25 weeks (almost)

Just a quick update for a belly shot - today is actually 24W+5D but it's close enough! 

Dear God do my eyes look that baggy all the time?

At 25 weeks, our girl can reach her own toes and hold on to them! She can also make a fist (so that's what I've been feeling lately!).  If you listen from the outside, it's now possible to hear her heartbeat without a doppler or stethoscope - we'll have to try that to see if it's true, or if you only really hear my stomach deciding if dinner was a worthy choice or not... I'm feeling all kinds of movement lately which range from gentle bumps to some stronger pointy jabs. Matt felt a particularly swift kick the other day and was shocked at how strong it feels even from outside! He asked "what does that feel like from inside when it feels that crazy strong outside?"  It's hard to explain, but sometimes it feels like if you jammed a few irregularly shaped balls or objects and then rolled them over one another inside a sock or something.  Pretty cool :-) 

In other pregnancy related news, I've decided not to teach my winter session of Zumba after all.  With the increasing SPD (pelvic/pubic pain) I've been having, plus the possibility of complications from placenta previa, I just felt that it was important to listen to my body and take it a little easy (which many of you know is particularly hard for me to do sometimes).  I wanted to teach this winter for a few reasons, including staying in shape before delivery and also not letting my students down, but I know I have to do what's important for the pregnancy and that was that. I'll plan to go back to teaching in September, but a little break will probably be a good thing anyway.  The SPD is pretty obnoxious, and that literally feels like my pubic bone is separating when I move certain ways (rolling over in bed, pushing something with my feet or even taking off one shoe using the other foot, going up stairs etc).  The only thing that really helps that is to take it easy, and Zumba is not exactly that, unfortunately. I'm going to get a support band to wear around my hips to see if that helps, too, because it's getting challenging to stand for longer than 15 minutes at a time, and sometimes it is so achy it hurts to stand on one foot long enough to put my legs in my pants! 

Our next ultrasound is in 3 weeks, and they will re-check the placement of the placenta (and I am going to ask them to turn on the 3D for a minute to try and get a glimpse what our girl looks like...hoping they will!).  If it's still low-lying or completely covering the cervix, they will do a repeat u/s again at 32 weeks, and begin to make a delivery plan if we have to think about a c-section.  If it's all clear, then we can proceed with planning a normal delivery.  We're enrolled in a condensed childbirth prep series at the Center for the Childbearing Year which will be 2 Saturdays in the early spring regardless, and I think that will be good for us even if we think we're planning for a c-section just in case that option changes at the last minute.  I definitely feel like I need to start getting my head in the game if I'm going to have a natural delivery, which is the way I'd like to see this go.  More on "birth plans" in a future post, however. 

3 more weeks until the 3rd trimester begins...so hard to believe I'm nearly 2/3 of the way through this! 

2011 - the year I will become a mama

My apologies for the missed posts - with the holidays bearing down on us and working all week, it was the best I could do to make sure all the major items were checked off my list, and the blog slipped to the back burner.  But, to recap, Christmas came and went and was just as lovely as it is every year. We did our annual Christmas Eve dinner with Matt's family, and let me tell you, I married into a great one there! Delicious food, family stories, and the excitement of the kids on Christmas Eve (although they are all getting SO grown up and I have to say it's amazing to see how they each get a little bit more reserved and less Santa'sComing!Santa'sComing!OMG every year).  And for those of you who wanted to see pics, I brought a peppermint meringue chocolate ganache cake for dessert, and it was SO delicious!

The cake, pre-slicing 

 The inside view

The 23 Week Belly at Christmas Eve

Our Christmas morning was actually pretty perfect, as it was the first time since we lived in our condo that we've actually had our own time together on Christmas day without anyone else. We opened our gifts in front of the fire with mugs of coffee and a few special treats, and just spent the day generally relaxed and jammied until my Mom got home from work and Allison came over.  Family dinner before 8 PM and opening our gifts at night by just the light of the tree was a little upside down for the way we usually do it, but it was really nice and a great way to end the day.  Of note, I received a video camera (well, apparently I made this wish recommendation quite clearly known and both Matt and Mom got one for me...oops!), so just get ready for an onslaught of adorable videos this spring! :)

Anyway, I have now hit the 24 week mark and the very brink of viability. Little girl's lungs should be developed enough to offer at least a chance of survival outside the womb (although I've been quite clear with her that she is to stay put for a while yet!).  She should weigh about 1.5 lbs and will begin putting on the weight now.  According to one of the many weekly email updates my inbox is regularly assaulted with, she is currently approximately the size of a papaya :)

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Reflecting on 2010, looking forward to 2011

2010 held much excitement and promise for us.  We continued to work very hard every month towards our goal of paying down debts and moving closer to being able to look into buying our own home.  We had hoped that this would happen by the end of this year, and although we're not quite there we've made tremendous progress, and I have to remind myself how much we have accomplished.  We have pushed ourselves to give things up or hold off on things that we wanted, we have learned the importance of patience and fortitude towards a shared goal, and we have continued to learn that supporting each other no matter how difficult the circumstances might seem at times is ultimately what will get us to that end.  And so, in 2011, we will continue to forge ahead and hopefully this year will be the year that we do in fact become homeowners. 

2010, as you all know from reading this blog, was also the year we decided to take the leap towards parenthood.  We were lucky enough to conceive without a struggle, and I feel so fortunate to have had a relatively normal pregnancy thus far.  Being slightly less than 16 weeks from our due date, I am looking forward to the remaining experiences that this journey will have in store, but more than that I am looking towards the most wondrous change our lives will probably ever see; becoming parents for the first time.  I think we both have the chops to handle it with relative grace, and the support we have from friends and family will see us through when we inevitably falter.   This role, Mama, is something I feel I have literally waited most of my life to experience, and I feel ready. I honestly hold very little anticipatory anxiety about those first early stages of motherhood, anyway...thinking about raising a teenage girl does pose its challenges, but we'll work up to that by the time we need to! I feel knowledgeable, prepared, and overwhelmingly excited to experience that which I have admired in others for so many years.  To have a little face look to me as one of the most important sources of love and knowledge and guidance, to nourish both a body and a developing soul, to raise an intelligent, present, caring member of our human race...I am truly honored to have the opportunity to try my hand at this.  

Aside from the obviously major changes that 2011 has in store for us, my other goals (albeit related to that in some way) are to simplify, de-clutter, and organize both my physical spaces and my inner self.  I want to feel that the spaces I surround myself with bring me peace, calm, and comfort, so that I can live as presently and simply as possible.  I want to experience my remaining pregnancy and maternity leave fully, not living in a whirlwind of clutter and physical mayhem (of course some of that comes with having a newborn around, but I at least want to start with a clean slate, both mentally and physically).   I am notoriously terrible at getting and staying organized, and I truly want this year to be a fresh start. With that in mind, the rest of this weekend is dedicated to clearing out spaces and finding what we cannot live without, and doing away with much of the excess. 

What are your goals/resolutions/hopes for 2011?

22 Weeks

22 Weeks! Baby is definitely getting noticeably bigger every week now as evidenced by the size of the belly, which is starting to look alarmingly rotund these days, and her movements are getting stronger (a little) day by day.  Matt got to feel a good thump last night, which was great! We were laying in bed looking at lists of names together, and she must have known we were talking about her! I think the name we were looking at when she popped Matt was Laqueesha (and why the HELL did that come up under a list of Gaelic origin, I ask you?), and I'm certain that was a "You two had better choose something a little better than that for me, I mean there are millions of names out there and you're looking at Laqueesha?".  She should weigh just over a pound by now, and we are now 2 weeks away from the brink of viability - I can't imagine that there is a human baby in there who albeit with MAJOR medical intervention, could survive outside the womb.  We will appreciate another 15-18 weeks inside, though, thank you very much little girl. 

Here she is in profile at 22 weeks :) 

We are having trouble with the sharpness of the photos of late. I have a great camera, a great lens, a fairly good understanding (at least I thought) of settings to use in various conditions, and most of these belly shots have been slightly out of focus or the white balance is off, or something.  In fact, I feel sorta disappointed in the Tamron lens I got for my camera this summer, but I'm 99.9% sure it's not really the lens but user error ;).  Need to work on that, and spend some time with the book I have on using this camera (2 years later, natch). Of course, for these shots, I'm also asking someone else to use my camera who doesn't spend much time with it.  Maybe I should pull out the Powershot A430 point and shoot, and we'd have better luck with these pics. Any of you photographer friends have any tips for sharper pics taken indoors after dark (my Thursday week turnover day lends us to taking these either before work or after work, in the dark with artificial light)?

With the Christmas holiday now 8 days away, I have been pushing myself to get things ready this week, and have spent late hours decorating, shopping, baking, and making projects for gifts.  I love to do this stuff this time of year, and although it feels hectic and last minute I do get satisfaction from knowing I did something creative and it turned out well enough to give someone! This week I baked approx 4 dozen molasses spice cookies for Matt's classroom holiday party (recipe originally from Cook's Illustrated, courtesy of www.simplyrecipes.com), power-shopped after work until 10 PM on Wednesday night, and made Lavender-Lime Sugar Scrub for gifts.  Consequently, my pregnant body has said ENOUGH and told me so when I tried to get out of bed today.  I literally could not stand long enough to even think of getting in the shower, so I am home, resting instead of at work today, and while I feel slightly guilty about that, I have to remind myself that my body is doing the work of two right now, and some days I will just have to rest.  (Holy Run On Sentence, or at least Overuse of Commas Batman). But, I wanted to share my scrub recipe and some photos for fun :) 

Sugar Scrub 

-Equal parts natural ("raw" or turbinado) sugar and oil - I used half Sweet Almond Oil and half Grapeseed Oil, but you can use any kind you like.  (One 24 oz bag of sugar filled 2 of these containers from Michaels)

-Essential oils for aromatherapy purposes - I used a combo of Lavender and Lime, and let me tell you it smells heavenly! Wish you had a scratch and sniff screen, cuz this is the bomb.  I know it's for skin, but I seriously wanted to taste it! 

Mix sugar, oils until all moistened and glistening, and then add essential oil - drop in a little at a time until you reach the desired potency of the scent - those babies can pack quite a punch and you don't want to inadvertently clear the sinuses of your gift recipients! Then, scoop into jars, add a square of spare fabric and tie with a ribbon. Perfect for gifting! 

So there you are, 22 weeks recapped.  6 weeks until the 3rd trimester, and also 6 weeks until they recheck the placenta previa.  Hopefully I'm not told to go on bedrest, but we'll figure that out as we need to! 

Happy last week before Christmas! 

21 Weeks

I can't quite believe another week has ticked by...December is quickly speeding past as it usually does, and along with it so are the weeks of this second trimester.  7 weeks left until the third trimester begins! This week my belly is really starting to feel like a pregnant belly.  I'm noticing sensations of internal and external stretching that are somewhat uncomfortable at times, as though I'm walking around with a post-Thanksgiving belly full of food all the time!  I don't believe I have as yet adopted the pregnant lady waddle, although there are times when I feel like it! Maybe I should ask someone to walk behind me and assess that...

Inspecting my un-clad self after a shower the other night (as I have developed the slightly disconcerting habit of doing), I discovered the appearance of several silvery white stretch marks on my sides.  I do believe these have been there since sometime in middle school (another period of awkwardly rapid growth, it seems), but now that my belly is starting to tug at the sides they are showing their sneaky little selves again.  I'm not sure if the fact that I had them earlier in my life means my skin is just prone to getting them and I can look forward to all kinds of new lovely, probably purple ones in the coming weeks, or if I still have the chance of escaping with a smooth skinned belly.  Of course, I have no choice but to wait and see, and although I know no amount of cocoa butter or belly oil will stave them off, I'm still doing my best to moisturize the heck out of my skin under the premise that it's winter and who wants dry, itchy skin on top of stretch marks?! Bring on the Burt's Bees Mama Bee belly balm!

21 Week Belly:

I really need to have these taken at the beginning of the day instead of at the end...

Tidbits:
Dinner last night - tostitos and salsa, chocolate ice cream (I guess this is probably why they have pregnant ladies take vitamins)

Pregnancy cleavage is obnoxious.

Pregnancy skin is still weird.

Pregnancy dreams are weirder. Like the one where the baby was born with all of her baby teeth? Yeah like that.

The room that will become the nursery at my Mom's is in a state of unbelievable possibly pre-hoarding stage disarray.  We have MAJOR work to do after the holidays.  See for yourself:

So anyway, there you have it.  Our life at 21 weeks, in a nutshell.  

20 Weeks - Halfway to a baby

While I hate to start a post with an apology, I do have to say I'm sorry for the delay in getting this updated this week...of all weeks! Big News! Last Thursday was the halfway point for me in the pregnancy, 20 weeks, and we had a midwife appointment that went well that day.  My blood pressure remains normal, baby's heart rate is hovering in the mid-150s, and my weight gain has been modest so far, which is all good news.  Not much else to add there, things just keep rolling along normally.

Then on Friday we had our much awaited ultrasound.  Baby is growing right on track and weight is estimated to be about 13 ounces right now.  Our sonographer spent plenty of time checking out each part of baby's development, head to toe.  Every major organ system is looking normal, all structures and bones are growing normally, all fingers and toes seem accounted for.  Femur, humerus, feet and hands are measuring right on track.  There seems to be no evidence of a cleft lip or palate.  Brain development appears normal so far.  The heart appears to be perfect from every angle they could get (which was a lot!).  Little one is stubborn and would.not.move for the longest time for them to get a good peek at the profile, so I was asked to get up and pee, and do a few jumping jacks to get it going! We asked the tech not to tell us the baby's sex, but write it down and we would open it together after the appointment.  After all the measurements were taken, a perinatologist looked them over and then met with us to discuss everything.  By and large, baby looks like a healthy, fabulous little 20 week fetus.  There was one particular measurement which was slightly "abnormal", but they discussed what this might mean, and also that it can be off in the spectrum of typical babies very often as well.  Without getting into too much detail, I will say that although it was a surprise to both of us that we didn't walk away with a "perfect" assessment, there seems to be no real need for concern regarding baby's health or development at this point.  On that note, here are some cute pictures of our little one!

Right Foot 

Left Foot 

I like to call this shot "skeletor" - front view of baby's skull, with a creepish looking hand curled up

Profile, with arm across the top

However, they did discover that I have a total placenta previa, grade 1.  Basically, a little bit of the placenta is implanted covering the cervix.  They felt that this would likely resolve over the next part of the pregnancy, but they want to repeat an ultrasound at 28 weeks to check it again.  If it hasn't moved, we will start discussing what this might mean for the remainder of pregnancy as far as restrictions (i.e bed rest! ugh!) and for delivery.  If it is still there at 32 weeks, they will most likely plan for a c-section.  Not much else to say about that at this point, but hopefully it resolves itself and we won't have to discuss it further!

So, for those of you who haven't already heard, we did find out the sex of the baby. DISCLAIMER - Mark if you are reading this, stop now!!! And for any of you who know Matt's father, please do not tell him! He doesn't want to know, and we will do our best to honor that wish for him.  Anyway, the tech was quite sure he saw what he needed to see (I'm pretty sure I saw it when he did too).  He wrote the sex down and we decided to go to the Michigan Theater and open the envelope on the landing where we got married.  It was really sweet, and totally Matt's idea.  It was a perfect way to find out that we are going to have a daughter! It's a girl :) Neither of us were surprised to see that word written on the paper, but it was so wonderful to know that we can now start calling baby "her" and thinking of names.  No, we don't have any front runners yet, and I think we might keep that little part a secret until the end when we do!


I know this post is getting super long, but I wanted to end with a belly pic from 20 weeks.  Halfway - think it's half as big as it's going to get? Haha, yeah right! I look like I could use a good nap here. Hope 21 weeks photographs better.  I'm wishing I was a bit more creative with my weekly shots, but I guess there's still some time left.  

  

Tminus 4 days until The Ultrasound

The week is here :) On Friday we have our 20 week ultrasound, and I could not be more excited! I can't wait to see how much baby has grown in 8 weeks since our last glimpse.  I am not really feeling anxious about anything being wrong with development, but if it is I'm glad we'll have the opportunity to know now.  I'm excited for the chance to find out if this baby is a girl or a boy, to put a little more detail into the dreams I'm already creating for this first child of mine.  Of course I know that just because a baby has specific parts between its legs doesn't mean it will be a "girly girl" or "all boy" or whatever.  My little girl may want to play hockey, and my little boy may want to be a gymnast (or insert whatever other gender-specific activity here), but none of that matters to me.  I know that people say "as long as it's healthy, I don't care what it is" and to some extent that is true for me.  But I guess I would say, I hope with all my heart that my child is healthy so that he/she never has to know that pain that I see every day, and so that our family doesn't have to make the choices and certain sacrifices I see families make in order to care for their sick children, but if he/she isn't perfectly healthy, I will still love every ounce of their being, boy or girl.  That said, I really don't care if our baby is a boy or a girl, and I really do hope he/she is healthy as can be! And I hope we get confirmation of both on Friday (well, confirmation of one sex or the other, that is).

I think baby's movements are getting strong enough to feel from the outside! I spent some time on Saturday morning just me and the baby getting to know each other, and I could see little twitches every now and then ripple across my belly corresponding to the same sensations inside.  I hope that this is the week when Matt gets to feel his baby move, too.  I hope that makes it feel more real to him.  I've been the one experiencing everything, pleasant and not so, and of course it feels real to me.   But he's been an observer so far, and I think that this week might be the one that starts to turn that switch for him - seeing the baby growing and thriving on ultrasound, and hopefully feeling its first little movements for himself.   C'mon baby, kick it up!

Thankful (19 Weeks)

             Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today marks 19 weeks, along with the day that we Americans traditionally gather and give thanks for our family, friends, good food, a roof over our heads, and jobs we either love or hate, but still provide us with the all important bread and butter.  This year, the motions were not much different than in the recent past.  I got up this morning, had my coffee (Ok, only one small little cup this year...fine) looked through some Black Friday sales ads, and then got to work on my contribution to the Smith family feast. This year it was sweet potatoes, and I threw in an impromptu cranberry curd meringue tart for good measure.
             However, as I worked my way through the ingredients and made piles of dishes (yet to be washed) in the sink and kept looking at the clock realizing I'd waited just a little too late to start, I had in the back of my mind the notion that there was someone else along for the ride this year.  Someone who is currently causing me to tie my apron strings a little looser.  I'm nearly to the halfway marker of this pregnancy, and while it feels every bit of 19 weeks some days, there are moments when I realize it's flying by, and before I know it I will be the mother a baby in my own arms.  People ask how I'm feeling, people ask if they can touch the belly, people want to know if I can feel the baby moving or if we know the sex yet (well...most of the time people ask if we know the "gender", which bugs me the grammarian in me, because gender is really a set of characteristics that are socially constructed to distinguish male from female, and sex is the biological distinction of genetic traits which makes one physiologically male or female...but I digress).  And all of those things are fun, outward markers of the idea that I am in fact, gestating a future human being that will join the world in give or take another 20 weeks, but they don't really come close to the thoughts or feelings I have about this process or about becoming a mother.  I don't need to write those all out here, good lord there's still 4.5 months for that, but I do want to express that Thanksgiving just feels different this year. Better. Because while I've always been thankful for the things mentioned above, it's also really easy to take them for granted at times. But this year, I am truly in awe of the amazing thing happening in my own body, and knowing that in a few short months I will be the mother of my very first child.  Matt will be my baby's father.  That blows every other Thanksgiving out of the water. I'm thankful for a healthy first half of my pregnancy. I'm thankful for a job with flexible and understanding coworkers who have picked up a little slack when I just haven't been able to some days.  I'm thankful for a husband who cares deeply for me and the child we are going to bring into the world in April.  I'm thankful for my mother offering space in her home to us so that we can truly get started on the right foot after baby is here.  I'm just thankful for the opportunity to fulfill the most prominent goal in my life - becoming a mother.  I feel full of promise this Thanksgiving, like the feelings I have now will only continue to grow and multiply and expand along with my belly.

I hope you all have something special on your mind this year, however big or small.  Happy Thanksgiving, my friends and family.

Pregnancy Hives? Dry and yet oddly oily skin? And other pregnancy induced skin issues....

Ok fellow friends who've been down this road before...what is up with the strangeness of pregnancy skin? I know I'm more prone than your average person to develop freakishly random bouts of hives for no apparently good reason (Abby and Chrissy, you might recall a certain severe "sesame seed allergy" induced case...which may or may not have been related to extreme stats finals anxiety...).  I have been known to have other sensitive skin issues related to using new products, etc.  However...for some reason this week, my skin has hit some new peak of weirdness.  The skin from which my eyebrow hair grows is flaking - literally just peeling! And yet, I'm broken out in the space between my eyebrows! How can skin less than 1.5" apart have such vastly different degrees of moisturization? And, as I type, I've developed several randomly spaced hives on my chin, right temple, and under my neck, which I seem to get some variation of about once per week.  They always just go away on their own accord, but still odd and mostly annoying. And the itchy skin thing I've read about...it's starting. I'm trying to moisturize daily with the Palmer's cocoa butter lotion, which smells fabulous and feels great, but by midday by midsection (and the girls, sadly) are itchy all over again!

Anyway, not much more substantial to report at this moment other than my sneaking suspicion that skin conditions are dramatically impacted by pregnancy hormones.  Baby seems to be growing and stretching a lot this week, as I've noticed on and off mild crampy, tightening feelings in my uterus since Sunday (Hmmm, when I describe it like that, it sounds suspiciously like Braxton Hicks...could it really be Braxton Hicks already? I think I'm going to stay in denial of that one for a little longer).   I mean, I noticed it first while standing outside, doing nothing at all, observing my mom on the roof in case I needed to call 911 if she fell off.  Then I noticed it again this morning when I first woke up from a sound sleep, again doing nothing physical.  Nothing alarming, and certainly nothing to make me think I need to call my midwife, but I do notice something is going on in there, whether it's a bit of a growth spurt, some BH or some other random weird pregnancy thing I have yet to find an explanation for :)

2 days of the short work week down, 1 to go and then it's Turkey Time :) And 9 days until the ultrasound!

Perks

For most of this pregnancy so far, I haven't had too many experiences where I've found being pregnant to offer any particular perks (well aside from the obvious fact that I am growing my very own preshus baybeeeeeee). Several solid weeks of near-constant nausea, way more frequent than usual trips to the bathroom to empty what seems like an about to burst bladder with an embarrassingly small amount of pee, post-work naps that get in the way of things I'd rather be doing (like watching Ghost Hunters or Glee of course) and serious food aversions, which to this food lovin' girl is about the worst sentence of all! However, I'm starting to find that there are perks to this condition I'm in, starting with:

-Elastic pants for the holidays and the expectation that my waist will continue to grow each week. No further comments needed there.

-Not having to climb up on a ladder to get on the roof to hang Christmas lights. That most terrifying, vertigo inducing, mypalmsaresweatingeventhoughit'sfreezingoutside task went to my mother this year :) The view was great from the sidewalk.

-Avoiding a day of heavy lifting yesterday while my Mom and sister moved furniture to a storage unit to make room in our garage...for things currently occupying space in the house that need to move out to make room for baby stuff in the nursery!

I'm sure I'll discover that there are more perks where these came from, but in the past 24 hours I've at least learned these little lovelies. I thought you'd like to know how I'm counting my blessings this Thanksgiving week :) (Of course there are about a thousand real things I'm thankful for, and they will have their very own post later this week).

Happy Sunday! 3 work days until Thanksgiving! 11 days until The Ultrasound!

Oh the indignity of it all

I think I have crossed the threshold and have begun to earn my rungs on the ladder to motherhood...I have now sneeze-peed! One little unassuming sneeze, and with it went the tiniest bit of my bladder control along with a little shred of my dignity! Then of course, I laughed, which made it no better, and at that point the mad dash to the bathroom was quite a sight. At least this was at home and not at work! I know this is only the beginning, which makes all the funnier to me, because as much as I think I know what's coming I really have no clue yet all the fun things I can expect my body to do to betray me over the next 22 weeks! I will say that aside from crummy "morning sickness" (which = all day sickness in my case lately) I am really enjoying this experience for the most part, but I still have so much to learn and watch my body do all on its own. This is the first time in my life when I have been able to watch my body undergo a transformation that has nothing to do with anything I have control over...it's a little strange but for the most part I'm finding it to be pretty cool. I'm used to setting my mind to they way I want to change my body and getting to work making it happen - eating better, exercise and weights to target certain things, etc. But this entire body take-over is something of a different kind of beast, a horse of a different color, and it's weird, exciting, exhausting, and a little body dysmorphia-inducing, but still such a wonderful experience I'm lucky to be able to have.

I'm still waiting for the little movements to turn into bigger movements, but I guess I shouldn't wish that to happen too soon because I'm sure a point will come when I wish someone would stop kicking me in the ribs already! I'm just excited for the day when Matt will be able to finally feel something going on in there after all these months!

New hair for mamatots!

I went on a whim and cut my hair tonight...it was just too boring, limp and lifeless and it needed some style. I had a cut sort of in mind, and then just let Ashley go for it, and this is the result!

In other news, I am 18 weeks today. According to my updates from babycenter.com here's the approximate state of baby's development by today:

"Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and weighs almost 7 ounces. Baby's busy flexing its arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. Baby's blood vessels are visible through its thin skin, and its ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from its head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around its nerves, a process that will continue for a year after it's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound."

So with that in mind, here are some pics of the belly today to mark the occasion:

So there you have it :) 2 weeks from tomorrow we get to see your bits, littlest one! :)

Impromtu pic update

17w6d - taken on my friend's phone at work (with my lovely office tag behind my head), but figured some of you can't have enough pics! I'll do my usual weekly shot at home tomorrow, too.

Zumba tonight, and then off until after Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to a break but I guess I should really try to do something in between or I might be sorry! Baby's always pretty active after class, so it's fun to sit in the car on the ride home and feel baby getting its salsa moves on :) Dance, baby, dance!

The Second Coming...

...of morning sickness/nausea :( I've been telling everyone who asks just how great I'm starting to feel, and then BAM! The past 2 days have been non-stop nausea with near puking close calls. I'm told that this is a sign of a healthy pregnancy, but good grief little one take it easy! I've also been told that this kind of ongoing nausea is a sure sign of a girl (everyone at the dentist's office tonight were in agreement and will be quite surprised if you turn out to be a boy, little one!) No pics tonight, as I'm looking about as green as I feel...but I do have some cute new maternity dresses to sport and will be sure you see one of them this week for my 18 week photos!

Also...16 more days until the Big ultrasound! I'm not sounding too anxious about it, am I? I guess you all know me well enough to know I'm not one for patience ;)

Countdown to "The BIG ultrasound"

Well friends, I'll be 17 weeks on Thursday, making today 16 weeks 5 days. Our "Big Ultrasound" is scheduled for Friday 12/3 at 1:00...if this baby cooperates we should have a determination of Boy or Girl in 3 weeks and 3 days :) I'm going to start talking to baby now to let him/her know that I'm not leaving that appointment without hearing and seeing what kind of bits it's sporting, so it better not be feeling shy on December the 3rd.

Noticeable movement has been sporadic in the past week, but I'm still feeling it here and there. Can't wait until it's more consistent and I can definitely identify what is a foot vs a booty, etc. One thing I am aware of is my now cantaloupe sized uterus...sitting with my knees up feels weird now because I am totally aware of this large organ in the way where there didn't used to be anything noticeable!

I just received my teaching schedule for Zumba winter term - my last class is scheduled for March 30, the day before my 37 week mark! If I can make it that far, I think I deserve something...not sure yet what it is I feel I should get, but I have plenty of time to think about it! I'm giggling a little bit at the thought of an almost full term pregnant me salsa-ing and merengue-ing in front of a paying audience, but at least I don't teach where there are mirrors, right?

Speaking of the roundness, for those of you wanting a physical update here you go!

Not much in the way of non-baby related news to share. I am getting into the pre-holiday spirit and looking forward to some baking and cooking and general holiday cheer with friends and family. The next 2 months are going to fly! Can't wait to see you all in the next few months!

We have movement!

Just a super quick update to say that I can feel baby moving now!! It's still very slight and I can only feel it when I'm sitting quietly, like at the computer :) He/she is saying "hello fans!" right now! I guess baby liked Zumba tonight - doing his/her own little salsa moves in there :)

We have our 16 week appt with Holly tomorrow, so I'll update more and attach new photos then. I was just too excited to wait and save it for tomorrow's post!

love, mama t

This baby likes candy

Apparently, Baby Smith is just like his/her mama, and loves some candy! Thank goodness for Halloween, and the fact that we had about half as many trick or treaters as we did candy supplies :) Plus, a recent Yale study states that eating chocolate can reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia , and a Finnish study showed babies whose moms ate chocolate smiled and laughed more. They were less fearful in new situations. The babies of mothers who ate chocolate while pregnant seemed to have a more positive mood than babies whose moms didn't eat chocolate. I think that is reason enough to keep a steady supply on hand, and we're in luck!

Today I am 15w4d, and I'm hoping this week goes by quickly. We have our next appointment on Thursday and I'm anxious to hear little one's heartbeat again. I feel like things are starting to settle as far as morning sickness, but I still don't have a huge appetite (other than the above!). I'm really looking forward to the next ultrasound in a few weeks- the Big One where we'll hopefully hear it's a...boy or it's a...girl! (I'm leaning strongly towards girl at this point folks!) I wish we could have one at every visit. I just love to see how much baby has grown since the last time, and it's just incredible to see that there really is something amazing happening in there, even if it doesn't feel like much yet. I'l definitely update you all when I do for sure feel the baby move, but so far I'm just guessing and nothing has been so obviously a baby yet that I can be certain.

Tomorrow is election day, and to be honest I feel very disconnected from the political world at this point in time. I haven't researched all of the candidates much, and truthfully I have to say that I have come to feel a bit disillusioned about the difference that my vote really makes. But I do feel that my child's future depends on our freedom to vote, and the climate in which we raise our children, although much of it is shaped within our own household and the choices we make and the values we teach, is to some extent determined by the political powers that be, and voting is our means to influence that. I want to raise my child in a home of acceptance, a home where each person is free to truly become the person they are meant to be...but I don't feel so certain that outside the walls of the homes we create that each person is really free to be the person they truly are. There is so much greed and hate and a lack of acceptance of differences, and it scares me to think that despite growing up in a home with love and safety and boundaries and trust, my child will still grow up and into a world where they could be hated and harmed for the values they hold, the values we will work so hard to let them learn. And so with that in mind, I guess, I will vote tomorrow and hope that in some way, it influences our corner of the world enough...

15 weeks!

Tomorrow marks 15 weeks officially :) We have our next appointment in one week, and then we will schedule "the big ultrasound" for sometime between 18-20 weeks. It's exciting to think in approximately a month, give or take, we could find out if there is a tiny son or daughter in there!

This week in Baby Smith's development:

"Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces - about the size of an apple. Baby is busy moving amniotic fluid through the nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in its lungs begin to develop. Its legs are growing longer than its arms now, and he/she can move all of his/her joints and limbs. Although the eyelids are still fused shut, baby can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, baby's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but it is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl!" - thank you BabyCenter.com for the weekly updates :)

I feel like I am starting to turn the corner with regard to the morning sickness - in general it's better, although dinner tonight ended up not working out...oh well, bygones :) I'm still doing my Zumba classes twice a week, and overall I feel like I'm pretty much right where I should be. I can't say for sure, but it's possible that I felt a tiny little "tap tap tap" that might or might not have been baby's movements yesterday...I've been vigilant for more signs, but nothing strong enough to be certain yet. Hopefully soon! Any mamas out there - when did you first feel movement?

And for those dying to see my mamaness in the flesh (haha ALL of you, right?) here are some belly shots :) Enjoy. If one can be so inclined to enjoy my pale, currently expanding midsection, that is :)

yikes...that looks surprisingly larger than I imagine it does...

It's always a little better covered up :)

Second Trimester Baby!

Woohoo! Today marks the beginning of the second trimester :) I'm looking forward to several months of "feeling my best" (I keep hearing this so I'm going to go ahead and believe you people who keep giving me this positive light!) and all the fun things that will occur in the next 3 months. I will begin to feel the baby move this tri, and we will get to find out the baby's sex in about 5 weeks. Matt teased me last night at the grocery store because I was actually looking at food as we walked through the aisles again, so he said I must be ending the first trimester! I really am looking forward to eating again and hoping a wider variety of things begin to sound appealing soon (you know, instead of Sprite, pretzels, yogurt, fruit, and cereal).



This week, in Wee Smith land: "Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, veins and organs are clearly visible through still-thin skin, and the body is starting to catch up with the head — which makes up just a third of the baby's body size now. If the baby is a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce." Pretty amazing what's going on in there already!



I don't have a 13 week pic yet, but I'll post a shot from last weekend that shows some of the 12 week bump, if you look closely :) It's shadowed, but you can see it!