Ticker Change Day: 19 Weeks

Weekly Survey

• How far along?: 19 Weeks
• Total weight gain: ?: starting weight was 126.
• How big is baby?: Baby now weighs about 8½ ounces and measures 6 inches, as long as a turkey sub from Subway on warm, delicious Italian Herbs and Cheese bread!
• Maternity clothes?:Yes!
• Stretch marks?: No new ones so far.
• Sleep?: Good, but still totally exhausted.
• Best moment this week/Milestones?: My birthday was on Saturday! It was a pretty low key day, but nice.
  
• Movement?: Usually more at night and early in the morning. I think this little one will be another night owl.
• Food cravings?: Grapes! OMG I can't get enough of them! It's become kind of a joke around the house and people are finally starting to figure out that they'd better leave my effing grapes alone! It can get pretty ugly if I go to get some and they're all gone.
• Belly button in or out?: Same
• What I miss: Being able to pick LM up. He asks me all the time to hold him, but he's so heavy.
• What I'm looking forward to: 10 days till the anatomy scan!!
• Developments: Baby's sensory development is exploding! His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to him, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on his skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Belly Pic!

Ticker Change Day: 18 Weeks

Weekly Survey

• How far along?: 18 Weeks 
• Total weight gain: ?: starting weight was 126. 
• How big is baby?: Baby is the size of a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream! Yum... my baby sounds delicious!
• Maternity clothes?: Yes! 
• Stretch marks?: No new ones so far. 
•  Sleep?: Good, but still totally exhausted. 
• Best moment this week/Milestones?: LM started preschool! He did so great and the teachers said that he got along with all the other kids. I cried like an idiot after dropping him off (but not till I got back to the car). I called a couple hours later to check on him and cried again when the teacher said he was just fine  ('cause that's not weird...). Such a proud mama :)
  
• Movement?: Yep! Little one is kicking me right now :)
• Food cravings?: Still on a red grape kick. They are so freakin' good and such a better alternative to the 10 pounds of Smarties I want to eat.
• Belly button in or out?: Same 
• What I miss: To not have people rubbing on my stomach...
• What I'm looking forward to: My birthday next weekend!
• Developments: Baby’s ears are functioning now and the neurological connections from the ear to the brain are now developed, allowing it to hear. Throughout the rest of your pregnancy, your baby will hear and process all the sounds around it. Your baby is beginning to get tuned into your voice and your partner’s voice, and at birth will recognize and be soothed by your voices. Your baby’s bones are beginning to harden, a process called ossification. Your baby is beginning to develop a grasping reflex, grabbing hold of its hands, fingers, toes, and umbilical cord. Full strength of the grasping reflex will not be achieved for many more weeks.
  

Belly Pic!

Ticker Change Day: 17 Weeks

Weekly Survey

• How far along?: 17 Weeks
• Total weight gain: 131: starting weight was 126.
• How big is baby?: About 5 inches long from head to rump (I have no idea why they don’t count legs. Legs count in my book, but whatevs) and weighs about 5oz. That's roughly the length and weight of an iPhone.
• Maternity clothes?:Yes!
• Stretch marks?: No new ones so far.
• Sleep?: Good, but still totally exhausted.
• Best moment this week/Milestones?: We DID get to hear the heart beat at the appointment on Thursday! Didn't even have to ask; I guess it's a regular thing. Going strong at 154! :)
  
• Movement?: Oh yes! MyLovf was even lucky enough to catch one particularly big kick earlier tonight :)
• Food cravings?: Steak fries (which I got right after our appt) and red grapes (which I'm eating right now). Satisfying the steak fries craving produced a different one because now I can't get the burger I had out of my mind! It was amazing. Mama wants another!!
• Belly button in or out?: Same
• What I miss: Umm... nothing springs to mind.
• What I'm looking forward to: The anatomy scan is scheduled for October 3rd. I.cannot.wait!
• Developments: By 17 weeks, the fetal heart is formed and is pumping up to 25 quarts of blood a day since week 16. Meconium, the first stool, has begun to form in the intestines. Fat is beginning  to accumulate under the skin. Sucking and swallowing skills are put to the test recycling amniotic fluid. Bone is starting to form in place of cartilage.
• Other stuff: LM is starting to react to me being pregnant. I try really hard to keep his routine and environment as normal for him as possible, but he has been going through some potty training regression and stopped wanting to sleep in his own bed. We're working on it, but it's been annoying and hard. I thought I was done with all of this!

Belly Pic!

Appointment Update

I had my monthly check-up yesterday! I am happy to report that everything with the tiny one is perfectly perfect! There was one little mar on the visit, and that was the annoying conversation I had with the nurse after she had taken my vitals and measurements.

Nurse: So, do you guys want to find out what you're having?
Me: Definitely!
Nurse: Any feelings on what it is?
Me: Well, when we had the NT scan done, the u/s tech guessed it's another boy!
Nurse: Oh, don't worry about that. ♪ She could be wrong ♪

Yeah, that last part was said in a sing-song voice. I will never understand why people think that just because we already have a son that we wouldn't be thrilled with another. The tech could end up being wrong, sure, but what does it matter to anyone else? My idea of a complete family is two happy, healthy children. I don't think it's possible for me to care any less whether we have one of each sex or if they're both boys.

I can see it now: we'll find out that we're for sure having another boy and people will immediately start asking if we're going to have a 3rd and try for a girl.

Um. No. No we're not. This baby factory is closing after this LO is born. It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl.

Whatever will be, will be.

Ticker Change Day: 16 Weeks

Weekly Survey

• How far along?: 16 Weeks
• Total weight gain: ?: starting weight was 126.
• How big is baby?: The size of a grenade at 4½ inches long (head to rump) and weighs 3½ ounces.
• Maternity clothes?:Yep
• Stretch marks?: No new ones so far.
• Sleep?: Good, but I can't seem to get enough of it. I am tired all.day.long no matter how many hours I get at night.
• Best moment this week/Milestones?: This week was pretty crappy. I've been avoiding my parents as much as possible. The best moment was when they left for a weekend in California. I finally felt like I could just be. Then of course, my mom ruined it by texting me about their trip to the garment district in LA and then going for sushi. Thanks for rubbing it in my face!
  
• Movement?: It's getting pretty consistent, but still really light. He's giving me tiny little kicks right now! :)
• Food cravings?: I'll eat anything, but I'm really wanting sweets!
• Belly button in or out?: Same
• What I miss: Nothing pregnancy related: I really miss our house. As much as it sucked to lose it, I never really missed it before now.
• What I'm looking forward to: Our appointment on Thursday. I doubt there will be an ultrasound, but I'm crossing my fingers that we'll get to listen to the heart beat.
• Developments: His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as baby continues to develop.

Belly Pic!