Week 23

Description (According to Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy):
Your baby's lungs are developing rapidly this week, just starting preparation for life on the outside. The lungs are beginning to produce the substance that lines the air sacs in the lungs (sufactant). This substance allows the air sacs to inflate easily. It also keeps them from collapsing and sticking together when they deflate.

Comments:
The book goes on to say that babies born at 23 weeks have a chance at surviving outside the womb. We definitely want ours to keep on cookin' but it's a comfort to know...

Food Cravings:
Mini pizzas one day and Pad Thai another...
Other than that...lots of cereal! :)

Best Moment/Movement:
I'm now feeling our baby girl move around a few times every day. And, yes, I of course freak out if a day goes by that I don't feel her move as much. She's probably thinking, "Sheesh, mom, let me rest!" But, this week, during the NFC Championship game I felt her moving around and started watching my tummy. Sure enough...pow! You can see little movements now! So amazing!

What I'm Looking Forward To:
The next OB appointment is on Monday...I'm looking forward to seeing how much I've grown in the past four weeks! And, hearing her healthy, strong heartbeat again :)

Other Miscellaneous Comments:
We went car seat/stroller shopping at Babies R Us on Saturday. Kris was so patient as we tried out all of the ones were considering...and then tried them out again...and again. I'm thinking that a baby product company should hire me as a tester...I managed to pinch myself or otherwise minorly injure myself several times....once requiring a band-aid (don't try to take the car seat of the stroller by pushing the latch...that's what the handle is for!)

Here's a picture of the crib we bought the previous Saturday...there's a drawer underneath!!!




And here's the fabric we're basing the nursery decor on :)

Week 22

Description (According to Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy):
The senses of taste and touch are making good progress this week. Taste buds are starting to form on your baby's tongue, and your baby's brain and nerve endings are now mature enough to process the sensation of touch. If you could sneak a peek at your baby this week, you might see her experimenting with this newfound sense of touch - feeling her face or sucking a thumb. At this point your baby isn't looking for anything in particular but rather is touching whatever comes to hand.
She is about 7 1/2 inches long from head to rump and weighs about 1 pound.

Comments:
Maybe her newfound sense of taste is the reason she starts kicking when I eat :) And, we already know from the ultrasound pictures that she found her thumb long ago.

Total Weight Gain:
4 pounds (at the last appointment...now probably more like 6?)

Maternity Clothes:
I found a pair of maternity jeans at a consignment shop on Friday! I think I will be living in those for a while :) This week I've noticed a lot of my sweaters are starting to hang funny...kind of sticking out from my belly...hm...

Stretch Marks:
Solution to it being too cold to put cocoa butter on my belly? After a shower, my hands are actually warm...duh!

Sleep:
I've been pretty energetic this week, but Sunday night I slept for 11 hours!

Food Cravings:
I got New York Style pizza on Saturday and it was DELICIOUS!!!

Movement:
Here's the BIG news! Kris got to feel our baby girl kick this past week! A few days after I decided those flutters I'd been feeling were movement, he put his hand on my belly and...wallop! It's like she knows it's time to let daddy know she's happy in there!
She doesn't move around too much in the mornings. Later in the afternoon and the evenings (especially at dinner time and bed time) she's becoming more and more active.

Best Moment of the Week:
The look on Kris' face the first time he felt our baby girl kick. It was better than a 5 year old at Christmas!

A loooong second...we bought a crib on Saturday (found a great deal on a BonaVita crib that lived at Grandma's immaculate house for about 3 years). I'll have to post a picture later...

What I Miss:
Being able to keep up with Kris. He was on a mission at Lowe's last night and I kept lagging behind...I'm not that big yet, you'd think I'd be able to do a little power walking...just not comfortable!

What I'm Looking Forward To:
Going to Babies R Us on Saturday to look at car seats and strollers.

Milestone:
Kris feeling her kick.

Week 21

Here's Me at 21 Weeks!!!

Description (According to Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy) :
This week your baby will begin absorbing small amounts of sugars from the amniotic fluid she swallows throughout the day. These sugars will pass through your baby's digestive system, which is now developed enough to handle them. Also this week, your baby's bone marrow is starting to make blood cells. The bone marrow works along with the liver and spleen, which have been responsible for making blood cells up to this point.

Comments:
So baby is eating now! Just like mommy :)

Total Weight Gain:
4 pounds (that's 5 pounds since my last visit...woohoo!)

Maternity Clothes:
You have to do a lot of laundry when you only have two pairs of maternity pants :) My awesome sister-in-law is sending some more she found on craigslist. I refuse to pay $70 for the pair of jeans I found at Gap Maternity, regardless of how well they fit!

Stretch Marks:
No. Kris reminds me to use cocoa butter lotion every night, but it's soooo cold!

Sleep:
About the same...not as tired during the day, but still sleep about 9 or more hours a night.

Food Cravings:
I bought a chocolate long john while grocery shopping today and made myself wait to eat it until everything was put away...so delicious!!

Movement:
I've decided all the little flutters I thought were stomach bubbles, must be the baby...just waiting on that first "real" kick!

Gender:
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY BABY GIRL!!!

Belly Button:
Nothing new.

Best Moment of the Week:
Bringing baby to her first IU basketball game.

What I Miss:
We went to the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis where they have some hands on activities demonstrating different NCAA sports. It is not easy to use a track block when pregnant! Especially when there's a goal post about 5 feet away that I needed to avoid!

What I'm Looking Forward To:
Beginning to pick out things for the nursery.

Milestone:
Movement!!!

Kris ordered this receiving blanket off of Ebay the same day I saw it on the Eric Carle Museum website (I was looking for crib bedding that apparently is no longer made)...we hadn't talked to one another yet either!!! I found the onesie (brand new!) at Goodwill today for $1.00!!!

Week 20

Description (according to Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy):
Your baby's skin is thickening and developing layers this week, under the protection of the vernix. Your baby's hair and nails are continuing to grow. If you could sneak a peek at your baby this week, you would see a fetus remarkably baby-like in appearance, with thin eyebrows, hair on the scalp and rather well-developed limbs. At the halfway point of the pregnancy, 20 weeks, you've probably begun to feel your baby's movements. your baby is now about 6 inches long and weights about 9 ounces.

Comments:
This was the big week! We had our ultrasound yesterday morning and we have a healthy baby....(boy or girl will be released soon!) We saw the brain, spinal cord, ribs, heart (and all four chambers), stomach, kidneys, two arms, two legs, two hands and two feet! :) Our little baby is a thumb sucker and quite photogenic (baby posed a lot for the "camera"). I've posted a few of the photos at the end of the blog this week.

Total Weight Gain:
Not sure...probably more than 3 pounds...I'll find out tomorrow at my OB appointment.

Maternity Clothes:
Nothing new here except that now my "regular" jeans are getting more difficult to zip, not just button.

Stretch Marks:
Nope.

Sleep:
Yep.

Food Cravings:
Not really...just hungry often!

Movement:
Still haven't felt anything. The baby's moving around a lot in there...as evidenced by the ultrasound, but I still can't feel anything. Soon...it's gotta be soon...

Gender:
We know :) and you'll know soon :)

Belly Button:
About the same.

Best Moment of the Week:
I think it goes without saying...seeing our baby moving around, sucking it's thumb, and looking like a perfect little baby.

What I Miss:
Hm...not having to find a bathroom every 5 minutes when we're out.

What I'm Looking Forward To:
My next OB appointment (tomorrow) to hear for certain that our baby is perfectly healthy.

Milestones:
Halfway there!!!!
First baby portraits :)

And now...what you've all been waiting for (or just scrolled down to immediately)...

The baby's footprint...





The baby looking at you....in answer to my mom's question, "that big oval is the head?"...yes...





And, last but not least, our little thumbsucker in profile...

Week 19

Description (From Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy):
This week your baby's skin becomes coated with a slippery, white, fatty coating called vernix caseosa, or vernix for short. Vernix helps protect your baby's delicate skin, keeping it from becoming chapped or scratched. Under the vernix a fine, down-like hair called lanugo covers your baby's skin.
Your baby's kidneys are developed enough to make urine this week. Your baby's urine is excreted into your amniotic sac, the bag of waters inside your uterus that contains your baby and your amniotic fluid.
Your baby's hearing is now well developed. He or she is probably hearing lots of different sounds, maybe even your conversations. Mom's voice is by far the most prominent in any conversation. If you sing or talk to your baby, it's reasonable to think he or she might notice. It's less clear whether your baby is currently able to recognize particular sounds.
Your baby's brain is developing millions of motor neurons, nerves that help the muscles and brain communicate. As a result, your baby probably is now making conscious muscle movements, such as sucking a thumb or moving his or her head, as well involuntary movements. You may not be able to feel these movements yet. If you haven't, you will soon.

Comments:
Wow! There's a lot going on this week. I'm so excited that baby was able to hear this week. That means he or she got to meet his grandparents, aunt, uncle and nephews! Recently, he or she has probably heard a lot of Christmas carols being sung as well. :)

Total Weight Gain:
2.5 pounds!!! (according to the scale at my brother-in-law's) I'm excited because this is the first week for a positive weight gain!

Maternity Clothes:
I went to a consignment shop in Chapel Hill with my sister-in-law on Saturday and found a great pair of black corduroy pants. So much more comfortable than wearing the bella band...although that still works!

Stretch Marks:
Nope.

Sleep:
Missed my body pillow while we were away from home. So glad to have it back!

Food Cravings:
Cherry 7up...thank you to a wonderful brother-in-law who picked some up for me on Saturday :)
And, on a similar note, I got to have New York style pizza this past weekend!

Movement:
Still nothing yet...anxiously awaiting that first kick...

Gender:
? Only 1 week until our ultrasound!

Belly Button:
No new developments.

Best Moment of the Week:
Taking a nap with my nephew sleeping on my chest and wondering if baby could feel the love too...

What I Miss:
Holding my baby nephew...everyone keeps reminding me that it's only 5 more months until we have a baby of our own, but I still miss him!

Milestones:
Baby's first Christmas...sort of...

Week 18

Description (from Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy):
This week your baby's bones are beginning to harden, a process called ossification. Bones in your baby's legs and inner ear are among the first to ossify. With the bones in the inner ear now well developed enough to function and the nerve endings from your baby's brain now "hooked up" to the ears, your baby can hear sounds. He or she may hear your heart beating, your stomach rumbling or blood moving through the umbilical cord. Your baby may even become startled by loud noises.
Your baby can also now swallow. Inside, your baby may be swallowing a good dose of amniotic fluid every day. Scientists think this may have something to do with keeping your amniotic fluid at the appropriate constant level.

Comments:
It's really neat to think that our baby can hear now. I'll have to start singing to the baby. Kris has already started talking to my belly a lot. I bet the baby's hearing lots of stomach rumbling...I'm starting to feel hungry a lot more often!

Total Weight Gain:
Not sure (still no scale), but I think I've gained a little weight since my doctor's appointment. Maybe I'll find a scale to use somewhere in North Carolina during our Christmas travels...

Maternity Clothes:
All of my shirts still fit, but most of my pants are too small. I have two pairs that used to fall down that are just about perfect now. Thank goodness for the Bella Band...it's allowing me to wear all the others unbuttoned. I'll have to start looking harder for maternity clothes after Christmas.

Stretch Marks:
None. The skin on my belly has been feeling really stretched after I eat the last few days, though.

Sleep:
Hadn't taken a nap in almost a week...until yesterday's 2 1/2 hour marathon!

Food Cravings:
Again, nothing new to pregnancy, but...pizza after church yesterday.

Movement:
Haven't felt anything yet...maybe the baby's waiting until Christmas...what a great present that would be! Keep reminding myself I may not feel anything until around 20 weeks.

Gender:
?

Labor Signs:
Absolutely not.

Best Moment of the Week/Belly Button:
I'm still an innie, but I discovered my belly button is not nearly as deep as before! When I'm standing up or laying down flat, the bottom half of my belly button is almost flat!

What I Miss:
I would say the glass of wine that everyone else had with dinner on Saturday night, but my Cherry 7Up was awesome!

What I'm Looking Forward To:
Introducing our nephews in North Carolina to the baby on Thursday!

Milestones:
My belly button, I guess...

Week 17

Description (from Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy):
"Eyebrows and hairs on your baby's scalp are continuing to appear this week. Your baby is probably continuing to have bout of the hiccups. Although you aren't able to hear them, you may begin to feel them, especially if this is your second baby. This week, brown fat is beginning to develop under your baby's skin. This will help keep your baby warm after birth, when the temperature change from your uterus to the outside world will be quite noticeable, to say the least. Your baby will add more layers of fat in the later months of your pregnancy. Baby is now about 5 inches long and weighs about 5 ounces."

Comments:
Had our "16 week" doctor's appointment on Friday before leaving for a mini-vacation to Kansas City. We got to hear the baby's heart beat again (in the 140's) and the baby kept kicking the doppler and doing "flips." It's so reassuring to hear all that movement before I can feel it.
Found out at the doctor's office that as of October my TSH level had risen in the past 6 months. Had it checked again on Friday and just got a call today that it's still too high, so I have to go pick up a prescription for Synthroid tomorrow.

Total Weight Gain:
0 pounds. The good news is that I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, after losing about 4 pounds in the first trimester!

Maternity Clothes:
I don't need maternity clothes quite yet, but I'm having to unbutton my pants an awful lot. What I need to do is get a Bella Band the next time I'm in Target. I did go to a consignment store and Motherhood Maternity this past week to look at pants and the problem seems to be that they only come in S, M, L. I need an XS short length...guess I'll just have to keep looking...

Stretch Marks: Nope.

Sleep:
Still very tired and easily worn out. I definitely missed my body pillows while we were at the hotel this weekend.
Best Moment This Week:
Listening to the baby kick the doppler. Kris says the baby was just checking the microphone. Movement:
Lots according to the doppler, but can't feel it yet. The doctor said it may be a few weeks since I'm still a bit small.

Food Cravings: Nope. I had hibachi steak on Saturday night...fist time I've enjoyed beef since September!

Gender:
?

Labor Signs:
Certainly not.
Belly Button:
Same.

What I Miss: Being able to eat a full meal without unbuttoning my jeans.

What I'm Looking Forward To:
Baby's first Christmas...this counts, right? :)

Milestones:
None, really.