22 weeks

8/6/08

At this point the baby is supposed to be about 11 inches, or about the length of a spaghetti squash, and weighs about 1 pound. The tiny teeth buds are starting form beneath the gums. The baby is really starting to look like a miniature baby now. It is so miraculous how the baby starts out as something so microscopic, and grows so fast to be a human being.

I have already had 2 people touch my belly that I don't even know. It is fine when it is people I know, but I don't get how random strangers think it is okay to just touch my belly without asking. Am I the only one that thinks this is weird?!? Everyone is also starting to tell me their opinion on if the baby is going to be a boy or girl. They want to know the heart rate, and find out if I am carrying the same way (high or low) that I did with Owen. Personally, I don't think their is too much to these old wives tales, but everyone likes to let their opinion known. Last week I thought I was having a girl, but this week I am really starting to think it is a boy. He has really been moving around a lot, and makes his presence know almost every time I sit down.

I had another appointment with Beth Bary, the midwife, and everything went well. She was able to find the heartbeat right away with the doppler which was a relief. She said the baby had a good strong heartbeat, but didn't tell me the rate. We discussed changing my due date back to December 16, and she said she wanted to get the ultrasound reports from the old doctors office, of my first two ultrasounds. She said the top of my uterus was only measuring 20-21 weeks instead of 22, which would be consistent with a due date of December 16th. Hopefully with this being my second baby, these 6 days won't come into play, but if it comes down to it, I want to be able to take full advantage of them. We have another appointment with Beth in four weeks, and the same week we have another ultrasound with Dr. Jamie (Maternal Fetal Medicine). I can't wait to see the baby again, and make sure those kidneys are still behaving like they should.

Owen has learned a new skill of throwing balls in the air above his head. They really don't go up very high, and sometimes he just puts them on top of his head and lets them roll off. Either way, he really thinks this is fun. He has also learned how to climb up the three stairs on his Little Tykes slide and then slide down all by himself. Once he gets down he looks at everyone in the room waiting on them to clap and say, "Yeah Owen!" Sometimes he tries to cheat, and just climb up one step and then back down, and wants an applause. If you don't clap, he looks at you like why are you not clapping for me, and starts to clap for himself. He is still in love with the JG Wentworth commercial, and stops whatever he is doing so that he can dance. Some people know of this commercial by 877 CASH NOW. I have even looked it up on youtube.com, by searching JG Wentwork opera, and it comes up. Owen will dance to the jingle on the computer as well. He has been on the other side of the house before when it comes on, and he stops what he is doing and runs to the living room. One of the actors puts his hand up to his mouth at one point, and Owen imitates him almost every time. We know have the commercial on tape, and play it every once in awhile just to watch him dance. It is too cute!

21 weeks

7/30/08

We are in Phoenix, and having a great time. We flew out early Saturday morning, and had a direct flight. We were so worried about how Owen would do on the plane, and he did very well. We did not purchase a ticket for him, so we knew we were going to have to hold him on our lap, unless their were open seats. We took his car seat to the gate in hopes that their would be. If the plane has open seats, they will let you install the car seat, and occupy that seat for free. We asked the lady at the counter if their were going to be open seats and she said yes. We got aboard, and got his car seat installed, and were ready for take off. Then we see a man walking up and down the aisle looking for a seat. The flight attendant then gets overhead, and say, "the couple I told they could bring their car sear aboard is going to have to remove it for the gentleman looking for a seat." Dang! We were so close! For the first 2 hours of the flight Owen was just bouncing all over us, and would not sit still. Can you imagine that!?! He was getting so tired, and was already a couple hours behind his normal nap time. Since he always goes to sleep in his crib, and not in our arms, it was hard for him to fall asleep. Finally he just cried for about 5 minutes, and then fell asleep. He was laying on George, so I slipped in a little nap as well. He slept for about 90 minutes. By the time he woke up, and played for a little while, we were make our way down for landing. He didn't act like his ears bothered him at all. We took the pacifier (which he has not used for several months now) as a last resort. We gave it to him during his crying spell, and he wanted no part of it, so I guess he is all grown up and too big for a pacifier. For a 4 hour flight, it went very well. I hope I can say the same for the flight back.

We took a trip to the Phoenix zoo, and drove to the top of a big mountain on Sunday. We got some good pictures, and had a great time. It has been about 104-105 degrees everyday, but really doesn't feel that much warmer than back home since the humidity is far less here. Owen and I have also spent some time out at the pool. He loves the water, and was sad when it was time to get out. After trying to decide on a bathing suit for what seemed like forever, and talking to many friends about the issue, I finally decided on a regular bikini. My big pregnant belly was exposed for everyone to see. Surprisingly I was not self conscious out at the pool at all. Random strangers are now asking when I am due, so I am pretty sure people can tell I am pregnant at this point, and not just fat. This evening I will be back in the bikini since George, Owen, and I are going to spend some time in the resorts lazy river. I will hopefully post some pictures later.

The baby seems to be enjoying Phoenix as well. He/She is moving around a ton, and I love feeling each and every kick, punch, and roll. I am really missing my big body pillow at night, and can't wait to have it again. I have had no heartburn the entire trip. Whohooo! My energy level is up, and I am feeling good. I was pretty tired after walking around the zoo all day, but I have had a lot of time to relax and take it easy since then. Owen is still taking two naps a day, so while he is sleeping in the pack and play in the room, I have to do some quiet activity. About half of the time I end up taking a nap as well. Thank God for vacations, I really needed this one.

I can finally breathe!

7/25/08

I am finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, the ultrasound went great!!! WHOOHOOO!!! The ultrasound tech, and Dr. Jamie both said our baby was a picture perfect model. Remember went went to the maternal fetal medicine specialist because of Owen's one nonfunctioning kidney. Here is a side profile shot of our beautiful baby. I can't wait to meet him or her.

We got to see all four chambers of the heart, a closed spine, completely formed arms and legs, all 10 fingers and toes, a closed palate, a closed lip, a normal brain, TWO GREAT KIDNEYS, a normal bladder, great amniotic fluid levels, and a perfect umbilical cord. The answer to your next questions, no, we did NOT find out the sex of the baby. We looked away from the screen when the doctor was in that area with the wand, but she did tell us that everything in that area looked fine as well. With Owen, the ultrasound techs would always ask me if I drank a lot of caffeine because he was sooooo active. Same story with this baby. The tech had a hard time getting a good look at the spine until the very end because the baby was all over the place. At this office, the tech takes a lot of pictures, and then the doctor comes in does another ultrasound to take a look for herself. Dr Jamie was very nice, and she recommended getting ultrasounds every 6 weeks just to keep a close eye on those kidneys. With Owen, they noticed some renal pelvis dilation of both kidneys from about 18 weeks, until it resolved around 30 weeks. At that point they stopped checking him with ultrasounds, and we didn't discover he had a problem again until the ultrasound at 40 weeks. I am fine with having the ultrasounds done, I like looking at the baby and knowing that everything is fine in there. : ) Dr. Jamie also confirmed that my placenta is on part of the front wall on the left hand side, and that is the reason I have not been able to feel movement as much as a did with Owen.

The baby weighs 11 ounces, and the measurements of its head, femur (long leg bone), abdomen, and the humerus (long arm bone) were all in the 40th-50th percentile. Based upon this ultrasound, I should be due on December 14th. So when I go to Beth Bary, the midwife, I am going to try to get her to change my due date back to December 16th, from the 10th, so I will have more time in the end if I ended up being overdue. The heartbeat was good and strong and beating 154 times per minute. What a great sound to hear! This ultrasound has just made my day, no, I mean week. I am so glad to hear great news before we go on vacation. Before we left, George said, "see I don't you so. I knew everything was going to be fine. You were worrying over nothing." I think working in the pediatric ICU for so many years makes me think about all the possible defects way more than most people. WHAT A RELIEF!!

The picture on the top is a hand, and the one of the bottom is a foot, just in case you couldn't tell.

Week 20 Update

7/22/08

The baby should now weigh about 10.5 ounces, but we should find out for sure in just 2 days. YAY!! Since the baby has been so curled up, all length measurements up to this point were from crown to rump, but now will go from head to heel. The baby should be about 6.5 inches long, or about the size of a banana. His digestive tract is starting to practice working by swallowing amniotic fluid. He is also starting to make meconium, the black, sticky, newborn poop. George just loves cleaning all the goop off of baby butts. I am pretty sure he uses a whole tub of wipes with one diaper change! : ) I can't believe the ultrasound is almost here!!

I am already half way through this pregnancy, if I only go 40 weeks. You just never know, I may go 42 weeks. I have gained a total of 8 pounds, and am feeling pretty good about that number. I guess all that healthy eating must be paying off. I must really look pregnant now, because people are starting to ask when I am due. Most people don't dare want to ask that question "are you pregnant?" without being pretty sure of the answer. One of these times I should say, "no," just to see what they say! Wouldn't that be funny? This week I have been eating tons of blueberries. Owen is enjoying them as well. I just bought a big container 2 days ago, and it is already gone. I sent George out for an even bigger container this evening. We leave for our Phoenix vacation on Saturday, and I plan on packing some blueberries in my carry on bag, if that is allowed. I am going to have to check the airline website since the rules have become so stringent.

If you didn't already notice, you can vote on what sex you think the baby is, on the top left of the web page. This pregnancy has been so completely different than the first, sometimes I think it has to be a girl. Other times I think I want a girl so bad, that it will end up being a boy. I was feeling like the baby was a boy the day I voted, but I change my mind almost daily. This pregnancy I had horrible morning sickness (all day), and with Owen I really only felt nauseous maybe one time a week or so. With Owen I had acne at the beginning of the pregnancy only, and this time I have had it the entire time. George told me, "welcome to my life!" He is always saying, "I thought acne was supposed to stop once you got out of your teenage years!" He really over exaggerates about the issue. With Owen, from about 14 weeks until the very end, I had horrible heartburn everyday, almost all day. This time around, I have only had a couple spells of heartburn, and it was when I waited too long to eat, and then stuffed my face. I was fatigued last pregnancy, but this time it was 10 times worse. I am sure having a one year old running around, and still breastfeeding him played a little role in being tired all the time. Thankfully that is now better. This may all be nothing, and I am having another boy. I guess we only have about 20 more weeks until we find out. George is convinced I am having a girl. He refers to the baby as Adyline all the time. He never says "he". We really have to start thinking about another boy name. We both love Jack, but it is WAY to popular right now. George likes Grant, but I am not so sure. I like the name Miles, but Miles Shultz does not sound well. To many S's. I am going to take the baby name book with me on our trip, and maybe we will come up with something.

This was my first month as manager with lia sophia, and it is GREAT! It is really going to give me the opportunity to quit my nursing job and stay at home with these two babies. The fiscal month is just about over, and I am going to end up with $10,000 in personal sales!! WOW!! This will be my highest month of sales, and what perfect timing that I am now making 40% commission instead of 30%. I am so blessed to have found this wonderful life changing opportunity. It also makes me feel good that I have been able to share this outstanding company with many other women. I hope that it becomes as much of a blessing in their lives as it has in mine. I think I will continue to work until October or November, and then put in my notice. I will be the third RN to leave the small until all thanks to lia sophia. Our manager no longer purchases lia sophia jewelry, and I think I know why. : 0

I will be posting new belly pics and news from the ultrasound on Friday. WHOOHOO!

19 weeks already??

7/16/08

Am I really 19 weeks already?!?! I can't believe this is flying by so fast! The baby's senses are starting to develop. Her brain is starting to develop specialized areas for taste, touch, smell, hearing, and vision. She may be able to start hearing our voices. I guess she will start getting used to hearing Owen crying, and the dogs barking. She is about 8.5 ounces and 6 inches long (head to bottom), about the size of a heirloom tomato. A waxy coating called vernix is now covering her body to protect her from the amniotic fluid.

I am starting to have some round ligament pains if I make a fast movement. This most often occurs when I am lying in bed, and roll over to change positions. These round ligaments are stretching to accommodate my expanding uterus. I have been using my big body pillow for about the past month. I am pretty sure George hates having that big thing between us. : )

I have been feeling great for another week. I just feel like I am eating ALL the time. I eat breakfast around 7:00am, lunch around 10:30am, another lunch around 2:00pm, dinner around 5:30pm, and a snack around 8:30pm. I am afraid if I keep this up I am going to be 200lbs!!

I went for a consultation with a new midwife, Beth Bary. A few things had happened with the other midwife, Jessie Anderson, that I was not particularly happy with. I felt like things were not open for discussion, but instead were very one sided. I also felt like she was putting my health as well as the baby's health at risk making me get a Pregnancy Category C, TB skin test, that was not totally necessary. When I went for the consult with Beth, she said if I didn't want to get it, no problem she would write me a note. I didn't want to be in labor with Jessie, and not be able to have a discussion with her about my concerns. I feel better about my care now that I have switched to Beth. More to come about this switch in a later post. For now, I am off to eat dinner. : )

18 weeks

7/9/08

18 weeks

The baby is now about 5.5 inches long (length of bell pepper) and weighs almost 7 ounces. He is busy flexing and extending his arms and legs, and I have started noticing the movement more and more everyday. If this baby is a girl, her little uterus and fallopian tubes are now formed. If I am having a boy, all his parts would be noticeable now on ultrasound. During ultrasounds, Owen was not shy about showing everyone he was a boy! : ) He would have his legs spread apart, with his feet up by his head. Seems real comfortable, huh? The big ultrasound for this baby is coming up, and I am so ready for that day to be here. I just want to know that everything is okay in there.

My appetite has really picked up, and I find myself eating all the time. I try to make healthy choices so I don't end up gaining a ton of weight. So far, I have gained a total of 6.5 pounds. I am hoping to gain 25-27lbs like I did with Owen. That weight seemed to come off really quick, especially with breastfeeding, which I plan on doing again.

I have had a couple issues come up with my midwife that I was not particularly happy about. I am considering changing practices once again. I have a consultation with another midwife in the southern Indiana area this Thursday. Hopefully it will go well. I just want to find someone that I mesh well with, and is respectful of my wishes. I am still hoping for a totally different delivery this time around. George and I have decided to try the Bradley Method again. We are not going to take the entire course, since we really just took it last year. We are going to take about half of the course to refresh our memories. The trouble is going to be trying to find someone to watch Owen once a week.

This past week George has been on vacation, and he has let me sleep in everyday. He gets up with Owen, and allows me to get some much needed rest. A couple days he even cooked breakfast for me once I got up. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, loving husband.

Here are some recent pictures of my growing belly. I finally had to bring out the maternity pants. The rubber band around the button just wasn't working anymore. : )

17 weeks

7/2/08

As of today, I am 17 weeks. I am going to start alternating which sex I use each week when I am refering to the baby, instead of saying "it". I just don't like calling my baby, "it". So this week the baby is going to be a girl. : )

Here is a little bit about the development of the baby this week. Her skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to soft bone, and the umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger. She is now about 5 ounces, and about 5 inches long. She is the size of a turnip. All of her joints are now able to freely move, and the sweat glands are starting to develop. Owen obviously takes after his Daddy on this one, he sweats a lot. When he is outside playing, he will have little sweat beads on his nose, and I will not even be close to breaking a sweat. I hope this baby gets my genes in the sweat department. : )

I went back to the midwife for my 4 week check up, and got a real scare. She put the doppler on my abdomen to find the baby's heartbeat, and she kept searching, and searching, and searching, and nothing. At one point she thought she might have heard it, but I said, "no, I am pretty sure that is my heartbeat, because mine is now racing." She felt my pulse, and sure enough, the heartbeat she heard was mine. I was really starting to panic. After looking for the heartbeat for a couple of minutes, she went to go get the ultrasound machine. George looked at me, and told me that everything was going to be alright. Of course, I was still really worried. Finally she got the machine hooked up, and the ultrasound wand on my belly. I could see the baby's arms moving around instantly. The arms were up above the head waving all around. The heartbeat was then visable. We could see the heart beating quick and strong. The midwife said that everything looked great. While doing the ultrasound, she also found the reason she was having a hard time picking up the heartbeat. The placenta for the baby has formed on the front wall of my uterus. So it is covering the part of my uterus closest to my bellybutton. The baby was laying right behind the placenta making the heartbeat difficult to pick up. I guess we ended up getting to see the baby's face out of the deal. : ) I hope she will be able to pick it up right away at my next appointment so we don't have to go through all that again. We had to schedule my next appointment for 5 weeks instead of 4 since George, Owen, and I will be in Phoenix. WHOOHOOO! Our big anatomy ultrasound is on July 25th, and I am counting down the days. I just want to know that all those tiny little organs have formed the correct way, and everything is fine. We have the ultrasound on Friday, and then leave for Phoenix bright and early Saturday morning. I can't wait!!! Can you see the side profile of the baby's face in the ultrasound picture? George said it really looks like a girl. I am not so sure. We only have about 159 days until we find out on the "birth"day!!