Pregnancy #4

I'm currently twenty-four weeks along in this pregnancy with Baby Davidson #3. In case you missed it, it's a BOY! In case you're confused because this is Baby Davidson #3, but my fourth pregnancy, I placed my first child for adoption when she was born.  I talk about that a lot here, here (tears!), and here.

Pregnancy symptoms I'm experiencing this go-round:

-Nasal stuffiness. I do not even know why some things happen in pregnancy the way they do. What has nasal stuffiness got to do with being pregnant?!  Who knows.  But I've got it.  The only time it's an issue is at night.  I can't really breathe through my nose very well, so I breathe through my mouth.  And, apparently, sometimes snore.  SO SEXY.  And I wake up with a ridiculously dry mouth.

-Round ligament pain. I don't know how I've escaped this one in my previous pregnancies, but this is the first time I've felt such. Thanks to the interwebs:

Round ligament pain is a sharp pain or jabbing feeling often felt in the lower belly or groin area on one or both sides. It is one of the most common complaints during pregnancy and is considered a normal part of pregnancy. It is most often felt during the second trimester.

YES.  ALL OF THIS.

-Nausea. In the first trimester, I had the stoopid tired phase coupled with mild-moderate nausea. In my previous experiences, I had moderate-severe nausea.  I threw up multiple times per day, lost weight, hardly ate anything.  The nausea from those days did not respond to meds, keeping something on my stomach, certain foods, etc.  This time, however, it really and truly helped to keep a little something on my stomach at all times.  If I started to get hungry, that's when I would throw up. So I ate. Frequently.  I'm sure you noted the world supply of Ritz crackers taking a hit during my first trimester. I gained 20 lbs by thirteen weeks. WOW.  I've never gained weight in the first trimester before!  First time for everything, I guess! Since the beginning of the second trimester, I haven't had any nausea.  Very, very grateful for that.

-Sweating. So much sweating.  Granted, it is South Carolina in the summertime, but I'm usually a cold natured person.  Except when pregnant.

-A few of the symptoms I've experienced I won't elaborate on (ew), I'll just leave links here and here and here that you can check out if you'd like.

Of note, I've had little to no heartburn at all.  That is amazing to me! That particular symptom is something I've experienced a whole lot of in previous pregnancies.  It's notably lacking this go-round and I'm loving it!  I'm speculating that I don't have any heartburn because all my inside girl parts are threatening to fall out of my outside girl parts (#fourthpregnancy), so there's really NOT a lot of pressure on my stomach to cause acid reflux and heartburn.

Thankfully my weight gain has slowed tremendously from the 20 lbs in the first trimester.  I could probably get it to slow even more if I could drop the daily Dr. Pepper and multiple-times-a-week ice cream habit.  But it's so hot out! (go ahead! Call DSS because I'm drinking SODA while pregnant!!)

24+4 weeks, super dark picture, sorry

Mental-health-wise, I haven't noticed any depression or high level anxiety.  Both of which I've experienced postpartum and will be on the look out for. I will say, as a NICU nurse, being 23-24 weeks pregnant makes me a little bit nervous.  At this point in gestation you still have a choice as a parent whether you want them to perform life-saving measures for your baby. That's such a difficult decision, I don't want to have to make it!

I've been grateful for some second-trimester energy and motivation to work on things around the house.  Organizing files and papers and keeping up *slightly* more with routine cleaning and laundry. Good stuff.

First Day of Kindergarten

Let me tell you about our first day of drop-off at Kindergarten.

I feel like these pictures tell the story well.

1) The outfit.  James REFUSED to wear what I picked out for him today. He insisted on wearing this outfit so that people would know he's the big brother and not a little kid. Sure.

2) The blanket.  This blanket is his beloved. Don't even think about him sleeping without it.  He needed the blanket-comfort for the 5 minute ride to school. (The blanket stayed in the car, btw, it did NOT go into school.)

3) The forced smile, reddened eyes.  All summer long James was excited about kindergarten.  He talked about it almost every day. He couldn't wait to go. Now, the day of, and he most definitely did NOT want to go anymore.  The idea was nice, but the reality?  No bueno.

He was tearful most of the way to school.

"I don't wanna go."

"I miss memaw."

"I don't want to go without you guys (mom and dad)."

Due to all his summer excitement and anticipation of this day, I figured he would be fine (no tears) and I would be a mess (lots of tears) at drop-off.  The fact that he cried all the way there made it way, way, way harder for me.  I held it together as we parked and walked in together.  The parking lot was nuts, for the record. The closer we got to his classroom, the more composed James became and the harder time maintaining composure I had.  He went right in the classroom, found his seat with the teachers help and sat down.  His kind teacher invited me in, but I didn't go in the room.  In every piece of pre-kindergarten communication from the school they stressed the need for QUICK GOODBYES on the first day.  Don't linger, they said. So. I didn't.  I paused for a moment to see if he would look back so I could wave, but he didn't. I hurried away and fought (unsuccessfully) tears as I walked out of the building.  I had passed other moms on the way in that looked like I felt, a blubbery mess.

It is HARD to take your first born to school!  And leave them there ALL DAY.  For the first time, today, I've suddenly become a fan of homeschooling... (Lest I alienate the homeschooling community: I'm fine with other people homeschooling, just never considered it for my children.)

Stay tuned for the afternoon report from James about how the day went!

AFTERNOON UPDATE:

After a quite sizable car pool line, I picked up James after school.  His teacher put him in the car and said he had a great day.  She said he did fine, no tears, up until recess when he had a little emotional moment. She said it was brief and he was fine after that.

James was all smiles as he got in the car.  He reported more of the same, that he had a good day and that he only cried a little bit. And that it was too hot outside at recess. And that the teacher was "happy at him." (translation: nice to him?? happy WITH him??) And he ate some of his lunch, but not all of it.  And he didn't sleep at rest time.

I feel...relieved. He sounds like he had a good day and that going back tomorrow won't be the worst that's ever happened to him. For now, I'm glad he's home!

Kid Questions

James is 5 years old.  Reese is 3.  The questions they ask on a daily basis are comical, inquisitive and thought provoking.

"Why don't houses have bones?"

"Do ants kiss?"

related:  "Why did God make ants mean?"

"Are my teeth shiny?"

"Why is there a baby in your belly?"

"Why is your hair sharp?" (on my legs...maybe a few days after not shaving...)

My mom was recently explaining to James about how his green bean plant (pictured with Reese above and James below) will produce flowers and then green beans.  He said "I hope it grows a green apple!"