Sunday, July 26, 2009

Week 34: Starting the nursery

Waist Measurements: 45" at the belly button

Weigh in: 160lbs according to the Dr.

Pregnancy Symptoms this Week:
  • Slight hand and feet swelling
  • Heart burn
  • Tiredness
Pregnancy first this week: My first pregnancy stretch mark! :( Guess it really is hereditary cause I tried everything to avoid them! Oh Well! A few battle wounds never hurt any one. Also let this be a lesson to girls wanting to get their belly button pierced. It's not pretty with a big belly...
My Pregnancy Brain: Now that the nursery is started its really staring to hit me that we are going to have a baby very soon. I cant wait to hold her!

Pregnancy Prep: It's not done yet but at least its started!
Mommy Chair and Baby Chair!
I call this Phase 1. Phase 2 to come.
Can you believe my mom and sister made the bedding for me!?

Dr Visits: every thing looks good, baby is still head down and her heart beat is great. BP is looking good and no protein in my urine. Life is good! I also got my maternity leave worked out. It looks like my last day to work is August 7th. Holy Smokes that's in 2 weeks!!!!

Belly Shot:
What the baby looks like this week: She now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well.

She is begining to develop her own immune system, instead of relying solely on antibodies received through the placenta.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Week 33: Baby Shower Week

Waist Measurements: 44" at the belly button

Weigh in: ???lbs according to ???. I forgot to weigh in this week!

Pregnancy Symptoms this Week:
  • slight hand and feet swelling
  • Joint pain in hands
  • Heart burn
  • Tiredness
  • hard to sit for long

Pregnancy Prep: We had the baby shower this weekend! we got so much awesome stuff! cant wait to put it all together in the baby's room. Plus it was sooo much fun! My sister did a great job putting it together.
Best Game Ever!
My mom and sister made this for Katelyn!
Cutest rocking chair ever!


Thank you monica for the beautiful cake!
Dr Visits: None this week

Belly Shot:

What the baby looks like this week:
This week your she weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal

Kicks and movements are practically visible from space now. The big news this week is lung development—baby's respiratory system is almost completely mature. That means if your baby was born this week, odds are he'd be a healthy bouncing baby with a just a little help from his friends (aka, the NICU). Some of the specifics are: Your baby can now detect light and tell the difference between night and day. Her pupils will constrict and dilate in response to light.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Motherhood

We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are
thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey,"
she says, half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?" "It will
change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. "I know," she
says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations...."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to
decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn
in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of
child bearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an
emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable. I consider
warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking
"What if that had MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will
haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will
wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die. I look at her
carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how
sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the
primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!"
will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moment's
hesitation.

I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has
invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood.
She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an
important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell.

She will have to use every ounce of her discipline to keep from running home,
just to make sure her baby is all right. I want my daughter to know that
everyday decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's
desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's
will become a major dilemma.
That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming
children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against
the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself
constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her
that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never
feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of
less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a
moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years -- not
to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will
become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will
change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much
more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never
hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in
love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women
throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I
hope she will understand why I can think rationally about most issues, but
become temporarily insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my
children's future.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your
child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a
baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or a cat for the first time. I
want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts. My daughter's
quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes.
"You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reach across the table,
squeeze my daughter's hand and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me,
and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most
wonderful of callings.

This blessed gift from God . . . that of being a Mother.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

32 Weeks

Waist Measurements: 44" at the belly button

Weigh in: 155lbs according to Dr.


Pregnancy Symptoms this Week:slight hand and feet swelling
  • Joint pain in hands
  • Heart burn
  • Tiredness
  • hard to sit for long
Pregnancy first this week:
This week has been the first week where it has been difficult to sleep. I'm still getting plenty of it its just not as comfortable and I'm getting up 5-7 times a night. I guess its good practice.

My Pregnancy Brain:
I cant wait to hold her and see who she looks like and whose personality she is going to have! I cant believe she could be here in 6-10 weeks! Time is flying by!

Dr Visits: Nothing too exciting, My midwife says everything looks great!

Belly Shot:
What the baby looks like this week: By now, she weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

31 Weeks: 8th Month!

Waist Measurements: 44" at the belly button

Weigh in: 151lbs according to home scale


Pregnancy Symptoms this Week:
  • slight hand and feet swelling
  • Joint pain in hands
  • Heart burn
  • Tiredness
  • Painful kicking of the ribs
Pregnancy first this week:
the joint pain has been a little weird but i think its because i did a lot of gardening and gave Paul a really long massage after he roter tiller'd the back yard.

My Pregnancy Brain:
Fear has set in! Well kinda, I'm just sacred of not being able to raise my daughter to be a good citizen.

Dr Visits: None this week

Belly Shot:

What the baby looks like this week:
She weighs about 3½ pounds and measures a little over 16 inches. From this week on, she will continue to gain around ½ pound a week until shortly before birth. She can now process information from all five senses. By now, your baby's lungs are the only system not fully mature. She can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin.