Hello, Second Trimester

Thirteen weeks today and officially in the second trimester! I'm slowly starting to feel better. Sometimes can go 2-3 days without taking a Zofran, and then there will be a not so fun day (this morning, surprisingly) where I'll need to take one. I can see the light though and I'm thinking this nauseousness is almost out the door. Plus, the second trimester is supposed to be the most comfortable of the whole pregnancy, and that's exactly where I'm at! I can't believe that we are only 6 months away from meeting this little babe. Which also means it's only six months until Christmas. Now, that's a scary thought.

Today I went to the doctor for a checkup and ultrasound. The ultrasound was to measure the baby's neck folds and to check for any markers of genetic disorders like Down's Syndrome or some of the Trisomy syndromes. According to both the sonographer and Doctor Lambert, the measurements look perfect. The second part of the test is the blood work, which they took today as well, but it will take a few weeks to get those results. Once the blood results come in, they factor the neck measurements in and then come up with a number to show the chances of the baby being born with one of the disorders that were tested for.

Baby Dupp III at 13 weeks

During the sonogram, the little babe was laying on its back in the exact position the sonographer needed it to be. She commented that she "liked my baby" because it isn't uncommon for babies to be in any position other than the one needed. The little babe waved it's little arm a few times and a couple of times when the sonographer pressed down on my belly, we saw it jump up. So cute! I also got to hear the heartbeat again, such a wonderful sound to listen to.

The appointment itself was quick, and went well. I didn't have any questions to ask, and all of the results of the tests ran at my last appointment came back looking perfect. Looks like I'm still on the road of a healthy pregnancy. My next appointment is in four weeks, where they will take the last portion of the blood draw for the NT scan. I'll also have another ultrasound to hopefully find out the gender. Well, not "us" find out, just the technician, because a gender reveal party is in the works and we want it to be a surprise for everyone! So exciting!

Prima Ballerina

My little Addisyn made her big stage debut today. All dolled up in her makeup (which makes me quite nervous of her teenage years because she was absolutely beautiful) and her pink and white costume covered in sequins. She was such a beauty!

On the stage at the Winter Garden Theater

Her class was the very first class to perform after the opening number. As soon as I saw those girls shuffle onto the stage I had tears rolling down my cheeks. I was just so proud to see her up there in her little ballet slippers. It brought back some old dancing memories for me too!

I wasn't too sure if she would actually do any dancing and was crossing my fingers that she would at least get a plié in there at some point. But, she shined!! Well, I didn't really watch any of the other kids, I was far to proud to take my eyes off her. So who knows how she was compared to the others, but she did such a great job! We could tell she pretty much knew the dance on her own because she only looked off to the sidelines for her teachers' guidance a few times.

It was absolutely hysterical when she first walked out on the stage, while the lights were still dimmed and the teacher was placing the ballerinas in their places, little Addi asked her teacher "is my mommy out there?" I was cracking up, as well as the rest of the theatre. Addisyn danced on through her song, but while she remembered to dance and remembered to smile, there were times we could see her scanning the audience to find me. Then, after the dance was over and the teachers came to herd them off the stage, she asked again "where's my mom at?" and it melted my heart.

Afterwards, she was so excited to be paraded with hugs, compliments, and flowers. She definitely knew she did good. She's going to be sad there won't be any dance classes over the summer, but will definitely be ready to start back in August. Alyse will be in the tu-tu-twos class the studio offers, we will see how that goes, haha!

Alyse with her big sister, Addisyn

After the recital, we came back to the house had a BBQ for the family, let the kids run around and play, and had some specially made pink ballet slipper cupcakes to honor the occasion.

The ballet slipper cupcakes I made for the  party

Addisyn smelling her roses

12 weeks!

Yesterday, I hit the 12th week. One more week and I will officially be in the second trimester. I cannot believe how fast things seem to be moving. I still have that nasty nausea feeling that seems to be tapering off, some days are worse than others and some days I feel perfectly fine.

Another thing I noticed within the last week was that I have been insanely thirsty. I can't seem to get enough to drink. My aunt joked and said that it meant I was having a boy. However, everything else makes me think it is going to be yet another girl! Of course that is subject to change, because when I was pregnant with Alyse I was originally convinced that it was a boy and as it got closer and closer to the time of the gender scan, that feeling kinda disappeared and I didn't have any strong feelings of one over the other.

We told Addisyn and Alyse the other week that we were going to have another baby. Alyse had no idea what in the world we were talking about. Addisyn's response was that she already had a sister, but also wanted another one. She also said that she wanted a baby in her tummy too. Mommy told her that couldn't happen for a VERY long time.

On Saturday, Addisyn and Alyse finally got to meet their twin baby cousins, Nolan and Brixton, who were born March 21st. Addisyn was so excited and kept saying "I so cited" the entire morning leading up to the visit. She got to hold both babies and even fed Nolan a bottle. She was so happy! Alyse on the other hand was a bit standoffish and wasn't sure what to think of the tiny humans. Afterall, she's used to being the baby! She just kinda took to the sidelines and eventually got comfortable enough to pat their heads. They are just so tiny and so adorable!

Addisyn, baby Nolan, and Alyse

Addisyn and little Brixton

Next Tuesday, the 12th, I go into the doctor for a checkup and for an ultrasound. The ultrasound is to test for possible genetic conditions that the baby may be at risk for. Of course we are hoping that all the results come back normal and we have no reason to suspect they wouldn't. I've been wavering back and forth over whether or not to have the scan done, simply because I'm not quite sure what would happen in the event that the results were abnormal. The first step would be to decide whether or not we would like further testing that would be more invasive (like an amnio). And then from there, I'm not sure. Supposedly even when abnormal results show on the scan that I'm having done, most turn out to be false positives, creating pointless worries. However, in the event something were to really be wrong, I would want to know so that I could learn and research about what our future would hold for us. It's amazing at what medicine has to offer us!