Pregnancy #1 vs. Pregnancy #2

Owen Patrick in 2009 vs. Collin Benjamin in 2013-14

Due Dates:

Owen was due November 28 but the c-section was scheduled in July for November 20. 

Collin, according to my last cycle, is due May 9, but following the first ultrasound at 12 weeks, the due date was changed to April 30 to reflect his measurements.  The c-section was scheduled in February for April 24.  

Thinking of Names: 

With Owen, I remember laying in bed one night suggesting “Owen” and Austin quickly agreeing that he liked it.  “Patrick” came from one of my uncles, but I don’t know the timeline for when the 2 names came together.  With Collin, we had a harder time, especially with a middle name.  We spent many nights sifting through websites, blogs, and our own thoughts trying to come up with a name that sounded good with Owen Patrick and that also sounded nice with Billett.  I have liked Collin for a long time.  Few people know that our little nephew Deuce used to call Austin’s brother that because he had a hard time remembering “Kyle” for some reason.  In the couple times the two of them met in Deuce’s early years, Deuce thought Kyle’s name was Collin…so from then on, I just liked the name and hoped we could one day possibly use it for a little boy.  The middle name decision was quite frustrating at times.  I liked Collin Drew and Collin Joseph while Austin liked Collin James and Collin David.  After weeks and weeks, we made a list with his 2 favorites, my 2 favorites, and then 2 others we both somewhat liked and agreed were good middle names.  The list was Drew, Joseph, James, David, Benjamin, and Levi.  After each one of us got rid of our least favorite from the list, we had 4 remaining names.  I wrote all 4 down alongside Collin: Collin Drew, Collin James, Collin Benjamin, and Collin Levi.  We both took one look and liked the look of Collin Benjamin the best, so we knew we had a winning combination!  Phew, what a relief!  

              

Season:

Pregnant with Owen March – November.  I missed the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.

Pregnant with Collin August – April.  The Christmas season marked the halfway point in the pregnancy.  Do this, do that, go here, go there…it was challenging and I was quite tired most afternoons, but all the errands, busyness, and plans were worth it!  We had such a great Christmas!  

Morning sickness:

With both boys, I had no morning sickness, no nausea, and no major complications.  Blood pressure with Collin is spot on as it was with Owen, but with both, there has been some ankle swelling at the end of each day.     

Other medical miscellaneous:

With Owen, everything from finding out we were expecting all the way to his birth went smoothly and perfectly – of course my judgment may be somewhat off since 4 years is a long time ago!!  Around 7 weeks with Collin, I broke out in a horrible, itchy rash on most of my body.  It came and went for about 10 days and I was miserable.  One day, it just stopped appearing.  The rash could have been pregnancy-related, but it could have been stress-induced as well since that time was one of the more stressful times in my job to date.  I was extremely unhappy, very stressed about scheduling and administrative support, so in all actuality, it could have been a combination of that and new hormones.  (Sadly, I still feel the same about my job and it brings me down more often than I care to admit!)  

Around Thanksgiving, I had some spotting which really made me nervous!  After a quick check up and exam the following week, it was determined that I was fine…and thankfully, there has not been a day of spotting since.  

 The past month or so, I have had some minor leg cramping at night, but it’s nothing too bad.  Yes, it wakes me up from time to time and yes, it’s frustrating, but in the grand scheme of things, I am very lucky!  I flex my muscles while laying in bed to relieve some restless leg issues, and when I do, my muscles tend to cramp up a bit. 

    

With Owen, I felt like I had ultrasounds every several weeks.  It was always such a reassuring joy to see that sweet baby growing inside and trying to imagine what parenthood would be like when he came out.  With Collin this go-round, I have had a total of three:  one about 12 weeks to confirm the pregnancy and to take initial measurements to determine the due date; one at the halfway point a few days before Christmas, and the last one was mid-February at about 28 weeks.  I feel like I don’t know much about Collin at this point in the game because of how infrequently I have “seen” him.  He seems to be quite stubborn or shy (take your pick) for the camera because we can’t really even get a great look at his face.  He’s either facing downward laying on his tummy, looking away, or crossing his arms over his face.  It’s been frustrating trying to imagine what the little guy will look like!!  In the one semi-decent picture we got, it's hard to tell if he looks like Owen, me, Austin, or a combination.  Again, it was over a month ago, so there's been quite a bit of development happening since!      

   

Emotional Difficulties:

With Owen, I was working part time from home, so the transition into motherhood (again, looking back 4 years later) seemed as simple as can be!  I had a c-section and a beautiful, easy recovery, and overall, Owen was an easy baby.  I feel like I cherished every moment of pregnancy, documented well, read about being pregnant and becoming a mother, and days went by at an average pace.  It seemed like he hit all milestones before the literature said he should, he ate well, was sick very little, and as he progressed through toddlerhood, he potty-trained easily, has learned enormous amounts of vocabulary and PreK-related curriculum and topics, has spoken well, has made connections between what he knows and doesn’t know, can have conversations and reason with others, and can ask intelligent questions. 

With Collin, I am working full time as an elementary librarian so I am on my feet most of the day.  I come home more tired to a home we moved into in early August.  Seven and a half months later, we are still trying to get settled.  Not only am I tired from my days at work, but then to have to think about “what to do when” and ask “what are the priorities?” to hurry along the settling process is equally exhausting.  It all makes for some very tiring weeks and weekends.  These weeks have FLOWN by faster than any other time in my life.  In just about 5 weeks, ALREADY, we will be a family of 4, and to me, it is mind blowing!  I have enjoyed this pregnancy, but as for truly cherishing every moment, I don’t think I have, unfortunately.  Working a job that isn't so great most days, trying to get settled, preparing for a new baby, coming to the realization that there is no financial way possible for me to stay home for a couple years, and being a mother to Owen and wife to Austin all the while has been extremely challenging.  With that said, I am concerned that Collin may want to come early this time due to what life has dealt me and the stress associated with it all.  Honestly, I just can’t bear the thought of that!  I am taking the end of April and the month of May off work (plus I am off June and July of the summer months), but even there, I am being docked 9 days since I only have 20 saved up.  I can’t afford any additional, unplanned time off (literally), so we shall see if the little booger stays put until he’s supposed to.  I think it's best I go ahead and get my bag packed for the hospital, just in case!  :)  Oh, and I better get his room all ready too!  Sheesh. 

         

Mood Swings (or does this belong with Emotional Difficulties?): 

Again, I must provide the disclaimer that 4 years is a long time ago…and in my memory, I didn’t have too much of a problem with mood swings.  My husband may have something else to say though!  With this pregnancy, I am fighting mood swings VERY badly.  I am quite hard to live with, probably hard to love at times, and just beast-like when I don’t mean to be.  I chalk that up to some of the aforementioned stresses of working, settling, and having a family to care for as some of the blame.  My poor family.  I laugh and cry in the same 15 minutes most of the time.  It’s not at all funny, and it’s very bothersome, so if there is one thing I look forward to being over at the end of April, it’s the mood swings.          

Movement: 

Owen moved a normal amount once I started feeling the flutters, kicks, and pokes.  Of course I had nothing to compare it to at the time since it was my first pregnancy!  This time, Collin is either going to be a karate enthusiast or a gymnastics superstar!  Oh my word.  Day and night, this little one is using my innards as a punching bag, and while I love knowing he’s “there” it gets somewhat distracting!!  Ha!     

     

Sleep: 

Recliners are the best when it comes to sleeping while pregnant!  I started sleeping in one with Owen around 14 or 16 weeks, and with Collin, it was a bit later, right around 25 weeks.  My pillows are in a different place on the recliner than where they were when I was pregnant with Owen, but overall, I sleep really well most nights.       

    

There are a couple other areas I want to reflect on and document here so I can remember when my memory is a pathetic mess, but I feel like I have rambled on a bunch of nonsense for far too long now.  I am going to wrap it up with some of my belly shots.  That is one thing I was pretty inconsistent with when it came to being pregnant with Owen, but this time, I have a picture taken every couple of weeks.  Of course I have missed a couple, but overall, we’ve managed to get several good ones of the growing belly that houses a growing Collin!  You can tell that the pictures were taken at different times of day based on lighting, what I was wearing, and how tired I looked.  The never-ending exhaustion has just begun.     

12 weeks

 14 weeks

 18 weeks  

(I missed the 16 week photo opportunity!)

 20/21 weeks 

(This is the time when the due date was changed so when I thought I was 20 weeks, I was told I was actually 21 weeks!)

 A very large 22 weeks

 Looking smaller at 24 weeks due to the angle of the camera.

 There's the big belly again at 28 weeks! 

(I missed the 26 week photo.) 

 Here I am at 30 weeks feeling very much like a whale...or a cow...but very blessed and thankful that there's a little boy inside that belly that God has put there and trusted us with. 

I am hoping the next post highlights how we told people we were expecting! 

Hope to be back soon! 

Carianne