21 Weeks - Banana

Weekly Pregnancy Journal



How far along: 21 w, 2 d


Total weight gain/loss: I decided not to get on the scale this week. It just depresses me - and really, I'm not going to do anything about it anyway, so why bother?

Maternity clothes: Yup

Stretch marks: Not yet

Sleep: The last few nights haven't been good. I can't seem to get comfortable. Back sleeping is completely out now, since my abdomen feels like I'm smuggling a pile of bricks in it. And side sleeping gives me a cramp around my ribs. I propped myself up on about a zillion pillows last night to try to sleep sort of upright - that worked for a while.... But I'm still exhausted.

Best moment this week: Umm... I dunno! I really need to blog more often so the weeks don't fly by in such a blur. Ooh, okay here's one - finally seeing the company president for the first time since I've told everyone. And he said he was delighted to hear the news. What a nice guy :) Ooh, and another one - getting the adorable bedding on Friday! My husband's the best - he didn't tell me that he broke down and ordered it, despite how freaking expensive it is.

Movement: Yup :) Still waiting for Nick to feel it - it seems like every time the baby is kicking I put his hand on my belly, and the baby stops.

Cravings: Nothing really. Everything still just takes delicious. And the last few days I've been ravenous, so maybe we're having a growth spurt?

Aversions: None

Gender: Yup, we know. But we're not telling. Actually, I did tell someone - my pedicurist :) It felt great to tell a stranger. It made it feel more real.

Labour Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss: Sleeping on my back. Being able to 'groom' myself. Rolling over easily

What I'm looking forward to: The house!

Weekly Wisdom: ??

Symptoms this week: Nothing major. Just that my abdomen feels really heavy now when I lay down. And my skin's been really oily these days - I've stopped wearing moisturizer (which is nutso for me) and I have perma-shine. But at least the acne hasn't come back!

Milestones: Having to go get waxed for the first time because I can no longer see my lady bits - even if I bend and contort. So on Friday, I went for a bikini wax and a pedicure - and I'm glad they did it in that order: scary waxing, followed by relaxing pedi :)

Also, moving to 'crown to foot' measurements instead of 'crown to rump'. Baby's getting so big!



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.

So cute!

Nick surprised me and went ahead and ordered this - it came today! It was so worth it - it's adorable! And he ordered it because I absolutely adore it, not because he likes it (he was terrified of bees as a kid. I was not). We got the bedding, wall hanging things, lamp and mobile.

20 weeks - Cantaloupe - halfway done!

Weekly Pregnancy Journal

How far along: 20 w, 1 d - Halfway done!!

Total weight gain/loss: +17.2 - I am honestly going to be a whale.

Maternity clothes: Yup

Stretch marks: Not yet

Sleep: I bought a new pillow yesterday and tried it out last night - seems good :)

Best moment this week: Knowing everyone is wrong when they predict whether we're having a boy or girl.

Movement: Yup :) Can't wait until Nick can feel it from the outside

Cravings: Nothing really.

Aversions: None

Gender: We know it now - but I'm not sure I'm ready to announce it on the blog (to the 0 people who read it) since we're telling everyone we don't know.

Labour Signs: None

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss: Wine with dinner at my dad's

What I'm looking forward to: Getting our house and buying stuff for it :)

Weekly Wisdom: Hmm, I don't think I've been very wise this week

Symptoms this week: Nothing major

Milestones: Finding out the sex... even though I didn't want to.

Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!

19 weeks - Mango

Weekly Pregnancy Journal

How far along: 19 w, 0 d

Total weight gain/loss: +15. I just hope that my doctor doesn't tell me on Friday that I'm gaining too much weight! I really need to lay off the junk food.

Maternity clothes: Yup

Stretch marks: Not yet

Sleep: I don't really love the wedge pillow, so I'm thinking of buying a boppy pillow that I can use now and as a nursing pillow.

Best moment this week: Seeing the dance party going on in my ute at the ultrasound on Friday, and feeling definite movement. It's not just "flutters" - it's a full-on poke from the inside out.

Movement: Definitely! And it's fantastic!

Cravings: Nothing really.

Aversions: None

Gender: I think it's a girl, but I don't really know. We had the U/S technician take the photos and put them on file just in case we decide to find out, but so far, it's a mystery.

Labour Signs: None

Belly Button in or out: In, but it's huge and shallow

What I miss: The ease with which I used to just stand up from the couch or get out of the car

What I'm looking forward To: Getting the u/s results this Friday when I see my OB

Weekly Wisdom: As much as my brother-in-law's mom drove me crazy on the weekend with her insensitive comments about my size, I should just be happy that she's not my mother-in-law!

Symptoms this week: Nothing major this week.

Milestones: Movement! And I now have cute defined baby bump - complete with the U-shaped indent underneath it. So I no longer have to worry if I just look chubby - it's definitely baby!
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.

No filter

So we went to my SIL's birthday yesterday, and her in-laws were there. Her MIL is old school Italian, and apparently has no problem saying really inappropriate things. She told my BIL that she's 100% positive I'm having a girl because I'm carrying my weight behind - like, in my back and ass.

That's just great. Because I'm pretty sure my ass is the same size it always was - I don't look pregnant from the back.

So she just called me fat. That's great.

I went to the party feeling really cute - I finally have a clearly pregnant belly with the little semi-circular line underneath it - the sure differentiator between too many Happy Meals and housing a little human in there. I started out in the best mood, and then, after her comments (and about 15 minutes of her pointing at me from across the back yard and making bets with the other parents based on my apparently-expanding ass) I was in such a funk. Totally ruined my day.

Honestly - where's your filter? In what world is it okay to tell *any* woman - let alone a pregnant one who is trying to get used to her new body shape - that she's getting fat anywhere?? Not okay lady, not okay.

18 week ultrasound

(Note: I'm actually writing this on Tuesday... but I'm pre-dating it as Friday, the day I had the ultrasound.)

So I had my 18 week ultrasound today, and all I can say is DON'T TELL ME TO DRINK 35 OUNCES OF WATER AND THEN MAKE ME WAIT FOR MY APPOINTMENT, AND THEN WONDER WHY MY BLADDER IS FULL TO THE POINT WHERE I'M IN TEARS. Okay. Sorry for the shouting.

That was painful. I had to go empty my bladder "a bit - but not too much" twice. How exactly do I judge just how full my bladder is? Do I have a fill line visible from the outside so I can leave it half-full? No, I don't.

And then the lady asked me if I drank more than I was supposed to. Ya, that sounds reasonable. The pregnant girl chose to drink extra and then hold it for an hour. Makes perfect sense - because I'm a masochist like that.

Anyway, she spent 20 minutes doing her thing with the screen turned away from me so I couldn't see what she was doing.

Nick and I were still undecided on whether to find out the sex - I really didn't want to know. REALLY didn't. But he was equally passionate about wanting to find out. Arguments ensued. Nobody was happy. But in the end, the u/s technician wouldn't tell us anyway - my doctor would review the results with me. So I asked her to take the pictures and just put them in the file so if we decided later that we were going find out, they were available.

So all in all, not an overly exciting experience. She eventually brought Nick in and showed us the feet and hands and a close up of the face, and gave us two printouts of skeletor baby (not as good as the 12 week pictures).

Oh, and I can't forget what she told me. At the beginning of the appointment she told me that the baby was really active - and asked in an accusatory voice, "When did you eat last". I told her I had a banana about an hour before the appt. but I hadn't had lunch yet. She was shocked that I hadn't had lunch at 2:00, but I explained that I work until 1 on Fridays and don't get a lunch, and since I came right to the appt., I just had a banana before I left the office and was going to eat after.

She then proceeded to tell me that my baby was in distress due to low blood sugar - that's why there was so much movement.

HONESTLY. I'm Hypoglycemic, lady. I know when my bloodsugar is low - because I pass out. It's not low. The baby's probably moving around for the exact opposite reason - the rush of sugar to the blood from the banana is causing the dance party in my uterus. B*tch. And when she was showing Nick and I the close up of the baby's face, s/he was opening and closing its mouth and she said, "See, the baby's hungry." Ah, that makes sense. The baby - who is currently eating through a tube in its belly - is asking for a hamburger by opening and closing its mouth.

She's lucky I was lying half-naked on a table with gel all over my belly. Because if there was a blunt object within reaching distance....

So that's my 18 week appointment. I'm so glad I won't be spending time with that ultrasound technician. I love my OB.

And now, the 18 week pictures of baby skeletor:

A fun moment in the airport and other fun "I guess I've popped" milestones

When we were going through customs at the airport last Friday, I had a funny experience. I went through the metal detector, and the grommits on my capris set off the the little light so the woman proceeds to wave the wand over me to see what was setting it off. She then proceeded to pat me down... spending extra attention on my tummy. She was checking to see if I was smuggling something in my baby bump :) Yup - a little brownie. I wanted to tell her that was all me, but just waited for her to figure it out as she kept pat-pat-patting my belly from all angles. Once she lifted my shirt a bit to see the offending metal grommits and saw the big ol' stretchy maternity panel, she let me go.

 

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Sometime over the course of our trip I went from looking kind of pregnant but mostly chubby to "holy cow, I look pregnant!" I don't know when or how it happened (though I suspect it had something to do with the pastry buffet table and sugary fruit punches...) but all of a sudden, I look pregnant - over the course of a 4 day weekend. At the beginning of the trip, I could see people checking out the belly but looking curious. By the end of the trip, I went to sit down for dinner and the hostess asked straight out, "how's the baby?" and the woman trying to convince us to book another Sandals vacation said, "after the baby, of course". There's no questioning now.

 

So ya... I've popped!

 

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I was just downstairs getting a coffee with my boss (well, I was getting chocolate milk) and one of the EAs I work with (who really drives me mental) was sitting at one of the tables with another colleague. She looks at me and from across the restaurant says, "Daphne!' I look over, and she's all smiles and rubbing her belly looking at me. I nod, and she said she was shocked - she had no idea! And the other colleague said she saw me yesterday and wondered. The EA said, "wow! you kept that a secret!".  Well, not really - I just try to avoid her at all costs because she drives me nuts. But I had a conversation with her just last week and she didn't notice it then.

 

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I'm not quite halfway there... and I look definitely pregnant. I'm going to be HUGE by the end! But as one of my HR coworkers says, it's okay that I have a belly already - the baby needs room to grow!  Grow away, little brownie!

 

T-1 day until our ultrasound! I can't wait :)

18 weeks - Sweet Potato

Weekly Pregnancy Journal


How far along: 18 w, 1 d

Total weight gain/loss: Since I was in the Bahamas on weigh-in Monday, I'm skipping this week. Let's just put it simply: weight gain = a LOT

Maternity clothes: Yup, and some of the non-mat shirts that fit me (even last week) are getting a little snug now.

Stretch marks: Not yet

Sleep: Fab. And my SIL loaned me her wedge pillow, so I'm trying that out. So far I'm finding it uncomfortable, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Best moment this week: I think it was simultaneously a good and bad moment (or collection of moments) - in the Bahamas, when people didn't even question if I was pregnant and just asked how the baby is. I'm excited that I'm looking pregnant and not just fat, but on the other hand, I think I'm *way too big* to be only 18 weeks along! Either way though, as long as everything's healthy, that's a good thing.

Movement: I think I might have felt movement on the weekend... it felt like a light pinching from the inside out, and I can't think of what else that might be. So yay if that was our little brownie saying hi!

Cravings: Nothing really.

Aversions: None

Gender: No idea. We really need to decide if we're going to find out - before our ultrasound on Friday! I still don't want to know though.

Labour Signs: None

Belly Button in or out: In, but it's huge and shallow

What I miss: Still would kill for a glass of wine. I had a sip of champagne on vacation, but otherwise stuck to my fruit punch and virgin daquiris. but I really wanted wine with dinner. I should ask my OB about having the occasional 1/2 glass when I see her next week.

What I'm looking forward To: Friday's ultrasound!

Weekly Wisdom: Try to be a little more sensitive when someone wants to throw you a shower. I think I really hurt my best friend's feelings when I told her that we're thinking of having a co-ed housewarming/baby-q at our new place instead of her doing a small BBQ for just my girlfriends. I think she understands (I really don't want a shower, and while doing a small thing at her place would be fun and not really shower-like (which is good, b/c I HATE showers), it would mean I'd have to do a BIG Indian thing with my in-laws which I really don't want) but she was definitely upset.

Symptoms this week: I had some red spotting on Sunday... which was scary as hell even though I knew logically that it was because of the vacation sexin'. It turned into brownish spotting the next day, and now it's gone. But that was still scary. Otherwise, I guess my only other symptom is feeling and looking big - I definitely look pregnant now!

New Question - Milestones: I can't do my own toenails anymore. It's been getting increasingly uncomfortable, but I was able to put a coat on Thursday night in preparation for the weekend of flip-flop wearing. I splurged and got a french pedi in the Bahamas, and noticed last night that I had already chipped one of the white tips. So there I am, sitting on my bathroom floor trying to bend and contort to touch up the white, and I bent so forcefully that I actually threw up in my mouth a little. So that's it, I'm getting professional pedicures from now on. Blech.

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.

16 week doctor's appointment & bloodwork

So last Wednesday, I had a doctor's appointment and I still haven't blogged about it. It wasn't a super-exciting appointment, but it was good. We actually thought I was just going to the lab for bloodwork and not seeing my doctor (it was part 2 of the IPS testing), but it turns out it was a full appointment, then blood at the lab. So Nick didn't come with me (since we thought I wasn't seeing my doctor) and it turns out he could have. Lesson learned.

 

So here's what I learned:

 

She got back the results from my last set of bloodwork - I don't have HIV or Syphillis --score! Either of those would have been a really unpleasant surprise. I'm also immune to Rubella, which I already knew since I got my shots in preparation for the India trip we didn't take. My Hemoglobin is on the low side of normal, but that's okay. She says that might go down more during pregnancy. I'm not really sure what any of that means, but I'm sure she'll tell me if it's an issue. My mom said to make sure I get enough red meat. No problem there. 

My blood type is O+. Never knew that. Apparently that's my mom's too.

 

She took my blood pressure and it's normal, and then we heard the baby's heartbeat for all of 10 seconds - she didn't even have to search for it. As soon as she put the wand on my belly, I heard the woosh woosh woosh. She said it was like the baby was waiting to say hello :) Heartrate is at 146, which is totally normal. 

Then she did a swab (I was not expecting that at all, since I didn't know I was even seeing my doctor - surprise!), which was given to the lab, and I did more bloodwork as part of the IPS stuff.  Good times. I freaking love giving blood. But this time it was only 2 vials, and I didn't bruise after.

 

So all in all, a good appointment. I go back in 2 weeks for my IPS ultrasound (at the lab, not with my doctor - for real this time, I don't see her that day) and then the week after I see my doctor again.

 

Good times!

17 Weeks - Onion

Weekly Pregnancy Journal

How far along: 17 w, 0 d

Total weight gain/loss: + 11. Ugh. But in my defense, I haven't really gone to the bathroom in a couple of days, so that should account for something.

Maternity clothes: Yup

Stretch marks: Not yet

Sleep: Is great. I'm still sleeping on my back a lot and it's totally comfortable. I need to buy one of those triangle pillows so side-sleeping is more comfortable

Best moment this week: My doctor's appointment (which I still haven't blogged about - I've been lazy) was pretty good. It's always great to hear that everything is okay - and that I don't have Syphillis :) Ooh, and I found REALLY CUTE bee bedding that I MUST BUY. No matter how expensive it is (which it is, very). But it's absolutely adorable.

Movement: Still can't feel anything - but I want to so badly!

Cravings: Nothing really.

Aversions: None

Gender: No idea. And I really don't want to find out, but Nick really does. This is a problem.

Labour Signs: None

Belly Button in or out: In, but it's huge

What I miss: Wine. It's going to be weird doing an all-inclusive and passing on the champagne.

What I'm looking forward To: Bahamas! And next Friday's ultrasound

Weekly Wisdom: Try not to be too offended when people say "wow, you're already showing!" Wow thanks, I hadn't notice. And really I'm 4 months pregnant. It's okay that I look pregnant!

Symptoms this week: Nothing much, really. My gums are still really sore (My dentist appointment next week is sure to be brutally painful). Other than that, feeling normal. I have a cold and a sore throat as of yesterday, but that's not our little brownie's fault.

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.