25 Weeks

Taylor Renee and I had our 25 week checkup today. She is about 1.5 pounds right now and is gaining about half a pound per week. My tummy is measuring 37"inches and growing.

I have started to become "mildly uncomfortable." That is putting it nicely, like the books like to describe it. They also like to describe labor as "discomfort!" HA!

She rolls around inside my tummy and puts a lot of pressure on a vein called the Vena Cava that runs along the right side of my spine. It's like second largest (or largest) vein in the body, so when she is on it she significantly cuts off my blood supply. I feel very light-headed and can't breathe. I have to mash on her or lay on my left side to get her to move. My tummy is getting bigger making it much harder to do stuff, especially sleep.

I had a reality check today. I have to take my glucose test this week and we are gearing up for childbirthing classses starting next month. These things are done towards the end of the pregnancy. I can't believe we only have about 14 weeks and counting down until Taylor is here with us.

I have decided to cloth diaper after about the first month or two so I have got to start ordering my diapers. Ladies, you wouldn't BELIEVE how far diapering has come since the "old fashioned" birdseye diapers! There are now 5 different kinds of diapers!

Well, here are my 25 week belly pics. I'll be posting my belly pics every 5 weeks or so. Our next regular checkup is scheduled for March 10th. I probably won't have another ultrasound until just before Taylor arrives. This will check for any unforseen complications during labor such as her cord being around her neck or in a knot and levels of amniotic fluid.

Yea! No stretch marks...

yet!

21 week belly pic

Hi Everyone,

I have been asked by some family members to post a belly pic. Since she has finally started to grow, I finally think I have enough of a tummy to justify posting it. I have been feeling fine, relatively speaking of course. I never got sick. I have had only very minor indigestion. My biggest complaints would be some pretty bad headaches, fatigue and an occasional emotional breakdown. All of these things are very common so I think I am doing pretty good!

I weighed 137 when I found out I was pregnant and I weighed 150 yesterday morning.

OMG! IT'S A GIRL!!!!

All we can say is "OH MY GOODNESS!" So, as it turns out...our Dr. was incorrect at 10 & 12 weeks. We are having a little girl. We are both in a bit of a shock right now and are really just trying to catch our breath. Everything in the ultrasound looked perfect. She weights 12.6 ounces. Just 3.4 oz to go and she'll be 1 whole pound!!! She's approximately 10.5 inches long (crown to heel). The Dr. said that according to her weight and length, she's in the 45th percentile of the growth chart, or 5% below the average size of most babies her age. However, most charts I've seen on the internet and in books say the average for a 20 week baby is about 10" & 10.5 oz and she's bigger than that! But anyway, Brodie and I were both small-ish babies too so we'll just have to wait and see. Her heart beat was 154 bpm. All of her limbs are of the correct number and length. Her intestines are all inside her abdomen. Her brain, heart, and other organs look perfect. She is doing just fine and that is all that really matters to us. I feel her kicking all of the time now and she is even trying to kick the remote off of my tummy. She is so funny already.

So, since we have had all of this confusion we are planning on having one more ultrasound before she is born. However, we are requesting that all gifts are gender neutral! :) You never know what this little boy or girl is going to pull next!!! Oh Buddy, I think we are in for a heck of a ride with this one!

(Remember, to enlarge the pic click on it and hit the 'back' arrow to return to the main blog page. The pics enlarge nicely.)


It's a GIRL!!!














Her bottom...no boy parts there!

Her butt is on the left and she is facing right. Those two bright white dots on the left are her pelvic bones. Her knees are bent so you can't see her legs. Her feet are the blobs and white dots on the right.














Baby facing us. Head is on the left side and her mouth is open. Her hands look like mittens. You can see her abdomen and her knees and legs are on the bottom right side.

Thumbs up! I'm good in here guys!














Her spine

Measuring her femur














Measuring her heart beat. 154 bpm

Her brain looked great as well

His Name???

Hi,

We need some help with deciding on a name. It's SO hard! Please go to the website listed below and vote on a name.

Thanks,
R&R

http://www.babyzone.com/babynames/bnpoll.asp?pollid=130320

Nursery Furniture

We put up our baby furniture today. It is absolutely beautiful.

Trying to figure out where we want the pieces to go.

Placing furniture in the right place.

Unwrapped armiore and unwrapping dresser.

Unwrapping crib.

The crib will convert into a toddler bed, a day bed, and a full size bed.

The track for one of the drawers was a little bent but Brodie was able to fix it. Thankfully we don't have to send anything back.

The crib.

Crib headboard.

Dresser.

Armiore.

Everything in it's place with the dresser to the right.

The nightlight Brodie bought for the nursery. The lights shine blue.

Sandi was pretty freaked out by all of the excitement and huge boxes in the living room.

Sandi hiding.

Sorry you have to turn your head to see this video but I couldn't figure out how to rotate it. Turn the volume up.

13 weeks 4 days

Well, I am almost to the beginning of my second trimester. (14weeks)

I have been experiencing severe lower back pain and have been in bed for the last two days. Today I was able to roll over onto my side so I think I'm doing better than yesterday.

This morning after Brodie left for work, Sandi and I were lying in bed. I was laying on my tummy but with my leg pulled up towards my chest keeping most of my wieght off my tummy. As I was laying there, I felt a little thump. It was very low in my pelvis and I automatically knew it was different than anything else I had felt. It felt exactly like a kick! I felt my little man move today. I can't wait until it gets more pronounced. I am sure it was just a fluke because of how I was laying so I don't expect to feel him move again for a while but it was very precious.

I went to my OB yesterday to let her know about my back and we heard the baby's heartbeat. Everything sounds great.

12 weeks & 1 day

Everything went great again today! The doctor said that the baby was growing perfectly and we are going to have this baby! She is still convinced it's a boy although we couldn't get any good pics because he was moving so much. He was bouncing all around in there. I have no idea how I cannot feel him yet but it should only be a few more weeks until I can. He is getting so big now, so it was hard to get good clear pics. He is measuring 6.3 cm (2.5 inches) and his heartrate is 154. Perfect! I have gained 5 pounds according to their scales but I am still 137 on mine, same as I was 12 weeks ago. My pooch gets a little bigger each day, it's cute.

My next appointment is on December 9th for a regular office visit and my sonogram is scheduled for week 20 on Jan. 6th. (I have gotten so spoiled to seeing my little man every week, so waiting 8 weeks is going to be very hard!) Until then, we can enjoy these.


HEY Y'ALL (if you can't tell, he's waiving at you)














2.5 inches long














The Blob's hand and leg














This is the pic I like to call "Mole Cricket."
It's his spine, belly and legs. (Yes, his head is still there.)














Tiny little blob fingers

Baby moving all around video. Press Play!

Baby waving "BYE" video

10 week ultrasound

I can't believe it. I'm 10 weeks pregnant. This is such a milestone for us since we haven't gotten past 9 weeks. Although we are still acutely aware that anything can happen, we like to think that we are mostly out of the woods since the chances of miscarriage are dramatically reduced at this point.

My hormones have been, lets say..."more pronounced" this week. My poor husband is ready to sleep at the station, but he's been a very good sport and I am a very lucky woman. Still no sickness and no more dizzy spells. I am extremely tired on occasion. Sometimes it is all I can do just to breathe and blink my eyes. But, thankfully that comes and goes. I am also starting to get a little pooch. It's so cute!


Oh, and we're having a boy!
(Click on pics to enlarge and us back arrow to return to main screen.)



It's a boy!!!!!

3.53 cm long


Head, body and leg


Measuring heart beat.







Playing Peek-a-boo!





Head, hand and foot












Please be sure to check out the 10 week development link to the right if you want to learn more about what is happening with the baby this week.

I have figured out that the video's are only 3 seconds long and sound is not available.

The baby's heartbeat.


The baby playing.

8 weeks 4 days

Today was our 8 week ultrasound and everything went perfectly. The heartbeat was 175 which was perfect. As the baby gets older, its heartbeat will decrease to something closer to ours. But, for now, there is a lot going on and the baby and I are both working very hard.

I have been very fortunate not to have experienced "full blown" morning sickness. I have had just little waves of nausea here and there. I have had moments of being incredibly tired and incredibly energized. I almost passed out on Wednesday, but fainting and dizziness is not uncommon. My blood volume will almost double by the time the baby is born so my heart is working overtime. My blood sugar also rises and falls to some degree of one extreme or the other every 2-3 hours, which is entirely normal and also the reason I have to eat small meals every 3 hours or so.

So, without further ado...Here's our baby.

(Click to enlarge images and use back arrow to return to main page.)


Pic of amniotic sac. It's the little halo looking membrane between the baby and my uterus.

The baby's heart is in the two little bars and
is being measured with the graph below the pic.

Pic of blood flow in placenta and baby. The umbilical cord is stretching down to the left side.
















This is a great pic of the yolk sac, the gray hollow circle. It provides the blood supply to the baby until the placenta is formed. It will eventually disappear. The amniotic sac is the orb-like thing and the umbilical cord is the gray fuzzy dot.

This was the greatest pic and the hottest topic of the visit. Here the baby decided to do a little dance for daddy. Brodie is convinced "he" was doing the Super Bowl Shuffle!

Also, this is when Brodie JUST KNEW it was a boy. Take a closer look by clicking on the pic. I tried to convince him that this was the umbilical cord and those parts can't even be seen yet! He wouldn't listen. It was so funny! Dr.'s are usually able to accurately determine the gender of the baby via ultrasound around the 12th week. (3 weeks & 2 days away!)

This is also VERY COOL. This is the baby's spine.

The baby is measuring about 2 cm. Perfect!

Here are some great video's of the baby.

The Heartbeat



The bloodflow inside the baby & placenta.

The baby moving.

If you can't see the video very well try the following steps:

1. Look in the upper right side of the screen and find the words "Page" and "Tools."
2. Click on the drop down arrow to the right side of the word "Page."
3. Click on "Zoom"
4. Choose either "150" or "200"
5. This just makes the screen bigger.
6. Don't forget to change it back to it's original setting after your done.

Our Baby - 7 weeks

Today I went for our 7 week ultrasound. Everything is fine. The baby is measuring right on schedule and had a great heart beat at 145 bmp.

My due date is the last week in May, 2009.

My next appointment is on 10-17.

I'll be 8weeks and 4 days then.

Click on these pics to enlarge and then press the back arrow to go back to the main screen.

The baby is inside the crosshairs and is only 1.08 cm (less than half an inch) and weighs a little less than 1 gram. Basically it's the size of a tic-tac!















The placenta is the big bulge in the lower right. The umbilical cord is the gray thing sticking out to the left and the baby is in the shadows.















The babys heart is inside these two lines. The bubble to the upper right is the yolk sac.















The baby is the squishy blob at the bottom left and the yolk sac is the round thing to the upper right.