Start of Week Twenty Four

Peanut, you're 23 full weeks and starting week 24!  At the end of the week, you'll be 6 months along, but we won't be in the third trimester until the end of week 26.  This week, you'll grow to somewhere between 1.2 and 1.5 pounds.  And you're growing to somewhere between 9 and 11 inches long, about like an ear of corn.    Your brain is growing quickly and your lungs are developing branches of the respiratory "tree".  You're making white blood cells and you can hear various loud sounds.  You've got eyelashes, eyebrows and hair, but there's no pigment yet, so the hair is all white.  We love you very much.

You're moving around daily, sort of mid-morning, early evening and at bedtime.  Jared was able to feel you move this week, and it was very exciting for him.  I wonder if he could hear you at all, if he listened to my belly.  I read to you sometimes and try to talk out loud as I go around the house.  This is my last week of track-out, so, starting March 4, I'll be back at work, and I'm really not looking forward to it.

The acid reflux is really bothering me--I think I'll have to buy a half gallon of milk to keep at work.  No pill has helped me so far.  I'm also tired a lot and achy in my pelvis.

The Monday after next is our next ultrasound, to check on the retroplacental bleed that was seen 5 weeks ago.  And it's 3 weeks until my next birth center appointment, my first shower (hosted by the school's Social Committee), and my birthday!

 24 weeks in the womb

24 week baby--note the non-pigmented eyebrows

22 full weeks

Peanut, today starts week 23 and month six!  Your skin is fairly saggy, since it grows faster than the fat underneath.  But your fat deposits should start catching up, starting this week.  By the end of this month, you should be filled out pretty nicely.  And your skin is still translucent, which will start to change this month, too.  You're anywhere from 8.5-11.5 inches long and a little over 1 pound.  You can feel varying types of movement and loud noises that become familiar to you now probably won't faze you when you hear them outside the womb.  We love you very much. 

I was diagnosed by my family practitioner this week with bronchitis and a sinus infection.  It had been just one month since I went in for a sinus infection, and just five weeks before that I had another.  I was given a double dose of antibiotics and I pray that this will finally get me better.  I did have morning sickness again this past week, and the acid reflux has been terrible.  Tums, Rolaids, and regular Pepcid doesn't work.  My monthly appointment was today, and I asked for something more.  The midwives said I could try Zantac, a higher strength of Pepcid, and drinking rootbeer/eating peanut butter after each meal.  I'm not holding out hope that these things will work.  Little girl's heartbeat is in the 140s and I'm measuring just right.   

A couple of people at the grocery store have asked if I need extra help with things, I suppose from noticing my belly.  Unless I wear a billowing, large shirt, it's getting hard to miss.  The average pregnant woman should've gained 12-15 pounds by now--I have gained 8, which is on target for me.  I need to work on drinking more water each day, and starting to get exercise 4-5 days out of the week.

My next ultrasound is in 2.5 weeks, and I'll have my glucose screening at my next birth center appointment in one month. 

 

Scare

Peanut, you gave us a scare today!  Or maybe I just scared myself.  I had the "perfect storm" of anxiety brewed.
First, at your anatomy scan, we were told there was a retroplacental bleed (an area of blood behind the placenta, between it and the uterus).  The doctor wanted us to come back in six weeks to check on it--worst case scenario, it could lead to placenta abruption, which would be very dangerous for me and almost certainly fatal for you.
Second, our sweet friends at church lost their little girl a week ago, and we were almost the same length of time along.
Third, I had gotten used to feeling you move at regular intervals over the last 10 days, and Saturday, Sunday and Monday I nearly didn't feel you at all.  My normal discharge decreased, and my abdomen was tender, but very firm.
So, I called the Birth Center Monday, expecting a "silly first time mom, everything's fine, don't worry", but instead they asked me how far away I lived and if I could make it in to check for a heartbeat today.  This frightened me so badly that I started to cry and could hardly think straight, except to call Jared and my mom.  I asked some friends to pray, and asked mom to help me by asking some people to pray.  Jared took off work for a couple of hours to come with me to the Birth Center, where they were running 30 minutes behind (SO hard, I nearly went rummaging for the doppler myself).  The midwife got me on the table and put the doppler wand directly onto Peanut's heartbeat.  It was just fine, between 140 and 150, and the midwife said she was moving right then.  She looked at me and said, "did you feel that?"  I said no, and she said that she felt it from outside my belly--Peanut kicked up at the doppler and physically bumped the wand away.  I didn't feel it at all!

So, I was so relieved that I started crying again, and then I felt really silly, like Henny Penny who ran around telling everyone the sky was falling, when really an acorn just fell on her head.  I am very thankful for all the people who were praying for us--I was able to keep fairly calm after that initial response from the phone call.  I'm sure that was due to prayers.

22nd week starts today

Peanut, you are 21 weeks along today, starting week 22!  There's still three weeks to go until the "safety zone", where if you are born prematurely, you have a much larger chance of survival.  You weigh about one pound and are somewhere between 10 and 11 inches long.  You are developing your senses of sight, touch, hearing and taste.  You're grabbing the umbilical cord and practicing your grip.  You can perceive light and dark.  You can hear different voices, the dog barking, sirens, or loud TV.  And you can taste everything I eat, by swallowing the amniotic fluid.  We love you very much.  

Your lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and your eyes have formed, but the colored parts (the irises) don't have color yet.  You move often and I think I feel it now.  Sometimes it feels like someone's flicking my stomach with their finger.  Sometimes it feels like there's a potato in my stomach that's turning over.  I don't know about all that "butterfly" stuff, but that's what it feels like to me.  You will respond to singing and talking by moving.  Jared and I should choose a couple of songs to sing.  After you're born, the same sounds will probably sooth you. 

As for me, I feel okay.  I haven't thrown up in two weeks!  However, in that absence, I now have acid reflux.  There's an awful feeling in the back of my throat for most of the day.  People who know me notice my belly, but I feel like strangers still think I'm just fat.  It does take more effort to sit down and stand up from the couch, get in and out of the car, etc.

I have a birth center appointment next Thursday, and another ultrasound scheduled in three and a half weeks to check on the small area of bleed that we saw in the anatomy ultrasound. 

Sadness for a Friend's Loss

Today has been a somber day.  I have a friend from church and she and I were both due with girls.  We were both due the last week of June. She dilated to 3 centimeters and was at the hospital for a while yesterday, but it didn't stop.  She had her baby girl this morning, who passed away shortly after. She has two older children, which doesn't make it any less heartbreaking.  It means two more little dear hearts that have to grieve.  Please pray or send good thoughts to her and her family. Her name is Danielle.  Pray that they would find a way to grieve while still keeping their faith in God.  Pray that the people who love them will find the words, or the silence, needed to show that they care.  Pray that there will soon be comfort, peace, and complete healing.

20 weeks, starting #21

Whew!  Today has been a busy day of travel by air and by car--Mom and I are visiting Mimi and other family in Alabama for a few days. 

Peanut, you are 10.5 ounces heavy, 6.5 to 7 inches from "crown to rump", and about 10 inches from head to heel--the length of a banana.  Before now, you were always measured crown to rump, but from now on, you'll be measured head to heel.  You're swallowing more amniotic fluid these days, which is good practice for your digestive system.  You might even taste the things that I eat.  And you're producing meconium, which will become your first stool.   You are steadily gaining fat to keep warm, and buds for permanent teeth are beginning to form.  We love you very much.

I got sick again this past week--once every 7-10 days, like clockwork.  I'm still very tired, and I wonder if I'm getting enough iron--I will ask the midwives about it when I go in a few weeks.  I'm obviously pregnant now, not just fat.  And I am getting clumsy!  My center of gravity is off, and I teeter forward a little--I have to be careful if I'm on stairs or an escalator.  It is becoming more work to get out of the car, get up out of bed, or stand up from the couch. 

I am still not sure I am feeling Peanut move--there's nothing I can be certain of to say, "that was Peanut", instead of "that was gas/digestion/hunger".  I try not to worry about it, but I do.  At our anatomy scan, the only concern the doctor had was a small area of blood between the placenta and the uterus.  Those are supposed to completely line up and stay attached at all times.  The doctor didn't put me on limited activity or bed rest or anything, but he did schedule me for another ultrasound, mid-March, to see if the issue was resolving itself.  He said my body might re-absorb the blood; I might pass the blood; or worst-case, the blood would spread and pull the placenta completely away from the uterus.  This would be very dangerous for me and almost certainly fatal to Peanut.  Like I said, the doctor didn't seem very concerned, and I am trying not to worry.  But I am still cautious and a little anxious after losing Angel.    If you think about it, please pray that this issue would fix itself and that Peanut will be fine.   

The "Halfway" Point

Today marks 20 weeks for us, Peanut!  We are halfway to 40, which is probably not going to be the actual finish line....but it's as close as we can calculate.  I am traveling today and will be gone into the weekend, but hopefully I'll find time for a full post later today or tomorrow.  We love you very much!

Pictures from the Gender Share

Our Facebook Announcement Picture

                                     

Getting Ready to bite into the cupcakes...

It's a girl!

 The gender reveal cupcakes that Sarah of "Sarah's sweeTcakes" made for us.  Everyone loved them!

Pink inside to signify a girl on the way.  :)

Our little....

girl!  There's no guessing involved--you did what looked like a hand stand with a split during the ultrasound, and showed everything.  We'll still call you Peanut--we're not ready to share the name we chose.  We do love you very much.

I think there was a little disappointment (and guilt from feeling disappointment) when we found out.  Even though a healthy baby is most important....and we decided before marrying that we wanted two or three children....there was a hope that our first child would be a boy.

However, girls can play sports, climb trees, enjoy Legos, and look great in overalls, just like a boy.  I think, maybe, I'm just worried that well-meaning people will shower Peanut with girly, frilly, pink stuff that none of us (Jared, me, Peanut) will really like.  I want Peanut to grow into someone who's told, "You're funny, you're kind, you're smart" a whole lot more than, "you're pretty".  Worth comes from so much more than a "cutsie" or "girly" outfit.

So, Jared and I have instated a ban on ruffle-butt clothing and placed a limit on the amount of pink allowed in the house.  We'll make plans to go to the circus or the rodeo instead of "Disney Princesses on Ice".  And with God's help, Jared and I will raise a daughter in a way that's honoring to Him.

Start of twentieth week

Peanut, you are 19 weeks and a day, today.  Jared and I know your gender, and will share it with family tomorrow and the rest of the world on Sunday.  At your anatomy scan, we got an "all clear" on your brain, heart, stomach, kidneys, spine, facial features, and number of limbs, fingers and toes.  You are measuring on target for the first time--not four days older, like it has been.  You are about the size of a large heirloom tomato, or a small cantaloupe--9 - 10 ounces and 6 - 6 1/2 inches long.  If you're a girl, your uterus is fully formed.  If you're a boy, your testicles have started dropping from your abdomen.  This week, your brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. You're now able to hear voices, and Jared and I have started speaking to you.  You're moving often, although I haven't "officially" felt it.  This is because, as we found out at the anatomy scan, I have an anterior placenta--that means the placenta is adding an extra cushioning between your kicks and my nerve endings.  We love you very much.

I have been feeling some abdominal pressure and some brief pain called round ligament pain--it's just the uterus and muscles in that area growing and pulling.  And I have noticed that my belly is growing a lot faster, now.  I am still tired and cranky, but trying not to let it affect me too much.

Jared and I have made a few purchases--a crib, a pack n' play, and a breast pump.  And we started working on our registry this past week.  It's hard work!  A lot harder than our wedding registry was--so many choices and items that are needed.  I'll update again as we tell our family and friends Peanut's gender!