Week 26 - 3D Baby Bean

We get lots of extra attention with Baby Bean's umbilical cord defect.  I went in for another round of appts today.  OB first.  Heartrate was good and my belly was measuring large at 33cm.

The ultrasound was next.  By measurements she's about a week ahead.  They are estimating her weight at 2lbs 4 ozs.  With overall size at 70% percentile.  (Her head is leading the measurements at 87% percentile...poor me)!

So the geneticists was very pleased and feels that we're not going to have to worry about restricted growth due to the umbilical cord condition :-)

Although I found out that I need to start twice a week non-stress tests at 32 weeks.  That's a lot of appts!

The best part of the day was getting a sneak peek at Baby Bean.  She was unusually calm during the ultrasound so the tech was able to turn the 3D on and get some great pictures.  It makes such a difference for me.  I felt very blessed getting to see who was behind that wall of skin.  

I'm in love...for the third time :-)

Week 25 - 15 more weeks

Ahhh yes.  It's all coming back to me.  I've already reached the point in pregnancy #2 where I feel like I'm going to pop.  The belly is already peeking out from under my shirts.  By end of a day, what is left of the adominal muscles feel stretched and sore and the lower back feels achy.
 
Recently, I find that I'm having a hard time concentrating.  My brain seems to jump from thing to thing, never fully completing or processing a task.

Baby Bean is big enough that her subtle movements now are visible from the outside.  I seem to have more belly quivers with her.  Ellie was definitely a hiccups kid but this one seems to get muscle fatigue from all her movement.

Other funny Baby Bean observations.  She seems to have strong reactions (lots of moving) when I'm typing on a keyboard and driving long distances in a car.   Ellie didn't like keyboards either but the car one surprises me.

For all the not so wonderful prego parts...there is something I really like about week 25.  The really wonderful part about week 25 is that babies tend to be developed enough that they could possibly make it out of utero.  So for me, it's a magical week.  Somethings shifts in my mind when we hit this week.  Maybe it's even more reason why it becomes a countdown instead of counting up.

Ode to Mom

Ellie's drawings continue to grow in their detail.  Her favorite drawing instrument is the magnadoodle. Here are a couple of my recent favorites.  One is a rainbow and the other a potrait of me :-)


Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Week 24 - It's all coming back to me

Baby Bean is 24 weeks today!  We only have 16 more weeks and all the joys of second half pregnancy are coming back to me.  As space for two bodies shrinks, heartburn starts.  My veins start to stand out against my really fair skin (from the increased blood volume).  Abdominal strength diminishes so I feel like a wibble wobble getting up from a seated position.  I have to roll to one side and then use my hands and arms to push my body forward.

Happily, I feel Baby Bean almost all the time now.  She must be big enough that even her slightest movements are noticeable.  I think she's going to be an active kid based on what I'm feeling.  When I lay down it seems like she's "playing" with the sensation of the bed pressing against my tummy.  And when she's lower in the uterus, my bladder gets a tickle from some part of her body.  It's a very strange sensation...like getting a signal that you have to go potty.

We had our fetal echo cardiogram (an ultrasound solely focused on the heart anatomy) on July 3rd.  Baby Bean got the heart clearance we were hoping for.  They saw a perfectly healthy, correctly formed heart! 

So now we just monitor her growth and ensure the umbilical cord defect doesn't effect her size or in utero environment.

Oh yeah...and finish the nursery space, eat right, get into my birthing exercise routine and keep all the other balls in the air.  I have a feeling it's going to be a busy 16 weeks ;)

Is McDonald's where farmers go?

Grandma took all 4 grandkids over night givening parents a much appreciated break.  Today after lunch they walked to the local Mc Donald's for a special treat.  Ellie's never really been so when I asked her later where Grandma took them, she replied to "the farmer's place".  I was totally puzzled.  After my Mom thought about it for a second she realized Ellie thought they had gone to Old Mc Donald's Farm!  Not a totally crazy assumption on her part.  Silly and smart kid :-)

Here's a pic of the little ones at "Grandma's Camp"