26 Weeks

I'm having blogger's block this week. So I'll start out with the easy stuff:

Mini's estimated size right now is 14 inches long and about 2 lbs. She's getting big! She's also getting on a more regular sleep schedule, and is often sleeping when I am. She is still being extremely active in my belly.

I got some fun things in the mail yesterday! Mama K aka Gran sent me a lovely bracelet similar to the one I had mentioned liking a couple of weeks ago. I'm wearing it in the pics below! She also sent me a cute card from "Mini" about what she's doing in the sixth month. I've never seen anything like that before!

I also got the long-awaited invitation to the baby shower that Jessica is planning! An exciting preview, for sure! Looking at it on the fridge has gotten me really hyped for the shower, and I can't wait to see what's in store and see so many of our friends and family in one place!

The invitation:

I love the modern chalkboard look!

We should have had our second childbirth class last night, but the other two couples weren't going to be able to make it, so last night's class got canceled. Tyler and I were pretty disappointed, since the class just started and we were ready to move onto the next topic, but we'll get back to it next week. 

Beautiful weather again for the pictures! Although it is getting much harder to climb that hill to the tree!

25 weeks of pregnancy gone by

It's hard to believe I'm 25 weeks! Just 11 weeks until I'm considered "full term"-- wow! I've had a lot of energy in the past week, and I haven't been as uncomfortable as I was the week before. It's a good thing too, since our week was pretty busy and eventful.

Most of you know now that we've been considering buying a home instead of throwing more money into the great abyss of renting. We also need more space and a yard, which a house gives us without having to pay more per month. We found our perfect house back in January, when this thought was just a little idea. We still weren't sure what we were going to do, but last month we decided to go forward with trying to buy. This house had stayed on the market the whole time, and even gone down in price, and the seller was offering to pay closing costs now. As everything fell into place, we were becoming more and more convinced that this is the house for us.

 Last week, after a discouraging lack of correspondence from our agent, we abruptly switched agents to one who was more invested in us and the sale. We are SO happy we did this! We met with her on Wednesday, and planned to make our offer this Monday.

On Saturday, we went to Tuscaloosa and visited my family and celebrated my nephew's birthday. It was fun seeing everyone again! We also got to see Tyler's family, aka Poppa, Gran, and Uncle Spence. It was a wonderful weekend, and the fun of it helped pass the time so that I wouldn't be too obsessed with the upcoming offer on the house.

Monday, we met the agent at the house and gave it another quick look. It was even better than I remembered, and I got really excited. We made our offer and waited.

While we were waiting, that night we had our first childbirthing class! The teacher is great, and the two other couples seem really nice. I hope we learn a lot and have a good time in the class over the next 10 weeks.

So after just a little bit of back and forth, last night we came to an agreement with the seller of the house! It was a wonderful moment. We feel so blessed to have this opportunity. I never expected we would be buying so soon, but it just seemed to make sense. We still have a lot to do and a long way to go before the house is officially ours, but we feel that things will continue to go well and that this is our house.

Between all of these goings on, we still managed to take a belly pic yesterday!

Since 25 weeks seems like a milestone number, I thought I would go back and post some of the belly pictures from the past weeks and reminisce a bit.

24 Weeks: Comfy clothes, please

Here we are at another milestone. Today I'm 24 weeks, which marks the point of "viability", which means if Mini were born now, she would have a good chance of surviving. Hard to believe, huh? But let's not have that happen for another 12 weeks or so, anyway.

In a few weeks, I will enter the third trimester. This is supposed to be the trimester where you get more uncomfortable and less mobile. If this is true, I feel like I'm already there. My belly is so stretched and big that I can hardly find a comfortable position, and sometimes it's hard to breathe--- mainly when I have a few bites too many at a meal! I'm starting to feel and act like a pregnant stereotype at this point, because Tyler has had to deal with me pouting that nothing fits right, I'm uncomfortable, and I just feel big. And not to mention, THERE ARE THREE MONTHS LEFT, PEOPLE!!

Okay, so that's what's going on with me right now. What's going on with Mini? Well she's still kicking away-- and pretty often throughout the day. She's also putting on weight. They estimate about a half a pound a week at this point. That's a pretty big jump, when you think about her going from 1 lb. to 1.5 lbs. in a week! That's a 50% increase! She's also possibly growing hair on her head, though it won't have pigment until later. Oh, and she can also open her eyes now!

The next month is sure to be a busy one for all three of us. Tyler and I start our childbirthing class next Monday. That should be interesting! After my glucose test appointment on May 7th, we start having appointments every other week. Lots of driving to Birmingham! Not to mention the many other events going on around this time. I might have to "play it by ear" whether I can make it to all of these, but I'm going to do my best.

Now, for the pictures. I might start wearing a lot more black from now on.. it makes me feel smaller. haha

23 Weeks: Big Mama

It's taking over the worrrrrld!!!!

No, it's not The Blob. It's my belly.

So, it honestly looked extra big today with that button-down shirt, but it's still pretty big. At least, according to the doctor. Not to mention, I feel 8 months pregnant. What a difference four weeks have made.

We had an appointment with another doctor in the practice today, Dr. Ross. He was a nice guy and we both liked him. He measured my belly and said I am measuring a week ahead. The same forecast i got last appointment when they measured the baby.

The main thing that tells me that my belly has gotten really big, though, is the reaction from random folks. Today, I got lots of smiles from woman strangers, and comments from a restaurant host. You know you're really showing when people aren't afraid to address your condition out of fear they'll be wrong.

Sunny days are here, at last...

I could not be happier that the temperature reached the 80's today, and the 70's earlier this week. Just in time, too, because every pair of pants I own are now more uncomfortable than I feel like dealing with. I am overjoyed to be able to don loose dresses and skirts, without fear of getting a chill outside.

But while the sun may mean good things for my comfort level, it apparently doesn't bode well for these photos. I was pretty frustrated today that all the pictures came out so shadowy and I was squinting in almost every pic. Maybe I should whip out the sunglasses every week now....

Mini has been kicking away in the past week. One night last week, i contemplated calling her Sugar Ray because it felt like she was using my organs as punching bags! I can even see her move from the outside now. She is a wiggly little worm! 

According to my updates, her taste buds have formed, she is having REM sleep and probably dreaming, and she has a sense of balance so she knows if I'm moving or dancing! That's pretty cool! So I might be doing a little more dancing from now on, just for fun :)

22 Weeks: I get a kick out of you

I actually can't remember much about the past week, except for Easter Sunday and Tyler's stomach virus. On Sunday, Tyler and I decided to go to a large Methodist church down the road. We had been meaning to try it out, but just hadn't gotten around to it. What better time than Easter! This particular church has 4 Sunday morning services: 2 contemporary and 2 traditional. We went to the one we could find the easiest (on the huge church campus) and that happened to be the contemporary. We sat at the top of the balcony. Yep, the balcony. I'm not good at gauging numbers, but Tyler and I guessed there were about 1,000 people at that one service. Call me old-fashioned, but I'm not crazy about attending church in an arena. Haha. 

After church, Tyler's stomach wasn't feeling well. We just figured the coffee had not been good on his stomach. But when he was at work, he came down with a horrible fever, so by the time he got home from work (11pm), he was burning up and had chills. Luckily, it was a 24 hour stomach virus, and by Monday afternoon, he was able to eat whatever he wanted fine. There have been so many people sick lately! Both Tyler's and my mom have been fighting something off in the past week, and my sister Jessica has also been sick. I hope everyone is back to 100% soon!

On to the pregnancy news! Mini is strong and active now, and she let's me know by kicking me all day long! It started in the past week, I think. But I wasn't sure it was her until she gave my bladder a good kick. There was no doubt then! She's actually kicking and wiggling away as I type. Tyler even felt her for the first time last night! He was surprised and said it felt like a little thump. I've been trying to get him to feel it for several days, but she always stopped the moment I got his hand on my stomach. 

Here's what Baby-Gaga.com says...

Congratulations! You’re now housing a human who weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a foot in length!

Your wee babe's perfect little pancreas (a super-duper organ that produces hormones and aids in digestion) is now making its own hormones for your baby's body and brain!

If you were worried, you can finally stop that: your baby's future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure now that their inner ear is developed to the point that they have their own sense of balance.

Luckily for your little womb-explorer, this new balance promotes physical dexterity, which has them actively feeling out their surroundings where skin, body parts, and the resident umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences.

Your sweet babe is sort of looking like an oversized red prune right now as more and more skin (and therefore wrinkles) are showing up each week.

Not to worry, all those wrinkles are just your baby's way of planning ahead for the time when they’ll start piling on all of that irresistible baby chub.

And on to some pictures....

21 Weeks: Growth Spurts

Brrr! Here, at the end of March, I'm hoping this is our last week of Winter. Next week, the forecast has 70-degree temperatures, so I'm going to hold them to that! :)  Today, we have been having steady flurries all day. It eased up a little while we were taking the pictures, but in the ones you can see, it still just looks like weird lines (like going warp speed in space).

My updates tell me that Mini should be about a pound right now. They also tell me that the baby is about to start the stage where her main business is getting cute and chubby! Well, I added the "cute" part. Let's assume that. But she's going to be fattening up! She also is growing eyelashes and eyebrows (hopefully not a unibrow, baha...)

And my belly seems to be at a stage where it looks bigger every week. The pictures this week prompted a "Whoa!" from me. Pictures always make everything more apparent!


No, I am not wearing a jacket in these. Yes, I am a little crazy. I'm tired of Winter cramping my style!!

Nope, not cold at all. I'm too cool to be cold. 

You can see the snow in this one! And I was very happy to put Tyler's ugly but warm coat back on.

20 Weeks: Halfway Home

I can't believe it's been a week since the ultrasound! This past week went by so quickly, but it was pretty busy, so I guess that's to be expected. But we've also hit a new milestone! 20 weeks! Assuming the pregnancy lasts exactly 40 weeks, that means we're halfway there! In some ways the last 20 weeks flew by, and in others, it feels like it's been forever. Especially when I think about that we got our first positive pregnancy test right after Thanksgiving.

I haven't felt Mini much lately, which is normal at this stage. I hope I start feeling her again soon, though, because it's a lot easier to talk to something you feel moving than just to talk to your belly like a crazy person! All the updates say she can definitely hear me now. Most of these updates also say she's around 10 ounces, but last week they estimated 12 ounces, so when I read those updates, I just kind of laugh.

Mini isn't the only one growing these days. My belly has gotten visibly bigger in the last week. I don't think I would need a picture to tell me that, with all the stretching feeling and itching. If my belly is any indication of how much baby girl is growing, then I'm starting to think that she might actually be a July baby! I've bought some adorable clothes for her, and Tyler and I have even found some names we agree on.

Tyler and I have been missing our friends and family, and we wish we could see you all more often. But, at least we have technology, which keeps us so much more in touch than we would have been even 10 years ago.

Today was a pleasant but cool 60-degree day. We were delighted to see that they finally opened the gates to our old picture spot. Here are the fun and sunny pics!

Nesting: Nursery Plans

Tyler and I are still not sure where we'll be living when the baby comes, but for now, I'm operating under the hope that we will be in a 3 bedroom establishment. If not, my nursery plans will merely be a sized down version, split with my office, so I see no reason to stop thinking about it.

I spent most of yesterday planning out the main look and major pieces of the nursery. I knew I wanted a modern but feminine look, but not too frilly. My inspiration room made things a lot easier, since I am not the most talented interior designer. The idea of an inspiration room, is that you follow the general look and idea and let it inspire you, but not copy it exactly.

So I worked on a virtual board filled with items I could actually acquire for my own nursery. It will have pale mint green walls, white and cream furniture, a black and white rug, and salmon pink accents. I also had a lot of prints from Etsy saved in my favorites already that I want to use for the art wall. 

Some of these pieces are still just serving as inspiration, because I plan to find them cheap at yard sales and thrift stores, but a lot of them are the exact items I will be getting! My sister found an amazing deal on the sheep mobile, a Pottery Barn $62 mobile, for $8 at Kid's Market! Pretty sure I owe her a home-cooked dinner for that one.

The art wall is almost exclusively from Etsy shops. The photograph will be replaced instead with a similar one of Tyler and mini, I'm hoping :)

The curtains that are on the closet, will actually be on the window. I'm going to buy white curtains, then Mom is going to sew the trim on. I was having such a hard time finding those curtains!

So, this is it! I'm pretty happy with the result so far, and I hope you are too!

Doula Love Me?

Along with the other events on Tuesday, Tyler and I also met with a doula for the first time and interviewed her. Her name is Jessica, and we were very happy with her answers to our questions, and her attitudes toward birth. A lot of people are unfamiliar with what doulas do, and why they are necessary, so below is some information from DONA International, the most well-known doula association.

The word "doula" comes from ancient Greek and is now used to refer to someone experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during, and just after childbirth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.  Studies have shown that when doulas attend births, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily. 

Specifically, the presence of a doula reduces the overall cesarean rate by nearly 50%, length of labor by 25%, oxytocin/pitocin use by 50%, pain medication by over 30%, the need for forceps or vacuum extraction by 34%, and requests for epidurals by up to 60%. Doula-attended mothers also report less pain during labor and postpartum show significantly less anxiety, fewer signs of depression, and a higher level of self-esteem.

(Klaus, Kennell, and Klaus, The Doula Book)

A birth doula: 

• Recognizes childbirth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life.
• Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor.
• Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for the birth.
• Stays with the woman throughout her labor.
• Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures, and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping
  the woman get the information she needs to make informed decisions.
• Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner, and clinical care providers.
• Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the woman's memory of the birth experience.
• Allows the woman's partner to participate at comfort level.

Doulas specialize in non-medical skills and do not perform clinical tasks, such as vaginal exams or mother/fetal heart rates.  Doulas do not diagnose medical conditions, offer second opinions, or give medical advice. Most importantly, doulas do not make decisions for their clients; they do not project their own value and goals onto the laboring woman. 

The aforementioned information courtesy of DONA International.

After our meeting with Jessica, we've decided to use her as our doula. She is very focused on enabling the husband be as involved and feel as useful as possible, and helping with pain management when necessary. A lot of times husbands want to help, but don't know how. 

Her full time job is as an RN, so she has been present for a lot of births and C-sections and is familiar with both sides of the process. We're very excited to have found her. She will also meet with us a couple of times before the birth, once at our home, to discuss and practice laboring positions and techniques. We were happy that she is willing to come see us, when we are so far away, without charging extra. 

We're so excited to have found our doula!

19 Weeks: Shocking news!

Tuesday was the day we'd all been waiting for! Little did I know, we would do a lot more waiting....

Our appointment was at 2:30, but we got there early. I did as I was told, and made sure my bladder was full. Which isn't hard when you're pregnant. I really only need about 15 minutes notice!  When I signed in, the receptionist said they'd call me back in a few minutes. The receptionist must have had no idea what she was talking about. I didn't get called back into the ultrasound room until almost 3:00. Let me tell you, an uncomfortable, full bladder pregnant woman is not one you want to keep waiting for an hour. I ended up going against her advice and going to the bathroom at about 2:25, when she had told me 10-15 minutes ago it would just be a little longer. 

waiting... waiting...this is early. Still in good spirits

Anyway, enough about my bladder!

I went to the ultrasound room alone at first. The tech quietly found everything she needed to find on the baby, while I laid there and wondered what she was doing and finding. She put TONS of goo on my stomach! Eventually, she called Tyler and Jessica back and immediately showed us what we all wanted to know-- boy or girl? I knew as soon as she pulled it up that it was a girl. But I was still in disbelief. She told me that the baby was measuring 20 weeks, and was 12 ounces (!!!). I told her that didn't surprise me. She showed us lots of adorable body parts and a beating heart and well-developed brain. She told us our baby was crossing her ankles, which I thought was adorable, because I always sit in similar positions. She said the baby looked beautiful and had a perfect spine and everything looked great. Woohoo! At the bottom of this post you'll find a video of baby girl stretching out inside my belly. Too, too cute. 

Watching the big screen tv with our baby girl on it!

After the ultrasound, and yet another eternal 1 hour wait to see my doctor, we headed to a local park to meet with the Moms and spill the beans. They were thrilled, if you couldn't guess that!

The "reveal" pic that no one could see on their phones. In all fairness, I knew it was hard to see when I made it. I just didn't expect to be using it. 

I don't have to post estimated measurements and sizes of the baby, since the tech gave us the best estimate already. But I will say that I think I have hit a stride in the second trimester. I'm feeling great, if a little uncomfortable at times. I mostly feel like myself (with a bigger belly), and I'm enjoying it. I'm also enjoying the nursery planning. I've even bought a few outfits. It took me all of Tuesday to wrap my head around the fact that I'm having a girl. I'm still a little in shock. But she's adorable and we're excited. 

Any symptoms were made better by the surprise movement I started feeling on Sunday night. It wasn't how I expected it to feel, but it was really neat, and immediately I felt more connected with the baby. The tech said the baby is right up against the placenta, which is why I probably wasn't feeling much movement (or why it took so long). 

So that is week 19, for you! Expect more updates to come, as now I have a lot more planning and decisions to make!