18 weeks + 2 days belly shot

So here I am this morning...

I must admit, it does reassure me a  bit to see my belly growing comparing it to the older pics while I wait (very impatiently!) to feel the baby moving.  Really, really, really looking forward to my scan next week...!

First baby purchase

Our first baby purchase...well, sort of.

We went to have a look at car seats at the Target toy sale today.  Particularly with the new car seat regulations here, Jake will now have to stay in his existing car seat until he is 4.  For the new baby, we haven't yet decided if we will get/hire a capsule, but either way, we will need a convertible car seat which will take them through from birth to 4 years before they move up to a booster.

I have a personal preference for Safe n Sound when it comes to car seats because I believe they are much safer than other brands in general.  We didn't like the ones that they had in Target, but stopping in at K-Mart we spotted this one.

The Safe n Sound Galaxy Sports:

It was much much cheaper than our last car seat at $159, but still a great car seat, and still a Safe n Sound.  It turns around and is suitable from birth, but we have decided to give the new car seat to Jake and put the newborn in his old seat.  This is the seat that he is using at the moment (except ours is all black)

The Safe n Sound Meredian AHR:

So, as you can see, a lot more padding making it more suitable for a newborn.

I love that the new car seat is not as bulky so that it will fit better behind the driver's seat.  I also think that Jake will probably be able to look around a lot more as it is not as big on the sides.

As I said, we are still debating getting a capsule as well.  I didn't have one with Jake and don't feel that I needed one, but it's different this time around already having a toddler.  I can see it being useful for trips to the park/playgroup etc etc.  We are also still debating whether or not to get another pram with a toddler seat, or whether to just make do with the single pram and a sling/ergo.  The only thing making me lean a little toward another pram (besides the 'want' factor!) is that it will be the middle of summer when the baby is born, which can obviously get hot for both Mum & bub in a carrier a lot.

It's made it feel so much more real, buying an extra car seat and starting to think about the logistics of another baby.  Very strange indeed.

Hypnobirthing

After talking to a few people and doing some research, I have been recommended to look into Hypnobirthing.

So last week I went out and bought the book...

I have read about 1/3 of the book so far and I must say I am impressed and pleasantly surprised.  It is a lot more factual that I would have thought and has really given me a lot to think about.  Already I am feeling better about the impending labour this time, and I haven't yet gotten to the section with the tools to help during labour.  In particular, I have found that the book is helping me by showing just how bad my last labour was handled.  Knowing that I have chosen a much better obstetrician and hospital as far as low intervention rates, there is already a great chance that my experience this time will be nothing like the last time.  It has helped me realise why I felt so much pain, why my labour progressed so slowly before getting the epidural, and why I felt so disappointed in myself and my birth experience.

I'm also reading Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering:

I borrowed this from the library yesterday after the midwife at my OB's office recommended it.

I did try to do research on birth last time, but I'm hoping this time around it will be more effective, now that I have been through it before and know a bit more about myself it that situation.

The big question...

...to find out, or not to find out!

So, I've been meaning to do this post for ages (sorry AJ, I know you asked me AGES ago!!) so here it is.

We have decided that we will be attempting to find out the sex at the 19 week scan for the following reasons:

- Last pregnancy we found out by accident when watching back the DVD.  A flash of the 'boy bits' in 4D was very very obvious...not much else that could have been!  It was disappointing to not have that 'It's a ...' at either the scan or the birth and to have the decision taken out of my hands.  This time around, we are getting another 4D scan and don't want to take the risk of it happening again.

- I don't bond as easily as some during the pregnancy due to the whole 'self protection' thing based on our history.  Once I got past the way we found out last time, knowing the sex did help with the bonding during pregnancy.

- When my son was born, even though we weren't 100% sure that he was a boy, I didn't even think to ask or check if he was in fact a boy.  At that moment, I was so in love with this tiny baby, that I couldn't have cared either way.

- With already having a toddler at home, practically it would make it easier to know the sex of the baby.  Obviously if it is a boy, we won't have to get anything!  But if it's a girl, we may want to buy just a little bit of pink ;)  This is obviously easier to do with only one child in the outside world.

- Names...boy names in particular...I really struggle to find boys names that I like.  It will force me to try harder earlier if I find out that it is indeed a boy!

I think that pretty much covers it.  But I am sorry to add that we have decided to keep the secret to ourselves.  There are a few people that don't want to know and I don't want either the surprise spoiled or to have to keep track of who to tell and who not to.  Plus I love the idea of having that special secret just for us, and to be able to share the news as a surprise to all our friends and family.

We now just have to hope that baby co-operates on the day!

16w3d Belly Pic

So here's my belly shot from this morning at 16w3d...

Comparing to the shot from 2 weeks ago, I seem to be 'rounding' lol.

Feeling pretty good at the moment, still a little more tired than normal, but I'm thinking that will probably be the case for the whole pregnancy (and the first few months of baby!!).  It's manageable though and I'm still keeping up with my active little toddler.  This pregnancy seems to be going so much faster than my last one.  I guess I have a lot more to keep me distracted this time!  I just can't believe that in less than 4 weeks I will be at the halfway mark!

Midwife appointment

I had my midwife appointment today, what a great midwife I have!  The appointment ended up being just over 30 mins when all that was really needed was to check the baby's heartbeat and my blood pressure.  The heartbeat sounded beautiful, and it was so relieving to hear.  It's hard to know that I have this little life growing inside of me when I still can't feel anything.  My blood pressure was pretty low, but she wasn't too concerned as it can be normal for this stage of pregnancy and I normally sit on the lower side.

The rest of the appointment was spent discussing labour - basically addressing my fears due to my last labour experience and how we can make sure that this time is a completely different experience.  She was so understanding and really helped reassure me that there is a chance that I can get myself prepared before the birth and not have such a terrifying experience the second time around.

The only other thing from the appointment was that I got the referral for the 19 week morphology scan.  I've decided to go to a brand new place that has just opened, which is actually right next door to my obstetrician.  They do the 4D scans which I had with Jake and would really like to have again.  I booked it in while I was there - we are all set for the 6th August, just 4.5 weeks away!!

First belly pic

So, this is me earlier this morning (so excuse the pj's!) at 14w3d...

It's fair to say that I've been feeling very big for how early in the pregnancy it is!  It is my second pregnancy so I guess it's all normal, but it's still a bit of a shock to the system.  I'm in maternity clothes already...but am feeling more comfortable in them.

Other than that, all seems to be going smoothly.  I'm not feeling sick at all anymore, but still get more tired than normal.  Although that has improved a lot as well.  I have my next appointment on Monday, this one is just with the midwife.  No other news for now, will post another update again shortly...