The Second Trimester

Well, seeing as I went to the hospital today thinking I MIGHT be in labor (I was not, thank goodness), I figure I better get going on my blog again so I can get caught up.

At week 14, the second trimester started off much like the first trimester ended--I was still feeling sick and still spotting. But I was holding onto the hope that the magic of the second trimester would make it all vanish like I had heard it would. Well, slowly but surely, my dependency on Phenergen lessened until finally around weeks 15/16 I no longer needed it to function! *insert Hallelujah chorus here* Man, I felt like a new person, too. I actually had my appetite back and I didn't feel like a freaking zombie at work anymore. Nausea like that can seriously be debilitating! And even though I don't suffer from that anymore, I ALWAYS carry my Phenergen with me at all times just in case.

Another good thing that happened during this time was the bleeding finally stopped at around 16 weeks. Talk about a relief! I'm still not sure how it happened but according to all the sonograms I had taken, the hemorrhage resolved itself and was gone. But to this day, I STILL check for any signs of bleeding each and every time I go to the bathroom.

But the COOLEST thing that happened during this time was that we found out the genders of our two little beans. Because of the hemorrhage I was dealing with, I had a LOT of sonograms....so many that I lost count. I had them done through my OB's office and through my perinatologist's office. (A perinatologist is a doctor who deals exclusively with high-risk and/or multiple pregnancies) So I used all those opportunities to determine the genders of the babies. Normally, gender determination happens between weeks 18 and 20. But I started asking about it around week 13. Now it's no secret that Vincent and I wanted at least one boy out of this so I was anxious to know what was baking in the oven. I was at the perinatologist's office on this particular day for my sonogram and asked him to please give us his best guess at what genders we had. Twin A was examined first and was being difficult. The doctor had to look for a while but sure enough, we finally saw what looked like a third leg there. He said "now I wouldn't go out and paint the nursery just yet, but this looks like a boy". YAAAAY! I was cautiously excited b/c it was still really early to be making this determination. The smile on Vincent's face was priceless. Wish I had a picture of it. So he moves on to Twin B. The doctor could tell almost right away that Twin B was a girl. YAAAAAY! Even better!!! We were going to get the best of both worlds and Olivia would have a little brother AND a little sister! But again, we were cautiously excited. So at each sonogram from there on out, we had the sonographer confirm the genders for us. And as the babies got bigger, the confirmations came quicker and quicker--boy and a girl! And now, at 34 weeks, I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be having another daughter and a son. The thought of another daughter is comforting b/c I've done--and am still doing--the daughter thing. I LOVE being the mom of a little girl and will love it for a second time. And I cannot wait to be the mother of a little boy. I am completely ecstatic about it and learning about all things boy! And I REALLY cannot wait to watch the relationship between him and his daddy develop.

On that note, let me take a minute to talk about Vincent--aka my babies' daddy. Vincent is an incredible person--one of the most selfless people I have ever met. He gets that from his mother. And as for a husband and a father, there is none better. I watch him with Olivia and my heart just swells with pride and love. He loves her more than anything and it is obvious. You can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice when he talks to her. It is a side of him that I figured would be there one day when we had kids but to actually see it and experience it daily has had such an impact on me. I didn't think it was possible to love him any more than the day I married him but I do. There is something about watching a father with his little girl that is so special, for lack of a better term. So it's no wonder Olivia is such a daddy's girl. He makes it very easy to love him and love him she does. My sincere hope is that our son is not only spitting image of his father (b/c let's face it, looking like Denzel Washington is not a bad thing), but more importantly that his character is in his father's image as well.

Tales from the third trimester to follow......