Jackie is almost 18 months old.
I have no baby book for her.
Haven't started.
Don't mistake that for a lack of pictures. We have LOTS of pictures. Just no organized scrapbook chronologically marking every "first" for her to read through later in life.
I just kept saying "I'll get to it."
Yeah...in the mean time, I'm now 8 weeks away from little Katerina joining in with Jackie and all the fun thing they will get into growing up so close in age.
So, I figured I would start now by comparing pregnancies, since Jackie's is still pretty fresh in my mind. If I try to wait until baby #3 comes along, I might forget it all. (That might be a good thing...)
So here's a comparison of "This Pregnancy vs. That Pregnancy" or "Jackie vs. Kat"
Getting Pregnant:
Jackie: Took four months. I thought it would happen like THAT. I know that still isn't very long in comparison to other couples who tried for many, many months before getting pregnant, but I figured it would be no time. (I guess I just had to wait until "God's Time.")
Kat: Boom. Like THAT. This time I thought it would take 4-6 months for it to happen, so we started trying a little early. Maybe she will be the "punctual" one! :)
Finding Out:
Jackie: Had sort of "given up" for the month of July and put it out of my mind. But 3rd Annual Mystery Weekend was about to start and I needed to know. Took a test (an old one given to me from a friend at school who she insisted "didn't need anymore."). It said negative. No big surprise. SURPRISE later when I saw the test in the trash reading positive. Confused. Googled false positives. Drove to store to buy a new test. This time digital. No needing to figure out any line crap. Got a two pack. "Pregnant" read out loud and clear. Called Ethan at work. Called doctor. No alcohol on 3rd Annual Mystery Weekend.
Kat: I was in the "we are trying" mode, meaning not drinking unless I'm sure I'm not pregnant, already taking prenatal, and waiting until I was a week late to take the test. Even though I was pretty sure I was. Used #2 test in the pack of two bought before. Positive. Yelled to Ethan from bathroom. Called Doctor. No alcohol all summer...
Symptoms:
Jackie: Had about a week and a half of "Knock-you-off-your-feet nausea" and did nothing but lay in bed the entire first week of August. Started teaching and coaching just in time for the "So-tired-even-blinking-is-exhausting" stage. Came home from practice at 6ish... and went to bed. Threw up a few times if I ate too fast. I'm a teacher. I eat fast at every meal. Had to learn to SLOW down.
Kat: No real long period of nausea, just would hit me from time to time, usually in the evening. Barfed off and on. Tiredness in first trimester again, this time, there's no going to bed after getting home from school. Had a one-year-old to take care of. (Although, I have found that the first trimester tired and coaching is nothing like the third trimester tired and coaching.)
Sleep:
Jackie: Didn't have too much of a problem probably until the last month or so. Had a hard time getting comfy and sleeping long enough. I woke up a couple times a night to go to the bathroom. Heart burn was only a problem if I ate too late before going to bed. I snored.
Kat: Take everything I said about Jackie, multiply it by two and then speed it up about 4 months sooner. I hit the uncomfortable sleeping stage back in July. Last night I got up every hour (on the hour) because my bladder urgently required me to. That's a pretty normal night. If I eat much after 6:30 I can pretty much assume I'll be up 'till midnight. Heartburn a nightly problem, even if I just eat ice. I snore.
Cravings:
Jackie: Any and all things peanut butter. Just couldn't get enough of the stuff! And milk. We went through twice as much milk.
Kat: Ice. Not just any ice, our ice from our freezer. You know, the dense cloudy type that gets nice and soft once it sits in the water for just a little while. I know it doesn't make sense, but my mouth actually starts to water when I see that my cup, filled with ice, is just at that perfect chomping stage.
Mood Swings:
Jackie: Eh...not so much.
Kat: About the same.
Seasons:
Jackie: I was "big pregnant" during the winter months and that was actually pretty great. I remember being worried that I would slip and fall on the ice, but luckily that was one of the "warmest" winter's we have ever had. I didn't have to worry about ice at all.
Kat: Ugh. Big pregnant during August, September, and still to come, October. I actually lucked out with this being one of the coolest Augusts on record, but that didn't mean the heat didn't come. It did. We're in the middle of it now. I was so worried about slipping on the ice, but turns out, coaching is just as dangerous. I tripped during our first game and stumbled onto the bench, hitting my face on my manager's shoulder. Good thing the parents sit up in the mezzanine and couldn't see how red my face was.
Things-To-Do:
Jackie: We started building our new house about a month after we found out Jackie was coming. We closed on both the new and old house on Christmas Eve. I was almost at my 7 month mark. Get new house ready, Jackie's baby room ready, showers, and plan for a long-term sub (who would be giving my kids their state assessments). Yep. Busy.
Kat: Transfer Jackie to new room (current transition in progress...night #1 has started). Coach volleyball. Teach. Got everything ready for sub before school started (whoo hooo...go me!). Plan baby shower for Sister-In-Law. SIL has baby 9 weeks early. Plan baby shower for later in September. And most recently on the list, redo all of sub stuff due to hard drive crashing. Last week was a rough one. It will all get done...it will all get done...it will all get done...
Things-To-Buy:
Jackie: Everything. We had nothing, but a crib.
Kat: Winter clothes for newborn - 3 months. We may have two girls, but when one was 3 months in July and the other will be 3 months in February, those hand-me-downs aren't gonna work!
Feeling Baby Move:
Jackie: I felt the first little flutter right around 18 months. I know because that's when I had my sonogram and she was moving and turning all over the place and I was just feeling little tiny movements. Ethan could feel her move for the first time when I was 22 weeks along. I distinctly remember this because it was Thanksgiving. :) Jackie continued to be quite the mover, but only when I was resting. If I was up moving around she was almost rocked to sleep.
Kat: I felt her for the first time around 15 weeks, just tiny little punches. Ethan could feel her by the time we had the sonogram at 18 weeks. Since then it has been NON STOP MOVEMENT. Big movements. I swear at night it looks like she is trying to escape from the left side of my belly. I am definitely blaming her on my stretch marks! Oh, and she doesn't "rock to sleep" when I'm moving. She's moving too. Such a different sensation!
Showing:
Jackie: My goodness, I think I still had people coming up to me in January (7-8 months along) saying how I didn't look pregnant at all.
Kat: HA! My Father-in-Law asked if I was sure I wasn't have twins by the time I hit the 7 month mark.
Time:
Jackie: Everyone kept saying how pregnancy goes so fast. It's 9 short months (actually...10). It didn't feel fast to us. We just kept waiting, anxiously. Ethan would constantly tell her that it was time for her to come out so he could hold her.
Kat: I stupidly thought this pregnancy would "feel" like it went faster because we were busy with Jackie. Nope. Not at all. I am so excited for her to come and meet us all that it seems like time is dragging on. Not to mention I've been uncomfortable longer than I was with Jackie, and I still have 8 weeks to go.
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