20 Aug 2013
by jhking
in Uncategorized
What’s new with the baby?
This week’s big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he’ll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you’re having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.
In other news: Your baby’s stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — (about the size of a lemon) — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body’s growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that’s in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He’s starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby’s liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it’s doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can’t feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist’s hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.
Food comparison this week is…
How am I feeling?
Pretty good. I had an ‘off’ day yesterday, but today feels much better. Sleep is getting a little bit more annoying though. I’m having to wake up to pee about 2, sometimes 3, times a night, and I can’t really get all the way comfortable, but when I shift around, I have to do it carefully or else I will feel some serious
round ligament pain, and that just is no fun in the middle of the night. It also happens when I sneeze or stand up too quickly. So, I’m spending a lot of time moving slowly and deliberately to avoid doubling over and breathing through the pain like I’m having a contraction.
Weight gain?
Um. 9 pounds. I don’t even know what to say about that. (Except that I checked my blog entry from last time and at 14 weeks I had only gained 2.5 lbs . Oh sheesh.)
What do I miss? What am I looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to the trip to Florida this week to see mom and Dad! Only 3 more days!
Cravings/Aversions?
Nothing new to report in this category. Weird.
Preparedness?
Last night we went to Home Depot and picked out a paint color for Urijah’s new room! It’s called Doeskin Grey and I hope we like it once it’s on the walls. Of course, after we got home with 2 gallons and were looking at the little dot they put on the lid we thought it looked totally different than the swatch. We had the “paint always dries totally different” and “maybe it will show up darker on the walls” conversation that we have probably had every single time we’ve bought paint. I think that’s sort of a requirement before the actual painting begins. Scott is going to try to get the room painted while U and I are in Florida. Which means that I need to do some serious cleaning out over the next couple of days to get the room ready for that. (I tried to find the paint swatch online to show you but Behr’s site doesn’t recognize that name. So….you’ll just have to wait for the pictures when it’s done.)
Highlights of the week?
We went to a party at a friend’s house this weekend, and it was quite fun, although exhausting. U had a great time – there were tons of kids and a kiddie pool and dirt and watermelon and balls and cookies. So he was happy. There was lots of food, so that made me happy, but mostly I had to just shadow him all around, so it wasn’t exactly relaxing.
Belly Pic:
13 Aug 2013
by jhking
in Uncategorized
What’s new with the baby?
Fingerprints have formed on your baby’s tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you’re having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (about the size of a pea pod) and weighs nearly an ounce.
Food comparison this week is…
How am I feeling?
Better! The nausea has really seemed to subside in the last week or so, but I still don’t feel great if I go too long without a meal. Food is still the ever important topic in my mind. Otherwise, not too much to report in this category.
Weight gain?
Still haven’t done it. Next week, for sure.
What do I miss? What am I looking forward to?
I updated the heading for this section, because I feel like I am looking forward to more things that I am missing, so I wanted to balance the scales. I miss not seeing my family more often, but Urijah and I are heading to the Great State of the Beach (Florida) in about a week and a half to see my Mom and Dad, so that’s what I’m looking forward to. Also, only about 3 more weeks till we can find out (hopefully) what this baby is!! Any guesses? There hasn’t been nearly the discussion about the sex this go round, so I’m not sure which way everyone is leaning. Scott says girl, I *think* it’s a girl, just because this pregnancy feels so different than the last one (even though Mom told me that was faulty logic.). Anyone else?
Cravings/Aversions?
I got my Potbelly chicken salad sandwich last week, and already this morning I was thinking about when I could get another one. I really need that franchise to open in Georgetown. Other than that, no strange cravings. Just hungry in general. And apparently I am eating more and longer than usual….Scott said he keeps noticing that he’s always done way before me and I’m still just plodding along finishing every single thing. Maybe I should quit putting off weighing myself. This could get out of hand before I know it.
Preparedness?
We went to IKEA the other night and got a really cool toy storage system that will be for Urijah’s new room once it is done. But for now it is living in the front room that we have made into a pseudo-playroom. With an antique china cabinet full of expensive china. Because we just thought that all went together really well. But what it did for us was take every single toy out of the living room. Scott even busted me yesterday just standing at the edge of the living room gazing at how peaceful and clean it looked with all the toys relocated. If only for a while.
Highlights of the week?
The new toy bin was kind of a highlight for me. Also, I had a friend who is working on her photography business take some pictures of Urijah and it was really fun! I’ve even got to see some of them already and some turned out super cute! I’ll post those later in the week to spread out the joy.
Belly Pic:
09 Aug 2013
by jhking
in Uncategorized
Quick update on the appointment yesterday. Everything looked good. The end.
Just kidding. My blood pressure was fine (128/78, Ali), all my lab work from the last appointment came back perfect, and baby’s heartbeat sounded good at 157 beats per minute. Heather did clarify that she thinks it’s very unlikely that there is more than one baby in there. We should get to go for an ultrasound to find out the sex in about 4 weeks, and we can clear it up once and for all at that time! The prenatal appointments are feeling very low key and quick. Meaning that I’ve done this all before, so I don’t have all those first-timer questions and concerns. After Heather checks all the stats, she asks if I have any questions or concerns, I say I don’t think so, and we kind of just hang around and chat for a while. It’s nice! Meanwhile, Urijah is acting like he owns the place by using the stethoscope, laying on pillows on the floor, and generally walking around being the boss. We go to the birth center every week for our mom’s group, so he’s logged a lot of hours playing and having fun there. It’s sort of his home away from home space, and he feels really comfortable.
The big question seems to be, will I be able to keep this baby in for the full 40 weeks this time, or will s/he be another early arrival. Who knows? Apparently it can go either way, but I’ll do my best to keep him/her in for the duration!
07 Aug 2013
by jhking
in Uncategorized
We drove to Houston on Saturday. We planned ahead to leave at Urijah’s naptime so he would sleep for part of the way and then we had the tablet all set up an arranged on the back of the passenger seat headrest, ready to play the Curious George movie to entertain him for the rest of the ride. We never even had to turn the tablet on! He slept pretty much the entire drive out to Nanny and Paw-Paw’s house and back home later that night. Such a trooper. Scott’s cousin got married and it was a nice change from our everyday to get dressed up and visit with family. The wedding was really pretty and we had a great time! We didn’t end up leaving to drive home till about 9:15 and U hung on till around 9:45, but then he passed out and slept all the way. Whew.
So dapper!
Snacks were the key to lasting through the ceremony.
I’m pretty sure that Urijah and Nanny went up and down that entire staircase about ten times that night. You know, we have a staircase at home that he climbs all the time, but this one held a certain excitement, I guess.
These girls (plus some others) pretty much danced and spun around on that dance floor the entire time we were there. They had a blast and I bet they slept really well that night!
All dressed up!
We didn’t get to eat any of this delicious looking wedding cake. I’ll never understand why most people don’t do the cake cutting until after half the guests have already left. Oh well.
06 Aug 2013
by jhking
in Uncategorized
What’s new with the baby?
By now, your baby weighs a full half-ounce and is about the size of a large plum. Most of his systems are in place, though there’s still plenty of maturing to do. For one thing, his fetal digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements necessary for eating, and his bone marrow is busy making white blood cells — weapons against germs once he’s out of your safe haven. The pituitary gland (at the base of the brain) has started producing the hormones that’ll enable him (or her) to make babies of his (or her) own in a couple of decades or so. Now that she’s got pretty much all her parts, her main job is to keep on growing. While she’s doing that, she’s also developing her reflexes — if you poke your belly, she’ll likely move, and she’s opening and closing her fingers and curling her toes.
Food comparison this week is…
How am I feeling?
OK. Still on and off with the nausea, but I’m hoping that any day now that will all start to taper off and the wonderfulness of the second trimester will kick in. I’ve started sleeping with a pillow between my knees or slightly under my back and it seems to have made a big difference in my nighttime comfort. I have decided to cut out caffeine this week, though. I mean, I decided it this week, for the duration of the pregnancy – at least. I get such a killer headache when I go longer than about 24 hours without any soda that it is just miserable, so I’ve decided it isn’t worth it, and I can be happy with non-caffeinated sodas or tea from here on out and save myself the hassle. (The caffeine from tea doesn’t seem to affect me at all the way Coke does.) This is a big deal for me, since I love, love, love a good fizzy Coke. But, root beer or Sprite will also suffice, I guess.
Weight gain?
I haven’t checked. I think I’d like to wait a bit longer.
What do I miss?
Right now? Cooler weather. I know that has nothing to do with pregnancy, but that’s what I miss.
Cravings/Aversions?
Nothing specific this week, but last night when Scott and I were figuring out what to have for dinner (it was a “let’s eat leftovers so choose whatever you want dinner” night) and after we had both decided I jumped up and said “I win!” because I liked my dinner choice better than his. That felt like a very pregnant thing to say. I forgot how much food controls your brain during pregnancy. Mine, anyway. Oh, and at some point this week I am going to find a way to get a Potbelly chicken salad sandwich. So, yeah! There’s a craving!
Preparedness?
I’m not really going to do any shopping or anything until we find out of we’re having a boy or girl. Boy? We don’t have to do too much at all. Girl? I’ll, of course, go buy a few girl things, but I also know what Lisa has a whole bunch of leftover girl stuff she is ready to offload and another friend from my moms group is about to move to Korea and she said she’s like to get rid of some girl clothes, too. So that would be fantastic! Plus, my favorite twice-a-year consignment sale is coming up in October, so I’m holding out till then as well. Good deals and tons of stuff! But in the meantime, we are going to decide on a color to paint Urijah’s new room, and when he and I are in Florida in a couple of weeks, Scott is going to tackle the painting. So that will be fun to look forward to. I don’t need to decorate a nursery this time, but a big boy room, instead!
Highlights of the week?
We went to a wedding in Houston on Saturday, and had a great time. It was a lot of driving, but still fun to get dressed up and do something different. I’ll write another post this week about that and post some pictures. I’ve got another midwife appt scheduled on Thursday of this week, so I’ll post a bit about that later on, too.
Belly Pic:
