Week 23: May 25-31

At this point some of the pictures start being pretty crazy. Technically, some babies survive if born at this point so you end up with a lot of pictures of teeny preemie babies with all of the life supporting equipment they require. A big part of pregnancy at this stage tends to be high anxiety, which I have, and looking at all of those pictures is freaking me out. So no pictures, but you can Google it :).

Essentially, Sprout is pretty much all put together but his brain and lungs need lots of time to develop, he needs to get bigger, and he needs to put on weight. He's pretty much proportional though, just small and skinny.

Babycenter.com says:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

This week has been awesome because my parents have been here. They got in on Friday afternoon and just left this morning for the next leg of their trip. The week really flew by! We swam and just spent time together, we cooked and ate too much food, and they got to drive around with me trying to get my car emissions tested so we could register it. Long story short, I have a faulty sensor that makes my engine light come on, and if you have the car parts place clear it, the emissions test knows you did that, and you don't pass. Plus no A/C while you wait in line (twice) in 100 degree weather, yay! We're going to pay the $8 late fee and get it sorted next week sometime instead.

I am feeling more movement all the time! I don't think Sprout could really get a lot more active, so it's probably just that he is getting bigger and stronger so I feel more. There are times during the day when he is quiet, but there's a pretty consistent sense of movement at least if not actual thumps, bumps, or kicks. If I am laying still and he isn't, I can actually see his harder kicks through my skin, which is awesome. My mom has gotten a lot of time feeling him roll and kick and 'play with Grammy', but my dad has a harder time feeling him. Still, pretty cool!

Symptom-wise, I am totally having the anxiety that I remember from last time. A little is baby-based, a lot is move-based, and some is just random overwhelming anxiety for no reason.

My tailbone continues to plague me and is definitely hurting pretty much anytime I am sitting in a chair, or on a bench, even if cushioned. My couch is good, and sitting cross-legged seems to help as well as some stretches my mom showed me. Usually if I can get that bit comfy, my mid back hurts. We think I might have a rib that's doing something weird because it really hurts both near my spine and near my sternum. It's been giving me fits for a few months now, but the pain is officially constant this week and getting worse. I have the names of a few prenatal massage therapists but it's causing me (get ready for it) anxiety so I haven't called yet. I guess I need another day or two for the pain to outweigh the discomfort of having a stranger touch me, either in some place I've never been, or to have said stranger in my house. I can't decide which is worse.

I am big enough now that my balance is all kinds of out of whack, and when you combine that with the back/tailbone issues, it's a real hoot watching me get up and down. Or at least that is how it seems, since everyone keeps chuckling at me! There is also an occasional waddle sneaking through, and it's just going to get worse!

Sprout is taking up too much space in my abdomen now, leaving less room for food. I'm still eating plenty I am sure *eyes the scale* but sometimes I stop because my skin is stretched more than because my stomach is full. And if I do eat too much, Sprout lets me know, lemme tell you! He kicks and squirms and pushes, either because he doesn't like being squished or I am just able to feel him better with the extra pressure. Based on how he reacts to people pushing on my belly/doppler/ultrasound/etc, I am betting it's the former.

I haven't weighed myself today and I ate a bunch of oatmeal, so I'll just report the findings at the BEGINNING of this week. Which is that I lost 2 pounds of the 6 I gained on the trip. That puts me up a total of 12 for the pregnancy, and just 7 tiny pounds away from my delivery weight with Kian. I am, of course, not using that as a goal. And my OB said my weight is just fine! My appointment was the day before this 'week' started, but I'll just also report that I am measuring 2-3 inches larger than 'average' at this point. Since that was how I carried with Kian too, and I have had 2 ultrasounds, she said it must just be my body. But I am bigger than a lot of other pregnant women at this stage - it's not in my head!

Other highlights of the week included Family Fun Day at Purple Heart Park with Kian, Grammy and Papa on Saturday, brunch at Sweet Tomatoes and The Avengers with just the adults, and my 10th anniversary! Grammy and Papa watched Kian so Brian and I could go see Dark Shadows and go to Melting Pot for dinner. All in all it has been an awesome week in spite of all the physical discomfort. And yeah, I know I can't whine if I don't call the massage therapist to do something about it. Kian had his last official day of preschool a week ago and is now doing 'inter-session' classes. He's still going 3 hours a day, 3 days a week but a bit later in the day. Which means I have to pack him a lunch, so we are going to get him a real big boy lunch box this weekend!

I Suck At This!

Big surprise, right?

To be fair, the weeks leading up to our Big Trip were totally overwhelming and I still intend to write up a whole trip report of our cruise and surrounding Florida fun. I feel like this pregnancy, in spite of being far more difficult than the last one, is going way too fast. I think it's because of all the other stuff going on in our lives. So today I am going to write up this last week (#23) and then go back to fill in later. Maybe.

Weeks 16-18: April 6-26

From the Texas Department of State Health website

Baby Center has some awesome info including a video about this stage of development  if you're curious.

By the end of week 18 (from smartmomma.com):

Week 18 shows the baby measuring about 5 ½ inches long, with a weight of almost 7 ounces. Along with the lanugo (downy-like hair covering baby’s body), the baby has accumulated vernix (a white cheese-like protective coating) on his body. This protects the baby’s skin by keeping it moisturized in your amniotic fluid.

This is the time when his vocal cords are forming, and he begins to practice vocalizing. Hhe will begin to cry, although without air, no sound will escape her. This is strictly for practice.

If you have a pregnancy ultrasound this week, the technician should be able to make out the baby’s heart well, including the ventricles and chambers. His brain is growing rapidly as well, and all the major areas will be differentiated. He is starting to respond to stimuli, and in the coming weeks, he will love hearing your voice.

An ultrasound will also now reveal your baby’s sex, unless he is shy and has his legs crossed. A girl will have her uterus and Fallopian tubes formed, along with her genitals and a boy will have pronounced genitals as well, visible with an ultrasound.

Weight: At my April 12th appointment I was up 5 pounds (total) and now at the end of week 18 I am up 6-7 depending on the day. According to the doc, that's all totally normal especially since I am really showing now. He would be happy with 5 pounds of gain every 4 weeks, and typical weight gain at 17 weeks is 5-13 pounds so I'm right where I should be. Phew.

Symptoms have been weird and I think I am getting the shaft this pregnancy! Off and on over these weeks I have had bouts of nausea that don't seem to be related to anything. My doctor theorizes it's just hormone surges, which may continue throughout the pregnancy. Does someone have pom poms I can borrow? One day it was bad enough that I had to pull over and vomit on the side of the road. That was definitely a low point. The last week it seems to be mostly better, though slight queasiness in the afternoon isn't unusual.

The round ligament pain continues, and is another thing that will likely remain throughout the pregnancy. I am learning how to make it a little less likely when rolling over and getting up and things, but it still gets me sometimes. My tailbone is way worse though, and sitting in an actual chair pretty much always means standing up will be extremely painful. Not looking forward to a cross country drive this summer!

Sleep is still either elusive or overwhelming. I don't seem to sleep very soundly at night and tend to get my best sleep after Brian is awake and there aren't two restless people in bed. Naps are also hard to come by some days, even if Kian lays down I can't always get to sleep myself. I tell myself it's just practice but I spend a lot of time pretty worn out.

A new symptom is mild Braxton Hicks contractions. I thought it was just weird pressure, but one happened during the ultrasound and the tech told us what it was. She said my body is just going to be super ready when the big day comes! It's not painful, just uncomfortable so no big deal.

I am definitely feeling movement regularly now, both pressure/rolling sensations and little feet and fists. Brian has felt some of the larger rolling movements but I can't seem to catch a kick so he can feel it. Since I sit with my hand on the baby a lot, I have felt a few from the outside, so it's just a matter of time.

Let's see... April 13th we took Sprout to his first air show, and Kian had a great time. We got to see some cool aerobatic stuff I've never seen before so that was fun. That evening my MIL Becky came in to town and stayed for four days. We went through the Saguaro National Forest, finally made it down to Tombstone, and had a date night to go see Hunger Games. All in all a really fun weekend! It's great when Kian gets to spend some real quality time with a grandparent, but always makes me wish we lived closer.

I have been spending a lot of time planning, researching and preparing for our big trip May 7-19, which includes a trip to Florida and our first ever Disney cruise! I am quite certain that it would have been a fun time with far less planning, but I've (mostly) enjoyed the research. Now we're coming down to final details and I'm starting to be anxious but I am sure we'll have an amazing time. It's sort of like a babymoon! Time to focus on Kian while he's still an only child.

The ultrasound gets its own post when I scan the pics in, but suffice it to say that all is well and Sprout is officially a boy! Though I am still not great at keeping this silly thing updated, here we are, all caught up. :)

Week 15: March 30-April 5

Baby at 15 weeks

Baby at 15 weeks:

Your baby is a about the size of an orange by pregnancy week 15, between 4 and 4 and ½ inches long and weighing more than 1 ½ ounces. This week your baby will start producing lanugo, which is fine hair that will cover your baby's body up until a few weeks before birth.

Your baby's bones are starting to get harder during pregnancy at 15 weeks and will continue to do so throughout your pregnancy. Your baby is spending most of his time practicing breathing, by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid. This helps your baby's air sacs develop during pregnancy.

Your baby continues to form taste buds at this point in time. Your baby’s legs are longer than his arms at this point. Eyebrows and hair may appear, and if your baby is going to have dark hair the hair cells which color it will start to produce their color.
(From http://momswhothink.com)

Weight: Vegas KILLED me on my super amazing no weight gain track record. I gained 5-6 pounds on that week, and though I thought I might shed a bit, I totally didn't. So, up 4 pounds!

The week after Vegas I was totally exhausted. I am sure part of it was due to the trip, but I firmly believe a big part of it was explosive Sprout growth. My abdomen is trying it's very best to stretch and grow appropriately, making for tons of round ligament pain as the ligaments thicken and strengthen to support the growing weight of my abdomen.

I also had a day with heart palpitations this week, which is a first for this pregnancy. It wasn't bad at all but I was a little dizzy and a lot tired. Dandruff is in full force, and the tailbone is still really bothering me. It's not too bad when I am sitting still (a little stiff or sore sometimes), but then it's excruciating to get up or walk. So reclining is best. Poor me, right? XD

I thought I might have felt a few tiny flutters of movement this week, but nothing significant or consistent and let's be honest, it could be digestion! I am eagerly awaiting the days of movement, because it still seems pretty unreal that there's a baby in there. In spite of all the other symptoms, I mostly just feel like it's been a really long and bizarre sickness. It isn't that I'm not happy, I just still can't wrap my head around the end result.

Brian flew nights most of the week, which just wreaks havoc with all of our schedules. He is home until 12 (or in some cases as late as 2pm) and then doesn't get home until midnight or later. It's hard on Kian when he finally leaves, for one thing. For another, I don't sleep as well without him here because I wake up at every tiny sound - and there are a lot of sounds in our house! This is hilarious because he generally sleeps like the dead and doesn't wake up to Kian screaming his head off, so on a normal night if one of these tiny sounds was a burglar or something, we would all be toast. :P Then he gets home in the wee hours and though he's quiet he almost always wakes me up. He turns on the TV, he can't get comfy, and then when he does he snores (sorry honey). And of course with or without pre-school, Kian is up no later than 6:30, which cuts my sleep short and interrupts Brian's cycle too. It's just not ideal and we have another week of it ahead!

The other big side effect of Vegas is that Brian took several days off and Kian was totally spoiled and stimulated almost every day! They went to the desert museum, they had a picnic on Mt Lemmon and played in the snow/went hiking, they spent a lot of time at the park and they went to a baseball game. They talked about going to Phoenix for ice skating and I think Brian is glad they skipped it because it was a lot for everyone concerned. The boys had a blast but Kian has been needy, bored and cranky all week. Having B here in the early day makes it rough too, like I said, because we are creatures of routine normally.

No suprise

It should be no surprise to anyone that I haven't posted in a month. Oops, bad me. I have been spending a ton of time trip planning, both for my Vegas trip and our upcoming FL trip/cruise combo, and my tailbone is killing me if  I sit in a chair for too long so my computer time has been limited.

Having said that, rather than trying to catch up I am going to make the next post about the past week, and then I will try to post some Vegas stuff. :).

Weeks 11 and 12: March 2-15

It is official, I missed a week! I was waiting for pictures from my friend Ashleigh and then I just... didn't post. Oops. So let me think back.

I know that starting on the first day of week 12 my nausea magically disappeared! It was amazing. I still can't handle turkey lunchmeat (not even just the smell) so Brian is stuck adding it to his own sandwiches for now. Outside of that I'm often very hungry all the time, which is actually a nice change. The insomnia continues and the ligament pain is getting worse. I had an OB appt on 3/13 and she assured me it is totally normal, including acting out how it feels (or how you look when experiencing it) and even Brian agreed that looked about right. Sprout's heartbeat was a steady 150-155, doing great!

Weight: I am still -2lbs on my pre-pregnancy weight. Rita (the OB's assistant who did our appt) says that means I get to eat my way through my upcoming trips. Score!

I am also cleared for flying next weekend and doing the cruise in May, which is awesome since both are non-refundable at this point.

Today is the beginning of my second trimester and I am looking forward to the supposed energy boost, since I am exhausted all the time.  I caught a cold from Kian which is probably not helping at all. Thank goodness it's Friday and tomorrow I get to sleep in!

Sprout is the size of a peach, about 3 inches long! Sprout's intestines are moving from the umbilical cord into his/her abdomen. Fingernails are there, and the head is starting to be proportionate, so more and more all the the time it looks like there's a tiny human in there instead of a big-headed alien embryo with a tail. XD

I have a lot coming up - Vegas next weekend which should be awesome. An adult trip, with no Kian, and lots of time to have a leisurely meal or sleep in as late as I want. I got some "grown up coloring books" on Amazon today and I plan to make good use of those too.

Now, for some pictures! All from 12 weeks - 3/11/12

Week 10: February 24-March 1

Fetus at 10 weeks

From babycenter.com:

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Pretty incredible!

Symptoms:

I keep waiting for the whole "around week 10 morning sickness goes away" thing. I have great days that are totally nausea free, and then I have days where I am sick as a dog (see the previous post). The good days are starting to outweigh the bad. Post-breakfast seems to be the most commonly bleh time, and I've gotten in the habit of lunching late to accommodate that.

Fatigue - always! I am still not sleeping very well at night, and am trying to employ pillows to help. They don't help! Brian is great about letting me nap though... when he's around.

Aches and pains - See previous post for cyst madness. In between I'm still having lots of ligament type stretching/growing pain. And sneezing hurts like heck! So does things like, oh, Kian laying down and sticking an elbow in my (VERY SENSITIVE OW OW OW) boob. Then I lift up and scooch back and OW OW OW tummy muscle strain weird, OK Kian how about you not lay with me for a second while I try not to cry.

Speaking of the 'girls', they are growing again. It's about time for me to go get some new bras. OMG seriously? I remember this happening last time but I still swear it didn't happen so early. Maybe I am wrong!

Events:

We went to a "Family Friday" on base. My first burger was medium rare at best so I had to get a new one. Cooked to a crisp burger with American cheese and ketchup? Hello heaven! I keep craving them now.

Kian was great and made a new friend who was 6 and clearly Kian's hero.He could draw A-10s, he is good at math AND he likes Star Wars. Luckily the little boy was very nice and let Kian (and I) tag around behind him for most of the party.

We also got to see a bunch of the babies who were at Kian's birthday and are now SO BIG. I forget how fast it happens. And I officially have the pregnant, I want to see and touch all the babies so I remember good things are coming, thing. I don't know any of the moms of little babies well enough to ask to hold them, but I looked a lot.

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful outside of my one really bad night. Brian and I had a few really good conversations in the evenings, which is always awesome.

We also booked our Disney Cruise! 5 night Bahamian on the Magic starting May 9th. Which is cutting it close for a lot of things, like planning. Who  knew there was so much info on cruising!? They also have a 24 weeks pregnant cut off date, and I will be 21 weeks. I will probably be the most pregnant woman on board! Now to try and figure out what to wear without spending a million dollars. XD

I suck and we did not take a belly pic this week, but a friend is coming to take a bunch next weekend!