Week 20 highlights (half way there!)

Congratulations! You've hit the halfway mark in your pregnancy. The top of your uterus is about level with your belly button, and you've likely gained around 10 pounds. Expect to gain another pound or so each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.)

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 — the length of a banana. (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. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

I'm on a boat

Well, these dreams just keep coming!

During last night's dream, I was boat shopping with Andrea from Beverly Hills, 90201. We had to find a sail boat to ride around on to go from house to house (the streets were water) and find the boat we wanted to buy. Suddenly, we were late for an event and we needed to take the next boat we saw, which happened to be a speed boat. I was worried, how would my baby be safe on this boat? I was almost to full term in the dream and I didn't have a baby life jacket! Do they make life jackets small enough for newborns, I wondered? I started to pack a diaper bag, just in case the baby came while we were out on our trip on the boat, but all of the clothes were for 3-6 month olds, not newborns! I was panicked. Then, I woke up.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our fourth wedding anniversary. Yup, four years ago today, Jeff and I were in Mexico, waiting to get married! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by and how much we are loving every minute of it!

Happy Anniversary Babe, with many more to come!

Dreams...Boy or girl?

Well, these dreams just keep happening! Last night I had a dream we had another ultrasound and while we were examining the picture it became VERY obvious we are having a boy. Hmmm, what do these dreams mean?

Week 19 highlights

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 — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. 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.

More dreams

Well, I have read that during pregnancy you have bizarre dreams due to the hormones, but last nights was down right scary. I woke up in a hospital bed, with no clue how I got there. I was 5 months pregnant. I remember my tummy was hurting before I got to the hospital. The doctor came in and told me I had fissures on my ovaries and that next time I could just drink a pepsi and relax vs. coming in and wasting 8 hours of their time. (He was so mean to me.) Then, he told me it would be $1200 out-of-pocket for the time. I was so worried...how was I going to tell Jeff we couldn't buy Christmas presents this year because I ended up in the hospital.

When I got to the payment counter, the woman knocked the bill down to $700, but they didn't offer a payment plan. Then, a girl I went to school with came over with her new baby "Peanut", who looked like an alien crossed with a peanut. The baby was far too small and I had to pretend like it was cute when really it was the scariest baby I had ever seen.

Man- what a crazy dream!

Too Much Info(TMI) Did this really just happen?

OK- For those reading this blog who know me, you understand I am a very open person. What I am about to tell you could be shocking or shockingly funny. I think I peed my pants today. No really, a little bit of pee came out after I was done in the bathroom. (This is apparently normal). The baby is now big enough to sit on my bladder and trick me into thinking it is full or empty...which is wasn't today.

*Sigh*

One of the many blessing of motherhood.

Enjoy your day!

Week 18 highlights

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) 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. 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.

I have started to feel movement, Jeff also felt a light flutter with his hand on my belly last night.

Learning while laughing

It encourages me to think that I am not the only person on earth who doesn't fully know what to expect when the baby is born. Here are a few excerpts from an article I was reading earlier this week. I hope they make you laugh as hard as I did!


When my first son was born, I knew nothing about giving an infant a bath. When it came time for his first one, I put him into the tub and discovered, to my horror, that I didn't know how to turn him over. He was so slippery, and his little head flopped all over the place. I was so upset I cried. I couldn't wash my own baby's back! He had a very clean front side for the first week until my mother visited. She showed me what to do. The biggest lesson I learned was to ask for help when you need it.

I was out of the house one day, and I guess we'd run out of diapers, because when I got home, my husband had made one out of a maxi-pad, a dish towel, and the headband I use when I take off my make-up. It worked, but now I make sure that I'm never, ever out of diapers.

When my son was 5 days old, I decided to take him to the store. I was really nervous because it was my first time taking him out by myself. After spending about an hour getting ready, we left the house. I locked the front door of my house and put my key chain in my pocket. Minutes later, I buckled my son into his car seat and closed the car door. I went around to the driver's side door, and the door was locked. I went back around to the passenger side, and it was locked too. I sat on the hood of my car crying for about an hour (while my baby slept in his car seat), thinking about what a terrible mother I would be. Then I remembered that the keys were in my pocket! I unlocked the car door and took the baby back into the house. When my husband came home and I told him about it — still crying — he laughed and thought it was cute.

Read the full article here: http://www.babycenter.com/0_laugh-and-learn-new-parents-share-their-most-embarrassing-mi_9792.bc?page=1

The Holidays are here!

WOW- Less than two weeks until Christmas. During these busy times, we get wrapped up in parties and shopping. I want to urge you to take a minute to think about your blessings. I have wonderful friends and family, we have food on the table and the ability to travel often. This year, I am very greatful for the blessing of our baby growing inside me.

2010 is almost upon us too, and will take Jeff and into the unknown, as far as what it is truly like to raise a child. :) We can't wait!

I hope you all have a wonderful week. I count you all as a blessing in my life.

Week 17 highlights

How your baby's growing:
Your 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.

Dreams, dreams, dreams

December 11, 2009- WOW- I have read about the vibrant dreams pregnant women have and am now starting to experience them at full force!

Dream #1
Last night I had a dream I was carring triplets. I had to keep a monitor on my arm that displayed the babies heartbeats. Jeff and I were upset we didn't have 3 names picked out yet. Each time I would look at the monitor, the heartbeat rate would change...sometimes all three would be the same, sometimes they would be different. I was not upset we were having triplets, just upset that I am so far along and just found out!

Dream #2
The night before I dreamt I was at work and the baby needed to be fed. So I gave the baby and a bottle to one of our support guys (who I never talk to) and had him feed the baby. When I walked back to my cube, two more people were sitting in it. Then a good friend showed up and told me she was bringing her ex-boyfriend to my house to throw cake off my roof. I was not pleased. I was very upset with her bringing her ex to our cake throwing party! :)

We will see what kind of dreams I keep having and if anything repeats itself.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

December 10th- Starting to talk about it

Hello Everyone,

As we enter the 17th week of pregnancy, I decided to FINALLY start a blog to keep track of my thoughts, experiences and happenings of this pregnancy. I realize this may be a bit late, but we still have 23 weeks to go!

To catch us up to speed:
- We found out in early Sept. we were expecting, after a year and a half of trying. In May, we were told we could not have kids without the help of drugs. Jeff and I had decided to just let the idea ride for a while and pick it back up in a few years. Well as luck would have it, we got knocked up a few months later.

- The first trimester was pretty good. I was extremely tired all the time, with no end in sight. If I could stay up past 8 at night, it was a good day. I was also feeling sick all the time, but only threw up once. No food sounded good...ever. That being said, I discovered a new found love for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and applesauce.

- As we enter into the second trimester, my energy is coming back. My bump is just starting to poke out of my tummy and my pants are a bit tight. I bought a belly band which is helping during this transition stage.

Cravings thus far:
Milk- Chocolate Milk especially
PB & J sandwiches
Applesauce
Carmel ice cream
Apples

Food Aversions thus far:
Chicken- any kind of chicken
Steak
Over Medium Eggs

We have our next ultrasound the week of Christmas. I will try to post pictures for everyone.

Allison