimester.  I did finally put my regular jeans away this weekend (RIP regular jeans: 0 weeks - 18 weeks gestation).  Wearing pants to my ribcage and feeling good.

10 weeks:

18 weeks: Less snow, more baby!

7 short of a baseball team!

"The Bean" is not a Bernice, it's a Bernard!  We're having a baby BOY!  Had our gender scan this morning where our wiggly little man showed off his goods with no problem, just like his big brother.  The doctor commented on how squirmy our little hamster is when she said, "HE'S a wiggly one!"  and showed us the evidence.  Jacob and I exchanged "told you so" looks again, followed with complete excitement for our family and especially for Ben.  Two little boys, two years apart!  We're either completely blessed, or in a lot of trouble.  Or both!

The exam went very well.  Mama is up 1 pound from last month and has a squeaky clean bill of health.  The Bean's twin is completely gone with no traces left, which is amazing and a relief for his sake.  He seems to be measuring on target, and will get the complete work-up in 3 weeks when we return for the "anatomy ultrasound".  Mama is feeling well, and still has the occasional battle with nausea, but it is getting better.  Just like last time, all I can think about is caesar salads.  I dream about them.  I taste them in the middle of the day.  I would continue eating them if I had an endless supply. You know when you go to your friendly neighborhood restaurant and order the salad and they bring you a mountain of lettuce you couldn't possibly ever finish?  Yeah, I can finish those now.  And eat what's on Jacob's plate too.  Especially if it's more salad.  It's just a shame that I'm not addicted to something like, fat-free raspberry vinagrette - caesar dressing might be worse for you than ice cream.  But I'm loving it!

The name debate is quickly turning into another battle.  We're still clueless on what The Bean will be called.  I'm not sure The Bean Turner will work, so hopefully we'll get more creative here shortly.  It's pretty much a replay of last time - I throw out several (really good) names, and Jacob destroys every one of them.  When I ask what his suggestions are, he throws out something ridiculous and mythological, and the conversation ends.  We have about 24 more weeks to play this game before we need to get serious, otherwise we'll be leaving the hospital with "Baby Boy Turner".  Or The Bean. 

We've been preparing Ben for the arrival of his baby brother, but not surprisingly, he doesn't get it.  He loves babies though.  When I'm home and watching "A Baby Story" or some other equally horrific birthing show on TLC, Ben hears the babies cry and becomes very concerned and interested.  He loves hearing babies when we're out and about.  Not sure how crazy he'll be about it when a screaming infant wakes up at 3 am in his room while he's trying to count sheep, but time will tell.  The boys will share a room.  And secrets.  And mischievous plots.  Lucky for us, the blue paint is already on the wall and we have endless storage bins of blue sleepers and onesies.  We are just so thrilled we can't even stand it!

So Team Turner is completely outnumbering me, and I couldn't be happier!  Nothing better than a little boy, except two little boys!  7 more, and we can play ball!

Healthy Bean

March 22nd: 11 weeks, 6 days gestation:

Little Bean is taking over the womb!  We didn't get an exact measurement this time, but everything appears to be developing on schedule.  The best news of the day is that the empty sac is getting smaller as Baby's sac gets larger.  It's beginning to compress, which is exactly what we were hoping for!  The ultrasound pictures only show Little Bean, wiggling around and being healthy.  Our doctor is so pleased with the progress that we won't return for another month, and by then we'll be able to positively identify whether this one is pink or blue!  And if everything looks good then, we'll go back to being monitored on a regular schedule, instead of every two weeks!

Being nearly 12 weeks pregnant is fantastic.  We are almost out of the 1st trimester and on our way to the "honeymoon" trimester.  That was the best part of my pregnancy with Ben.  No sickness, little fatigue, looking round enough to be pregnant, but not freak-show huge, and developing that fabulous pregnancy glow everyone talks about.  I am still experiencing waves of nausea, extreme fatigue, and the pregnancy glow is still greasy acne as my body tries to regulate all the excess hormones.  But soon all that will change.  My mindset at this stage of pregnancy changes as anxiety lessens and excitement sets in.  I am still miraculously fitting into my pre-pregnancy jeans and discovered happily (and by accident) last week that they aren't even my fat jeans collection!  I could have sworn I had dug up the fat pants, but I must have dreamed it.  Anyway, I know my days in them are numbered.  And like last time, I am going to fight wearing my maternity clothes as long as possible.  As comfortable as they are, they are the same amount of ugly.  Hard to feel cute with an elastic waistband up to your bra and a puffy, oversized shirt that makes you look like a heavyweight champion before you're weighing in as one.  But I did drag some of that stuff out and it's sitting in my dryer, waiting to be folded and mixed in with my other clothes in the closet.  You know, just in case my pants don't button tomorrow.

We're completely blocked on names right now, but it's still early.  Auntie M text messaged us from a Cracker Barrel somewhere in the midwest to inform that if the baby is a boy, he will be named Bernard, and if it's a girl, Bernice.  She feels strongly that this baby should be called "Bernie Turner" and thinks Bernie and Benny would be a great team.  We've lovingly started referring to our Little Bean as "Bernice" as a result.  Not because he/she is a girl necessarily, but because the name is hilarious.  I'm hoping that once we can determine which team we're on (pink or blue), we'll be able to generate names more efficiently. 

So things continue to look really good.  Still not much to talk about because it's so early, but things are progressing as perfectly as they can at this stage.  Our Little Bean is officially a fetus and the size of a plum.  We've got little fingers, toes, and even toenails and all the major organs are formed and beginning to function.  Next time we check, there will be a little more anatomy visible, and we'll be sure to keep everyone updated on that!

The Twinless Twin: An 11 Week Journey

Oops, we did it again!: January 24th, 2010

Well, not exactly oops.  As evidenced by another BBT chart, targeting the moment this pregnancy began:

The month started out rocky, as I was fighting yet another illness and on too many antibiotics, but as my temps evened out, evidence supported that we were successful again!  Unlike my pregnancy with Ben, I had a sneaking suspicion that we'd conceived way before tests would indicate a positive.  I had strange symptoms including ridiculous mood swings and intense cravings for sweets.  The night before I tested, I got a charley horse in my calf while stretching and have only experienced such horror during 3rd trimester of pregnancy.  Even though I was still days away from being able to test accurately, I just had an inkling... and an unused test in my cabinet.  My compulsion to pee on a stick got the best of me and the rest is history!

The interesting part of the story is how dark the test's positive line was just days after ovulation.  We joked that the only logical reason for this was because it was twins.  Not so funny two weeks later when the scan showed two sacs on the screen!  Only another countdown was set to begin.  The week long countdown to the next ultrasound because neither sac revealed a baby inside.  At 6 weeks gestation, you would expect to see a little something in there, but we saw nothing.  So we waited.  And stressed.  And considered the possibilities.  Twins?  One baby?  No babies?  It was brutal.  Also brutal was the morning sickness and fatigue that had set in.  My body was playing a cruel joke on me by acting ridiculously pregnant, but we had no confirmation that it was viable.  Until the next ultrasound.

7 weeks:

The first shot is a closeup of our little bean and its yolk sac, heart beating away and looking healthy as ever.  The next shot reveals an empty sac to the left, where a baby was supposed to grow, but never did.  The doctor told us that we had implanted twins, but only one was developing.  She ordered us to come back the following week to look again, to see if perhaps the baby was just too small and we'd missed it this time around.  We were elated that there were signs of life inside, but still nervous about what to expect with the second sac.  We'd confirmed that there is at least one baby to be excited about, and breathed a tiny sigh of relief.

8 weeks:

A terrible photo, but more confirmation that our little survivor continued to grow and get stronger, while the other remained empty.  The first two shots show the sacs side by side, with signs of life in the one on the right.  The bottom shot shows Little Bean all comfy, looking more like a chicken nugget than a baby, but heart beating as healthy as ever.  At this point, the doctor suggested the diagnosis "vanishing twin", which is quite common in early pregnancy, and nothing to be too concerned about.  She ordered us back in two more weeks to monitor the growth of Little Bean, and the disappearance of the baby that never was.

10 weeks:

Hi family!  This is our Little Bean, measuring 10 weeks, 6 days, hanging out sort of sideways with a waving hand and little feet pointing down.  Finally taking the shape of a human, our little baby is growing according to schedule and was wiggling around and bouncing off of walls in true Turner Fetus fashion.  Everything looked great on that side, but the other side revealed that same empty sac, growing along side our baby's, with a full blood supply and placenta to boot:

Medical marvels, yet again!  The doctor told me to take it easy and to come back every two weeks to monitor through ultrasound.  The empty sac poses somewhat of a threat because it is not normal for it to continue to develop if nothing is inside.  With a vanishing twin, the empty sac reabsorbs as if it were never there, and the pregnancy continues with no extra risk.  Our situation is slightly different but the good news is, our little baby is completely unaffected right now, and is happy as could be.  And as happy as the baby is, I am equally as sick.  Luckily, this is a good sign of progression.  At least that is what I tell myself when I feel like I'm on a rowboat in the middle of the Atlantic during a hurricane.  I have also been very, very tired week after week, and really look forward to the end of the first trimester, when they say these symptoms clear up and it gets easier.  I do not have memories of feeling either nausea or fatigue with Ben to the degree that I am experiencing them.  I may have been too excited to care, or have already forgotten the details as second time mamas tend to do.  Ben has been a perfect angel through the experience though, and has gone out of his way to be a nice boy and take extra long naps when I need him to.  He couldn't be making this any easier on me if he tried.

I am officially 11 weeks along tomorrow.  Our estimated due date is October 5th, which puts our kids about 23 months apart.  So far, I've only gained a couple pounds and am still rocking my pre-pregnancy jeans, although that is getting harder and harder every day.  I will likely have to dust off the Bella Bands in the next couple of weeks in order to squeeze some more time out of them, but this is OK.  The longer I can put off huge maternity jeans with elastic waistbands, the better - they are NOT fashion statements by any means.  Although neither is walking around with unbuttoned pants.  In any event, we are so excited to be expecting again, and to be in the midst of another 40 week countdown!  So far, this pregnancy has proven to be quite interesting and fit for a medical journal, but we don't mind, as long as our Little Bean stays healthy and happy in there.