Meet Lima Bean

Here are our first photos of Lima Bean!!

Unfortunately they aren't very clear images, but it is hard to beat seeing the little person you created for the first time.  Watching the little heart flicker on the screen just takes your breath away.

I expected to be 7 weeks and 5 days, but I measured two days behind at 7 weeks 3 days.  The ultrasound technician said a few days' difference here or there is not concerning, as long as the baby isn't measuring a week or more behind.  My due date will remain July 16, 2014.

Lima Bean's heartbeat was a steady 150 beats per minute.  This is a normal rate for a 7 week, 3 day baby.

We asked this technician to tell us which side of the uterus the placenta is on, based on the theory that we were told last time that if it's on the right, the baby is likely to be a boy and on the left, a girl.  She had no idea what we were talking about and said the placenta doesn't even form until 12 weeks!  We followed up with the doctor, because honestly I was concerned that I had gotten such a different perception of the placenta formation than I did last time.  While the doctor hadn't heard of the theory, she did confirm that I do, in fact, have a placenta forming already.  Whew!  Remind me to request a different ultrasound tech next time...

Hidden Hiller Chronicles: Week Seven

How far along: Seven weeks as of Wednesday, November 27, 2013.
Size of baby: Lima Bean is half an inch long and is approximately the size of a blueberry!  Henry's favorite fruit!
Maternity Clothes: Not yet.
Movement: Still none that I can feel. 
Sex of baby: Don't know yet.
Sleep: Sleep is my friend this week!
What I miss: Hmm, with family visiting for Thanksgiving this week, I miss being able to enjoy a glass of wine with others!
Cravings: French fries.
Symptoms: The fatigue has set in full force.  Luckily, because this week contained a holiday, I had more time to sleep.  Even with 9 hours each night, though, I still wanted a nap during the day.  Part of it was getting everything prepared for Thanksgiving dinner, I think.  It's more tiring hosting than you would think.  I was thankful (hardy har har) that I had other people around to watch Henry this week so I could rest.  I also had this weird hive-like rash this week.  It began the day after Thanksgiving with itchiness in various areas that would come and go.  By the end of the day, I began getting itchy welts that would appear and disappear after a half hour or so.  It was literally over most of my body (arms, legs, back, belly, etc.) but never all at the same time.  One hour, I would have a rash on my back.  Then that would go away and it would appear on my legs.  It drove me nuts!  And because of the pregnancy, I couldn't really take a steroid prescription cream for it.  All I could use was calamine lotion!  I was worried that it was pregnancy related and began googling rashes in pregnancy, but it didn't seem like my symptoms matched any of the common pregnancy rashes.  Plus, rashes in pregnancy usually happen in the third trimester.  I ended up concluding that I must have had an allergic reaction to something I ate or drank on Thanksgiving.  The rash was gone after a few days, thank goodness, and hasn't come back.  Very strange, though.
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing the baby for the first time next week!  First doctor's appointment is set for December 2.  I am so anxious to see this little one and make sure everything is progressing as it should.

Hidden Hiller Chronicles: Week Six

How far along: Six weeks as of Wednesday, November 20, 2013.
Size of baby: Lima Bean is a quarter of an inch long, the size of a lentil.
Maternity Clothes: Not yet.
Movement: Nothing I can feel yet.
Sex of baby: Still leaning girl.  But I don't care (truly, I don't)--I am just hoping for healthy.
Sleep: Sleeping like a log, even with the stress of the week (see below).
What I miss: Not having to be so worried about the effects of everything on the baby.  I have an anxious personality and pregnancy exacerbates it.
Cravings: Still Chinese food.  I never had cravings for Chinese food when I was pregnant with Henry! Luckily there is a place nearby that I happen to love.  Also, pizza sounds amazing!
Symptoms: Slight Fatigue, sensitive sense of smell.
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing Lima Bean in our first ultrasound screening on December 2!

Other Notables: This week was not the best, emotion-wise.  On Tuesday, one day before I was set to travel to New York for a deposition, I had symptoms of a bladder infection.  I hurriedly went to urgent care (my new OB couldn't fit me in that day--boo), where the doctor said I had a slight infection and prescribed an antibiotic.  I started crying in her office.  I did not want to take an antibiotic this early in the pregnancy.  But I was concerned that if I didn't take it, the infection would worsen and I would be in New York with no relief.  So, I reluctantly took the antibiotic for a couple of days, while also making calls to my prior OB in Virginia.  I spoke to several nurses who kept assuring me it was fine to take the antibiotic, but I was still nervous.  Finally, my doctor herself called me and said that I may not have an infection after all and to try home remedies to see whether the symptoms faded.  So, I stopped taking the antibiotic after only 5 of the 14 doses.  The symptoms were gone by this point.  The next Monday, I was finally able to get into my old OB's office to take another test to check for infection.  The result?  Negative, of course.  This left me wondering whether I ever needed the antibiotic in the first place.  And upset that I took something which could, even if the risk is very, very small, cause damage to the baby.  The whole experience was stressful.

Hidden Hiller Chronicles: Week Five

How far along: Five weeks as of November 13, 2013.
Size of baby: Sesame seed!
Maternity Clothes: Not yet, although I don't think I will last nearly as long this time as I did with Henry.
Movement: Nothing yet.
Sex of baby: I have a gut feeling Lima Bean is a girl.  Right before I found out I was pregnant, I found a ladybug in our family room.  I had never seen a ladybug in the house before, nor have I seen one since.  I immediately thought to myself that maybe this little creature was a sign that I was pregnant and the baby was a girl!  I put it outside to explore our yard.  Who knows if the little ladybug was actually a sign--we'll find out in about 15 weeks!
Sleep: Fine.  I am already feeling a bit of fatigue, although less than I felt with Henry at this time.
What I miss: Nothing really this week.
Cravings: Spaghetti with tomato sauce and turkey.  We went to a diner this week with Mark's family and I ordered pasta with turkey meatballs.  Yum!
Symptoms: Some fatigue, but not too bad.  The nausea has subsided.  Still have a very sensitive sense of smell.
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing the baby for the first time in a few weeks!

Other notables: I had blood work done this week to confirm the pregnancy.  After our scare last week, it was very nice to get a positive blood test.

Hidden Hiller Chronicles: Week Four

How Far Along: Four weeks as of Wednesday, November 6, 2013.
Size of Baby: Poppy seed.  So tiny!
Maternity Clothes: Not yet, thankfully.  But I am extremely bloated (which is a change from Henry's pregnancy where I never felt bloated), so I feel like I already have a tiny bump.
Movement: Not yet.
Sex of Baby: We will most definitely be finding out!
Sleep: Fine.  I didn't really have trouble sleeping during Henry's pregnancy, so hopefully that will remain the same this time.
What I Miss: Wine!  I like having a glass to relax at the end of the night, and I could have used one several days this week!
Cravings: Chinese food.  Strange thing to crave, because we don't eat it often.  But I HAD to have vegetable spring rolls and vegetable fried rice this week.
Symptoms: Nausea, which was the first demonstrative sign I was pregnant, another change from Henry's pregnancy.  It began even a couple of days prior to four weeks; I just couldn't handle the smell of certain things and that made me sick to my stomach.  I even vomited one night because I could not take the smell of the leftover food on Henry's high chair tray.  Also, extreme sense of smell, which attributes to the nausea. 
What I'm looking forward to: Just having another baby to love!

Details, details!

A few more details on our exciting news!

Anticipated arrival date: July 16, 2014.

Number of babies: One.  Ha!  This is always Mark's number-one burning question.  In fact, despite two prior ultrasounds showing just one fetus, when we had our twelve-week ultrasound recently, Mark wanted confirmation that there is just one baby in there!  Yep, just one; no extra stowaways for us.

Finding out: This is an interesting story.  I just had a "feeling" I was pregnant.  Nothing really demonstrative, just a feeling that something was different.  So, I took a pregnancy test one night.  It was negative.  I tried again the following night, thinking maybe it had been too early the night before: still negative.  At this point, I was already a couple of days past the time in the cycle when I had gotten a positive result with Henry.  So, I shook off the pregnant feeling and decided to go ahead with a flu shot I had scheduled for the following day (I did not want to get a flu vaccine in my first trimester).  The evening after the flu shot appointment, I was getting ready for bed and  out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the test sitting in the trash can.  Something told me to pick it up to look at it one more time.  This time, I noticed a slight pink line next to the dark control line.  I looked at it again: still there, but very, and I mean very, light.  I couldn't believe it.  But the line was so light I thought it could still be negative.  So I took another test the following morning and this time it was darker!  It was all I could do to laugh at this point: Best laid plans, right?  I decided it wasn't worth it to worry about the effect of the flu vaccine on the pregnancy, and just celebrate the good news!

Telling Mark: Interestingly, Mark was in Japan on a business trip when I found out.  He had been home for the two negative tests, so he left thinking I wasn't pregnant.  I had purchased the "big brother" shirt for Henry several weeks earlier because I wanted Henry to break the good news to Mark when the time came.  My plan was to have Henry wear the shirt when Mark first saw him when he returned from Japan a few days later.  I was so excited to tell Mark this way, and it was hard not to spill the beans when we spoke on the phone.  But, again...best laid plans.  Two days after I got the positive test result, I had a scare at work and thought I was losing the baby--or that I had never really been pregnant in the first place.  I freaked out and called Mark crying, telling him the whole story and saying that I was sure I was losing the baby or wasn't actually pregnant.  It was around 1 am his time, so not only was he disoriented because it was so late, but he left thinking I wasn't pregnant and now I was throwing all of this new information at him!  So much for the cute reveal I had planned!  A nurse at my doctor's office told me to monitor my symptoms and come in for an appointment the following week if things got worse.  Talk about anxiety during the next few days...but the symptoms subsided and I took several more pregnancy tests which each showed that I was, indeed, pregnant.  This baby just wanted to make things interesting for me! 

Sharing the news: Like last time, we told our parents almost right away.  My mom happened to be coming into town when I was 5 weeks pregnant, so we told her in person.  This time, we were able to share the news via Henry and his big brother shirt!  I texted a photo of Henry in the shirt to my dad....who didn't really get it, and I had to call him to explain what it meant!  We told Mark's parents by Skype that same weekend, again by having Henry wear his shirt.  It took a LONG time for them to notice the shirt...it was pretty funny! 

We waited to tell the rest of our immediate families until Christmas.  This pregnancy has been a bit more eventful than Henry's--details in the weekly posts--and I wanted to wait until closer to the end of the first trimester to share the news. 

And Then There Were Four

That's right...Henry is going to be a big brother!!

We are thrilled to announce that "Lima Bean" is expected to arrive in July 2014!!