Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Bumpdate Weeks 17-19 plus the Anatomy Scan Ultrasound

I feel like I have really popped over the last 3 weeks.  It still isn't completely obvious to strangers that I am pregnant but it is getting closer!
Week 17, January 21st-January 27th, 2015
How I am feeling: Feeling pretty good this week.  I had some weird stomach pains on Saturday when we were walking around the city watching kids sled.  I wore the belly bandit (stretchy piece of fabric used to hold up your regular pants and turn them into maternity pants) for the first time and wasn't sure if it was that or something else.  I felt much better after I took it off.
Size of the Baby: 5.1 inches, Onion (we used an orange because the size was better), 5.9 oz
What is the Baby up to this Week:  This week the baby has mastered some simple reflexes such as swallowing, sucking and blinking.  The baby may even get the hiccups.  Fat is also forming underneath the baby's skin.
Best Moment this Week: Feeling more movement and stroller shopping!
Food Cravings: Sour candy
What I Miss: Not much. . . other than cookie dough :).
Most Looking Forward To: The upcoming body scan ultrasound that we have at 18 weeks 5 days.
Thankful for: Weight Gain/Loss: Stayed the same, so back to the starting weight of the pregnancy. (0 lbs total)
Clothing: Normal tops but I started wearing the belly belt with most of my pants like you can see in the picture above.  I have also used a hair tie to expand my pants a little and that works pretty well.
Sleep: Sleep is good.  Still working on trying to transition to sleeping on my side.
Movement: More movement this week!
Gender: It is a surprise!

Week 18, January 28th-February 3rd, 2015
How I am feeling: I feel great.  Jake felt the baby kick twice on January 28th!
Size of the Baby: 5.6 inches, Sweet Potato, 6.7 oz
What is the Baby up to this Week:  Many of the bones in the baby's body are starting to harden.  The inner ear bones are some of the first to harden which is part of the reason why the baby might be able to hear sounds such as my heart beating or my stomach growling.
Best Moment this Week: Jake felt the baby kick twice on January 28th! He felt the baby move more throughout the week.  He has been reading a baby book about calming the baby down and has been getting really excited about it.  He can't wait until the baby gets here so he can do different experiments to see what helps the baby calm down.  I'm guessing the newness of that might wear off pretty soon in the middle of the night when we are sleep deprived but I'm excited that he is really getting into it now.  I mentioned something to him about getting a massage for my shoulder (I have some serious should issues and knots that massage therapy helps with quite a bit) after the baby was born and how maybe that wouldn't happen.  He acted like I was a crazy person.  Of course I could go get a massage.  He would just stay with the baby and play and I would go do whatever.  I love his confidence!  We had our 20 week ultrasound/anatomy check (at 18w5d) and it went well.  We didn't find out the gender but we got to see our little baby moving all around.  I'll post more about that below.  I also told my students I was pregnant which was fun.  Most of the classes started cheering and clapping and wanted to help name the baby.  It was really sweet.
Food Cravings: Sometimes sour candy but almost immediately after eating it I regret it.  It just leaves a bad after taste to remind me I had something not very nutritious.
What I Miss: Actual Mexican food.
Most Looking Forward To: Going home to see friends and family before the baby is born and having baby showers now that we booked tickets for April!
Thankful for: Weight Gain/Loss: +2 pounds (+2 total)
Clothing: Wearing the belly belt regularly and tried the belly bandit but had strange stomach pains after wearing it.
Sleep: I've been having shoulder pain while I sleep which is waking me up.  I used to sleep on my right side until high school when I started having lots of shoulder pain.  I changed to a back sleeper and now I am trying to sleep on my left side but it still hurts my right shoulder even while sleeping on my left side, strange and annoying.
Exercise: I'm going to add exercise on here so I can remember what I did.  Up to this week I had maintained my normal routine of running two days a week and doing weights with cardio the other two days for about 30-45 minutes.  Around 14 weeks I slowed my running down after I noticed my heart rate was getting up higher than is used to (probably because of the extra blood I have in my body for the baby).  I also took off about two weeks of exercising for Christmas which I think made me a little slower to get back into it.  At 14 weeks, I slowed my run down from 10.5 kph to 7.5-8.5 kph which was more of a jog.  I still do weights but I stopped doing exercises on my back and crunches.
Movement: Jake and I can both feel the baby especially in the evenings.
Gender: It is a surprise!  We made it through the ultrasound without finding out the gender.  When they measured his/her legs we just looked at each other so I could hopefully make sure Jake didn't peek.  Our ultrasound tech said the baby's legs were crossed so she didn't know the gender either but I'm not sure how true that is or if she said that to make me feel better.

Ultrasound and Anatomy Check
We were both excited to see the baby again during the ultrasound.  I decided to eat a clementine and a piece of chocolate before the ultrasound to make sure the baby was active and moving.  That might not have been necessary :).  The baby moved quite a bit and she had a hard time measuring things a couple of times because the baby would move.  

Here is a video of the baby at the beginning of the ultrasound.  We have nicknamed the baby "Baker", you might notice in the title of the video, which I'll explain later but I like having a nickname instead of just saying he/she or it.
We were able to see 4 chambers in the heart and we saw the valves opening and closing in the heart.  She pointed out the aorta and the pulmonary artery.  It is amazing to me that they can look through my stomach and see the baby and then look into the baby to see the heart, brain, stomach, etc.
We were also able to see the brain.  We saw the brain at the 12 week ultrasound as well which was incredible.  This time she was looking for the cerebellum.
Here are a few pictures.
  

 The baby measured right where he/she should be which was great since I hadn't really gained much or felt like I was showing much.  The head measured a little big which worries me because of obvious reasons :) but also because I just want to make sure everything is okay.  The ultrasound tech didn't say it was bad to have a big head just that it was measuring a little big.

Week 19, February 4th-February 10th, 2015
 I kind of thought you couldn't tell I was pregnant in this shirt since it isn't very snug.  From the front you can't really tell but the side view isn't as secretive about my belly as I thought. 
And here are a few with my tank top so you can really see the bump.

How I am feeling: I feel really good and I am starting to enjoy the bump.  I haven't really had much of a belly (please don't hate - just got lucky with good genes and I am pretty good with portion control) so getting a belly is weird.  I love that I am getting to feel the little one move around as I watch my belly get bigger and bigger but it is still strange looking down and seeing it just sticking out.  It freaked Jake out a lot at the beginning and I'm sure it will continue to do so but there is something about a pregnant belly that is so beautiful.  I am growing a life, inside of me!  There were several months when I didn't think it would ever happen and I was starting to be okay with that but I am so thankful that it is finally happening.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of what it will look like after I have the baby but right now I am trying to embrace the belly and gain weight in a healthy way for the baby and for me.  I started feeling a bit under the weather with a small cold but thankfully with lots of water and a few naps I think I'm back on the upswing.
Size of the Baby: 6.0 inches, Heirloom Tomato or Mango, 8.5 oz
What is the Baby up to this Week:  Many of the baby's senses are developing.  Millions of motor neurons are continuing to develop in the baby's brain allowing more controlled and conscious movement.
Best Moment this Week: We had our 2nd midwife appointment.  I have a feeling a "How to Have a Baby in Sweden" post will be in the near future or a continuing topic but going to see a midwife is part of it.  I had my first midwife appointment at 8 weeks and my second at 19w5d.  I asked her a whole bunch of questions about registering for parental leave, which hospital we should deliver at, how much weight I should be gaining, child birth classes, etc.  She told me that we need to pick a hospital by our next appointment which is in week 25.  I also found out I have to get my blood checked since I am B negative and we found out the baby's blood is positive.  After my d & c I had to get the RhD shot and it looks like I'll get one more while pregnant and then again after I deliver.  I was still pretty out of it from the surgery for the first shot so it didn't really hurt but I'm not so sure about the next one.
Food Cravings: Wanting some salty things like tortilla chips and peanuts.
What I Miss: Sleeping on my back
Most Looking Forward To: Going home in April and watching my belly grow!
Thankful for: Weight Gain/Loss: +0.5 pounds (+2.5 total)
Clothing: Wearing the belly belt regularly.
Sleep: I am getting better about sleeping on my side and having less shoulder pain after a massage and doing lots of back exercises.
Exercise: I think I am done running/jogging.  My stomach just feels weird like it is stretching out or something.  This week I decided to start walking with an incline and increasing the speed to walk as quickly as I can without running.  I tried the elliptical a few weeks ago when the treadmills were full and I felt like I was going to fall off and I hated it once I did get on.  So it looks like the treadmill and stationary bike might be my friend for the next 20 weeks.
Movement: Jake and I can both feel the baby especially in the evenings.
Gender: Still a surprise.  My students have been coming up with baby names for us which is really fun and helpful!  Today a student brought in an envelope with girls and boys names.

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