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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

17 Weeks!

So again, a bit late, since tomorrow will mark 18 weeks. But hey, it's getting done, right? We've been a little busy what with the wedding and all. I feel like in the last seven days or so, I have been in Sacramento more than I have been home!


How far along: 17 Weeks
Weight: 156.6
Baby size: 5.1 inches. The Bump says about the size of an onion.
Sleep: Great. I slept in past 8 the last two days!
Movement: Haven't felt anything yet.
Feeling: Great. Tired from the wedding craziness, but overall pretty good.
What I miss: Wine! The wedding was at a vineyard and the wine smelled amazing. I only allowed myself to smell it.
What I am looking forward to: Getting back to a regular routine. The wedding was fun, but my house is a mess and my sleep schedule is pretty wonky. Getting ready to really get the Treehouse started (all 48 kids start on Wednesday!)
Milestone: Not much. I'm almost halfway there!
To Do: 2nd Trimester Ultrasound. Doing that on the 9th.
Food Cravings: Still sticking to fruit and cheese. Mac and cheese sounds SO GOOD right now!
Bonus: Picture for you today! It's from the wedding and, god, do I look pregnant!



Sunday, August 21, 2011

16 Weeks!

Well, it's a little late--we're closer to 17 weeks than 16--but heck, I've been BUSY! We're a week away from Mel's wedding, so I've been super busy finishing the children's baskets, picking up my dress from the tailor, looking for hair accessories and yeah, that whole Bachelorette Party weekend thing!


How far along: 16 Weeks
Weight: 160 lbs +/- (at least, that's what it was on Thursday!)
Baby size: 4.6 inches. The Bump says about the size of an avocado. But probably not a Hass Avocado. Them suckers are big!
Sleep: Good. I kept waking up early this weekend, but that is probably more due to the fact that I was sleeping on an air mattress!
Movement: Nothing noticeable yet.
Feeling: Pretty good. Learned an important lesson today: no matter how good I am feeling, I still have to take my vitamins with food or at the end of the day. I took mine this morning with a banana and it was a whole lot of no good.
What I miss: Being able to stand for long periods of time without sitting or having to rest. The hip pain isn't ever present, but it is annoying.
What I am looking forward to: Mel's wedding is next weekend. This week is packed with wedding preparations: Brian's haircut on Tuesday, my manicure on Tuesday, heading to Sacramento on Wednesday night, hair cut and color on Thursday, bridal party pedicures on Thursday, helping with last minute wedding prep on Friday morning, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner Friday evening, wedding on Saturday along with professional hair styling and make up in the afternoon, post wedding get together on Sunday. It's going to be a packed week!
Milestone: Nothing much this week. Tried to see the sex on Thursday, but baby was NOT being cooperative! On the plus side, I can now have some caffeine. I've had a few chai teas. They were AMAZING!
To Do: Still need to do my 2nd trimester blood work. I'm going to try to do that Tuesday morning...
Food Cravings: Fruit. And cheese. Mmmm...cheese.
Bonus: OB appointment report:
Went to see the OB on Thursday about the pain in my hips. Not my sciatic nerve, thankfully. Just general joint pain. Talked to our friend Sandi (fellow bridesmaid and new mom) this weekend and she had the same kind of pain right around this time too, so that makes me feel better.

The bad news: when looking at my placenta, the doctor saw that the placenta was low and a little too close to the cervix for comfort. So close, in fact, that Brian and I have been placed on a nookie ban :-( While the nookie ban is sad, I am more concerned with the placement of the placenta. Odds are, as my tummy grows, the placenta will move as well. However, if the placenta doesn't move, or moves in the wrong direction--over the cervix--not only is home birth out of the question, we will be having a c-section. I was seriously upset and depressed over this for most of Thursday. The first time I've really felt "hormonal." I just wanted to cry. But after talking about it with my cousin Jen (labor and delivery nurse), Stephanie (nurse practitioner in training sister in law) and Brian, I'm feeling a lot better. There are things I can control about this pregnancy and many things I obviously can't. This is definitely one of those "can't control" things.  So I'm going to continue doing my thing and I'll go see the OB again at the end of September. Hopefully, the placenta will have moved, the nookie ban will be lifted and we can proceed with our planned home birth (or at least, vaginal birth).

Picture: TBD. Hey, I've been busy! I'll try to post one soon!

Friday, August 12, 2011

15 Weeks!

After a busy and exciting week last week, I'm happy to say this week has been pretty mellow. Brian's sister Stephanie (hi Toff!) is staying with us for a few weeks before their older sister Melissa's (hi Mel!) wedding at the end of the month.


How far along: 15 Weeks
Weight: 160.4 lbs (Going back up!)
Baby size: 4 inches. The Bump says about the size of a navel orange.
Sleep: Really good. But I find I absolutely HAVE to pee right before bed after my vitamins or I'll wake up sometime between 4 and 6 am to go to the bathroom.
Movement: None that I can feel. But my midwife says to be aware of any "fluttering" feelings I may be having. Considering it's the size of an orange, I'm not holding my breath!
Feeling: A lot better. I have been having a good deal of pain in my hips--random shooting pain. So much so that I sometimes need to stop what I'm doing (standing/walking) and sit down.
What I miss: Chicken. I never realized how much chicken we ate until I cut it out of my diet!
What I am looking forward to: Nothing baby related at the moment. Next weekend is Mel's bachelorette party and the following weekend is the wedding! Looking forward to that!
Milestone: Scheduled second trimester ultrasound--September 9th. Brian's got it on his calendar too, so he'll get to see the fancy ultrasound pictures in person!
To Do: Get my second trimester blood work done.
Food Cravings: Fruit. Especially strawberries.
Bonus: Two things:
#1 I finished the first homemade item for the baby's room: a stuffed knitted owl. Brian's dad named him Wilson (after the volleyball in Castaway). The name has kinda stuck!
Meet Wilson!
#2 I came home today to a big surprise. One of Brian's clients gave us a stroller! They apparently didn't need it anymore, so they gave it to us. It's an Evenflo with a nice sized storage basket, cup holders for me and baby and a ton of pockets. I drove it around the house and it has a nice smooth ride. Bummer and Finn, the dogs, weren't too pleased about being taken for a test drive in it, but you know--dogs!
Wilson in the new stroller!
 And here are your promised preggy belly pics. Mind you, there's not much belly to see yet!
Here I am at 12 weeks. Honestly, this looks more like a food baby than anything!  

And me at 15 weeks. Not a whole lot going yet. But check out my cute new maternity top!


Sunday, August 7, 2011

Quick Thoughts on Being Pregnant

So far, the best part of being pregnant is how not self-conscious I feel about my own body. Tonight, I am wearing yoga pants and a tank top. In my non-PG days, I would NEVER wear a tank top like this (basic ribbed) out in public because it tends to cling to all the parts I don't want a tank top to cling to. Now, I don't care. My boobs are bigger, which balances out the tummy. But having my tummy shown off is now a positive thing! When I pick out clothes to wear, I don't have to stop and consider "Does this make me look fat?" or, more likely: "Does this make me look pregnant?" Because I am!

It's incredibly freeing!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

14 Weeks!

Well, it's been a good week, an exciting week and a very baby-centric week for me, what with the NT scan, the OB appointment AND Midwife prenatal group appointment!


How far along: 14 Weeks
Weight: 158.2 lbs
Baby size: 3.4 inches. The Bump says about the size of a lemon. But not one of my mother-in-law, Barbara's, lemons. Those suckers are HUGE!
Sleep: I'm finding I actually don't need to nap every day!
Movement: Lots of movement in the ultrasound on Monday. Doing flips and curling up. Looks like a wiggly baby!
Feeling: Amazingly better. I have a bit more energy, and I haven't puked since last Saturday. I'm calling that a win!
What I miss: a clean house! But hopefully Brian and I will get it cleaned up and sorted out this weekend!
What I am looking forward to: Finding out the sex in a few weeks!
Milestone: NT scan on Monday had great results. Plus, my doctor is transferring the majority of my care to the midwife now--he said everything looks great!
To Do: Schedule second trimester blood work and ultrasound.
Food Cravings: This week...not a whole lot. Grilled cheese sandwiches on sourdough with a slice of tomato. Rosemary and olive oil Triscuits for in the car.
Bonus: Considering we're 14 weeks now, I'll start posting up weekly pics of my growing bump! Probably starting next week! FYI, no bump now, just super sexy bloating :)

Monday, August 1, 2011

Wave Your Hands In The Air

Quick! Finish that lyric!

Anyway, at the Orth house, we too are waving our hands in the air, like we just don't care, because, apparently, that's what our baby was doing today!

Today was our much anticipated (okay, so I was excited about it!) NT Scan. Basically, I went to the big fancy hospital at Stanford to get a big fancy ultrasound. They were measuring the fluid at the back of the neck, looking for signs of Down's Syndrome and Trisomy 18. FYI: we're looking good. We were like 1 in 100,000 which is the best odds you can get!

Now, for the part I was most excited for: the pictures! Getting the ultrasound was pretty cool because their equipment was so much better. We were able to actually see the face and, at one point, some of the facial features. This child obviously takes after Brian, since he would not cooperate AT ALL! (I say "he" because we don't know the gender yet. It's just easier that way.) He kept curling up and wiggling around, moving his head too high and too low. Just, overall, being uncooperative. Just. Like. Brian. (Kidding babe, love you!)


Look! It has a head and everything! No more amorphous blob!
This shot is a little better. You can see the nose and the lips. It's brain is developing and you can even see his little legs!
This is the super nifty 4-D image, it's looking down on the baby. The blob in the upper left is the head and the long blobs to either side are the arms waving in the air (like he just don't care!) All that stuff beneath and to the left of him is the placenta.

So that was our exciting event for the day. I have another appointment with my OB on Friday, then on Saturday, we have our group midwife appointment (plus potluck and stories from recent mothers!)