I just looked at my pregnancy tracker on my blog and realized I am almost 2 weeks away from the 3rd trimester! Eeeek!! It's funny how I have been pregnant for a half a year and it still hasn't hit me that we will have an actual baby in this house soon! I still can't even believe I am actually pregnant sometimes.
Things have been going well this week. I am pushing away my fears about our baby's ventricle and letting God and my uterus work their magic so that on September 9th when we go in again for our follow-up, all is perfect. My mom was down this past weekend helping me paint the nursery and our guest room. Both rooms look great! I will post pics of the nursery sometime soon. Now that everything is painted in there we are going thru all my hubby's childhood toys and books that his mom gave us. We are taking an inventory of what we have so we know how much storage we will need in the room. So it's a bit of a mess in there right now! Our first baby shower is a week from Saturday so the goal is to have things in order by then. Can't believe it's already time for the baby showers too! Time is just flying by.
There was some minor drama this week though. Monday morning I was walking in to work. It was drizzling and I had my usual flip flops on since I can't fit in to my cute slingbacks right now. I walk in to my building, there is a runner just inside the door, and then marble. As soon as my feet hit the marble, down I went! "Oh NO!!", I thought when I realized what I had just done. Luckily I did land on my hands and knees - my belly wasn't involved whatsoever. My arms were full of stuff that I was bringing in to work and when I fell, my arms threw everything up in the air so I could break my fall. Funny how those instincts kick in. But I made quite a mess. No one was around to help me but I was glad because it was quite embarrassing! I just got back up to my feet, collected my belongings strewn about on the floor, and continued to my office. Once I sat down at my desk I called my OB and they told me to come in for a quick check that afternoon. They said considering that I landed on my hands and knees, probably nothing was wrong but since I was so close to the 3rd trimester, they wanted to be sure. If I was in the 3rd trimester, they would have had me go to Labor & Delivery to get monitored for a bit before clearing me. They don't fool around with falls I guess! So I turned my attention towards work - trying to ignore my throbbing ankle and the fact that I couldn't walk properly.
Finally it was time to go. I got to my OB's office, they did all the usual stuff - urine sample, weight, blood pressure check. They listened to the heartbeat and the fetal heart tones sounded good. The doctor pressed around my belly to make sure nothing hurt, verified that I wasn't bleeding, and basically just said to be more careful and sent me on my way with instructions to come back if I did start to bleed or if my belly was hurting. Clearly nothing was wrong with the baby but any pain or blood could mean the placenta had detached from the uterine wall. This happened on Monday and today is Wednesday so I think I'm in the clear. I still feel baby moving around and no pain or blood.
My ankle on the other hand is not that great. I literally could not walk Monday night. It was all I could do to get up the stairs so I could go to bed. I ended up crawling to bed - something I haven't done since my college years (LOL!). Of course hubby is out of town this week for business so I can't have him wait on me! It's getting a lot better though. Yesterday and today I could do basic things - but the dog has missed her walks and I worked from home both days. If it's still bad tomorrow, I may have to visit my primary care doc to get it looked at. My OB said that I can take tylenol and even get an xray but I'd rather not do either if I don't have to. Just chalking it up to a simple sprain and icing it at regular intervals. Another couple days hopefully I'll be just fine! Lesson learned though - I am now switching my shoes to sneakers (I don't care how unfashionable it looks with my work attire)! While I do blame the fall somewhat on my shifted center of gravity and general clumsiness, I think most of the blame lies on my flip flops - they have absolutely no traction on the bottom and really don't provide the right amount of support that my feet need right now anyway. So while it is so nice to have my swollen tootsies out in the open feeling the breeze on hot summer days, safety first I guess. I don't need anymore falls from now on!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Fetal Echo and Prominent 3rd Ventricle
I'm sitting on my couch with my laptop as I type this and it is so funny to watch my stomach hopping around in my lower peripheral vision! Baby sure was active today! Seems like all his kicks I can actually see now which is so cool. I've been hanging in there symptom-wise. I have vicious leg cramps at night, my arms fall asleep at random times, the linea nigra has started to appear on my belly, stretch marks not on my belly but on my boobs (great:/). Other symptoms are plaguing me too of course but those are just the weird ones.
I had my 24 week OB appointment last week and all was on track. Belly measurement and fetal heart rate was normal. Only thing that's off is my weight. I gained 9 lbs. since my last OB apt 4 weeks ago. I was supposed to gain only 4 lbs. So that brings my total weight gain so far up to a whopping 25 lbs.! Sheesh! I think for the entire 40 weeks the range I wanted to hit was between 25 and 35 lbs. Looks like I'm going to pass the 35 lb mark too. With 16 weeks to go and the goal of gaining 1 lb/week, I'll be looking at a total gain of 41 lbs! My OB wasn't terribly concerned, just to keep an eye on it. My blood pressure is great though so no risk of preeclampsia or anything with the extra weight gain. My symptoms seem to be hitting me earlier than most women. I was talking about my physical slowdown that seemed to have started a couple weeks ago and my OB agreed that typically women don't experience that until the late 2nd/early 3rd trimester but it is all still normal. And given my petite size, how I feel is understandable as well. Next check will be at 28 weeks on August 7th and I get tested for gestational diabetes. Hope all goes well with that!
We had the fetal echo today. Basically it was an in-depth ultrasound of the baby's heart with a cardiologist in the room. Everything looked great. The heart is/has developed as it should. The cardiologist who performed the echo was an odd fellow, but was interesting. He showed us all the structures of the heart and arteries and listened to it pump in various areas. It was pretty cool! We also had basic fetal growth measurements done as a routine part of our appointment. Baby is measuring a week ahead and has hair! Typically that is not seen for another 4 weeks. So he will be a bushy baby:)
While they were doing the measurements they found that everything is normal except for the 3rd ventricle of the brain. They called it 'prominent' which basically means it is larger than normal. I don't know how much larger as I didn't get the exact measurement but it was large enough for them to recommend a follow-up at 32 weeks in September. UGH!! So we have to wait 8 weeks to see if this is anything to be concerned about. The doctor said that we shouldn't be alarmed, that they see it all the time and as the brain grows, the ventricles often stop swelling. Still - I'm concerned. I did some googling on the subject today but did not find much which is probably a good thing. Don't take any of this as gospel but this is my understanding: the ventricles contain the spinal fluid which flows to and from the spine. There are 4 ventricles in the brain - right & left lateral ventricles, 3rd, and 4th ventricle. They look like big arteries. If there is a blockage to the spinal column, the ventricles swell up because fluid still flows in but can't flow out. The swelling can occur in all or isolated ventricles and can be caused by a number of reasons - cysts or other blockages can develop, neural tube defects (80% of spina bifida cases result in hydrocephalus), uterine infections, structural irregularities, etc. In terms of 'prominent 3rd ventricles' however, mostly what I found is that it could lead to ventriculomegaly (swelling of the other ventricles - namely the lateral ventricles and occurs in 1 in 1000 pregnancies) and then hydrocephalus - which causes increased pressure in the brain leading to developmental delays, disability, and possibly retardation. Surgery would need to be done, placing a shunt in the opening to the spinal column to enlarge it thus allowing the fluid to drain and shrink the ventricles. I have also read though that if the swelling is mild and doesn't progress to hydrocephalus, 90% of the cases will resolve themselves on their own as the head gets bigger. So hopefully that's the case!!
For now just trying to focus on the positive stuff! Doctor said not to worry so that's what I'm gonna do. Everything else with the baby looks great. He is looking pretty cute now!
I had my 24 week OB appointment last week and all was on track. Belly measurement and fetal heart rate was normal. Only thing that's off is my weight. I gained 9 lbs. since my last OB apt 4 weeks ago. I was supposed to gain only 4 lbs. So that brings my total weight gain so far up to a whopping 25 lbs.! Sheesh! I think for the entire 40 weeks the range I wanted to hit was between 25 and 35 lbs. Looks like I'm going to pass the 35 lb mark too. With 16 weeks to go and the goal of gaining 1 lb/week, I'll be looking at a total gain of 41 lbs! My OB wasn't terribly concerned, just to keep an eye on it. My blood pressure is great though so no risk of preeclampsia or anything with the extra weight gain. My symptoms seem to be hitting me earlier than most women. I was talking about my physical slowdown that seemed to have started a couple weeks ago and my OB agreed that typically women don't experience that until the late 2nd/early 3rd trimester but it is all still normal. And given my petite size, how I feel is understandable as well. Next check will be at 28 weeks on August 7th and I get tested for gestational diabetes. Hope all goes well with that!
We had the fetal echo today. Basically it was an in-depth ultrasound of the baby's heart with a cardiologist in the room. Everything looked great. The heart is/has developed as it should. The cardiologist who performed the echo was an odd fellow, but was interesting. He showed us all the structures of the heart and arteries and listened to it pump in various areas. It was pretty cool! We also had basic fetal growth measurements done as a routine part of our appointment. Baby is measuring a week ahead and has hair! Typically that is not seen for another 4 weeks. So he will be a bushy baby:)
While they were doing the measurements they found that everything is normal except for the 3rd ventricle of the brain. They called it 'prominent' which basically means it is larger than normal. I don't know how much larger as I didn't get the exact measurement but it was large enough for them to recommend a follow-up at 32 weeks in September. UGH!! So we have to wait 8 weeks to see if this is anything to be concerned about. The doctor said that we shouldn't be alarmed, that they see it all the time and as the brain grows, the ventricles often stop swelling. Still - I'm concerned. I did some googling on the subject today but did not find much which is probably a good thing. Don't take any of this as gospel but this is my understanding: the ventricles contain the spinal fluid which flows to and from the spine. There are 4 ventricles in the brain - right & left lateral ventricles, 3rd, and 4th ventricle. They look like big arteries. If there is a blockage to the spinal column, the ventricles swell up because fluid still flows in but can't flow out. The swelling can occur in all or isolated ventricles and can be caused by a number of reasons - cysts or other blockages can develop, neural tube defects (80% of spina bifida cases result in hydrocephalus), uterine infections, structural irregularities, etc. In terms of 'prominent 3rd ventricles' however, mostly what I found is that it could lead to ventriculomegaly (swelling of the other ventricles - namely the lateral ventricles and occurs in 1 in 1000 pregnancies) and then hydrocephalus - which causes increased pressure in the brain leading to developmental delays, disability, and possibly retardation. Surgery would need to be done, placing a shunt in the opening to the spinal column to enlarge it thus allowing the fluid to drain and shrink the ventricles. I have also read though that if the swelling is mild and doesn't progress to hydrocephalus, 90% of the cases will resolve themselves on their own as the head gets bigger. So hopefully that's the case!!
For now just trying to focus on the positive stuff! Doctor said not to worry so that's what I'm gonna do. Everything else with the baby looks great. He is looking pretty cute now!
Front Face Shot
Profile View
Monday, July 15, 2013
24 week belly pic
Our regular belly pic:
.JPG)
Fun belly pic with cute "24 week" sticker!
.JPG)
Really wish we had a quality camera and dark wall to take these in front of. Gotta make do with what we have though!
New pregnancy side effect this week: horrendous leg cramps that wake me up in the middle of the night. Never thought I'd look back to the days of just frequent urination in the middle of the night with fondness! Now I have that AND these cramps. Awesome! Oh and sometimes I wake up and my arms are asleep. So weird. On the plus side though, baby is very entertaining these days. It's fun to watch my belly hop around when baby is active. The other day I was in a training seminar for work and baby was hiccuping I think. It was pretty strong and was actually tickling me from the inside! I kept giggling uncontrollably. Sort of awkward when the subject of the seminar was the very dry topic of roundabout intersections;)
Next up is our fetal echo on Wednesday. Hope to have more pics of baby to post then!
Sunday, July 7, 2013
23 week belly pic
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
20 week update
Well, it's been almost a month since I last wrote a post. Yikes! The time has been flying! Right after finding out the sex of the baby we started planning the nursery and getting our baby registry together. Both of those have been unexpectedly time consuming. For some reason no one I knew had a list that they could give me to help build my registry so I built mine from scratch using the internet and oodles of advice my hubby and I have been getting so far. So my finished registry list is awesome! My sisters and friends who have their 1st babies after me will love me:) I am an excel junkie so my list is in excel of course and is complete with the brand of the item I registered for along with prices and website links. It helps because we can easily see how much we might potentially spend on baby just during the first year (not including daycare of course...LOL). Right now we're up to over $3k! Geesh! Understandable though. All those little things add up.
So it took me about 3 weeks to finish our registry. I wasn't working on it 24-7 but I was definitely thinking about it 24-7! It took me 1/2 day to decide which diaper pail to register for (made a spreadsheet for that decision too - complete with first hand user feedback and pros and cons of each brand - I'm nuts, I know). Every little thing required thought - it even took me over an hour to decide which bibs to add to the list. And for those larger items... oh boy! Deciding on a travel system required multiple days of thought and multiple trips to Babies R Us to test them out. So it was a challenge - especially for a momma-to-be with decreased brain function - or "pregnancy brain" (no, it is not just a myth or an excuse for women to act ditzy. It's an actual scientifically proven phenomenon that women loose brain cells while pregnant!). My hubby attempted to help at various times, but he did not understand the importance of selecting the best kind of nipple for our baby bottles or what to look for in an infant bathtub. So I usually fired him after a couple minutes. He also kept telling me that stores will still be around after the baby is born and we don't have everything nailed down before the showers or before baby arrives we can buy stuff in the winter or even next spring. Argh - he's right I know, but he is not in nesting mode so he doesn't get it! In my pea sized, yet stubborn brain, we HAVE to have everything that we can possibly have ready by the time the baby arrives! I don't care if they are onesies for a 12 month old. They will be hanging in the closet, ready for him to wear by the time he pokes his little head out into this world! I know, I know, I know! I'm being incredibly unreasonable, but I can't help it;P
Coming up with the nursery plan/theme has been equally consuming. Things have been falling together much easier for that one though. We bought a crib already that we love from Target and know where most of the other furniture will come from and where they will go once we get them. The day we found out we were having a boy, I became a pinterest junkie. I started out thinking we would just get a nursery-in-a-bag from Babies R Us, throw some paint and a couple decals on the walls, and call it a day. But when I saw the possibilities and all the cool designs that are out their for kiddos these days, I changed my mind and started to dream in bold stripes and chevrons. Also did research on what is most stimulating (yet not overly stimulating) for babies while their eye sight is still developing. Turns out that the calming pastel colored themes and intricate patterns, while pleasing for adults, are not very stimulating for babies at all. Interestingly, black and white stripes are best and most interesting to babies early on. Bold, contrasting colors and bold patterns will work also. So we are going with bold turquoise, grey, and white with splashes of orange and green. The patterns in the room will be either chevrons, stripes, or some other bold pattern. I have also become a frequent Etsy visitor. Many of the items I have on my pinterest board have originated on Etsy. I like the idea of supporting small businesses who are selling a unique product that they will customize for you rather than going to a big-box retailer where everything was mass-produced by machines and sweat-shop workers in China! Frankly, I wish we could have gotten all our baby stuff on Etsy - but the stuff on there is not cheap and at a certain point it gets to be unreasonable. But at least all of our nursery bedding and other textiles (minus receiving blankets and clothing) will come from various sellers on Etsy.
Baby has been doing great through all this and I have been feeling okay too. I am waking up feeling as though I've been hit by a bus more often though - so I think the quality of sleep I'm getting is lacking. That and my feet are beginning to feel the effects of the pregnancy - they ache all the time. But other than that, nothing too terrible. We had our 20 week ultrasound and OB appointment last week. The ultrasound was more intense than the usual 20 week anatomy scan. It checked for 8 markers of chromosomal abnormalities. Everything came back looking great - and baby is still a boy - LOL! OB appointment was good as well. I put on the recommended amount of weight - much better than my 16 week checkup where I had only gained 1 pound in 4 weeks. I am up to a total of 15 pounds gained so far and baby accounts for only 11 oz. of that weight. LOL! Oh well. I am supposed to gain 1 lb. every week from now until delivery so that will put me at a total of 35 lbs gained - not too bad. I will weigh the same as my hubby which will be a shocker, but it's to be expected I suppose! Most of current weight gain is in my boobs I'm sure. They are monsters! Really are driving me nuts. With my burgeoning belly it is hard to get a bra under my boobs for adequate support without feeling like I have a rubber band stretching across my breast bone. My boobs end up resting on my belly anyway regardless of whether or not I'm wearing a bra. So that's uncomfortable. Ah the joys of pregnancy! At least my boobs don't hurt anymore. My uterus has been taking over in the pain department though. It has been aching a lot lately. I guess a common complaint of the second trimester is 'round ligament pain' caused by the stretching of the ligaments that support the uterus. I seem to have this most of the time on my sides. Moving around seems to alleviate the pain, but sometimes it exacerbates it:( Driving on bumpy roads is especially uncomfortable! What else.... my heartburn seems to have gone away and oh! Duh! I've felt baby moving around! At first I thought it was just digestive gurgles and stuff moving in my intestines, but it's different than that. My gurgles usually come with noises and such but these other movements have no sound and really don't feel like anything is digesting. Another way to describe it is that it feels like someone is flicking me with their finger from the inside. Hubby has felt it too - usually in the mornings baby seems to hop around impatiently waiting for mama to get up and eat something. Baby's activity also depends on what I eat. He is more active after I eat sugary things. The other day at a local strawberry festival I ate a huge serving of strawberry shortcake complete with ice cream and whipped cream. Baby was dancing all over after that! It was the most active that I've ever felt him. I just started feeling these movements last week. I was at my OB appointment and I asked if it was normal to have not felt anything yet. She said anytime b/n 18 & 22 weeks are when most women feel their first movements so nothing to worry about. Literally the next day, I felt baby moving. It's not with regularity yet and I'm not supposed to keep count until I reach the 3rd trimester - still exciting though and makes it more real that I am pregnant (if my bulging belly has not proved it already)!
So up next is my 24 week OB check in mid-July and then a week after that we will have the fetal heart echo ultrasound. The echo was recommended just because we had ICSI done and there is a slight risk of heart defects with that procedure. But at this last ultrasound, they took a good look at the heart. The doctor said it looked great and the heart rate was right on at about 140 bpm. So not too worried about it. Just another opportunity to see baby! After that u/s though, it will be the last that we will see of him until he arrives! It's crazy to think that in just a little over 4 months, we'll have a real baby boy in our arms:))
So it took me about 3 weeks to finish our registry. I wasn't working on it 24-7 but I was definitely thinking about it 24-7! It took me 1/2 day to decide which diaper pail to register for (made a spreadsheet for that decision too - complete with first hand user feedback and pros and cons of each brand - I'm nuts, I know). Every little thing required thought - it even took me over an hour to decide which bibs to add to the list. And for those larger items... oh boy! Deciding on a travel system required multiple days of thought and multiple trips to Babies R Us to test them out. So it was a challenge - especially for a momma-to-be with decreased brain function - or "pregnancy brain" (no, it is not just a myth or an excuse for women to act ditzy. It's an actual scientifically proven phenomenon that women loose brain cells while pregnant!). My hubby attempted to help at various times, but he did not understand the importance of selecting the best kind of nipple for our baby bottles or what to look for in an infant bathtub. So I usually fired him after a couple minutes. He also kept telling me that stores will still be around after the baby is born and we don't have everything nailed down before the showers or before baby arrives we can buy stuff in the winter or even next spring. Argh - he's right I know, but he is not in nesting mode so he doesn't get it! In my pea sized, yet stubborn brain, we HAVE to have everything that we can possibly have ready by the time the baby arrives! I don't care if they are onesies for a 12 month old. They will be hanging in the closet, ready for him to wear by the time he pokes his little head out into this world! I know, I know, I know! I'm being incredibly unreasonable, but I can't help it;P
Coming up with the nursery plan/theme has been equally consuming. Things have been falling together much easier for that one though. We bought a crib already that we love from Target and know where most of the other furniture will come from and where they will go once we get them. The day we found out we were having a boy, I became a pinterest junkie. I started out thinking we would just get a nursery-in-a-bag from Babies R Us, throw some paint and a couple decals on the walls, and call it a day. But when I saw the possibilities and all the cool designs that are out their for kiddos these days, I changed my mind and started to dream in bold stripes and chevrons. Also did research on what is most stimulating (yet not overly stimulating) for babies while their eye sight is still developing. Turns out that the calming pastel colored themes and intricate patterns, while pleasing for adults, are not very stimulating for babies at all. Interestingly, black and white stripes are best and most interesting to babies early on. Bold, contrasting colors and bold patterns will work also. So we are going with bold turquoise, grey, and white with splashes of orange and green. The patterns in the room will be either chevrons, stripes, or some other bold pattern. I have also become a frequent Etsy visitor. Many of the items I have on my pinterest board have originated on Etsy. I like the idea of supporting small businesses who are selling a unique product that they will customize for you rather than going to a big-box retailer where everything was mass-produced by machines and sweat-shop workers in China! Frankly, I wish we could have gotten all our baby stuff on Etsy - but the stuff on there is not cheap and at a certain point it gets to be unreasonable. But at least all of our nursery bedding and other textiles (minus receiving blankets and clothing) will come from various sellers on Etsy.
Baby has been doing great through all this and I have been feeling okay too. I am waking up feeling as though I've been hit by a bus more often though - so I think the quality of sleep I'm getting is lacking. That and my feet are beginning to feel the effects of the pregnancy - they ache all the time. But other than that, nothing too terrible. We had our 20 week ultrasound and OB appointment last week. The ultrasound was more intense than the usual 20 week anatomy scan. It checked for 8 markers of chromosomal abnormalities. Everything came back looking great - and baby is still a boy - LOL! OB appointment was good as well. I put on the recommended amount of weight - much better than my 16 week checkup where I had only gained 1 pound in 4 weeks. I am up to a total of 15 pounds gained so far and baby accounts for only 11 oz. of that weight. LOL! Oh well. I am supposed to gain 1 lb. every week from now until delivery so that will put me at a total of 35 lbs gained - not too bad. I will weigh the same as my hubby which will be a shocker, but it's to be expected I suppose! Most of current weight gain is in my boobs I'm sure. They are monsters! Really are driving me nuts. With my burgeoning belly it is hard to get a bra under my boobs for adequate support without feeling like I have a rubber band stretching across my breast bone. My boobs end up resting on my belly anyway regardless of whether or not I'm wearing a bra. So that's uncomfortable. Ah the joys of pregnancy! At least my boobs don't hurt anymore. My uterus has been taking over in the pain department though. It has been aching a lot lately. I guess a common complaint of the second trimester is 'round ligament pain' caused by the stretching of the ligaments that support the uterus. I seem to have this most of the time on my sides. Moving around seems to alleviate the pain, but sometimes it exacerbates it:( Driving on bumpy roads is especially uncomfortable! What else.... my heartburn seems to have gone away and oh! Duh! I've felt baby moving around! At first I thought it was just digestive gurgles and stuff moving in my intestines, but it's different than that. My gurgles usually come with noises and such but these other movements have no sound and really don't feel like anything is digesting. Another way to describe it is that it feels like someone is flicking me with their finger from the inside. Hubby has felt it too - usually in the mornings baby seems to hop around impatiently waiting for mama to get up and eat something. Baby's activity also depends on what I eat. He is more active after I eat sugary things. The other day at a local strawberry festival I ate a huge serving of strawberry shortcake complete with ice cream and whipped cream. Baby was dancing all over after that! It was the most active that I've ever felt him. I just started feeling these movements last week. I was at my OB appointment and I asked if it was normal to have not felt anything yet. She said anytime b/n 18 & 22 weeks are when most women feel their first movements so nothing to worry about. Literally the next day, I felt baby moving. It's not with regularity yet and I'm not supposed to keep count until I reach the 3rd trimester - still exciting though and makes it more real that I am pregnant (if my bulging belly has not proved it already)!
So up next is my 24 week OB check in mid-July and then a week after that we will have the fetal heart echo ultrasound. The echo was recommended just because we had ICSI done and there is a slight risk of heart defects with that procedure. But at this last ultrasound, they took a good look at the heart. The doctor said it looked great and the heart rate was right on at about 140 bpm. So not too worried about it. Just another opportunity to see baby! After that u/s though, it will be the last that we will see of him until he arrives! It's crazy to think that in just a little over 4 months, we'll have a real baby boy in our arms:))
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)