20 Week Ultrasound!

September 30, 2005 - Over 20 Weeks

Good news! We had our 20-week check-up yesterday, including the big ultrasound!

So, the ultrasound technician was really nice and told us everything she was doing. It took about 20 minutes for just the ultrasound, and she measured parts of the brain, the head circumference, around the torso, and the length of bones in the arms and legs. She also looked at several of the baby's internal organs, watched the heart as it pumped and made sure all the valves and chambers looked good, and she checked the blood flow from the umbilical cord.

We also made certain what the sex of the baby was, and there is no doubt now that it's a boy!!

He's very active in there, he kept moving around and kicking his umbilical cord while we watched him. We also saw him completely flip over! When we started the ultrasound, he was on his stomach, and he flipped over to his back :) So cute!

Mike and I are so excited, and relieved that everything is normal and that the baby is healthy. He weighs 1 pound and is 10.5 inches long :)

20 Weeks

September 27, 2005 - 20 Weeks

Whoa, today has been a bear to get through! Mike had to be in work an hour early this morning, so I came in early, too, and I am feeling it! Seriously, I went to the bathroom (I think the 5th or 6th time, I can't remember) and I almost fell asleep in the stall. Okay, I have some tea, that seems to help.

So, usually, in the mornings, you haven't been able tell that I'm pregnant. If I wear maternity tops, then it's a little more obvious, but otherwise I would just look a little thick around the waist. By the afternoons, I guess the muscles get tired and it's pretty obvious. Anyway, the same thing happened yesterday, but this morning, my tummy kind of just stayed out! Mike loves it in the afternoons when I'm showing more, he rubs my belly and gets really excited that other people can tell we're pregnant!

Oh, Mike got me the coolest gift...a microfleece robe and slippers! It's so soft, it feels like all the baby clothes that we've been buying. I always wonder why they don't make adult clothes as soft as all the baby clothes, but this robe IS that soft! He said he got it for me because he knew I would be uncomfortable later on, and I could also wear it in the hospital and while I'm at home on maternity leave. How sweet!! :) I love that he is so excited about our baby and even about me being pregnant.

Well, I read that the baby is now 10 inches and weighs 10 ounces. I held a ruler up to my belly the other day just to try and gauge how big it is...it's big! I can't believe it will only get bigger! Over 1/2 a pound and almost a foot long...I can't wait for our ultrasound on Thursday. Only two days to go!

19 Weeks

September 20, 2005 - 19 Weeks Along

I woke up yesterday morning to what felt like a couple of muscle spasms in my abdomen. I realized it may have been the baby kicking or moving, so I lay still a little longer and felt one more! It is just the most exciting thing...kind of freaky, in a way...but still really exciting. I try to lay or sit still a few times a day to see if I can feel the baby move, but I find myself holding my breath when I do, which probably isn't the best thing! Anyway, as excited as I am about feeling the baby myself, I really can't wait until the movements are strong enough for Mike to feel.

We bought a book the other day so that Mike could start reading to the baby. It's a really sweet book called "God Gave Us You" by Lisa Bergren. I absolutely love it, I got a little choked up while I read it.

Well, I still have a bit of a cold right now. My doctor gave me a list of medicines I'm allowed to take, but as of now, I've only taken Tylenol for muscle and head aches. I did go to the store to try and find some of the stuff from the list, but they didn't even have anything I would be able to take. Ahh well, I'm trying the good old chicken soup, orange juice and tea for now.

Week 19

September 14, 2005 - Beginning of Week 19

Okay, so week 19 has not begun with me in the best of moods. I've been feeling a little under the weather (sore throat, dull headache, nausea) for the past day and a half, although I’m feeling a little better right now. I am not someone who remembers my dreams (I only say that because I read somewhere that EVERYONE dreams every night, and it’s just a matter of remembering what you dream). Anyway, I’ve remembered two very vivid dreams in the past few weeks. The first one was about Mike cheating on me (I was pregnant in my dream, too). In my dream, he met someone at work and their relationship gradually flourished while ours fizzled. I was devastated and crying to my mom in my dream when I woke up, only to find that I was crying when I woke up, too. I had the second dream just a couple of days ago, where I started going into labor right NOW (4 ½ months along) and my baby died because it was so small.

I know that many women dream a lot about things like that during their pregnancies, maybe because those are things they worry about (getting bigger and their partner becoming unattracted to them, not being able to take care of their baby, etc.), but I didn’t think I was THAT worried about those things. The things most prevalent in my mind are worries about not being prepared to bring home the baby or not having enough money after the baby is born. Maybe I’m subconsciously worried about those other things?

Anyway, my mood lightened when we received a package from my very sweet sister and her husband. They sent us a bunch of cute baby clothes (not going to say what color!), and they had made a little onesy with “I love volleyball” printed on the front! So cute!

Our baby is now about 8 inches long (I’m guessing that’s head to foot, not head to rump anymore), and weighs about 7 ounces. The baby’s fingerprints and inner ear are developing…so he/she will start detecting sound! Now would probably be a good time to buy some baby books that Mike can start reading at night to our baby.

Week 18

September 9, 2005 - Into Week 18

I think I felt the baby move for the first time yesterday! I was in the bathroom at work and I felt what I thought was gas, but I felt it again a few seconds later and it felt more like a muscle twitch from where my uterus is. So, I'm thinking that maybe it was the baby :) That's what I want to think, anyway!

Other than that, it has been a fairly uneventful. I bought a few more maternity clothes. If I get most of my clothes on sale, I don't feel so bad about buying new clothes. I don't think that pregnant women should feel that they have to wear so much fabric and cover up the fact that they're pregnant. From what I've seen in magazines and photos, it serves to make you look even bigger! I love the clothes they have out now, more form-fitting and very flattering! Besides, we're planning to have more kids, so I'll use these clothes again in a couple of years.

I've begun the "nesting" phase everyone talks about. It's not so much that I want to get the baby's room ready, but that I want to get the whole entire HOUSE ready. We don't have any real accessories up, so it's very stark and crisp inside. I want to make it more homey, but I realized last night that I have no idea what I want it to look like!

Mike has been so great, though. He said that he hoped our child would inherit a lot of my qualities, but I hoped that he/she would inherit more of Mike's. Then, I just completely broke into a sobfest! I couldn't see one good quality of mine that I would want our child to inherit! I felt like a crazy person, but I couldn't stop crying and thinking of how great my husband is and that our baby would be so lucky if he or she were more like my husband than me! Well, Mike was really good, and hugged me and comforted me and got me some Kleenex when snot started running out my nose. And he didn't even look disgusted or annoyed...he's so great :) I need to remember that (all you difficult pregnant women, remember this, too) he's totally there to support me. He always offers to do anything he can to help, and he has really made things easier for me. So, if your husband/partner/significant other is busting their butt trying to make your life easier, let them drink an extra beer if they want or let them buy that video game, better yet...let them know how grateful you are :)

Week 17

September 2, 2005 - Into Week 17

Over 4 months pregnant, and I think it's finally starting to become more real to me. The baby should be anywhere between 4.5 and 6 inches long and weigh 3.5 - 4 ounces. Toenails are formed, limbs are more developed, and hair is beginning to grow! At my 16-week check-up the other day, Mike and I begged our doctor to perform an ultrasound so we could see what the sex of the baby is. She is so cool and awesome, so she snuck us in and had a look. I'm not going to say what we think it is because it wasn't totally clear, but hopefully at my 20-week check-up, it will be more clear and we can start telling people if they want to know. Anyway, I was completely amazed when we saw the baby on the screen...we could see all the bones (skull, ribs, femur, pelvis, etc.) it is just an indescribable feeling! I'm thinking, "Keep growing strong, little baby!" and Mike and I love this baby so much now, I can't imagine loving it any more, but I know we will!

Other pregnancy-related issues for the women out there who want to know what to expect are constant runny noses, the never-ending feeling that you have to go to the bathroom (only to get there and have barely anything come out!), sudden hunger pangs, and also sudden emotional changes. The flooding of the New Orleans vicinity after Hurricane Katrina has really affected me emotionally. Especially hearing audio clips or seeing videos of the survivors talking about how they lost loved ones...I was taking a shower the other day and heard a man talking about how he lost his wife during the flooding, and I completely broke down and started sobbing in the shower. I think I tried to put myself in his shoes and thought about how devastated I would be if I lost Mike or our sweet little baby :( and now I'm about to start crying again, so I'd better go on to another topic...

Our house is so NOT ready for the baby! Currently, the baby's room is full of boxes and tools that need to be put either in the attic or in the shed. The room needs to be painted, and we have to start buying furniture and gear. It's overwhelming, all the things you "need" for a baby! I know my parents did just fine without a majority of the things they have today, but if it will make life easier...bring it on! :) There are also other things we still need to do with the house in general...since we know that we'll probably be receiving many visitors after the baby's arrival!