20 Weeks (we're halfway there!)



Hi everyone,

So this week makes the halfway point for us which is exciting (though I think it was probably the easier half, we'll see!). According to a baby website I follow, he should be about 10 inches long and weigh about 10.5 ounces. I wonder if he weighs more than that though because at his ultrasound three weeks ago, the website said he should have weighed about 5 ounces but the doctor estimated he weighed 9 ounces. He might be a fat little guy! Also according to this website is that he is now covered in that greasy white stuff called vernix to protect his skin, and that's his digestive system is getting practice by swallowing amniotic fluid.

Chris and I registered for our prenatal classes last week. We get a tour of Women and Infants during one of them which is good, I've never been there (as a patient) so I wouldn't know where to go, as all my visits with the d0ctor are down near my house. We signed up for three, the usual birthing class that's for a month, a breastfeeding class, and a caring for mother & infant class for post-delivery. Chris can attend all of them which is great.

Have a great week and will write more soon.

love, Andrea

18 1/2 Weeks along...





Hi everyone,

As you can see, we are getting the nursery ready for the baby, well, Chris is more the one getting it ready since I'm not allowed to do any painting right now. What we did was pick out a theme for the room, which is under the sea, and brought one of the pieces from it home so we could match the wall color to it. You can see the theme on their website if you want:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2407318&cp=2255986.2290652.2290950&parentPage=family

Its a nice color, I think the room will look great. What setting up this room will entail is switching around out other rooms, so while Chris is up to it, he's going to paint our new bedroom also.

I had a doctor's visit the day before yesterday which wasn't anything special, just a check in and everything seems normal and healthy she said. My average weight gain for the 2nd trimester has been 1.5 pounds per week, which is right on target as they say I should gain 1-2 pounds per week from now on.

One last update, I felt Christopher fluttering around for the first time a few nights ago! It was very cute. It took a couple of times for me to realize what it was, now I can recognize it easily. I have almost always noticed it only at night, its just a gentle flutter very low in my adbomen which is always neat to feel.

I hope everyone has a great week!

Andrea

It's a boy!!!

Hi everyone,

Today was our third ultrasound and as you can see, it's a boy! We're so excited. It was a great visit, we saw so much of his anatomy. The skeletal system was visible, down to jaws and fingers. They also were able to show his blood circulating from the umbilical cord to the heart (in color), that was really neat. All his organs seemed to look fine, meaning there were two when there was supposed to be and they were on the right side of his body. She said I should be able to feel him kick soon, that sometimes if the placenta is on top the mother doesn't feel it because its acts as a cushion, however his is on the bottom so it should be any time now. I also read it takes longer for first time moms to recognize a kick, because they don't know what to expect. He moves a lot, I should feel that soon.

Below are some pictures from today. The quality is pretty poor, and I don't know about you but whenever I saw someone else's ultrasound pictures, I could never figure out what I was looking at. I can make everything out on these pictures because on the monitor at the appointment, it is ten times larger and clearer. But here it goes... remember, you can click on a photo to enlarge it if its too small to see.

This first one is of his arm, his head is on the right. The technician said it was important to see his hand was open, for some reason that rules out several problems.


Another view of his arm.


Here is a typical profile view. his head is on the right, facing up. The white lines are his bones, you can see his jaws, spinal cord, and face bones well.


Lastly, she said there's no doubt about it - he's definitely a boy.


Will post an updated belly shot next week, when I will be 18 weeks along. By the way, according to his measurements today they came up with a due date 9 days earlier than mine, though again there is error in those measurements so my doctor wants to stick with the date of June 18th. Its funny that every ultrasound has given me a week earlier of a date though!

Talk to you soon,
Andrea

15 Weeks (again!)



Hi everyone,

First let me explain the title of this blog. I went for a doctor's appointment last week and she said to ignore the radiologist's due date, that I should go back to the original one of June 18, 2007. So alas, I'm still 15 weeks along this week, not 16 like the radiologist told me. She said that while the scans are always saying I'm a week further ahead, that they aren't totally accurate so we shouldn't change the original due date.

Nothing much went on at the last appointment, other than that she couldn't find the heartbeat for about 60 seconds which was really scary. I guess its normal to take a long time to locate though, because she didn't have the aid of an ultrasound image, it was basically just a microphone. So no photos this week, but, we find out the sex (if all goes well and they can tell) in two weeks, on January 9th. We can't wait!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas today!

love, Andrea

15 Weeks



Today makes 15 weeks along for me, the baby is somewhere between the size of a lemon and an advocado. I have felt great the past couple of weeks, only one day I was really dragging. I don't know how I went through last semester feeling like that everyday, on top of not sleeping well! I appreciate how much support I received from my family & Chris. Poor Chris, I didn't do a thing around the house the whole trimester. Literally, not a thing except lay down, sleep and eat. I may have fed the dogs a day or two... I think... Chris was very patient, though he's glad that's getting better now!

So as you can see in the photos there is definitely getting to be a pooch to my belly. People notice it but it still just looks like I've gained weight, its not distinctively a pregnancy belly yet. By the way, I've gained 5 pounds so far which is exactly on target. I ran into a girl from my class today and told her and she was shocked, I laughed because she said "oh I noticed last week you've gained weight, I thought it was just stress from school." So maybe I should tell people why I'm gaining weight, otherwise they are left to assume that between gaining weight and my skin and hair looking bad that I've just let myself go or something! Speaking of that, its been really cool telling people. Everyone is so excited for Chris and I, and that means a lot to us.

Looked at one daycare so far and will look at another tomorrow. The one we saw is nice, but 20 minutes from home. So picking up the baby will be almost an hour affair, that's too long. There's one 4 minutes from our house that has a waiting list, I put us on. The one I'll see tomorrow is on campus, very convenient. I'll update next week on how it goes.

14 Weeks Along




So this week makes 14 weeks, the start of the second trimester. Here is a "before" picture of my belly, taken yesterday, so we can see just how much is going to change during the second trimester. I must say my pants are already very uncomfortable, there are a few that I could wear last week but yesterday even my most comfortable pair hurt my stomach. I have one pair of maternity jeans so far, I think its about time to get some more clothes.

No updates as far as appointments for the past couple of weeks. Although we will be able to know the sex in a couple of weeks, my next ultra sound is not scheduled until January so we'll find out then. I had been hoping for a boy until recently, now I honestly would be happy either way. Only problem with a boy is Chris and I can't agree on a name :0).

Andrea

Hi everyone,

Today we completed 2 of the 3 parts for the first set of testing for genetic abnormalities. These first two parts consisted of my blood getting drawn and an ultra sound at a special radiology lab, not our usual ob/gyn office. These are the photos from the testing which he said looked GREAT. There were two things he was primarily looking for in these pictures that would suggest Down's syndrome, one is whether there is a nasal bone (70% of individuals with Down's syndrome do not have that nasal bone) and the other is the amount of fluid behind the neck. He showed me a picture of what the fluid looks like in a Down's baby and it was really, really big - twice the thickness of the normal neck. Then he showed it on ours and it was normal, just a very thin layer. He also pointed out the nasal bone the baby has. So it looks like things are fine in that area. The next step is my getting my blood drawn in a month and that will determine if the baby has spina bifada. I was surprised to learn neither of these run in families, so we are just as likely to have a baby with these problems as any one else.

While he was looking around he said things looked good overall, the placenta is good and everything. A few interesting points... the baby isn't upside down anymore, his head is the part on top. Also, you can see his hand clear as day, the fingers are separate, and you can see the umbilical cord. Lastly, he said the same thing they said at the last ultra sound, that I am a week further ahead than originally thought, so I think that is most accurate. As of this past Monday I was 12 weeks, which might explain my starting to feel better - I'm getting out of the first trimester alive! Not to say I didn't nap twice today, it was my day off so I took advantage of it :0).

Enjoy the pics, at my next one in a month we'll find out the sex!

Andrea

Hi everyone,

As you can see from the photo above, we've had our first ultra sound and heard the heartbeat too. It was quite the experience to see the baby with my own eyes and to hear the heart beating - it was just a beautiful thing. In the photos, the baby is upside down. You can see the arms on the sides pretty easily.

So I've talked about this with a few family members and they feel the same way - we all think this is a girl. I have a strong feeling that it is. I'm not sure how soon we find out, I hope soon. I'm at 10 weeks now, and I think its at 16 weeks that we can know the sex. I can't wait to find out!

Next week I have to start a series of bloodwork/ultra sounds to test for birth defects. I think the first couple tests are for spina bifida and Down's syndrome. I believe that is all they test for in the first trimester.

My first visit with the ob/gyn went well last week. She is very laid back. A little too much if I had to say, she was late for our appointment but I guess she drives from Providence to the office closer to my house. She's very young, I liked her. I suppose it was good that she was so laid back because I was throwing a hundred questions to her about everything, including whether Lean Cuisine meals are ok for the baby, and she was patient and nice about everything. (oh and the answer to that question is those frozen meals aren't good for anybody, but it won't hurt the baby).

Other than that, nothing much new. I've gained a few pounds but my regular clothes fit perfectly fine. I'm feeling fine most days, days when I am really exhausted is rare now which is great.

I'll post any new developments!

Andrea

Hi everyone!

Today makes just over 7 weeks along for me, which is just about half of the first trimester. I've been feeling better this past week which is nice, I'm getting more sleep and am feeling less exhausted. The first couple weeks were fine, just a little tired, but then I got really drained and my emotions were all over the place. I never noticed before how many sad commercials are out there... and I made the mistake of watching When a Man Loves a Woman on t.v. the other day, I just went through a box of tissues for that :0).

But when I'm able to get some extra sleep I feel pretty good. There's always a sense of being tired, its just constant, but I'm getting used to it. Its as though I ran for miles (yeah right) and am sore, its just tempting to always want to lay down. I hear the fatigue really lightens up once you hit the end of the first trimester, and although I don't want this pregnancy to rush by or anything, I am quite looking forward to my the 13 week mark, if I will in fact feel a bit more like my old self.

Next week I have my first appointment with the nurse, and the week after with my ob/gyn. I've never met either, so I hope I like them. I plan on delivering at Women & Infants, because that's a good place to be if there are any complications.

Will write more soon.

Andrea