A Glimpse at the Newest Family Member Today we got our first glimpse of the newest family member via ultrasound at 21 weeks. The baby is an active little bugger who didn't want to hold still, which made getting good pictures quite difficult. Consequently, we didn't really get any! All the same, it is pretty special to see your baby moving, kicking and bending and to watch it's tiny heart beat. The technician is not allowed to interpret results for you, that has to come from your doctor, but as far as we could tell the baby had all the necessary parts in all the necessary places, so that's good!
Audra was not impressed in the least at seeing her new sibling on the tv monitor. As soon as the lights dimmed she popped in her thumb and fell asleep on Alan's lap. The mom is supposed to drink 32 oz. of water before the ultrasound, so I was miserably uncomfortable between the tech pushing on my full bladder from the outside and the baby kicking it from the inside.
Last Wednesday was my monthly checkup. The midwives were finally able to draw blood and send it off to the lab because the necessary authorizations have come through for insurance coverage. That's a small relief, although just in time for us to move and find new providers! I do not yet have the results of the blood work, but I assume it's normal and healthy or my midwives would've given me a call. As it stands, we will be discussing the blood work and ultrasound results at next month's appointment May 7th. I'll keep you updated.
2008-03-13 (16 weeks)
The first flutters! At 16 weeks, I felt the baby kick this past Tuesday! There was a small ticklish flutter low in my abdomen that I immediately recognized thanks to having already been pregnant once before. You can't help but doubt yourself and think maybe it was gas or maybe I imagined it. So I waited and hoped and sure enough a few minutes later there it was again! The greatest little flutter that's so special and makes me feel close to the baby. The last two days I've paid special attention so that I catch every kick and it turns out the baby kicks quite often already! They're still more like tickles or flutters than a good wallop and I just LOVE it!
2008-03-08 (15 weeks)
Bust out the maternity clothes I'm 15-1/2 weeks pregnant and today I finally had to admit to myself maternity jeans are MUCH more comfortable. I've been putting off the inevitable wearing my regular jeans with either the top unbuttoned or trying to ignore the discomfort of a tight fit when they are buttoned. Today I caved and put on a maternity pair and I don't know why I didn't do it sooner (aside from the denial, self esteem factor)! You don't have to unzip your jeans to pee (which I do A LOT of these days)! Just pull them up and down! Truly a great invention. =)
In other news, just to tease you ... we've picked our boy name and are really excited about it! Here's your only clue. It's unique, Biblical and begins with the letter S. Happy guessing! Not like we'll tell you if you get it right, so don't ask! ;) We're having a terrible time coming up with a second girl name. We feel like we've already picked our favorite girl name and no others are as good. There's still plenty of time but since we do not want to know the gender, it helps to have one of each name early to give the baby some kind of identity. So if anyone has suggestions for a unique but not too unusual, easy to say, spell and pronounce girl name with a terrific meaning or history, please let us know! (Not to get too specific with the criteria. See why we're having trouble?!) ;)
My next checkup is this Friday at 10 am. Check back and I'll keep you posted!
2008-02-28 (14 weeks)
So far, so good! At 14 weeks pregnant, I've just entered the second trimester and am glad to be over the worst of my fatigue (at least for now). When I was working while pregnant with Audra, I had what I see now was the luxury of sitting behind a computer with my feet up and very few interruptions. This time around I am chasing a busy, demanding toddler and running from one playdate or errand to another, and it's physically exhausting! Anyone who knows me will testify that as an insomniac, I am incapable of naps. Yet for the first time (probably since Audra was newborn) I have been able to lay my head on a pillow and pass right out. Except for a bout of flu that the whole family had recently, I've been fortunate to have avoided all nausea and general yucky-ness. I do have a heightened sense of smell that makes me gag on say, really nasty poopy diapers or anything fishy or old leftovers. Sweet and sour sauce, too . That one's bizarre! It's very seldom that I have cravings, but when they hit nothing beats a hamburger (actually, all beef but especially a nice thick burger) and canned peas!
