23 week OB appointment

Today I had my 23 week OB appointment. The heartbeat was a little hard to find at first, but it came in strong at 148 bpm! And, following with my "early birth" prediction, my uterus is measuring at 24 weeks!
Now, for the bad news. At my next appointment I have to take my gestational diabetes test so I better start cutting back the sugar intake now! My next appointment is in four weeks and after that, I go every two weeks. I cannot believe that I am already at that point in my pregnancy! Time is really flying by!

Pregnancy week #22

How far along? 22 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Up 2 lbs from pre-pregnancy

Maternity clothes? Yes

Stretch marks? Yes
Sleep: So. tired. all. the. time.

Best moment this week: Finding a wonderful "school" for Brock to go to

Movement: Lots but the funniest things are she goes CRAZY when 1) I eat chocolate, & 2)when her brother sits on my belly and bounces. The other funny thing that she does is she freezes when someone touches or talks to my belly (unless it's Greg). Brock did the same thing--I am seeing a trend here . . .

Food cravings: Whoppers from Burger King.

Gender: Still a girl (as far as we know!)

Labor Signs: Nothing happening this week :)
Belly Button in or out? Still in.
What I miss: This week? Sleeping in. Thank you very much day shifts.

What I am looking forward to: Going over Brock's "school" information with Greg to get the final approval
Weekly Wisdom: There is rarely something that can be done to "keep" a doomed pregnancy and rarely something that can be done to "shake" a healthy one. Just relax!
Milestones: Making it through another week of a healthy pregnancy!

Technical baby news: Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.
10.5-11.8 inches, 12.7-20.8 oz. Little G is the size of a papaya this month!

My sweet husband

is such a sucker for his little princess already! He is so antsy about getting her bedding to get started with her nursery, he kept saying things like, "Maybe they delivered it to the garage and didn't leave a note." Maybe. Or, maybe it's Saturday and we ordered it on Wednesday. Hmmm . . . So, today he got online to check his e-mail. Almost immediately I hear, "No! No way! This is NOT happening!" My heart literally stops until I get it out of him that her bedding has been placed on back-order. Calling Babies R Us is my suggestion. He does. The poor sucker who answered the phone had to explain to him that it is a popular style and that more people had ordered it than they had anticipated. Just so you know, it was placed on back order the very day that we ordered it. It could have been our order that placed it over the edge. But we (read: Greg) were assured that it would be available to ship in 1-2 weeks.
Rather than waiting around, he had me print off pictures of the bedding that we had picked out for her so that we could go to Lowe's to color-match her paint. I printed off the pictures and informed a horrified Greg that there was no real purple in the bedding, only pink, white, burgundy, and green. Pink was the only one of those colors that is suitable for a little girl's room and he wants two different colors of paint. Fine. We will go to Toys R Us and look for some wall hangings that I saw there that I liked that I remember to be pink and purple.
When we got to Toys R Us things started looking up! We found 3 cute wall hangings: a pink flower, a purple flower, and a pink/green butterfly! All of these are COATED in glitter. I mean, covered in it! Then we were off to Lowe's to buy some paint!
Rather than sifting through all of the paint swatches to find a shade that matched, Greg wanted the salesman to use the computer to match the paint. The answer we got: "Uh. Pink and purple are really hard to match. Did you try to find a swatch that matches?" Yeah, buddy. That was exactly what you should have said to my husband. I will shorten the details here, but we eventually got the paint for our daughter's room! And, Greg showing the patience of a saint, waited until I left to go to work tonight before he started painting! I will post pictures tomorrow when I get home (since I am at work right now and cannot actually see the room). He is so sweet about his little baby girl!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! He wants to use his jigsaw to cut out the silhouette of a castle and attach it to the top of her bookshelf that he is building next weekend! Agh! I am in so much trouble!

Week 21 Pregnancy News

Hmmm . . . this little lady is getting LARGE. Everybody at work this week kept making comments like, "Wow. Your belly is really out-there!" Uh, yup. And I'm just over 1/2 way done with the pregnancy; wait until I am in the 30-week range!

How far along? 21 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I am back down to my "up 1 lb from pre-pregnancy" weight. Thanks, in large part, to getting rid of some of the Easter candy!

Maternity clothes? Yes but this week I did try to wear a pre-pregnancy t-shirt around the house and Brock kept poking my belly (the part that was sticking out!)

Stretch marks? Nothing new.

Sleep: I can't get enough.
Best moment this week: Seeing our baby girl on the ultrasound!
Movement: Yes, even enough now that I can see her moving!

Food cravings: Nothing new.

Gender: Team pink! Even though we were not going to find out, little girl wanted to let us know that she was a "she"! Greg was so cute about the whole thing because we both noticed right away that she was a girl and neither of us said anything until the ultrasound tech asked if we had any predictions! I guess Madame Zaritska was right about that part!

Labor Signs: none this week

Belly Button in or out? Still in & will probably stay that way.

What I miss: Greg being around for all the doctor appointments, movements, milestones, etc.

What I am looking forward to: Getting our little lady's room painted (that is on Greg's honey-do list for the rest of the weekend!). Per Greg's request, it will be pink and purple and he is even going to do some fancy woodwork this week while he is in KC so that she has a "castle" topper for her bookshelf!

Weekly Wisdom: Some of the worst "advice" that I heard this week was when your baby is cutting teeth, to rub a thimble on their gums to cut them and allow the teeth to come through! Wha????

Milestones: Seeing that everything is growing exactly the way it should be! The only thing that was a little off was her belly was measuring big, but they said that she had just eaten (we could see that her belly was full of amniotic fluid) and she was pooching it out! It was so comforting to see her perfect little heart, all ten fingers, all ten toes, and to know that she loves the camera already! Also, she measured in at 15oz, so we are just under 1 pound! See? That pound that I have gained is accounted for!
Technical baby news: Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you want your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch. The baby is as big as a banana!
10.5 inches, 12.7 oz

Sadly, this is the last weekly food analogy that I have from the pregnancy website that I frequent. So from now on, look for these lovely comparisons at the "month" mark from now on.

Pictures of baby's bedding/new clothes

As promised, here is the picture of the bedding that Greg picked out for his little lady! We are waiting for the bedding to get here and then we are going to match paint. I can't believe that my uber-manly husband is such a sucker for little girl things and he is pretty adamant amount "making" her a girly girl. So much so that when we were shopping after the ultrasound at Toys R Us, he wanted to buy her a toddler bed (that's right, toddler bed for an infant) that was covered in Disney Princesses and had sparkly mosquito netting above it. Just because it was so girly. He never ceases to amaze me!

Here comes the truly hilarious part. I have been told countless times that it is a good thing that Brock was not a girl because I would have gone crazy buying little girl clothes. Now that we know that this baby is a girl she already has 8 new outfits most of which her daddy picked out! In this picture, the outfits on the top of the chair are ones that she *might* be able to wear home from the hospital (if she is bigger than her brother was!) He also felt it necessary to buy her (pink) hangers because she NEEDS hangers that are pink! Oh my gosh, I am falling in love with him all over again! He is the most wonderful man & I am so lucky that I get to spend the rest of my life with him and have his beautiful children.

(Brace yourselves; this is LONG) Ladies & Gentlemen, allow me to introduce . . .

. . our baby girl!

Yeah, yeah. I know that we weren't going to find out, but little Baby G wanted the world to see her lady parts! So, here she is:



I will try to post more ultrasound pictures later but this one was enough trouble. Also, despite what you perverts want, I am not posting pictures to prove that she is, in fact, a girl! Sorry. I figure that I will give her plenty of reasons in the future to be mad at me, so I will avoid this one making the cut. Enjoy!

But, let me back up and fill you in on just how our morning started. Our appointment was at 7:30 this morning. At 7:00am we left the house and Greg says to me, "Babe, why don't you drive. You know where we're going." Surprised, I take the keys. ::For those of you that know my husband, handing the keys over, especially to a woman is much like giving up the remote:: I enter the address into the GPS just in case I am mistaken. But, how could that happen? I have spent the last two days on the phone with this place verifying the time of my appointment, whether or not to bring records with me, if I should have a full or empty bladder, etc.

So, once we have Brock sent down the road with Dave (Greg's dad) we are off to our appointment. Greg and I nervously hold hands. I am nervously chattering away. He is nervously silent. We opted out of all of the early scans for several reasons but the ones that topped our lists were: 1) we are not high risk because of our age, 2) we don't have strong family histories for any major diseases that they test for, & 3) the rate of false positives are alarmingly high and we didn't want to spend 6 out of 9 months worrying if nothing was wrong, & 4) we were planning to keep the baby no matter what the results.

We pull in to the parking lot of Regional Hospital outside the Labor and Delivery entrance at 7:12am. ::I am beaming with pride at how prompt we are:: When we walk into registration, the lovely receptionist directs us down the hall to the ultrasound office. When we walk in, I politely tell that receptionist my name and tell her that I have a 7:30 appointment. She gives me a funny look. Here is where I begin to grow uneasy. I can sense that Greg is doing the same next to me. I have a wave of panic wash over me as she says, in slow motion no less, "We don't schedule appointments for 7:30. Our first appointment is a 8:00 and I don't see your name in our system at all." What. The. Hell. As I flash back to our brisk walk out to the car as we were leaving the house, I remember Greg saying, "Are you SURE you know where this place is." I remember this because I brushed it off by snapping, "Yes. I have talked to them 3 times in 2 days. I filled out the online paperwork. My doctor told me where the office was LAST WEEK. I am not an idiot." Hmmm. Me thinks I am an idiot. So the nice receptionist takes the business card that I am holding in my hand as proof to her, myself, & Greg that I do, in fact, have an appointment and says, "See? It says here on the card that the office you need is on Broadway. I think it's across from Boone Hospital in the first building." Well. Thank you. You have been of no help to me, nor my smirking husband.

Back in the frigid air to the van. As I take a look at the GPS, I see that I did enter Broadway as the address and was just to dense to think that technology was smarter than me. Hmph. But, as I look at the clock (and ignore Greg) I notice that it is only 7:15. Perfect. We have 15 minutes to get there. We have plenty of time. Off we go. This time I KNOW that I am heading in the right direction. I used to work at Boone Hospital for crying out loud and my last OB/GYN was in this building that I was headed to. I again, ignore technology. ::Slaps forehead with palm::

We pull into the parking lot and I am sure of myself. We get on the elevator and take it up to the 3rd floor, suite 300. Hmmmm. Dark office. Office hours signs says they do not open until 8:30. At this point, I am in a full on panic. My palms are sweating, my knees are weak, my mouth is dry. Greg is LOVING this, by the way. So I very calmly say, "Don't' worry. We will go back to the lobby and I will call and find out what is going on." We get to the lobby. It is now 7:29. I call the office number listed on the card. I tell the receptionist the full extent of my stupidity (basically this entire story) and she says, "Oh honey. You are so close! We are in Building #4." Seeing as I have not had the best luck with receptionists today, I do not fully trust her, but what can I do? I only have 1 minute for my appointment and if I am late, I am afraid that they will give my appointment to some lady that doesn't have an appointment and just showed up hoping that 'there would be an opening'. Oh no sister. That is my appointment slot and you are NOT taking it from me! I drag Greg to the car and we haul a$$ down the road to the last building. We dash inside and finally! We found our destination! We got checked in and only waited about 5 minutes until they called our name. (Now, not that I have any room to be snippy about being on time, but come on. My appointment was at 7:30. Who else was there before me that they were tending to that made them make me wait 5 minutes? I'm just saying . . .)

The girl that did our ultrasound was absolutely wonderful! It was such a great experience! She talked to us the entire time and was very animated about the baby and all of the cute things that she was doing. She (the ultrasound tech) has an almost 2-year-old son so she empathized with us about everything that Brock is doing and why we didn't bring him to our appointment.

About 15 minutes in, she said, "So, do you guys want to find out the sex?" Greg and I looked at each other and both said, "Yes." She responded with, "Do you guys want to guess before I tell you?" To which I replied, "Well, this morning we both thought 'boy' but ::interject Greg's comment here--'I think I saw . . . I think it's a girl':: I am pretty sure that I saw the lady parts". She started laughing. "Well", she said, "It is definitely a girl! That is not a shy baby that you have in there!" Which is funny because with Brock we didn't think that we were going to find out because he had his legs crossed almost the entire ultrasound!

Whew. ::Takes deep breath::

As far as the rest of the story, baby looks very healthy! She is 15oz, so she is already almost a full pound! Her head is measuring about 2 days bigger than estimates for the due date but that's okay because babies heads grow before their feet. Her arms, hands, legs, feet, & nose are all measuring perfect. There was no cleft lip. No indication of Down's syndrome (based on facial measurements). No spina bifida. She has two hemispheres in her brain and 4 chambers in her heart (both = perfect!). The only really big measurement was her belly! She was measuring 1 week early for her belly but the ultrasound tech caught me eating a granola bar in the waiting room and said that she could see that the baby's belly was nice and full so maybe she had just gotten a big meal! Her kidneys & bladder are intact, perfect size, & right where they needed to be.

And let me tell you what, this little girl is such a freakin' ham! She was posing for the camera like nobody's business! Everytime the tech would say, "I am going to try to get a finger measurement" the baby would throw up jazz hands. When the ultrasound tech would say, "I'm going to get a profile shot" the baby would turn her head to the side so we could see the profile! She was so cute! She was kicking her feet ALOT and she was even playing peek-a-boo with the camera a few times which was so adorable because we would see her face go from "normal baby front view of face" to "skeletor baby face" (and if you don't know who Skeletor is, google him and see how many hits on He-man you get). But after about 30 minutes she let us know that we were boring her, so she gave us a huge yawn! Good thing we were done!

We are absolutely thrilled that we have another healthy baby! We were both a little surprised that she is a "she" because we were both sure that we were having another boy! But, we are ecstatic. The cutest part about all of this is Greg. I kind of thought that he would be a little disappointed with a daughter but his reactions were so cute! At first he said, "Oh great! Brock and I are going to spend tons of time chasing off guys." And then he said, "Gawd. We are going to have to go out and buy her a ton of dresses. I really want a girly-girl. So, let's go buy her some right now!" and (my favorite!), "Well, time to redecorate the nursery." Whaaaa?! Pump the brakes. The last I heard we were putting the new baby in the existing nursery and giving Brock a new "big boy" room. Apparently not. "It's not fair that we went all out for Brock and she gets stuck with the hand-me-downs." This little girl already has daddy wrapped around her tiny 1-inch long baby finger.

I hope that you made it all the way through my novel and stay tuned because I will be posting pictures of the clothes we bought today (she already has 8--that's right eight!-- outfits) as well as pictures of the bedding set that her daddy bought her. Spoiled much?

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!

In less than 24 hours we will get to see our beautiful second born again! I am so excited to see how big our little baby has gotten since our last appointment in December! The one thing that I am disappointed in is that I know that Brock will not behave himself so we have somebody babysitting him. Oh well. I think it will be better to not have him there than to try to contain him for at least an hour! I'll post after our appointment tomorrow & this time (Grandma) I will post an actual ultrasound picture!

Things that make me go hmmmm . . .

A very sweet member of my family (who has asked to remain nameless in this blog entry) said that she could tell by the ultrasound picture on my blog that we were having a girl! When I heard this I got excited, but then I thought, "Wait. I haven't posted any ultrasound pics on here." Hmmmm. Come to find out, this sweet person thought that the new ticker I added as a countdown to the baby's due date was a video ultrasound and she knew that it was a little girl! So cute, but no. It's just an animated baby that floats around and gets "bigger" as the baby in my uterus gets bigger to show how little room they eventually get. It really was cute and made me laugh so hard I nearly peed my pants. Nearly.

Week 19 OB checkup

I went back to my doctor today for a routine check-up and everything continues to look good! Unfortunately (and a large thanks to my husband bringing home 5--that's right f-i-v-e bags of Easter candy last weekend) I have gained 4 pounds this month, which makes my last post about only having gained 1 lb invalid! But, the doctor ASSURES me that weight gain during pregnancy is normal and since I haven't thrown up on a daily basis (like I did with Brock) and I haven't lost any weight this time, I guess I will trust her. But, she IS a doctor, so I am still wary.

Also, my uterus is measuring exactly where it should be and there was no protein, glucose, etc. in my urine. But, I did freakin' pee on my hand today! Ewww. At least I took two wet naps in the stall with me.

Good news on the medication front: Dr. W gave me the go-ahead for OTC Zantac and I can up my Colace to two per day to relieve the trouble in the back door (if you know what I mean) and I know that certain people will really enjoy that tidbit (Megan)!

I also told her about the other night at work when I had what I thought was a little Braxton Hicks contraction. She said that it was entirely possible and as long as they don't last more than 1 or 2 at a time and that they go away and are not happening everyday then I was fine. But she did say that I could call her office anytime and they would tell me if I should come in and get hooked up to a monitor if they thought it was something I should get checked out. This is very different and very welcoming compared to my previous OB. And I would like to point out two things here: 1) I took the high road and did not mention his name & 2) I did not swear, which is rare when I discuss him.

And, the best part was that I got to hear that beautiful little heartbeat again! She started looking on the right side and didn't hear anything at first and I told her that the baby kicks me quite a bit on the left and as soon as she moved the doppler, we heard a good healthy heartbeat at a rate of 140!

My next appointment is next week (Wednesday) and I will be posting updated ultrasound pictures! It will be so exciting to see how much this little baby has grown from a little gummy bear to a 1/2 grown baby! And, the place that is doing our ultrasound has a 3D machine! Hooray! And sorry to disappoint, we are NOT finding out the sex of this baby so don't beg or badger me. Save it for Greg, it was his idea!

Baby updates Week 19

Interesting, my belly seems to have shrunk this week . . .

How far along? 19 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: up 1 lb from pre-pregnancy
Maternity clothes? Still yes. In fact, I may be deleting this question from the post. I am nearly halfway done with my pregnancy. It should be a given that I am in maternity clothes.

Stretch marks? Nothing new.

Sleep: Not too bad. Greg was out of town on my days off so I had the entire bed to myself.
Best moment this week: Realizing that next week we will have made it half way through a healthy pregnancy! Also, today our friends had their little baby boy so this kid's social network has just expanded and they (the two little babies) will only be about 4 months apart! So cute!
Movement: Lots in the lower belly and I swear this kid is going to be a karate instructor because I think I got kicked so hard the other day that my ribs felt it. Maybe it was just gas.
Food cravings: Nope.

Gender: Team green. Even though we go to the doctor next week, we are NOT finding out the sex so don't even try to get it out of me!

Labor Signs: No, thank goodness but I think I am starting to have a few sporadic Braxton Hicks contractions so maybe the baby is preparing me for an early delivery (but not too early; I want it to hang in there for AT LEAST another 16 weeks or so)
Belly Button in or out? Still in & will probably stay that way.

What I miss: Greg being around for all the doctor appointments, movements, milestones, etc.

What I am looking forward to: It is still having Brock feel the baby kick & seeing his reaction.

Weekly Wisdom: Stop trying to perfect your child, but keep trying to perfect your relationship with him.
Milestones: The baby is 1/2 lb and I am feeling lots and lots of activty! Especially when Greg talks to my belly!

Technical baby news: Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature. The baby is now the size of a mango!
6.0 inches, 8.5 oz

Okay, blame it on placenta brain . . .

So I owe my avid readers without a Google account an apology. I thought that I had set up my blog so that everyone could leave comments; even if they did not have an account. So, I write these beautiful stories on here and the only person that comments on a regular basis is my mom. No offense to my mother but it makes me look kind of lame that my mom is one of the few people in the world that is required to like me and she is one of the few people that cares enough to write on my blog. However, Greg's wonderful (& more technologically advanced than me, apparently) auntie sent me a message on facebookthat I, in fact, did not have my account set up the way that I thought and she even gave me detailed instructions on how to remedy it! So, first and foremost: I apologize to those of you that I (silently, or at least under my breath) yelled at for not caring enough about my life to comment on my blog, & second: please accept my lame-ness and understand that this kid has truly taken over my body (brain included) and most days I have no control over what I do/think/say.

Now that my blog is set up appropriately, please comment away. But, if you do leave a comment under the "anonymous" name please tell me who you are in your comment! I have a hard enough time keeping track of myself most days!

Also, for those of you that do have a Google account and are not making comments, step it up! You know you love reading about my life and family so make a comment so that we know that you are there! (This would be directed at one particular cousin of mine who I KNOW reads my blog because she is a follower of my account, but has yet to comment. Get to it, Charlea!)

Brock's 18 month check-ups

Yesterday our Parent's as Teachers consultant (Nicole) came by the house today to see Brock for his 18 month check-up and today Brock had his 18 month check-up with his pediatrician. The results are in:



Parent's as Teachers:

-18 month screening done

-impressed with Brock's mad skills on his Magna-Doodle

-played with a ball and Brock said, "It's a ball!" Although it sounded more like, "Issa ba!" But, because I am fluent in Brockense, I knew what he meant.

-ate Cheerios out of a salt shaker (salt-free)

-climbed onto the couch and Nicole was impressed (Mommy was not)

-turned on TV; Nicole was impressed (Mommy was not)

-snuggled little dog and Nicole thought it was the cutest thing ever (Mommy did too!)

-Nicole suggested that we let Brock drink from an open cup. This is not happening. I'm talking no sippy cup, no lid, nothing. This lady is outta her freakin' mind. If anybody reading this has ever seen my son drink from a sippy cup, they know why I feel so strongly about this. If not, call me and you can babysit.





Pediatrician:

-Autisim screening done (passed with flying colors)

-Height: 32.5 inches (55th percentile)

-Weight: 24lbs, 2oz (30th percentile)

-Head Circumference: 48.5 cm (75th percentile)

-got a Hepatitis A shot (this was very traumatic)

-checked eyes/ears/throat

-got some reassurance from the doctor because he and his brother are 11 months apart (hmmm. . . that sounds familiar Grandma) and he said "As far as I can tell, everyone involved survived." At this point, I will take survival. I would like to survive with my sanity in tact, but if at the end of this I am a blubbering idiot, you all will know why.

-the pediatrician also suggested that we let Brock drink from a non-sippy cup. Humpf. Yeah, no. This is really not going to happen for a while. I'm sorry but I am going to (gasp!) go against the general consensus of modern medicine.

-he doesn't have to go back until he is 25 months old--although at that point, I don't think I can quantify him in months anymore :( and that will be the same time as the baby's 2-month check up. ::gasping for air::

Essentially the results showed that my child is beautiful and brilliant! I could have told them that without paying a $20 co-pay and having to deal with the surly office staff. Oh well, at least it is documented by someone besides his mother!

Week 18 trivia & picture

Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon. This week the baby is the size of a sweet potato. Which is kind of ironic because I am allergic to sweet potatoes and Greg hates them, but we both sure do love this little baby! Brock loves the baby too because he kissed my belly about 10 times last night! So sweet! Now I just have to get him to hold still to get a picture of it to post!
5.6 inches, 6.7 oz.

How far along? 18 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: up 1 pound from pre-pregnancy

Maternity clothes? Still yes.
Stretch marks? So far, just leftovers from Brock.
Sleep: Not so great this week because I was back to work after vacation and my body (and the baby) did not like sleeping during the day again.

Best moment this week: Greg felt the baby move on Thursday!

Movement: Starting to feel tiny kicks. Especially when Greg talks to him/her.
Food cravings: Nothing this week.
Gender: Team green.
Labor Signs: Nope--but I had a little scare on Wednesday night/Thursday morning when I felt the slightest little pinching low in my uterus when I was at work and had a very stressful patient. Luckily everything was fine.
Belly Button in or out? Still in & will probably stay that way.
What I miss: Florida.
What I am looking forward to: Having Brock feel the baby kick & seeing his reaction.
Weekly Wisdom: Don't wish your children's lives away because before you know it they will be having children of their own.
Milestones: The baby kicked Daddy!

Labor predictor

So I found a website that asks you a bunch of ridiculous questions about the last animal you saw, do you prefer the scent of lavender to pine, etc. and then it "predicts" your labor. Keep in mind this is done online by Madame Zaritska. Kind of like Miss Cleo. Remember her? Oh, that's right--she went to jail for fraud. (Just as a key in case you didn't figure it out; the pink text is her prediction, the black text is my sarcastic counter-point. But you're a smart cookie and I'm sure you figured that out!) Here is what mine says :

The day you deliver, outside will be hot. (Hot. Lady puh-lease. It will be at the end of July. In Missouri. Hot doesn't begin to describe it. That one was a gimme.) Your baby will arrive in the early afternoon. After a labor lasting approximately 25 hours, your child, a girl, will be born. (25 hours. Hmmm . . . as long as I have an epidural, I don't care if it takes 25 days. Okay, maybe I do.) Your baby will weigh about 5 pounds, 7 ounces, and will be 17-1/2 inches long. (If this kid only weighs 5lbs, 7oz he/she better come out in the next couple of months. Keep in mind my first child was 7 lbs and he was 2.5 weeks early.) This child will have light gray eyes and some blonde hair. (Light gray eyes? Lucy . . . you got some splanin' to do. Greg has green eyes and I have blue/green eyes. The blonde hair I believe given our first born.)

At least Madame Zaritska is good for a laugh and we will see how many things actually come true! As long as the 25 hour labor thing is wrong, I will take everything else!

Fun new addition to weekly preggo blog

I have decided to add a new flare to my weekly picture and pregnancy updates. Since I didn't add this until now, consider this a bonus post. Aren't you lucky?!

How far along? 17 weeks, 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: up 1 pound (despite the fact that I ate like a freakin' cow on vacation!).
Maternity clothes? Uh yeah, we've been here for a while now.
Stretch marks? So far, just leftovers from Brock.
Sleep: Few and far between.
Best moment this week: Buying a double stroller in anticipation of the addition. Oh yeah, and we got a great deal on it!
Movement: Little flutters that are really low but really sweet and reassuring.
Food cravings: Giaradelli chocolate squares with caramel.
Gender: Still team green but I alternate calling the baby him/her so he/she doesn't feel pressure one way or the other.
Labor Signs: Nope--thank goodness.
Belly Button in or out? Still in & will probably stay that way.
What I miss: Second trimester energy that STILL hasn't kicked in.
What I am looking forward to: Using the doppler at work to hear that precious heartbeat.
Weekly Wisdom: Sleep while you can because one is one and two is ten.
Milestones: Baby's first trip to the beach!

Week 17; Brock updates

Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.
5.1 inches, 5.9 oz

So, we made it back from our trip to Florida and we are all depressed. Greg and I woefully unpacked our suitcases yesterday and today and Brock is pissed that he has to wear a coat and shoes outside again. We are moving. And I am not kidding. We have already been looking at real estate down there. You guys can come and visit; just give us a little notice so we can clean out the guest room.

While we were in paradise, we finally found cute bedding for Brock's big boy bed and we made it up last night. And for two solid hours, Brock slept in his new bed in his new room. I was doing okay with this until Greg made me go look at him and he was sleeping on the pillow. Just like a big boy. I cried--what a shock. Then Greg decided that Brock was hitting his head on the wall and put him back in his crib. So today we put a bumper pad on the bed and will try again tonight. I'll let you know how it goes. . .

In other Brock news, while he was taking a bath tonight, he stood up in the tub a few times to watch himself pee (ah, boys are so fun) and then he pooped in the tub! Okay, don't freak out, the worst is not over. I was not in the room when this happened and when I walked back in he was holding something up to show me. I said, "What's that, buddy? A rock?" For those of you that know Brock this is not far-fetched because that kid can find a fleck of dust in Emily Post's house. But Greg walks into the bathroom right behind me and screeches, "Oh my God! Honey that's not a ROCK! THAT'S POOP!" Okay, I am seriously grossed out at this point and screamed. Which scared Brock and he immediately dropped his "prize". Greg was laughing so hard he had to sit on the toilet to compose himself. He asked me to throw him a washcloth to get to poo out of the tub and when I was shutting the closet door, I scrapped my big toe and convinced myself that I broke it. This made Greg and Brock laugh even more which made me cry. Turns out Greg was able to retrieve the brown trout and flushed it down the toilet (which incidentally was Brock's first poop in the toilet!), I did not break my toe, and we all recovered from our incident.

Other than the onion, I am not going to post any more pics for a few reasons. #1: I don't feel like taking a picture of my bloated stomach tonight, #2: The picture of Brock makes me a little sad and I don't feel like posting it just yet.

Phew! I'm exhausted and am off to bed.

Baby @ week 15-belly picture alert!

Week 15:
Continuing the march towards normal proportions, the baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. The fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements. 4.0 inches, 2.5 oz




Okay, so since I am about as big as a Buick at 15 weeks, I thought I would give you a visual. Don't judge me.
Updates: I went to my new doctor today and I did several things: 1) peed in a cup and did not get any on myself (hip hip hooray!), 2) stepped on the scale and did not have a breakdown (I have only gained 1 lb to-date), and 3) heard the baby's heartbeat! It was in the 150s and it was so sweet! So now that I know that I can hear the heartbeat, I have to start listening with our doppler at work.

In other news of importance, I started feeling flutters this week! Not big kicks and not very often but a couple of times a day I get a tiny reassurance from the tiny babe that he/she is still in there and is continuing to grow.

Other than that, we have nothing new to report, but we will be taking off for sunny Florida this Thursday and will not be coming back until sometime the weekend of Valentine's day. But never fear, I will bring my computer and post a few times from the beach while you suckers are stuck here. Although, I heard that it is supposed to be unseasonably warm for a majority of the time we are gone, so live it up because we will probably bring the cold weather back with us!

Baby Stemme Week #14/Updates on Brock's new room

Week 14:
Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth.
3.4 inches, 1.5 oz

You know what's wierd about lemons? I don't really like them but this week I have been CRAVING lemonade. Is that a strange coincidence that I crave a delicious refreshing beverage that is made from something that is the size of my second born? Maybe the baby just wants some company! In other baby updates, I was sick as a dog coming back from Dave and Pat's house last night (maybe that was Greg's bad driving though . . . ) and I THINK I am starting to feel little flutters. Or maybe it's just gas :) Although it really could go either way b/c we listened for a heartbeat on Saturday night and we are pretty sure we heard the faintest little lub-dub. And it was really fast (~150-160 bpm) so I know it wasn't mine. Also, I go back to the doctor next Tuesday and hopefully we will get another ultrasound!

This weekend we officially decided that we are moving Brock into a "big boy" room and we are going to keep the nursery the way it is for the baby. So we went to Home Depot and picked out a paint color for Brock's new room and we also bought new trim.

After Greg got the trim hung we were taking a break to have lunch when we got a phone call from Dave. He was going grocery shopping in Columbia and wanted to stop by to see the nursery. I was a little confused but sometimes he does that. It wasn't until after he left that I understood (and only because Greg explained it to me!) that he was trying to spy on us to see if he could figure out if we are having a boy or a girl. Also, we are not working on the nursery--Brock is getting a new room! Better luck next time, Dave. We don't know yet and we are planning on not finding out until the baby is born. Sorry!

Keep checking back for more updates and pictures!

Week 13

Well, Greg and I went to meet our new doctor on Thursday and it was just an informational meeting with the nurse. But, we did cover some new things that they want me to do a little differently than Dr. Wilson. Also, the nurse said that the new doctor would "most likely take a little peek" at the baby when I go back to see her in February! And, as of now, our "big ultrasound" is still scheduled for sometime in March.

Baby size update:
The baby is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.) Also, the baby is now the size of a peach. So cute!
2.9 inches, 0.81 oz.

In other baby news, we got the office completely cleaned out and are ready to lay trim and start painting so it will transform into the nursery. We just have to figure out how we are going to decorate--but that is my objective for this weekend. And, since Greg is determined to prove everybody wrong and stand firm on his decision not to find out the sex of the baby, I am looking for something gender neutral. As it is now, the baby's room looks like this:

A few things still have to be removed. The dead fish on the wall, for starters.

Off the see the new doctor . . .

. . . I'll let you know how it goes! It should be fairly uneventful but I convinced Greg to come with me on the (incredibly) slim chance that they will do another ultrasound because it is a new doctor's office! We shall see. Wish us luck!