22 Week Pictures

here I am at 22 weeks




This is the Zom-Baby t-shirt JR got me. 'Cause growing a baby shrinks your brain.

Week 22

I think I might consider myself halfway through now. It's 18 weeks that I've known and 18 weeks (hopefully) to go.

I really want her to stay where she is and grow nice and big and fat but I'm also getting pretty anxious to meet her.
JR still hasn't felt her. But Jamie said she could see her moving through my shirt, so at least I'm not crazy. Maybe if we just spend a whole day with his hand on my stomach he'll feel her eventually.

She woke up this morning and started kicking super hard straight away. I told JR she was awake and pissed, just like me every morning.

I've been having some pain really low today, almost in my groin. I'm guessing that's round ligament pain. It's great!

I'm narrowing down the crib choices. The prices vary a lot between amazon, target, wal-mart, and babies 'r'us. That surprised me, but at least I know now before we buy it, rather than finding out after. Craigslist has not been working out so far. But I'll keep looking there too.

I'm glad she's coming after the summer. I want to paint a dresser for the nursery, and, if it will fit, paint the rocking chair too. Those are both projects that need to be done outside.

So this week she's 11 inches long and "almost" one pound. I ordered 1 pound of carrot cake at Grille 36 last night so I have a very good idea of how much that weighs (I didn't eat it all... yet). Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct but the iris's of her eyes have no pigment yet. She is very wrinkled and will stay that way until she gets some fat to fill them out.
No stretch marks yet, I'm not even going to pretend that I won't get them.

I have my 1 hour glucose test in two weeks. They didn't say anything about fasting at the Dr.'s office but it seems like it should be a fasting sort of test. So I asked the nurse from the insurance company's baby program who just happened to call today and she said some people do fast. So I have no idea. I also have no idea how I would actually manage it. Since I'm starving when I wake up every day. I guess I'll call the doctor see what they say.

Pilates

So I think the pre-natal pilates is helping. Every time I do the video I do the "core" section. My back feels better this week, here's hoping it's because I'm actually stronger and not that it's just a temporary reprieve. I changed how I stand at shuffleboard. So I'm sure that helped too. Instead of leaning over the table I'm kind of doing a lunge thing to get myself low enough. I tried to shoot sitting in a chair but it was really pathetic and didn't work at all.

I've been looking into cloth diapers more and I think we're going to go with pocket diapers. If I can find another kind super cheap at a garage sale or something I might buy a few of those but pocket diapers look the most new-parent-friendly. I also looked at a few sites that tell you how to make diapers but even the fabric choices are confusing. It's easy to make a crappy diaper like we used to wear but it's hard to make a really nice diaper like they have now. So I'm just going to skip that whole idea.

We got to see Addison a couple times over the weekend. She's super tiny and very adorable. It's incredible what a difference a couple pounds makes. Ryan was, I think, 10 pounds and Addison was 6-11. Ryan was a giant compared to her.
When I was holding her I was afraid she was getting too hot all bundled up but she let me know as soon as I started to unwrap her that she was happy in her little blanket cocoon. It's been quite handy having Jen give birth at the same hospital I'll be at. She's been able to answer my questions and give me a better idea of what to expect. We're going to aim for a slightly less dramatic labor and delivery than she had, but I hear that Spud's going to do whatever she wants. The best laid plans of (pregnant mommies) often go awry.

Also, you'll all be thrilled to know that JR was super cute when he was holding Addison. He was very busy watching a hockey game, but it was still adorable.

21 Weeks

Nothing too exciting to report this week. At least not anything I haven't already mentioned. We're going to go visit Jen and Addison tonight.

Last night my right leg went numb twice. Once when I was laying on my back on the couch and overnight when I woke up on my back.
It's not like it's asleep, there's no pins and needles. I told JR it's kind of like my face. I can't really feel my chin since the surgery, but I don't notice it unless something touches it or I try to move it.
After moving around a bit it comes back to normal. I think I'll start sleeping with a pillow behind my back to keep me tilted a little if I do roll over while I'm sleeping.

I had quite a bit of back pain after Monday from leaning over the shuffleboard board at the bar. I think I just need to take it easy. We had shuffleboard Monday, Jenny T. was over Tuesday, Wedensday was dive club, tonight we'll visit Jen, tomorrow we're going out with my friend from high school. It's been a busy week, so hopefully on Saturday I can do nothing.

So, baby is 10.5 inches and 3/4 of a pound. That's the length of a carrot. But we eat the baby carrots so I'm not sure I have a firm grasp on how big that is. Eyebrows and eyelids are present. The calendar thinks I should register this week. I think I'd rather take a nap and save registering for some other time. Maybe when a shower date has been hammered out.

I removed the "work" appointments from my google calendar after August 12th. It looks very empty now. I'm afraid that since I set my last day of work as 2 weeks before she's due she's going to end up being 2 weeks late and I'll just be bored for a month.
Then again the last two babies we know have each been a week early. I guess we'll see.

Baby's first outfit!

Our baby got her first outfit today!

Jenny Trotter stopped over today and she brought a gift for the baby (and some chocolate for me!). She made the card too which is ridiculously cute. It has our whole family-to-be on it. JR, me, baby, Gin, and Tonic. Too cute.

The outfit is adorable of course. It's so exciting!



In other news Addison was born today! Both mommy and baby are doing fine. Jen was chatting online with us from the hospital earlier, so it's good to know they have internet access there. I wouldn't want JR to go into withdrawal. :-)

It's been a pretty exciting day!

Kicking Machine

Her kicks have become a lot more frequent and forceful since the first time I felt her. The first kicks were teeny tiny little nothings compared to her latest acrobatics. I can feel her kicking straight out toward my tummy, down low by my pubic bone, and even sometimes back toward my butt.

JR still can't feel her though. But they say it can be as long as week 28 before you can feel them from the outside. I hope it's not quite that long.

I've kind of convinced myself that I can feel her from the outside. But only occassionally and when she's kicking straight out. Usually when I put my hand on my stomach, or he does, she stops kicking right away. So there haven't been a lot of opportunities.

I was sure he would have felt the one big kick she delivered when his hand was there last night. But I have so many tummy gurgles I'm not sure that if he felt her he would be able to differentiate between the gurgles and a kick (or from my heart beat which you can also feel in my stomach). There's a lot going on in there.

But last night I saw my stomach poke up a tiny bit right when she kicked. That happened twice. So she is definitely getting stronger.

Doctor

Went to the doctor this morning. Apparently Nurse Sue is the only person in the office on Friday. So I'll have to start going on different days in order to meet the other doctors. Not that I particularly care. They're 10 minute appointments, it's not like I'm going to strike up some great repoire with them before the delivery. And the chances seem pretty good that it won't be a doctor in the practice who delivers her. I think there are as many doctors in the practice they pair with as there are in this practice. So, like, 50-50.

Anyway, Sue said that in the ultrasound they noted that the placenta was low (they never told us that). But that it's not covering the cervix so there's no placenta previa. And that as the uterus grows it usually moves up so it won't be a problem.

We had no trouble finding her heatbeat today, so she's still in there. Not that I was worried. She was kicking me so much last night it was like, ok, I know you're in there! Maybe we should see about getting her a gameboy or something to keep her entertained.

Settings

I changed some settings through blogger so hopefully posting comments should be easier.
So, leave comments!

20 Weeks

They say it's the halfway point. I say I've only known I was pregnant for 16 weeks so far, And there's still 20 to go, so it doesn't really seem like the halfway point. Especially since I'm convinced she won't be making her arrival until our anniversary on September 13th, rather than her due date of September 2nd.

She's 10 inches this week. But this week we start measuring her from head to toe, rather than just to her butt. So she didn't actually grow 4 inches in a week. Ouch, that would hurt. The e-mail says she's the length of a banana. I am apparently eating very small bananas, 'cause I don't think mine are 10 inches long.
Her weight did jump a bit though, up to 10.5 ounces. I suspect a growth spurt will be happening shortly and we'll be seeing one pound pretty soon!

I thought I had gained four pounds since monday (it's Thursday) but I guess that was a false alarm (probably the giant DiBella's sub still lodged in my tummy somewhere) since I lost two of those pounds by this morning. So that puts me around 7 pounds gained total. The e-mail says about 10 is normal. Hopefully I can keep it slow and steady for the next 20 weeks.

I flipped the page on the calendar the doctor gave me (since this is the end of month 5). Looks like it's about time to sign up for childbirth classes.

I'm looking into cloth diapers. Haven't really decided anything yet though.

I started looking on craig's list for cribs etc. Looks like we can get a pretty nice set for the same amount as a middle of the road crib is brand new. I'm trying to decide if we want a convertible crib that ends up as a double bed or just a crib. We have a whole bunch of twin beds that I figured our kids would use, so that kind of makes the convertible crib seem not so useful. So we'll see.

She has seemed very active the last couple of days. I'm feeling her several times throughout the day rather than just once or twice. Still can't feel anything on the outside though.

Names

I'm loving this name website.

http://www.babynamewizard.com/namipedia/girl/amanda

it gives you the name's pronunication, meaning, nicknames, popularity, songs and movies with that name in the title, and famous people with the name.

I really like the map. It shows the popularity of the name by state and you can drag the year to see if it's increasing in popularity or decreasing.

It's very well done and has pretty much all the info I want to know about a name before I decide if it'll work or not. It even has some of the irish names that are spelled super crazy.

Maybe Spud's middle name could be namipedia in honor of the website.

JR won't make any suggestions for names. He better get on the ball or I'm going to just use one of Betsy or Rachelle's suggestions.

Betsy: Tyra Banks Hagy
"Rachelle": Elisabeth Jane Halvorsen Hagy

A little update.

So I guess I really am waddling now. I've tried to walk like I normally would but it takes way more effort than the waddle.
We went for a walk around North Park Lake on Sunday and now my legs are sore. I guess my new gait requires different muscles. Muscles that I haven't used much lately. We only made it a mile out and a mile back but it was still fun to be outside. Watching all the crazy people (there were enough to keep us entertained).
Poor JR though. I've never walked as fast as he does but now I'm even slower. So I was out for a fitness walk and he was out for a stroll with lots of breaks.
We went to see the pool too. It's huge! I told Spud that we'd be hanging out there a lot next summer.

Today the scale said I gained 7 pounds total since my first weigh in. I'm hoping it was the taco "salad" I had last night. The description in the menu said "Tortilla chips piled high with taco beef, cheese, salsa, a dollop of sour cream, and lettuce." Lettuce was definitely an after thought. It was great!

When I rolled over in the middle of the night Spud woke up too. I think she preferred the side she was sleeping on though 'cause as I rolled over she rolled back the other way. That's a very weird feeling. I also think I might be starting to feel her smaller movements now. It's still hard to tell exactly what's what though.

Week 19

Well, week 19 is over.

Things have calmed down a bit in the giant strides department. No spectacularly exciting baby news this week.

We had the April fool's joke which went well. And then we had Easter in Buffalo. It's a good thing the news is out because I definitely couldn't hide Spud in the Easter dress I wore. Tara seems excited, so that's adorable. And Ryan kissed my belly Saturday night. But then he went and kissed everyone else's leg so I'm not 100% sure that he was kissing Spud. We had Nino's when we were in Buffalo. It was fantastic but I really wanted the blue cheese dressing.

I've been feeling Spud move a little bit every day. Usually just one or two kicks at a time though, maybe once or twice a day. Nothing that I can measure or anticipate yet. What was really funny though was when Ryan started yelling and shaking a plastic easter egg full of candy and she jumped. I think he scared her. She'll just have to learn that that's what little boys are like.

We asked for suggestions for names for her.
Help us name baby Spud.
We got a lot of good ones but I'm really picky. It has to be pretty but can't be too popular. I thought about Scottish names, there are very few that fall into the pretty category though. And the Irish names are very popular or spelled so weird that no one would be able to pronounce them.
So for now we're still working on it. I'd like to name her sooner rather than later though. It seems weird to have someone whose name you don't know living in your uterus.

We decided that the nursery will be baby dragons. We'll have to do it all ourselves since there isn't a baby dragon nursery set out there but that's ok. I'm thinking purple walls, gold/beige curtains and crib sheets, and bright colored dragons flying around.

I tried the prenatal pilates video again. It didn't go so well the first time. I definitely over did it. But this time went really well. I did a couple of different workouts than I did the first time. I think I'll work my way back up to Standing Pilates and then take it slow once I'm there. I think it's the deep breathing that makes you feel so great. Just like yoga.

I finished the first set of pattern rows on her blanket. I only had to undo a half row of stitches so far. I'm pretty impressed. Hopefully I can keep up the pace and get it finished before her arrival.

This week Spud is 6 inches long head to bottom, weighs 8.5 ounces, and she's starting to get hair on her head (hopefully). She's about the size of an heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportion to everything else now and her kidneys are working.
The e-mail says don't have your baby's first name end with the same sound as your last name. So they don't think that Maggie Hagy would be a good idea. I think they should not tell me how to name my baby.

Week 18

Week 18 was just as exciting as 17!

We had the second trimester ultrasound on Wednesday morning. It took forever. We went in with a guy and he said he would start and then someone else would finish. Well she came in maybe halfway through to check on him but then she left again. And he just kept taking teeny-tiny measurements. She came back after a while and checked over his measurements and pictures, then she finished it off. They were actually pretty gentle this time.

So she's the one who found the gender (after tilting me upside down). Baby Girl! And I was so convinced it was a boy. It's a Spuds Mackenzie!

I think I got on the table at 8:45 and they were finally done at 10:15.

But everything looked normal. I'll post some pictures later. And we got a DVD! Our baby is a (straight to video) movie star already! (Technically it's an all nude video. We might have to have a discussion about that.)

So the other excitement of this week is that after the ultrasound, in the afternoon, I felt her moving around! I was having some cramps so I think she was sick of being squished so much and was fighting back. Since then I've felt a few movements but that first set was like a boxing match! JR is anxious to feel them from the outside, but it might be a little while yet. I have to be sitting perfectly still to feel her at all.

And today (technically day one of week 19), to continue the excitement, is April Fool's Day! So I announced on facebook. It caused quite a bit of confusion, which was the goal. After denouncing it as an April Fool's Day trick in a text, Betsy called for verification. And Rachelle nicely said that she would congratulate me tomorrow once she's sure it's not a trick. :-)
I have them so paranoid about April Fool's day now, it's fantastic! I may have to retire after this though.

Anyway, on to Spud!
She (Yay I get to write a gender!) should be about 5.5 inches long and weigh 7 ounces. Her ears are in their final position but they're standing out from her head. Probably like my dad and uncles' in their acolyte picture (you have to see this picture, it's hilarious). Her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place.

I've noticed my back doesn't hurt much at all anymore. Let's hope that lasts a while.

I did prenatal pilates on Saturday. I don't think my uterus was too impressed with it. I'll take it slower next time.

I started knitting her baby blanket. It's bright yellow and the pattern is called sunshine. I'm 12 rows in of 260. At 2 rows a day I should finish it in time.

So, it's been a big week! I think next week will probably pale in comparison.