Surprise!
At least that's what I thought when we found out :) Not that we weren't wanting another baby - we just sort of expected it wouldn't happen quite so soon. We found out one day and headed down to Texas for Ryan's internship the next day. As far as I can tell, my due date will be September 12.
Currently I'm 10 weeks. Everything has been pretty much the same as with Jack, except for the nausea was worse from weeks 6-9. It was pretty much constant and the food aversions were even worse than with Jack - some days I just wanted to cry because there was nothing to eat. However it went away earlier than with Jack and I'm so grateful for that! It was really difficult living with family and feeling like I just wanted to curl up in bed the whole day and not knowing what to eat - though everyone has been super understanding and accommodating.
Even though I'm 10 weeks along, it still hasn't really sunk in that I'm pregnant again. The first couple of weeks were really a roller coaster of emotions. I am so excited to have another child join our family, but it's definitely overwhelming thinking about doing the "newborn thing" all over again, this time with a 19 month-old in tow. Yes, they will be just 19 months apart. I hope that means they will be great friends - which will hopefully make the extra work and chaos all worth it. With Jack, it was different because we waited and waited and didn't know what to expect with having a baby. This time, it all happened so fast, and I have a bit more of an idea how much work it is to care for a newborn, so it's definitely more overwhelming this time around. However, we are SO excited, and already I feel so much love for this little baby that's coming to be part of our family. We can't wait.
I can also tell that it's my second pregnancy and not my first because it seems to be flying by :) The first trimester with Jack was YEARS long. I felt like I waited and waited and WAITED to go to my first appointment (at 9 weeks), and the morning sickness seemed to last forever. This time, I'm 10 weeks and I'm still trying to find an OB and set up a visit, and I can't believe the first trimester is almost over.
With Jack I also had a shopping list a mile long within the first week. I spent all my time figuring out how to decorate his room and what accessories I wanted. This time, I'm more worried about how I'm going to keep Jack asleep when new baby is screaming in the middle of the night, how we can possibly fit two cribs in one bedroom, and is there any possible way to not need to buy ANYTHING for this new baby? :) I do have plans to redo the curtains in their room and I want to make a name banner in coordinating colors for the new baby once he/she arrives (yeah, don't even ask about names - we have no idea). Other than that, I'm busy trying to figure out how to get diapers for free and not have to buy ANYTHING :)
Keep growing, little Sommerfeldt #2 - we can't wait to meet you!
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Monday, February 10, 2014
Welcoming Little Sommerfeldt
Presenting:
Jack Ryan Sommerfeldt
January 29, 2014
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| Jen & Jack two nights before delivery |
Contractions started Tuesday the 28th, but weren't painful or productive until about 10:30 p.m. We checked into the hospital at 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday the 29th - six hours before I was scheduled to be induced. I got an epidural, which felt heavenly, and they added a little pitocin and broke my water in the early morning to help get things going.
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| Post-epidural happiness. We even got some sleep. |
Around 9:00 a.m. I was dilated to a 9 and my epidural was failing. This started six hours of seeing the anesthesiologist almost as often as the nurses - I got re-dosed more times than I counted, and still could feel tons of pressure. About 11:45 we started pushing, but shortly realized that Jack was transverse (sideways) and we had to wait for an obstetrician to arrive with forceps to try and turn him. He didn't get there until about 2:30 and was straightforward about the fact that if turning him didn't work, we were looking at a c-section. However, we were able to finally push him out, and he arrived at 3:01 p.m. with quite a "cone head" to show for his 4 hours in the birth canal. Overall, active labor was about 16 1/2 hours long, with 11 hours of pre-labor contractions preceding it.
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| Welcome Jack! We love having you in our family :) |
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Happy Due Date!
1/22/2014
Dear Baby Sommerfeldt,
Happy Due Date! I have my doubts as to whether this will be your birthday or not, but I guess we'll see if you decide to surprise me. Thanks for letting me sleep better last night, thanks for not kicking me in the ribs, and thanks for always being head-down at your appointments and being all obedient and cooperative like that. We have a lovely room all set up with warm curtains and blankets and a nice crib, and we're all set to stay up all hours of the night with you (although if you want to give us a happy surprise and NOT make us do that for very long, that would be an appropriate thank-you-for-bringing-me-into-the-world gift). So you are welcome to join us any time you would like....hint...hint....like, sooner rather than later... We love you so much and can't wait to meet you!
Dear Baby Sommerfeldt,
Happy Due Date! I have my doubts as to whether this will be your birthday or not, but I guess we'll see if you decide to surprise me. Thanks for letting me sleep better last night, thanks for not kicking me in the ribs, and thanks for always being head-down at your appointments and being all obedient and cooperative like that. We have a lovely room all set up with warm curtains and blankets and a nice crib, and we're all set to stay up all hours of the night with you (although if you want to give us a happy surprise and NOT make us do that for very long, that would be an appropriate thank-you-for-bringing-me-into-the-world gift). So you are welcome to join us any time you would like....hint...hint....like, sooner rather than later... We love you so much and can't wait to meet you!
Friday, January 17, 2014
Self-Appointed Due Date
I feel like this is something that should be documented... Long ago, back when we found out we were expecting Little Sommerfeldt to join our family, we decided that the perfect scenario would be for me to go into labor on Friday, January 17 sometime, and have Little Sommerfeldt join us sometime later that night or on Saturday the 18th. The reason for this? The long weekend. Ryan gets Monday off school. It would just be so convenient... So for the whole nine months, we've been encouraging him (loudly, so he can hear through my skin) to stick to the schedule.
So guess what - today is Friday the 17th! The epic day has arrived! The house is clean, the freezer is full, the clothes and bedding are washed, the curtains are hung, the six week menu plan is completed... and I have not had one single contraction :) No worries - if he doesn't arrive this weekend, it's obviously not the end of the world - but I just know that he'll just think it's so funny to arrive right at the end of the long weekend or something. Silly baby. We can't wait to meet you - whenever that may be!
So guess what - today is Friday the 17th! The epic day has arrived! The house is clean, the freezer is full, the clothes and bedding are washed, the curtains are hung, the six week menu plan is completed... and I have not had one single contraction :) No worries - if he doesn't arrive this weekend, it's obviously not the end of the world - but I just know that he'll just think it's so funny to arrive right at the end of the long weekend or something. Silly baby. We can't wait to meet you - whenever that may be!
Monday, December 30, 2013
New Talents
Baby has been learning how to do lots of new things lately:
- Hiccuping: He's becoming quite proficient at it. I guess it's possible that he's been good at it for a while, but now that he's in there pretty tight I can feel every little hiccup. My whole abdomen bounces with each hiccup. It wakes him up, too, because after a few hiccups he starts moving around (probably trying to get comfortable - I know the feeling!) I can tell right when he falls asleep again because the hiccups stop. I think it's the cutest thing - and I can't even see him yet.
- Stretching: He's getting pretty good at that, too. He particularly likes to stretch his back out, which means half of him gets jammed up under my ribs. I'm getting pretty good at massaging him back down into his own territory :) I can't blame him much - while I don't know how big he actually is, the general estimate at this point is about 17-18 inches long - and he definitely doesn't have that much space in there to stretch out.
- Shoving: He doesn't really kick too much these days. Probably because there's not enough room to get a good wind-up for a powerful kick. Instead, he seems to shove his knees and elbows into my side and leave them there for a few minutes - making a nice little lump on my normally round tummy. It's kind of fun, if I poke him a little he'll pull his knee in again. It's like we can communicate (or at least I convince myself that we are :)
Only 3 weeks, 2 days left until baby's due date! At the last evaluation, I was 1cm dilated, 40% effaced, and measuring a week behind. They're waiting until next appointment to see if the measurement catches up. I took the liberty of measuring my own circumference - 39 1/2 inches at the widest point. I feel like a walking basketball, but most people still say I look really small. I don't mind; bigger = more uncomfortable. So far I can still sleep most of the night (just waking up once) and my main discomfort is a stress point in my back that starts aching non-stop about 7pm every night. We'll see how the next three weeks go!
- Hiccuping: He's becoming quite proficient at it. I guess it's possible that he's been good at it for a while, but now that he's in there pretty tight I can feel every little hiccup. My whole abdomen bounces with each hiccup. It wakes him up, too, because after a few hiccups he starts moving around (probably trying to get comfortable - I know the feeling!) I can tell right when he falls asleep again because the hiccups stop. I think it's the cutest thing - and I can't even see him yet.
- Stretching: He's getting pretty good at that, too. He particularly likes to stretch his back out, which means half of him gets jammed up under my ribs. I'm getting pretty good at massaging him back down into his own territory :) I can't blame him much - while I don't know how big he actually is, the general estimate at this point is about 17-18 inches long - and he definitely doesn't have that much space in there to stretch out.
- Shoving: He doesn't really kick too much these days. Probably because there's not enough room to get a good wind-up for a powerful kick. Instead, he seems to shove his knees and elbows into my side and leave them there for a few minutes - making a nice little lump on my normally round tummy. It's kind of fun, if I poke him a little he'll pull his knee in again. It's like we can communicate (or at least I convince myself that we are :)
Only 3 weeks, 2 days left until baby's due date! At the last evaluation, I was 1cm dilated, 40% effaced, and measuring a week behind. They're waiting until next appointment to see if the measurement catches up. I took the liberty of measuring my own circumference - 39 1/2 inches at the widest point. I feel like a walking basketball, but most people still say I look really small. I don't mind; bigger = more uncomfortable. So far I can still sleep most of the night (just waking up once) and my main discomfort is a stress point in my back that starts aching non-stop about 7pm every night. We'll see how the next three weeks go!
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| 36 weeks |
Friday, December 6, 2013
Getting closer...
My phone tells me that there is only 6 weeks, 5 days left until Little Sommerfeldt arrives! I was talking with a pregnant friend today, we both wonder when our children will actually arrive (what baby actually sticks to their due date?)
It's starting to seem a little more real around our apartment (and in our bank account, too...)
We've also added a Black Friday sale pack-and-play and a memory foam mattress pad and pillow to the collection (for Mom... I can actually sleep!) If it weren't for Christmas to distract me, I think I'd be going crazy. Not sure yet what I'll do to get through January... in any case, we're excited!
It's starting to seem a little more real around our apartment (and in our bank account, too...)
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| About 30 weeks |
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| Crib with bedding and blanket (since then we've added some stuffed animals from great-Grandpa Parks, via Grandpa Parks... all we need now is a baby! (no worries, we'll take all the squishy stuff out before putting him in)) |
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| Family picture - 32 weeks |
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| Putting the stroller together (which also came with a car seat) |
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Excitement is in the air
Little Sommerfeldt has been excited of late, bouncing around and kicking and waving his fists in glee almost every half hour.
And although I can probably attribute it to the nonstop Christmas music at our house, I think this is the real reason for his excitement:
Not to mention the fabulous baby shower held in Little Sommerfeldt's honor on Saturday with all the long-time friends from the ward and complete with Daddy's favorite: eclairs! Now what baby wouldn't be excited about that? (It would seem he's even excited about me writing this post - mainly this boy is just excited these days!)
And although I can probably attribute it to the nonstop Christmas music at our house, I think this is the real reason for his excitement:
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| We got this all set up last night! Ready and waiting for a baby to sleep in it :) Thank you to my wonderful mom for getting it for us :) |
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| And this comforter/bumper/sheet/crib skirt set is coming in the mail sometime soon! It will match perfectly with the fleece blanket I made and the quilt Lisa made and our jungle-themed nursery room, although I think it'll look nicer with our white crib than the brown one in the picture. |
Not to mention the fabulous baby shower held in Little Sommerfeldt's honor on Saturday with all the long-time friends from the ward and complete with Daddy's favorite: eclairs! Now what baby wouldn't be excited about that? (It would seem he's even excited about me writing this post - mainly this boy is just excited these days!)
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