24 Week Update & Milestone

And this makes three weeks in a row!

Today is a huge milestone for us.  It's V Day, or viability day, which means that if Connor were born today the hospital would take measures to try to keep him alive and he would have a greater than 50% chance of survival.  Obviously I want him to keep cooking for another 13 weeks at least (preferably 16), but I feel like I can breathe a little more easily.  He has spent the day celebrating by kicking up a storm.


We have had a pretty quiet week, but we have a big weekend coming up.  Tomorrow we will be leaving for B'ham as soon as R gets off work.  Bruce, Christine, Tom and Joe are in town for a visit and I can't wait to see them.  It's been 11 years since we last saw them.  R hasn't met them yet, so I am looking forward to that as well.  Then it's a lot of work on the nursery next week because my shower is a week from Saturday! 

Weekly Check In:

• How far along?: 24 weeks

• Total weight gain: I am up 6.5 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight.

• How big is baby?: Baby is the size of a papaya this week. 

• Maternity clothes?: Fully in maternity clothes at this point.  They are so comfortable.

• Movement: Lots of strong kicks and movement!  And Connor finally let his daddy feel him kick! 

• Stretch marks?: I just discovered some stretch marks right around my belly button.

• Sleep?: Still having a hard time sleeping although the migraine meds have been knocking me out.

• Symptoms?: Heightened sense of smell, really vivid dreams, heartburn and movement.

• Food cravings: Cereal has been really good this week.

• Belly button in or out?: Still an innie.

• What I miss: Not a whole lot at this point.

• What I'm looking forward to: Spending this weekend visiting with old friends.  I also have an OB appointment next Tuesday which I am excited about.

• Best Moment this week: R getting to feel Connor kick for the first time.

• Milestone: Connor's skin is becoming less transparent as he packs on some fat, and he is starting to take on a rosy hue as his capillaries develop.  He is making facial expressions: frowning, squinting and pursing his lips.  His nostrils are opening and his lungs are developing!

- J

23 Week Update

That's two weeks in a row.  Talk about a streak! 


We've had a good week.  It started with our gender reveal party last weekend.  We had a great time and everyone was very excited about our little man.  We had a great time with our family and friends.  It was especially nice spending the evening with R's daughter A.  Connor now has Godparents.  His Godfather, C, is one of Raven's best friends and was the best man in our wedding.  His Godmother, K, has been one of my best friends since High School  She is like a surrogate sister to me.


I ended up getting a horrible migraine Sunday and when it wasn't gone by Monday, I ended up going to see my Dr.  They ruled out anything having to do with my blood pressure (thank goodness!) so they sent me to the ER for further testing.  I was not impressed with the ER Dr, who apparently couldn't tell I am pregnant or read my chart.  He wanted to send me for a CT scan for the incredibly minute possibility of there being an issue in my brain.  I decided that wasn't worth the risk to Connor and declined.  He gave me some meds that took most of the pain away and sent me home.  My OB has now given me some meds in case the migraines come back, so hopefully I am all set. 



In more exciting news, I have started working on some projects for the nursery.  I got Connor's initials in wooden letters and I have been working on painting and decorating them.  I just finished a knitted blanket and I am starting to work on a quilt/wall hanging to go over the crib. 

Weekly Check In:

• How far along?: 23 weeks

• Total weight gain: I am up 6.5 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight.

• How big is baby?: Baby is the size of a papaya this week. 

• Maternity clothes?: Fully in maternity clothes at this point.  They are so comfortable.

• Movement: Much stronger kicks and movements the last week, and I was finally able to feel some movement from the outside.  I can see movement from the outside now, but Connor still hasn't let his daddy feel him move yet. 

• Stretch marks?: I just discovered some stretch marks right around my belly button.

• Sleep?: Still having a hard time sleeping although the migraine meds have been knocking me out.

• Symptoms?: Heightened sense of smell, really vivid dreams, heartburn and movement.

• Food cravings: Cereal has been really good this week.

• Belly button in or out?: Still an innie.

• What I miss: Not a whole lot at this point.

• What I'm looking forward to: At this exact moment, a nap.  We are going to a housewarming party this weekend which should be fun.

• Best Moment this week: Sharing the news of our little guy with our friends and family.

• Milestone: Connor's face is fully developed at this point.  Now he is growing nipples!

- J

It's a...

Boy!  Now that we have had our gender reveal party, I can make the official announcement.  Connor Grey will be joining our family in January 2012.  He is doing great and as I write this, he is kicking me.  We are thrilled and so excited to meet our little man. 

- J

22 Week Update

I'm actually updating on time for once!!  It's amazing!!

We are doing well.  Little one has been kicking like crazy, and I have been loving it.  We did have a little scare a couple of nights ago.  I was having some lower abdominal pain, low back pain and some cramping.  The on-call OB wanted me to come in and make sure I wasn't having contractions and didn't have a UTI.  So off I went to Labor & Delivery.  After about 30 - 45 minutes on the monitor, we determined that I wasn't having contractions and Baby hates the monitor.  It keep kicking and trying to move away from it.  Urine culture was clean, and they sent me home.  I was very impressed with my sneak preview of the Maternity ward and am happy we chose that hospital.  



Weekly Check In:

• How far along?: 22 weeks

• Total weight gain: I am up 7 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight.

• How big is baby?: Baby is the size of a papaya this week. 

• Maternity clothes?: Fully in maternity clothes at this point.  They are so comfortable.

• Movement: Much stronger kicks and movements the last week, and I was finally able to feel some movement from the outside.  Unfortunately little one likes to hide, so R hasn't felt anything yet.

• Stretch marks?: Just the ones I already had.

• Sleep?: Still having a hard time sleeping.  The body pillow really didn't help too much.

• Symptoms?: Heightened sense of smell, really vivid dreams, heartburn and movement.

• Food cravings: Sweets, bacon, burgers, other than that not a whole lot.

• Belly button in or out?: Still an innie.

• What I miss: Not a whole lot at this point.

• What I'm looking forward to: Our big gender reveal dinner with the family on the 17th!

• Best Moment this week: Hearing the baby on the monitor.

• Milestone: Baby is starting to develop a sleeping pattern.  It spends 12 -14 hours a day sleeping!

- J

21 Week Update (a little late)

Sorry this update is a little late.  We had some very hot weather this weekend and I couldn't bear to have my laptop going.

Anyway, we had a great week.  We had our anatomy scan last Tuesday and baby was not shy about showing the goods.  We will be making the big announcement to our families on the 17th, so I will be doing another update here after that.  Even more importantly, baby is doing great.  The scan was done at 20 weeks, 5 days.  Here are the measurements from the scan:

• Biparietal Diameter: 51 mm/21 weeks 3 days
• Head Circumference: 197 mm/21 weeks 6 days
• Femur Length: 36 mm/21 weeks 3 days
• Humerus Length: 35 mm/22 weeks 0 days
• Abdominal Circumference: 159 mm/21 weeks 0 days

So, all of the measurements are about 1 - 2 weeks ahead of where I am actually at.  We were able to see baby's brain, intracranial structures, face, spine, 4 chamber heart, stomach, bowel, kidneys, bladder, and 3 vessel umbilical cord.  Everything looks perfect.   

I am a little concerned about how big this baby is going to be, especially given how big R was when he was born.  We are going to have another growth scan at 28 weeks and then discuss the possibility of having an elective C section.  I have my next OB appointment and second glucose tolerance test on 10/4/11.  After that, I go for appointments every 2 weeks instead of every month.  We are going to be registering for our classes in the next week or two and we are starting to get the nursery ready.  It's all becoming very real now!


Weekly Check In:

• How far along?: 21 weeks

• Total weight gain: I am up 7 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight.

• How big is baby?: Baby is the size of a banana this week. 

• Maternity clothes?: Fully in maternity clothes at this point.  They are so comfortable.

• Movement: Much stronger kicks and movements the last week, and I was finally able to feel some movement from the outside.  Unfortunately little one likes to hide, so R hasn't felt anything yet.

• Stretch marks?: Just the ones I already had.

• Sleep?: Still having a hard time sleeping.  The body pillow really didn't help too much.

• Symptoms?: Heightened sense of smell, really vivid dreams, heartburn and movement.

• Food cravings: Sweets, bacon, burgers, other than that not a whole lot.

• Belly button in or out?: Still an innie.

• What I miss: Not a whole lot at this point.

• What I'm looking forward to: Our big gender reveal dinner with the family on the 17th!

• Best Moment this week: Seeing our beautiful baby at our anatomy scan.

• Milestone: Baby gulping down amniotic fluid for nutrition and practice swallowing.  And baby can taste things now.  They have done studies that show little one will prefer foods that it has already tasted in utero!

- J

OB Appointment Update

We had a great appointment today.  Baby actually cooperated, so we will be making the official announcement on September 17th.  Everything looks perfect and little one is measuring 1 - 2 weeks ahead.  Here are some pictures!

Profile - Not the best as Baby didn't want to show it's face:

Foot:

One year ago today...

A year ago today, our lives were forever changed.  One year ago today, I found out I was pregnant.  I didn't know yet that we were expecting twins, and I certainly had no idea how it would turn out.  I was ecstatic and naive.  I never imagined anything would go as horribly wrong as it did.  I miss having that naivety. 

I'm so thrilled for the healthy baby growing inside me, but I miss our twins every day.  I know they are watching over us, but I wish I could have known them. 

- J

20 Week Update - Half-Baked!

Things have been going pretty well this week.  Baby's movements have been getting stronger which has been really cool.  Other than that, the only big news is that I am halfway there today!  20 weeks down and 20 more to go!  We have a long weekend coming up and then we get to see Baby again on Tuesday. 


Weekly Check In:

• How far along?: 20 weeks

• Total weight gain: I am up 2 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight as of Monday.

• How big is baby?: Baby is the size of a cantaloupe this week. 

• Maternity clothes?: Fully in maternity clothes at this point.  They are so comfortable.

• Movement: Much stronger kicks and movements the last week.  I can't wait until we can feel little one moving from the outside.

• Stretch marks?: Just the ones I already had.

• Sleep?: Still having a hard time sleeping.  The body pillow really didn't help too much.

• Symptoms?: Heightened sense of smell, really vivid dreams, and movement.

• Food cravings: Sweets, burgers, other than that not a whole lot.

• Belly button in or out?: Still an innie.

• What I miss: Not a whole lot at this point.

• What I'm looking forward to: Still excited about my next OB appointment and our anatomy scan on 9/6!

• Best Moment this week: Getting definite kicks from little one.

• Milestone: Baby gulping down amniotic fluid for nutrition and practice swallowing.  And baby can taste things now.  They have done studies that show little one will prefer foods that it has already tasted in utero!

- J