Kicks, Jabs, and Beatings

Now that I've caught you up with the posts, here's something fresh and new!

It's hard to choose my favorite thing about pregnancy, but if I had to, I think I'd have to go with feeling the movements of the baby inside my belly.  I started feeling Evelyn move a little around 17 weeks.  They say that you feel subsequent babies earlier so I was really hoping that I'd start feeling this little one at around 15 weeks. In reality, I started feeling this baby moving around ever-so-slightly beginning at about 16 weeks + a few days.

The movements have been few and far between, but I'm so happy to have that feeling back.  I'm anxious for the day that I can start feeling those kicks and jabs on the outside of my belly so that Bob can have the opportunity to feel them as well.

Earlier on in the pregnancy (at around 14 weeks) I made the decision that I would feel better having a doppler around the house to check the baby's heartbeat.  Most people feel that once you start feeling the baby, that is a time of reassurance.  It is, however Evelyn was not super active and our first sign that something was wrong was a lack of movement for an extended period of time.  While I know that a doppler won't prevent anything bad from happening, it just makes me feel better knowing that I can check on this little one even if I'm not feeling him/her move around. 

If you don't know what a doppler is, it's simply a heart rate monitor with a speaker and a little wand.  With a little gel, you put the wand on your belly and you can find the baby's heartbeat.  It's easy to figure out if I'm hearing my heartbeat or the baby's because, at this point, the baby's heart beat is about twice as fast at around 145-160 beats per minute.

It's been so reassuring having that doppler around for being able to check on the baby when I'm not feeling him/her very frequently.  I've been very careful about getting obsessive as could be easy to do with a device like this around the house.  I could listen to his/her little heart ticking away for hours.  There haven't been any studies that show any negative side effects from using a doppler,  but I just want to be careful that I don't go overboard.

Here's a quick peak at our little baby's strong heartbeat.  Note:  This doppler does not very accurately show the bpm in the window.  It tends to measure low. We love listening to the baby, but we know that the count for the bpm is off.  Each time it has been measured by a midwife/doctor, the baby's heart rate has been around 155-160 bpm.  Enjoy!

 

 In other news, we only have 8 more days to find out of this baby is a him or a her, but who's counting?!?

13 Weeks

Written on April 14, 2011:

This is the first belly shot that we've taken during this pregnancy. It was taken at just over 13 weeks.

I am showing much earlier this time than last time around.  Below is a shot of me 18 weeks into my pregnancy with Evelyn to compare.

I'm thrilled to have my preggo belly back, but I don't dare to think of what I will look like a few months from now.

From Raspberry to Plum

Written on April 8th, 2011:

As promised here are the ultrasound photos of Sweet Pea (or Blah Blu, whatever you want to call him/her).

The first is at 8 weeks.  At this point baby is approximately the size of a raspberry at about .63 inches weighing in at .04 oz.

Just in case you're unsure, the head is on the right and the legs (or leg buds at this point) are to the left.


And here we are just 4 weeks later at just over 12 weeks.  Baby is about the size of a plum at a whopping 2.1 inches and a hefty .49 oz.

I think it's safe to say that at this point, you probably can tell which parts are which.  It's amazing how much they grow and develop in just 4 short weeks.  This ultrasound machine was also much more powerful since it's the one the specialists use.  The midwives' equipment is older, but it suits the purposes that they use it for.

Unfortunately, no clues as to the gender of this little one.  I'm dying to know, but we won't find out until our anatomy scan on May 24th.  Right now it seems like that is forever away, so I hope time flies between now and then!

It's Been A While

Written on April 1st, 2011:

Well, it's been a while since I've updated on the current state of our little Sweet Pea.  Currently, I am one day shy of the 12 week mark in the pregnancy and feeling very good.  My nausea has pretty much disappeared and only reoccurs for short bursts once in a blue moon.  My hips are beginning to get sore from sleeping on my side, but that part of my body has always  been very sensitive.  There's been some pulling and stretching sensations in my lower abdomen that I can only assume is because my uterus is expanding to make more room for our growing Sweet Pea.

I may  be calling this little one Sweet Pea, but in reality our little one is much bigger than that small green vegetable. Starting at 12 weeks, the baby is about the size of a plum.  At over 2 inches and weighing in at almost 0.5 oz there's a lot of growing going on in there!  That may sound small (and it is!) but considering that this baby started off as nothing but a bunch of cells, that growth is huge!!

This pregnancy has not been all lollipops and sunshine, however.  I anticipated that it would be hard emotionally, and I was absolutely correct.  I worry constantly that something is wrong.  When my nausea disappeared so quickly, I freaked out.  Luckily, Bob called the midwives for me and they brought me in for a quick scan to check on our little one.  This was last Friday at 11 weeks.  We got to see his/her heart beating strongly and even saw the cord pulsing (how cool?!?).  It was a huge relief, but honestly I don't think I'll feel 100% comfortable until we have our baby here in our arms and we know that he/she is healthy.

Even though, I've been referring to our baby as Sweet Pea, there are some other family members who have a different idea of what to call this little one.  When Bob's sister asked her daughter Abby (our niece) what we should name the baby she suggested "Blah Blu."  She's 3 and a half, so to her that might be the perfect name.  We think it's absolutely adorable and have intermittently been using that moniker to refer to the baby as well.

The name topic has definitely been broached at this house.  Bob is not big on discussing names until we find out the gender.  We still have a few weeks (between 4 and 8 weeks) before that happens so I just keep on adding to my list.  Girls names are so much easier to come up with than boys names!

As for whats up and coming for baby and me.  We have our first specialist appointment on Monday (4/4) and then on Tuesday we see our midwives again.  I will update with any news from those appointments after they happen.

That's all that's going on for now.  Hoping for a joyful and otherwise uneventful appointment on Monday!

Phew!

Written on March 10th, 2011:

When I posted about getting the results of the autopsy report at our midwife appointment, I (purposely) neglected to mention that the other purpose of the appointment was to check on our new little one.  I know that it was mean and cruel not to mention it,  but as I'm writing this I haven't even announced our pregnancy to family and friends in person, much less over a blog.  As you've witnessed, I'm saving up the entries about this new pregnancy and will be posting them when we feel the time is right for the big reveal.

Anyway, back to the appointment.

Knowing that I was neurotic very nervous about seeing the baby and his/her beautifully beating heart, my midwife obliged and did an ultrasound first thing in the appointment. We were able to see our little Sweet Pea all comfy and cozy with a wonderful heartbeat. That made the rest of the not-so-pleasant exam much more bearable!

Based on my last period, our due date is October 15, although I believe it to be closer to October 19 because I tend to ovulate later in my cycle than most.  Doesn't really matter anyway since the baby really has no idea about this specified date and will come whenever he/she wants to make his/her presence known.
(Gosh it's annoying not being able to use the appropriate pronoun!)

Lately, my nausea comes and goes in waves and varies day by day.  I've been very lucky that it really hasn't been too bad even at it's worst and I haven't had any vomiting at all.

I'm planning on making our appointment with our specialist soon and will probably see her within the next 3-4 weeks.

That's about all the updates for now.  I will try to post some ultra sound pictures soon!

The Next Step

Written on February 17, 2011:

So far, so good with this new pregnancy.  I hit the 5 week mark, so it's still very early on at this point.  I try to remain hopeful and positive since anything else is neither helpful nor healthy for me and the baby.

I called on Monday and made an appointment to see my midwives for the first time.  They want to see my at 8 weeks, which is typical of any other normal pregnancy so my appointment is on March 9th.  At that exam, I will probably get some blood taken, have an exam, ask the midwife any questions, and hopefully get a dating ultrasound done and get to hear the heartbeat.  If they don't recommend an ultrasound, I will certainly request one to help calm my underlying nervousness.  Besides, since I didn't track this cycle like I have for others, I'm not really sure when I ovulated/conceived.

Here's to hoping that the next 3 weeks go by quickly and smoothly.

The Phone Call

Written February 12, 2011:

So, I walked around the house all day on Friday (2/11/11) getting more and more anxious by the minute waiting for the call from my midwives office to (hopefully, fingers-crossed) hear that my numbers were going up.

At 2:30 there was still no word and I decided to call.  I searched my purse for my cell phone to get the office number.  And what to my wondering eyes did appear?  (No, not Santa, his sleigh, and his eight tiny reindeer, although that would make for quite a story!) I had a missed call and a message from....you guessed it: my midwives office.  They NEVER call my cell phone, well except for this time obviously!

The voice mail was reassuring, but not super informative.  It basically said that my numbers looked good and that they had gone up, but that it was still very early in this pregnancy.  I had been prepping my mind all day to hear the actual numbers associated with the hCG and progesterone, but none of this information was left for me.  So, I tried to call the office, but to no avail.  They must have left early because there were no appointments (or maybe they had a lot of patients going to L&D today, who knows?!).  But the result is that, while I didn't get the specific numbers I was looking for, I did at least get a bit of reassuring news and that should last me through the weekend.  I'll call on Monday to make my first appointment and maybe even request those numbers for curiosity's sake.