Pregnancy Q&A

Not all of these questions have been asked, but I figured I would write down everything people may be wondering, things I was asked during previous pregnancies, or things I want to remember:

1. Did you just find out? Nope. We found out officially (according to a pregnancy test) on August 17th.

2. How far along are you? 21 weeks. Due April 18th.

3. How are you feeling? I feel great now. At around 6 weeks, I had to buy odor absorbers for our fridge because I couldn't even handle opening it. I was very sensitive to smells and that was made even worse by living in an apartment. I could smell other peoples' dinners and it was not pleasant. I felt the worst 4-7pm. Around 9 weeks, I started feeling the epidural "wound" from Alex's delivery. That was strange. Even though I didn't have the classic morning sickness, I stopped being outgoing. I got grumpy and was a homebody. I didn't make plans with friends and it was hard to even consider making dinner.

4. Did you throw up? There were times when I wanted to but I talked myself out of it. When I was 11 weeks along, Alex threw up in my hands and I legitimately gagged. That was the closest I came to throwing up. I don't usually have a gag reflex but it was just so nasty. It was under my wedding ring and I could smell it as it slimed through my fingers. I am glad I was able to keep it down though because that would have made a messy situation even messier.

5. Does it make you feel old to hear that you'll be a family of five? I am definitely feeling more like an adult these days. We will be a family of five before our fifth anniversary.

6. Did you have cravings? When I was 7 weeks along, Sam drove to three gas stations to get me an Icee and the machines were out of order. He came home with a Nerds Rope though, which helped a little. Living in a small town really limits what I can crave within a realistic range. When I was 10 weeks pregnant, someone mentioned Dairy Queen. I thought about it all day and then made Sam go that night. I also sent him to McDonald's because my ice cream needed french fries.

7. Aren't you still nursing? As of yesterday morning, no. Edison has been nursing once a day (morning only) since he was 18 months old. He would wake up around 4:30am and I would nurse him and he would go back to sleep. But yesterday he slept until 7:15am so I just fed him breakfast instead. Edison is actually handling it really well. It doesn't seem like he has even noticed. I am also not engorged so, as I suspected, my milk was almost completely gone anyway. I nursed him for 20.5 months and until I was 21 weeks pregnant, so I think that's pretty good.

8. Did you cross-stitch the signs you and the boys were holding in the announcement pictures? Four people asked me this! I definitely did not cross-stitch them. It was just regular ink on regular printer paper. People think I am way cooler than I really am.

9. Does Alex know what's going on? The other day, Sam prayed for "the baby in Mommy's belly." After the prayer, Alex said, "Why is there a baby in your belly?!" Sam said, "Because I put it there." So... yeah. Alex picks up on pieces of it but he doesn't really get it. When I was 6 weeks pregnant, he said, "Are you still sick?!" Because I was sleeping a lot. Around 13 weeks, we asked him if he wanted a sister or another brother. He said, "I want a sister and another brother. I know. I want three brothers." But then later he was saying he wanted a sister because he already has a brother. When we told him he was going to have another brother and asked him what we should name it, he said, "Sister."

10. Does Edison get it? I hope not, because if he does, he is trying to murder the baby. He thinks my belly is a trampoline. He does love to blow on my belly though. He pulls up my shirt and blows on my belly all the time. It is adorable.

11. Was this an accident? No. I started wanting another baby when Edison was around 6 months old. I went through times of loving our family as is and also times of wanting another one. Then I started my period after 25 months of not having one. We had talked about having another baby but it ended up being kind of a spur of the moment decision. We got pregnant the first month we tried. I realize that this is an incredible blessing and we are so grateful for it.

12. How far apart will this make Baby Bruce and Edison? Around 25 months. Alex and Edison are 20 months apart.

13. Another baby called Baby Bruce?! Yep. It is our go-to in utero name. And if we don't think of a good name, he might get stuck with that one post-birth, too. Or not.

14. Do you have a name picked out? Will you keep it a secret? We don't have a name to keep secret yet but once we do, we don't plan to announce it. We currently have a list of eight names.

15. Did you want a boy or a girl? Sam wanted a girl. I think he was a little disappointed. But I am thrilled. Boys are awesome. Also, we don't have to buy anything! The only downside is that we have a long list of girl names we love and I am sad that we won't have enough girls to use them all.

16. Do you like your doctor? I love her. She is out-of-network for my insurance but totally worth it. She is so nice and gives me lots of information and choices. I feel like she has lots of time for me.

17. Are you going to deliver this one naturally? Maybe. If labor is progressing well, we will see.

18. How did you keep it a secret so long?! It is much easier to keep it a secret when you never see the people you would tell. I told a friend here when I was 14 weeks along and then a few other friends along the way. When we found out we were having a boy, five people (all Williston friends) knew.

19. Oh my gosh! I'm so offended! Why didn't you tell me earlier?! How about you and my mom arm wrestle about it. She found out on Tuesday (three days ago).

20. Why did you wait so long to announce it? I could write a novel. {1} Pregnancy lasts forever and people incessantly asking how I am feeling or when I am due just makes it seem longer. So I cut out 20 weeks of those questions. Woohoo! {2} When we called family members to tell them I was pregnant with Edison, they weren't very excited. It seemed like the reaction we were getting was "Again?" I didn't want people to have to feign excitement for us so I mailed out the card and they could call, text, or just put it on their fridge. Whatever would float their boat. I wanted to be excited with anyone's lack of excitement dulling it. {3} I wanted to make sure the baby was okay.

21. Have you gained weight? Oh boy. Have I ever. 15 pounds already. Oopsies. I didn't lose any weight in the first trimester this time. I think I was eating too much.

22. Where will this baby be born? Good ol' North Dakota. Poor kid.

23. Did you tell Sam's family while in Utah for Thanksgiving? I hid it the whole time. I also saw my sister and I thought for sure she had figured it out. I wore Spanx and I could hardly breathe. But it helped even out my belly and they probably just thought I was getting fat. I was 19 weeks along already.

24. Is the baby healthy? Maybe. I am going to have another ultrasound in six weeks. He has a choroid plexus cyst. That is a soft marker for Trisomy 18. Usually babies with Trisomy 18 have many cysts along with other signs such as very little growth. His abdomen is currently measuring five days ahead so the doctor thinks he is okay but will check the growth in the next ultrasound. Trisomy 18 is very severe and if he does have it, he would not be expected to survive. This has been keeping me up at night since I found out. There's nothing we can do, but it makes me very sad.

25. Do you only make boys? It looks like it. We are on our way to a basketball team. I am beginning to think Sam really is part Chinese. He has been trying to convince me our whole marriage that he is Chinese. I love that I can still say, "My boys" instead of having to say, "My kids."

26. Have you felt Baby Bruce move? I felt flutters for the first time at 16.5 weeks. At my 18 weeks appointment, the doctor found the heartbeat and then lost it. It took forever for her to find it again. I had gunk smeared all over my belly. That's when we first realized how much of a mover he is. Sam felt kicks at 18.5 weeks, but it probably took so long because he would get impatient and take his hand away. At the 20 week ultrasound, I had to roll over and try to get Baby Bruce to move his hand away from his face. His heart rate was 148 BPM (at 13 weeks it was 158 BPM). I was worried we wouldn't be able to find out the sex because he was being so spastic. But then he decided to spread his legs and chill out for a while. Just like his big brothers. And just like his big brothers, he likes to wiggle.

27. Are you still sleeping well? Yes and no. I am still comfortable but I have had such vivid dreams, mostly about high school people. Sometimes I have a hard time going to sleep because my brain won't shut off. If I see the clock at 3am, I start to get worried. I am very tired during the day and I think the boys are getting used to me falling asleep on the couch.

28. Are you ready to gain 40 pounds again? Not exactly. I am having a lot of body issues this time. Mostly because it took me so long to get down to where I was after Edison was born. And Sam is so tiny now. I already weigh almost as much as he does. We have never in our lives weighed the same amount at the same time. But getting big means that the baby is growing which means he doesn't have Trisomy 18.

29. What has been different between this pregnancy and your first two? My hormones have been out of whack the whole time. When I was 13 weeks along, I was reading a hilarious article and was laughing so hard. Then suddenly I was sobbing. The past few weeks, I have had raging anger issues. Every time the boys make a mess or disobey, I am so angry. In my head, they are doing it on purpose to bug me because they hate me. I was yelling a lot and they spent a lot of time in timeout. Then I realized what was going on. I talked to my doctor and she recommended an anti-depressant but I chose not to get a prescription. I am going to Arizona for four weeks and I think the distraction of having people around will help it get better. I don't think I am depressed as much as I am just lonely and bored. Hormones are hard.