Knut's growth to 18 weeks

So I have yet to do a post on Knut, our second child, whom we are expecting in June. Our due date is June 13, my mom's birthday, which we are really excited about :) We found out about Knut at 3:16am on October 8, right before we left for a fall trip to Ontario. We were happy to share our news with a lot of people there. I started feeling queasy before we even knew for sure we were pregnant, and by the end of our Ontario trip I was feeling quite ill.



Knut at 4 weeks, 5 days -- the day we found out we were expecting!

Our trip home from Ontario convinced me that I needed to get some help with the nausea this time around and I went on Diclectin which did help with the nausea but knocked me for a loop (read: sleeping 18 hours a day for a week and a half). sigh. Dave was wonderful during this time doing EVERYTHING around the house, EVERYTHING with Sam, catering to my needs, and trying to get some schoolwork done too.



Knut at 7 weeks, 5 days.

So we called in reinforcements. My parents came for the better part of two weeks and took over with Sam and the house and all errands so that Dave could concentrate on schoolwork (and catch up on sleep) and I could rest and get some work hours in. This helped more than we can ever say.



Knut at 9 weeks, 3 days. (My first day wearing maternity pants. Regular pants made me feel more nauseous so I gave in early this pregnancy. With Sam I wasn't wearing maternity pants until 16 weeks or so!)

Because we had a miscarriage this past summer (August 2010), our midwife offered us an early ultrasound so we could peek at Knut and be reassured that the baby was okay. We gladly accepted and had one at 10 weeks, 2 days. Knut looked wonderful, limb buds and all!!!



Our first peek at Knut! Isn't he/she adorable!?!?!

By the end of November/beginning of December I was starting to feel MUCH better and on December 4 Dave and I enjoyed our first real date night in about two months! We even accomplished most of our Christmas/Channukah shopping in that evening, which was amazing. Before that I hadn't even had the energy to THINK about the holidays, much less DO anything about them.



Knut at 12 weeks, 6 days.

The rest of December (until the 22nd) was spent celebrating Channukah, going to our first midwife appointment, and generally looking forward to a good break in Saskatoon at my parents' house. I started to wean off the diclectin and, despite a few unfortunate incidents, maintained the general "feeling better" streak. We heard Knut's heartbeat for the first time at our midwife appointment on December 15 (14 weeks, 3 days). THAT was very exciting since we didn't hear Sam's heartbeat with the midwife until closer to 18-19 weeks. We were shocked and thrilled to hear Knut's already!!!



Knut at 15 weeks, 6 days, on Christmas Day 2010.

We spent a very relaxing Christmas break in Saskatoon. I tried to wean myself down to 1 Diclectin and as the results of that were less than pleasing, I am currently at 2 Diclectin a day. I spent a lot of Christmas break doing nothing and sleeping so it was a very good break.



Knut at 18 weeks (today!). Please ignore the fact that my top shirt is see-through. sigh.

Since we've gotten back from Saskatoon I feel almost completely back to my old (read: non-nauseous) self. I've been able to do dishes, cook some meals, and spend more time with Sam. And a little bit of nesting may have kicked in. Today I organized Sam's toys in the living room and his nursery, packing away some things for Knut, and packing away some books which he really isn't old enough for yet. And on Thursday night we reclaimed our guest room which had been a bit of a catch-all since mid-November when Mom and Dad left.

I'm not completely certain that I've felt Knut move yet, but think I probably have a few times. I can't wait until I definitely know it's him/her! Cravings this pregnancy have included mandarin oranges by the boxful, and peppermints. And Limeade at one point, although that was short lived. Western Family Gala (Ritz-like) crackers were very appealing for a few weeks, and lately (since the beginning of December) I've really enjoyed decaf black tea with milk and sugar. I don't know what my total weight gain has been thus far (maybe 10 pounds) but I will try to keep track of that as well.

Anyways, there's a bit (a lot!) of an update on Knut and his/her existence thus far!