23 weeks

Well compared to last week, not a whole lot of "new" development going on, I was a little disappointed.... all of my weekly update websites say pretty much the same as last week. Baby is probably between 11-12 inches this week, and weighing in at more than a pound. The only thing different that I read this week that excites me is that now is the time that baby starts putting on the chub.... he's gonna fatten up like a good baby should! It says that between now and then end of the month, Baby will double in weight : ) I am trying to think of that as a mother, and be very happy about that, and not think about it as someone who will be giving birth, which then it scares me a little LOL.

Just because the websites don't say a whole lot doesn't mean there isn't anything going on for us though! My belly is getting big enough now that my belly button looks different. I played some music the other day, with one headphone in my ear and one up to my belly..... Dream Theater Sean was kicking around a lot for. Not as much for Jimi Hendrix. Sean kicks a lot though- it's nice to know he is there, but sometimes it makes it hard to sleep.

I think I have come to the conclusion that soda is what makes my feet swell. I tried this theory out this week- no soda since Thursday, and so far no swelling. Knock on wood. Also it has been nice and cool out, which helps. But I really don't eat that much salty food, and soda has a lot of sodium in it. So that's my theory.

Josh's mom (grandma #4) sent us some clothes the other day. Between what she sent us, and what other people have been sending, what I already know Mike's mom has in Austin, this boy is going to be stylin! And the best news is, we probably won't have to buy clothes for a long time! Bonus!

This is our favorite outfit so far- jeans from Karen, shirt from Josh's girlfriend Abby, shoes from Josh, and Mike picked out the hat : )

Also, I went to get my hair done this week- as I am getting larger, it gets harder to feel "pretty." I just feel pregnant. So I told the man at the salon to make my hair beautiful, and I think he did! I love it, and he really listened to me when I told him I am low maintenance- the only things I know how to use are a round brush and a straightening iron, neither of which I can use well, and I hate using products. It's perfect! He put some blonde highlights in just the top/front, the rest he was able to match my natural color almost perfectly!! Which is great- I was getting so sick of my 3 inch natural roots with my unnatural hair color LOL.

Mike went to Pensacola, FL this week to visit our friend Doug- he took some pics, so I figured I would post some of those as well. We are planning to make a trip back there together soon. Lucky dog, it was so beautiful there, I was jealous I had to work. Bout a 5 hour drive, and he took his motorcycle. He is trying to fit in some nice long rides while he still can. After Baby gets here, it will be a little while before he can take a long trip away from home like that.

That's about it for our updates for now. I am so excited, we are almost into the third trimester!! I've signed up for birthing and baby classes already. Craziness!

22 weeks

Baby is now about 11 inches from head to toe, and weighing at about a pound, Sean is about the size of a spaghetti squash, or a papaya. His eyes are fully formed, and has hair on his head, but both are lacking pigment for a few more weeks to come. His pancreas is steadily developing in his body, and he is starting to "sprout" nipples. His face is fully formed, with everything in its place as it should be. At this point in pregnancy, most babies start to settle into some sort of sleep cycle, sleeping about 12-14 hours at a time. I can tell you that I hardly go 12-14 hours without feeling his gymnastics inside my belly, but maybe he just moves a lot in his sleep!

My feet started swelling again. I was so excited, I made it almost a whole week with no swelling at all! Then I left my birkenstocks in my car one day at work, and the heat melted the glue, and they completely fell apart. I am back to wearing flip flops, until some swelling goes down, then maybe I will switch to sneakers, but for now I don't like having my swollen ankles hanging out over my socks, and I doubt my feet would fit into my sneakers right now anyways.

We have been getting little gifts here and there for our baby boy- Josh bought him his first pair of Vans shoes, which are adorable : ) And a friend at work gave me some cute white and blue sneakers from Gerber that she found on sale. Our good friend Katy from WA sent us some handmade goodies in the mail- some homemade belly butter for me, and some onesies with embroidery on them, some handsewn rattles, and a quilted travel changing pad. I am accumulating the new things in his room right now- no furniture yet, but that's ok because one: we still have plenty of time, and two: even though Doug moved out of that room, it still needs to be painted and re carpeted. He's planning on coming back to help us with that in a week or two. I am hoping that by Christmas time, after the baby shower, I will be able to begin my "nesting" phase. It has actually started for me a bit, in a different way already- I clean a lot more than I used to. Or should I say, I tidy. I pick up after myself, which is not habit I used to have. I was more of a make a mess and clean it up once a week kind of person. Now, I have decided today because my feet are so swollen and I have been so grumpy from not sleeping well, that today I am not going to clean at all. And it is killing me. All I can look at are carpets that need to be vacuumed, and laundry that needs to be washed, and dishes that need to be put away..... But instead, I am off now to enjoy a movie with my hubby with my feet propped up and work on my crocheting- I have too many friends with babies, I need to get working on these baby blankets!!

In Home Daycare

This will be one of my first posts outside of my pregnancy week-by-week updates.... shows what's been on my mind!!

So I have been looking into becoming a stay at home mom. Nothing official yet, mostly because my current job has INCREDIBLE insurance benefits and pays pretty well for being in Louisiana with no college degree. But I am weighing the options of paying more for the insurance through Mike's company and then saving on the money for childcare. Plus I am really against having to put our child into full-time daycare before the age of two. I do want the social interactions, I plan on taking breaks to go out with hubby and do my own thing before then, but honestly if I can be at home for at most of the time for the first two years, I think it is best. Even if I worked part time.

So as most of you know, I used to teach at a Montessori preschool for 5 years before moving to Louisiana. I did after-school during my senior year in high school, then as soon as I graduated I took the Montessori training, and did a full time internship for the next two years. Then I had my own classroom for two years (well, a year and a half, actually- my room was still under construction for the first half of that year, my classroom opened I want to say February?) I absolutely loved teaching, especially the age group. I worked with a classroom of mixed ages 2.5-6. I don't know if I truly knew it was my calling until I stopped doing it. I have been thinking about it ever since. First I shied away from it because I didn't want another full time job, and was worried about taking a part time job as an assistant. Then my excuse was pay- I was making about $15/hr by the time I left WA. I would be lucky to make anything more than minimum wage in LA at any childcare facility. My lastest excuse (aside from pay and benefits) is that I am worried because it would be so different down here that what I am used to back home. I was in a high income, high class neighborhood where people paid approx. $800-$1200/mo for full time childcare, mom and dad worked for Microsoft kind of a thing. Not to mention the Montessori aspect is just plain different- in the South, there are a lot of public Montessori schools, for grades higher than preschool, and it just seems so very different. Honestly I was (and still am) intimidated by it, afraid I would get a job there and hate it.

So this brings me to what my "5 year plan" is.... I am hoping that I can figure out a way to stay at home with my baby, and maybe watch other peoples kids too as a source of income. Nothing huge- I know full time childcare down here tends to run about $4-500/mo, and I can't see myself charging that.

My concerns are few, but important. First, licensing. I called the Division of Early Childhood Development for Louisiana today- the info I have found online says they are in charge of licensing. I asked what do I do to get a license- they said for 6 kids or less in a home, no license is required. I was like, is that it? Yep. Ok then... that seems simple enough.... yet it feels like it complicates things. Nobody is going to make sure that I have a suitable home to watch children in it? I guess that's ok with me- I wasn't planning on advertising to watch strangers' kids, I was going to stick with friends and referrals.

Next question I have is insurance. Do I just get insurance through my homeowners? Are they even going to let me? We have an FHA loan, which is the kind of loan that allows to you put most of your loan into one- rather than say two loans, 20% and 80%, we have like a 97% loan or something like that. Because it is so much in one loan, they are very particular about what the home is being used for- they were very specific in letting us know that we had to live here for one- it's not a renter's policy, and they would drop us if we were to use it as one. So now I am nervous to find out about in home daycare as an add on. But I think it will be as simple as calling as asking... I am just not sure what to do if they say no way.

Last thing is money- Is it just as simple as setting aside a certain percentage towards taxes at the end of the year? Do I need some sort of a business license? How does that all work out?

These are just my ramblings as I prepare for the next chapter in life. Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.

21 weeks

It's a BOY!!!!

We went to our Ultrasound on Thursday, and got to see out little man in action. It was one of the coolest things ever! This was the first ultrasound we have had so far, and I think it made it so much more real and personal to us- that is our SON in there! So it's officially Sean William Reed now. He's just doing his thing, growing in my belly : D

So here are some pics... I still need to get to a scanner so I can get the pics to show their full quality. We don't have a scanner, so I just took photos of the U/S pics with our camera and uploaded them to the computer for now. There are some profile shots too, but I was having a hard time with those- the camera reflection kept showing in the pic, or they came out blurry.

Here is his beautiful face

And another of his face : ) I love that you can see where his eyes and nose and chin and everything is at!

It's a boy!!! This was the first boy shot where we found out! : )

This boy shot she took during the video.... He was turning over while we were recording video of the U/S (I guess he was done with all of the attention), so she tried to get a boy shot in before he completely hid himself.

This is my favorite pic... in all of the profile pics, the tech was commenting on how his knees were right next to his eyes- he was curled up so tight! At the end of the video, you see him try to turn around and show us his back. The next thing you know, we are looking at this pic. His head and knees are in perfect alignment, and his butt is straight up in the air, and his feet are pushing out against the sides.... I told Mike no wonder why his "kicks" sometimes just feel like pushes- this is how he gets comfortable!!

I tried to upload the video right to this page, but it was taking WAY too long.... I already got it uploaded to youtube, so here's the link.... Sean William Reed's first movie

So, I don't remember what they said his length was at the U/S, but she did say he was measuring at 20w6d, and that day I was at 20w5d, so right on track! They said anything within 4 days keeps the same due date, so we are on! I did hear her say they think he was about 14-15 oz at the U/S.... in reading my updates in babycenter.com, thebump.com, and whattoexpect.com 21 weeks the baby is normally about 10-12 oz.... so I guess he is a bit heavier than most at his age! Lengthwise, average for 21 weeks is about 10.5 inches head to foot, about the length of a banana. And milestones are that his eyes are moving and eyelids and eyebrows are formed. His eyes aren't opening yet, but studies show they are moving under the eyelids anyways. His biggest goals for the next few weeks (months, really) is weight gain. And since he tastes what I taste now, what I eat is very important to his future taste preferences.

At 21 weeks I think I am feeling my best so far. My feet have still been swelling, but yesterday was the first day where my right foot and ankle were actually a normal size all day!! I told the doctor that my feet were swollen pretty much all the time, and he asked (while manipulating my feet and ankles) "does this hurt?" I said no. He asked if I had ever had any major injuries to that foot, I said no. He said, "Well, it just looks like aggravation from the pregnancy. It will get worse." I almost laughed. I know everyone has been telling me that other than propping my feet up and taking it easy, my feet will swell no matter what I do. I guess my doctor was just keeping it real for me as well.

My only concerns at this point are that my doctor mentioned that the U/S showed the placenta covering my cervix, or "posterior" as he worded it.... He said they will probably do another U/S in 1-2 months to see if it moves. He told me not to worry about it now.... so I asked what happens if it doesn't move, and he said it means I would have to have a c-section instead of normal delivery. No big deal, but they need to act quick for this type of c-section due to heavy bleeding possibilities on my end.... so me being the dummy I am, I looked up the condition online. Of course I read about all the worst case scenarios. What's the point? There's nothing I can do to make the placenta move. All it's going to do now is make me worry. Which he told me not to do. So I am trying not to.

On a lighter note, we went to Baby's R' Us on Friday and registered.... We were there for 3 hours! But I think we registered for everything we could think of!! I am also planning on registering at Target, because I know it is a bit easier for some people. But honestly I liked the stuff that Baby's R' Us has better than what Target has. And I don't trust Walmart enough to buy anything for Baby from there.

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!