Week 22

What is Baby S up to?
Watch what you say, baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

Well some exiting news this week. My husband felt the baby move! I always grab his hand and say, "feel that?". He has always been, "um no". But on Monday night he felt it! The baby kicked in two places! He said, "was that it?" "I felt it, that is so cool!".

The baby definitely sleeps alot during the day. In the morning and at night are the most active times. I love at night laying down in bed and reading and feeling the baby move up a storm.Some nights I swear its doing acrobats in my belly. I just feel so connected to the baby. I then every night do my relaxation. I then talk to the baby and say good night and how I hope it continues to grow nice and strong and I also tell the baby how very much I love him/her. I then go to sleep. Its a ritual I just love.

My mornings are the same. I lay in bed for a little while before getting up and just feel the baby move. During my commute at work, I listen to classical music and just feel the baby squirm around. What a great feeling. I feel like I am never alone and I am bonding so much to this little precious baby.

18 or so more weeks and I get to meet my little one that I feel inside me. I can not wait!

Week 21- I love the way you move!

What is Baby S up to?
10 1/2 inches long and and weighing up to 16.5 ounces!

Chances are good you're feeling someone performing a round-off back handspring in your uterus by now. Is there any other feeling this cool? Other highlights this week:By now your baby looks like a mini-version of what she'll look like when she's born. All her facial features are formed and hair is growing on her head. She's even acting like a baby and will occasionally suck her thumb or yawn. Baby's heartbeat is getting stronger and can be heard using a good old-fashioned stethoscope. Ask for a listen at your next prenatal visit! By 21 weeks, fetal bone marrow starts making blood cells—previously done by the liver and spleen. This may not sound that exciting, but it's good news. The amniotic fluid that has been cushioning your little bean now serves another purpose: Your baby uses it to "practice" chowing down. Yes, it sounds gross (as many aspects of pregnancy do), but it's an important step for your baby toward being able to chow down in the real world. Your baby has been swallowing amniotic fluid for a while now, but now the intestines are finally developed enough that she's absorbing small amounts of sugars from it. And let's face it, being able to effectively digest sugar is important at every stage of life.

I love feeling the baby moving. The baby is very active. It has to be the best feeling in the world. I feel him/her all day long.

This weekend my husband and I spent the weekend together. We had such a great time together. I cant believe in a few months its going to be the 3 of us. We cant wait. We went to a baby store and looked at baby furniture, strollers, and baby stuff. It was fun to look at that stuff. I am still afraid to buy anything. Its nice to look. I wont feel comfortable in getting anything until September. We will be painting the nursery soon. I am going to do a yellow. I decided the baby bedding will wait until I actually have the baby. The baby doesn't go in the crib until later anyways. I can always order it online. I just haven't found anything neutral that I like. Its either way to boyish or way to girlish. I have a few ideas and it will go with my yellow walls.

19 more weeks! I can't wait to meet my little munchkin!

Week 20- We are halfway there!

Whats Baby S up to?

Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system.

Whats going on with me?

I can't believe I am halfway there to meet our little one. I never imagined I would make it this far. Although I still have fears, but I am starting to believe there will actually be a baby in my arms in October. My favorite time is when I am sitting watching tv after a long day at work and I feel the baby move around. Also when I lay in bed I can feel the little one squirming around. This reassures me that all is ok. What a great feeling it is.

I have been feeling great but this weekend though I have become nauseous if I eat something I am not used to. We had Chinese food Saturday night and I felt like crap after. I never eat Chinese food. I think I need to stick to food that I know doesn't bother me.

I also found out that I cant over eat or eat alot. I get that nauseous feeling with that too.

Here are a few pictures my niece took of me yesterday.

Week 19

Whats Baby S up to this week?
Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid. You may also notice some darkening of your nipples, freckles, scars, underarms, inner thighs, and vulva.

I went to the doctors today. My cervix is stable and looking good. I am measuring at 22 weeks. 3 weeks ahead! He took a tape measure and checked my belly. I guess we are going to have a big baby.
I noticed yesterday that I have linea nigra, which is the the darkened line running from your belly button to your pubic bone. I also noticed that my birth mark I have on my upper lip is more prominent that it was before. All these skin changes are normal and due to hormones.
All in all I feel good. I am working out 5-6 days a week. Here is a sample of my workout schedule. I might mix it up and do one of the Prenatal DVDs I listed below. Most my workouts last 45 minutes to an hour. The weekend workouts are longer. No more than an hour and half I try to keep my heart rate below 140. When I walk hills it does go up a little.

Sunday: Walk and total body toning or Prenatal fitness DVD.
Monday: 30 minutes of Prenatal yoga DVD at night.
Tuesday: Walk 30 minutes, lower body toning.
Wednesday: Walk 30 minutes, upper body toning.
Thursday: Walk 45 minutes, 30 minutes of Prenatal yoga DVD at night.
Friday: Off
Saturday: Walk and total body toning or Prenatal fitness DVD.

My favorite Prenatal DVDs:

Element: Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga- Elena Brower. 30 minutes prenatal yoga practice.
Yoga for your Pregnancy-Co-created by Lamaze and Yoga Journal.Prenatal yoga 31 minutes, relax 17 minutes.
Crunch Yoga Mama-Sue Elkind. 40 Minute prenatal yoga practice.
Prenatal Yoga- Shiva Rea. 60 minute prenatal yoga DVD.
Denise Austin: Fit & Firm Pregnancy-20 minute cardio, 20 minute toning.
Summer Sander's Prenatal Workout- Divided into 3 trimesters. Each workout uses the identical format: an extended warm-up, a mix of varied (mostly standing) exercises and a long, soothing stretch. About 40 minutes.

Week 18- Second trimester ultrasound! We are having a....

A perfect Boy or Girl! We did not want to find out. I went today for the second trimester ultrasound and all looks perfect. The tech took tons of pictures of everything. She said the baby is a mover and loves to suck his/her thumb. Its hands were always by its mouth. My mom said I came out sucking my thumb. So my little munchkin takes after me.

Whats up with Baby S this week:
Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Here are some belly pictures from yesterday.

Week 17- Ultrasound pictures.

I had some pain today so I called my doctor. He sent me for an ultrasound. I got to see my little munchkin and boy does he/she love to move around. I got to see him/her do a somersault and the tech caught it and took the picture.

Sucking his/her thumb

Somersault!

Week 17- Is that the baby moving?

Whats Baby S up to?

The baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

A few things has happened this week. First, I became an aunt again. That makes number 8. My husbands sister had her second. She had a beautiful girl. When I went to meet her in the hospital I was holding her and all I kept on thinking was, "5 more months and I will be holding my sweet baby. I can't wait."

I also realized that I don't remember how to swaddle! I totally forgot. My sisters youngest is 8 so its been a while. I think I need a refresher course.

When they were leaving the hospital my sister in law was in the wheel chair and my husband was pushing her. Her husband went to get the car and her 2 year old son was just crying wanting his mom. She had a c-section and was in the hospital for 5 days, so I think it was just alot for him. She had to hold him and she gave me the baby. I got to carry her out. I felt so privileged and special.

I have always felt blessed to be an aunt. I always thought of it as a very important role. I am also godmother to 5 of them also. I have been Auntie Sue for almost 13 years and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I love my 6 nieces and 2 nephews more than anything. I never thought I could love someone has much as I love them. I can only imagine the love I will feel for my own son or daughter. You know the saying, always a bridesmaid and never a bride. I have felt this way. Always an aunt and never a mother. In 23 weeks that will all change. I will have two important roles that I will hold very dear to me, Aunt and finally Mother.

Today when I was riding to work I felt what I believe was the baby moving. It felt like butterflies or that feeling you get when you go on a roller coaster. I think my baby loves the music I listen to each morning. It has been coming and going all day. What a great feeling it is to know, yes there is someone in there growing inside me.