20 weeks- the halfway mark

This week is a big milestone- we are officially halfway to the due date, which is 40 weeks. And that's if I make it that long- technically anything after 36 weeks is considered full term. Woohoo! I still feel huge for how far I am, but apparently us moms come in all shapes and sizes. Also this week is big, because we will be having the first (and only planned) ultrasound. We get to see baby's size, movements, profile- all of the wonderful things we have only been guessing about this whole time! And of course, everyone is dying to know if our little bean is a boy or a girl! : ) Mike just left to go offshore today, so we are crossing our fingers he makes it back in time for the ultrasound on Thursday. If not, I hate to bum you all out, but I promised I would put the "goods" picture in an envelope and not let the tech spill the beans, and Mike and I will find out together. Which means I won't know until he does, which also means no one else will know. Sorry. But he is super bummed to think that he may miss out on the ultrasound, so this is the best we can do to make things right for him.

So this week, according to babycenter.com our baby is the size of a banana! And thebump.com says the size of a cantaloupe! Both of which should be about 6.5 inches (measuring baby from crown to rump) and about 10.6 ounces. From here going forward, they will start measuring baby from crown to heel, so that puts baby at a whopping 10.5 inches! That's almost a foot!! Baby is drinking lots of amniotic fluid at this point, both for nutrition, and also to practice swallowing and digesting. They say taste buds are starting to work now, and the taste of some foods are passed into the amniotic fluid. Studies show that babies respond to tastes that have already had via amniotic fluid, so the foods I eat now may influence what baby will eat later!

My tummy as you can see is still growing along with this baby. My previously hidden tattoo does show a bit over the top of some of the pants that I wear now (if you look close you can see it in this weeks pic) and my belly has more hair than before and itches. No stretch marks yet (knock on wood) but I have been using the lotion that you get from the drug store that is supposed to prevent them. We will see in the upcoming months! I think my biggest complaints at this point are heartburn- it usually starts around 7 pm every night and makes me feel like my throat is on fire. Tums and Calmicid (an all-natural form of Tums from Melaleuca) are my best friends : ) And my other complaint is the swollen feet deal. They swelled up so much at work on Friday just from sitting at my desk that after taking my Birkenstocks off, I could hardly get them back on! It's more on my right foot than my left, but they both tend to swell a lot. My blood pressure has been completely normal at all of my appointments, so I am not too worried about preeclampsia, although a lot of things I have read say that this much swelling early on, and the fact that it is more in one foot in the other could be an early symptom of that... I am not a worry wort, so I have been trying to not think about it. It's more painful and disgusting more than anything else. It's like, you already feel fat with this big belly in the way all the time, and then I look down and see fat feet and ankles, it doesn't make me feel attractive anymore. Oh well, it's worth it : )

Today I will probably either be hanging out with my girlfriends at the house, or I may try to convince them to drive to Baton Rouge with me... I am craving some fresh fruit from Whole Foods, and I would like to go to the mall to get my favorite mascara. Everyone keep their fingers crossed that by the time I post again next week Mike will be home from work and we can share with everyone the pics (and possibly video?) of our ultrasound!

19 weeks

Only one more week to go and I am officially half way through this pregnancy- crazy how quickly it is going by, huh? And at the same time, part of me is ready to be done with being pregnant and just have this baby here. I know it is a bit early to feel that way, but being pregnant isn't all that great. I am trying to remind myself to enjoy this time before parenthood, so that's what I am trying to do.

From babycenter.com and thebump.com, baby is now the size of a mango! About 8.5 oz and about 6 inches head to rump. Baby is covered in something called vernix caseosa, mixture of lanugo (fine baby hair that covers the whole body), oil, and dead skin cells (yummy) that protects the delicate little skin from pickling in all of that amniotic fluid. Arms and legs are finally in proportion to the rest of the body, and hair may be starting to sprout on top of baby's head. Some studies have shown that at this point baby may be able to hear our voice now, so it's a good time to begin reading, talking, and singing to baby.

In mommy's development, I have officially experienced the extreme swollen ankles. We went to the Reverend Horton Heat and Motorhead concert in Houston on Friday, and I stood nonstop from 7:30 PM until about 1 AM, and when we left the concert my ankles were so swollen they were literally rings hanging over the sides of my ankle socks. It was absolutely disgusting. I spent all day yesterday with my feet propped up, hoping they would go back down so I could actually be of some use today. The good news was that in the second song of the Reverend Horton Heat's set, Mike was standing behind me with his hands on my belly, and he felt a single but wonderful kick from the baby! It's the first time anyone has felt baby on the outside, though I am pretty used to the little kicks and movements pretty constantly throughout the day now. My first thought was, our baby has good taste in music, it likes the Reverend!!

That's all I got for now- I am figuring out how to deal with the achy back and ribs, and the extreme (and I mean extreme) heartburn that I get everyday. I know it will all be more than worth it in the end : D

18 weeks

The last week or two has been a rollercoaster! It is still hard controlling my emotions. And my appetite. It has also been exciting, because I have definitely been feeling baby move around some, but not enough to have anyone else feel from the outside. Still, it's kind of a warm fuzzy feeling I get every time I feel the movements- like a reminder that our little munchkin is doing its own thing in there. Plus I went to another appointment, which went fine, and we scheduled the ultrasound for October 1st- a week before I thought he would schedule it! : ) I will be 20w5d at that point, so it will be a perfect time to see our baby in live action. That is the part I am most excited about- that and determining if it will be a boy or a girl.... I am waiting until I can call our baby by name- Sean William, or Katherine/Kathryn Marie (Kate). At least that's what we have so far. Stay tuned for updates if we change our mind.

Here is the weekly updates- again, combined info from babycenter.com and thebump.com.

Head to rump, baby is about 5 1/2 inches long and weighs about 7 ounces (the size of a bell pepper, or a sweet potato!) and is moving around a lot now- flexing arms and legs, yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. Blood vessels are visible through the thin skin, and ears are in their final position. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around the nerves, a process that continues for a year after birth. If baby is a girl, the uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may be shy and hide them during an ultrasound. Baby can also hear what is going on outside the womb now, so it is a good time to break out the tunes- hint, play music that resembles your own thumping heart (about 60 bpm).

That's all I have for today. Until next week!

17 weeks

I am starting to feel pregnant.... I asked my friend at work if I had started waddling yet, and she said no... but I don't believe her. And to think I am not even halfway through this yet!

I mixed the updates from babycenter.com and thebump.com again for Baby this week. Both were saying pretty much the same thing, and not a lot of it- I guess 17 weeks isn't a huge milestone! But I am still excited for this week- I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday, so I get to hear this beautiful baby's heartbeat again : D

Baby is about 5 ounces now, and between 5-6 inches from head to rump- about the size of a turnip or onion. The skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and fat is starting to develop around it (yey for fat healthy babies!) The umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger, and sweat glands are starting to develop. Baby's fingers and toes officially have their own one-of-a-kind prints.

The pregnancy thing kind of sucks right now. I think because I lucked out and missed all of the morning sickness bit, I have to make up for it in crazy hormones. Some days I literally feel like I am going crazy- I want to throw things and cry and laugh for no reason at all. Or I find stupid little reasons in my head to be angry, things that I know are stupid but there is no arguing with myself, the pregnant woman.

Here's my belly pic for 17 weeks- pardon my crappy look- I didn't feel like makeup or anything this time LOL. Give me a break, it's my day off.

Luckily, even though I had to work yesterday, I have today and tomorrow off. Which is strange- the call center is usually only closed for Christmas and Thanksgiving. We're open all other holidays- but for some reason they decided to close for Labor Day this year- and you don't hear most of us complaining! The only bummer is that when we work holidays, we get paid the 8 hours holiday, plus this time and a half for overtime, so you can make a lot of money working on a "normal" Monday that also happens to be a holiday. Now I miss out on the time and a half, and just get the 8 hours for the holiday. Oh well, I think my sanity is more important right now!