15 Week Bump Pic and Survey

Total weight gain/loss: at last appointment, I was up 6...but Dr H says that's okay, so I feel okay about it...but I've been cutting bak on crap.

Next Appointment: May 11 for a reg appt and May 20 for gender! (less than one month!!)

Maternity clothes? oh yes. I'm starting to find that my pre preg shirts look stupid...by stupid i mean they make me look fat. Maternity shirts will at least let me look knocked up! I went to target and got a super cute dress yesterday and a pair of shorts. Shorts are going back, I hate them.

Stretch marks: had them for awhile, wont be able to blame them on the bean! But no new ones...at least that I can see!

Sleep: Sleep has been rough this past week. My sweet little fetus is laying on my sciatic nerve, and has been for the past 3.5 days. It does feel better when I lay down, but then I just have a hard time getting comfortable. As long as it's for Bean, I'm okay with it.

Best moment this week: I popped. I dont remember when exactly, but I did!

Movement: I hear movement all the time on the doppler, but I don't feel it yet!

Food cravings: I'm about to kill someone for a wet burrito (just the thing to help me watch my eating habits..)

Food aversions: Still nothing!

Gender: No clue. I used to think boy, and now I'm just not sure.

Belly Button in or out: still in...will be for a while!

What I miss: my family, but that has nothing to do with the baby. Since it is getting warmer, I have really wanted an Iced Green Tea Latte from Starbucks...but they dont make them decaf so I will miss them a lot, since I used to drink one a day! i will be limiting myself....

What I am looking forward to: seeing my family soon and in less than a month(barley) we will know if bean is packin heat!

Contractions: none.

Milestones: I got my first stranger comment! A guy at the golf course said "oh my gosh Megan, You're going to be a mommy!" eep! I sure am!

15 Weeks!

What Bean Is Up To:
Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

How My Body Is Changing:
You've probably gained about 5 pounds by now (a little more or less is fine, too) and are well into the swing of your pregnancy, but you may still be surprised by an unexpected symptom now and then. If your nose is stuffed up, for instance, you can probably chalk it up to the combined effect of hormonal changes and increased blood flow to your mucous membranes. This condition is so common, there's even a name for it: "rhinitis of pregnancy." Some pregnant women also suffer nosebleeds as a result of increased blood volume and blood vessel expansion in the nose.

15 Weeks Pregnant

I think I just look really chubby..ugh. Hopefully soon I'll either get fat enough to look like a legit preggo, or i'll "pop" but until then, I'm stuck looking chubby.

Bean is as big as a lemon!!

How your baby's growing:

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.





How Your Life Is Changing:
Welcome to your second trimester! Your energy is likely returning, your breasts may be feeling less tender, and your queasiness may have completely abated by now. If not, hang on — chances are good it will soon be behind you (although an unlucky few will still feel nauseated months from now).

The top of your uterus is a bit above your pubic bone, which may be enough to push your tummy out a tad. Starting to show can be quite a thrill, giving you and your partner visible evidence of the baby you've been waiting for. Take some time to plan, daydream, and enjoy this amazing time. It's normal to worry a bit now and then, but try to focus on taking care of yourself and your baby, and having faith that you're well equipped for what's ahead


Apparently we also have what looks like a karate fetus....

14 Weeks Pregnant

13 Weeks

Well, the intestines and everything being pushed around are making a bump.....and i'll take it!





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 and weighs nearly an ounce.

This is the last week of your first trimester, and your risk of miscarriage is now much lower than earlier in pregnancy. Next week marks the beginning of your second trimester, a time of relative comfort for many women who see early pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness and fatigue subside. More good news: Many couples also notice a distinct libido lift around this time. Birth is still months away, but your breasts may have already started making colostrum, the nutrient-rich fluid that feeds your baby for the first few days after birth, before your milk starts to flow.

woah, bean looks like a Gremlin..."A very cute gremlin"-B

13 Weeks Pregnant

And the Results are in!

The blood work results are in from the NT Scan!!

Bean has a 1 in 10,000 chance of Down syndrome or trisomy 13/18! That's the lowest chance possible that they give out!

WAY TO GO BEAN!!

NT Scan

Look at Bean growing!! Holy cow! A human being!! He/She is just over 12 weeks old and measuring just over 2 inches long!

We had a scan done today to measure the fluid behind Bean's neck. This can tell that there is a problem like Down Syndrome and Trisomy 13 and 18. They want less than 2.50mm of fluid and Bean measured at 1.00mm! Good to go! I also got some blood work done, but I'm 100% sure that is going to come back fine!

Bean was being a little bit of a stinker and wouldn't move around for the tech to get to the back of the neck, so the tech was pushing and wiggling my stomach to get bean to move. At one point we saw a tiny little hand fly up and bean flipped over onto his/her side and stuck its butt out at us! it was so funny! it's like s/he was saying "I'm not ready to play yet, come back later!" Just like brian does...ooh man, am I in trouble or what?!

12 Week Survey and Belly Pic

Total weight gain/loss: Up 4lbs. That makes me want to walk and do more yoga....its all showing in my belly! (and i know that isn't a bump!)

Next Appointment: We have our NT scan on Tuesday (april 6) and then I have a reg appointment on April 13

Maternity clothes? only jeans. even my fat pants don't fit.

Stretch marks: had them for awhile, wont be able to blame them on the bean!

Sleep: A lot less naps, none in the past week! I get about 10 hours of sleep a night, getting up one time to pee before the alarm goes off....then one time after the alarm (that is, the pre-alarm alarm) goes off about 40 minutes before I get up.

Best moment this week: hitting 12 weeks. I wasn't sure that I'd ever get this far!

Movement: i'm sure s/he is moving in there, i just cant feel it!

Food cravings: I want a Gyro, but only the kind from the fair...

Food aversions: nothing. at all!

Gender: after the U/S i am not sure....only because the HR was 164, so that has me thinking it might be a girl....but in my gut, i still think Boy!

Belly Button in or out: still in...will be for a while!

What I miss: beer. especially this weekend. Final Four is in town, we've been downtown taking it all in and i feel like i'm the only one without a beer...and i love beer.

What I am looking forward to: the NT scan and getting my Doppler in the mail!

Contractions: none.

Milestones: 12 weeks -- to some people that means i'm outta the first tri!

Belly pic from 12 weeks....that "bump" is my weight gain.

12 Weeks, Holy Cow!

I didn't think I'd ever get to 12 weeks. Feels like just yesterday we got our BFP!


So, what's happening this week you ask?

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

And for me?
Your uterus has grown to the point where your healthcare provider can now feel the top of it (the fundus) low in your abdomen, just above your pubic bone. You may already be into maternity clothes, especially if this isn't your first pregnancy. If you're still fairly small and not yet ready for maternity clothes, you've no doubt noticed that your waist is thickening and that you're more comfortable in loose, less restrictive clothing.

You may begin to feel heartburn (also called acid indigestion), a burning sensation that often extends from the bottom of your breastbone to your lower throat. Many women get heartburn for the first time during pregnancy, and those who've previously had bouts of heartburn may find that it gets worse. During pregnancy, the placenta produces a lot of the hormone progesterone, which relaxes the valve that separates the esophagus from the stomach. Particularly when you're lying down, gastric acid can seep back up the pipe, which causes the uncomfortable burning sensation. For many women the problem doesn't begin (or get worse) until later in pregnancy, when your growing uterus starts to push up on your stomach. The discomfort may range from mildly annoying to intense and distracting.

12 Weeks Pregnant

Thought this was funny...and true!

Dear Non-Pregnant Person,

I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women, as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn’t mean me – then you should probably read this twice.

1. The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is ‘Congratulations!’ with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you a jerk.

2. Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father – not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase ‘my baby’.

3. On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth, and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it…

4. The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone’s stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix, or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5. Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight…ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is ‘You look fabulous!’.

6. By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don’t need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. Nor do we need to know how badly you will feel for us because we will be pregnant during the summer and how glad you are that YOU will not be pregnant this coming summer.

7. There is a reason that tickets to Labor & Delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL, or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. You weren’t invited to be there when the baby was created, you probably won’t be invited to be there when it comes out either.

8. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital, and the parent’s home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to ‘help out’. If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9. If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules, and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10. The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

Sincerely,

All the Pregnant Women in the World

NT Scan....

Okay, so after a lot of thought, we're doing it.....B still isn't so keen on the idea, but in the end he isn't against it. And he knows I'm a total freak, so he deals with the fact that this will make me feel better!

I am not worried about our baby having anything wrong with it, what I am worried about is that if there is a special need (any one, ever)that I won't be prepared. I want to be prepared and have resources in place if Bean needs them.

And it's free. Insurance covers it 100%, no copay either! And I do love an ultra sound!

Anyways, so now that this is all set (Tuesday, April 6 @ 8:30am), I'm worried. What if Bean does have special needs....I know I went to school to be a Special Education teacher, but I never learned about if the child was mine! I wake up in the middle of the night and wonder if we have enough money to raise a child with special needs and give him/her everything and more.....I know that there is nothing wrong with Bean....but what if?


okay, I'm done. Right now, I'm just really looking forward to seeing our precious baby on the ultra sound!!