ALL of the Bumpdates from Pregnancy #2

Can you believe that I never shared a single one of my weekly bumpdates on here the entire time I was pregnant with Josephine?! Crazy, right? I was diligent about sharing each and every one while I was pregnant with Annabelle. I feel a little terrible, but... second child syndrome, I guess. Sorry, Josie.

I do want to share them, though, but I don't want to bombard everyone with 30+ weeks worth of photos in separate posts... so I'll be sharing them ALL here today. I delivered at 37 weeks, so I'll be sharing weeks 5 through 36.

The pregnancy was anything but uneventful. The first half was normal... we found out she was a girl at 16 weeks, but then at our anatomy scan at 19 weeks, we found out she only had a single umbilical artery - or a two vessel cord! That happens in less than half of one percent of pregnancies, and we had to be monitored extra closely to make sure she didn't have any heart or kidney problems (she didn't / doesn't) and that she kept growing on track (she did) because those babies can be smaller. It also increased our chance of having a stillbirth by quite a bit, so I was going to be induced around 39 weeks anyway... but then at 30 weeks, I tested positive for pre-eclampsia, so the goal was to just get me to 37 weeks.

I had twice a week BPP ultrasounds. If she failed that, I had to do an NST immediately, which happened three times. I met with my OB once per week and the midwife on staff once per week. They did a growth ultrasound every three weeks. I had to go to the lab for blood work one time each week and 24 hour urine tests every three weeks. I was on modified bed rest, which my OB referred to as "chill out rest" because he met Annabelle at appointments and knew there was no such thing as bed rest with a husband in the military. It was so insane, and we utilized a lot of hourly care at the CDC during that time so I could rest.

I was induced at 36 weeks 6 days, and she was born at 37 weeks 1 day! It was a really tough second and third trimester due to stressing over those issues, but in the end, it all worked out. I was able to labor and deliver how I wanted for the most part (I'll share her birth story soon), and Josephine was born absolutely perfect, so all the craziness was 100% worth it!

Without further adieu...

Sorry about that! But I really want these to be documented here, even if it's just for my own personal benefit. Thanks for looking... or for pleasantly skipping over this post if it's not your kinda thing!

Baby Cookie 2.0 is a GIRL!

Just like with Annabelle, we did all of the Old Wives' Tales to see what family and friends thought Baby Cookie 2.0 would be - this time, it was pretty split, despite all the clues leading to girl (see the chart below). I think many of the boy guesses were just people wanting our family to be even for some reason... but that's not how it works because Baby Cookie 2.0 is another GIRL! You can see Annabelle's gender reveal at this post!

We are a little shocked that we're going to be ONLY girl parents, but we are thrilled to see these two sisters together!

And yes, we do already have a full name chosen that we are in love with. Just like last time, though, we will not be sharing it until baby girl is born! (And thank goodness we didn't have to agree on a boy name because that may have NEVER happened! Ha!)

Bump and Baby Update: Weeks 39-40

I know I had Baby Cookie over a week ago... but I am NOT the type of person who can just end incompletely or on an odd number of weeks. Nope. So that's why you're reading today's post - I didn't want to leave off at 39 weeks. Plus, it was super special taking my 40 week photo with Annabelle on the outside rather than on the inside.

If you missed my previous bumpdates, you can check out weeks 5-12 here, weeks 13-14 here, weeks 15-16 here, weeks 17-18 here, weeks 19-20 here, weeks 21-22 here, weeks 23-24 here, weeks 25-26 here, weeks 27-28 here, weeks 29-30 here, weeks 31-32 here, and weeks 33-34 here, weeks 35-36 here, and weeks 37-38 here!

How far along? Not pregnant anymore! She's here! :)

Size of baby?

39 weeks: pumpkin

40 weeks: watermelon

Total weight gain? I ended up gaining 13 pounds total. Somehow, I have already lost 18 pounds... not sure where the other five came from or went, but hey... I won't complain!

Gender? GIRL! You can read about it here! 

Maternity clothes? Not anymore! I am fitting into my regular jeans and shirts again - thank goodness! I was so sick of only having a few go-to outfits...

Sleep? I wasn't sleeping well up until her birth, but since then, I've been back to my old self... which is great! But it also sucks because that makes it even more difficult to get up and feed her in the middle of the night...

Work outs? We went for a family walk the other night, but other than walking, I'm taking it easy until I'm cleared by my doctors... I don't want to worsen the recovery period.

Cravings? Not really anymore! But hey - vegetables sound good again!! That's a bonus. Salad is delicious... one of my favorites... and I couldn't stomach them while pregnant.

Aversions? None.

Best moment of this week? The moment we met our sweet little Annabelle - the feeling when they placed her on my chest after delivery (although it was a short time due to her complications) is indescribable. I was so overcome with emotion in that moment. 

Worst moment of this week? 37.5 hours of active labor with Pitocin... yeah... worst moment of the year, not just the week. That was rough.

Looking forward to? Bonding with and watching Annabelle grow! 

    

Introducing... Baby Cookie!

She's here! Baby Cookie is FINALLY here!

Annabelle Kathryn Cook was born at 11:38 AM on Saturday, September 5th, 2015 at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, weighing in at 6 pounds 3 ounces and 19.5 inches long... after 37.5 hours of labor.

She is just as cute as can be, and we can't get enough of her! I'll share the story behind her name soon!