Week 24

Almost every expectant mom's pregnant belly button pops at some point as her swelling uterus pushes on everything in its path... but mine isn't popping out (I guess I'm too fat?) The baby is about eight and a half inches long and one and a half pounds, gaining steadily at a rate of six ounces per week! Much of that weight comes from accumulating baby fat, as well as from growing organs, bones, and muscle. By now, his face is almost fully formed, complete with eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair! Is he a brunette, a blond, a redhead? Actually, right now his locks are white since there's no pigment yet.... (but he'll be a brunette, most likely... as Jason and I are both and have both always been brunettes)

Wondering what (and who) the baby will look like? If we had a baby cam, you'd almost be able to tell by now because that beautiful face (though still tiny) is almost fully formed!!! Our last ultrasound picture showed the baby's profile and it looked like he may have my nose & chin structure... although it doesn't seem that he has the Stinger forehead (thank God!)... lol. It's more like a 7-head and poor Aunt Kacy got stuck with it! Bwaaaahhhahahah!

All kinds of sounds can be heard by the baby in the womb: from air exhaling from my lungs, those gastric gurgles produced by my stomach and intestines, my and Jason's voice (which he'll actually be able to recognize at birth!!! SO COOL!), and even very loud sounds such as honking horns, Jantzi barking, or a wailing ambulance. We've gotten sick of Norah Jones and have introduced more variety into the baby's musical repertoire at night... to include Josh Groban, Jack Johnson, the wonderful piano playing of my good friend Lucas Cusimano, recordings of Daddy singing (one with Daddy & Aunt Lisa).... and all kinds of other decent music.

Contractions?????

So, today I was sitting at my computer at work and I was thinking.... "hmm... it feels like I'm gonna get my period soon...." and then I thought.... "wait a minute!!!! INCONCEIVABLE!" So then I began to wonder if it was a problem that I was feeling a tiny bit crampy.... And this is what I found:

• "As early as your fourth month, but usually in your sixth or seventh month, you'll experience what may feel like mild menstrual cramps. This is your uterus tightening in what are called Braxton-Hicks contractions (named after the doctor who identified them). These "practice" contractions are getting your uterus ready for the hard work of pushing your baby out when you're ready to give birth. They can last anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes, and will become stronger and more frequent as your due date approaches. If you're uncomfortable, try lying down, shifting position, or getting up and walking around. Sometimes a change of position is all that it takes to ease the contractions."

So, I was having contractions! CRAZY! Just sittin' at my desk....... having contractions. No biggie.......

Week 23

This is about the time I'm supposed to be noticing the linea nigra, but so far, nothin. Other (less than delightful) skin changes on the body around this time can include red palms and soles, bluish blotchy legs, heat rash, and skin tags. So far, none of that has happened yet either, but my mom's palms turned BRIGHT RED when she was pregnant with me and never went back to normal! It also happened to my grandmom and aunt as well... so I might be saying goodbye to my white palms. :( The picture below is one we took a few years ago of my mom's hand (left) next to mine (on the right)....pretty crazy huh?


I'm almost in my sixth month and the baby is about to chub up a bit. His saggy skin will start to fit his frame as fat deposits fill things out. Beginning this week, he'll start to pack on the pounds (which supposedly means I will too...) and by this month's end he'll be double the weight he is now (though I shouldn't be — whew!). Right now, the baby's organs and bones are visible through his skin, which has a red hue due to developing veins and arteries beneath. But once those fat deposits settle in, he'll become less transparent, too.

So, the baby is cozily ensconced in my abdomen — yet, I'm noticing that pregnancy affects you head to toe, and pretty much everywhere in between. My head is fuzzy (this is your brain…this is your brain on progesterone), and your toes (well, your feet, at least) are SO sore! I keep saying to Jason "I've been on my feet a total of about an hour today, but I feel like I just walked New York City all day long!"

Supposedly I should be able to hear the baby's heartbeat through a stethoscope now instead of just through a dopplar! That's pretty exciting! Stethoscopes are much cheaper than dopplars!

Week 22

This week, the baby weighs in at a whopping pound and measures nearly eight inches, about the size of a small doll. He can now perceive light and dark and can hear our voices, my heartbeat, and my gurgling stomach and the whoosh-whoosh of blood circulating through my body. Must be a warm, calming place to be (except when I'm yelling at Jantzi! haha).

At 22 weeks pregnant, my uterus is now about an inch above my belly button — growing by leaps and bounds. It definitely feels harder & more rounded... I haven't particularly noticed my feet growing, though... Jason's sister, Laura, said she changed a whole shoe size during pregnancy!!! crazy! Apparently, there's a pregnancy hormone called relaxin that helps loosen your pelvic ligaments (to make room for baby) but it expands ligaments all over your body (including your feet!) ... weird huh? My feet have definitely been sore & retaining a little fluid (edema) but I don't feel like they've grown at all............... What on earth would I do if I couldn't fit into my shoes that I've had for 10 years? lol.

He moves!!!

I officially felt the baby move tonight!

Like I said before, starting about a week ago I began having mild suspicions that things I felt may have been the baby moving... the first time I was sitting at my computer and all the sudden my stomach felt like it would if I were being called out onto stage.... only I wasn't nervous. I was sitting in my sweatpants and tee shirt in my dining room.... so I wondered if that was what people refer to as "fluttering." I couldn't quite explain it any other way. A couple days later, I would be sitting down and would periodically feel like I had to pee immediately and then it would go away for a couple seconds and come back again... so I wondered again.... "hmm... could that be the baby just pushing up against my bladder?"

But tonight!!!! Tonight I was sitting on the couch watching American Idle (catch the pun?) and I felt really strange "gas-like" sensations, only they didn't feel like they were in my stomach or in my intestines at all... it felt like it was in my belly... and if I had to describe it as "bubbles" they were each very distinct bubbles followed by that same "I have to pee" sensation. The two repeatedly came hand-in-hand. I guess Karson likes American Idol! (or maybe just the opposite! maybe that was his "vote" to "kick" someone off the show!)

Anyway... tonight.... for the first (official) time, I know I have unmistakably felt the baby move!

Week 21

The baby is about the size of a large banana now!!! (and I believe now we start measuring head to toe instead of crown to rump, which will make measurements by fruit more difficult....) — and speaking of bananas, if I eat one this week, there's a good chance the baby will get a taste, too. That's because he swallows a bit of amniotic fluid each day (for nutrition, hydration, and to practice digesting), so he eats whatever is on my menu. (I wonder if that means he likes Pepsi.... Pepsi has never tasted so good in my life as it has the past few weeks! And it STINKS because I have to be really cautious of how much I'm having due to the caffeine. I particularly like fountain soda which poses a problem in the "solution" people keep presenting me with which is, "why don't you just get caffeine free?" YEAH! I would! But no one sells it in fountain form or at any restaurants or anything! But thanks for your help!!!)

I think it's pretty cool that the baby has very developed taste buds already! I've read that researchers have noted that babies who were exposed to certain tastes in-utero via the amniotic fluid were more eager to eat foods with that same taste after birth! How cool is that? I guess I better start eating a lot of Broccoli and veggies so I don't have to struggle with him in 6 months or so! lol.

From what I read, the baby still has a lot of room in my womb right now — though like anyone who lives in one space for a long time, my little tenant will soon begin to feel cramped. :( But until the uterine walls start closing in, there's plenty of space for twisting, turning, and even an occasional somersault. I think I may have felt a little bit of fluttering last week.... I was sitting down doing bills and my stomach felt like I was being called out onto stage or something.... but I wasn't. I was in the comfort of my dining room, completely calm. So those little butterflies.... I believe may have been the first time I felt him move... but I'm not sure.

Anatomy Ultrasound!

So, today was the official anatomy ultrasound! After the past two weeks running around to and from the hospital and everything like a psycho getting no sleep, no rest, and unbalanced/untimely meals.... I was so afraid they were going to tell me something was horribly wrong with the baby.... Being at the high-risk doctor for this ultrasound didn't assuage that fear at all either....

When the technician turned the screen on, I was so shocked to see how much the baby had grown since my last ultrasound!!!! I mean, you expect that he'll grow, of course, but it was just shocking to see how much bigger and how much more human he looked!!! All of his measurements came out great again, everything measuring right on time and looking great! The doctor told me he didn't want to see me ever again (meaning that my blood tests were fine and I don't have any reason to be at the high-risk doctor...) So that was excellent news! The technician was able to clearly show me testicles AND penis this time.... so we're 100% sure it's a boy! (Congratulations to those of you in the majority on our guess-the-sex poll; and to those of you who went back and changed your vote after finding out inside information: shame on you!).

They printed me out one picture (cheap bastards!) so we'll have to scan it in and see if I can post it later... but it's very cute! You can sort of see what he's going to look like already! He has this little button nose and you can see his lips and that he has no chin (like mommy!). My sister Brooke said that she has an ultrasound picture of my nephew from around 20-22 weeks and his profile is identical to what it is now. I thought that was pretty cool :) Jason and my features are so similar that it's going to be tough at first to try to figure out what of whose he has (what of whose he has... say that 5 times fast! Sounds like Dr. Seuss) Anyway, our eyes aren't hugely different in shape and we both have light eyes (his green/hazel, mine blue... we're voting on the blue genes for that one)... our noses are very similar in shape... his is just bigger (obviously) because he's bigger and he's a boy and boys have bigger noses... but the shape and the bridge and everything are very similar. Our lips have similar shapes...and are both right in the middle as far as not-to-thin, not hugely full.... Our ears aren't that differently shaped and the earlobes connect the same way. We have the same hair color (pretty much exactly) and we both are extremely muscular.

So here are the differences... our wish list for God as far as the gene pool goes:

• I have blue eyes, Jason has hazel/green... both nice but if we had to pick, we'd pick blue!
• Jason and I both have nice teeth but Jason didn't need braces and my teeth SUCK as far as being soft and cavity-prone! They've always been that way (same as my mom's) and no matter what I do, I'm doomed. Jason could not brush his teeth a day in his life and never get a cavity. He didn't go to the dentist for 10 years and I MADE him go... no cavities. I was so pissed. I go every other day and they always find new surprises. So... JASON'S TEETH, JASON'S TEETH!!!!
• Jason's eyebrows are bushy and straight (good for a boy, bad for a girl...) Mine have a weird Dr. Spock shape... but they're not bushy, thick, & undefined so, a girl might appreciate that. :)
• Jason gets allergies in the spring but other than that, neither of us are allergic to anything really... But, no spring allergies would be a nice gene to pass on.
• My family is crazy... genetically predisposed to addiction (but that can be managed with a healthy fear of substances)... but the Bi-Polar/Depression piece isn't as easy to manage. We're PRAYING that gene doesn't get passed along... it seemed to miss me, so hopefully it misses my kiddos too.
• Jason has a butt-chin. Well, not a total butt-chin but there's an adorable dimple and I REALLY want our kids (especially boys) to inherit that gene! I love it!
• Jason has long beautiful fingers & hands (but appropriately manly)... my fingers are chubby & stubby... I have triangle fingers and meat-hook hands. So, I'd like ALL of our kids to have his hands (but a girlier version any girls...)!
• My mom is almost 53 and has 2 gray hairs that she savors.... I hope I inherited that gene! But it'd be nice for our kids to have that one too!
• Jason needs glasses and my eyes are better than 20/20. Actually, they were 20/12 last time I had them checked a year or so ago (which means I can see something 20 feet away from me as if it's 12 feet away! That's pretty sweet! Even if they get "worse" they're still getting closer to "perfect" before they go bad, lol).
  
• Perhaps the most obvious I've saved for last... I have musical ability... I have an ear for music and can pick up instruments pretty quickly, but Jason is incredible! I would be so excited if they inherited his singing ability & musical talent. The same goes the other way, Jason is pretty coordinated... he can pick up sports with a little practice and his accuracy & agility is pretty good... but my family has a pretty awesome athletic gene coarsing through! If Karson (or any of our kids) could inherit both of these genes, they'd be set! I don't think our kids will be struggling for smarts, so that shouldn't be an issue... but with the best of both of these worlds, plus the brains.... they'd be unstoppable! :)