Week 19

Scotty finally felt the baby kick!  I have been feeling it but it was never hard enough for him to feel on the outside and he could never catch it at the right time.  But on Wednesday the 17th we went to the Carrie Underwood concert and this baby was jamming out!  It was moving all around in there!  I was sitting down and I had my hands folded across my belly and I felt a hard kick on my arm.  I had never felt one that strong before so I waited and another one came.  So I called Scotty over and I put his hand where I had felt the hard kicks and he felt them twice!  I put his hand there and we sat for a minute, then a kick!  When I felt it I looked up at him and I said, "Did you feel that?  That was it!"  And he was nodding his head and grinning.  Then it happend again and I looked at him and he said "I felt it again!" 

Well after that jam session Baby has been moving around a lot more.  I'm convinced it has grown a ton in the last week.  Number one reason is the more movement I am feeling another is my appetite!  I am starving all the time!  One day last week I ate two lunches!  I brought my lunch, ate that one, then had to leave and go buy more food because I was so hungry! Scotty said the baby ate one of those lunches by itself. 

I have been trying to curb my hunger by drinking more water.  I feel like I drink and drink and it is never enough.  I feel like my muscles are just sucked dry all the time!  With the more water comes more trips to the bathroom.  I feel like I have to pee all the time!  Even on days that I know I haven't drank enough I am still peeing!  I am waiting for the day that the baby kicks my bladder and it all just comes running down my legs.  Let's pray I'm not at work or the Wal-Mart or somewhere when that happens.  Scotty said that he would laugh and laugh.  He's so helpful.

Speaking of laughing - I know that hormones are raging when pregnant.  So I expected moodiness, anger, sadness over silly things.  What I did not expect were the laughing fits I have had!  Scotty has seen me twice have these laughing fits where I could not control myself!  One time he did something funny and another time our cat Alice did something funny and Scotty made a silly comment about it and I just could not stop laughing.  I looked like I lost my mind!  I was crying and crying from the laughter.  I guess that is one pregnancy perk.  I sure had good days those days, I havent laughed that hard in a while. 

Something not so funny - I have had a lot of hip pain this week.  Especially on my left side and in my pelvic region.  From what I have read it seems that everything is just stretching and moving but it hurts!  It is more like a brusing sensation, like I ran into a table corner or something.  It is worse when I sleep and when I sit for long periods of time then get up.  I am hoping that if I up my yoga classes that will help keep everything losened up.

The gender reveal party is coming together and we are very excited.  I know that it will be a lot of work to put together but I am excited to share this time with our family and friends.  Plus I am excited for my parents to come and visit.  My dad hasn't seen our new house yet and he hasn't seen me in person since I have been pregnant, well not since we knew I was pregnant at least. 

Well I will post again on Sunday after the big reveal with all the new baby stats from our appointment and the name and gender of our child! Wooo!

   

Week 18

 

 This week I felt some more baby kicks!  It is a really cool feeling.  I feel them mostly in the same spot - on my left side about two inches from my belly button. Scotty is getting sad because he hasn't felt any yet. He can't ever catch them at the right time and even if he did I don't think he could feel them on the outside yet.  I told him to wait for the night that the baby kicks him in the back while we are sleeping!

 

I think that I am starting to swell.  I assume this is not a good thing.  The doctor was not concerned about it when I went but the nurse seemed more concerned.  I just don't like it because it is uncomfortable.  I feel like my fingers and feet are going to bust open.  I have really increased my water intake and that is helping.  The water intake is helping with other things as well like constipation.  Yeah - its gross, I probably shouldn't talk about it on here but its a real issue during pregnancy and its my blog so whatever.  I had trouble with constipation before I got pregnant and it has made it so much worse.  I take many different things to help but I feel like the water intake has helped the most.

 

On a more pleasant note, I got a facial this week.  It was great.  My skin hates me.  Even the facial girl said my skin looked angry.  Tell me about it.  It is red, swollen, and it actually hurts.  The facial hurt so good.  When she was doing all the rubbing it hurt but all I could think about was how cleansing it felt.  She said that it would help and I am going to try and go every month.  When I left my skin looked horrific but it felt so good. 

 

Breastfeeding. I took a class this week on it and its really amazing.  I am excited to try it and I know how great it is for the baby but I am scared too.  I know that it is going to require a lot of time and effort on my part which I am more than willing to give.  I just hope that baby cooperates, as well as my body.  I could really do without the cracked, chapped nipples and the formula expense. 

 

 So - some things I learned:

 

 - When a baby is born, its stomach is about the size of a large marble.  Thus the reason they have to eat so often (every 1-3 hours).

 - How to know if baby is getting enough milk - the number of diapers they have a day.  The more diapers  = the more milk they are getting. 

- Colostrum begins to form in the mother at 20 weeks.  This is the yellowish, very nutrient rich substance that the babies get right when they feed for the first couple of days, mom's milk doesn't come in for about 3 days.

- If a mother becomes sick while breastfeeding, the mother's body makes antibodies to fight the infection and those antibodies are are also in the milk providing the baby a shield against the sickness.  Very cool.

 - They say that you should not give baby any other nipple than your own for 2 weeks so that they become accustom to it and nothing else (so no late night feedings for Scotty for at least 2 weeks, boo!).

- I learned about the best breastpumps and that you can rent them from some hospitals, in case you aren't sure breastfeeding is for you.

- It is a law that your work has to provide you a place to pump and allow you the time to pump as needed.

 - I also learned some of the different "holds" that you can do to figure out what works best for baby to feed.

 - They also prepared us for chapped, cracked nipples but said that should not be as bad if baby is feeding correctly.

- They also said that if you express interest in breastfeeding that a lactation consultant will come and help you in the hospital and they will come and visit you at home as well.

 

I am sure I learned more but this is what I remember off the top of my head.  Pretty cool stuff. 

 

Well until next time, here are pictures for the week: 

 

  

 

Baby is about the size of a pear and weights about 6 ounces.  The soft-cartilage is continuing to harden into bones.  The baby can hiccup, yawn, twist and turn in the womb.  Movement may become more noticeable to the mother.


Baby's man size this week: a small electric shaver.  Like the ones that have the three spinning heads.

17 Weeks

Well the weight gain has begun.  I have gained 5.5 pounds so far between this week and last week.  I was supposed to have gained around 5 in my first trimester and didn't gain at all so I think that's good.  I am trying to keep my weight gain between 1 to 2 pounds a week.  Apparently that is good for me and baby and is also supposed to help with stretch marks.  We shall see... 

Mom came and visited this past weekend.  I swear  - every time she is here were are just running and running.  This weekend's projects were gathering party supplies for the gender reveal, planning for it, and getting the house more homey for the party.  I got some accent tables, rugs, and pictures to help with that. 

Scotty and I are loving our new house and the area that we live in.  I prayed every night for the Lord to lead us to make the best decision for us about a house and I'm very sure he did.  Paying rent is new to us and I was very worried about the money especially with a baby on the way but we are very happy in our new home and I have faith that the money will work its self out. 

Mom and I also went shopping for clothes since most of mine do not fit any more. On another note my bras don't fit again either so I had to move up another cup size. If this keeps up I'll have to start special ordering them. Geeze.  At the maternity store they have a "bump" that you can try on with the clothes so that you can estimate your belly growth when buying and not buy things that you are going to grow out of in a month.  So I put on the belly as a joke and I sent the picture to Scotty.  I have included it below - I told him that is what he gets to look forward too!  Ha!  He said he was excited.  He's sweet.  Ugh - after I put on the bump I tried on this really cute sleeveless polka dot dress that tied around the middle.  Well the first one was way too big, even with the bump, and the second was way too small and was stretched across my belly and my butt.  I looked in the mirror and I told my mom there was no way I was wearing this.  When I looked in the mirror, all I saw was some country bumpkin, redneck woman standing on the porch in my bare feet, pale skin, clothes that don't fit over my pregnant belly yelling at Scotty "Scotty git yur butt in this house and help me!"  I ripped that thing off and moved on to the way cute maxi dress that was MUCH better! 

I also tried on a bathing suit top and mom had bought me a bathing suit as well, which I was very apprehensive about trying on but they are really cute and they are very flattering!  So I'm feeling better about being pregnant over the summer in SC.  Still not looking forward to it though.  The word "chafing" comes to mind.  Yikes. 

Well the party is getting closer and closer and so is finding out what baby is!  April 24th can't get here fast enough!  People are starting to guess - based on the way I'm carrying now that I'm showing more and the overall verdict is a girl.  I am wondering if people say that because I think that it's a girl and they think mom knows best.  But it won't be too much longer until we know for sure!

Well I finally felt the baby kick!  I have been reading about what it should feel like and when I should start to feel it and I was getting upset because I hadn't felt anything yet.  But on Friday after work I parked myself on the couch for a while and I was watching tv and I felt a little pop like feeling on my left side about 2 inches down from my belly button.  Then a few seconds later I felt it again, then again, then a little while later I felt it again.  I called mom and explained to her what I was feeling and she said that sounded like what a kick feels like.  The next day I felt the same feeling again when I was laying in bed before I went to sleep around the same area of my belly.  It seems to happen when I have been resting or sitting for a while without doing a whole lot of moving.  I can understand how some moms would mistake it for gas, but its not painful like that.  Its very soft.  I could be completely mistaken about what I felt or what I thought I felt but for me to have the same feeling more than one time on different days I'm pretty sure I'm right.  Now I'm sure I will start to panic about not feeling kicks. 

I signed Scotty and I up for some classes at the hospital we will be delivering at.  I signed up for a breastfeeding class, and I signed us both up for a class that focuses on bringing baby home and another full day class on pregnancy, labor and delivery, and we get a tour of the birthing areas as well so that we can start making a birth plan.  I am excited.  Scotty acts like he isn't but he was the one that brought up the idea of attending classes so he's not fooling anyone.

Well til next week - here are the belly pictures.  Also - baby's man size this week is a hockey puck!

 



My hubby and our awkward pose



Mom and I

 

 

 

The bump belt at the maternity store

This app says that baby is the size of an apple this week. Weighing 5 ounces, which is about the weight of a chicken breast.  Baby's kidneys can create urine and the liver is starting to produce bile.  Cool stuff!

 

App Pictures For Weeks 15 and 16 and Baby's Growth in Man Terms

I forgot to add the app pictures for the last 2 weeks.  So here they are -

Baby is the size of a lemon.  Its eyes, even though fused shut can perceive light and it can suck its thumb.

Baby is 4 inches long.  Its chest expands and contracts drawing in amniotic fluid to prepare ts lungs for breathing.

 

 

 

So here is another cool website that I found for Scotty and all the men out there who are reading this.  Instead of comparing the baby's size to a fruit or veggie it compares it to something a man can relate to better.

 

So here is what baby has been so far:

 

 

Week 3-4:  Baby is the size of a dot

 

Week 5: BB's for a BB gun

 

Week 6: A Nut (like a nut and bolt)

 

Week 7:  The power button on your remote

 

Week 8:  A Quarter

 

Week 9:  A Marble

 

Week 10: The head of a hammer

 

Week 11:  A golf ball

 

Week 12:  A small measuring tape

 

Week 13:  Gas cap on your car

 

Week 14:  A stress ball

 

Week 15:  A baseball

 

Week 16:  A small stud finder

 

I thought it was a pretty cool site and some of these help me to understand baby's size better as well.  So I will try to remember and post what baby's "man size" is every week as well.

 

Thanks for reading!

Week 16: Doctor's Appt.

Well I think the belly has gotten bigger this week - when I sit down I can feel it on my legs.  That's an interesting feeling.  Another interesting feeling I have had this week is sadness over songs on the radio.  I must have cried 3 times this week while driving.  Silly hormones.  

I had a "not so good" day this week.  Wednesday I did not feel the greatest.  I was tired, felt a little sick and had a headache.  I guess bad days are to be expected.  Yesterday, I started to have pressure in my lower belly.  I also felt lightheaded and out of breath.  The pressure was a very weird feeling.  It was a feeling I have never felt before.  I was worrying about it.  It felt like the baby was trying to come out.  It was like the baby was pushing and pushing to get out or that I had a giant water balloon in there weighing me down.  The feeling kept me up all Sunday night.  It was not very fun.  I am sure it will get worse as I go.  From what I read online yesterday it maybe  that the baby is positioned low.  

Mom sent me some new maternity clothes this week.  I had mentioned that I did not have any summer clothes and now I do!  Yay!  I keep saying I am going to go shopping but I just never feel up to it.  So it is much easier to have items shipped to the house via Tricia Fairfax.  Dad sent some Harley items for the baby.  He tries to buy stuff every time he and Mom are out and she won't let him until we know the baby's sex and he can buy more gender specific items.  He's fighting the feeling.  

I have been working out more.  Yay for me!  This week Scotty joined me in one of my pregnancy DVDs.  It has some very low-impact cardio and then the rest is yoga.  Scotty is not flexible at all.  He can hardly reach the seat belt in the car.  So it was entertaining to watch him do yoga.  He was screeching and saying how his legs were burning.  It was funny because a few minutes before that he said something along the lines of "I can't believe people call this working out."  He didn't say too much after that except "I don't want to do this anymore."  Hehe. 

I had my 16 week doctor's appointment today (Monday, April 1st).  I mentioned the pressure to the doctor and she did not seem too worried about it.  She said that my uterus is growing, obviously, and where the uterus is, it is located under the bladder and on top of the rectum and as it grows and stretches, it places pressure on those places.  Yeah - that is exactly what it feels like.  So uncomfortable.  But it got better as the day went on.  She checked my cervix just to be safe and she said that it felt perfectly normal.  That was not a pleasant experience either.  She said my lightheadedness and being out of breath is because my blood volume has doubled and my heart is working twice as hard to keep up.  She said things should even out in the next few weeks. 

We got to listen to the baby's heartbeat again.  I love getting to do that.  She said the heart rate was 158 which is high, good, and strong.  She said that my blood pressure was good, my bloodwork from last time was good, and that the belly was measuring right at 17 weeks (which is tomorrow -  Tuesday, April 2nd).  So overall we had a great appointment.  For the first time in my life I like going to the doctor.  Next appointment (April 24th) will be one of the big ones for Scotty and I.  We will find out if we are having a son or a daughter!! 

I am still waiting to feel a kick or a hiccup or something.  The doctor said that it is still a little early for me but that I should feel something by 18 weeks and definitely by 20.  I am very excited for that! 

Last night, Scotty read to the baby.  He read "Oh! The Places You'll Go" by Dr. Suess and another book about a baby that is bored in the womb.  They are very cute and he really enjoyed reading them to baby.  We are going to pick our song for baby to listen to after we find out the gender so that we can pick one that fits just right. 

And finally here are my belly pictures for this week.  The belly is sticking out for sure.