14 Weeks!

Someone Very Special was born this day, 31 years ago. My wonderful husband arrived just a few minutes before March 31 turned into April 1. What an extraordinary gift he is!

Our own dear baby has continued to expand. Sometime soon, he or she will stretch to 4 inches long from crown to rump and weigh almost 1 ounce!

These are the physical changes taking place:

• Eyes have been moving from the side to the front of the face
• Neck is getting longer
• Chin no longer is resting on the chest
• Sexual development continues, making it easier to determine male and female.

On the other hand, changes in me seem to be on stand-still. I am very eager for my belly to announce I am pregnant! The picture of my nice round belly taken a few weeks back was taken a bit too early. My stomach actually shrank after John took the picture and though it is getting close to the size it was then, I don't think it has reached it yet! What I proudly thought was our baby was actually probably just fat or my bowls. Cheery eh?

I still haven't gained weight but that may change soon. I seem to be STARVING just a few hours after eating. Food is still not appealing!

My nausea at night is not getting better. Last night I almost threw up again and I've felt gross all day. I am looking forward to moving on from that stage.

So, I'm very glad to be this far along and am excited about the days ahead. :)

Boys in Pink Dresses?

99% of the Baby clothes I've found (for great deals) are adorable little dresses and other sweet baby girl attire. Today, I found a brand new, cute, pink dress for $1.00 that I just couldn't pass up.

John and I haven't decided if we will have an ultrasound to discover our baby's gender or not. Even if we did, it would not be for quite awhile. Though I'm not sure I could skip these cute little dresses even if I knew we were having a boy. [The dresses would be bought in advance for when we have our girl]

Rather nice to have a 50/50 chance either way. Baby girl clothes seem to have a higher cuteness rating but if you compare little girl babies to little boy babies... it's an even tie ;)

The Sweetest Gift

Yesterday, I found out a woman I don't even know has been praying for me and our growing baby. It seems I am constantly learning of friends known and unknown who are praying for us. I can't even explain what a precious gift this is. I believe it is because of the prayers of others and God's graciousness that we have this miracle growing healthily inside me. Having lost a baby, I know how fragile everything is. And though I have no doubt the baby we lost is in a "far better place than I have ever been too", the pain of our loss is something I would prefer to never experience again.

My heart breaks for those who aren't pregnant and wish they were. A miscarriage is a one-time-event but how terrible to experience month after month a discouraging report. I am praying for the women I know in this situation, eager to hear their good news!

13 Weeks -2nd Trimester!

Yesterday, I began my 13th week! I also entered into my second trimester! The second trimester is known as the easiest part of the pregnancy. So far, I have my doubts. For the first time since I've been pregnant, I threw up. Whether it was from being overly hungry or because of a flu bug, I don't know. The symptoms are the same. John was amazing through the whole ordeal. What a horrible thing for a husband to have to deal with! John took it all in stride, sweetly serving me.

Yesterday did have bright points as well. Sharon and I hit a thrift store on the day when almost everything is half off and I found 4 adorable baby outfits (some for a boy, some for a girl) and a little navy blue snowsuit that could work for either. I looked at a lot of things, put things back, found other things. When I checked out, (without adding up my total) I decided to pay in cash. My total came to $3.70. In my purse I had [only] 3 $1.00 bills and [only] 3 quarters!!

So, what happens with our baby during the 13th week?

According to this link our baby is the size of a peach! The head keeps looking more like a baby with eyes and ears fitting into where they belong :) Our baby's intestines are moving into our baby's tummy instead of in the umbilical cord (where they've been).

12 Weeks!

Here it is! At long last, the last week of my first trimester! It is a wonderful week to be at! My nauseated feeling has gotten worse the last few days so I'm counting on that meaning a healthy baby. :)

And wow is he or she cute!
I have the week by week book back from the library (which is where I took the picture from). According to it, our baby weighs between 1/3 and 1/2 ounce, and crown-to-rump length is almost 2 1/2 inches. (I love that it has the actual size in the corner, of course that is only correct in the book).

I think the most amazing thing is that all of our baby's "structures" have already been knit together. From here on out, our baby's innards will just grow.

According to the book:
[Our] baby's skeletal system has centers of bone formation in most bones. Fingers and toes have separated, and nails are growing. Scattered rudiments of hair appear on the body. External genitalia are beginning to show distinct signs of male or female sex characteristics.

The digestive system (small intestine) is capable of producing contractions that push food through the bowls. It is able to absorb glucose (sugar).

At the base of our baby's brain, the pituitary gland is beginning to make many hormones... The fetal nervous system has developed further... Stimulating [our baby] in certain spots may cause it to squint, open its mouth and move its fingers or toes."

copied from: Your Pregnancy Week by Week by Glade B. Curtis and Judith Schuler pages 184-186

Do I sound like a rhino?

Ta-Da!!!!!! I have rhinitis of pregnancy! Doesn't that sound fun. It actually only means a stuffy noes but since it is so common it has a name. All this extra estrogen is contributing to swelling in the mucus membranes lining my nose and creating more mucus. Yippee. Nice to know it is not a cold and that it's all for a good cause.

I've had a few mild earaches as well which is unusual for me but I am assuming all this ties together.

Tomorrow I will begin my 12th week!!!

We Heard It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We heard our baby's heartbeat!! We heard it Very briefly the other day. It was hard to find the heartbeat, and it took a long time to hear it. But it was so reassuring to hear it for that tiny bit.

Today we had another opportunity to hear it. As soon as the Doppler was on my stomach, we heard the whoosh whoosh whoosh of our baby's heartbeat! I was able to remain calm so I didn't move my stomach and mess up the sound. We counted out between 135 to 160. It is amazing.

I have been feeling very sick, much worse than I had been for awhile. So we are taking that as a good sign that our baby is healthy. :)

Tonight, Tonight

I am EXCITED! Tonight, the midwife will come with her Doppler to listen to our baby's heartbeat!!! I CAN'T Wait! Just the thought of getting to hear our baby's heartbeat leaves me teary. From what I've read on-line, it is possible to hear the baby's heartbeat as early as 9 weeks (!) but it is usually recommended that you wait until 12 weeks since it is easier to hear then. So, I'll only be a few days into my 11th week but hopefully that will be far enough. I am trying to remind myself that we may not hear anything tonight, but I get carried away in the possibility of hearing it and cease to be calm. [Deep Breath] So, I'll let you know what we find out.

Our 11 week baby :-)

This belongs with yesterday:

"Your baby-to-be is about 50 millimeters crown to rump and weighs about eight grams (about a quarter of an ounce). The irises are now forming. The liver, intestines, brain and lungs are beginning to function on their own. The primitive "tail" is now gone. The intestines are beginning to migrate into the abdominal cavity and the external genitalia are present but difficult to distinguish. Now that most of the major organ work is done, your baby adds such details as hair, fingernails and toenails. While your baby's head is nearly as large as the rest of her body, head growth begins to slow during this period. "

Copied from the link below:
http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/wkbywkguide/0,,c32nvwcn,00.html#ixzz0huxq0YHi

11 WEEKS!!

Wha-hoooooooooooo! We are now at ELEVEN WEEKS! I've never been pregnant at 11 weeks before :) I'm so happy and so excited :)

Evenings seems to be my worst time so this will be brief. I have stopped sleeping well at night (which is not at all helpful for John's sleep, something I wish I could change!)

I have been taking long walks every day or every other day. Yippee!

Looks like this is a busy week for out baby to aquire hair and teeth, what a little cutie :-*

I am feeling VERY GROSE so ttfn

riddles, spring weather, and B6

I eat a lot of cheese sticks [and a lot of prunes but that is beside the point]. To get the most cheese sticks for the greatest value I bought the ones with riddles on them. Wanting to share the fun, I read the riddle on the cheese stick to Mom or John. With barely a pause, they consistently guess the right answer and I ...consistently guess the wrong answer. But today, I had a breakthrough. The riddle read: "What runs all around the yard without moving?" And I Finally guessed the correct answer: wha-hoo :) [A Fence]
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The weather has been B-E-A-utiful! Perfect temps in the high 40s to low 50s, Plentiful sunshine, and a light sweet-smelling wind. This has been great for afternoon walks. I am so thankful.
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I keep reading/hearing about how helpful B6 is for morning sickness. I am not doing well at swallowing pills to I've been searching for a list of foods high in B6. What I'm finding seems to be rather random but there are a few that keeping popping up: raw bell peppers, spinach, banana (my Least favorite food), liver, eggs, and meats. Of all this list, I'm not sure which one has the most B6.

Anticipation

I had so much dread leading up to my 10th week. Worry and sadness were combined. But now that it is here, and I am almost ready to enter into my 11th week, my feelings have completely changed. I am SO excited about being pregnant! I can't wait to hear our baby's heartbeat! I can't wait to feel our baby's movement!!! I love the thought of walking around with a pregnant belly! It is so special to have the opportunity to share this whole incredible process with family and friends.

I haven't been feeling intimidated by labor and birth, knowing that my perspective makes a big difference. I can't WAIT to hold our sweet baby!!!!!!! Having been at several home births, it is hard to imagine the same process with John and I holding OUR baby!

Several years ago I found a CD with lullabies on it at the Dollar Tree (my favorite place to shop). There is a song on there that speaks my heart:

The moment I saw you

I wanted to hold you

And keep you warm

On a cold gray morn

The moment I held you

I wanted to kiss you

And welcome here

On the day you were born.

I don't know what our baby looks like. I cannot hold our baby. But someday, SOMEDAY, that will change :-)

I'm not losing my mind. I'm losing my brain

This is shocking to me:

Baby's brain will make an incredible 25,000 new neurons every minute this week. While you may feel like you're losing as many as he's gaining, we can assure you it's not permanent. "Pregnancy brain," like nausea and bloating, is a temporary symptom that soon shall pass.

http://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/calendar/10-weeks-pregnant.html

10 Weeks!

Today I begin week 10! It is a bittersweet week with so much excitement about our new baby but also sadness over losing our first baby. I bought some fiber bars today for the first time. After I ate two I noticed that chicory root is the first ingredient. I googled chicory root and pregnancy and discovered it has ties to miscarriage. I will not eat any more!

Our Baby is growing! I can't wait to hear the heartbeat!!! The book I was using had to go back to the library so I'm somewhat at a loss of knowing where to look but I found this site helpful.

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I still feel quite pregnant and I am starting to look quite pregnant as well! John was my very patient photographer [the lack of smile is from feeling very sick vs. a lack of excitement]:

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Life in six words

I discovered: Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Famous & Obscure writers at the library. The following list is from the book. I picked memoirs focused on parenting.

Surrounded by girls, birthed boys, bewildered.

-Nancy Friedman

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Sweet wife, good sons--I'm rich

-Roger Waggener

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Four children in four decades; whew!

-Loretta Serrana

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Trains, planes, thumb; then children come.

-Karen Franklin

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Artsy married Fartsy, has two kids.

-Mary Organ

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Six kids; life stranger than fiction!

-Deborah Carson

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Chemistry? No. Law? No. Motherhood? Yes!

-Anneliese Dickman

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I answer to the name Mom.

-Lynne Chesterton

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Unborn baby, dancing belly, arriving soon.

-Tami Piccione

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Accidents cause people--son is wonderful.

-Laurie Reinhart

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Green eyes, freckled skin, waiting womb.

-Heather Thompson

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http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords

A little Disaster

Last Thursday, we had a very impressive storm with heavy rain and strong wind. The wind downed trees and power lines and we (along with many others) lost our electricity. John and I moved in with my parents to enjoy their wood heat. John ran his generator occasionally and we all did fine.

Thursday night I also had a low grade fever which continued for a few days. A lot of flu bugs are being passed around so I doubt it was anything to worry about. I still feel quite pregnant!

The power did not return until late this morning so I now feel quite spoiled to be able to listen to music, get on the Internet, or watch a movie.