Wiggle Worm! (21w5d)

Since the beginning of my week 21 (21w1d specifically) Nano has decided to kick like 10x as much as he or she was previously. I don't know if this week is filled with a special growth spurt or what, but seriously, I feel KICKS and DANCING whereas before it was flutters and flicks. Two separate days for varying amounts of time Nano actually was positioned feet down and definitely was kicking me directly in the bladder. It is the weirdest feeling ever but also the coolest because I know my baby is OK when those kicks and dances happen.

I am feeling great pregnancy wise. I have to pee more often but that is to be expected with the bladder getting more and more squished. I also seem to have a shrinking stomach capacity sometimes, and can only eat half of what my usual intake is at a meal. I think Nano likes to squish my stomach sometimes hehe! I still take a nap almost every day but I did many days before i was pregnant too so I can't really say how much MORE tired I am from pregnancy. I do sleep worse at night and wake up a million times to reposition my aching hips so that has something to do with it I'm guessing. Besides that, no symptoms to report. I'm sure I'm very hormonal at times (ask my husband) and that occassionally I complain of something else but it's not bad at all for me. I am so blessed.

We just started looking at names today and actually think we have it narrowed down to a few boy and a few girl names. We like to make things happen quickly and go with gut decisions from a researched list. Right now I am writing various spellings down of the names we like most to see if we are going to choose a different spelling of the name to make it more unique. We'll see. I am pretty sure we will keep the names a secret til birth as well, since I don't like when people give their 2 cents about something involving OUR decision. :O) I guess I'm just selfish that way.

I will make an aside here instead of writing another whole post. The news which I have been sitting on for over 2 months can finally be revealed! Nicholas and I bought a house!!!! It closed on Tuesday and we are going to be over there doing repairs most of the weekend. It is older, built in 1945, but is very cute and has a GREAT backyard. There is even a room for Nano, which I am STOKED to decorate and put together. I will post pictures of the inside after we get some more stuff done, as we have to replace the flooring, paint, trim, the entire kitchen, etc etc. We are hoping to be in the new house in July sometime.

Life is so amazing right now and I feel like everything is falling into place perfectly. School is done for good, we have the house for sure and have a list of things that need to be done before moving, I completed my AWANA journey and earned my Citation Award last night, more baby stuff is being decided, and I am in an amazing bible study to further my walk with Christ. Annnnd to top it all off Hawaii is in a month!!!!!

Til next time,

Me

Belated 20wk ultrasound post (21w5d)

A week ago I went for my 20 week ultrasound. I was actually 20w5d the day we went and had my hubby and mom join me in the room since they had the ultrasound hooked up to a TV for easier viewing. The appointment was way down in San Diego and when we got there we had to wait about half hour to be called back. Let's just say by the time we got in the room for the ultrasound I had to pee! :O)

When the tech came in he introduced himself and seemed really nice. For some reason though, when he started the ultrasound he became all business and barely talked at all. He would just say, "This is baby's head, this is baby's arm, this is baby's leg..."

It was a bummer because I was hoping for a very interactive experience where we saw great pictures of baby and got a few good keepsakes. He just printed pictures randomly (6 total) and I couldn't even tell what 4 of them were because he didn't label them and they were extremely blurry. The receptionist said the appointment would be 30 minutes up to an hour, yet the ultrasound lasted only 10 minutes. When the real doctor came in to see me he said that everything looked structurally fine with baby, and that I was measuring a week ahead (tho still in normal range and not enough to change my due date). That reassured me at least.

We had the tech record the session on VHS for us and took that with us when we left. They want me to come back in a month because they didn't see EVERYTHING they wanted to, but I'm not going to. They said they would call me the next day to make another appointment but never did....another fail on their part.

Anyway, I went home and watched the video a few times and was able to (with instructions from my hubby) convert the video to DVD and then capture stills from the video to get "better" pictures. I'm happier with these ones, and will take em. I'm going to mention to my OB on Tuesday (my next check up appt) that I was dissatisfied with my experience and maybe he will feel sorry for me and give me a pity ultrasound. If not oh well, I get to see my baby in less than 20 weeks!

For all those who wondered if baby would flash us, s/he didn't as far as I know. I suck at reading ultrasounds and that was to my advantage since I had to go through the who video to get the pictures. Not showing the video to anyone else in case they see because we want Nano's gender to be a surprise. It still is!

I will be posting 2 more posts today about other shenanigans in my life but for now, here are some pictures from the appointment:

Halfway Done! (20wks)

Today marks the halfway point in my pregnancy! I am excited that I have made it this far with relatively few problems (both my husband and I continually note and comment on how blessed we have been with this pregnancy). It is amazing how much I seem to already be falling in love with our baby, even though he or she is not even 1 pound and is still forming inside of me. I can't even begin to imagine the amazing love that Nick and I are going to have for this child when they come into the world. I am excited and nervous for the birth all at the same time...especially now that it is about 5 months away. I took a halfway picture today to mark the 20 week occasion and can definitely see that I have my "bump" now. I wonder what people think when they see me strolling on campus or in the store. I am young (only 21) so part of me thinks they are judging me so I try and flash my wedding ring as much as possible hehe. In reality though, I don't care what they are thinking because I am very excited to have this baby and know that Nano is going to be loved SO much by all of his/her family when he/she gets here.

I don't remember if I put this is my previous post so I will mention it again. I am going for the "big" ultrasound with Nick and my mom this Thursday and am really excited! I will definitely be posting new pictures of Nano on here after that appointment.

I'm going to get back to homework now. I am done on Friday and can't wait one bit! Only some journals, a meeting with my student teaching instructor, a CHDV graduation party/ceremony, two 2 page papers for an online nutrition class, and a final for my infant/toddler curriculum class and I am DONE! I don't know what I am going to do with all my free time LOL. Actually, I do know I am going to get better at cleaning the house, planning meals, and hanging out with friends more. I am also planning on reading...for pleasure...! :)

Til next time (probably Thursday night),

Heather

Emotionalllllllllllllllll

The last week and a half, almost 2 weeks I have been really emotional. I am chalking it up to stress from the end of school, being pregnant, family issues, and a big decision that is STILL hanging in the air. I just want everything to be done and resolved. Luckily, school is done next friday (the 21st) and I can count the amount of assignments I have left on one hand! WOOT! The family issues are resolved (thank you Lord) and we are celebrating our Mother's Day with our families this Sunday. Being pregnant...well...I'm half way done on Saturday (and will post the 1/2way mark picture). I get the "big" ultrasound next Thursday afternoon which measures the baby and his/her organs, bones, etc. Usually you find out the sex at this one but we already had them put a note on the account that says we don't want to know. Lastly, that big decision, hopefully next week it will be decided and we can move on from there. So, I guess my "emotional" causes will be eliminated completely in the near future. Pray for my husband that I don't drive him ABSOLUTELY NUTS. Now, I need to stop procrastinating and get ready for work. Good thing I have an understanding boss who is extremely flexible with my hours. :)

Back to my oatmeal and then a shower!
~Heather

FINALLY an OB check-up update! (18w3d)

I was supposed to have an OB check up last Thursday, but the OB's nurse called me and postponed it until today. At first I was bummed, but now that I had the appointment I am super happy again! I love getting to find out more about baby. The results of this check-up were just as positive as last time

First, I got weighed. Now, lemme tell you... I've been worried about this weigh in for about 3 weeks. I was SURE I had gained at least 5 pounds because my belly is starting to pop out much much more. Also, I hadn't gone proper grocery shopping in literally a month and as a result didn't have totally healthy food for a week or two (but I ate as well as I could and gulped down TONS of water). So, I got on the scale and was very pleasantly surprised when the nurse told me that I had stayed at the same weight as my last appointment, and am currently 2 pounds less than when I got pregnant! WOOHOO NO WEIGHT GAIN! Hopefully from here on out I will gain slowly and healthily so I have a good birth/recovery. I want to stay in the 10-15lb goal that the doctor recommends for someone my size and am doing well so far at the 4.5 month mark.

Secondly, I got my blood pressure taken. Now, every time they take my blood pressure at the office it reads high the first time (and they ask me if I have a history of high blood pressure) and PERFECT the second time. Today way no different. The second time, they had me lay on my left side for 5 minutes and took it with the bigger cuff instead of the normal one. It came out at 108/66 which I guess is great.

Then, Dr. Lasting came in and measured my fundal height. He said "wow...baby is definitely growing!" as soon as he touched my stomach and determined the height to be about 24cm (usually fundal height=your weeks along in pregnancy). He said that the baby is measuring big but not to worry. When I go for my detailed anatomy scan at the specialist's office in 3 or so weeks I will get a more accurate reading on baby's size (which I am suuuper excited about...more pics and Nick/my mom will get to see baby too!)

The best part yet again was getting to hear my baby Nanobyte's heartbeat on the doppler. Last time I only got to hear if for about 5 seconds because s/he was moving around so much. This time it still took a while to find the heartbeat but once Dr. Lasting did it was nice and strong and I got to hear it for over a minute. The heart rate is 135 which he said is perfect! Yay! Since Nicholas couldn't be with me at the appointment today he had asked if I could record the heartbeat for him. I asked the Dr. if it was ok and he was totally supportive of it. :o) So, I got out my phone and used a little voice recorder app to record Nano's heartbeat. Dr. Lasting even put the doppler speaker right up to the phone so it sounded the best and held it there for a long time to make sure I got the heartbeat recorded. He is such a caring and cool doctor.

With that said and done I got to go on my way, scheduling another appointment for a month from now with him and getting a referral to that specialist who does the detailed anatomy ultrasound. In 4-5 days I will get a call from them to set up that appointment. Rest assured I will be posting pics when I get them from that ultrasound! :o).

I will leave you with the recording of Nano's heartbeat, which Nick magically converted into an acceptable format for blogger/email for me. The picture is one he snapped real quickly of me this evening as I was getting up to make dinner. Excuse me for wearing the same shirt in both my pregnancy photos so far...I haven't gotten a chance to go shopping yet (school's out in 17 days).



Til Next time!
~Heather