I apparently just don’t grow quiet babies in utero. It’s funny to me because I thought Devin was so active, but I think both the girls outrank him in terms of activity and force. Ember’s movement is becoming quite regular and predictable already. Every morning when I wake up it takes me a while to move, and as I’m stretching and trying to convince myself to get out of my nice warm bed she always kicks me at least a few times. It’s a nice little “good morning!” During the day I’ll feel a few kicks here and there, but it’s in the evening after I eat dinner that she really has fun. If I’m on my feet here and there then she’ll stay quiet until I put Kate to bed and sit down. But at some point every evening when I finally rest she turns on the party dance. Thump. Thump. Thump. My belly visibly jumps now. And her kicks are almost always on my right side. Once in a while I’ll feel big kicks on my far right side at the same time as I feel little pokes on my lower left, which must be hands. I figure she must be transverse at this point… I know Devin was at this stage, and Kate possibly was too (but I forget).

I had an appointment today with the midwives, and as usual it was very smooth and uneventful, other than Kate trying to climb everything in the exam room. My blood pressure measured a little high because Kate would not sit still and was wiggling and kicking her way off my lap as the machine measured it, so I wrote that one off. Surprisingly my weight was only 138, which according to them puts me at about a 13lb gain total (lower than I expected). Kate sat on my legs as I layed on the exam table while the midwife used the doppler and we heard the heart beating away in there – Kate looked rather perplexed by the oddity of the whole thing! (Still such an awesome sound – even though I felt her moving just a little bit prior.)

She did mention that the letter of recommendations from the high-risk doctor (written right after Devin died) mentioned growth ultrasounds, though it was up to me. I actually wasn’t keen on the idea of monthly ultrasounds, both because they give me serious anxiety and the risk of seeing something random that makes me worry more. But at the same time it really is nice to know for sure that baby’s growing on track. So we’ve scheduled an ultrasound for around the end of my first trimester, and another one around the time when we lost Devin (35/36 weeks). Hopefully that’s all I’ll need and everything will be fine, but if anything is concerning then obviously I’d be monitored more closely.

The more I realize how grown-up Kate is the more I look forward to having a newborn again! I was looking through Kate’s old pictures and it was really tugging at my heartstrings, so sweet and cuddly! I’m still a little nervous about having another little one, about Kate not being my only focus of attention, but that’s pretty normal worries for people having another kid.

I do think Kate will be great, though. Kate loves babies. Her little friend (7 months old) was visiting the other day and Kate crouched down in front of the car seat to talk to her in toddler-speak, rock the carseat, and then try to give her a paci and a toy. It was so adorable! I’m starting to really picture her being the big sister, helping out and being a little mother hen. I really think Ember is going to adore having a big sister like her!

So here’s me at 22 weeks. Hopefully I don’t look too exhausted.