25 weeks

8/27/08

Head to heels, the baby should now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture. I wonder if she is going to have light hair like Owen, or dark like George and I. My hair is somewhat wavy, but Owen's hair is straight as can be. Wouldn't my little girl look cute with some curls? I see that most of you have voted on girl. Is that because you are wanting me to have a girl, or because you really think I am having a girl? My hair stylist had her twins at 25 weeks and 3 days. I can't even imagine having this baby in 3 more days!!!! How scary!!! Everything is going well, and I go back to Beth Bary the midwife on Tuesday, and have another ultrasound on September 5th. I can't wait to take another peek at this little one.

Owen has been to two different doctors in the past two days. Yesterday he went for his 15 month check up. He is now a whopping 24 pounds (50th percentile) and 32 inches long (75th percentile). He has grown an entire foot since birth. George said he needs to keep up that pace. Up to this point he had only received 3 immunizations of Prevnar (each spaced 3 months apart). At this visit he got his first dose of the Polio vaccine. He didn't even cry. Dr. Wampler, his pediatrician, says that we need to frustrate him more to get him to talk. He said Owen has no desire to talk because all of his needs are being met without having to do so. Owen will now pull me off the couch, and push my legs to get me to go in the direction he wants. He will also take my finger and point it at whatever he wants. It is so cute, but Dr. Wampler says to not give into that, and make him frustrated so that he learns to communicate through speech. He only says, ma-ma, da-da and ack at this point. He rambles on and on with gibberish all day long but not real words. Dr. Wampler said we will re-evaluate the speech issue again at his 18 month check. All of the other 15 month milestones he met several months ago. Actually he is already meeting all of the 18 month milestones except for saying 10 words.

Today we went to see his kidney doctor, and it looks like he will be having surgery within the next 9 months. The decision now is who we are going to have do the actual surgery. I have not been impressed with the local surgeon, so I am considering going to either Riley, or Cincinatti Childrens'. Owen's doctor is supposed to be calling me with some names of great surgeons at each place. I will keep you all posted.

Gotta get off of here, my fantasy football draft starts in one hour, and I have to get a lia sophia show closed out before hand. For those of you who don't know, I beat out 8 guys and 1 other girl for the title of 1st place last year!!! I am going for a repeat performance.

24 weeks 1 day

8/21/08

The baby is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (about the size of an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

I have had another great week. I can tell this baby is getting bigger by the day. The movements I feel and see are becoming stronger and stronger. I am also able to feel something on the far left side the same time as the far right side. Hopefully this baby will get George's genes and be tall, instead of short like his mother. It seems like Owen is going to be tall. He is always in the upper percentiles for height, and hopefully he stays that way. Everyone that looks at Owen thinks he is older than what he really is. I went to my monthly lia sophia meeting on Monday, and all the people that hadn't seen me since the month prior said my belly has really popped out there. I love my bump, and love showing it off.

I have posted a name poll next to the gender poll. Our top two names for a boy at this time are Grant and Jack. Do you think they both go along with Owen well? As you all know, our girl name has be set for a couple of years, Adyline Claire. I had to work at the hospital today, and I had two people tell me I was having a girl. Almost everyday I work I have at least a couple strangers tell me what sex my baby is going to be. Everyone just loves to share their opinion.

23 weeks 1 day

8/13/08

The baby should be about 11 inches long and just over a pound (about the size of a large mango). She feels much larger than that when she is punching me, and rolling all around. The movements are so strong now, you can see them just by looking at my belly. I think she must love listening to the Olympics, because she is very active while the USA is winning all these medals. She is now able to pick up on loud noises, like dogs barking. That is one noise she should be very used to by the time she is born with all the barking going on in our house. Owen just doesn't understand that he has a sibling in mommy's belly, and he just loves to climb all over me like I am a jungle gym. I am sure this little baby in there does not appreciate being punched and kicked from the outside by it's older brother. The sibling fighting has already begun! YIKES! I am not sure how much weight I have gained at this point. I didn't pay attention at the office visit because the medical assistant was asking me questions at the same time, and our scale at home needs new batteries. Maybe it is for the best if I just don't know. I have still have not had any heartburn this pregnancy. That is such a relief. I had it so bad last time, it caused an ulcer in my esophagus. Another difference about this pregnancy is that my nose is always stuffed up. I feel like I can't breathe out of my nose most of the time. I had to finally give up my pre-pregnancy clothes. I was wrapping a rubber band around the button, but even now that is not working. Why was I being so stubborn about getting some new maternity pants. I bought some the other day, and I have to admit I was much more comfortable. It is funny, the first pregnancy I couldn't wait to wear maternity clothes, and this time I am trying to stay out of them. : )

Owen is really starting to enjoy snuggling again. He went though a phase where he was just way too busy to snuggle. When George comes home for lunch Owen loves spending time with Daddy. I am not sure that sitting on George's lap is all that comfortable with all that police garb on, but Owen doesn't seem to mind. My lap space is getting smaller and smaller, so I am glad he enjoys spending that time with Daddy. Owen has started to notice when he is the center of attention, and he really lives it up. When he dances, everyone thinks he is so cute, and they laugh, so he will continue to dance, and dance, and dance. If people stop paying attention to him, he will start clapping to get the attention back. He is not a shy kid by any means! He does not know a stranger, and loves it when ALL eyes are on him.

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!