21 Weeks Today ~

Your beautiful little miracle-gro baby will be putting on a full ounce and a half this week (and weighing up to 16.5 ounces), but that’s just the beginning! Within the next five weeks,he’ll really be packin’ it on! For now, we’re pleased to report the addition of rapid eye movement (REM) a key component to any healthy baby’s sleep schedule. While in the dermatology department: his thin soft skin is very red, rather translucent, and a bit wrinkled. Not to worry, it’s not a premature aging disease. It's just his clever little body setting him up with extra space that will smooth out once your little one starts packing on the baby-fat. That won’t be for a few more weeks, though. So for the time being, your munchkin is still a little lean mean growing machine! The beginnings of what is commonly called “brown fat” is just starting to fill in to help your baby retain some body heat, which is crucial as they’re not yet capable of regulating their own body temperature. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And you can certainly feel him move. He's oblivious to your schedule, though, so don't be surprised if he starts working out just when you're settling down for the night.



He has been moving around a lot more now (of course at night). It shouldn't be too long and Jared will be able to feel him too. Jared started to paint the basement last weekend to get it ready to drywall and carpet. I tried to help but the waterproof paint is a lot stronger smelling than regular paint, so I found other things to do.

IT'S A BOY!!!
He was very active yesterday and wouldn't cooperate much with the tech when she wanted to check his heart. Apparently he likes to lay under my belly button (which creates shadows during an ultrasound and makes it difficult to see stuff). He was the only boy the tech saw today, the others either weren't cooperating (or mom and dad didn't want to know) or they were girls. As you can tell by the picture of his spine, he was pretty curled up. He straightened out a little more at the appointment went on (for 45 minutes). He wasn't shy about showing what he was either. I showed that one to a few friends who knew they were having boys and it's pretty similar. It has made things a lot more real, I mean we got to see him at 7 weeks, but he was just a little peanut and now he was actually moving and doing things. It was really neat to see him moving around and kicking. Jared of course is beside himself with his little boy on the way now.

20 Weeks Today~

WE'RE HALF WAY THERE!! :)

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. They're also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for their digestive system. Their little delicate bones continue to ossify and toughen while their itsy bitsy finger and toe pads are finishing up. Your little monkey now has teeth buds, although they’re hidden beneath the gum line. And finally! Their limbs have reached their relative proportions—no more alien baby! Their cute pink lips are more defined, and might be helping out in a bit of prenatal thumb-sucking. What’s more, eyelashes and eyebrows are also visible. At this point, your little one really looks like a miniature baby—and we do mean miniature as your little swimmer currently weighs a mere eighth of their final birth weight. With half the pregnancy behind you, the most significant gains are yet to come!

We would like to thank everyone for their support this far. We are getting more excited as time gets closer. I can't believe we are half way there. Before we know if our little one will be here. Jared and I attended a two night "Baby Basics" class this week. There was some pretty basic things that I remember from babysitting and taking care of our nephew Ryley (he's 2 1/2). We also learned about what will go on at the hospital and some rules that they have about things during our stay. We did get a lot of handouts that will help us in making sure our home is safe for baby too and what we should have when we put the nursery together. I know I can't wait for Jared and I to start picking out nursery colors and designs. The baby has been moving a little more regularly, but I feel it most at night when I am lying down or sitting quietly. They are pretty much just little kicks right now. As tiny as the baby is, it has managed to find my bladder and kick that a few times too. We've had two big moves, it was like a tighten in my stomach and then it felt like something brushed up against it. That will still take a little getting used to. We will hopefully know in 3 days if we are having our little slugger or our little princess. We will send pictures.

19 Weeks Today ~

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. Their arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of their body now. Their kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on their scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing 6 million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

I am doing pretty great right now. I had thought I felt the baby move last weekend, it was just a little flutter that went from one side to the other, but I definitely felt the baby move Tuesday night. I was laying in bed on my side and all of a sudden my stomach got a little tight and then it felt like something brushed up against my left side. It was a pretty big move, I don't know if he or she was doing a somersault or what. I haven't felt one that big since. It's just been little tingles here and there. Now that I am feeling them, I can't wait for Jared to be able to feel it too.
Ten more days until our ultrasound.

Monthly Dr. Appointment ~

We had our monthly checkup today. The baby was being very active, it barely sat still long enough for the nurse to check the pulse. It was 159bpm today. I think I felt the baby yesterday when I switched from laying on one side to the other. It was like a butterfly just glided across my belly.

18 Weeks Today ~

Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato) and they weigh almost 7 ounces. They are busy flexing their arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Their blood vessels are visible through their thin skin and their ears are now in position and stand out from their head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around their nerves, a process that will continue for a year after they are born. This is a big week for their baby skin. There are now two distinct layers—the epidermis (or the surface skin) and dermis. Currently, their skin is covered with a greasy, waxy, cheese-like substance, known as vernix caseosa. Sure, it sounds pretty nasty, but this mixture of fatty secretions covering your little swimmer from head to toe is the best way to protect their oh-so-thin skin from bruising and abrasions as well as chapping caused by amniotic fluid exposure. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

I'm not sure if I've felt the baby move or not, but it's possible. I have asked a few friends, they weren't really sure either until about 20 weeks or so. Mindy said that it wasn't until her ultrasound and the tech asked her if she felt the baby move that she knew what she was feeling a couple weeks prior was the baby. It was nice to see our friends over the 4Th, the party has really changed over the past few years. It's hard to believe that just 5 years ago no one had kids and now there are 9 of them with 2 more on the way (all under the age of 5). It was a lot of fun though. We got to meet our new "niece" Ashley, born June 4. Jared has been kind of nervous around really little ones, but when I was holding her for a while he asked if I was going to hold her all day. I gave her to him and he did a great job. Then we couldn't get Ashley away from him. We also got to see our friends Ben and Jessie who are due in August, it was neat to be able to see their little one moving around. We can't wait for that to start happening. We have just over two weeks until our next ultrasound, hopefully our little one is going to cooperate and let us know. I haven't had a feeling of boy or girl, I've just had a feeling that he or she is not going to let us know and make us wait until they arrive. I hope they prove me wrong, but if not we will just wait for our big surprise.