Hiccups and leg cramps

Brian and I went to the doc on Thursday afternoon and got to hear Sadie hiccup! Dr. Bradford had the doppler on my stomach and you could hear her heartbeat change every time she had one!

Twice this week I have been startled awake by leg cramps! Thankfully my lovely hubby was there this morning to rub the cramp out and listen to me whine. Then he snuggled with me until I fell back asleep. :)

Sadie now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. Her eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And I can certainly feel her move. Brian gets his "Sadie Time" everyday and gets to feel her move and talk to her.

I have been feeling better, but I am told to relax and enjoy it while I can — the third trimester will bring some mild discomfort from carrying a baby who is nearly full-term. I have noticed that I have spider veins on my thighs and stomach, but no stretch marks on my actual belly yet. I do have them on my hips though, but I have always had them there. Round Ligament pain still comes and goes, but it is not as persistent as it was. They have been replaced by back pain (which the doc said can also be round ligament pain) and the pregnancy waddle. The books I am reading say I will probably get a lot bigger next month and I am worried I am going to go into the Guiness Book of World Records for being the widest 5'2 woman in history. I got my first fat joke the other day when someone asked if I was carrying twins. I looked at the man and told him the doc keeps checking, but only sees one!

Look what Grandma E got me!

Grandma E. bought me this changing table and mom and dad got to bring it home when they went to Louisville for Uncle Joel's graduation. Mommy painted it white and covered the shelves in pink fabric. I love it! The pig is my friend Orbel that Becky got for me.

My friend Ivy

This is my soon-to-be friend Ivy. Daddy says this little girl is responsible for my mom having baby fever.

Mommy and Daddy are silly!

Yesterday was mom and dad's anniversary. They are really silly and decided to take pictures in a photo booth in the mall. Daddy tried to get mom with silly string in the last pics, but she is wise to his crafty ways! They paid to take some more pictures, but the machine ran out of film! Don't worry though, the company is sending them a $3 refund check in the mail.

Here is what my room will look like!

No piggy jokes when I am a teenager though, okay?

We are halfway done!

We've made it to the halfway mark, woo hoo! The top of my uterus is at the level of my belly button now, and I've gained 4 pounds. I have been feeling the baby move since around 16 weeks, but this last week I have been feeling her everyday and her kicks are definitely getting stronger! Brian has been able to feel her move too!

Sadie weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 10 inches from head to heel. A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)She baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and we'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).

What do you think of my new pics?

Click on me for a better look!

I am 4 1/2 months pregnant!

Head to toe, our baby is approximately 7 inches long and she weighs almost 7 ounces. It's busy flexing its arms and legs — movements that I can usually feel after I eat a big meal. The blood vessels are visible through its thin skin and the ears are now in position and stand out from the head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around the nerves, a process that will continue for a year after the baby's born.

Insulin

So we went to the doctor on Friday and I got the pleasure of starting on insulin that same night. I am feeling better, but my blood sugar still isn't great yet. Keep us in your prayers that we do not have to go up in dosage! It's expensive!

The doctor listened to the heartbeat again, but the baby was moving around so much that the doctor was having trouble keeping up with him/her!

Sadi or Riley???

Only ten more days until we find out if we have a Sadi or a Riley...

I am 4 months pregnant!

At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, our baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. The baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of the pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.

The Mister

It'a true. I am having a torrid affair with the gentleman in the picture. He takes up half our bed, but boy does he support my belly and help me lay on my side!

This is actually my second mister. I left the first one at a hotel on a business trip. I hope he isn't cuddling with someone else now.

At around 4 inches long, crown to rump, our baby now weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. He's busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which will help develop the air sacs in his lungs. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all his joints and limbs. That means his hands are more functional, too. Sweat glands are appearing, and although his eyelids are fused shut, he can sense light. If I were to shine a flashlight at my tummy, he might move away from the beam. There's not much for the baby to taste at this point, but his taste buds are beginning to form.

Everyone has been so generous since I got pregnant! My friend Holly is letting us borrow tons of stuff, including an exersaucer. My friend Laura got the baby its first Christmas clothes as well as some Christmas bibs. Not to mention all the ladies at church who have let me borrow a bunch of clothes!

Both moms have been really great. My mom has gotten me a bunch of girl clothes (there is a hot debate as to what the sex is right now!) and ONE boy's outfit :). We plan to go shopping in a few weeks after we know for sure. My mom-in-law bought us a changing table the other day and I can't wait for them to come and visit so that I can set it up!

Goodbye First Trimester!

Head to bottom, our baby's 3 1/2 inches long — about the length of a lemon — and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Her body's growing faster than her head, which now sits upon a more well-defined neck. By the end of this week, her arms will have lengthened and will be in proportion to the rest of her body. (Her legs still have some growing to do, though.) She's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over her body (called lanugo). Her liver starts secreting bile this week, a sign that it's already functioning properly, and her spleen starts contributing to the production of red blood cells. She's also producing and discharging urine into the amniotic fluid, a normal process that she'll keep up until birth. Her hands and feet (which are now half an inch long) are more flexible and active. Thanks to brain impulses, her little facial muscles are getting a workout as she squints, frowns, and grimaces. She can grasp now, too, and she may be able to suck her thumb.

Brian and I cannot believe that we are already a third through the pregnancy! According to the books and friends at church, I am supposed to start feeling better. I had a few days where I was feeling pretty good, but then started to have blood sugar problems, which I think is contributing to my new wave of "morning" sickness. I plan on calling the doc in the morning to see what he would like for me to do next medication wise since being off meds is not working out too well. But hey, I could always have it a lot worse!

26 weeks to go!

3 more days in the first trimester!

The baby is about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weighs just about an ounce. Despite the small proportions, there's a fully formed baby inside my womb now. Much more proportional than it was a few weeks ago, his head is now only about a third the size of his body. His tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. His kidneys and urinary tract are functional, and he's starting to urinate out the amniotic fluid he's been swallowing. As I start my second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed!


Most of what I have read says I will probably be moving into maternity clothes soon, but who the heck wrote that??? I have been in maternity clothes since week 8!


We had another doctor's appt today and got to hear the heartbeat again. It was strong at 167 bpm! The doctor had put me on another diabetes medication at my last appt, but I had to stop taking it because it was making me have really low blood sugar. The doc said that he wants me off meds this week to see how my body reacts. He explained that sometimes people with diabetes, hypertension, etc can go off their medication early in the pregnany because the body can regulate itself. Anyhoo, I will stay off the meds for a few days and we will see how it goes. The doctor said even if this works, I will probably have to starts taking them again around mid-second trimester.

Isn't this cute?

I am three months pregnant!

Our baby's hit the 2-inch mark (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce. Her face is beginning to look more human. Her eyes, which started out on the sides of her head, have moved closer together on her face, and her ears are near their final positions on the sides of her head. Our baby's intestines, which have grown so rapidly that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into her abdominal cavity about now. Her kidneys are secreting urine into her bladder (I wonder if she goes as often as I do?). Her nerve cells have been multiplying rapidly, and synapses (neurological pathways in the brain) are forming. The baby may have acquired more reflexes by now, including sucking, and she'll even squirm if you prod my abdomen, though I still won't be able to feel her movement for several weeks (darn!).

Here I am at 12 weeks...

WOW...I have "popped". Don't make fun of me when I am huge!

Time left: 28 Weeks

Weight Gain: -7 lbs. I had gained four lbs, lost it, got the stomach flu, and lost three more. <----- That belly isn't from too many corn dogs..although I had two yesterday!

And here's Brian at 12 weeks...