Pregnancy, the Second Time Around

Precious babe at 20 weeks

Well, it's hard to believe that I am coming to the end of my second pregnancy. I was officially "full-term" last Wednesday, and am in my 38th week of pregnancy now. It seems like just yesterday we decided to expand our family and cheered with excitement when we saw our first positive pregnancy test. Quinn had no idea what was going on, but he cheered right along with us. This was back in November. My, time has sure flown.

35 weeks

This pregnancy has been much different for a variety of reasons, but mainly because I've had a toddler (in addition to work and basic home responsibilities) to keep me busy and sidetracked. Another major difference though has been choosing to have a midwife this time around. Our current health insurance is with Group Health, who has a preventative medical philosophy. They say that about 80% of their patients choose to use midwifes as long as their pregnancies are healthy. I had a fairly easy pregnancy with Quinn, and hoped for the same the second time around. However, if anything were to go wrong at any point, there would always be OB's around, which gave Pat and me comfort. It felt like the best of both worlds. So far, I have loved my experience with a midwife. However, this has meant that I don't have ultrasounds as frequently as I did with Quinn. I can't even remember how many ultrasounds we had with Quinn because there were so many. This time there have only been two. One in the very beginning to determine a gestational age, and an anatomy ultrasound around 20 weeks where we learned (eventually) that we were being blessed with a daughter this time around. With Quinn I knew exactly how many weeks and days pregnant I was at all times. This time, I have to stop and really think about it. When I sit and reflect on how carefree I have been this pregnancy, I find myself feeling guilty. I want to cherish my children equally, and do not feel that I have done so thus far. However, I trust that once our daughter is born we will soon forget what life was ever like without her, as we did with Quinn.

Since I am technically "full-term" now, I have been visiting my midwife weekly. Last week, when I requested a cervical check, she told me that I was one centimeter dilated, 50% effaced, and at a -2 station (meaning baby has dropped, barely). With Quinn I was dilated three centimeters, equally effaced, and hadn't dropped at all. I stayed that way for a month, and still ultimately had to be induced. So, I realize that none of this information really means much. It just all contributes to the birth story for me, and so I like to know. When she checked me this past week I was two centimeters dilated, still 50% effaced, and at a -1 station (meaning she had dropped a bit more). I can definitely tell a difference in how I feel as she drops. It affects my ease of mobility, and I understand why pregnant women waddle when they walk! I am more uncomfortable at this point in my pregnancy than I ever was with Quinn, but I pray that this means that my body will go into labor naturally. At this point, we just have to wait and see!

I haven't been as excited about my growing body this time around, and so the number of pregnancy pictures that we have are limited. Our friend Will did snap a few of my 35 week belly when he took pictures of Quinn for his two year birthday. We don't have any of Pat and me together this time around, but something is better than nothing, right?

Pat also snapped a few of me at 38 weeks so we could compare this belly with the maternity photos of Quinn (at 38 weeks). We had to try and get brother in there too. He was in a very sweet mood, as you can see.

We should have a baby within the next couple weeks, so stay tuned!