My Lifesong: Baby #2!! - 17 Week Update

So, I guess what they say about the 2nd child getting the shaft is true! With Samuel, I started taking weekly pictures when I was 5 weeks pregnant and took wrote something every week from the very beginning... And so far in this pregnancy, I have taken just 2 pictures and this is the first time I'm writing... I do feel bad about it, so, with some encouragement from a friend, here I am to start and then keep up from here on out!! I want to do a catch up post to talk about the not-so-fun of the first trimester (that's why I think I didn't want to write about it... cuz I didn't LOVE it...) I have loved being able to look back at these posts from when I was pregnant with Samuel, so I know I'll be happy that I at least started now!

Looking down through the categories I wrote about each week when I was pregnant with Samuel, my answers now are so different only because this is the second go-around, so that makes me smile.

So here we go!

How far along: 17 Weeks

Date: July 10, 2018

Baby size: She's the size of a cute vintage wallet or a cell phone

Baby milestones: Our baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone and the umbilical cord is growing stronger and thicker. She now weighs about 5 ounces and is around 5 inches long!
Weight Gain: I haven't weighed myself in a while. I should do that tomorrow morning!

Maternity clothes: I've been wearing maternity pants since about week 11. I still wear non-maternity workout pants, but they aren't comfortable. Definitely need to invest in some soon!! I didn't get any last time because I didn't work out ever :)

Stretch marks: When we were laying out by the pool in the backyard last weekend I could see my old stretchmarks glowing, so it will be quite interesting to see what they look like when I really get big!! I'm already afraid of feeling like my skin is going to burst open!

Have you started to show yet: Still feel like I haven't gotten any bigger lately, so I hope that baby's still growing in there!! There's definitely a belly though. << That is what I wrote last time around and I laugh because I had that exact thought this past week!! I don't feel like I've been getting much bigger lately. Sometimes I feel like I'm showing and then other times, I feel like I just look really fat!
Belly button in or out: My belly button has never recovered from the last time around, so the top of my belly button still sticks out weird!

Wedding rings on or off: On! And I was surprised to read that I wasn't wearing my ring at this time the last go around! And I even had my ring resized smaller in the last year or so! I consider that a win for now!!

Symptoms: I get nauseous if I go too long without eating still and throw up if my stomach is empty (usually in the mornings). I have been throwing up a lot less frequently and don't feel crappy ALL DAY LONG, so that's progress! I do feel sick if I eat too much and often nothing sounds good to eat, so I just have to pick something and force myself to eat it.
I get sore in my abdomen from the stretching, and when I exert a lot of energy it gets worse for a little while.

Food cravings: I really don't think I have cravings... I like colder/lighter things, like salad (if I can get comfortable with the fact that it's fresh and okay to eat) and fruit popsicles and fruit. I really only like it when someone else prepares it or cuts it up, though... (picky much?)

Aversions: Nothing and everything at the same time...

Movement: Nothing yet that I can tell, but I'm anxiously awaiting!! I had a few moments last night where I thought it MIGHT be something, but I'm sure it was just gas...

Labor signs: None.

Mood: I'm pretty good lately, I think. Still kind of tired but SOOO much better than I was in the first trimester!! I'm sure I get crabby by the end of the day (or maybe by the afternoon) if I'm too tired... Maybe we should ask Trent this question!

Sleep: Fine for the most part. I crave sleeping on my back, but I get uncomfortable if I do that too much, and I'm getting to the point where I should be doing that anyway... I occasionally have to get up to pee in the middle of the night still, but it's not an every night thing anymore and I don't have to eat in the middle of the night, so it's nice to sleep through the night pretty consistently now!

Dreams: Nothing that I really remember... Except... I had a dream this morning about being at a mixture of our house and Grandma and Grandpa Jons' house. I was in bed alone like I was this morning because Trent was gone and Uncle Steve went into Samuel's room when he was sleeping but I couldn't wake myself up enough to figure out what was going on... After I woke up, I was in the house with Wade and then Trent and Chuck and Taylor were outside in the driveway (maybe playing basketball a little before leaving for work?! lol) but really Trent wasn't there because he was still gone for work... This makes no sense, and the dream made no sense... but I dreamt it! Lol

Miss anything: Enjoying food. Being able to eat when I want and not when I HAVE to. Not having to worry about Samuel kicking me in the belly when he gets crazy! Not having a mini sore throat from the acid from throwing up stomach acid. Being able to lay on my back or stomach when I feel like it.... I'm sure there are other things :) (Last time around I said "Nothing really" at this point... I must have been in the bliss of the first pregnancy, I guess!)

Gender prediction: I keep thinking girl, but I really don't know. Samuel still says it's a "little sister" so maybe that's why I think that...
Names: We have a few names that we like, but we haven't really decided on anything. This time around we aren't being as secretive with names and are taking all suggestions (reasonable suggestions, that is!) so share away!! I don't know what our tippy top names are right now, but we'll share them as we get closer to the end. I don't think we'll pick a name for certain until they're here, but we'll be close!!

Have you told family and friends: We've told all our family at this point and now it's just filling in people who have missed it so far.

Best moment of the week: The holiday in the middle of last week was nice and not having to work on Saturday was awesome. We got to spend the day at home on Saturday together hanging out before Trent had to leave for the week to go to Indianapolis on Sunday morning. Since Trent was gone, Samuel and I spent the day at Grandpa and GiGi's with everyone else who was there for the day! They didn't know we were coming, so it was fun to surprise them!

Looking forward to: Trent coming home!! Both Samuel and I will be happy for that! Samuel really seems to miss him this time around. He asks for him each morning when he wakes up and asks if he's home every day after work. We've been calling him every night and every morning and that makes Samuel pretty happy!
The weekend (I'm sure I could say that every day week, though) Cuz the thought of not having to put work clothes on is exciting! :) This weekend I get to spend the weekend with Isabella and I'm excited for that! Time will tell if that makes me excited or scared of being 5ish months away from having a baby in the house again! Ahh!
Our next appointment on Friday! Can't wait to hear the heartbeat again (And get the warts on my knee froze off lol - It's the little things!)

Not looking forward to: I can't think of anything I'm NOT looking forward to!
Samuel's current thoughts: He doesn't say much about the baby unless I remind him of it when he's being crazy and I tell him to be careful around my belly or not to kick my belly or not to jump on me, etc!! When we ask him if he wants a baby brother or a baby sister, he says baby sister at least 95% of the time. I think he's still a little confused about the whole baby thing and sometimes thinks that the baby is Isabella (because he often mentions Kellsey coming over when we talk about the baby) but he also knows that the baby is in my belly, so who knows what that little guy thinks!