 Profile shot of Sydney sucking her thumb. Her other hand is waving at us. |
 Head on view. You can clearly see her head, arms and legs. |
| Well, here we are in the second
trimester!!
This was a huge milestone for us because once you get this far the
chances
of miscarriage are greatly reduced. We were able to relax a
little
once we entered this phase of the pregnancy. Carole has had a few
doctors appointments so far in this trimester and both times she was
able
to hear the baby's heartbeat :-) One interesting thing about
pregnancy
milestones is that once you pass the first hurdle, there are a bunch of
other things to worry about. For instance, in the first
trimester,
you worry about spontaneuos abortion, possible defects because of
medication
you took or alcohol you consumed before you knew you were pregnant and
a host of other things. In the second trimester, you breathe a
sigh
of relief, but now you worry about cleft pallet, down's syndrome and
spinal
bifida! I'm sure there will be more worries once those things are
ruled out once the third trimester begins as well.
One dangerous thing to do is read how a "normal" pregnancy "usually" goes. This trimester is the one where the morning sickness, a.k.a. "ADANS" (All-day-all-night-sickness), goes away and mom gets a lot of her energy back and is always a welcomed time. All I can say is LIES!! ALL LIES!!! Even though Carole has some of her energy back, the need for her "happy pills" is still there!! Carole first felt our baby kick on the weekend of October 20! It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience, but it was great none-the-less. The baby was having fun using Carole's bladder as a kicking post!! |
| The third ultrasound was done on Friday October 26 at week 19. This is when we found out we were having a girl!! Sydney's due date is March 19, 2002. We cant wait!! She is now almost 25cm and growing very quickly. Her heartrate is at a healthy 150 beats per minute. One bonus for us is that we found out at this ultrasound appointment that Carole's placenta is low-lying. I know that sounds a bit strange (calling it a bonus), but the OB had us schedule another ultrasound at 32 weeks to make sure that it moved out of the way of the cervix. If after 28 weeks it still has not moved, it becomes a condition called "placenta praevia". We get more ultrasounds!! Click on this link to read up on this condition. It's only dangerous if a normal delivery is attempted with this condition. If caught and recognized early enough and it has not moved by week 32, cesarian sections are commonly scheduled. |
Profile shot of Sydney sucking her thumb. Her other hand is waving at us. |
Head on view. You can clearly see her head, arms and legs. |
| Well, it's now December 7th, 2001
and Christmas
is coming very quickly!! Sydney has been a very active
baby.
Every single night, just as Carole is all comfortable in bed, she
decides
to let mom know that she is down there. She kicks and punches and
generally keeps Carole awake. Ahhh...the child knows how to
irritate
mom already!! I had been trying in vain to feel our baby kick,
but
I could never feel anything. Carole then had a great idea.
She put a votive on her belly and because it was balancing there,
whenever
Sydney would kick or punch, the votive would wobble. I used that
as a guide and put my hand near where she was moving and finally...I
could
feel it! I first felt my daughter move late on Saturday November
24, and Amanda felt it a few days later.
Mom has been having difficulty sleeping in this trimester. Heartburn is beginning to set in and she is having big problems with a condition called Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) . It is estimated that 8% of the population has this condition in various degrees. If you have "creepy crawly" sensations in your legs, which get worse at night and cause an overwhelming urge to move them, you may have RLS. This condition has been known to get worse in pregnancy, and often will disappear after giving birth. Many people have had this all their lives and were commonly told as kids that they are "growing pains". I have this condition as well and was told by my doctor as a kid that they were growing pains. Mine isn't too bad and I can usually fall asleep without problems. RLS has gotten so bad for Carole that I have found her sleeping in the recliner in the living room with her book in her lap many a morning. She would fall asleep out of pure exhaustion. |
On to the third
trimester
Back to the first
trimester
Back to the
Baby page
