We're 21 weeks!

Yesterday during the ultrasound, the tech tried to get her to show face. She was curled up in the corner and wasn't us much but her cute little arm tucked in front of her goods. The sonographer left to look at the heart photos. With and a bit of yoga later, and 10 minutes and she tried again. We did get this view of Baby Thomas' face. IT's hard to make out the features, but you can see her face fairly well and the head looks pointy (it's not!)

Later just before the end, the sonographer said Baby was sucking on her toes!

Halfway!

I'm officially halfway through this thing. My scale says I've gained 15 lbs so far. I suppose that's about right.

I grabbed this illustration off the internet - it shows where the baby is, and about how big she is! This week she's been responded with movement to different things. It's still so slight, but usually when I change from lying on my side to lying flat she'll kick around. Also, I was leaning against a cold piece of metal next to a cooler and right on my belly and she kicked big!

20 weeks... seems so long to wait!

19 weeks, 4 days

Ultrasound shots!

This is a photo of today's ultrasound, of Baby Thomas thumb sucking. The sonographer said that she knew exactly where her mouth was, and we saw her go for it with her thumb. She knows exactly what she's doing. :)

I had breakfast with a friend and she came with me to the ultrasound. It was fun having a girl friend there to make the moment. Love you, L! :)


Another shot of baby here: frontal shot showing her eyes (yes, it's a bit haunting) but trust me, her activities were everything but: thumb sucking, swallowing, wiggling arms/toes/hands...


Again we got a negative on the Down's syndrome, a healthy spine, no issues with cleft lip or palate. Of course a relief.

She looked and measured everything from the arms, legs, head, body, lips, and feet. She's 10 inches tall from head to foot. I'm about 10 lbs up this week, (11 lbs last) and working on putting on a pound this week. Breakfast at the deli is really helping. I started drinking half caffe coffee again, and did so right before the ultrasound. She was moving frequently, but not as much as before. Less room in there, maybe? It still seems like there's plenty of room in there.

Also, of course the sonographer went in for the second shot of baby moving from the bottom. One of the first shots of baby was between the legs, and still nothing growing there. When the sonographer got to checking the sex, she was cross-legged, but we managed to get a look at the gender, and once again:

Girl!

So, we're not painting pink, but it's still a good bet. She said she was 95% sure. David is too. I think he just wants a daughter...

Movement

Okay, after 2 weeks of wondering why my stomach has been rumbling so much I've decided what I thought was stomach is baby. It's so obvious now.

Last night I saw a movie with David and his folks, and when the movie got extremely loud something definitely popped in my upper belly. She was awake!

Then, when I was talking to Mary on the phone yesterday, I felt the sensation just as the books say, of "popping popcorn". While sitting in the sun, she kept it up for a good 45 minutes - what felt like soft kicking, or pushing.

Finally, last night I was dreaming about today's ultrasound (it was a boy in my dream) and I woke up from something pushing up on my rib. It felt more like pressure applied really gently on my intestines or rib cage. Very odd feeling.

So, I've been feeling the baby move for a few weeks, just hard to tell with such a new sensation. And, it is sensational! :P

What a cute little MANGO

Books are saying the baby girl is the size of a large mango and/or a tomato. How yummy. Here's what the Internet says:

Your pregnancy: 19 weeks

How your baby's growing:
Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Week 19!

Went to Doc. She said "great job gaining 11 lbs!" Will be going in for an ultrasound next week to look at the heart, and again in two weeks to confirm the "anatomy" ultrasound. She also said that I MUST be feeling the baby move by now. Well, I'm not. Really. There are some sensations that in my upper belly that I've never felt. Are those what she's talking about? Sure doesn't feel like "butterflies" to me. More like pinching and pushing.

And those 11 lbs. Hard to gain. When your abdomen fills up with baby, there's less room for food.

All fo that 11 lbs was gained in the last month. Eating when I'm not hungry isn't that fun and most food tastes pretty boring. Can't explain it. I'm just not excited about food. In any case, Ron Hinger brought me Good Times today and that was yummy. Need new food ideas. Bored with food!

3D video of someone else's baby at 18 weeks

Here is a video like the one we saw during the ultrasound. This baby is in the 18th week.

In the 18th Week!

This week marks the beginning of the 18th week! I'm feeling "bigger" now, and I did get some M-jeans that should fit through all of this. Today I went in to get a blood test that will screen for genetic disorders like Down's, although the sonographer already performed a visual test on the baby; She said you can tell from the width of the neck, and gave the baby girl a negative on Down's. Fantastic!

In this 18th week, she's about 5 inches head to tail, plus some 2-3 inches for the legs. She weighs about 5 ozs at this point, which is about the size of a turnip.

Pregnancy at 16 weeks

This week I'm feeling fabulous, which is a wonderful thing because David and I had a housewarming party last night, along with my parents coming to town for two weeks!

I went to a Prenatal Yoga class this morning and was semi-disappointed to see that I'm the smallest of the 16 week-ers. I'd rather have a bit more of a belly, but this small pot will have to do.

Here's what the Internet says about this week:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop. See the baby size at 16 weeks >>

The Money Shot

Girls show three white lines. Boys show a "turtle" shape.

So after I asked the sonographer the 2nd time, "How SURE are you?" David was wondering if I wanted her to sign an affidavit or something. He said later, he could tell it was a girl too.

I just knew.

2nd Ultrasound

Today David and I went to the Anschutz Medical Campus to get the 2nd ultrasound, and here are a few images from our session. She said the baby looked great, and the spine looked "very good" for it's age, which is now at 15.5 weeks.


In these first photos baby the baby is in 3D, which we thought was just amazing. The statics don't show how SHE was kicking and moving her arms about... Yes, it's a girl! The sonographer checked, measured and checked the sex again. She sounded pretty sure of the sex.


But the really good news is that (and this part really haunted me the last few days) no Down's, Spina Bifida, or Cleft lip she could see. She looks very skinny, but her legs are growing fast!


We will tell Sam and Link tonite! David told me the boys were arguing over what they wanted: Sam wants a girl, and Link wants a boy! Maybe she'll be a very tough little sister...:)

It's Official...

All of my jeans - the $20 pair from Ross and the $120 pair from Macy's - non of them fit me at the moment. I swore I wasn't going to go to the other side and spend MONEY on maternity clothes...

I'm still not going to. Even though there are some very cute things at Japanese Weekend.

Yoga pants and dresses it is then! Watch for my stubborn a#$ in the fall when it's freezing out...

Your Pregnancy: 14 weeks

Welcome to the second trimester! This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.

We've got a heartbeat!

David surprised me today with a Doppler fetal monitor, borrowed from one of his coworkers.

We got a heartbeat immediately. I was stunned! We were both speechless for a good 5 minutes listening to baby pump away. So fast and so little! David sat right there with the same silly grin as we listened to this racing little beat for the next 15 minutes. He recorded it, so here it is:

Baby's heartbeat

At a consistent 162 beats per minute, we followed the little one 'round my belly for a good while. S/he was movin' all over! Baby's heartbeat is easy to distinguish from mine, which sounds incredibly slow in comparison - mine is 72 bpm.

I'm in love...:)

Your pregnancy: 12 weeks

See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

The most dramatic development this week: Reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Telling the boys

We finally let our friends know the news yesterday. Our parents have known for weeks! We also told Sam and Link - on David's birthday!

"So, here's the news: We're going to have a baby!"

They said: "We know."

Then I said: "I am pregnant right now, and the baby is about the size of a lime!"

Only then, their eyes lit up and Link looked under the table to try to see a belly.

"You don't look pregnant!" he chirped.

11 weeks, 1 day

The last few weeks have been rough. All day sickness followed by heavy sleep, napping, and total exhaustion if I go for the mildest of walks. It does seem to be easing up these last few days.

I went to the Dr. for a physical checkup after a bit of a scare. I got an electric shock from a toy fixture that, upon further examination says: "Do not touch if you have a pacemaker, a weak heart, or if you are pregnant". The Dr. didn't seem to be worried about it. Secondly, I started working at the St. Kilian's Cheese Shop in Denver and I had been eating raw cheese on a daily basis. Dr. did firmly advise against that.

She took a blood test, a pap, and we listened for the heartbeat. Couldn't hear one, but she didn't seem worried about that either. "Do you feel pregnant?" she asked. Remembering the day in bed before, visiting the bathroom every hour, I think she's right. As long as I'm feeling like hell, barfing, and generally feeling like I've got the worst hangover, everything is going just fine! Oh, happy!! - :)

8 week ultrasound!

This was my second Dr's visit for an ultrasound. I was incredibly anxious the night before.

"Would there be twins?"

"Is there a heartbeat?"

"Am I more than 8 weeks?"

The next morning I didn't have to wait long, my appointment was for 9:15am, and by 9:40am I was soaking my hospital dress with tears as I watched it's heart beating strong. And there was just one... One gorgeous, fizzy, distorted photo of a baby, who is 8 weeks, 2 days old.

I found out on June 12th, 2008 after a trip to New York City that I was 4 weeks pregnant!

We are very excited about this new step!

This blog will journal the next 10 months of news, as it comes!