24 Weeks

Baby is the size of a cantaloupe! 

• Her see-through skin is gradually becoming more opaque.
• And it's got a new pink glow, thanks to the small capillaries that have recently formed.

What's been happening this week?

1. Baby has been kicking like crazy! Matt still hasn't had the opportunity to catch her in action but not for lack of trying. The other night, she was kicking up near my ribs (her favorite hang out spot) and as soon as Matt put his hand there, she stopped. Little booger.  I also woke up one night to the feeling of a steady rhythm of kicks in the same spot for about a minute.  I'm thinking it was hiccups?

2.  We had a monthly check up on Thursday.  We had a repeat ultrasound to measure the baby again but more importantly to check on the size of the cyst on my left ovary that developed when the egg was released.   I have known it was there since I was 5 weeks pregnant, but they want to monitor it throughout the rest of the pregnancy just to make sure it doesn't get too big.  As of Thursday, it had shrunk by a tiny amount, but it is still hanging around.  My doctor even asked if I was having any pain from that "huge" cyst (she was joking! Glad I picked up on her sense of humor or else I might have gotten nervous!)  It is about 4.5 cm and I have not even felt pain from it at all.  Anyway, the point is we got to see baby girl again and that was fun. (Notice I said girl? Re-verified.) I met another doctor at the practice and my first impression was she seemed tired!  I won't hold that against her as she had probably been up all night for a delivery.  My weight gain is up to 17 pounds.  Still loving my doctor's office.  I will go back in another month, then the every two week appointments begin.

3.  Last weekend, we went to IKEA for a little shopping for the nursery.  We ended up buying a changing table, a small table lamp, a floor lamp, and some decorative square mirrors for the wall.  We had fun browsing and going through all the baby setups on the floor.  Matt was more excited to look at the bunk beds. 

4.  I have been taking lots of walks at the park on my lunch break with my friend and her 17 month old in the stroller.  It is fun because we are only about 2 weeks or so apart in our pregnancies and we also go to the same doctor.  We usually get in 2.5 miles before I have to go back to work.  We have really been enjoying our walks!

I think that about sums up the week.  Matt has been very busy with work so it leaves me with plenty of time to hang out with Cookie, think about baby things, and watch tv.  Exciting, huh?  See ya next week.

23 Weeks

Baby is the size of a grapefruit

 

what's going on in there?

Her face is fully formed now -- she just needs a little extra fat to fill it out.

She's listening to your voice and your heartbeat -- and even to loud sounds like cars honking and dogs barking.

 

maternity clothes? 

Still wearing my Old Navy maternity jeans and my roomy shirts that I wore pre-pregnancy.  My regular scrubs are getting too tight now, so I've pretty much switched over to all the bigger scrubs my friend loaned me.  Even though I feel like a huge blimp in some of the tops, they are way more comfortable than my more fitted scrubs.

stretch marks? 

None yet.
*knocks on wood*

Still slathering on lotion every day after my shower.

movement? 

Oh, the movement this week!  On Monday, I was enjoying the lovely day by sitting out in the sun room.  I had my hands propped on my belly and all of a sudden, I felt a KICK!  It was so awesome and I was not expecting it at all.  She proceeded to kick a few more times near my ribs on the right side.  I feel the biggest kicks there, but I also feel her squirming low most of the time.

food cravings? 

Strawberries!  I could eat them all day.  My craving for cheese has
disappeared died down.

 weight gain?

15 pounds so far

anything making you queasy or sick? 

Nothing anymore! As I finish off my plate of homemade mini donuts.  Yummy!

what I miss? 

Warm weather!  We had a few nice days, but now it's back to a chilly weekend.  I'm ready to start wearing cute, comfy dresses that show off my bump.  Hard to do that when I keep having to get my winter coat back out of the closet.
 

nausea/vomiting?  

Nope! I'm so so happy to be over with that stage.

symptoms? 

My acne has cleared up this week! Crossing my fingers it stays this way?
Lower back stiffness.
Heartburn
Feeling big and heavy!

labor signs? 

Not yet.  Although when I went for a walk the other night, my belly was really tensing up.  It was fine after I slowed down the pace.

gender? 

Girl!

belly button in or out?

In. No changes there. But my belly certainly looks harrier than normal.  Weird.

wedding rings on or off? 

On.  No problems there, but when it gets hot, my fingers always swell so that should be interesting this summer.

sleep?

Still find myself waking up on my back (though I should be sleeping on my side always) but I'm using a squishy body pillow that I sorta wrap around my front and back to get a little more comfortable. 

what I'm looking forward to? 

Getting the nursery underway.  Poor Matt is so busy with work right now, so getting baby things ready is not exactly at the top of his priority list when he has a day off to relax.  I would love to paint the nursery and buy/assemble the crib in the next month or so.

other updates? 

We registered at Target!  They had so many cute girly things there.  Matt even saw a few things he liked for our little girl.  It was fun to make a list of things we liked.

 appointments?

 My next visit is Thursday for another ultrasound and monthly checkup.

 

 

22 Weeks

Baby is the size of a papaya. 

• Now that he's got more developed eyes and lips, he's looking even more like a newborn.
• He's sleeping in cycles -- about 12 to 14 hours per day (hint: they're probably those times you're not feeling any kicks!).

I have been feeling really good this week!  I finally feel like my bump is looking like a baby and more and more people are starting to notice.  I feel pretty confident in a form-fitting shirt to show off my little one that's growing inside where as before, a tight shirt just made me look fat.  (You know, that awkward in between stage?  I don't miss that!) 

I have started feeling her move around a bit more this week.  For the past few days, I have felt her move the most after I eat or drink something sugary or when I'm sitting on the couch or in bed at night.  It is so exciting to feel her wiggle around and brush up against my insides.  I keep putting my hand on my belly when I feel movement just to see if she might kick hard enough to feel from the outside.  Maybe in a couple more weeks Matt will be able to feel her.

I have also been playing music for her as her ears are pretty well developed now.  I haven't noticed her responding much to it, but my mom the music teacher told me I need to introduce music and a steady beat early!

I have also felt pregnant this week.  It sounds weird, but I just feel a little off balance, big, and tired.  Sometimes it's hard to get my breath, especially after eating a big meal.  I've been taking more walks now that it's nice outside and it feels so good to get my muscles moving, not to mention enjoying the beautiful warmer weather.

That's about all I got for this week's update.  No progress on the nursery yet and we haven't bought anything other than the bedding set.  I am looking forward to registering for baby girl very soon.

 

Check out the difference in ten weeks!

21 Weeks

Baby is the size of a pomegranate.  

If it's a girl, she's already got a lifetime's supply of eggs in her womb -- about six million of them!

Total Weight Gain:  12 pounds

 

What I miss:  Not much.

Sleep:  Pretty great lately!  I was sleeping with a pillow between my legs for a while, but I find that sleeping normally is more comfortable again.  Still waking up for a nightly potty break.

Symptoms:   Acne, big appetite

 

Cravings:  Ice cream!!!

Gender:  It's a GIRL!

Movement:   Not much.  Still feeling some bubbles occasionally, but I haven't been feeling her squirm around much yet.  According to my last ultrasound, I have an anterior placenta, which is acting as a pillow that is muffling her kicks and punches right now.  Kind of disappointing, but I'm sure as she gets bigger I will feel definite kicks soon enough.

Maternity Clothes:  Yes

 

Milestones:  Two days before I hit 20 weeks, I had my first stranger ask if I was expecting.  It felt weird that someone felt comfortable enough asking even though my bump isn't too noticeable in my scrubs, but I was so happy!  Other milestones include finding out the gender last week, buying the baby bedding (on clearance at JC Penney so I just HAD to get it), and picking out a name.

 

Concerns:  I have a 5 cm cyst on my left ovary which was noted at my 20 week scan.  My doctor is not worried about it and said that a lot of women get a cyst on the ovary they ovulated from for the pregnancy.  We are just going to monitor it.  Most of the time they shrink on their own as the baby gets bigger.  It will not effect the delivery or baby's health, thankfully.  It will, however, require seeing our sweet baby girl on another ultrasound in four weeks.  Darn! ;-)  PS- I absolutely LOVED my doctor.  (Dr. Stephen Guy)  He was so down to earth and personable.  Very cool to have a doctor I feel comfortable with.  We hope to have him deliver but it's not a guarantee that he will be available.  Keeping our fingers crossed!

Gender Reveal!

 Pink, Pink, Pink!!

We are having a sweet baby girl. 

I am one happy mama.

We went to our 20 week anatomy scan on March 28 at 10:00. 

We were pleased to see that the baby had grown from a tiny bean into a healthy looking baby.  The technician got all the measurements pretty easily minus the lip/chin area because the baby kept putting her hands in front of her face.  It was so cute!  She eventually moved her hands down to grab onto her umbilical cord.  Everything looked healthy and the baby was right at 12 ounces big.

My reaction to the gender reveal:  Yay!! I can't wait to have a daughter!

Matt's reaction to the gender reveal:  Are you sure?  I could have sworn I saw boy parts in there somewhere.

I think he is adjusting to the idea of having a daughter, but it took him a little bit to get over the disappointment of not having a future MLB player in the making.  

This pregnancy seems so much more real now that I am growing a little girl inside.  We picked out the baby bedding/nursery decor and went ahead and bought it.  It was our first purchase so far for the baby.  I have a feeling I will have a hard time avoiding looking at all the adoreable girly baby clothes anytime we go shopping now.  Must...resist...the pink fluffiness...

Here is a picture from Easter weekend.  

Happy halfway point to me!