14 Weeks

Pregnancy Update May 28, 2012

How far along: 14 weeks. STARTING THE 2nd TRIMESTER! :)

Size of baby: 3.4 inches, 1.5 oz. - a "Lemon"

What developed this past week: Baby's well-defined face can make expressions like a squint or frown (how cute!). Some babies start growing hair on the head or face (think eyebrows, not mustache!) :).

This is crazy to think about - if Baby F is a girl, her ovaries will have already developed all the eggs she'll have for her whole lifetime! If Baby F is a boy, he's still developing the prostate gland - typical male, I guess... developmentally slower than us girls ;)  Is that a mean joke to make about my own child!? lol

Weight Gain: 3.6 pounds 

Maternity clothes: I am confused by my body. Some days I look/feel bigger while other days I'm back to being smaller. Must be related to what I'm eating, how much I'm drinking, etc?? I don't know. Didn't think I'd go up and down - thought this was an uphill ride all the way! Oh well; It is what it is!

Still fit into my normal clothes, and the waistbands haven't made me sick lately. Weird how symptoms change...  If you look at the pictures above, you may notice my waistband being tested (esp the pic from the front). I usually have an imprint of the inside button on my skin for a few minutes when I change out of my work clothes each day. Doesn't hurt at all, so I'm going to keep wearing my normal pants until I can't anymore. I need to buy more maternity pants so that I don't feel like I'm stuck in a pair of black and a pair of gray 5 days a week.

Gender:  Less than 4 weeks! I got to schedule my gender/anatomy scan after my appt on Tues, 5/29. The ultrasound will be on JUNE 22 @ 3:30pm! Caleb and I are beyond excited to know the gender, but more so to see our baby in 3D/4D! It will be awesome to get a glimpse of what s/he looks like and to make sure everything is growing well!

Movement: Few more weeks?? I hear the average time most people feel their first baby move is 15-18 weeks. Coming up quickly!

Sleep: Same as last week - pretty good, with a nightly trip to the bathroom. Still haven't remembered to buy a night light! So I usually grab my iTouch or phone from my night stand to light my way :). Just a note for me to remember - Caleb never hears me get up, open/close the doors, flush the toilet, etc. Guess that means I'll be doing the night feedings? ;)

What I miss: Not much. A Pina Colada on the beach with Kate-Bo-Bate! :)

Cravings: Nothing.

Best moment this week: My dr appt was the best part of the week, though it was equally annoying(technically it was one day into week 15, but I'm counting it in 14 since I'm posting after it). The frustrating part is that I've not had a doctor there run on time - I know a lot goes into this, and it was the end of the day, but it's still frustrating. My appt was at 4, Dr came in at 4:50 (boring!) and was only with me for 3 minutes. I only had one question - Can I use hydrocortizone on my hands for heat rash (the answer was yes, if it's for a short time), then she said my Downs Syndrome blood work came back normal (YAY!), and then we listened to the heartbeat! Dr. Wise found it really easily and it was 160!

I asked her if she could feel the top of my uterus, the fundus, and she showed me where it was and how to feel it! Feels like the top of a ball in my lower abdomen. She said it will move north about a centimeter each week and therefore get easier and easier to feel. Also, if my bladder is full, it pushes my uterus higher and may also be easier to find during those times.

What I am looking forward to: Watching my belly grow faster now that I'm in the 2nd trimester. Also, THE GENDER/ANATOMY SCAN! I'm planning a gender announcement party for our families, so getting that together and telling our families will add to the excitement of that week!

Here are some other random pictures from the week:


8:30pm on 13w5d after going to dinner at the Black Pelican in OBX



Caleb always has to take my weekly pics, so I thought I'd share that he is "in the picture" :)



Afternoon of 13w5d - at the Wright Brother's Memorial in OBX



At the top of the Currituck Lighthouse, where we climbed (214 steps), I looked down to see if my camera battery died, and this is what I saw! I was happily surprised! :)



13 Weeks

Pregnancy Update May 21, 2012

How far along: 13 weeks

Size of baby: 2.9 inches, .81 oz. - a "Peach"

What developed this past week: Baby's body is catching up proportionally to his/her head. Motor skills are starting to work and baby is able to move and flex the arms and legs, though I still can't feel it.

Weight Gain: Was on vacation and didn't have a scale, but based on what I weighed when I got back, I stayed about the same at +3 pounds.

Maternity clothes: Maternity clothes aren't necessary yet. Sometimes I still wear maternity shirts for a more loose, comfortable fit. It mostly depends on how I'm feeling that day - fat or pregnant?  Do I want to show off the growing belly or hide it?  Plenty of my non-maternity shirts are looser fitting still and work just fine. I'm trying not to wear too many maternity things yet so that I'm not sick of them when I no longer have the option of my "normal" wardrobe. 

Gender:  5 more weeks

Movement: Feeling nothing. Hoping June is the month!

Sleep: Sleeping well, but I am more consistently waking up to use the bathroom once a night. Depending on how much water I drank the day/night before, my wake-up time varies from 2:30 - 5:30. Usually the later time. Sometimes I still can go till 7am and be fine. But I assume I didn't drink enough water the day before if that happens. 

I don't have to mess with extra pillows between my knees or under my head anymore as I've gotten used to sleeping on my side and back and fall asleep rather easily on my left side now! Exciting because I used to get irritated when I couldn't turn to my stomach. Still haven't gotten out my Snoogle, and don't have a wedge pillow because my belly is hardly growing! Once it's bigger and needs more support, I'll pull one or both of those out to accommodate.

What I miss: I am glad that while on vacation this week, the hot tub didn't tempt me too much. One time I put my feet in it, but mostly the kids were in it anyway.

Cravings: Nothing. If I have a 10 o'clock snack anymore Lucky Charms still always sound good at that time. The late night and early morning eating has definitely dwindled and I feel like I eat on a more normal schedule again.

Best moment this week: At 12w6d, I woke up in Newport News, VA at a friend's house, and before eating breakfast, I felt as if my stomach was as big as it usually is at the END of the day... I was excited that it was showing more and kept telling Caleb to look at it and tell me if he agreed! lol

Later that day, when finally to our destination in Outerbanks, 2 of my SILs noticed the same thing and said it looked like I suddenly "popped"! :) I definitely can't suck it in anymore, and it still has it's big days and small days, but it is getting there! :) These are from the day (and in the outfit) that my family noticed that I was obviously showing!

Another new thing this week is that I started having round ligament pain - this happened the same day I noticed my belly getting bigger. Guess that makes sense, as RLP is caused by the uterus growing and resting on my ligaments. For a few days, I randomly (and subconsciously) would press on my lower abdomen whenever there was a sharp pain, as it seemed to help. There were a few times where the pain lasted a few minutes and/or was more constant, but for the most part, it would come and go quickly. No need yet for hot baths or rolling out of bed slowly.

What I am looking forward to: Continuing the family vacation week and getting to the end of the first trimester by the time I'm home again!  Also have my monthly appt on Tuesday, May 29th where I get to hear the heartbeat again!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1

12 Week NT Ultrasound

We went for our 12 week blood work and ultrasound today, 5/15, to see if Baby Farrell has Down Syndrome. I scheduled the blood work for 3:30 and the u/s for 4 so that Caleb could have enough time to get to the office from work so he could see his baby, too.
Unfortunately, the traffic was horrible and I was 5 minutes late to my appt, so they decided, for whatever reason, to bring me into the u/s room a few minutes early and take my blood after the scan. That wouldn't have been a problem, but my mom was coming at 4 and she wasn't there yet! So I was praying the scan would take a few extra minutes, since we were getting started without her, and that she would arrive momentarily! She did and had plenty of time to see her grandbaby, as said baby was being difficult and wouldn't turn the right way for the Sonographer, Laura, to get the correct angle to measure the fluid at the back of the neck. All in all, it took Laura about 15 minutes of pushing and jabbing to get BF to move the right ways! When I was done, my skin was all red and my body was a bit sore from all the pushing. But it quickly went away and I would gladly do it again to see Baby for another 15 minutes!
I was surprised the first time Laura tried to get the baby to move - she just took her fingers and poked my uterus repeatedly - pretty hard! I started laughing because I was so caught off guard. Shaken Baby Syndrome! lol She had to do that multiple times too! It was cool to see the cause and effect though.
Now I know what pushing on my uterus does to BF and how s/he reacts. What a cutie!

So as far as results/updates go...

• Baby was measuring right on track, at just past 12 weeks. I didn't get to see the measurement in cm. :(  I'm thinking of calling to see if they have that recorded since she went so fast!
• The heart rate when we first started was 178! I wonder if the fact that I was worried about my mom making it on time had my heart and baby's heart racing?? After the 15 minutes of laying fairly still, other than all the jabbing, we got to listen to the heart rate again. This time it was only 156! Laura told me that the heartbeat being able to predict the gender is completely bogus! ha! Like I would actually believe in a silly theory like that in the first place.... lol
• The NT fluid needs to measure less than 3mm in order for the baby to be considered unlikely to have Down's. The thicker the neck, the more chance of having the disease. Laura took many measurements and the average was just 1.08mm! Seems BF is pretty assuredly not going to have DS. The blood work will take another week or two to come back and further verify the prognosis.
• Baby likes to kick its feet straight up in the air, and I'm amazed that s/he's only 2 inches long plus legs! S/he looks so big on the screen!
• Baby also likes to keep his/her right hand over or in front of the face. Plenty of times it looked like s/he was waving. Other times it looked like "woe is me!" hand to the forehead. And sometimes it seemed the hand was going to the mouth! Adorable! :)
• Caleb was pretty disappointed that Laura wouldn't even LOOK between the legs! lol He (and I) was hoping we could possibly get a little hint of the gender today, as we've heard of other people getting an idea this early. Seems we have to wait another 6 weeks!

Now for the best part; The pictures!
These aren't the best and clearest. It seems to me that they are just the still frames from when she was at a good angle to measure the NT fluid. So she wasn't trying to get the baby's best profile shot! What was she thinking?! :)
Here are all 4 though...

Waving "Hello" to everyone!

"This is my nose!"

"These are my cute tiny lips!"

I didn't realize I had an available pipe in my uterus! lol Bad habit to start so early!
Also check out the legs sticking up at the left! :)

I have a video, but it's 12 minutes long and I guess I need to find some program that can cut it down for me so that I can post a clip... Any ideas? I have it posted privately to youtube for anyone who wants to see/scroll through the 12 minute version! Just email me or post in the comments here and I'll send you the link!

It's AMAZING all the changes in just 2.5 weeks! I was THRILLED to see my baby today and am so happy that s/he looks whole and healthy! Thank you for your continued prayers for the health of our sweet baby!

12 Weeks

Pregnancy Update May 14, 2012

How far along: 12 weeks

Size of baby: 2.1 inches, .49 oz. - a "Plum"

What developed this past week: Facial features are becoming more defined as the chin and nose have taken more shape. The eyes have moved to the front of the face and the ears are in near-final position. Finger nails are now well-formed on fingers that will soon be able to open and close! Baby is developing reflexes this week and is able to curl toes, open/close hands, respond to being pushed on if I try to find him/her in there! :) And wonderfully, brain synapses are rapidly growing!

Weight Gain: Exactly 3 pounds - Still doing ok, as they say 3-5 pounds in the first trimester is normal.

Maternity clothes: I wear some "normal" shirts, some maternity. Haven't had to change to maternity pants yet, but last Thursday and today I've worn dress pants that I thought fit, only to be nauseous a couple hours later from the pressure of the waistband on my uterus. Apparently, though they button fine, when I sit down they become tighter and irritate Baby F. So it seems that I may be breaking out the Bella Band soon!

Gender:  6 more weeks

Movement: Feeling nothing. Hoping it's only a matter of a month or so!

Sleep: I've learned that I sleep better if I stick to getting 8-9 hours. If I get 10+ hours one night, the next night I don't sleep very well, as I'm not tired enough to sleep through little noises and discomforts. So I've been pretty good with going to bed at my normal (pre-pregnancy) time and getting up for work. Never got that exhausted feeling, and now that the 1st trimester is coming to a close, I'm hoping the "risk" of that happening is slim to none. At least until the third trimester when my body is exhausted from carrying around all the extra weight!

What I miss: I'd say the only thing I still miss is sleeping on my stomach. As proven by the fact that I keep trying it even though I wake up VERY nauseous and miserable. After 3 times, I think I've finally learned my lesson!

Cravings: Nothing. Been pretty good - I think the aversions have subsided a little this week. More food options sound good all the time again.

Best moment this week: Mother's Day! Everyone who knows I'm pregnant wished me a Happy Mother's Day via text or in person! And my family was so sweet to give me gifts to commemorate this first! Unexpected, but much appreciated!

My SILs got me a 1 hour pregnancy massage from Bella's spa! I'm super excited about that, as my back has had issues in the past, and it seems this could be a wonderful antidote should it start hurting again! Laurie made the cute card!

 My sister, Lindsay, sent me a package in the mail with a cute new maternity top and a sweet card!

My sister-in-law, Kristen, also got me a cute new shirt and made an adorable giraffe card! I'm so excited about these new clothes!

My husband got me a dozen peach roses, sponge candy and the Willow Tree HOME figurine. I am not a collector of things in general, but I have loved this statue for a long time and wanted Caleb to get it for me whenever we got pregnant. Typical woman though - I never actually told him I wanted it, I didn't want him to feel obligated to buy it. And he has good taste, so I wanted to see what he would come up with on his own. Luckily, my man is a great mind reader and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened this gift! I almost cried I was so happy. I LOVE IT!

Thanks again to EVERYONE who made my day so special! My first mother's day couldn't have been better!

Random thing to remember:  For my personal memory: Sweetest thing Caleb has done so far - when I woke up feeling nauseous the other night, he offered to hold my hand while I tried to fall back asleep if that would make me feel better. I didn't think about it at the time because I felt so miserable, but in the morning I remembered what happened and was, again, reminded why I love him so much.

What I am looking forward to: 12 week ultrasound - tomorrow, 4pm!

Also, we leave for a week-long vacation on Friday, and I'm SO excited to get a break from work and to get to spend all that time with my Farrell-Family.

9.5 Week First Dr Appt

On April 25th, I had my first appt with my OB, Dr Semple. It was to be a physical exam and we would listen to the heartbeat on the doppler! I was so excited about hearing the heartbeat again, but at the same time, I was nervous! I was surprised at myself for being nervous, as I'm not usually one to worry, but I guess the baby having a heartbeat is kind of a big deal to me! ;)

I knew that it can be hard to find/hear the heartbeat on a doppler that early and that it may take a little time to find it, and that's what scared me - I was afraid that I'd be lying there, freaking out inside that she couldn't find a heartbeat because there was none! Not because it was just difficult... So I brought Jessy with me so at least I wouldn't be alone and freaking out, if it came to that!

When Dr. Semple walked in, the first thing she said to me was, "So since you're nine and a half weeks, it's still pretty early to hear the heart beat on the doppler. I don't want you to worry if it takes awhile, so I'm just going to send you right over to get an ultrasound instead. How does that sound?"  WHAT?! I couldn't be happier! I may or may not have told her that I loved her in that moment... ha! Jessy and I laughed at my ridiculous joking, but Dr. Semple just smiled and didn't seem to get my sense of humor as well.

So the Doctor did her part, the physical exam - I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was the exact same thing as an annual exam. Fun. Then she sent me over to Laura, the Sonographer. Laura is awesome and let us video record the screen during the whole u/s! Since Caleb wasn't there, that was really important to me, as well as just having it for my viewing pleasure and to show other family and friends!
Here are a few still frames from the scan:


3D picture of Baby Farrell! Such a cutie - even with the big head :)



Top of the head

 

Whole body from the top. You can see the arm and leg buds. Doesn't that belly look so squishable?!

 

Whole body from the side

And here is the wonderful video :) Watch especially for the squirming around! That is new this week - the baby has muscles developed enough to be able to move of it's own accord, not just with the sloshing liquid! Enjoy! **You'll have to watch the video if you want to know what the heart rate is! :)



11 Weeks

Pregnancy Update May 7, 2012



This is why I swallow my pride and post shirt-up pics - you can't see what is belly and what is shirt/pants otherwise.



As you can see here, it's belly growing! Still bizarre to me why my belly is growing so much when supposedly my uterus is still mostly in my pelvis... this is why I have to swallow my pride! :)



How far along: 11 weeks.

Size of baby: 1.6 inches, .25 oz. - a "Lime".

What developed this past week: This week the baby is officially a "fetus", as the most critical part of the organ system development is over! Baby's ears and eyes are moving into final position and reproductive organs are becoming more distinguished. Baby will double in size by next week! Good thing s/he doesn't remember these growing pains! Whew! :)

Weight Gain: Exactly 2 pounds

Maternity clothes: Still just wearing a few maternity shirts here and there, because they are more comfortable and hide the growth a little bit. Again, I LOVE that I'm growing - I wish it'd speed up a little! It's 11 weeks and I only look like I ate a few too many donuts! So once I get past my pride of just feeling like people think I'm fat (and don't know I'm pregnant), I'll get back to wearing tighter clothes that show off the mini-bump more. When I'm at work, where people know I'm pregnant, I'm fine wearing whatever. When it comes to church where not everyone knows yet, I like to keep it hidden a little more. Hopefully only a couple more weeks and I'll be wearing all maternity and showing off an obvious baby bump! :)

Gender:  7 more weeks.  What are the chances they'll be able to see any hint of the gender at my 12 week sono though?! :) I wish...

Movement: This week coming up (the 12th week) the baby's bones are hardening and s/he's doing a lot more flipping and kicking and stretching! I can't believe all that is going on and yet I don't feel anything! So bizarre, but awesome, to think about!

Sleep: Doing ok - not anything like it was pre-pregnancy when I didn't wake up for anything! Now I wake up everynight at some point and can't get back to sleep until I; 1. stop Caleb from snoring 2. sometimes get up to go to the bathroom (depending on how much water I drink before bed) and 3. re-position myself again. I swear I wake up every hour and switch from side to back, back to side, over and over!

I'm not looking forward to the end of the first trimester when it is suggested that you don't sleep on your back anymore, so that the baby doesn't press on nerves and blood vessels and organs. It's been a feat just to stop sleeping on my stomach. Cutting it down to only my sides seems impossible. Guess that's where the Snoogle pillow will come in! Anytime I accidently sleep on my stomach, even with my knee up holding my hips off the bed a little, I wake up a while later and feel nauseous. Trying to learn my lesson!

What I miss: Sleeping well and on my stomach.

Cravings: Still just want what other people are having, and food actually offered to me never sounds good until I smell it. I think Caleb is gonna start getting annoyed with me because he asks what I want for dinner and I say, "Nothing sounds good. Whatever you want is fine." Then he is stuck trying to make the decision for both of us, and he feels bad if he were to pick something I don't want. But it's true! I'm not just trying to be difficult. Until he makes whatever he wants and I smell it, or we go into a restaurant and it smells good in there, nothing sounds good. Like I can't even imagine eating something with how bad everything sounds. Luckily, my olfactory sense kicks in and makes whatever we're having sound good eventually!

Lucky Charms have been VERY good sounding this week though! :) lol

Best moment this week: Thursday Caleb and I went to Babies R Us to use a 20% off coupon, and while we were there, we wandered through the cribs, high chairs, strollers, etc. It was fun to look around with him and see what he had to say about it all. It's funny because I just assume he won't care and will let me pick whatever I want, but he surprises me and actually has an opinion on patterns, etc! Basically, his big care is that if it's a boy, he wants him to have "manly" colored things... hahah We'll see... I can't see buying the big ($100+) things again when we have the opposite gender! Hopefully we can agree to a more neutral color, though he currently says neutral isn't good enough for a boy! Oy... :)

Random thing to remember:  This is more for my memory's benefit... A couple things about Caleb and the pregnancy: 1. Even though I've been getting my nails done (shellac) every other week this whole time, I guess Caleb must've just put it together that I've been going to a hair salon where there are potent chemicals and smells. So he recently told me he thinks I shouldnt get my nails done anymore. Of course, I thought about this 7 weeks ago, but researched and decided since I'm at the opposite end of the house from where the hair dye is (if there is anyone getting color when I go anyway), it is safe enough for me to be there for an hour, as there is nothing unsafe about nail polish. So even though he's late with realizing it, I'm glad he cares enough about the health of our baby to think it through and assert his opinion so we can discuss it.

2. Caleb has been hasseling me for weeks about taking out my belly button ring. I currently refuse until at least after the first trimester. My belly is not growing much anyway, and at this point I still want something to catch people's attention other than my extra love handles! And I just like the way it looks and think I'm going to have a hard time getting used to seeing my stomach without it after all these years... He only cares because he doesn't want the skin to rip or get something he keeps calling "spider marks" or something like that... I think he's just afraid my belly is going to be gross, and really, he's got another thing coming if he thinks it'll go back to normal by the time we're done having children! lol So I'm not worried about it, it'll heal quickly once I take it out and I won't get whatever marks he is afraid of me getting.

On that note, I'll mention, because it was so funny, that he recently asked me if I'm still putting cocoa butter on every day. Again, because he is afraid of stretch marks. lol  AND I tried on maternity jeans in front of him. He looked at me funny and said, "Do all moms wear those?!" hahha Apparently he has never seen the attractiveness of maternity pants before! He cracks me up!

What I am looking forward to: Nothing much happening this week, but NEXT week we have another ultrasound! This is the first planned one, as it's to check for any chromosomal abnormalities. I've seen/heard about other's 12-week sonos where the baby is sucking it's thumb and moving/kicking all around! I can't imagine that my baby is big enough to do all that! So I can't WAIT to see it! At 9.5 weeks, baby looked a lot more human than at 6 weeks, but I think 12 weeks will be the best scan so far! I can't wait to see a little BABY that is starting to look like us! :)