18 Weeks

How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: ~2lbs I actually haven’t weighed myself yet this week though…
Maternity clothes? Great sale online this week, anxiously waiting for my clothes to arrive and heading to shop for more this weekend.  Also hoping it will warm up soon!
Sleep: Noticing sciatic pain at night, but luckily not enough to keep me from sleeping.  I’m still constantly exhausted.
Best moment this week: Sharing the big news with the world…and sharing it will one of my besties last weekend.  (Yes, I use the word bestie)
Food cravings: Nothing major.  Though the Toppersstix I had this week were amazing.
Gender: Another baby boy!!  I couldn’t be more thrilled.  Brody has so much to teach his little brother and I know he’s going to love having another boy around to play with.  And clearly, we make amazing little boys, so I can’t wait to have a second one. 
Labor Signs: Surprisingly I’ve noticed braxton hicks contractions already.  Though, I never knew what they felt like last time, so I probably had them, but now that I know what it is, I’ve definitely noticed them. 
What I miss: My energy.  Could somebody send some extra energy my way?  Please?
What I am looking forward to: Nursery decorating, plus digging out all Brody’s baby clothes.  He had so many adorable outfits that he barely wore.  I can’t wait to use them again!  Then once I do that, I can see how much more I can buy without Jason yelling at me. 
Milestones: Since I didn’t put it last week, the biggest milestone over the last two weeks was definitely the “It’s a BOY!” moment. 
Differences between 1 & 2: Now that we know it’s a boy and pretty much have settled on a name (to be shared shortly…), it’s been so much fun talking to Brody about the baby.  He routinely gives his little brother hugs and kisses and talks to me about him.  It’s obviously a very abstract concept for him, and he knows that his brother is “very little” and is going to be “sleeping” a little while longer before he can see him.  But I hope talking about him over and over will help Brody prepare more once the baby is here.

Drumroll please…

It’s a BOY!

How we found out:

Overall, this pregnancy has been more stressful on me than the last.  On top of that/because of that, I haven’t felt as connected to this baby has with Brody.  One night, during my exhaustion, I decided to start looking up places that do elective ultrasounds.  During my first pregnancy, I thought paying for an extra ultrasound was the dumbest thing ever.  Obviously this time around, I realized the value in doing one…

I did some research and made an appointment at the only place in our area that I could find.  They specifically do a gender determination ultrasound anytime after 16 weeks.  I scheduled ours for 16 weeks, 1 day.  I was really excited to find a way to connect with the baby, and on top of it, bring Brody with to see the baby.

We were lucky to get great pictures at the ultrasound and they were really nice and patient in getting him to the right position.  We even got several 3D pictures.  He was stubborn at first, but we got him in the right position eventually.  Originaly we were worried that we would be told the wrong gender and find out something different at the 20 week anatomy scan.  Then, we got a 3D shot of the “goods.”  There is no denying it, it’s a boy! 

Brody was very facinated at first, mostly watching what she was doing with the wand.  Kind of like, the “what are you doing to my mommy?”  Then he looked at the baby on the TV screen for a little bit while Jason pointed out his head, hands, etc.  He was mildly interested, but then had more fun running around the room.  This is exactly why we let him come to this ultrasound instead of one at the doctor’s office.  These places are set up to accomodate other children and are understanding if he wants to run around the room.  It was a great experience.

17 Weeks

How far along? 17 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 2lbs
Maternity clothes? Need.to.shop.
Sleep: Yes please!  Took naps both days this weekend and it was amazing.  I felt so much better those days when I got the extra sleep.
Best moment this week: Will post about that later…
Food cravings: Nothing exciting.
Gender: TBD – but, stay tuned…
Labor Signs: No.
What I miss: My normal jeans!  I hate maternity jeans.  No matter which ones I buy, they always end up falling down and I’m constantly adjusting them.
What I am looking forward to: Working on the nursery, as well as Brody’s big-boy room. 
Milestones: It was a good week.
Differences between 1 & 2:  Honestly this entire pregnancy has been much different than the first one.  That was definitely to be expected, but somethings have surprised me (and made me mad…).  First, one of the best differences, I felt this baby much sooner than with Brody.  There is nothing more reassuring than that flutter of movement, or rolling feeling that just reminds you that there’s a little baby in there!  Some of the not-so-great differences: significantly more headaches (migraines completely went away with Brody – not so lucky this time!), more morning sickness and heartburn already!  The thing that surprised me the most is that I’ve already started having some backaches.  I’m not that big!  It comes with the territory I guess.  I’m just looking forward to the weather warming up again so we can do more walking outside and keep my muscles in shape a little better.

Labor Prediction

With Brody I came across a website that predicts your labor experience. Here was Brody’s prediction:
“The day you deliver, outside will be dark. Your baby will arrive in the
middle of the night. After a labor lasting approximately 14 hours, your child, a
boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 15 pounds, 12 ounces, and will be
20-1/2 inches long. This child will have medium gray eyes and barely there
auburn hair. ”

**He was only 8lbs 14oz, 21 1/2 inches, labor was more like 36 hours all in, but was 16 hours at the hospital, in the middle of hte afternoon. He had dark hair and blue eyes… so all in, totally incorrect!

But for fun, I did it again!

Baby#2:

The day you deliver, outside will be windy. Your baby will arrive in the late afternoon. After a labor lasting approximately 9 hours, your child, a girl, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 5 pounds, 6 ounces, and will be 17 inches long. This child will have medium brown eyes and curly blonde hair.

This one is a lot more believeable than last time. And I like the “girl” prediction. But I’m not holding my breath. Curly hair? Not likely, blonde, maybe. Brown eyes? Probably not. 5lbs 6oz after having an almost 9lb baby? Again, not likely. But you never know! I will take the 9 hour labor though…

25 Weeks

“13 inch boot? You know what they say… Your baby is about this long during these weeks.” –http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/

“Baby’s now the size of an eggplant! That oh-so-handy sense of equilibrium is kicking in, and baby’s learning to distinguish right side up from upside down.” -Thebump.com

Weekly Checklist:

How far along? 25 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 17 lbs give or take

Maternity Clothes: Yep!
Sleep: Same

Food Cravings: Anything that’s bad for me 🙂
Labor Signs: none
What I miss: Being comfortable. Yes I realize this whine is a bit premature – I’m only going to get bigger. But the long car ride to MN would have been much easier if my back didn’t hurt from sitting for so long! Oh well…

What I am looking forward to: Painting the nursery (I’ve already posted pics but I’m a few days late in posting my weekly check-in)

Weekly Wisdom: The grass is always greener… While shopping at the Mall of America with friends, we stopped in the American Girls store. I had a doll when I was growing up and I am amazed at how huge of a phenomenon it has become. You can get your doll’s hair done and even have lunch with your American Girl. This of course made me a little sad that I’m not having a little girl. I do recall whining a little bit after leaving the store.

It’s times like these that I try to remind myself, that I was a little girl once. And when I don’t get enough sleep, I’m REALLY cranky, and when I didn’t get my way, I sometimes threw temper-tantrums. Girls can be a lot of fun, but I know they can be difficult as well. I know I will love my son as much as I would have loved a daughter. And it’s only my first — there will be more. 🙂

Milestones: The baby is moving around a lot more and a lot higher than previously. It’s now a lot less of kicking/punching here & there and now I can actually just feel him moving around. He’s a pretty active little guy!

Just for Fun

I ran accross a website that will “predict your birth experience.” Basically I answered a bunch of random questions and here is what it said:

The day you deliver, outside will be dark. Your baby will arrive in the middle of the night. After a labor lasting approximately 14 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 15 pounds, 12 ounces, and will be 20-1/2 inches long. This child will have medium gray eyes and barely there auburn hair.

Please pray that I don’t have a 15lb 12oz baby!!! The rest I can live with. 🙂

The website did get it correct that I was having a boy though.

http://pregnancyandbaby.sheknows.com/pregnancy/baby/Madame-Zaritska-predicts-your-birth-experience-1.php

21 Weeks

Fruit pictures and baby details are courtesy of thebump.com

“Baby’s now the size of a banana! Baby’s digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion, and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, if baby is a girl, her womb is now stocked up with her lifetime supply of six million eggs (the number will drop to around one million by birth).-Thebump.com

Or according to http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/dads-pregnancy-guide, the baby is about the size of a beer bottle! For those fathers sick of seeing fruit pictures, this blogger came up with items that were geared more towards Dads. Going forward I will also include these.

Weekly Checklist:
How far along? 21 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 11 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Yep!
Sleep: Starting to sleep longer through the night without waking up to go to the bathroom…I’m guessing that won’t last long.

Food Cravings: nothing weird

Labor Signs: none
What I miss: having a more extensive wardrobe. What I can wear out of my closet is shrinking considerably. I think I’ll have to move out the too small stuff so I don’t feel as bad.
What I am looking forward to: Working on the nursery, the theme was pretty much a no-brainer since J is such a sports nut. But I picked out a bedding set that inspired me, so I can’t wait to start pulling it all together.

Weekly Wisdom: I am lucky to have such a good husband. In another blog (http://expectingwords.com/) I found this week, there is a list of 5 things that women should “teach” the future father of their child. It’s meant to be a helpful guide of things your husband will have to help out with more once the baby comes. J passed with flying colors. He either already does it or in the case of #5 is already expecting to take part in it. It’s nice to have a partner at home.

(1. grocery shopping, 2. laundry, 3. teaching him where to find cleaning supplies & what to do with them, 4. what to buy at the drugstore, 5. show him how to use a baby carrier)

Milestones: finding out it’s a boy!!

20 Week Appointment

It’s a boy!!

Sept 1st we had our “big ultrasound.” This is the 20 week ultrasound that is done to measure the baby’s bones, organs and overall growth. Also, this is the best time to determine gender. Of course not all parents want to know until birth — but we did!

The ultrasound seemed to go by relatively quickly. The ultrasound tech knows what she’s looking for so she speeds through the measurements pretty fast. At one point she needed to see his spine better and pushed a little while telling him to move. He switched positions right away and she was happy he listened to her. Later the doctor came in and the tech mentioned that we had the most cooperative baby all day! That’s a 180 from our 12 week u/s experience.

Then she asked us if we wanted to know the gender, which I replied, “yes please!” She moved the ultrasound wand over and instantly I was pretty sure I knew what I was looking at. She confirmed my thoughts by telling us we were having a boy!

We’re definitely excited about having a boy. Truly we could have gone either way, but just knowing one way or another was the best part. Now I can move on to planning his nursery.

Right after the ultrasound we had our 4 week doctor appointment. The dr already came in towards the end of the u/s so he read the basic measurements. He said that everything he saw looked perfect. Our son is growing right on schedule. He also assured me that my weight and growth were also right on track. Overall this pregnancy is progressing as well as can be expected.

I only had a few questions this appointment:
#1. After week 20 I had been instructed to set up an appointment if I’m going out of town. Since we’re going camping this weekend, I wanted to make sure he had no concerns. Since we’re only 1 1/2 hours away and my cervix isn’t dialating he said we’re good to go. In about 4 weeks we’ll be traveling up to MN to visit friends, so we set up our next appointment a little early. Since we will be a little further away, he’s going to send my records along in case anything were to happen.

#2. I had heard about the gestational diabetes test but knew very little. He tells me that everyone gets this test between 24-28 weeks. Basically I will come in, drink some liquid, wait an hour and they’ll draw blood. This will then test my glucose levels to make sure I don’t need to go on a diabetic diet.

#3. I asked about the side pains I had been experiencing, which I thought were completely normal but wanted to make sure. He assured me that they were round ligament pains as the muscles are adjusting to my growing uterus. He explained that I should only be concerned if the pain centers around my stomach instead of the sides.

Then they gave me the flu-shot (regular flu not yet the H1N1). I’ve never had the flu shot before, so that was new. But it was no big deal, though my arm muscle is a little sore the next day.

Boy or Girl?

Let’s have a little fun! Since I will not find out if we’re having a boy or girl until Sept 1st (praying the baby cooperates) then I figure we’ll do some guessing.

I took an online quiz that uses a bunch of old wives tales to predict the gender of your baby. Not scientific by any means, but fun to guess.

You have a 14% chance of having a boy. And you have a 85% chance of having a girl.

And Here’s Why…
You are carrying the extra weight out front, so it’s a boy.
The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your preganacy, so it’s a girl.
Girls are carried high. You are going to have a girl.
Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl.
You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl.
Dad-to-be hasn’t been gaining weight along with Mom-to-be, so it will be a girl.
The maternal grandmother doesn’t have gray hair (dyed or natural), so a girl will be born.
You had morning sickness early in pregnancy, so you are expecting a girl.
You are not looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a girl, because girls steal their mother’s looks.
Your chest development has been quite dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a girl.
Since the sum of the mother’s age at conception and the number of the month of conception is an odd number, it will be a girl.
A needle on a thread held over you belly moves from side-to-side, so it will be a girl.
Your urine is a dull yellow color, so you will have a girl.
You are craving sweets, which means that it is a girl.
Your nose hasn’t changed during pregnancy, which indicates a girl.
Your baby’s heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it’s a girl.
You have no desire for orange juice, so it’s a boy.
You are having headaches, so it’s a boy.
Your belly looks like a watermelon, so it’s a girl.
When asked to show your hand, you show them the palm of your hand, so it’s a girl.
You use the body of a coffee mug, so it’s a girl.

http://www.childbirth.org/cgi-bin/boyorgirl.pl

Dr Appointment: 16 Weeks

Today was our monthly doctor appointment. I will have monthly appointments until week 28 when they will start biweekly appointments. Today was pretty uneventful, but I always appreciate hearing that everything is going well. Here are the highlights:

They did the standard items: weight, blood pressure and pee in a cup. All were on track. Then the doctor came in to answer questions, listen for the heartbeat and feel my stomach to make sure my uterus is moving up and growing.

This was the second time we heard the heartbeat with the doppler. Last time, he spent some time moving it around to hear it. This time, the second he touched it to my stomach, I could hear the heartbeat. The baby is so much bigger now, it’s really easy to find. That was very exciting. He said that everything felt right on track. Basically everything is going by the book!

Then I asked a million questions and here are the answers in case you’re interested:
-Does he recommend the Swine Flu Vaccine? Without hesitation, yes. He said the minute they get some he wants everyone in their 2nd and 3rd trimesters to get it. I asked if there was risk to the baby and he said that the virus isn’t live and shouldn’t hurt it. I still want to make the decision for myself, but since he feels strongly about it, I’ll probably be getting it. I’ve never had a flu shot before, so it will be a first.
-When can I find out the sex of the baby? 4 weeks, the same day as my next monthly appointment. I was sad it wouldn’t be sooner, but need to learn to be patient.
-2nd Trimester tests? He recommended the AFP test which was completed today also. They test my blood for neural tube defects such as spina bifida.
-Should I adjust the way I sleep? Yes he recommended I stay off my back as much as possible. Since I’ve read conflicting opinions on this, I wanted his. He said I could prop my back up with a pillow or sleep on my side. The reason laying flat on my back isn’t recommended is that my uterus is now large enough that it can put pressure on blood vessels that can lessen the blood flow to the baby. So I’ll be paying a little more attention to that.
-Can I eat honey? J & I were doing the grocery list in the waiting room and he told me to ask if I could eat this. If you read a bottle, it says don’t feed to a child under the age of 1, so we figured we should check. He said, just like cheeses, if it’s pasteurized/processed then it is safe. Basically I should stay away from fresh honey at a farm.

As silly as it seems, I love my appointments even when they’re short. I love hearing my baby’s heartbeat and knowing that everything is progressing on schedule. Before you can actually feel the baby it’s very easy to worry. So hopefully in the next 4 weeks I’ll start feeling the little one more!