This is what we say a lot around here these days, in reference to our wiggly baby boy, and because of a sweet book that Autumn gave Isaac and Abigail. It's called My Special Something, and is the story of a little girl expecting her baby brother, and how she wonders who is in her mommy's tummy, with all the commotion going on - an alligator? a kangaroo? And as the mama gets bigger, a hippopotamus? I've warned our kids to NOT say that one to me, no matter what it looks like I'm carrying inside me. :-)
We may have a name decided upon, and hopefully can reveal it soon. Abigail has made her vote clear, and is typically trying to control things by already talking to baby E and calling him by her name of choice. It's funny. She keeps telling him how cute she just knows he'll be, and Isaac is asking questions about what he'll like to do and if he'll play with him or not. I love their curiosity and interest. It makes the anticipation even greater.
I'm thankfully feeling much better this week, with a great improvement in the pressure I'd been feeling. Tonight I got a maternity belt and it already feels great, supporting my back as this belly pokes out farther and farther. I'll go next week for a 22 week check-up and am eager to maybe get a little more info on where this placenta is. Please pray it's moving where it's supposed to be!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Halfway There! (maybe)
This week was the 20 week mark. YEA! We're very happy to have gone through this first half of the standard pregnancy length so well. Though I know that nothing is guaranteed, we're praying that this baby boy hangs in there for approximately the same amount of time from this point forward. He is still super wiggly, and at times, I'm pretty uncomfortable, because of his position. At this point with Abigail, I felt her some, but nothing like with our boy. He's noticeable, literally, every hour of the day. I'm assuming that has something to do with the placenta being where it is, and at times feel concerned about the pressure and movement, but so far, think things are going all right. Ow! There was a swift kick to my bladder....
At this point, our little fellow is about 9-10 inches long, about half the length he'll probably be at birth. We also learned these fascinating facts we've been sharing with Isaac and Abigail:
At this point, our little fellow is about 9-10 inches long, about half the length he'll probably be at birth. We also learned these fascinating facts we've been sharing with Isaac and Abigail:
- The baby can hear and recognize his mama's voice. We encourage the big kids to talk to him often so maybe he'll learn their voices too. He may even may startle in reaction to loud sounds. Familiar voices, music, and sounds that baby becomes accustomed to during his development stages often are calming after birth.
- The toenails and fingernails are growing.
- The growth of hair (lanugo) on the rest of the body has started.
- The skin is getting thicker.
- His heart can now be heard with a stethoscope. Actually, James can hear it sometimes by just leaning on my belly and listening carefully, depending on the baby's position!
- Immunities are being transferred from me to our baby now. These immune cells will protect him from viruses I've already had for up to six months after birth!
- The nerve cells for taste, smell, hearing, seeing, and touch are now developing in specialized areas of the brain. Production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
19 weeks
We're so happy to have a busy baby boy! He's wiggling and rolling and doing who knows what else inside me, because even James and the kids can feel him by putting their hands on my "mountain" of a belly (according to Abigail). :-) That comment didn't hurt my feelings, since I have still gained less than 10 pounds, but I agree with her, it is quite noticeable now.
We were happy to meet our new cousin yesterday, baby Emerson. She decided to enter the world pretty early, and is still in the hospital, but is really doing well overall. Seeing her was so exciting, and amazing - such tiny perfection. Isaac and Abigail were really impressed at how cute she was, and how very small. To try to explain to them that Isaac was about half her size when he was born really went over their heads. That is just hard for me to even imagine. He was 3 months old when we met him, and he was still only 4 pounds, 10 oz., so she's over a pound larger than he was...what a miracle life is.
We're still contemplating names, and are settled on an E name, but no specific one for certain yet - for those of you who are anxious to hear. We'll tell you soon hopefully. Someone, not naming anyone in particular, is having a hard time deciding between a few.
Our little boy is the size of a large mango. That makes me giggle for some reason. My uterus, however, is about the size of a cantaloupe. Don't you love these crazy facts? Blame it on email updates from various websites.
We were happy to meet our new cousin yesterday, baby Emerson. She decided to enter the world pretty early, and is still in the hospital, but is really doing well overall. Seeing her was so exciting, and amazing - such tiny perfection. Isaac and Abigail were really impressed at how cute she was, and how very small. To try to explain to them that Isaac was about half her size when he was born really went over their heads. That is just hard for me to even imagine. He was 3 months old when we met him, and he was still only 4 pounds, 10 oz., so she's over a pound larger than he was...what a miracle life is.
We're still contemplating names, and are settled on an E name, but no specific one for certain yet - for those of you who are anxious to hear. We'll tell you soon hopefully. Someone, not naming anyone in particular, is having a hard time deciding between a few.
Our little boy is the size of a large mango. That makes me giggle for some reason. My uterus, however, is about the size of a cantaloupe. Don't you love these crazy facts? Blame it on email updates from various websites.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
18 week appt. and we know what we're having!
We had a fantastic appointment today. It was my big sonogram, and my parents and brother, as well as James and the kids, were all able to be there. First, I went back alone and the tech checked all the baby's measurements and we chatted while she did those. I explained how James was more nervous this time, unlike with Abigail, since he is working in the NICU and sees so many things that can happen with babies, and can be so difficult. She said she understood he must feel like he sees too much heartache! I asked her to please give him as much detail as possible. She was happy to agree, and encourage him. She said throughout the sonogram that things looked great, and was more reassuring than with Abigail's sonogram, when she said nothing for a long 10-15 minutes! She asked if we wanted to know the sex, and I said we did, and we were thinking it was a boy, though we sure weren't picky.
Though everything looked great with the baby, we did have one concern. There is a reason I keep saying I have felt this baby so strongly, so early, compared to Abigail. My placenta is posterior right now, meaning it's under the baby, and sitting directly on my cervix. We are praying it will move as the uterus grows and shift on up, so there is no problem with delivery. However, if closer to the due date, it hasn't moved, I'll have to have a c-section at 36 weeks, since we cannot risk going into labor and the placenta delivering first. She said there was still time for it to move, especially with the baby still being small and that it's nothing to worry about.
Our little one weighed 10 oz. and has a foot about 3 cm long. Though still measuring a week ahead, at this point, we will not change the due date since that isn't a significant issue right now. She quickly finished all her measuring, thankfully, since my bladder was so full! She brought the family in, and quickly got to the point. She said, "O.k., I'm going to show you what we're looking at, and what the baby is right here." The big flat screen really made it even clearer to see details and it was precious seeing a glimpse of that sweet face. She pointed out a shin, a little bottom, and then there, as clear as can be, the distinctive anatomy I'd seen right when she started speaking. We all cheered and were so happy. Abigail just giggled and giggled. Isaac said, " I knew it!" As I've thought all along, our third little one is a boy!! We're so thrilled and feel extremely blessed. He's just beautiful!!
Our sweet boy cooperated the entire time, and the tech went to great lengths to point out brain ventricles, heart chambers, a perfectly formed diaphragm, limbs, intestines, organs in the right place, facial features, etc. Each detail had significance to my sweet husband, who has seen babies with complications in all those areas, and it was really a blessing that she was so eager to clearly show us so many tiny parts. We saw him keep putting his hand to his mouth, almost sucking a thumb, or blowing a kiss, as my Mom said, and other endearing moments that made the kids just squeal at how real it all was. What a special time to share with them!
We got a DVD of the whole thing, plus numerous pictures, then I had a quick appointment with the doctor. Dr. A. was encouraging as well, saying that we are not too concerned at this point about the placenta, and that hopefully, we will see a change at the next ultrasound. He said it can be serious, but isn't yet - there's just plenty of time. I'm just thankful we have technology to be aware of the situation, so we're not surprised later on, in a dangerous way.
We celebrated with a delicious lunch with the whole family at Diane's restaurant and she was excited we'd chosen her restaurant for our special occasion. I even received beautiful roses from her, as a spur of the moment gift! She treated Isaac and Abigail to a kitchen tour, and I, of course, had to tag along to see everything. It was so great to see how efficiently it runs. I have to adm
it, I didn't miss the cake baking and icing making at all when I saw tons of freshly baked layers cooling on racks, and the huge mixing bowl of icing. :-)
Afterwards, we visited with James' parents, and were able to share our DVD with Pop and Granny and show them our little boy. They were so tickled to see him, since Granny had not been well and wasn't up to a trip to the doctor's office. Yet another example of why we're thankful for today's technology! After visits to see James' sister at work and another to a dear friend's to show off our pictures, we finally made it home this evening. We're all worn out, but in a good way. It was an emotional, happy day for us. Praise God for His amazing blessing!
Though everything looked great with the baby, we did have one concern. There is a reason I keep saying I have felt this baby so strongly, so early, compared to Abigail. My placenta is posterior right now, meaning it's under the baby, and sitting directly on my cervix. We are praying it will move as the uterus grows and shift on up, so there is no problem with delivery. However, if closer to the due date, it hasn't moved, I'll have to have a c-section at 36 weeks, since we cannot risk going into labor and the placenta delivering first. She said there was still time for it to move, especially with the baby still being small and that it's nothing to worry about.
Our little one weighed 10 oz. and has a foot about 3 cm long. Though still measuring a week ahead, at this point, we will not change the due date since that isn't a significant issue right now. She quickly finished all her measuring, thankfully, since my bladder was so full! She brought the family in, and quickly got to the point. She said, "O.k., I'm going to show you what we're looking at, and what the baby is right here." The big flat screen really made it even clearer to see details and it was precious seeing a glimpse of that sweet face. She pointed out a shin, a little bottom, and then there, as clear as can be, the distinctive anatomy I'd seen right when she started speaking. We all cheered and were so happy. Abigail just giggled and giggled. Isaac said, " I knew it!" As I've thought all along, our third little one is a boy!! We're so thrilled and feel extremely blessed. He's just beautiful!!
Our sweet boy cooperated the entire time, and the tech went to great lengths to point out brain ventricles, heart chambers, a perfectly formed diaphragm, limbs, intestines, organs in the right place, facial features, etc. Each detail had significance to my sweet husband, who has seen babies with complications in all those areas, and it was really a blessing that she was so eager to clearly show us so many tiny parts. We saw him keep putting his hand to his mouth, almost sucking a thumb, or blowing a kiss, as my Mom said, and other endearing moments that made the kids just squeal at how real it all was. What a special time to share with them!
We got a DVD of the whole thing, plus numerous pictures, then I had a quick appointment with the doctor. Dr. A. was encouraging as well, saying that we are not too concerned at this point about the placenta, and that hopefully, we will see a change at the next ultrasound. He said it can be serious, but isn't yet - there's just plenty of time. I'm just thankful we have technology to be aware of the situation, so we're not surprised later on, in a dangerous way.
We celebrated with a delicious lunch with the whole family at Diane's restaurant and she was excited we'd chosen her restaurant for our special occasion. I even received beautiful roses from her, as a spur of the moment gift! She treated Isaac and Abigail to a kitchen tour, and I, of course, had to tag along to see everything. It was so great to see how efficiently it runs. I have to adm
it, I didn't miss the cake baking and icing making at all when I saw tons of freshly baked layers cooling on racks, and the huge mixing bowl of icing. :-)Afterwards, we visited with James' parents, and were able to share our DVD with Pop and Granny and show them our little boy. They were so tickled to see him, since Granny had not been well and wasn't up to a trip to the doctor's office. Yet another example of why we're thankful for today's technology! After visits to see James' sister at work and another to a dear friend's to show off our pictures, we finally made it home this evening. We're all worn out, but in a good way. It was an emotional, happy day for us. Praise God for His amazing blessing!
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
17 weeks and...
I have poison oak. Yuck. That great day of yard work somehow exposed me to the evils of that highly contagious (to me) vegetation. There has been a little more break out today all down one arm, but the main affected area is my face - it's on my forehead, left cheek, along my jawline, and around my right eye. Yesterday was the hardest day, with my eye nearly swollen shut, and the itchiness was extreme. Thankfully, James found some great Poison Ivy Wash on the recommendation of a pharmacist that has helped alleviate the symptoms. Today I'm itchy, but not feeling like I'll go crazy, like I was yesterday. This sensitivity developed after I had Abigail, and now I am highly susceptible to getting a good case if I'm anywhere around the stuff. I don't know when I was, but it's somewhere in our yard I guess.
Besides the skin affliction, I'm feeling very good. I'm noticing our little onion-sized baby move often, daily, and can hardly believe I'm feeling him/her this soon. It's very exciting and causes us to anticipate even more seeing our little one next week at the "big" ultrasound. A friend suggested I just show her the pictures, and let her see if she can tell whether the baby is a boy or girl, so I may post the pictures first, and see if ya'll can figure it out, before I reveal the answer!
Besides the skin affliction, I'm feeling very good. I'm noticing our little onion-sized baby move often, daily, and can hardly believe I'm feeling him/her this soon. It's very exciting and causes us to anticipate even more seeing our little one next week at the "big" ultrasound. A friend suggested I just show her the pictures, and let her see if she can tell whether the baby is a boy or girl, so I may post the pictures first, and see if ya'll can figure it out, before I reveal the answer!
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