Thankful for another week! I'm really enjoying the 2nd trimester! No more nausea, and I'm not nearly as tired lately. I can't say that I've found a sudden burst of energy or anything -- although I've never really been very energetic anyway. But I'm definitely feeling a little more normal, other than the growing bump and dietary restrictions. Thank you, God, for another week!!!
How I’m Changing
Total weight gain: 4 lbs
Maternity clothes? yes
Stretch marks? nope, thank goodness
Sleep: great!
Best moment this week: feeling flutters (not sure if it's the baby or gas... but I'm going with baby! haha!)
Miss Anything? a tasty adult beverage, from time to time
Movement: maybe? (flutters)
Food cravings: asian food! (Pei Wei & hibachi)
Anything making you queasy or sick: only if I really need to pee :-)
Gender: will get ultrasound confirmation on Monday and will be making the big family reveal at 16 weeks!
Symptoms: swelling feet, growing pains, some heartburn, frequent potty breaks!
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: depends on the day
Looking forward to: the family gender reveal on September 1st!
Baby Kirby Week 15 Update:
Your adorable four-inch break-dancer is busy cutting a rug inside their dance studio, even if you still can't feel it.
The majority of women don't feel those first magical movements (and not just the not-so-magical gas from the chili at dinner last night) until the 18th week or later.
Interesting fetal developments: your wee monkey's elbows and knees are bending more freely this week and their little legs arefinally less stubby than their arms.
Many of your baby's major organ systems are increasing in capacity - especially their amazing tiny heart and circulatory system, which is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood per day, and will increase to a very impressive 200 quarts per day by the end of the pregnancy.
You wee womb-tenant is now capable of making all sorts of interesting facial expressions, which include squinting, frowning, and grimacing (at the taste of their pee?).
As far as hair goes, we've got some new scalp patterns beginning to develop on the head, although actual head hair is not yet present, just their furry monkey lanugo.
I am amazed every single week at how far I've come! I am so thankful to God, not only for getting me here, but for keeping this going! I am truly blessed!!
How I’m Changing
Total weight gain: 3 lbs
Maternity clothes? mostly pants and some shirts.
Stretch marks? not yet
Sleep: Great! Other than potty breaks!
Best moment this week: NT scan gender news!
Miss Anything? not really
Movement: not yet
Food cravings: apparently the baby likes asian food (chinese, japanese, thai, etc.)
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope!
Gender: We were told the gender at the NT scan, but it's only 75% accurate. Will have to wait for confirmation scan at 15 weeks!
Symptoms: swelling feet, lots of potty breaks, heartburn!!
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: fairly happy
Looking forward to: our gender (hopefully confirmation) scan on August 27th!
Baby Kirby Week 14 Update:
Now the size of a lemon, your baby is more fluid-like in his movements, so he’s no longer doing the jerk every time he repositions his arms and legs. Other developments this week include a roof of his own (inside his mouth, that is) as well as intestinal activity: His intestines are producing meconium (which is the waste that will make up his first bowel movement after birth). He is also sporting a downy coating of hair (lanugo) that keeps him nice and warm. Not to worry — you won't give birth to a monkey; baby fat will accumulate over the next few months and take over the function of keeping your baby warm and toasty —allowing most of that hair to shed.
Today was our NT scan. This is where they measure the fluid in the back of the baby's neck to see if it has any genetic markers for Down Syndrome. Up until 14 weeks gestation, the back of a baby's neck is translucent. So it was vital that I got this test done this week before it was too late to tell. Honestly, we weren't originally going to have it done. If our baby were to have a genetic defect or DS, it would not matter to us in the least. But it has been 3 weeks since I have had an ultrasound, and I really wanted to see the baby again! Plus, it's covered by insurance -- so why not! The purpose of the test is only so the parents can be prepared if there are abnormalities. I'm so glad we did this! Baby Kirby was sucking its thumb, moving & jumping all around... it was amazing! It even has a normal little body & head now. God is good!
sucking thumb
Bottom line: everything looked normal on the ultrasound. The fluid in the neck only measured around 1.5mm, which is great. Anything over 3mm can indicate DS. They also said it is a good sign that our baby has a nasal bone, as 3 out of 4 DS babies do not. Also, the genetic blood test I took several weeks ago came back negative for abnormalities as well. So we are looking at a very healthy baby here! :-)
Shawn was not able to go with me to the NT Scan. I was pretty sad at first. But they offer to get the whole thing on DVD if you prefer. So the next best thing was to be able to let Shawn watch the video at home. And I'm glad we have a copy to watch whenever we want. It was nice not having to hold my phone up for over 30 minutes to video the entire thing as well.
The other thing that was "discovered" during the scan was the baby's gender! I told them from the moment I laid down that, if they were able to tell the gender, I wanted to look away and have them type it on the screen so Shawn & I could watch it together later that night. About 3/4 through the video, the doctor said I should turn my head. So I did -- I promise! She typed on the screen what she thought the gender appeared to be and said she was 75% sure. Then she told me I could look again and the word was gone. So, after Shawn got home that night, we watched the video together and found out! We are having another gender scan with the OB in 2 weeks, so we want to be sure that the genders match up before we tell anyone. It would suck to tell everyone one thing and then change it a few weeks later. So we will get confirmation (hopefully) on August 27 and then tell our families Labor Day weekend. We are very excited!
Below is a snippet of the NT scan video. This particular part is where the baby sucks its thumb. So cute!! There are 2 reasons that I am not posting the entire video yet: 1) I'm having trouble getting it uploaded to youtube from the DVD, and 2) The end of the video shows the could-be gender!! I'm not that stupid! Haha! I will figure out a way to upload the whole thing in a few weeks, after the big reveal. It's pretty cool seeing Baby K jump around like a wild child. Enjoy!
So happy to be in the 2nd trimester!! My nausea is basically gone, and it's been replaced with heartburn. But I'll take heartburn any day over "the icks"! I'm still having a lot of round ligament pain, so things seem to be progressing & growing. We still listen to the doppler every night as well. Baby Kirby's heartbeat is still steady at around 155-160 beats per minute. Woohoo! How I’m Changing
Total weight gain: 2 lbs
Maternity clothes? Yes! I think I was bloated really early on due to the IVF meds, so my pants started getting tight very quickly. But I can tell my bump is getting a little bigger every week!
Stretch marks? Not yet
Sleep: There are nights that I toss & turn a little. But, unless I have to get up to go to the bathroom, I'm pretty much out the whole night.
Best moment this week: I am finally in the 2nd trimester! Yay!!!
Miss Anything? Not a thing!
Movement: Nope, Baby Kirby is still too small. But in 3-7 weeks I should start to feel something!
Food cravings: No major cravings yet. Thank goodness!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really anymore. My nausea went away around week 11. See ya!!
Gender: Still unknown. But we find out 2 weeks from tomorrow! I think it's a boy. ;-)
Symptoms: Round ligament pain, moodiness, feet have started swelling a little (yikes!)
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody! (poor Shawn)
Looking forward to: Our NT scan on Monday! This will be the first time in 3 weeks since I have seen Baby Kirby on ultrasound! I can't wait to see how he/she has grown & changed!
Baby Kirby Week 13 Update:
What's up with your baby? Well, besides being as large as a peach now, that big old noggin of hers is now about half the size of her crown-to-rump length (that’s one reason why your little peach looks more like an alien from outer space at this point). By the time you give birth, her body will catch up, measuring three-quarters of her total size. What else is going on in there? Tiny bones are beginning to form in her arms and legs, the intestines are beginning to move from the umbilical cord to the abdomen, and the vocal cords are well under construction (the first step toward saying, "I love you, Mommy!"). And because she can move her arms and legs in a jerky fashion, she may be able to get her thumb into her mouth (a habit that may come in handy for self-soothing when she’s a newborn).
As I've mentioned before, I use the doppler pretty much every night now before I go to bed. For those who don't know what a doppler is, it's a handheld device that you use to listen for the baby's heartbeat. I've been doing this since about 10 weeks, and it gets easier & easier to find the heartbeat the further along I get. At first, there were some nights that I couldn't find it at all. But, at about 11 weeks, we started finding it pretty consistently and easily. The biggest challenge is trying to listen to it long enough before little Baby Squirmy... I mean Baby Kirby... moves away from it. The doppler doesn't always pick up the heart rate on the digital monitor. I'm not sure if it's because the baby is still pretty small or what. But, as long as I can hear a little whooshing sound that is twice as fast as my own heartbeat, I am content. :-)
Here is a little sampling of tonight's doppler session, where it actually showed the heart rate (around 160 beats per minute, on average). The video is a little dark and the sound a little fuzzy, but you get the picture!
So happy to be 12 weeks today!! I always thank God for another day and another week! I can see the 2nd trimester just around the corner! Praise be to God!
I have been looking forward to making our pregnancy announcement on Facebook for at least 4 years -- and today was the day! I know it sounds petty and silly. But there's something about celebrating the news with everyone I know that just makes it all even more exciting! Not to mention, we didn't want to keep it a secret forever. And this was a good way to introduce our news so I can start posting things like "ugh, I've got heartburn" or "yay! Babies R Us is having a sale this weekend!" It's the little things... :-)
Speaking of heartburn, I officially started experiencing that for the first time in my life around week 10 or 11. But this week it has been in full force. I have still been having lots of round ligament pain as well. It just feels like lots of pinching & pulling, which means my uterus is growing -- and that makes me happy! My nausea seems to have gone away, for the most part. I'm sure I will get some random bouts here & there. But I am hoping the 1st trimester icks have left the building for good! I never actually vomited, so I was very blessed in that respect. I consider myself very lucky!
On Monday, August 13th, I have a followup OB appointment. The OB will probably just talk to me and listen to the heartbeat on the doppler. I also have my NT scan, which is where they measure the fluid at the back of the baby's neck. This is a relatively good indicator of whether or not the baby has Down Syndrome. I'll be honest... I really scheduled the NT scan because I'm just anxious to see our baby on ultrasound again! Yes, I also want to check and see if our baby may have problems or not. But it's not going to make a difference in how much I am going to love him or her. The advantage to having the test done is so we can be well prepared, in case we do have a child with special needs. And I'm hoping that the baby will do some tricks on-screen like suck its thumb or wiggle around so I can get it on video. Shawn will not be able to make it to the appointment with me, so video is crucial. I'll make sure to post it here as well, so no worries!
Every day I have Shawn find the baby's heartbeat on the handheld doppler that I purchased. I have been trouble finding the heartbeat myself lately. But Shawn is usually able to find it within 1-2 minutes or less. I guess this baby is going to be a Daddy's boy or girl! Sometimes the heart rate does not register on the doppler, so I'm not always 100% sure of what the bpm is. But, as long as we can hear something that is twice as fast as my own heartbeat, we feel good that everything is going well!
In about 3 weeks (Monday, August 27th), we will have our gender scan at 15 weeks! I can't believe it's coming up so soon! There is a chance that they may not be able to tell the sex. If not, I will just keep going back every week until they can see it. If we do find out that day, no one will know -- not even my family! Well, that is until we go to Tyler for Labor Day weekend. We plan on telling the family when we're all together. I'm excited to keep them in suspense -- especially my mom! *evil laugh*
Here is my 12-week bump pic: (please excuse the ghetto booty!)
Please excuse the ghetto booty!
And here is Baby Kirby's 12- week update:
By now, your baby weighs a full half-ounce and is about the size of a large plum. Most of his systems are in place, though there's still plenty of maturing to do. For one thing, his fetal digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements necessary for eating, and his bone marrow is busy making white blood cells — weapons against germs once he's out of your safe haven. The pituitary gland (at the base of the brain) has started producing the hormones that'll enable him (or her) to make babies of his (or her) own in a couple of decades or so.
Interesting fetal developments: your wee monkey's elbows and knees are bending more freely this week and their little legs arefinally less stubby than their arms.
