Pregnancy: Charley vs Liza

Warning: This post will be filled with pregnancy related topics and occasional TMI subjects. If that offends you and/or is not your cup of tea, don't read on :)

I'm no shy girl when it comes to telling my story about the birth of Charley Cate. It was tough, recovery was hard, and all the yucko stuff definitely happened to me. Now pregnancy? Piece of cake! I felt great throughout. So I'm going to do a little comparison in hopes of a wonderful delivery!

Charley's Pregnancy:

Right before we went to the hospital to deliver! January 3rd, 2012

• I was substitute teaching my first trimester (the spring semester of 2011) and therefore was able to take it easy and work when I wanted, then rest when I wanted. Much needed for the fatigue that inevitably comes with the first trimester. 
• No morning sickness! (Yay!)
• I had summer of 2011 off. 
• No trouble sleeping :)
• Big time cravings: fruit (pineapple, strawberries, smoothies), salad, WATER, and wonton soup. 
• Weight Gain: total of 37 lbs. (not too shabby)
• Zero stretch marks! (except on my boobs after my milk came in, but those have since faded)
• Mood: I feel like my mood was relatively good. I don't recall crazy mood swings and I wasn't weepy. Maybe somewhat irritable.
• Overall feeling: GREAT. I felt good. I think working helped since I was on my feet all day and socializing daily.

Liza's Pregnancy:

My friend Davina at her bridal shower in October 2013. Barf. I'm huge.

• I was teaching full time at Goddard JH and trying to make it day to day. Most nights I would come home from work, play with Charley for like an hour, get dinner/bath/bedtime routine stuff done, then conk out myself. All by 7 pm. 
• No morning sickness, however, after the above chores were done, I would feel sick most nights during the first trimester. Thankfully, though, I never GOT sick. (Yay!)
• I decided not to go back to work and to take a year off, so summer (and then some...) of 2013 off. 
• Insomnia in the third trimester. (Is it normal to wake up at 4am and want need a bowl of cereal!?)
• Big time cravings: carbs!!!! (bread, tortillas, french fries....), sweet tea, dark chocolate, SWEETS, and cereal.
• Weight Gain: SO FAR...40 lbs...and I still have 2 weeks to go. 
• A stretch mark on my side :( and a few appearing at the very bottom of my belly. I can tell this is a BIG girl already!
• Mood: OMG, get a grip already Brandi! I'm like a complete basket case! I can laugh hysterically one minute then cry the next. Crazy hormones don't even explain it...
• Overall feeling: BLAH. This pregnancy compared to Charbear has been hard. I just don't feel myself, my body aches, new (and not improved things) are happening down there...eek! I've been depressed, my hands swell at night to the point I can no longer wear my wedding ring (I would seriously wake up in the middle of the night with my hands hurting because my rings were so tight!), and I feel like a huge fat girl since every time I get off the couch I huff and puff like I'm 500 pounds. 
• Bonus Con: I'm assuming I had this disorder with Charley too, they just didn't catch it. But with Liza, early on in my pregnancy, my OB sent me to a hematologist to check my platelet count and figure out why they were always so dangerously low. His answer: I have a rare blood disorder called ITP (Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura). Essentially this just means my body is living off of the platelet count that it creates each day, low for most people, but it's ok for me. I create large or giant platelets in return to compensate, which on most lab work, shows up as a low number. Since the volume of the platelets is what matters (not the actual count), my giant platelets allow me to remain healthy and function properly. The really stinky part to all this?  To get my accurate platelet count I have to have a blood smear, so I've had to get blood work done every two weeks for the first half of my pregnancy, and every three weeks since about week 26. No fun to get stuck all the time...especially when you HATE needles. In hindsight though, this was a good precaution to keep an eye on my levels and make sure that baby Liza remains healthy! 

SO, as you can see, Charbear was a breeze to be pregnant with, although her delivery was rough. I'm hoping that since Liza has been much harder to carry and create, that her delivery will be smooth sailing!!!!!

TWO WEEKS LEFT! Hallelejer!