Catch Up... Weeks 22, 23 and 24...

 Happy New Years!!! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!! I certainly did! The time has literally slipped through my fingers. Going on vacation really screwed me up! I was home for so long and didn’t have any time to take bump pics or update my blog… oh well! I had a super fun time… It was great being home with my family for Christmas while soaking up the warm California sun! It was not that sunny when I returned to Rochester… we got a nice snow storm the day after Christmas which resulted in me having to brush a foot of snow off of my car the morning I had to return to work.

The worst part was, I got sick. Yeah…. The last day in L.A I started to feel under the weather, I had the tickle in my throat that no cough could scratch… and my throat was on fire. I woke up New Years Eve with the full on chest cold…. Not only does it suck to be sick, but it sucks to fly when you’re sick. Man, that was an uncomfortable day. Needless to say I was anxious to get back home and nurse myself back to health. I went back to work after 12 days off, worked one full day, and then took two more days off just to get better. Seriously, the worst cold I’ve ever gotten.

I’m happy to report that I am back to feeling about 90% better and baby is kicking around like CRAZY! I got to feel her kick from the outside for the very first time on Christmas morning. What an awesome gift! I ran downstairs to find Daniel to have him feel too. He sat there with his hand on my belly for a good 20 minutes and felt nothing… of course. This little girl has a sense of humor. He eventually was able to feel it a few days ago while we were at home sitting on our couch watching Moonshiners. Haha….

We had the 4D ultrasound while we were home…. Kind of a waste of money, I’m not gonna lie. It was awesome for my mom, sister, and step dad to be able to experience an ultrasound with me..my dad had to work :(, but we didn’t see too much of what we haven’t already seen from doctor’s offices. She wasn’t in the best position and her face was covered the whole time by her hands. At one point, she actually had her legs up by her face and she was holding her ankles almost like she was purposely trying to hide… Lol… sense of humor I tell ya. I got some good pictures, but I don’t have them uploaded yet. I hope to get them uploaded by week 25 so ya’ll can see.

I did have a doctor's appointment when I got back from L.A I've only gained 8lbs since the start of my pregnancy! I'm very proud of myself, it felt good to get complimented by my doctor too. She did however, tell me that I still have complete Placenta Previa and that if it doesn't move by 30 weeks, they're going to have to do a c-section around week 36-37. (That puts us at the end of March/beginning of April, a whole month early!! Ahh!!) I am ok with the c-section. it actually will work out to be way more convenient than waiting for me to go into natural birth... for more than a couple reasons. One being that my family won't have to play the guessing game on when to fly out here for the birth... that helps too. I am just obviously worried about the health issues that come with PP.... They're going to closely monitor me to see that it moves though, so prayers that it moves at least a little!

My mom and mother in law have started planning my baby shower... I'm so excited and so grateful that they're doing this for me... It makes me feel so humbled. I am very excited to help them plan and get involved with a little with the details. They're thinking the first weekend of March, how exciting!!

I’ve started planning out baby girl’s room and have most of the major details taken care of. We just need to put the plan to action now. My in laws bought us the nursery furniture for Christmas!! What a generous gift… I am so happy to see it in person and get the room in order! Here is the furniture we picked out:

Pretty huh?? And such a good deal… I also ordered this wall decal off of Etsy yesterday to put above her crib… I can’t wait to see it all together!

While we were away, baby girl went from the size of a Pomegranate to a Papaya to a Grapefruit and is now the size of a Cantaloupe! She’s been doing some serious growing while we were on vacation!

Your Baby: Week 24

At week 24, baby’s progress isn’t just about internal stuff, it’s about her looks too. With pinker, more opaque skin, she’s looking more and more, well, like a baby. You might be experiencing some of the discomforts of the later months of pregnancy like leg cramps, backaches and swollen feet.

Check, check, and check.

Symptoms: Back pain still… and minor swelling again. I'm also having times when my upper right thigh will just randomly fall asleep. It's not frequent, but it's happened a few times while standing in line for various places... weird.

Food Cravings: I think we’re back to Clementine’s...really anything citrus.

What I'm most excited about: Getting the nursery furniture in and getting her room all in order.

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Planned out nursery, ordered furniture and some decor!

Here is my 24w4d bump:

21 weeks!

It’s almost Christmas time!! I’m so excited to spend the holidays at home. We’re flying back to California tonight and we’ll be there for 12 straight days. It’s the longest I’ve ever visited home since I moved…. I can’t wait! We have lots planned… I can’t wait to see my nephew! We’re taking him to Disneyland, going to see Christmas lights and all sorts of fun stuff! I can’t wait to see everyone and ring in the new year at home! I’m also really looking forward to the Mexican feast we have every year for Christmas Eve… Tamales, Rice, Beans, Chili con Carne and beef and potato from Ramona’s… YUMMMM.

This Saturday we also have our 4D ultrasound booked! I’m so excited to get a sneak peak at baby’s facial features! I know she’s not fully grown yet so she won’t be chubby baby like the ones I’ve seen, but it’ll be cool to see the face move and be able to get a clear view of it. I’m really excited!

Currently baby girl is the size of this yummy looking fruit:

Your Baby: Week 21

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.

Symptoms: Back pain still… and sweelllinggggg. It’s like the minute I hit 21 weeks my ankles were like “It’s go time.”

Food Cravings: I think we’re back to Clementine’s.

What I'm most excited about: The 4D ultrasound this weekend, hitting the 24 week viability mark…ddecorating the nursery, going home so baby girl can hear my family’s voices!

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Nothing new really this week…

21 week (work picture) haha



20 weeks!

20 weeks…. I seriously thought I would never get here. I am still in pure maternity bliss. I love being pregnant! Especially now that I can feel baby girl moving all the time now! She’s so active, I absolutely cannot wait until we’re able to feel it from the outside so that Daniel can share my joy. I’ve been sitting with my hands over my stomach while we’re watching TV to see if I can feel anything. I’ve put Daniel’s hands on my stomach too and have felt her kick, but Daniel doesn’t feel them yet. Soon enough I hope!

We had another ultrasound this week. The anatomy scan that I had done at 18 weeks wasn’t super successful when they were trying to get a good view of her heart. She just wasn’t cooperating and wasn’t in the proper position to get a look at everything they needed to look at. This time when we went back I laid off the juice and only drank water before the appointment. She was still having a dance party in there! She was still so active and when she finally did calm down, she was curled up like a little shrimp in the corner of my stomach and the tech couldn’t get anything she needed to get. The scan lasted about 45 minutes. The majority of the time she was trying to get the baby to move, but baby girl wasn’t having it. She ended up having to do it vaginally. I was so not prepared for that. My legs weren’t shaved or anything and Lord knows how long it’s been since I’ve had a pedicure. Lol… I’m sure they’re used to it though. So once they got a better view she was able to give us lots of pictures. We even got some 3D picture sneak peaks! Next Saturday is my 4D elective ultrasound… I can’t wait to see her more! I’ll be in L.A visiting my family for Christmas, so I’m happy they get to go to one ultrasound. Here are the pictures that we got at the ultrasound yesterday.

She's the size of a banana this week!

Your Baby: Week 20

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!

Symptoms: Back pain still… the Snoogle helped tremendously, but I think it’s time to stop sleeping on my back. It seems to get worse if I lay on my back too long.  Running noses, itchy throat and phlegm has started to get worse… they did say that the 2^nd trimester was going to get a little more…. Damp was the word they used. They were right!

Food Cravings: Nothing really stands out… I’m still completely obsessed with Mexican food, Taco Bell more specifically.

What I'm most excited about: Decorating the nursery, going home to see my family and have a 4-D ultrasound and reaching the "viability" point... which I believe is about 27 weeks.

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Registered, starting to think up themes for my own shower. :)

Here is my 20 week belly:

19 weeks!

Ahh!!! We're almost half way there!!

Today I am currently 19w5d... Insane. Time is really flying by. Tomorrow we have an appointment with a possible pediatrician.... then on the 13th we go for another ultrasound so they can get a better look at baby girl's heart and then I fly home to California a week after that! Two weeks from today!!

While we're home I scheduled a 4-D ultrasound so that my family would be able to get to experience an ultrasound with me and we can get good pictures of baby girl's face and get a good idea of what she looks like! So crazy how technology has advance so we're able to do things like that, it's so awesome!

I'm feeling soooooo much movement lately. I can't wait until I can feel it from the outside so Daniel can feel her kicking too! Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the bond it's creating between the two of us... it's only between me and her. I love it.

We registered this weekend! Man was that draining! My favorite thing we registered for is the nursery decor. How cute is this??

The nursery is what I'm most looking forward to right now. Other than meeting baby girl obviously, but I can't wait to get her room all together! I collected Sleeping Beauty collectibles when I was younger and I've saved the more expensive pieces. I plan on putting them in her room and adding to the theme. I can't wait!

This week she is our little mango....

Your Baby: Week 19

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.

Now I want a mango....

Symptoms: Oh the night time back aches! I ordered a Snoogle and I can't wait for it to get here! I am noticing I am getting more and more uncomfortable sleeping and just relaxing on the couch. If I'm wearing pants that are too tight I just feel so constricted and I need to reposition myself a lot more frequently now. My nose is super runny, which they said during the 2nd trimester you may experience more "dampness" everywhere.... snot is one of the aspects of it, but we won't get into the rest. 

Food Cravings: We're back to Mexican food... and fruit again.

What I'm most excited about: Decorating the nursery, going home to see my family and have a 4-D ultrasound and reaching the "viability" point... which I believe is about 27 weeks.

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Registered, starting to think up themes for my own shower. :)

 

Here is my 19w4d bump:

 

 

18 weeks and It's a.......

BABY GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow.... it seriously feels amazing to know I have a beautiful baby girl growing inside of me. We took a last minute gender reveal picture to post on FB....

The scan went well as far as I know. I do have to go back in 2 weeks for another ultrasound because they didn’t a good measurement of her heart. I did see 4 little chambers beating though so I think that’s a nice reassuring vision to keep. I just keep looking on the bright side, at least I get to see our baby girl again. Maybe this time I’ll get a different tech and we can get more pictures! The same tech I always get just gives me two little ones… I want the ones of her feet that they took too. Those cute little feets that I can’t wait to kiss!

I was so nervous going into the appointment. I just wanted to see a healthy baby in there with the heart beating away. She was super active! The tech asked us if we wanted to know what we were having, of course we did! She told me that they usually didn’t look for the sex until after the scan was complete. However, she got a pretty good shot of the inside of the legs (the money shot) closer to the middle of the scan and asked us “Do you see those three little lines in between the legs?.... Looks like it’s a girl!” I cried so hard. I was shaking the table and the tech had to remove the wand until I stopped crying. She goes “This is why we don’t tell you until the end, here are some tissues.” Lol…. I don’t care, I was so happy to finally know! After she showed us that shot, she showed us another really clear shot and froze the screen and goes “Here we go, there’s the perfect shot right there! Congrats on your girl!” I was ecstatic.  Daniel was so happy too, he kept kissing my hand the whole time afterwards.

My visit with my friend was really fun, she was happy to be there for our appointment. I called my sister before we came out to the waiting room and told her that it was a girl. My mom and my sister were also convinced baby was a girl, so they weren’t very surprised, but also very happy.

I got our first little outfit for her! I’m thinking it’ll be a nice take home outfit. I just have to get some hand covers and a nice little hat for her to wear. We already have the perfect little grey shoes to go on her… they were the ones we used in our reveal picture.

We also got two more pictures of our sweet girl!

That is so my chin....

She's waving again!! 

We are thrilled. I can't wait to meet her!!

This week, she is the size of a sweet potato! (According to the bump)

Your Baby: Week 18

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.

Symptoms: No real symptoms to report... other than peeing a lot. 

Food Cravings: We're back to Mexican food...

What I'm most excited about: Registering!!

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Bought our first outfit...

My Bump:  Here I am at 18w4d:



Week 16 and 17!

Kind of a crazy week, I completely forgot to update last week and just decided to combine the two weeks. I'm totally thrown off right now, so many random things happening at once. First, we find out if baby is a boy or girl in 5 DAYS!! What??

Thanksgiving is TOMORROW! Wasn't it just a few weeks ago it was August and I was peeing on sticks?? I have the next week off for the Thanksgiving holiday and I also took Monday and Tuesday off bbeeccauuseeeee....

One of my best childhood friends flew into New York last night to surprise me!! Apparently her and my sweet husband have had this "Operation Surprise Teddi" thing going on since freaking September! I am not one that can easily be surprised, I'm pretty skeptical and pretty darn sneaky. Kudos to them for pulling this off, I seriously had NO CLUE.

Last night in the middle of the night, closer to 1am, my bedroom light flips on and I wake up (apparently yelling obscenities) and my bestie is saying "Hi Friend!!" And my father in law was standing there videoing my reaction... It took me a while to come to and realize what the heck was going on. I just sat there staring at them for a good 2 minutes until my father in law goes "Wake up, this isn't a dream!" So crazy, I am still in shock. So she'll be here till Tuesday and she gets to be here when we find out, so awesome!

Here is Becky.... friends since age 6/7... met in Sunday School

Sooo yeah, needless to say, I can't concentrate right now.

That could also be baby brain too, because I have found in the past few months that it is indeed real. Poop. Like I wasn't enough of a klutz already!

Last week the baby was the size of one of my favorite fruits... an Avocado!

Your Baby: Week 16

Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender.

Ahh s/he can hear me!!

Currently baby is the size of an Onion....

Your Baby: Week 17

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.

Crazy insane how much the baby is growing!

Symptoms are the same from week to week so I'll just combine the two:

Symptoms: Headaches.... kind of subsiding, but still there.

Food Cravings: Nothing really that stands out.

What I'm most excited about: TUESDAY!!! The Anatomy Scan... totally excited..

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Nothing really new this week...

My Bump:

 

Here is 16 weeks:

 

 

Here is 17 weeks:



15 weeks!

 We officially have less than 3 weeks before we find out what baby is! I'm so excited... I feel like once we know the sex for sure we can figure out names, nursery theme and all that fun stuff! Maybe even register shortly, oh so fun! It'll feel so much more real! You know what else is making it feel real??

MOVEMENT! That's right, we have movement, ladies and gentleman! It started yesterday afternoon... I was at work patiently waiting for the clock to turn to 5pm and I started to feel little pokes or flutters... then again... and again... and then again... for about an hour intermittently. Seriously, it felt so amazing. I wasn't sure what I was feeling was the baby at first or just gas. Lol, if you know me you're probably laughing right now. Then today around noon I started feeling it again, same sensation, but more active and all in the same spot as last night. I'm pretty sure it's the baby in there poking away, "Mom, I'm getting hungry!" So we're eating chili right now... currently the thing I'm craving.

Currently baby is the size of an orange!

Your Baby: Week 15

Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now out measure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.

Haha that's funny, cause I'm pretty sure I can feel them. Although I'm half way through week 15 already, well on my way to week 16!

Symptoms: Headaches.... ugh. I'm trying to stay as hydrated as possible though to help.

Food Cravings:  Salads with hard boiled eggs and croutons. Chili and anything spicy I can get my hands on.

What I'm most excited about: Picking out the baby furniture... decorating the baby room... Finding out of SHE is a SHE!

Something I've done to prepare for baby: Nothing really new this week...

My Bump: 15w4d