Finally updating.

Last night TJ and I took our last "Prepared Childbirth Class". They gave us a certificate saying that we'd completed the course. My question is, why do I need a certificate? What would they do if I didn't have a certificate? ....."oh I'm sorry, you can't have your baby yet, you're not certified..." Lol. Anyways, they gave us a tour of the facilities... very nice. The labor and delivery rooms resemble nice hotel rooms... except with hard floors, adjustable beds, and spot lights. Really though, they're nice. And, we got to stop by the nursery and look at the babies on display... so cute. Makes me even more anxious for little Estelle to get here. She still has at least a few more weeks of baking time yet.

After taking all those childbirth classes, I'm officially more confused than when I went in... regarding pain killers anyways. At first I thought I wanted an epidural from the get-go, but now I'm not so sure. Aside from the fact that the list of side-effects was two pages long and ugly, there's also the required urine catheter which I dread. Then again, in extreme pain, am I going to even care that there's an uncomfortable plastic tube in my pee-hole? On the other hand, I like the idea of being able to walk around and use a birthing ball during labor. Can't do that if I get the epidural. But then again, without the epidural, there is pain.

One thing I know for sure, I am not qualified to weigh the two choices because I don't know how painful this thing is going to be. From the looks of all the birth clips I've seen, it's bad. But the question is... how bad? Is the pain so bad that the epidural would be worth it, even with all the bad stuff that comes with it? Cause I really don't like the idea of having needles and tubes hooked up to me all over, plus the extended labor time and risk of having to have induction drugs to speed things along. Plus there's a chance my baby will come out all drowsy from the drugs too, and the fact that I won't be able to leave the bed the whole time. I am going to need to do more research.

Don't even get my started on epesiotomy's.

Nursery

TJ and I finished painting the nursery this weekend. I did most of the work on Friday (with a respiratory mask on), then TJ helped me put the border up and finish the trim work on Saturday morning. Here are the before and after pictures:

25 week appointment

I had another doc appoitment today. Looks like baby Estelle is growing well and all her anatomy checks from the last ultrasound came out great. My placenta is no longer low-lying, so I may get to try for a normal birth afterall. So, all good news so far.

I asked about these Braxton Hicks contractions I've been having and she said not to worry unless they occured 4 times in an hour. As it is, they've been happening about 6 times a day. So there's nothing to worry about there either.

I'm up to 142 lbs now... an increase of 17 lbs total and my belly is measuring about 39 inches around. Here are some pictures I took last week:

I had another ultrasound this week on Wednesday. I haven't got the pictures scanned yet, but I will. Just wanted to post an update on the baby. She's growing well, still a little bit ahead of schedule. During the ultrasound she kept headbutting the wand thingy. I thought that was kinda funny. She's a very active baby and I'm loving it. It's so reassuring to feel her move. Oh yeah, and they checked her gender again... still looks like a girl. Now I think I can start working on the nursery....

Active Little Thing

Baby Estelle has been VERY active lately. The other day, as I was attempting to listen to her heart with the fetal heart moniter, she kicked the mic! Not just a gentle nudge either. She nailed the thing. So I tried moving it to a few different locations and she still got it. It was like she was aiming for it. I'm just loving everything about this pregnancy! I couldn't be happier.

It's a GIRL!!!!!

We had our big ultrasound yesterday and were pleased to see our baby girl moving around, healthy as can be. She weighs about half a pound now, and is measuring in at almost 19 weeks. Her heartrate was 156. The sonographer had a hard time getting it because the little stinker kept moving around! I'm excited to know the gender and can't wait to get started decorating the nursrey. Here's some pics....

17 week belly pic

16 week appointment

Last week I went in for my 16 week appointment. The appiontment went well. I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat which was in the 150's this time. I learned that my low-lying placenta is marginal and only half a cenitmeter off from being considered normal. She thinks it will be normal by the time I go in for my next utrasound. I'm hoping so because I would like to try for a natural birth. My next ultrasound is to be scheduled for 18 weeks (about 1.5 weeks away). At that ultrasound we should find out the gender! I'm so excited!

Belly button and abs.

There have been some very odd things going on with my body lately.

To start with, there's my belly button. I cannot remember a time when my belly button was not the perfect shape and size. It has always been and ideal button for piercing. Although that will never happen, I have always had a perfect belly button for it. A little dip in my belly with just enough skin over it to hide the inside from view. Well, that belly button is a thing of the past. My new belly button is nearly flat. The inside is now very bodly showing itself. I'm not so sure I like this new belly button, but I guess I will have to tolearte. It only gets worse from here.

Although the belly button thing was a bit of a surprize, I at least knew that it was going to happen at some point. The change in my abdominal muscles, however, was a complete shock! You cannot imagine the look on my face the other day when I was getting up from lounging on the couch and happened to notice the shape my belly took when my abs were flexed. I have always prided myself on my toned ab's which, when flexed, squared off my belly rather nicely. There was just enough shape to look good, with ridges faint enough not to look manly. Always a distinct flat section between to tight parallel lines of muscle. It appears that this pregnancy has caused the two muscles to join together, causing a single verticle bump down the center of my belly. Very odd looking indeed. From my view it looks like my belly had turned into a small mountian which peeks in the center by my belly botton. Very odd indeed.

Tuggings and Flutterings

At around 12 weeks, I adopted a habit of concentraiting very hard on my uterus in hopes that I might feel the baby move. I found this especially easy to do during church, which is much safer than while driving since I should be concentraiting on the road. Anyways, my efforts brought forth no fruit during the first few attempts. I thought that if I'd concentrait hard enough, I'd be able to distinguish the ever-faint "flutterings" I'd heard so much about. But no, every time I felt something, two seconds later... I farted. So at least I learned exactly what gas bubbles on their way down feel like. But that is not was I was looking for.

So, my efforts continued until about a week ago during church, I am certain I felt something different. My best description is that it was a light "tugging" feeling. Not so much a "fluttering" as I'd been told to expect. It was more of a brief tightening followed by a relaxing. It felt, for all the world, like an involuntary muscle spasm. You know, when you're watching a movie or reading and suddenly a muscle in your arm or leg simply starts moving on it's own. Or does that not happen to everyone? Anyways, the general idea is that this sudden movement did not originate in your brain. It just happened rather suddenly on it's own, and then was gone just as quickly as it came. I concentraited extra hard for the rest of service and was pleased when it happened 2 or 3 more times, never followed by a toot.

Now, I'm nearly 15 weeks along and these feelings have become quite regular and have been joined by the occasional "flutterings" which usually occur right after a "tugging". My best guess is that the baby first stretches or arches it's back, giving me the tugging feeling, then is moves around a little more perhaps peddaling it's legs, which gives me the "fluttering" feeling. I most often get these feelings while I'm sitting, watching a movie, or driving, often taking me by surprize. I am now quite certain that what I am feeling is the baby.

14 Week Ultrasound

Today we had another ultrasound and were very pleased to see our baby once again. At 14 weeks, the baby is looking more like a little human. The heartrate was 154 beats per minute this time and the baby measured right on target.

I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to find out the gender yet, but I guess I can wait another 4 weeks for our next ultrasound.

Here's the ultrasound picture. I didn't think it was a very good printout, since we could see the baby much more clearly while we watched it on the screen. So, for your benefit, I've sketched around the body of the baby, so you can get a better idea of how it looked (see lower right hand corner of picture)...

This is Not a Beer Gut

At the wedding on Saturday night, for the first time a complete stranger, not only recognized that I was pregnant, but also asked me when I was due.

It happened as TJ and I were making our rounds passing out online access cards at the reception. As I handed the card to a very pregnant lady, out of the blue she asked when I was due. She did not ask IF I was pregnant. No. She skipped right to, "when are you due?". I was shocked. That morning, I had chosen to wear a simple, non-maternity black sweater instead of wearing one of my new maternity tops because the top seemed to be yelling out "hey, I'm PREGNANT!" and I did not think that appropriate quite yet. So, I'd chosen a simple black sweater and she knew I was pregnant anyways.

So, for the rest of the night, I was quite pleased with myself, just knowing that at least one person did not assume my belly was just fat. As I was mulling over this little victory, a man at our table leaned over and asked "Are you pregnant?". That makes two! So, now I know that at least 2 out of the 150 people at that wedding thought I looked pregnant rather than fat. That is good news indeed.

Shopping Day

Last Thursday, after weeks of self-control and having not purchased any cloths, I went maternity cloths shopping. My cousin-in-law, Julie who is also pregnant, had planned the trip and I was happy to join her. Especially since more and more of my cloths were beginning to look rather hideous on my protruding belly.

So, at 9:30 AM, I met up with Esther (my mother-in-law), Mima (my-grandmother-in-law), Julie, and her son Tyler. And off we went to Purple Cow, Once Upon a Child, Old Navy, and Motherhood Maternity. The shopping took a good portion of the day and by the end, I was completely exausted, but not without pleanty to show for it. I came home with 8 shirts, 5 skirts, 1 dress, 1 pair of pants, and 2 pairs of nylons. I promise, I don't usually come home with so much after only one day of shopping. I am, however, very happy with each of my purchases.

Although, based on the success of our trip, you would think that we were strictly focused on the task at hand, I must confess we goofed off a bit too. We actually made a video of Mima wearing the maternity pillow belly at motherhood. Very funny. But to see it, you'll have to visit Julie's blog. It'll be the clip labeled "maternity cloths shopping".

After our shopping trip, we made cookies at Julies house. I was SO tired during the cookie-making, I cannot answer for my behavior at that point (see the end of the video to understand). Oh, and here's a picture of me and Julie. I am almost 14 weeks and Julie is almost 11 weeks:

Measurements

Ok. So, my cousin-in-law who is also pregnant, just posted her measurements, and I thought that sounds like a good idea. So, here they are:

To start with, here are my pre-pregnancy measurements. So we have something to compare to:

Pre-Pregnancy Waist: 26 inches
Pre-Pregnancy lower-belly: 29 inches
Pre-Pregnancy Hips: 36 inches

And here are my measurements at 13 weeks pregnant:

13 weeks Waist: 29 inches
13 weeks lower-belly: 34 inches
13 weeks Hips: 37 inches

So, my waist has increased by 3 inches, my lower-belly has increased by 5 inches, and my hips increased by 1 inch.

And so far, I have gained 1 lb.

12 week doc appointment

I had a visit with the doctor yesterday for my 12 week appiontment. Looks like I've managed to gain 1 lb in the past 6 weeks. Other than that, everything looked great. I got to hear the heartbeat this time. It was 149 bpm. So that was pretty exciting. I have another ultrasound in 11 days. I can't wait! We probably won't get to find out the gender quite yet, but it'll still be fun to see the baby again.

12 weeks!

You can't imagine the joy I feel at having made it this far. I have to admit that I was not entirely optimistic at the beginning of this pregnancy. But, as the weeks went by, my confidence grew. Now, for the first time, I can really believe that we are going to have a baby! I know there is never truly and "safe" time and that anything could happen at any time. I also know that such cases are rare and I feel truly blessed to have made it this far.

Maternity

It is with much hesitancy that I now admit to having purchased a pair of maternity jeans yesterday. It seems WAY to early for me to be showing, and yet, in a hardly noticeable way, I am. I have always believed that girls who start "showing" in the first trimester are simply getting fat and should be disregarded as overly anxious moms-to-be who have been giving in to a few too many unhealthy cravings. However I have recently been proven wrong by my own body. Although I have not gained an ounce, there is a "bump" on my tummy that would suggest otherwise. I don't know how this has occured because usually getting fat involves gaining weight. However, in my case, it has not. My best guess is that my uterus has been stretching and moving a lot, and has somehow shifted and pushed things into different places.

2nd ultrasound

On Friday we went in for our second ultrasound. At nearly 10 weeks, we were hoping to see more than we could last time, and we weren't disappointed. The baby looked great. We even got to see it wiggling around in there. The heartrate went up to 171 and the baby measured right on target.

9 weeks and counting

I cannot believe we've made it this far. Today I am 9 weeks and 4 days pregnant. It is truly wonderful to read about how my baby is developing. They say it should be about 1 and 1/2 inches long now and it has fully formed eyelids. All of it's joints should be working, and the baby may even be sucking it's thumb.

In 2 days I go in for another ultrasound. I'm both nerveous and excited about this. Nerveous because something could be wrong and the ultrasound will tell us. Excited, because there's a good chance that everything will be fine and we will come home with another beautiful ultrasound picture of our growing baby. I try not to dwell on the possibility of problems, but it's hard not to. Dare I risk getting my hopes up?

Tears

It's 12:15 and I'm sitting accross from TJ in the St. Louis Bread Co. In front of me, is a bowl of chicken noodle soup, an apple, and a cup of green tea. I look at my food, think of the cooler weather we've been having and cry. For no particular reason, I cry. This is not the first time this has happened. For some reason I cry a lot lately. I cry when I'm talking to TJ. I cry when I hear the soothing thunder. I cry when I'm taking a shower. I cry when I'm washing the dishes. I don't know why I'm crying so much, but I am. And they're not sad tears either. Maybe happy tears? I don't know, but I have a sneaky suspicion that is has something to do with these pregnancy hormones.