We had the big appointment today. I have to be honest up front and say that I was a little disappointed. I think I was expecting clearer pictures and that we'd be able to see a whole lot now that the baby's bigger. They weren't and we couldn't. Now Eric says he could see what the doctor was pointing out, but I couldn't. I felt like Rachel on Friends. I actually cried when we got to the car because I couldn't tell what anything was.
Here's what we did see. The baby has hands, feet, fingers, and toes. We saw the head, heart with 4 chambers beating away, spinal cord, and legs. At one point we followed the legs down and saw them moving and I felt movement. I guess that really confirms it, I saw the baby kick while I felt it. These movements are baby related. It weighs 10 ounces right now.
Hmmm...what else? Oh yeah, it's a girl! Again, I couldn't see anything, but the doctor was pretty sure she was seeing girl parts. We asked her how sure and she said 85%. I'll take that. I think I was hoping for a boy, but I wanted at least one of each anyway, so a girl is just fine. I'm guessing she'll have her Dad wrapped around her little finger in no time. Her name will be Grace Ellen Marie. I love that name. So now just 20 more weeks until little Grace can come out to play.
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Guesses Anyone?
Anybody want to take a guess for tomorrow? It seems like the majority of guesses I’ve heard so far have been for a girl. Here’s a quick rundown. I’m sorry if I don’t remember your guess, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think. Results will (hopefully) be revealed tomorrow.
- Girl – Ava Chu – Remember my October 2003 GWO?
- Girl – Chinese Gender Chart
- Girl – Erica – Maybe because of Ava Chu…
- Girl – Danialle – Maybe because of Ava Chu…
- Boy – Eric – Maybe because it’s what he wants
- Boy – Jennifer – I keep saying “he”
- Girl – Guy at the Chinese Takeout Place – Last night he asked me how many months I was. I said 4 ½. He said, “You having girl?” I said, “We’ll find out Thursday.” He said, “I think girl.”
Feel free to share your thoughts.
- Girl – Ava Chu – Remember my October 2003 GWO?
- Girl – Chinese Gender Chart
- Girl – Erica – Maybe because of Ava Chu…
- Girl – Danialle – Maybe because of Ava Chu…
- Boy – Eric – Maybe because it’s what he wants
- Boy – Jennifer – I keep saying “he”
- Girl – Guy at the Chinese Takeout Place – Last night he asked me how many months I was. I said 4 ½. He said, “You having girl?” I said, “We’ll find out Thursday.” He said, “I think girl.”
Feel free to share your thoughts.
Monday, July 26, 2004
19 Weeks, 2 Days - The Twentieth Week
My Symptoms
I feel big. I think I've gained a pretty good amount of weight this week. I'm waiting a couple more days to do pics and measurements in case it's just left over from my weekend, but I don't think I have to worry about not gaining enough during this stage. I'm also officially feeling movement. I'm still pretty sure I felt it a couple of times over the past two or three weeks, but some of it was probably gas or hunger. If you read my weekend post, you'll know that I'm sure I felt it on Saturday. Today was even more confirmation. I think since I sit alot at work, I'm more apt to notice it. I was a little slow in going to lunch, but I was sitting at my desk trying to get a few more things done. I had my chair pushed in and my belly was touching the desk. I felt two distinct thumps from inside. I know that wasn't my stomach growling. Then the rest of the afternoon, I kept feeling little nudges. Not so much tonight, but I'm sure it'll just get stronger the next couple of days and weeks. I've also been getting heartburn more. Nothing too serious, but it helps to remain upright after a meal. Laying on the couch after dinner is bad. Last thing... only three more days until the ultrasound! I'm really excited. I'll post on Thursday, but will probably call most people first. I need to get my call list together. Here's what all the books and websites say is going on this week. By the way, I'm still a definate innie.
The Baby
At this point in development, the crown-to-rump length is 5.6 to 6.4 inches. Your baby weighs about 9 ounces.
Your bun in the oven is "half-baked!" All the pieces are there and, if it’s a girl, she’s growing her vagina this week!
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. (This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).
Lanugo forms from sebum and skin cells to create vernix. This creamy white substance is believed to help protect the baby inutero. It will cling to the lanugo and in the creases. This is also something that can be seen sometimes after the birth. Rumor has it that nursery nurses use it for hand lotion, because of its smooth, protect quality. You may be aware of sleep wake cycles in your little one. The weight is now up to 10 ounces (283 grams) and the baby measures about 25 cms total length, about 9.8 inches.
The Mom
Congratulations - 20 weeks marks the midpoint, and you're halfway through your pregnancy! Your uterus is probably about even with your bellybutton. Your healthcare provider has been watching your growth and the enlargement of your uterus. Growth to this point may have been irregular, but usually becomes more regular after the 20th week.
Some women experience temporary vision changes during pregnancy. If you wear contact lenses, they may become uncomfortable for you because of the increased fluid in your eyes. Don’t buy an expensive pair of glasses now -- your vision will revert to its normal condition once baby is here. Your belly button may become an "outie" as the uterus presses on it from behind. Some women swear that putting a Band-Aid on it helps keep it from brushing painfully against their clothes. Worth a try!
You've made it to the halfway mark — Congratulations! The top of your uterus is at the level of your belly button now, and you've likely gained about 10 pounds. Expect to gain an average of about another pound each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.) Make sure you're getting enough iron, a mineral that's used primarily to make hemoglobin (the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen). During pregnancy, your body needs more iron for your developing baby and the placenta, and to keep up with your expanding blood volume. Iron-rich foods include lean red meat, poultry, fish, lentils and other legumes, spinach, and iron-fortified cereals.
POP! Your belly button may pop out and stay that way until delivery as your uterus presses upwards. Some people will have trouble breathing as their lungs become cramped with the internal organs. This will usually continue until the baby "drops" or engages into the pelvis. In a first pregnancy this will generally occur 4-6 weeks before your birth and with subsequent pregnancies not until you are in labor. There is a trade off once the baby "drops." You will have to urinate more frequently, hard to believe, eh? Remembering to do your pelvic tilts prior to laying down will hopefully allow you a few more minutes of rest before the next bathroom break. You are half way through your pregnancy! Congratulations!
I feel big. I think I've gained a pretty good amount of weight this week. I'm waiting a couple more days to do pics and measurements in case it's just left over from my weekend, but I don't think I have to worry about not gaining enough during this stage. I'm also officially feeling movement. I'm still pretty sure I felt it a couple of times over the past two or three weeks, but some of it was probably gas or hunger. If you read my weekend post, you'll know that I'm sure I felt it on Saturday. Today was even more confirmation. I think since I sit alot at work, I'm more apt to notice it. I was a little slow in going to lunch, but I was sitting at my desk trying to get a few more things done. I had my chair pushed in and my belly was touching the desk. I felt two distinct thumps from inside. I know that wasn't my stomach growling. Then the rest of the afternoon, I kept feeling little nudges. Not so much tonight, but I'm sure it'll just get stronger the next couple of days and weeks. I've also been getting heartburn more. Nothing too serious, but it helps to remain upright after a meal. Laying on the couch after dinner is bad. Last thing... only three more days until the ultrasound! I'm really excited. I'll post on Thursday, but will probably call most people first. I need to get my call list together. Here's what all the books and websites say is going on this week. By the way, I'm still a definate innie.
The Baby
At this point in development, the crown-to-rump length is 5.6 to 6.4 inches. Your baby weighs about 9 ounces.
Your bun in the oven is "half-baked!" All the pieces are there and, if it’s a girl, she’s growing her vagina this week!
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. (This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).
Lanugo forms from sebum and skin cells to create vernix. This creamy white substance is believed to help protect the baby inutero. It will cling to the lanugo and in the creases. This is also something that can be seen sometimes after the birth. Rumor has it that nursery nurses use it for hand lotion, because of its smooth, protect quality. You may be aware of sleep wake cycles in your little one. The weight is now up to 10 ounces (283 grams) and the baby measures about 25 cms total length, about 9.8 inches.
The Mom
Congratulations - 20 weeks marks the midpoint, and you're halfway through your pregnancy! Your uterus is probably about even with your bellybutton. Your healthcare provider has been watching your growth and the enlargement of your uterus. Growth to this point may have been irregular, but usually becomes more regular after the 20th week.
Some women experience temporary vision changes during pregnancy. If you wear contact lenses, they may become uncomfortable for you because of the increased fluid in your eyes. Don’t buy an expensive pair of glasses now -- your vision will revert to its normal condition once baby is here. Your belly button may become an "outie" as the uterus presses on it from behind. Some women swear that putting a Band-Aid on it helps keep it from brushing painfully against their clothes. Worth a try!
You've made it to the halfway mark — Congratulations! The top of your uterus is at the level of your belly button now, and you've likely gained about 10 pounds. Expect to gain an average of about another pound each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.) Make sure you're getting enough iron, a mineral that's used primarily to make hemoglobin (the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen). During pregnancy, your body needs more iron for your developing baby and the placenta, and to keep up with your expanding blood volume. Iron-rich foods include lean red meat, poultry, fish, lentils and other legumes, spinach, and iron-fortified cereals.
POP! Your belly button may pop out and stay that way until delivery as your uterus presses upwards. Some people will have trouble breathing as their lungs become cramped with the internal organs. This will usually continue until the baby "drops" or engages into the pelvis. In a first pregnancy this will generally occur 4-6 weeks before your birth and with subsequent pregnancies not until you are in labor. There is a trade off once the baby "drops." You will have to urinate more frequently, hard to believe, eh? Remembering to do your pelvic tilts prior to laying down will hopefully allow you a few more minutes of rest before the next bathroom break. You are half way through your pregnancy! Congratulations!
Girls Weekend
Time for my update on GWO V in Chicago. It was, as always, a wonderful weekend with my best friends.
Thursday I left work around 4:00 p.m. and was a bit anxious as the line to check in was extremely long. When I got up to the counter, I found out why. Storms in Chicago had delayed flights all over the place and lucky for me, mine was one of them. My flight was scheduled to leave at 5:25 p.m., but the lady at the desk said it might be 8 or 9 p.m. The bad thing was they didn’t know when it would be. At around 6:15 p.m. they gave us word that the flight from Chicago was in the air and we should be able to leave by 7:15. I went to find something to eat and when I ambled back to the gate around 6:45 p.m., they were boarding! Yeah! Once on the plane we were told that we weren’t allowed to leave until 8:00 p.m., so we were going to go sit on the runway for awhile. We did end up leaving at 8:00 p.m., which got me into Chicago at around 8:30, just 2 ½ hours later than planned. Anyway, Erica and Danialle met me at the airport and the first thing we decided to do was get some food. We just got some McDonald’s and went back to Danialle’s. We chatted for a bit and then decided to walk down to a little restaurant to check out some dessert. It was so nice outside! After we got back we pretty much got ready for bed. I was a bit concerned about the lack of air conditioning, but I had a big fan blowing on me all night, so I actually slept pretty good.
On Friday, we got up in time to take Danialle’s husband to work at 8:30 a.m. We ate some yummy breakfast and then headed back downtown to do a little shopping on Michigan Avenue. There is always so much to look at, but good for my checkbook, no maternity stores! I did end up buying a couple of things anyway, but it was still fun. Heather gave us a call around noon, while we were still downtown, so we headed back to the car and then back to Danialle’s place. Next we decided to put on our beach wear and get some lunch before heading to the beach. We decided on wings, and after some time finally found a BW3’s. Danialle and Erica were brave and got hot ones, but I decided to play it safe. After lunch we hit the beach. It was cold! The wind had really picked up and it wasn’t that warm anyway, but we were determined not to let that stop us. We threw our towels out and picked a spot to chat. Heather fell asleep for a little bit, but the rest of us had some good conversations. I also tried digging a small hole for my belly and laying on my stomach. My pregnant friend Kelly from work said that was how she first felt her baby move. I think it worked for me too. Have you ever layed on a body part in a weird way and you can feel your heartbeat thumping in that body part? It felt like that in my lower abdomen. Only, it wasn’t a consistent, “thump-thump-thump.” It was more like “thump-thump……thump.” Also, if I moved or sat up and then layed back down, I’d feel it again. I’m calling that baby movement. After the beach, we checked into the hotel and all showered and changed. Then we went to Leona’s for dinner. It was ok, but not as great as last time we ate there. After dinner, we walked around a bit until the stores closed up and then went back to the hotel to chat some more and sleep.
Saturday was a day of shopping. We went to Gurnee Mills outlet mall. We got there around 11 and shopped until 6 p.m. Again, I’m glad pregnancy limited my spending on clothing. There was one maternity store and I did by something, but one outfit isn’t too bad. Also, Danialle and Erica tried on the fake bellies at the store. We got a cute picture of us all with bellies. Where I really spent the cash though was at the Carter’s baby store outlet. Everything was so incredibly marked down. They had these $40 diaper bag’s that were only $10 with an additional $35 purchase, so I wanted to be sure I spent $35. I ended up buying 3 long sleeve sleepers, a cute ducky onesie, a super soft blanket, booties, and 2 bibs plus the diaper bag for about $60. After shopping until the verge of dropping, we headed back towards the hotel and decided on Outback for dinner. We got in relatively quickly and had this bizarre waiter. He was Native American, at least bi-sexual, and told us all about his new “Spiritual Love.” He made it interesting though and we spent two hours at the restaurant. It was 10:00 by the time we left and after all that shopping, I was pooped. We all went to bed fairly early.
Sunday morning we got up said our goodbyes and Danialle took me back to the airport. Luckily this trip wasn’t as bad as the way there, except one of my bags didn’t make it back. I checked two, but only one made the plane. I headed home and spent the rest of the afternoon being lazy. My bag was delivered around 7:30 p.m. officially ending my GWO trip.
Spending time with the girls is so great.
Thursday I left work around 4:00 p.m. and was a bit anxious as the line to check in was extremely long. When I got up to the counter, I found out why. Storms in Chicago had delayed flights all over the place and lucky for me, mine was one of them. My flight was scheduled to leave at 5:25 p.m., but the lady at the desk said it might be 8 or 9 p.m. The bad thing was they didn’t know when it would be. At around 6:15 p.m. they gave us word that the flight from Chicago was in the air and we should be able to leave by 7:15. I went to find something to eat and when I ambled back to the gate around 6:45 p.m., they were boarding! Yeah! Once on the plane we were told that we weren’t allowed to leave until 8:00 p.m., so we were going to go sit on the runway for awhile. We did end up leaving at 8:00 p.m., which got me into Chicago at around 8:30, just 2 ½ hours later than planned. Anyway, Erica and Danialle met me at the airport and the first thing we decided to do was get some food. We just got some McDonald’s and went back to Danialle’s. We chatted for a bit and then decided to walk down to a little restaurant to check out some dessert. It was so nice outside! After we got back we pretty much got ready for bed. I was a bit concerned about the lack of air conditioning, but I had a big fan blowing on me all night, so I actually slept pretty good.
On Friday, we got up in time to take Danialle’s husband to work at 8:30 a.m. We ate some yummy breakfast and then headed back downtown to do a little shopping on Michigan Avenue. There is always so much to look at, but good for my checkbook, no maternity stores! I did end up buying a couple of things anyway, but it was still fun. Heather gave us a call around noon, while we were still downtown, so we headed back to the car and then back to Danialle’s place. Next we decided to put on our beach wear and get some lunch before heading to the beach. We decided on wings, and after some time finally found a BW3’s. Danialle and Erica were brave and got hot ones, but I decided to play it safe. After lunch we hit the beach. It was cold! The wind had really picked up and it wasn’t that warm anyway, but we were determined not to let that stop us. We threw our towels out and picked a spot to chat. Heather fell asleep for a little bit, but the rest of us had some good conversations. I also tried digging a small hole for my belly and laying on my stomach. My pregnant friend Kelly from work said that was how she first felt her baby move. I think it worked for me too. Have you ever layed on a body part in a weird way and you can feel your heartbeat thumping in that body part? It felt like that in my lower abdomen. Only, it wasn’t a consistent, “thump-thump-thump.” It was more like “thump-thump……thump.” Also, if I moved or sat up and then layed back down, I’d feel it again. I’m calling that baby movement. After the beach, we checked into the hotel and all showered and changed. Then we went to Leona’s for dinner. It was ok, but not as great as last time we ate there. After dinner, we walked around a bit until the stores closed up and then went back to the hotel to chat some more and sleep.
Saturday was a day of shopping. We went to Gurnee Mills outlet mall. We got there around 11 and shopped until 6 p.m. Again, I’m glad pregnancy limited my spending on clothing. There was one maternity store and I did by something, but one outfit isn’t too bad. Also, Danialle and Erica tried on the fake bellies at the store. We got a cute picture of us all with bellies. Where I really spent the cash though was at the Carter’s baby store outlet. Everything was so incredibly marked down. They had these $40 diaper bag’s that were only $10 with an additional $35 purchase, so I wanted to be sure I spent $35. I ended up buying 3 long sleeve sleepers, a cute ducky onesie, a super soft blanket, booties, and 2 bibs plus the diaper bag for about $60. After shopping until the verge of dropping, we headed back towards the hotel and decided on Outback for dinner. We got in relatively quickly and had this bizarre waiter. He was Native American, at least bi-sexual, and told us all about his new “Spiritual Love.” He made it interesting though and we spent two hours at the restaurant. It was 10:00 by the time we left and after all that shopping, I was pooped. We all went to bed fairly early.
Sunday morning we got up said our goodbyes and Danialle took me back to the airport. Luckily this trip wasn’t as bad as the way there, except one of my bags didn’t make it back. I checked two, but only one made the plane. I headed home and spent the rest of the afternoon being lazy. My bag was delivered around 7:30 p.m. officially ending my GWO trip.
Spending time with the girls is so great.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Leaving for the Weekend
I wanted to get one last post in before the weekend. I’m leaving in 3 hours for Chicago and GWO V! I’m so excited. My personal life has been going great, but work is stressing me out! I just want to complete forget it all for a few days. My girlfriends are my lifesavers. I don’t live close to my family and while I’ve made new (and awesome) friends here, I still feel like these weekends breathe a little life back into me. We’ve got tons planned, but my prediction is we’ll do about 75% of it, and spend the rest of the time talking and catching up. I don’t care. We could hole up in a hotel room for three days and never leave and I think I’d still come away thinking it was a great weekend. Well, I’d like to get my desk mostly cleared off before I go, so I better get to work.
Sunday, July 18, 2004
Weekend Update
This weekend Eric's mom came to visit. We had a nice weekend. Friday she got in before we made it home for work and hung out on the deck for a bit. When we got home we chatted for a bit and then had dinner at The Melting Pot. She loved it, and it was fun to get to share a new experience with her. After dinner, we headed to Wal-Mart to walk off dessert and then went home and watched a movie. I fell asleep during it, and then decided to crash for the evening.
Saturday, Eric had to go into work for a quick appointment. The appointment got pushed back, however, so we met him and spent some time in a scrapbooking store nearby. Donna wasn't feeling well (headache) though, so when Eric had to go back to the office, we went home and took a nap. I wasn't complaining, I love to nap! Eric came home and woke us up and we did some shopping. We went by a car dealership that was advertising some deals and test drove a Chevy Equinox. We were interested, but in my car and didn't want to subject Donna to an evening of haggling, so decided to meet up with the salesperson Monday to discuss. Then we headed downtown to check out the Jazz & Rib Fest. We parked in my building (for free) and started walking to the festival. A big storm came up though, and we had to duck into a covered opening of a building to wait it out. When the rain started letting up, we decided to head back to the car and skip the festival. We then went to Texas Roadhouse and had dinner. After dinner we drove by another dealership to price some SUV's. After that we decided to go browse at Babies R Us. I can't wait until we get to register. It will be so much fun! I'm starting to feel like I belong in that store now. I saw some bigger bellies than mine, but I count! We also have decided on a theme for the baby's room. We are going to decorate in ducks. If it's a boy, we'll paint the room blue and stencil yellow ducks on the wall. If it's a girl or we can't teel, we'll paint the room green. Either way, we'll do plain yellow bedding and make some yellow curtains. We'll use other duck items to decorate. It should be really cute. We also stopped by Baby Depot inside of Burlington Coat Factory. After they closed, we headed home and watched another movie.
Sunday morning we got up around 9:30 a.m. and just visited until Donna left around noon. After she left, Eric and I went car shopping again. We went back to the Toyota dealership and test drove a used 2001 Chevy Tahoe they had on the lot. While the price looked nice, it seemed like more vehicle than we need and I couldn't quit thinking about the gas prices. Then we moved over to a 2001 Toyota Highlander. I love Toyota's and after driving it, we decided to do some paperwork. Eric is leasing his car and when they ran the payoff versus his appraisal, his negative equity was close to $6,000! We knew we might have some to deal with, but that amount put the Highlander (and every other SUV we'd been looking at) out of our price range. So, we decided that an SUV may not be a viable option right now. We then drove over to the Dodge dealership and ended up buying a 2004 Intrepid. It's used, but still under warranty, etc. and we got a great deal. It's also pretty loaded (leather seats, etc.), so it's a really nice ride. Eric's happy and now we have 2 family cars, so we should be set for a while.
That's about it for the weekend. I'm really excited about the nursery now. I haven't really seen any duck bedding patterns, so I think this idea is fairly original. I'm ok with using solid color bedding and getting the theme in other places, so it's going to be fun to really put the nursery together. I do want a mobile though and I haven't seen any with only ducks at the baby stores. I did some E-bay research though and found one I'm bidding on. Three more days and it'll be mine!
On another note, less than a week until I get to see my best friends! I'm so excited. I thought things were turning around for Erica on the baby front, but it looks like today that may have changed. Darn it! I know she'd be a great Mom, so I want her to get to start soon. I haven't got updates from the other girls I'll be seeing next week, but I'm sure I'll be completely caught up by this time next week. One of my other friends that can't come to our weekend get together, just told me she may be moving up her plans for starting a family. They aren't going to put any effort into it, but they are going to start letting nature take it's course next month! I just want all of my friends to be pregnant too. It would be so great if all three of us could be pregnant together for a few months at least!
Ok, I better end for tonight. I'll update this week if anything good happens and next week, you'll get the scoop on GWO in Chicago!
Saturday, Eric had to go into work for a quick appointment. The appointment got pushed back, however, so we met him and spent some time in a scrapbooking store nearby. Donna wasn't feeling well (headache) though, so when Eric had to go back to the office, we went home and took a nap. I wasn't complaining, I love to nap! Eric came home and woke us up and we did some shopping. We went by a car dealership that was advertising some deals and test drove a Chevy Equinox. We were interested, but in my car and didn't want to subject Donna to an evening of haggling, so decided to meet up with the salesperson Monday to discuss. Then we headed downtown to check out the Jazz & Rib Fest. We parked in my building (for free) and started walking to the festival. A big storm came up though, and we had to duck into a covered opening of a building to wait it out. When the rain started letting up, we decided to head back to the car and skip the festival. We then went to Texas Roadhouse and had dinner. After dinner we drove by another dealership to price some SUV's. After that we decided to go browse at Babies R Us. I can't wait until we get to register. It will be so much fun! I'm starting to feel like I belong in that store now. I saw some bigger bellies than mine, but I count! We also have decided on a theme for the baby's room. We are going to decorate in ducks. If it's a boy, we'll paint the room blue and stencil yellow ducks on the wall. If it's a girl or we can't teel, we'll paint the room green. Either way, we'll do plain yellow bedding and make some yellow curtains. We'll use other duck items to decorate. It should be really cute. We also stopped by Baby Depot inside of Burlington Coat Factory. After they closed, we headed home and watched another movie.
Sunday morning we got up around 9:30 a.m. and just visited until Donna left around noon. After she left, Eric and I went car shopping again. We went back to the Toyota dealership and test drove a used 2001 Chevy Tahoe they had on the lot. While the price looked nice, it seemed like more vehicle than we need and I couldn't quit thinking about the gas prices. Then we moved over to a 2001 Toyota Highlander. I love Toyota's and after driving it, we decided to do some paperwork. Eric is leasing his car and when they ran the payoff versus his appraisal, his negative equity was close to $6,000! We knew we might have some to deal with, but that amount put the Highlander (and every other SUV we'd been looking at) out of our price range. So, we decided that an SUV may not be a viable option right now. We then drove over to the Dodge dealership and ended up buying a 2004 Intrepid. It's used, but still under warranty, etc. and we got a great deal. It's also pretty loaded (leather seats, etc.), so it's a really nice ride. Eric's happy and now we have 2 family cars, so we should be set for a while.
That's about it for the weekend. I'm really excited about the nursery now. I haven't really seen any duck bedding patterns, so I think this idea is fairly original. I'm ok with using solid color bedding and getting the theme in other places, so it's going to be fun to really put the nursery together. I do want a mobile though and I haven't seen any with only ducks at the baby stores. I did some E-bay research though and found one I'm bidding on. Three more days and it'll be mine!
On another note, less than a week until I get to see my best friends! I'm so excited. I thought things were turning around for Erica on the baby front, but it looks like today that may have changed. Darn it! I know she'd be a great Mom, so I want her to get to start soon. I haven't got updates from the other girls I'll be seeing next week, but I'm sure I'll be completely caught up by this time next week. One of my other friends that can't come to our weekend get together, just told me she may be moving up her plans for starting a family. They aren't going to put any effort into it, but they are going to start letting nature take it's course next month! I just want all of my friends to be pregnant too. It would be so great if all three of us could be pregnant together for a few months at least!
Ok, I better end for tonight. I'll update this week if anything good happens and next week, you'll get the scoop on GWO in Chicago!
Eighteen Weeks, 1 Day - The Nineteenth Week
My Symptoms
Probably my most noticable symptom this week is that I haven't been feeling movement. I'm still pretty sure it's what I felt before, but the baby's been quite this week. I've still got the Doppler though, so I know everything is ok, but I'm just not feeling anything. I've also noticed a little bit of heartburn. Nothing serious, but sometimes when I lay down or lounge on the couch, I feel like I'm not allowing my digestive tract enough room. This will be my last week with the Doppler. I'm taking it with me to my Girl's Weekend, but then sending it back next Monday. The only other thing is that it seems like I'm looking much more pregnant. Now the belly really looks like a pregnant belly, even without clothes. I think I've been gaining weight too (although in reasonable amounts). I can't think of much else. Hopefully, this week I'll get some more kicks or baby movements.
The Baby
Crown-to-rump length of the growing fetus is 5.2 to 6 inches by this week. Your baby weighs about 7 ounces. It's incredible to think your baby will increase its weight more than 15 times between now and delivery.
What's Going On with Your Baby? The fetus is about 8 inches long, 8 ounces in weight, and covered in vernix, a white, cheesy "cream" that protects her skin from the long bath in amniotic fluid. Preemies are covered in vernix at birth -- "posties" have almost none.
Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing six million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.
This is an impressive week for growth! The baby will increase in weight to 8 ounces (227 grams)! If you are having a girl, her ovaries now contain primitive egg cells. Lanugo appears all over the baby's body. This fine hair will remain until birth draws nearer. Sometimes you can still see some on the baby's face and ears after birth. Permanent teeth buds are forming behind the already formed milk teeth buds.
The Mom
You can feel your uterus about 0.5 inch below your umbilicus. Your total weight gain at this point is between 8 and 14 pounds. Of this weight, only about 7 ounces is your baby! The placenta weighs about 6 ounces; the amniotic fluid weighs another 11 ounces. The uterus weights 11 ounces. Your breasts have each increased in weight by 6.3 ounces.
"Your feets too big!" Suddenly, your shoes don’t fit! Some of this might be due to water retention, and some of it is due to the general loosening of ligaments happening throughout your body. Many women's feet grow half a shoe size per child and, in most cases, this change is permanent.
You're just a week shy of the halfway mark. You may notice some achiness in your lower abdomen (perhaps extending to your groin) or even a quick, sharp, stabbing pain on one or both sides, especially when you change position or at the end of an active day. This is round ligament pain, and it's caused by the stretching of the muscles and ligaments that support your growing uterus. It's nothing to be alarmed about, but if the pain continues even when you're resting or becomes persistent and severe, call your practitioner.You may also have noticed some skin changes lately. Are the palms of your hands red? Nothing to worry about — it's from increased estrogen. Patches of darkened skin are also common during pregnancy. When they show up around your upper lip, upper cheeks and forehead, they're called chloasma, or the "mask of pregnancy." You may see these splotches on your arms or other areas that have been exposed to the sun. Your nipples, freckles, scars, underarms, inner thighs, and vulva may also darken during pregnancy. That darkened line running from your belly button to your pubic bone is called the linea nigra, or "dark line." All of this darkening is due to a temporary increase in melanin, the substance that colors your hair, skin, and eyes. For most women, these darkened spots will fade shortly after delivery. In the meantime, protect yourself from the sun, which intensifies the pigment changes. Cover up, wear a brimmed hat, and use sunscreen when you're outdoors. And if you're self-conscious about your "mask," a little concealing makeup can work wonders.
If you have not looked into childbirth classes, now is the time to do so. Childbirth education is a great way of informing yourself about pregnancy, labor and birth. There are many different types of classes available and many different types of teachers. Enroll now before the spaces are all gone! Medical research indicates that participants in childbirth classes tend to have easier, less stressful births.
Probably my most noticable symptom this week is that I haven't been feeling movement. I'm still pretty sure it's what I felt before, but the baby's been quite this week. I've still got the Doppler though, so I know everything is ok, but I'm just not feeling anything. I've also noticed a little bit of heartburn. Nothing serious, but sometimes when I lay down or lounge on the couch, I feel like I'm not allowing my digestive tract enough room. This will be my last week with the Doppler. I'm taking it with me to my Girl's Weekend, but then sending it back next Monday. The only other thing is that it seems like I'm looking much more pregnant. Now the belly really looks like a pregnant belly, even without clothes. I think I've been gaining weight too (although in reasonable amounts). I can't think of much else. Hopefully, this week I'll get some more kicks or baby movements.
The Baby
Crown-to-rump length of the growing fetus is 5.2 to 6 inches by this week. Your baby weighs about 7 ounces. It's incredible to think your baby will increase its weight more than 15 times between now and delivery.
What's Going On with Your Baby? The fetus is about 8 inches long, 8 ounces in weight, and covered in vernix, a white, cheesy "cream" that protects her skin from the long bath in amniotic fluid. Preemies are covered in vernix at birth -- "posties" have almost none.
Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing six million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.
This is an impressive week for growth! The baby will increase in weight to 8 ounces (227 grams)! If you are having a girl, her ovaries now contain primitive egg cells. Lanugo appears all over the baby's body. This fine hair will remain until birth draws nearer. Sometimes you can still see some on the baby's face and ears after birth. Permanent teeth buds are forming behind the already formed milk teeth buds.
The Mom
You can feel your uterus about 0.5 inch below your umbilicus. Your total weight gain at this point is between 8 and 14 pounds. Of this weight, only about 7 ounces is your baby! The placenta weighs about 6 ounces; the amniotic fluid weighs another 11 ounces. The uterus weights 11 ounces. Your breasts have each increased in weight by 6.3 ounces.
"Your feets too big!" Suddenly, your shoes don’t fit! Some of this might be due to water retention, and some of it is due to the general loosening of ligaments happening throughout your body. Many women's feet grow half a shoe size per child and, in most cases, this change is permanent.
You're just a week shy of the halfway mark. You may notice some achiness in your lower abdomen (perhaps extending to your groin) or even a quick, sharp, stabbing pain on one or both sides, especially when you change position or at the end of an active day. This is round ligament pain, and it's caused by the stretching of the muscles and ligaments that support your growing uterus. It's nothing to be alarmed about, but if the pain continues even when you're resting or becomes persistent and severe, call your practitioner.You may also have noticed some skin changes lately. Are the palms of your hands red? Nothing to worry about — it's from increased estrogen. Patches of darkened skin are also common during pregnancy. When they show up around your upper lip, upper cheeks and forehead, they're called chloasma, or the "mask of pregnancy." You may see these splotches on your arms or other areas that have been exposed to the sun. Your nipples, freckles, scars, underarms, inner thighs, and vulva may also darken during pregnancy. That darkened line running from your belly button to your pubic bone is called the linea nigra, or "dark line." All of this darkening is due to a temporary increase in melanin, the substance that colors your hair, skin, and eyes. For most women, these darkened spots will fade shortly after delivery. In the meantime, protect yourself from the sun, which intensifies the pigment changes. Cover up, wear a brimmed hat, and use sunscreen when you're outdoors. And if you're self-conscious about your "mask," a little concealing makeup can work wonders.
If you have not looked into childbirth classes, now is the time to do so. Childbirth education is a great way of informing yourself about pregnancy, labor and birth. There are many different types of classes available and many different types of teachers. Enroll now before the spaces are all gone! Medical research indicates that participants in childbirth classes tend to have easier, less stressful births.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Tales from the Office
I don’t post much about work. But, there’s been enough going on that I feel I need to make a comment. I’ll start by saying that I’ve been happy with my career choices up to this point. I work in Insurance and work for the largest Insurance Brokerage firm in the world. I majored in Insurance and Risk Management and actually moved to Columbus for this job. Over the last year I think I’ve found my niche in the company and have really gotten into a groove as far as my work. I love the work that I do, I’ve loved the people I work with, I feel challenged by my responsibilities, I feel that people appreciate my work and respect my knowledge, and I feel like this company is very generous to their employees (working hours, vacation, summer hours, pay raises, bonuses, etc.). However, in the last year, my particular office has been through a lot. We’ve had some management changes. One of the head regional people started his own firm and started picking off people to work for him. We’ve also faced a lot of competitive pressure from other firms. Our office has been hit really hard lately. We’ve lost some key business and even more key people. Yesterday, I overheard someone say that we’ve lost 23 people since January. This office had about 60-70 people at it’s peak and currently has 52 employees. Obviously, we replaced some of the people, but in other places we have big holes.
About a month ago, after a trend of losing business to competitors, they had a reduction in staff of 8 people to help “cut expenses.” One of those people was a very good friend of mine and an extremely hard worker. It seemed really unfair how random the reduction was. I know I could have picked some other people that would have been better choices in my mind. Anyway, things kept plugging away, and then last week, another very key senior person left to go to a competitor. I was surprised and disappointed, but what can you do? Then yesterday, my direct supervisor quit to go to the same competitor. I took it really hard. I’ve worked really closely with him for the last year. He is a really great guy. He was a great boss. He always made sure to challenge me and let me prove I could handle assignments. He was really accessible when I had questions, and I was thinking of him as a mentor. He’s a pretty young guy, and has advanced pretty far pretty quickly. I consider myself bright and was hoping under his guidance to follow a similar career path.
Anyway, now he’s gone and we have to pick up the pieces around here. I’m still a bit in limbo. Every account that I work on, he was also involved with. Some of them are really complex and he did most of the big picture work while I assisted and learned, and others he let me run with and just backed me up when I had questions or needed help. Now, I’m not sure what will happen. With another year of experience, I might have been able to step in and say, “I can handle all this. Let me take over his book of business.” But, I don’t think I’m quite ready yet. I’m hoping they’ll give me a bit more responsibility and let me learn what I haven’t yet on the job, but with all the turmoil in the office, they may want to bring in a more senior person to make the client more comfortable. I’m only 25 and in this business, I’m a kid. Clients want a little grey hair on the account and if we walk in and tell them I’m handling it, I’m not sure they’d all see it as a positive. Not to mention I’ve got a 2 month break coming up in the future.
I’m not really sure what my future holds right now. If they make cuts again, I think I’m safe, but if not…I could find another job. I’m qualified and educated and I do know a lot of people at competitors. I’m hoping the people here will see this as an opportunity and give me the chance to step up and show I can do more. Or, I could be getting calls from those competitors myself offering me another opportunity. Long term, I believe this is a great place to be, but I’m also craving a bit of stability right now. I guess for now, I’ll keep coming to work. I’ll do my job to the best of my ability and see what happens next.
About a month ago, after a trend of losing business to competitors, they had a reduction in staff of 8 people to help “cut expenses.” One of those people was a very good friend of mine and an extremely hard worker. It seemed really unfair how random the reduction was. I know I could have picked some other people that would have been better choices in my mind. Anyway, things kept plugging away, and then last week, another very key senior person left to go to a competitor. I was surprised and disappointed, but what can you do? Then yesterday, my direct supervisor quit to go to the same competitor. I took it really hard. I’ve worked really closely with him for the last year. He is a really great guy. He was a great boss. He always made sure to challenge me and let me prove I could handle assignments. He was really accessible when I had questions, and I was thinking of him as a mentor. He’s a pretty young guy, and has advanced pretty far pretty quickly. I consider myself bright and was hoping under his guidance to follow a similar career path.
Anyway, now he’s gone and we have to pick up the pieces around here. I’m still a bit in limbo. Every account that I work on, he was also involved with. Some of them are really complex and he did most of the big picture work while I assisted and learned, and others he let me run with and just backed me up when I had questions or needed help. Now, I’m not sure what will happen. With another year of experience, I might have been able to step in and say, “I can handle all this. Let me take over his book of business.” But, I don’t think I’m quite ready yet. I’m hoping they’ll give me a bit more responsibility and let me learn what I haven’t yet on the job, but with all the turmoil in the office, they may want to bring in a more senior person to make the client more comfortable. I’m only 25 and in this business, I’m a kid. Clients want a little grey hair on the account and if we walk in and tell them I’m handling it, I’m not sure they’d all see it as a positive. Not to mention I’ve got a 2 month break coming up in the future.
I’m not really sure what my future holds right now. If they make cuts again, I think I’m safe, but if not…I could find another job. I’m qualified and educated and I do know a lot of people at competitors. I’m hoping the people here will see this as an opportunity and give me the chance to step up and show I can do more. Or, I could be getting calls from those competitors myself offering me another opportunity. Long term, I believe this is a great place to be, but I’m also craving a bit of stability right now. I guess for now, I’ll keep coming to work. I’ll do my job to the best of my ability and see what happens next.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Pretty Sure
I’m now about the 90% sure that at least some of these feelings I’ve been having are the baby. In the evenings before I go to bed, I use the Doppler to listen to the baby. With the heartbeat easier to find, I am trying out other areas, listening for the bubble noises (meaning movement). Last night there were a couple of times that I heard the bubbles in the same area I was feeling the “flutters.” That made me think, that this could be it. Then after I’d been asleep, I had to get up around 1:00 a.m. to use the restroom. When I went back to bed, I was feeling something that was more localized in one area, rather than a random fluttery feeling. As I was drifting back to sleep, I was thinking, now that was probably a kick. It’s like a fluttery, poking feeling, but in a specific place, where the other things I’ve been feeling are just randomly in my lower abdomen. I could point to where I felt this, the other ones, are not as distinct. I’m sure some of the time, I’ve been confusing the digestive process with movement, but I’m pretty sure last night, was a kick.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
17 weeks, 1 day - The Eighteenth Week
My Symptoms
Not much new to report this week. I'm still undecided on the baby movement thing. I'm probably feeling something, but it's not that definate yet. I'm still on the early side of the "normal" window though, so I expect the next couple of weeks to become more obvious. Less than 3 weeks until my next ultrasound though!
The Baby
The crown-to-rump length of your growing baby is 5 to 5.6 inches by this week. Weight of the fetus is about 5.25 ounces. Your baby is continuing to grow and to develop, but now the rapid growth rate slows down a little.
Those bones are hardening, and the legs are growing longer. The ears are almost in position ("What big EARS you have, baby!" "The better to hear you with, my mother!")
Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.
At 20.5 cms or 8.1 inches total length, your baby is growing rapidly. S/he weighs about 7 ounces (198 grams). The bones are continuing the ossification process. The pads of the fingers and toes are formed and the fingerprints are developing as well.
The Mom
You can feel your uterus just below your bellybutton. If you put your fingers sideways and measure, it is about two finger-widtsh (1 inch) below your bellybutton. Your uterus is the size of a canteloupe or a little larger. Your total weight gain to this point should be 10 to 13 pounds. However, this can vary widely.
If this is your first pregnancy, you may FINALLY be feeling movement! Your skin may be reflecting the pregnancy by darkening in spots. This "mask" of dark pigment around the eyes, nose, and cheeks is called the chloasma, and will slowly fade once you deliver.
Bigger, more comfortable clothes are a must now as your appetite and waistline increase. Look for specially designed maternity clothes that can accommodate your expanding belly. You may have heard that it's best to lie on your left side during your last two trimesters. Here's why: When you lie on your back, your uterus can compress your pelvic veins — in particular, the inferior vena cava, the vein that returns blood from the lower half of your body back to your heart. Lying on your left side helps remove this pressure. Try placing a pillow behind you, or under your hip or leg for comfort. Your cardiovascular system is undergoing dramatic changes, and during your second trimester your blood pressure is probably lower than usual. Don't spring up too fast from a lying or sitting position or you might feel a little dizzy. If you haven't already, you'll probably have an ultrasound done sometime this trimester (usually between 16 and 20 weeks). This painless procedure helps your practitioner check how your baby's growing, screen for certain birth defects, check the placenta and umbilical cord, determine whether the due date you're working with is accurate, and see how many babies you're carrying. During the exam, you might see your baby moving around or sucking her thumb. Bring your partner along, and be sure to ask for a printout for your baby's first photo album!
Sleeping may be increasingly difficult now, as your body grows. Try propping yourself with pillows to help you find a more comfortable sleeping position. You might also try doing pelvic tilts before bed, and always urinate before laying down.
Not much new to report this week. I'm still undecided on the baby movement thing. I'm probably feeling something, but it's not that definate yet. I'm still on the early side of the "normal" window though, so I expect the next couple of weeks to become more obvious. Less than 3 weeks until my next ultrasound though!
The Baby
The crown-to-rump length of your growing baby is 5 to 5.6 inches by this week. Weight of the fetus is about 5.25 ounces. Your baby is continuing to grow and to develop, but now the rapid growth rate slows down a little.
Those bones are hardening, and the legs are growing longer. The ears are almost in position ("What big EARS you have, baby!" "The better to hear you with, my mother!")
Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.
At 20.5 cms or 8.1 inches total length, your baby is growing rapidly. S/he weighs about 7 ounces (198 grams). The bones are continuing the ossification process. The pads of the fingers and toes are formed and the fingerprints are developing as well.
The Mom
You can feel your uterus just below your bellybutton. If you put your fingers sideways and measure, it is about two finger-widtsh (1 inch) below your bellybutton. Your uterus is the size of a canteloupe or a little larger. Your total weight gain to this point should be 10 to 13 pounds. However, this can vary widely.
If this is your first pregnancy, you may FINALLY be feeling movement! Your skin may be reflecting the pregnancy by darkening in spots. This "mask" of dark pigment around the eyes, nose, and cheeks is called the chloasma, and will slowly fade once you deliver.
Bigger, more comfortable clothes are a must now as your appetite and waistline increase. Look for specially designed maternity clothes that can accommodate your expanding belly. You may have heard that it's best to lie on your left side during your last two trimesters. Here's why: When you lie on your back, your uterus can compress your pelvic veins — in particular, the inferior vena cava, the vein that returns blood from the lower half of your body back to your heart. Lying on your left side helps remove this pressure. Try placing a pillow behind you, or under your hip or leg for comfort. Your cardiovascular system is undergoing dramatic changes, and during your second trimester your blood pressure is probably lower than usual. Don't spring up too fast from a lying or sitting position or you might feel a little dizzy. If you haven't already, you'll probably have an ultrasound done sometime this trimester (usually between 16 and 20 weeks). This painless procedure helps your practitioner check how your baby's growing, screen for certain birth defects, check the placenta and umbilical cord, determine whether the due date you're working with is accurate, and see how many babies you're carrying. During the exam, you might see your baby moving around or sucking her thumb. Bring your partner along, and be sure to ask for a printout for your baby's first photo album!
Sleeping may be increasingly difficult now, as your body grows. Try propping yourself with pillows to help you find a more comfortable sleeping position. You might also try doing pelvic tilts before bed, and always urinate before laying down.
Measurements (16w5d)
I've been meaning to post these. These were taken at 16 weeks, 5 days. The last measurements were 14 weeks, 1 day.
Before = (B) Last = (L) Current =(C)
Weight - 150.5 (B), 151.0 (L), 153.0 (C) = +2.5 pound
Bicep - 11 3/4 (B), 11 3/4 (L), 11 1/2 (C) = -.5
Chest - 35 1/2 (B), 38 1/4 (L), 38 1/4 (C) = +2 3/4 inches
Waist (at smallest point) - 30 (B), 31 1/2 (L), 31 1/2 (C) = +1 1/2 inches
Waist (at belly button) - 32 1/2 (B), 36 (L), 36 (C) = +3 1/2 inches
Hips - 38 (B), 38 1/2 (L), 39 1/4 (C) = +1 1/4
Thigh - 23 (B), 22 1/4 (L), 22 1/2 (C) = - 1/2 inch
Calf - 14 (B), 14 (L), 13 3/4 (C) = -1/4
Also, a new belly shot.
Before = (B) Last = (L) Current =(C)
Weight - 150.5 (B), 151.0 (L), 153.0 (C) = +2.5 pound
Bicep - 11 3/4 (B), 11 3/4 (L), 11 1/2 (C) = -.5
Chest - 35 1/2 (B), 38 1/4 (L), 38 1/4 (C) = +2 3/4 inches
Waist (at smallest point) - 30 (B), 31 1/2 (L), 31 1/2 (C) = +1 1/2 inches
Waist (at belly button) - 32 1/2 (B), 36 (L), 36 (C) = +3 1/2 inches
Hips - 38 (B), 38 1/2 (L), 39 1/4 (C) = +1 1/4
Thigh - 23 (B), 22 1/4 (L), 22 1/2 (C) = - 1/2 inch
Calf - 14 (B), 14 (L), 13 3/4 (C) = -1/4
Also, a new belly shot.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Sixteen Weeks, 4 days - The Seventeenth Week
My Symptoms
It's been a pretty good week. Very fast. My possible interesting news? I think, maybe, I've felt the baby moving. When it gets stronger I'll probably know for sure, but I've been feeling some feelings that feel "different" than the normal stuff going on in my belly area (digestive rumbles, hunger pangs, gas). The first time was sometime this weekend (I think Sunday). I was eating lunch at the couch and had my plate on the coffee table. I was leaning forward and felt something weird. Then later I went upstairs to take a nap and layed on my stomach. With some pressure on my stomach it seemed like I was feeling a lot going on. I'm not sure I'm feeling the baby, but it's a definate possiblity, since I've felt the same sort of things for the last couple of days. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It's kind of like a cross between gas bubbles and when your stomach turn over (think rollercoaster). I know that doesn't sound pleasant, but it's just like some kind of involuntary movement or motion. I'm sure in the near future it will be actual nudges or poking. Assuming what I think I feel now actually is baby related. Soon enough it'll be obvious. I also owe you another picture. I took measurements this morning, I'll try to do a picture tomorrow. Since the below mentions weight gain, I'll point out I've now gained 2.5 pounds. Ok, here's what the books and internet say is going on.
The Baby
The crown-to-rump length of your baby is 4.4 to 4.8 inches. Fetal weight has doubled in 2 weeks and is about 3.5 ounces By this week, your baby is about the size of your hand spread open wide. Fat begins to form during this week and the weeks that follow. Fat is important to the body's heat production and metabolism. At 17 weeks of development, water makes up about 3 ounces and fat .018 ounce of your baby's body. In a baby at term, fat makes up about 5.25 pounds of the total average weight of 7.7 pounds.
The fetus is about 6 and 1/4 inches long and weighs 4-5 ounces, about the same size as the placenta. The eyes are more forward than on either side of the face now. Your baby's ears have started to pop from his head and lanugo is beginning to appear on your baby's head and body. What a cutie!
Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.
Your baby is forming brown fat deposits under his or her skin, by the end of pregnancy this will account for 2-6% of their total body weight. This will help them maintain their body temperature when they are born. The baby weighs in at about 5 ounces (142 grams). This means that the baby now weighs more than the placenta. No new structures have formed. Loud noises outside may actually cause the baby to startle.
The Mom
Your uterus is 1.5 to 2 inches below your bellybutton. You are showing more now and have an obvious swelling in your lower abdomen. By this time, expanding or maternity clothing is a must for comforts sake. When your partner gives you a hug, he may feel the difference in your lower abdomen. The rest of your body is still changing. A total 5 to 10 pound gain by this point in your pregnancy is normal. You have felt your baby move, or you will soon. You may not feel it every day. As pregnancy progresses, movements become stronger and probably more frequent.
Who am I? Where was I going? And where did I put that list of things I should remember? Pregnancy brings forgetfulness -- as usual, the culprit is hormones. You’ll get your brain back someday (hopefully, sooner than later!). Remember to laugh and you’ll muddle through. Muddle through what? What were we talking about? Each time you go to the doctor or clinic, they dip a strip of paper in a cup of your urine to measure your blood sugar level. What’s with that blood sugar test, anyway? It’s to make sure you’re not developing gestational diabetes, a condition that affects around one to two percent of all pregnant women. When blood sugar levels are controlled (through diet and sometimes medication), women can have normal pregnancies and normal, healthy babies. On average, most moms are feeling fetal movement by now. Kick, little one, kick!
With more weight up high and out in front of your body, you may feel a bit off-balance as you walk around. Store away your high heels and wear low-heeled shoes to reduce your risk of taking a tumble.You're likely to feel protective of your tummy, and that's good. Trauma to your abdomen could be harmful to your baby and dangerous to you, so be sure to buckle up when you're driving. Keep the lap portion of the seat belt under your belly and very snug across your hips for maximum protection.
Your uterus is now about halfway between your pubic bone and navel. Your secretions all over your body may increase, due to the increased blood volume. So if you are sweating more, have nasal congestion, or are suffering from increased vaginal discharge this is nothing to worry about and will go away after the birth of the baby.
It's been a pretty good week. Very fast. My possible interesting news? I think, maybe, I've felt the baby moving. When it gets stronger I'll probably know for sure, but I've been feeling some feelings that feel "different" than the normal stuff going on in my belly area (digestive rumbles, hunger pangs, gas). The first time was sometime this weekend (I think Sunday). I was eating lunch at the couch and had my plate on the coffee table. I was leaning forward and felt something weird. Then later I went upstairs to take a nap and layed on my stomach. With some pressure on my stomach it seemed like I was feeling a lot going on. I'm not sure I'm feeling the baby, but it's a definate possiblity, since I've felt the same sort of things for the last couple of days. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It's kind of like a cross between gas bubbles and when your stomach turn over (think rollercoaster). I know that doesn't sound pleasant, but it's just like some kind of involuntary movement or motion. I'm sure in the near future it will be actual nudges or poking. Assuming what I think I feel now actually is baby related. Soon enough it'll be obvious. I also owe you another picture. I took measurements this morning, I'll try to do a picture tomorrow. Since the below mentions weight gain, I'll point out I've now gained 2.5 pounds. Ok, here's what the books and internet say is going on.
The Baby
The crown-to-rump length of your baby is 4.4 to 4.8 inches. Fetal weight has doubled in 2 weeks and is about 3.5 ounces By this week, your baby is about the size of your hand spread open wide. Fat begins to form during this week and the weeks that follow. Fat is important to the body's heat production and metabolism. At 17 weeks of development, water makes up about 3 ounces and fat .018 ounce of your baby's body. In a baby at term, fat makes up about 5.25 pounds of the total average weight of 7.7 pounds.
The fetus is about 6 and 1/4 inches long and weighs 4-5 ounces, about the same size as the placenta. The eyes are more forward than on either side of the face now. Your baby's ears have started to pop from his head and lanugo is beginning to appear on your baby's head and body. What a cutie!
Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.
Your baby is forming brown fat deposits under his or her skin, by the end of pregnancy this will account for 2-6% of their total body weight. This will help them maintain their body temperature when they are born. The baby weighs in at about 5 ounces (142 grams). This means that the baby now weighs more than the placenta. No new structures have formed. Loud noises outside may actually cause the baby to startle.
The Mom
Your uterus is 1.5 to 2 inches below your bellybutton. You are showing more now and have an obvious swelling in your lower abdomen. By this time, expanding or maternity clothing is a must for comforts sake. When your partner gives you a hug, he may feel the difference in your lower abdomen. The rest of your body is still changing. A total 5 to 10 pound gain by this point in your pregnancy is normal. You have felt your baby move, or you will soon. You may not feel it every day. As pregnancy progresses, movements become stronger and probably more frequent.
Who am I? Where was I going? And where did I put that list of things I should remember? Pregnancy brings forgetfulness -- as usual, the culprit is hormones. You’ll get your brain back someday (hopefully, sooner than later!). Remember to laugh and you’ll muddle through. Muddle through what? What were we talking about? Each time you go to the doctor or clinic, they dip a strip of paper in a cup of your urine to measure your blood sugar level. What’s with that blood sugar test, anyway? It’s to make sure you’re not developing gestational diabetes, a condition that affects around one to two percent of all pregnant women. When blood sugar levels are controlled (through diet and sometimes medication), women can have normal pregnancies and normal, healthy babies. On average, most moms are feeling fetal movement by now. Kick, little one, kick!
With more weight up high and out in front of your body, you may feel a bit off-balance as you walk around. Store away your high heels and wear low-heeled shoes to reduce your risk of taking a tumble.You're likely to feel protective of your tummy, and that's good. Trauma to your abdomen could be harmful to your baby and dangerous to you, so be sure to buckle up when you're driving. Keep the lap portion of the seat belt under your belly and very snug across your hips for maximum protection.
Your uterus is now about halfway between your pubic bone and navel. Your secretions all over your body may increase, due to the increased blood volume. So if you are sweating more, have nasal congestion, or are suffering from increased vaginal discharge this is nothing to worry about and will go away after the birth of the baby.
Overdue Update
I know you must all be wondering where I've been, but I've just been busy and somewhat neglecting my blog. I just came off of a wonderful long weekend, and I'd love to share.
Friday our office closed at noon. I had a little more to do, so I stayed until almost 1, than left to go to my dentist appointment. All looks good, although we skipped the x-rays and he told me that my gums may become more sensitive and bleed during pregnancy. Friday was the Columbus Red-White-and-Boom fireworks display. Things were already getting pretty crowded downtown when I left at 1 p.m., so we weren't really interested in messing with traffic and the crowds to head back downtown. We grilled hotdogs and hamburgers and Martin came over (April was out of town). We attempted to see the fireworks from the deck, but trees and houses were in the way, so we headed back inside to watch them on TV.
Saturday, Eric and I decided to go order the crib. We decided to buy the one from the store here in town. It's a little more expensive than some of the online stuff I found, but I've seen this furniture in person and know it's quality. We ordered the crib which will convert to a toddler bed, the side rails to convert to a full size bed, and a 4 drawer dresser. We debated on going with a three door dresser which we could have used as a changing table buy putting a pad on top, but thought the larger dresser would be more useful in the long run when the kids are using it as "grown-up" furniture. Everything should be in by the end of August. After the crib, we did a little car shopping. We looked at some SUV's and even test drove one, but we're trying to be smart this time, so we haven't made a purchase yet. Also, the cable company came and installed our cable internet.
Sunday after church I did some major cleaning. The house really needed it. After cleaning we also decided to move the main computer to the basement. Ever since we've been running both the X-Box Live and Internet, we've been having computer issues. I think the cable will help with the speed over DSL, but we still were having problems with the Wireless adapter. The cable modem is connected to the cable line in the basement (as we don't have cable upstairs except in the master bedroom), so we had to put the router in the basement. This meant the X-Box was connected by ethernet cable to the router and the computer upstairs was connected with the wireless adapter. We tested both and had them working. Three hours later...I couldn't get on the Internet. The X-Box, however, was working fine. As we've already replaced the wireless adapter once, plus had to reset and reconfigure the router several times, we decided we're tired of it, so we returned the wireless adapter, moved the computer and desk to the basement and have both hard wired to the router.
Monday was a holiday and we treated it as such. Eric and I slept until noon. We then just hung out and decided to have a date night. We went to Wendy's (really exciting) and then played a couple of games of Putt Putt. It was fun.
Tuesday I also took the day off work. Eric is taking the whole week off. We spent the day visiting daycares. We visited four. I think we may have found one. It's the one right behind Eric's office. For me to look back and laugh later, I'll include the cost. It's $185 per week. Not the cheapest one we've found (although we visited the cheapest), but also not the most expensive. We sat down with the owner and were really impressed by her. They've been in business 15 years, several of her employees have Masters degrees, her infant teacher has been there 7 years. They only take 5 infants at a time, so there isn't too much stimulation for the babies. They have developmental activities and make sure the babies spend time (supervised) on both their bellys and backs. When the babies are awake they play music, talk to them, hold them. Bouncy seats are only used during feedings and the child is never in one for more than 30 minutes straight. They put the babies on a regular schedule for feedings and sleeping. I've heard that's really helpful when your at home and on the weekends to know that the babies are used to eating and napping at certain times. I think this is the place. We'll visit again before the baby starts, but I think it's a definate possibility.
Ok, that's what I've been up to. Now read this weeks baby update. I think I may have some interesting news.
Friday our office closed at noon. I had a little more to do, so I stayed until almost 1, than left to go to my dentist appointment. All looks good, although we skipped the x-rays and he told me that my gums may become more sensitive and bleed during pregnancy. Friday was the Columbus Red-White-and-Boom fireworks display. Things were already getting pretty crowded downtown when I left at 1 p.m., so we weren't really interested in messing with traffic and the crowds to head back downtown. We grilled hotdogs and hamburgers and Martin came over (April was out of town). We attempted to see the fireworks from the deck, but trees and houses were in the way, so we headed back inside to watch them on TV.
Saturday, Eric and I decided to go order the crib. We decided to buy the one from the store here in town. It's a little more expensive than some of the online stuff I found, but I've seen this furniture in person and know it's quality. We ordered the crib which will convert to a toddler bed, the side rails to convert to a full size bed, and a 4 drawer dresser. We debated on going with a three door dresser which we could have used as a changing table buy putting a pad on top, but thought the larger dresser would be more useful in the long run when the kids are using it as "grown-up" furniture. Everything should be in by the end of August. After the crib, we did a little car shopping. We looked at some SUV's and even test drove one, but we're trying to be smart this time, so we haven't made a purchase yet. Also, the cable company came and installed our cable internet.
Sunday after church I did some major cleaning. The house really needed it. After cleaning we also decided to move the main computer to the basement. Ever since we've been running both the X-Box Live and Internet, we've been having computer issues. I think the cable will help with the speed over DSL, but we still were having problems with the Wireless adapter. The cable modem is connected to the cable line in the basement (as we don't have cable upstairs except in the master bedroom), so we had to put the router in the basement. This meant the X-Box was connected by ethernet cable to the router and the computer upstairs was connected with the wireless adapter. We tested both and had them working. Three hours later...I couldn't get on the Internet. The X-Box, however, was working fine. As we've already replaced the wireless adapter once, plus had to reset and reconfigure the router several times, we decided we're tired of it, so we returned the wireless adapter, moved the computer and desk to the basement and have both hard wired to the router.
Monday was a holiday and we treated it as such. Eric and I slept until noon. We then just hung out and decided to have a date night. We went to Wendy's (really exciting) and then played a couple of games of Putt Putt. It was fun.
Tuesday I also took the day off work. Eric is taking the whole week off. We spent the day visiting daycares. We visited four. I think we may have found one. It's the one right behind Eric's office. For me to look back and laugh later, I'll include the cost. It's $185 per week. Not the cheapest one we've found (although we visited the cheapest), but also not the most expensive. We sat down with the owner and were really impressed by her. They've been in business 15 years, several of her employees have Masters degrees, her infant teacher has been there 7 years. They only take 5 infants at a time, so there isn't too much stimulation for the babies. They have developmental activities and make sure the babies spend time (supervised) on both their bellys and backs. When the babies are awake they play music, talk to them, hold them. Bouncy seats are only used during feedings and the child is never in one for more than 30 minutes straight. They put the babies on a regular schedule for feedings and sleeping. I've heard that's really helpful when your at home and on the weekends to know that the babies are used to eating and napping at certain times. I think this is the place. We'll visit again before the baby starts, but I think it's a definate possibility.
Ok, that's what I've been up to. Now read this weeks baby update. I think I may have some interesting news.
Thursday, July 01, 2004
Doctor's Appointment - 15weeks, 5 days
Sorry for the delay. I had a lot of work to do when I got back to the office today, so I decided to wait until I came home tonight to update. I had an appointment at 11:30 a.m. today.
Remarkably, they got me in quickly today. The nurse weighed me (I gained 2 pounds since last time), took my blood pressure (100/50), and had me wait on the doctor. Dr. D came in and asked how I was doing. Before she listened to the baby she started with questions. This time I had some.
1. Now that I'm getting some energy back, I've been considering going back to the gym. Since I haven't been in 4 months, what is ok to do? She ok'd cardio including running (although she said it will become uncomfortable), walking on the treadmill, stationary bike, eliptical, stair master, and swimming. She said lifting weights is ok, although she suggested using lighter weights and doing more reps. She even said I could do ab work if it doesn't involve me laying flat on my back.
2. Speaking of flat on my back...I've never slept on my back, but now since it's hard to lay on my stomach, I start on my side, but wake up on my back. How bad is this? She said it's ok, but to try to stay off my back. She suggested propping a pillow behind my hip, so I wouldn't be able to easily roll back over. She also said when my belly gets larger, it's more difficult to roll anywhere.
3. I've been getting lots of headaches again. Any suggestions other than Tylenol? Not really. I try to eat more often, but all she wants to do is Tylenol possibly mixed in with some caffine. If they get really bad, we can discuss further. She said most headache complaints come in weeks 14-18, so it's pretty normal.
4. How long is it safe to travel? I may have a work trip by plane in August and I know I have car trips in October... I can travel (any mode) up to week 35. During car trips stop frequently to walk around and stretch. Pregnancy makes you more prone to blood clots. May also have to stop because of all the extra weight on the bladder.
5. Do you think I'll feel the baby before next appointment? She has no idea. She felt both of hers around 16 weeks, but does this for a living. I may feel it and not realize it. Also, if my placenta is attached to the front wall of my uterus, it would provide extra cushion and might take longer.
6. I've read and talked to lots of people that routinely have an ultrasound at around 20 weeks. Is she planning on doing one then? Yes. We can do one at the next appointment! Yeah!
7. As an alternative, we were considering a 3D place in Cincinnati. Her thoughts? Mixed feelings. Yes, it's cool to see the baby and the technology is awesome. But, as a doctor she's not especially comfortable with people using medical technology for entertainment purposes. "You can't just go to a booth on the street and get a chest x-ray." She's also not sure if she's comfortable with what they do if they see something abnormal. If they let us go like it's all fine, than she'd have to call us a couple days later, "You know that ultrasound you did in Cincinnati? Well, why don't you come in so we can talk..."
After questions, she listened to the heartbeat. It was easy to find and she said it sounded good. She didn't calculate a heartrate for me, but seemed to think it sounded fine.
Then the nurse came in and took blood for the Alpha fetalprotein (AFP) test. It was optional, but it screens for Down's syndrome and Spina Bifida. I guess there can be some false positives that would require further testing, but we decided to go ahead. I'm assuming all will come back fine. If not, we'll discuss this test in more detail.
So that was the appointment. Afterwards, Eric and I decided to cancel our appointment at the 3D place. Eric said he was a little unsure all along. Also, now my doctor is doing an ultrasound that will be covered under insurance and she should be able to tell the sex (assuming baby is cooperative). Now we'll stick to the plan that if the baby cooperates we'll find out the sex, if not...we'll wait until he/she is born. Another reason it was fairly easy for me to give up the 3D deal is the timing. We scheduled it for 7/17. While that was good in that it was only 2 weeks away, it was also the weekend Eric's mom is coming to visit. (We're booked every other weekend after 18 weeks in July, and didn't really want to wait until August). Now I think it definately would have been cool for us to take a grandparent along to the appointment, and I'm sure she would have loved it, but I kept thinking about my Mom. This is her first grandbaby and I know it's hard for her to be so far away anyway. I really think it would have hurt her feelings a little bit if the other grandma got to be there for an ultrasound. Not that my Mom would ever say anything like that or actually get angry, but I don't want to even unintentially hurt her. Now it will be Dr. D, Eric, and I at the appointment and we can share the news with all the grandparents, however, we want.
The next appointment is July 29th at 2:10 p.m. It should be a good one. Just a warning, that post may be late, as I think we'll make personal phone calls to make the announcement, before letting the reading public know.
Remarkably, they got me in quickly today. The nurse weighed me (I gained 2 pounds since last time), took my blood pressure (100/50), and had me wait on the doctor. Dr. D came in and asked how I was doing. Before she listened to the baby she started with questions. This time I had some.
1. Now that I'm getting some energy back, I've been considering going back to the gym. Since I haven't been in 4 months, what is ok to do? She ok'd cardio including running (although she said it will become uncomfortable), walking on the treadmill, stationary bike, eliptical, stair master, and swimming. She said lifting weights is ok, although she suggested using lighter weights and doing more reps. She even said I could do ab work if it doesn't involve me laying flat on my back.
2. Speaking of flat on my back...I've never slept on my back, but now since it's hard to lay on my stomach, I start on my side, but wake up on my back. How bad is this? She said it's ok, but to try to stay off my back. She suggested propping a pillow behind my hip, so I wouldn't be able to easily roll back over. She also said when my belly gets larger, it's more difficult to roll anywhere.
3. I've been getting lots of headaches again. Any suggestions other than Tylenol? Not really. I try to eat more often, but all she wants to do is Tylenol possibly mixed in with some caffine. If they get really bad, we can discuss further. She said most headache complaints come in weeks 14-18, so it's pretty normal.
4. How long is it safe to travel? I may have a work trip by plane in August and I know I have car trips in October... I can travel (any mode) up to week 35. During car trips stop frequently to walk around and stretch. Pregnancy makes you more prone to blood clots. May also have to stop because of all the extra weight on the bladder.
5. Do you think I'll feel the baby before next appointment? She has no idea. She felt both of hers around 16 weeks, but does this for a living. I may feel it and not realize it. Also, if my placenta is attached to the front wall of my uterus, it would provide extra cushion and might take longer.
6. I've read and talked to lots of people that routinely have an ultrasound at around 20 weeks. Is she planning on doing one then? Yes. We can do one at the next appointment! Yeah!
7. As an alternative, we were considering a 3D place in Cincinnati. Her thoughts? Mixed feelings. Yes, it's cool to see the baby and the technology is awesome. But, as a doctor she's not especially comfortable with people using medical technology for entertainment purposes. "You can't just go to a booth on the street and get a chest x-ray." She's also not sure if she's comfortable with what they do if they see something abnormal. If they let us go like it's all fine, than she'd have to call us a couple days later, "You know that ultrasound you did in Cincinnati? Well, why don't you come in so we can talk..."
After questions, she listened to the heartbeat. It was easy to find and she said it sounded good. She didn't calculate a heartrate for me, but seemed to think it sounded fine.
Then the nurse came in and took blood for the Alpha fetalprotein (AFP) test. It was optional, but it screens for Down's syndrome and Spina Bifida. I guess there can be some false positives that would require further testing, but we decided to go ahead. I'm assuming all will come back fine. If not, we'll discuss this test in more detail.
So that was the appointment. Afterwards, Eric and I decided to cancel our appointment at the 3D place. Eric said he was a little unsure all along. Also, now my doctor is doing an ultrasound that will be covered under insurance and she should be able to tell the sex (assuming baby is cooperative). Now we'll stick to the plan that if the baby cooperates we'll find out the sex, if not...we'll wait until he/she is born. Another reason it was fairly easy for me to give up the 3D deal is the timing. We scheduled it for 7/17. While that was good in that it was only 2 weeks away, it was also the weekend Eric's mom is coming to visit. (We're booked every other weekend after 18 weeks in July, and didn't really want to wait until August). Now I think it definately would have been cool for us to take a grandparent along to the appointment, and I'm sure she would have loved it, but I kept thinking about my Mom. This is her first grandbaby and I know it's hard for her to be so far away anyway. I really think it would have hurt her feelings a little bit if the other grandma got to be there for an ultrasound. Not that my Mom would ever say anything like that or actually get angry, but I don't want to even unintentially hurt her. Now it will be Dr. D, Eric, and I at the appointment and we can share the news with all the grandparents, however, we want.
The next appointment is July 29th at 2:10 p.m. It should be a good one. Just a warning, that post may be late, as I think we'll make personal phone calls to make the announcement, before letting the reading public know.
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