22 Week Belly Pics and appointment update!

22 Weeks


22 Weeks, close up

In other news, I just scheduled my last 4 week appointment. After August 29th my appointments will switch to every two weeks. I haven't gained any weight, in fact I lost four pounds so I'm up a grand total of 2 pounds this pregnancy. My OB was not worried and said she wouldn't be concerned unless it continues at the next few appointments. The Little Miss is doing great but apparently sucking all my blood. I'm a bit anemic so we're working on getting me more hydrated and more iron. We're trying first through food sources then will add iron supplements (in addition to the prenatals) if needed.

22 Weeks!

The Little Miss is now 11 inches long, about the length of a spaghetti squash, and weighs nearly 1 pound!

Baby Girl is now starting to look like a tiny newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If we could see inside my womb, we'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside the Little Miss' belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

The Little Miss is becoming very active in the womb. She's yet to cooperate long enough for Y to get a feel but we're beginning to notice her movements externally. Her nursery now has most of the furniture. The crib, dress, and glider were delivered this past weekend. All that remains is a small bookcase and a fresh coat of paint on the walls. The painting really should have come before the furniture but there just wasn't enough time!

We're off to the east coast to visit family and friends while I'm still able to travel. Updates may be delayed until we return. 22 week belly pics should be posted soon!

21 Weeks (and 4 days)!

Here's what's happening with the Little Miss this week:

She now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is about 10 1/2 inches head to heel - about the length of a carrot!

In other developments, the Little Miss' eyebrows and lids are present now. Since we're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well. I will soon feel like the Little Miss is practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. I should begin to notice a pattern to her activity as I get to know her better inside the womb. I have to say, I wasn't thrilled with the 2am party in the womb the other night. Doesn't she know her Mama needs her rest!?

Here's the 21 weeks belly pic, taken at 21 weeks, 2 days:



In other updates, we're making slow progress on the nursery. We managed to clear most of the contents on Saturday and picked up most of the furniture today. The crib wouldn't fit in the vehicles we had available so we're borrowing a friend's truck to pick up the crib Monday. So now our nursery has a combo dresser and glider! Yay! We still need to paint all the walls but that's going to have to wait until after our upcoming vacation. I'll update with nursery pictures soon!

20 weeks (and 1 day)!

We're at the half-way point! I have a feeling I might start having small panic attacks the more I realize the number of weeks remaining is less than the number of weeks along! Eek! It's not that I'm scared of having this little girl, far from it, it's the fact that there is SO much to do in seemingly SO little time. I know we'll get there but our Little Miss To-Do List is ever increasing in length!

Here's what's happening with the Little Miss this week:
She's now about the length of a banana! Measurements, beginning at 20 weeks, are now taken from head to heel rather than head to bottom. The Little Miss is about 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel. She now weighs about 10 1/2 ounces.

She is swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She can begin tasting all the varying flavors Mama is eating as she swallows the amniotic fluid. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and we'll see it in her first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery). Here's what the Little Miss may look like inside my belly:
The Little Miss is also becoming quite the prolific mover! I've had several strong kicks and movements this week. On Sunday I was actually able to see my belly move in response to her movement. Last night, I was sitting peacefully on the couch when she kicked so hard it startled me. Y was in the office, working, when I yelled into him that his daughter was beating me up from the inside. He tried to feel her movements but the little stinker settled down for a while.

20 week belly pics coming soon.....

Belly Pics and Bedding Decisions

First, here is the 19 week belly pic. It was taken late at night so you're only getting the cropped version. I would scare too many people if you saw my face in this one! Ha!


Now on to the good stuff. While we were in Missouri, my Mom informed us that she wanted to make the bedding for Little Miss. I, as many parents, had just been planning on buying a set once we found out what we were having. While I appreciate my Mom offering to make the bedding for us, I had no idea the stress it would cause! Not only did we have to come up with a color scheme but we had to consider material designs, comforter designs, bed skirt designs etc., find the material that would fulfill those requirements and then put it all together so we could decide if the designs were going to work. I spent the majority of two days looking at material swatches online. I first picked out key pieces of material I liked, then went in search of coordinating or complimentary material. Once that was done, I put everything together designing my own comforter, bed skirt, and bumper pads to be used later.

So without further ado, here are two of the possible comforter designs. We will be going with the first one as soon as I get the swatches in my hand and can confirm that it will indeed look okay.

Comforter design #1


Comforter design #2

We're planning to paint the walls a soft yellow or goldish color. The paint will be chosen once I have the swatches in hand and can take them with me to look at samples. We'll accent with the red color and have an overall safari theme. Giraffes happen to be one of my favorite animals so I'm looking forward to picking out a few of my favorite giraffe pictures to use as artwork on the walls.

19 Weeks (and 6 days)!

I really need to get better about being more prompt with these posts!

Here's what's happening with the Little Miss for week 19:
The Little Miss weighs about as much as an heirloom tomato at a whopping 8.5 ounces and is now 6 inches from her head to her bottom. Soon we'll be measuring from her head to her feet!


In other developments this week, the Little Miss' sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear my voice now. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. Since we're having a girl, her ovaries now contain approximately 6 million eggs. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on the Little Miss' skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

source: BabyCenter

Team Blue or Team Pink???

Monday was our big ultrasound....you know the one...yep, that one. The one where we find out what we're having! Drumroll please......


We're having a GIRL!!!


My appointment wasn't until 3:30 in the afternoon. Y took the afternoon off to go with me. Traffic ended up being pretty light so we arrived about 20 minutes early. The receptionist asked if we knew we were early. I told her we did but I was okay with waiting. I settled into my chair, with a very full bladder, when about 5 minutes later the ultrasound tech was calling us back. She asked if we wanted to know if it was a boy or girl. Y and I exclaimed "Absolutely!"

I was a little disappointed that the large, flat-panel viewing screen was at just enough of an angle to cause a glare for me while I was lying on the table. I could see most of what the tech was looking at but the glare made a few things indistinguishable. She took all her measurements and pictures she needed then angled her screen to point out all the important things to us.

She stared at her genitals for a long time making sure Baby J was indeed a girl. When she typed GIRL on the screen, I looked at Y and said "It's a girl!". Apparently the expression on my face or my voice worried the tech because she responded "That's a good thing!". I just laughed and explained that the girl's name was one we couldn't decide on yet so it figured that we would be having a girl. We've had the boy's name picked out for well over a year.

Baby Girl J is perfectly healthy. Heart, stomach, kidneys, bladder and brain all look normal. No cleft palette or Spina Bifida. She has 5 finger and toes on each hand and foot. She's definitely a feisty little thing. She did NOT want to reveal her feet on Monday. She's head down with her butt on my left side and feet on my right. Everytime the tech would push on her feet, Little Miss would kick back then grab her feet with her hands. Little Miss is measuring about 3 days behind but the tech and my OB both said it's absolutely nothing to worry about. My EDD is still Dec 3rd.

Things are going well with me, as well. Placenta previa is NOT an issue as we had suspected. The placenta is up and out of the way. I've gained only 6lbs so far so my OB was quite pleased with that. Other than a few headaches now and then I've been feeling pretty great! I'm definitely counting my blessings.

Presenting the Little Miss:

A profile shot. Just above her belly is a hand and a foot.


Another profile shot. Her hand is at her side.



Little Miss sucking on her thumb.

Now....on to picking out nursery furniture and decor!

Week 17, Week 18, and The Trip

Wow, I'm majorly behind! How is it that life just doesn't seem to be slowing down at all?

Week 17:
Baby J is about 5 ounces now and about 5 inches long from head to bottom. He or she is about the size of a turnip:


In other developments for week 17, Baby J's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — his or her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Baby J can now move his or her joints and the sweat glands are starting to develop.

Belly Pics:
I'll place these in between the 17 and 18 week updates. I never managed to capture my 16 week belly and have skipped week 18 as well. Seriously, I think I need a few more hours in each day! These pics were taken in Missouri at 17 weeks, 4 days. Y didn't tell me I was slouching and looked like a dork! Ha!


Week 18:
Baby J is about 7 ounces now and about 5 1/2 inches long from head to bottom. He or she is about the size of a bell pepper:


In other developments, Baby J is busy flexing his/her arms and legs — movements that I'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His/her blood vessels are visible through the thin skin, and Baby J's ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his or her head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around Baby J's nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he or she is born. If we're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If we're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them during an ultrasound.

The Trip:
What an exhausting week! Our flights were pretty smooth with only a few minor delays. I now apparently have motion sickness thanks to the kidlet in my belly. Baby J kicked a few times in protest when the plane would make it's descent. That really didn't help Mama who was already having issues with the smells surrounding her. Oh and the heartburn. Oh the heartburn!

It was great to see my family and friends in Missouri. Everyone was thrilled to see the ever-growing belly. I took the doppler with us so everyone could hear the heartbeat. My youngest niece, age 10, was completely enthralled with listening to the heartbeat and movements since Baby J was quite active. She's anxious for the baby to arrive so she can babysit. Too bad she doesn't live closer!

Baby J is also being quite spoiled very early! A friend was getting rid of all her baby items so we scored on some very clean baby things. Since we didn't know what we're having yet everything had to be gender neutral. My Mom, sister, her family and Y and I hit up the nearby Outlet Malls where Grandma and Aunt A spoiled the kid rotten with bargain sleepers, onesies, layettes and many other cute items. Hey, you really can't pass up those bargains - even if it meant we came back home with one more suitcase than we left with!!

We had a small, family celebration for my birthday on the 3rd. It was a nice, relaxing evening. On the 4th we invaded my brother's house for some bbqing, Wii playing and fireworks. Overall it was a great trip and I'm sad they won't be here for the birth and meet Baby J. We likely won't see everyone again until next spring.