23rd Week

**Ammendment...NOT an eggplant yet.  Still a papaya...so no new picture this week.

So I painted the Nursery this week…it's a light grey-blue.  Don't worry Mom!!  I stood on a very sturdy piano bench…not a rickety old chair, or overturned laundry hamper!  AND the paint had zero VOC's with no odour.  I took lots of breaks, had the window wide open, and a fan to circulate the air!! 

I don't plan on doing a 'cutsie' decorating theme. I’ll save that for when he's older and likes dinosaurs, race cars or monster trucks.  I'll probably just stick with dark brown furniture and a blue/white colour palette.  I have yet to find a crib bedding set  that I really like so thought perhaps I would sew one myself?!   There are lots of patterns on the internet and I would only really need a dust ruffle and fitted sheet.  Not really keen on bumper pads or heavy blankets…they’re a suffocation risk and pretty much just for decoration anyways.

Baby’s kicking is steadily increasing.  I have on occasion, filmed my tummy while the "Riverdance" is taking place.  The movements are not captured very well with the camera…but they certainly are in person.  I’ve been warned that the best is yet to come though when you get a full belly shift later, as baby moves from one side to the other.

I have finally had a dream about Baby Bean.  I mean I've had dreams before about the pregnancy...but this time I actually saw his little face.  And I know that every parent thinks THEIR baby is the cutest...but he was pretty darn cute.  For some reason, he was born on September 4th.  (Hope that's not an omen) Someone just presented him to me all dressed in denim overalls and a little ball cap. (If only it were that easy)  The bad part of the dream was that Daddy kept dropping him.  Well not dropping him really, but setting him down on things that he would fall off of!  Like stools and counters! Just before I woke up, Baby (who could apparently speak at a week old) asked me if I could just hold him for awhile!   Poor thing!  (Better than a dream that a pregnant co-worker had...where the baby was growing on the outside of her body!!)

Still trying desperately to hear the heartbeat with my stethoscope.  I press so hard that I leave little red circles on my tummy!  I end up looking like I have a bad case of ringworm!! Even the "What to expect when you're expecting" website says the heartbeat should be audible to Daddy just by pressing his ear to my belly!  I did hear (and record) the "whoosh-whoosh" of the placenta though. Perhaps its placement is muffling the heartbeat?!

What’s happening with baby this week? “Your baby does a regular 'workout' inside your womb. He or she turns from side to side and head over heels. Thanks to a fully developed inner ear, which controls balance, your baby may have a sense of whether he or she is upside-down or right side up in the womb. Skin pigment is now forming. The fetus is now proportioned like a newborn except it is a thinner version of a newborn baby since its baby fat has not developed much yet. The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. Baby has begun producing insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars. If born now, your baby would have a 20% chance of survival, the odds going up with each passing day. By this week, your baby weighs approximately 1.3 pounds and his crown to heel length is 11.5 inches.

Only 16 weeks to go..yikes!!  :)

22nd Week

I'm a sweet Papaya this week!! Actually I think I'll be a papaya for a couple of weeks now.  We're running out of produce!!

I finally got the IPS testing results back and everything looks fine.  There are no concerns with the nuchal measurement or blood results as per the Doctor.  That's a relief!!  This month's doctor visit also went well.  My tummy was measured and growing right on schedule, my Blood Pressure was fine and so was Baby's heartbeat.  I again addressed my concerns over my fatigue and hair loss so she gave me a requisition to have my Thyroid tested, as well as my Iron level checked. I have to wait a few weeks to have this blood work done as she also wants to do the standard glucose challenge screening which is typically scheduled between weeks 24-28.

I have begun to notice a dark line forming on my belly.  It's called Linea Negra (Latin for black line) Everybody has this line but it darkens during pregnancy thanks to  hormones. In a non-pregnant state it's called the Linea Alba. The name means white line and it is composed mostly of collagen connective tissue. It is formed by the fusion of the abdominal muscles. Some people believe that the linea negra foretells the gender of their baby, thanks to centuries of old wives' tales. The story goes that a linea negra that runs up past the belly button, to the lower part of the sternum means that you will have a boy, and a linea negra that stops at the belly button means you're having a girl.  (Mine goes all the way up!)

We've decided not to do the 3D/4D ultrasound.  We figure it's one thing to have a 15 minute ultrasound done when it provides useful medical information, such as due date or indications of malformations.  But to take the risk and have a 30-45 minute ultrasound for entertainment purposes only is not medically responsible. And there are risks contrary to public opinion. "Ultrasound is a form of energy-sound waves vibrating at approximately a hundred times the frequency of normal sound-and the waves can affect tissue in a variety of ways. Heat is one effect. One study found that the temperature of brain tissue can rise 4 degrees during the procedure. In addition, although ultrasound itself does not produce audible noise, secondary vibrations can produce noises as loud as 100 decibels in utero. Other effects, still poorly understood, include tiny bubbles in tissue (a process known as cavitation), sheering forces within tissues, induced flows within fluids, and creation of minute quantities of toxic chemicals."  Long story short...we'd rather wait another 4 months to see his little 3 dimensional face in person than take a risk no matter how small.

What's happening with baby this week? "At 22 weeks pregnant, your baby has finally broken the one-pound mark, and is 11 inches long (crown to heel) This week, your sweetie is making more sense of the world as he develops the sense of touch. In fact, your little one's grip is quite developed by now and since there's nothing else to grab in utero, he may sometimes hold on tight to that umbilical cord (don't worry - it's tough enough to handle it). The sense of sight is also getting more developed. Your fetus can now perceive light and dark much better than before (even with those fused eyelids). But remember unless you're shining a flashlight over your belly it'll be mostly dark for your baby inside that cozy womb of yours. Moving up from the eyes, the eyelashes and eyebrows are well formed now and even more hair is sprouting atop that cute little head. You'd be quite surprised though if you could see your little one up close...hair at this stage of fetal development has no pigment, so it's bright white."

118 days to go...

21st Week

I'm a spaghetti squash this week. Gulp!  That's getting a little big!!! :s  What happened to the days of being an Olive??  Would be much easier to deliver!!  Kangaroos have the right idea...they're born the size of a peanut and finish growing in Mama's pouch!  Anybody know how I can make a complaint to the "Evolution Department"?!

"Daddy" finally felt tiny kicks on Monday Aug 8th at 22:30hrs. (21w4d) He described them just as I had...like muscle twitches.  He'd been trying to catch them for a couple of days but they would always stop as soon as he placed his hand on my tummy. The kicks were hard enough to make my belly move!! He caught four of them back to back, on the lower right side.  A pretty exciting time since now he has a chance to feel the connection that I'VE been feeling since the wiggling started at 14weeks.  He is a very active little guy right now.  Mostly in the evening and at bedtime, and sporadically throughout the day.   He seems to have a preference for kicking my bladder!  "Daddy" likes to remind me that baby is currently only 1/7th his final weight and that the kicks are only going to get worse!  I don't mind.  It's a constant reassurance that Baby is doing well.  I did however, read a medical journal that outlined the dangers of fetal movement and tangled umbilical cords in utero.  Why do I do that to myself!?!  Argh! (I need to be medicated!!)

I've decided on a Birthing class to attend.  It's given by the hospital I will deliver at and recommended to take between 30-34 weeks. I have the choice of attending 1 full day or 4 weekly classes.  The curriculum looks fairly detailed and hopefully it doesn't traumatize "Daddy" too much.  But better to be "desensitized" slowly than thrown right into the fire!!   (Stay tuned for that update!!)

What's happening with Baby this week? "By the end of this week, your little one will measure 10 ½ inches long and weigh about ¾ pound. His skin has changed from being translucent to opaque as the skin cells grow and stretch in preparation for the fat deposits, which will soon form under baby's skin. Your baby's tongue is now fully formed and he is strengthening his muscles with movement. His bones are hardening nicely and his movements are much more coordinated now. He may be doing some gymnastics inside you at this very minute. Back flips and somersaults are entirely possible, and they are great practice for his leg and arm muscles. Swallowing is becoming a steady activity with baby. After he takes in amniotic fluid, his body absorbs the water in the liquid, with the waste moving on into his large bowel. The digestive system is already at work! As your baby grows, his wake and sleep cycles begin to form. Your activity level and eating patterns are normally what rules his, as he can now hear all that goes on around him. And when you eat and drink, he eats and drinks. It is now that you start to find out if you have a night owl or an early bird. (I think we have a night owl!)

We're gonna have a baby in 4 months..Amazing!!!

20th Week

I'm a banana?!

I've been working on a "Birth Plan" this week. Apparently it's a good idea to outline your wishes to the hospital staff prior to labour/delivery.  I found a template that I used as a guide and ended up with a very detailed  plan.  It outlines everything from who I would like in the room, to post-care for baby. (And everything in between.) However having witnessed many births, I know that  the best laid plan may NOT be the one you get to follow.  Obviously I will need to be very flexible but "The Plan" gives me an illusion of having some semblance of control. (Type A personality!!)

I finally bought some Bella Bands since I'm too big for my britches.  For those of you who don't know what they are, they are basically stretchy bands of fabric that allow you to wear your pre-pregnancy pants/shorts/skirts unbuttoned and un-zippered without them falling down.  By using the Bella Band, I can get longer wear out of my now very tight clothes instead of spending a fortune on Maternity wear.  Unfortunately other parts of me have grown besides my waist and the Bella Band doesn't accommodate a bigger bum!

I've started to feel little kicks more often this week...some even on the outside.  It's kind of like when your leg muscle has a spasm and you can feel the little "twinges" or "pops" under the skin. It's such a strange sensation! It makes me laugh.  He's very active in the morning when I'm sitting at work, and then again at night time when I'm tucked into bed.  (Except when Daddy puts his hand on my belly...then Baby Bean plays shy!)

What's happening with Baby this week? "Twenty weeks is the halfway point to holding your baby in your arms. Your baby is now about 10 inches long from head to toe and weighs 10 ½ ounces, almost a pound! Over the next few weeks the baby will move so much that it may be hard to sleep.  This will continue until it gets very crowded for the baby. Baby's brain is developing very quickly.  Nerve cells that have already developed are making complex connections, and sensory perception development peaks this week. Little boy's testes will begin dropping from the pelvis into the scrotum. The skeleton is getting harder and the hands are getting stronger.  Babies will blink more now and the lunago (fine hair that covers the body) is very thick around the head, neck and face.  Hair on the scalp is growing as well.

Can't believe how fast the time is going by. Only 4.5 months to go!!