Our First Glimpse of Baby #2!

We had our first High Risk appointment with Dr. Iriye at the High Risk Pregnancy Center and it went well. I was so anxious to have this appointment because I really needed to see this baby. I know I peed on a stick and it was positive. I know my blood work has confirmed this. But there is something so REAL about seeing your little bean and hearing the heartbeat of the baby that is growing inside of you. I need this tangible evidence to feel connected to this little life. 

When I scheduled the appointment the woman checked my dates and told me we would be in the window for the first trimester genetic testing. Turns out we were short by about 2 days so I could only get part of it done and I need to go back in two weeks. They were able to do the blood work in the office so we will go back for the ultrasound when I am closer to 12 weeks. They'll be able to do an immediate assessment of the risk, if any.

We had Gianna with us for this visit which made things a little more complicated. She was very interested in walking around the exam room and checking everything out. While we were in the waiting room I had told her that the doctor was going to touch mommy's belly with a magic wand and we were going to watch the baby on the TV together. I showed her Google Images of what I was talking about. She doesn't like when doctors touch me (even for blood pressure) so prepping her for what to expect has done wonders. I try to get her excited and then when the time comes she knows what is going on and wants to be part of it. She wanted to sit with me up on the table, which was cute.

The baby is measuring 10w5d, which is exactly what I was that day. Right on track for a February 22 due date. It is such an overwhelming feeling seeing your baby. It doesn't get old and I got teary when I saw him/her for the first time. The heartbeat was strong, in the high 160's. When Dr. Iriye came in he made us feel really comfortable right off the bat. He is so personable and friendly. He also gave us a special treat and showed us the baby in 4D! This will be super cool further along but still neat to see it now, too. The HRPC doesn't print out sonogram images anymore. They email them to you after your appointment. This is great because it also includes video. Here are the first images of Baby Angioni #2!

Here are some video's of our little baby stretching his/her arms and legs. I love the little feet!

This is the 4D video. I'm not sure why it's in "fast forward". Maybe Baby Angioni will be an Olympic swimmer. :)

Next steps: After our discussion with Dr. Iriye and filling him in with my history, I am being sent for a battery of tests.  He wants to be sure I don't actually have a clotting issue which is causing the complicated migraines (and that they are really not TIA's). Also, he will send me for a different gestational diabetes test this time. He wonders if I actually had it with Gianna and it was undiagnosed. (I failed the first test but passed the longer one last time.) He's getting a full workup and I am fine with that. Anything to make sure both baby and I are doing fine with as little complication as possible. We follow up in two weeks!

Baby #2: 11 Week Update

With my first pregnancy, lots of weird things happened in my first trimester. I had a subchorionic hemorrhage, I got my first complicated migraines, a hernia developed, etc. (You can read a little  more about that here.) We had our first ER visit at 6 weeks and by the time I was 10 weeks we had been there like 3-4 times. 

Well, for this pregnancy it hasn't been too much different. Halfway through week 8 I got my first complicated migraine. I was at work and all of a sudden the headache came, light spots were everywhere, and I was numb on the left side of my face. Luckily, I did not lose my speech this time. That always freaks me out the most. 

The beginning of week 10 started with me catching the stomach flu Gianna had a week prior. What a miserable experience. I went to Urgent Care to get checked out because the cramping was so bad. I figured I may be a little dehydrated, too so I wanted to get looked over. I drove myself because I didn't see the point is dragging Marco and Gianna with me to sit there for who knows how long. When I got there, the nurse took my blood pressure and said, "That can't be right." She took it again and didn't say anything. I told her it's usually a little low. When the doctor came in she told me my blood pressure was 89/54 and she couldn't believe I wasn't about to pass out. Whoops. Guess I shouldn't have driven myself.  I got hooked up to an IV for fluids and waited for them to kick in. My blood pressure went back up to 101/58 so that was better. I went home and took the next two days off to recover.

Overall, I have been feeling pretty good. The exhaustion hit at about week 7 and has been brutal. I think nursing has something to do with it. My body needs to make milk and also grow a baby and placenta. I am looking forward to week 14 and the second trimester.

Some differences and similarities I've noticed so far:

This time, my sense of smell went into overload early on (didn't happen with G). No morning sickness but I need to eat something in the mornings when I wake up so I don't get light headed (same as with G). I feel movement already. It's like little bubbles popping and it kind of makes me feel queasy. I can feel it right before I go to bed when I am still and it's quiet. I recognize the feeling but was really surprised it was this early. No kicking yet, obviously, but those early little flutters are there (flutters with G around week 15, first kick at 18 weeks). My boobs hurt with Gianna, but nothing this time (not complaining!). I'm not sure if that has to do with nursing or not. Bloating sucks. A lot. I hate it. It was bad the first time and it's worse this time because of the hernia. I know I need surgery to fix it and I wish I had it done already. It should become more comfortable once the baby moves up into my abdominal cavity but right now I have a deformed belly with a golf ball looking thing sticking out above my belly button. LOL!

Moving forward, my OB is referring me to the High Risk Pregnancy Center again. We went there with Gianna for the last six weeks or so because of the issues with excess amniotic fluid. He wants me to be monitored throughout this pregnancy because of these random issues, along with the fact that Gianna was 9lb, 5oz, and I will be 34 years and 8 months old when this baby is due. Apparently, that is just too close to being 35. :) We have our first appointment scheduled soon and I can not wait. We have not heard a heartbeat for this baby yet nor have we seen him/her. With Gianna, I had an ultrasound at 6 weeks because of the bleed. I NEED to see/hear this little bean!! We will also be getting the first trimester genetic screening done.


How far along? 11 weeks
Maternity clothes? I actually wore a pair of maternity shorts and a pair of capri's because the bloating and hernia were so uncomfortable. Today, I am wearing my regular jeans which fit just fine still. Just depends on the day.
Stretch marks? No

Sleep: Not bad. Up about once a night to pee.
Best moment of the week: Getting over the stomach flu and our first High Risk appointment
Miss anything: Beer. I like beer.

Movement: Little bubble popping flutters, mostly at night before bed.
Food cravings: Not really. When I had the stomach flu I really wanted a Dunkin Donut. Ridiculous. I did not have one.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Little flutters make me feel a little queasy. No morning sickness though.
Gender: Unknown

Symptoms: Lower back pain, bloating, bloating, headaches here and there, TIRED!
Belly button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: On 

Labor Signs: No
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy
Looking forward to: Making the announcement that this little baby is joining our family and Gianna is going to be a big sister.

Coming Soon! Gianna Lucia: Big Sister

Well, friends, it's official! Gianna will be a BIG SISTER this February. I am due on February 22, 2015 and we could not be more excited!

We found out on June 12th, the day before we left for London. It was two days before my missed period and I was only three weeks, four days along so it was super early. Here is the back story:

One of the "side effects" of nursing Gianna was that my period didn't come back after I had her. This is normal and it makes its appearance at different times and everyone is different. For me, it took 27 months (Jan 2012 - April 2014) for it to return. We wanted to start trying for another baby but without a period that can be challenging for obvious reasons. I tried a combination of things to get it to return. It started in February with night weaning Gianna and that took about 2-3 weeks. Still nothing. I tried reflexology, massage and eventually acupuncture and supplements. It returned in April and I started tracking everything. (Hooray for apps that do this!) I got one more period in May and a positive test in June. I know what a blessing this is and am so thankful for the opportunity to be a mommy again. 

I had planned to test on Saturday, but that was the day we were supposed to land in London and also the day I was supposed to get my period. It was Thursday and Gianna was at school, Marco was at work, and I was home getting us packed and ready to go. I was sitting on the couch watching the funeral of Las Vegas Metro Police Officer Igor Soldo and I was balling. Balling. It was so sad. Then I was on Facebook and looking at posts and videos of random things. Balling again. I was an emotional mess. I literally cried on and off for like two hours that morning. When I stopped to think about it, I realized that I had also been up multiple nights that week to pee during the night...not a normal occurrence for me. I decided to test and use the Dollar Store test I picked up a few days before. 

Now, I was prepared with a "real" test and had a Clearblue Easy digital test with a weeks indicator ready to go. I figured I'd try the Dollar Store test first so I didn't waste the good test. So silly (and I clearly did not learn anything from the first time around). I did the Dollar Store test and could not tell if there was a line or not. OMG, seriously?! I swear there was a super faint line but I couldn't tell if I was psyching myself out. I took a pic of the test and posted it to the November 2012 Mommy Group I am part of on FB. Some ladies there can invert the pic to a negative (I don't know how to do this) and it's easier to see if there is a line. So I posted the pic and someone commented immediately that she saw a line without the fancy negative thing and encouraged me to do the Clearblue Easy test. Luckily, I still had pee in the cup (I panicked for a sec till I realized this) and I put the stick in and waited. Longest. Three. Minutes. Ever. Stupid hourglass... Then all of a sudden it popped up....PREGNANT 1-2 (weeks). I just started crying and sat on the floor. I was so overwhelmed and excited and overjoyed, really. But I was home alone....so now to figure out what to do next.

We were trying to get pregnant and I thought it would be really cute for Gianna to have a Big Sister t-shirt. I had ordered one for her on Amazon and, funny enough, it was actually delivered the day before. I did not tell anyone I bought it- not even Marco. I had to go to Marco's work that afternoon to pick something up from him so I decided to pick up G from school first and bring her with me. I dressed her in the shirt and we drove to his office. I called Marco and asked him to come down "because there was a weird light on in my car all of a sudden". When he came out of the elevator Gianna and I were waiting for him. He saw the shirt right away and was so surprised! He was so excited and picked me up and spun me around. It was super cute. 

The day we found out Gianna was going to be a big sister!

That evening, I had dinner with my mom and brother and had G wear her shirt. When we arrived, I asked my mom to put the dogs outside because Gianna was sleeping. Then, instead, I sent her walking in with her new shirt on. Here is what happened next:

We shared the news with both our families and then boarded a plane for our European adventure...which was now a dry event for me. Another trip abroad with no beer or wine. Sigh....but for the best reason ever! It's a good thing gelato doesn't have any alcohol in it! :)

We made it "Facebook official" at 11 weeks and had some fun sharing the news. Gianna wore her pink Big Sister shirt to school and we gave her class some Dunkin Donuts Munchkins to help celebrate our new little "munchkin". I also brought some to my office an wrote something similar on the boxes. Here is the picture we used to make the announcement on Facebook:

And so, the next adventure begins!!!