17 WEEKS PREGNANT - 18TH WEEK OF PREGNANCY
Our little geekling is growing by leaps and bounds (or by fruits and vegetables). This week s/he will grow to about the size of a bell pepper, about 5.5 inches long, and will weigh about 7 ounces. My uterus is now about the size of a cantaloupe.
This week:
-He or she will be flexing his or her muscles; I'm just aching to start feeling this movement - move away, Baby!
-His or her blood vessels are visible through his or her thin skin
-His or her ears are now in their final position, but are standing out from his or her head a little bit
-A protective covering of myelin is starting to form around the baby's nerves, and will continue its formation in his or her first year of growth out of utero
-If the baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable now and we would be able to see them in an ultrasound
-If the baby is a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place
As for me:
-My uterus continues to grow to accomodate the growing geekling, and I can feel it each week getting higher
-I felt confident enough to wear maternity clothes for the first time this week; I wore maternity jeans on Friday to work, and the jeans a maternity t-shirt to run errands today. My belly isn't quite big enough to fill it all out, but it definitely is sticking out, and the pants were pretty comfy (not any more comfortable than my regular jeans with a belly band, but since there's not button/zipper, the maternity jeans have a little less lumpyness)
-My headaches are continuing, almost every day, but since I have learned the secret of having some caffeine at the onset, and I bought children's chewable tylenol so I wouldn't have to try to swallow the pills
-The nausea has also continued; after thinking I was in the clear with 10 days of no active nausea I threw up the other day. Since then I've just had the regular short gag reflex and some bad days of all day nauseated feeling
-My appetite is back in full force, but I'm not overdoing it; I eat more often, but I don't think I'm eating as much as it maybe seems/feels like. I am still only up 2-3 lbs, depending on the day/time of day. I'm pretty happy with that amount of weight gain
-I haven't been getting up to go work out this week - I know, it's bad. I have really good intentions, just not a lot of motivation
We bought a crib a couple of weeks ago; it was on sale (regularly $230, we bought it for $112!). We're waiting on most other things for awhile, not the least of which is because we have to get rid of the bed, dresser and tv in the guest room first, and I have to organize the closet in the room to make space for all of the baby stuff. We picked out the bedding, it's got elephants on it (you can serach for it at JCPenney.com; it's by Carter's)! We're just waiting to find out if we should buy the pink or green set. I have been searching for the other things we need, but can't find a lot that we won't have to buy from the States. There are a lot of things that we will have to buy on-line and ship elsewhere before it is shipped to us. It will be a pain in the rear to pay double shipping and to inconvenience a family member (thanks, Terry!), but it's better than buying things locally that we can't read the reviews for (all in Japanese) or buying something lower quality just because it's more readily available. Anyway, that's all that's happening this week. Crazy to think we're this far already; less than three weeks till the halfway mark!
sábado, 27 de junio de 2009
sábado, 20 de junio de 2009
Seventeen
16 WEEKS PREGNANT - 17TH WEEK OF DEVELOPMENT
Hi, everyone!
I really appreciate all of the feedback I've gotten on the blog. It makes me so happy to know that you are checking it, following our journey and staying up to date on what's going on.
On Thursday I went for a heartbeat check and some routine tests. It took the tech a while to find our stubborn little baby's heartbeat, but it was a strong 150bpm, same as it has been since the first time I heard it back in April. I went to the lab to have blood drawn and had my first glucose test. I didn't hear back from the doc... yet. She said she'd call if anything was abnormal. Hopefully I don't get a call! I opted for the cystic fibrosis testing, since my maternal medical history is so ambiguous, and being Caucasian increases the chance of me carrying the CF gene. If I am a carrier Jim will have to be tested, too, to see if there's a chance of our baby having the disorder. It's not a huge problem, CF, but I figure it's better to know whatever we might need to know up front, no matter what it is.
Anyway, this week:
-The baby's skeleton will be changing from soft cartilage to bone
-The umbilical cord will grow even more strong
-By the end of the week, he or she will be about 5 inches long from head to rump and weigh about 5 ounces, about as much as a turnip
-The baby is now sucking and swallowing
-He or she can now move his or her joints
-His or her sweat glands are starting to develop
-That heartbeat I heard on Thursday is now being regulated by the brain and will start to slow down soon
-He or she is starting to develop more baby fat
As for me:
-As I start to show more, I will have to work out a way to politely tell people I don't want to touch my belly to not touch my belly! Of course I don't mind my friends touching, and if my family were here I wouldn't mind with them, but strangers, acquaintances, etc.? No way! Any ideas would be helpful.
-My balance may also start to be affected... great! I have the worst balance in the world, already, stumbling, running into stuff, unsteady when I stand up. Riding a bike has been off-limits since the wreck I had about 2 and a half months ago. I also stopped wearing heels to work to cut down on the chance to fall off of them (a regular occurence). So if you're local and you see me start to fall at the store or a restaurant or in the office, catch me, okay?
My nausea has yet to subside, although I guess if I'm only getting nauseated twice a day when I brush my teeth and I'm rarely throwing up, I should count my blessings. I am hoping it goes away soon, but after talking with my mom and sister about their bouts with pregnancy nausea, I'm not counting on it! Other than that, though, I have it pretty easy. Standing for long periods of time, carrying stuff, moving around a lot, etc., still wear me out pretty easily (who knew folding a few loads of laundry at once could be exhausting!?), but I think most of my sleepiness has subsided (except for the jetlag, which I THINK I finished with last night by staying up till almost 10 and sleeping until 8. I've been having some pretty major headaches, one lasted two and a half days this week, but I'm trying to stay hydrated and accept that caffeine and tylenol might be in order when I have a bad headache. My sweet husband has been nice enough to take over the dishes (which still make me nauseous, too), and to be diligent about the cat box, even though only I can smell it.
Tomorrow is Father's Day, and Jim and I are NOT celebrating it together, because we weren't together for Mother's Day so he doesn't want to celebrate his holiday either. We'll go big next year for both. We do have some amazing fathers and father-figures in our lives, though, and we are SO thankful for all of the men in our lives that have guided us and helped us in our quest to become successful, happy, well-rounded, well-educated adults. So thanks on Jim's side to Grandpa Minas, Joe and Terry, on our shared side to Larry, and on my side to Papa, Dad and Bob. You guys all mean so much to us and we couldn't be happier to call you our family. And a special thanks from me to Joe and Terry for helping to make Jim into the man he is today, a man with great role models on how to be a father, and two men who have assured me by example that Jim will be a fantastic father.
I scheduled our next ultrasound for July 23rd. Stay tuned; we're still deciding if we want to do a big sex-of-the-baby reveal or not!
Love to you all!
Tara
Hi, everyone!
I really appreciate all of the feedback I've gotten on the blog. It makes me so happy to know that you are checking it, following our journey and staying up to date on what's going on.
On Thursday I went for a heartbeat check and some routine tests. It took the tech a while to find our stubborn little baby's heartbeat, but it was a strong 150bpm, same as it has been since the first time I heard it back in April. I went to the lab to have blood drawn and had my first glucose test. I didn't hear back from the doc... yet. She said she'd call if anything was abnormal. Hopefully I don't get a call! I opted for the cystic fibrosis testing, since my maternal medical history is so ambiguous, and being Caucasian increases the chance of me carrying the CF gene. If I am a carrier Jim will have to be tested, too, to see if there's a chance of our baby having the disorder. It's not a huge problem, CF, but I figure it's better to know whatever we might need to know up front, no matter what it is.
Anyway, this week:
-The baby's skeleton will be changing from soft cartilage to bone
-The umbilical cord will grow even more strong
-By the end of the week, he or she will be about 5 inches long from head to rump and weigh about 5 ounces, about as much as a turnip
-The baby is now sucking and swallowing
-He or she can now move his or her joints
-His or her sweat glands are starting to develop
-That heartbeat I heard on Thursday is now being regulated by the brain and will start to slow down soon
-He or she is starting to develop more baby fat
As for me:
-As I start to show more, I will have to work out a way to politely tell people I don't want to touch my belly to not touch my belly! Of course I don't mind my friends touching, and if my family were here I wouldn't mind with them, but strangers, acquaintances, etc.? No way! Any ideas would be helpful.
-My balance may also start to be affected... great! I have the worst balance in the world, already, stumbling, running into stuff, unsteady when I stand up. Riding a bike has been off-limits since the wreck I had about 2 and a half months ago. I also stopped wearing heels to work to cut down on the chance to fall off of them (a regular occurence). So if you're local and you see me start to fall at the store or a restaurant or in the office, catch me, okay?
My nausea has yet to subside, although I guess if I'm only getting nauseated twice a day when I brush my teeth and I'm rarely throwing up, I should count my blessings. I am hoping it goes away soon, but after talking with my mom and sister about their bouts with pregnancy nausea, I'm not counting on it! Other than that, though, I have it pretty easy. Standing for long periods of time, carrying stuff, moving around a lot, etc., still wear me out pretty easily (who knew folding a few loads of laundry at once could be exhausting!?), but I think most of my sleepiness has subsided (except for the jetlag, which I THINK I finished with last night by staying up till almost 10 and sleeping until 8. I've been having some pretty major headaches, one lasted two and a half days this week, but I'm trying to stay hydrated and accept that caffeine and tylenol might be in order when I have a bad headache. My sweet husband has been nice enough to take over the dishes (which still make me nauseous, too), and to be diligent about the cat box, even though only I can smell it.
Tomorrow is Father's Day, and Jim and I are NOT celebrating it together, because we weren't together for Mother's Day so he doesn't want to celebrate his holiday either. We'll go big next year for both. We do have some amazing fathers and father-figures in our lives, though, and we are SO thankful for all of the men in our lives that have guided us and helped us in our quest to become successful, happy, well-rounded, well-educated adults. So thanks on Jim's side to Grandpa Minas, Joe and Terry, on our shared side to Larry, and on my side to Papa, Dad and Bob. You guys all mean so much to us and we couldn't be happier to call you our family. And a special thanks from me to Joe and Terry for helping to make Jim into the man he is today, a man with great role models on how to be a father, and two men who have assured me by example that Jim will be a fantastic father.
I scheduled our next ultrasound for July 23rd. Stay tuned; we're still deciding if we want to do a big sex-of-the-baby reveal or not!
Love to you all!
Tara
lunes, 15 de junio de 2009
SIXTEEN-I skipped a week...
15 WEEKS PREGNANT-16TH WEEK OF DEVELOPMENT
Well, we hit the second trimester in full force. We are done with the 15th week and into the 16th. I am starting to show a little bit, and I really feel like there's a baby in there now. None of my pants button, and half of them only zip up halfway, if at all. :) Those belly bands are really coming in handy! We are back home now, and jetlagged. But we're glad to be back home and our comfortable bed never felt better than last night after 24 hours of traveling! We had a GREAT visit with our families in the States and were sad to have to leave them again. Just a little bit longer till we're permanently closer than a 14-hour flight away! We sent eight, yes EIGHT, boxes of stuff back to Japan and are waiting patiently (well, somewhat) for them to get here. We got the cat back tonight and she's doing nicely, although she'll have to be broken of some bad habits like sleeping under the covers (thanks, Meg!) as her WONDERFUL caregivers let her over the last month. No, we are VERY thankful for my co-worker, Meg, and her husband, Jason, for watching our kitty and treating her so well (and not letting the dogs eat her!). Thanks, Meg and Jason! And also a shout-out to Abby for taking care of our apartment. Thank you SO much!
We had an elective ultrasound done in Denver and it was amazing to see our sweet geekling moving around. Since Jim wasn't with me when I had the first one done, this was his first chance to see our little one and get to hear his/her heartbeat. I could see him/her kicking away and I am so excited to start feeling it; hopefully that happens soon! The baby's heart was beating at 150 bpm, the same as his/her heartbeat back in April. We will have another heartbeat check and some blood drawn on Thursday, and then our big sex revealing ultrasound in a few weeks. We have a pretty good idea of the baby's sex after the ultrasound in Denver, but we want to be sure, and we still haven't decided if we want to make it a surprise for everyone else or not. :)
Okay, so 16 weeks. This week:
-The baby now weighs about 3-5 oz and is four to five inches long; he/she will grow this week to about the size of an avacado (and if s/he is anything like his/her mother, will LOVE guacamole!)
-His/her tiny muscles, especially back muscles, are becoming stronger, so that s/he can straighten out; I guess that's when s/he starts kicking really hard and I can feel it?
-His/her eyes are finally working and have moved closer to the front of his/her head, are making small side-to-side movements and perceiving light, despite the fact that his/her eyelids are still sealed
-The patterning of his/her scalp has begun, though his/her hair has not started growing yet
-His/her toenails have begun growing
-His/her heart will be pumping about 25 quarts per day by the end of the week
Lots of stuff going on in there! Our sweet geekling is really coming along!
Love to you all,
Tara
Well, we hit the second trimester in full force. We are done with the 15th week and into the 16th. I am starting to show a little bit, and I really feel like there's a baby in there now. None of my pants button, and half of them only zip up halfway, if at all. :) Those belly bands are really coming in handy! We are back home now, and jetlagged. But we're glad to be back home and our comfortable bed never felt better than last night after 24 hours of traveling! We had a GREAT visit with our families in the States and were sad to have to leave them again. Just a little bit longer till we're permanently closer than a 14-hour flight away! We sent eight, yes EIGHT, boxes of stuff back to Japan and are waiting patiently (well, somewhat) for them to get here. We got the cat back tonight and she's doing nicely, although she'll have to be broken of some bad habits like sleeping under the covers (thanks, Meg!) as her WONDERFUL caregivers let her over the last month. No, we are VERY thankful for my co-worker, Meg, and her husband, Jason, for watching our kitty and treating her so well (and not letting the dogs eat her!). Thanks, Meg and Jason! And also a shout-out to Abby for taking care of our apartment. Thank you SO much!
We had an elective ultrasound done in Denver and it was amazing to see our sweet geekling moving around. Since Jim wasn't with me when I had the first one done, this was his first chance to see our little one and get to hear his/her heartbeat. I could see him/her kicking away and I am so excited to start feeling it; hopefully that happens soon! The baby's heart was beating at 150 bpm, the same as his/her heartbeat back in April. We will have another heartbeat check and some blood drawn on Thursday, and then our big sex revealing ultrasound in a few weeks. We have a pretty good idea of the baby's sex after the ultrasound in Denver, but we want to be sure, and we still haven't decided if we want to make it a surprise for everyone else or not. :)
Okay, so 16 weeks. This week:
-The baby now weighs about 3-5 oz and is four to five inches long; he/she will grow this week to about the size of an avacado (and if s/he is anything like his/her mother, will LOVE guacamole!)
-His/her tiny muscles, especially back muscles, are becoming stronger, so that s/he can straighten out; I guess that's when s/he starts kicking really hard and I can feel it?
-His/her eyes are finally working and have moved closer to the front of his/her head, are making small side-to-side movements and perceiving light, despite the fact that his/her eyelids are still sealed
-The patterning of his/her scalp has begun, though his/her hair has not started growing yet
-His/her toenails have begun growing
-His/her heart will be pumping about 25 quarts per day by the end of the week
Lots of stuff going on in there! Our sweet geekling is really coming along!
Love to you all,
Tara
martes, 2 de junio de 2009
14! 14! 14!
13 WEEKS PREGNANT-14TH WEEK OF DEVELOPMENT
We are entering the second trimester! We are officially 13 weeks and into the 14th week of development.
This week:
-The baby will be able to (and might be): squint, frown, grimace, pee and suck his/her thumb
-His or her brain impulses are causing the baby to begin making facial expressions
-His or her kidneys are producing urine, which is released into the amniotic fluid around him or her - kind of icky to think about
-He or she can grasp something now, if there were something to grasp
-The geekling is stretching out and from head to bottom will be about 3 1/2 inches at the end of the week, about the size of a lemon
-He or she weighs approximately 1 1/2 ounces.
-His or her body is growing faster than his or her head now, and his or her neck is becoming more and more distinct
-By the time we officially hit 14 weeks on Friday the baby's arms will have grown proportionately to his or her body (not the legs yet, but with his/her daddy's legs, I'm sure they're to grow long soon.
-He or she is starting to develop hair called lanugo all over his or her body, which is an ultra-fine covering
-The baby's liver will start making bile this week, hopefully not in preparation for college drinking years, though.
-His or her spleen will start producing red blood cells this week
-He or she is moving, even though I can't feel it yet; hopefully we'll get to that point soon!
As for me:
-I am still pretty nauseous on most days, but it seems like it's wearing down a bit and my palate has not been nearly as picky
-I have gotten my appetite back, which is bad with the large portion sizes at restaurants here; I'm really going to have to watch it if I want to keep my weight gain on track
-I am still pretty tired, but it's getting better; I'm hoping that when we get to our hotel in at our next stop on our vacation I will be able to wake up and work out most days
We have just a few days remaining with my family and then fly to our next destination on Friday to spend a little over a week with Jim's. Can't wait to tell them our big news about the geekling!
We are entering the second trimester! We are officially 13 weeks and into the 14th week of development.
This week:
-The baby will be able to (and might be): squint, frown, grimace, pee and suck his/her thumb
-His or her brain impulses are causing the baby to begin making facial expressions
-His or her kidneys are producing urine, which is released into the amniotic fluid around him or her - kind of icky to think about
-He or she can grasp something now, if there were something to grasp
-The geekling is stretching out and from head to bottom will be about 3 1/2 inches at the end of the week, about the size of a lemon
-He or she weighs approximately 1 1/2 ounces.
-His or her body is growing faster than his or her head now, and his or her neck is becoming more and more distinct
-By the time we officially hit 14 weeks on Friday the baby's arms will have grown proportionately to his or her body (not the legs yet, but with his/her daddy's legs, I'm sure they're to grow long soon.
-He or she is starting to develop hair called lanugo all over his or her body, which is an ultra-fine covering
-The baby's liver will start making bile this week, hopefully not in preparation for college drinking years, though.
-His or her spleen will start producing red blood cells this week
-He or she is moving, even though I can't feel it yet; hopefully we'll get to that point soon!
As for me:
-I am still pretty nauseous on most days, but it seems like it's wearing down a bit and my palate has not been nearly as picky
-I have gotten my appetite back, which is bad with the large portion sizes at restaurants here; I'm really going to have to watch it if I want to keep my weight gain on track
-I am still pretty tired, but it's getting better; I'm hoping that when we get to our hotel in at our next stop on our vacation I will be able to wake up and work out most days
We have just a few days remaining with my family and then fly to our next destination on Friday to spend a little over a week with Jim's. Can't wait to tell them our big news about the geekling!
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