25 weeks: ultrasounds & sewing projects

No change in produce this week. Baby is about 13.5" long and I know from our growth ultrasound last week she's weighing about 1 lb 6 oz, right on track. Fit Pregnancy says she's about the size of a small sack of sugar. Her little nostrils, which were plugged, are now open. She's also growing more hair just like her mama.

We had our monthly growth ultrasound last Wednesday and it was so great to see her again. Being high risk has its perks. The tech measured the length of all her limbs, her spine, the circumference of her head, her belly, etc. The tech said she's measuring right to the day. Very reassuring. This time baby was upside down with her spine running up my right side. I can never tell how she's positioned. I feel her moving around all the time but I have no idea what's going on in there. Yesterday Evan talked to her up close and she responded by doing some acrobatics. I wonder if she recognizes his voice yet. As usual, we got some photos from the ultrasound.

Here she is laying on her back (which is actually my right side) with her arm up making a little fist:

And here is her little leg bent at the knee:

I continue to feel pretty good. I had a cold for a couple days last week and the cough is still lingering but it's not bad at all. My appetite is definitely back full force and I'm gaining weight again. My belly continues to grow, which is so fun. I can't fasten my coats anymore. As luck would have it, I was gifted a hand-me-down mint green maternity trench coat last week. It's really cute and perfect for Spring. Surprisingly my running gear still fits, I just wear the waistbands under my belly. Running has gotten uncomfortable - my back kills afterward and my belly feels like it may rip off my body. BUT. I just got the most wonderful invention ever - the Gabrialla maternity support belt. I wore it for the first time yesterday and it was AMAZING. No back pain, no bouncing belly. The only thing it doesn't relieve is pressure on my bladder but a couple minutes of walking here and there keeps me from feeling like I'm going to have an accident. I can't say enough good things about the Gabrialla belt. 

In other news, I got a sewing machine for my birthday last week and got right to work on some projects for baby. My first sewing project was a baby circle skirt to pair with onesies (thanks for the pattern, Pinterest). Yesterday I got some fabric for making crib bedding, a pillow for the chair, wall hangings, and curtains. So far it's been fun and gives me a sense of accomplishment. Here's a picture of the first circle skirt (I promptly made 5 more):

24 weeks: baby is the size of a head of cauliflower

Baby girl has gained about 4 oz since last week and her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree." Her skin is still translucent but becoming more and more opaque. She's also developing sleep and wake patterns. Last night she was kicking pretty hard around midnight and now those kicks are visible jabs coming out of my belly! It's wild. Sometimes she gives a good stomp downward. Now that's a weird feeling, like her little foot is on the verge of coming out of me, kicking her way out into the world. Get back in there, you're not ready to come out yet!

While I was watching my belly when baby was kicking last night I noticed a new development. Apparently I  am turning into a gorilla because there is now long blonde peach fuzz on my belly. I consulted Dr. Google and read that it is common during pregnancy to grow hair in unwanted places. I'm waiting for the beard now. Honestly, I'm feeling pretty good these days. These last two weeks I've felt the best I ever have my whole pregnancy. I'm really cherishing this time right now.

Today is my 36th birthday. I don't work on Mondays so I had the day off. I started the day by bringing coffee and pastries to a friend's house while her 6-month-old twins were napping. She just went through a rough period of sleep training but now they're sleeping 9 hours straight every night. She did a modified version of the Baby Wise method. I'd never heard of Baby Wise before today, apparently people generally love it or think it's a form of baby torture. She loaned me the book so I'll decide for myself. Her babies both woke up smiling so at least today it seems to be working for them. From her house I drove the 45 minutes to Woodburn Company Stores to shop for baby clothes at outlet stores. Yep, that's my idea of a treat. Oh my gosh, the little girl clothes are so cute I can hardly stand it. I had to practice some restraint. I can't wait to dress her in these adorable little outfits. Sometimes I just lay out the little clothes I've gotten as hand-me-downs and new and just look at them getting excited for the little girl that will soon wear them.

23 weeks: beginning the nursery

Baby is still the size of a squash according to the ticker. She weighs about a pound and is about 12" long if she were to stretch out. Based on what I've seen on ultrasounds she's in a ball most of the time. Although the last ultrasound to get better images of her heart she started out feet down and head up facing my spine.  Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to help get her ready for breathing and her sense of hearing is getting keener by the minute. She is getting used to all the sounds in my daily routine, including household noises, which right this second is the bluegrass Pandora station.

I had a prenatal appointment on Friday, first one since being back from Asia. Baby's heartbeat is strong and she was kicking the doctor pretty hard while she was holding the fetal doppler to my belly. The doctor exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! She's active!" as the doppler bounced and we heard "Thud! Thwap! Bam!" from the speaker. The doctor also measured fundal height for the first time at this visit. It's a measurement of baby's growth using a tape measure from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus. If baby is measuring on track, the number of centimeters should correspond to the number of weeks. Fundal height was 22 cm so she's growing right on track! We have an ultrasound scheduled for next week as well. I also had some blood work done at this appointment and all came back within normal ranges. I feel reassured that baby and I are healthy following the battle with the norovirus and relieved that she continues to grow and develop appropriately. I have been feeling pretty good this week.

We started getting some things for the nursery last weekend, which has been exciting. We have all the furniture now and just need to fill in with decorations. Stay tuned for a post with before and after photos when we're done.

Today I had the pleasure of hosting two friends and their kids for a lunch visit at our house. Erica's son, Gus, calls children "kiddos" which I think is just adorable. When he got out of the van and heard the kids playing down the street at the school he said, "Are we having lunch with the kiddos?" I learned that he is a meatatarian, can pee on the potty with ease, and remembered all of our names. Impressive on all counts. His little sister, Nora, is way more mobile than the last time I saw her a couple months ago. She crawls like a pro, pulls herself up to standing on just about anything, and takes a few assisted steps! Terri and little Finley arrived soon after and that little Finley entered the room with a giant smile that never left her face. She is just a doll. Terri and Erica shared some valuable words of wisdom regarding the nursery that I will put to use (e.g. don't hang anything over the changing table that you don't want grabbed or pulled). And, they generously offered to throw me a baby shower, which I am so grateful and thrilled about! Today is a good day.

22 weeks: baby is the size of a spaghetti squash

Baby girl is about 11" long and weighs just under a pound. Her brain is doing some rapid growth right now, hopefully getting really smart like her parents. She's looking more like a cute little newborn in there with little lips, eyebrows, and eyelids. I feel her doing some serious moving in there more strongly and frequently every day. It's wild. I don't know which body parts are moving but I picture her dancing like this:

I continue to feel pretty crummy, in the last three weeks I had a stomach bug followed by a cold followed by another stomach bug that put me in the hospital for IV fluids. I'm still nauseous and my plumbing's not right but when I feel that dancing baby in there I'm relieved that all these things are happening to me and not her. This has been a challenging pregnancy but I know even now that I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I love her so much already. Even though she only weighs a pound I've gained about 11 lbs in total. I was up more than that but lost a few from these stomach bugs. I figure I have plenty of time to gain the recommended 25-35 lbs. I'm loving my pregnant body and this baby bump. There's a blog called The Pregnant Chicken that a couple people have told me about and I spent a lot of time reading it this weekend. She's hilarious. There's one post about the stages of pregnancy that I identified with. I think I'm straddling Stages 3 and 4. I still feel cute but it is becoming a struggle to do things that require bending over.

You might have noticed I skipped week 21. Unfortunately, we had to cut our babymoon in Thailand short in order to make it home to spend a couple days with our dog, Abbey, before she passed away. She had been battling cancer for about a year and a half and took a sudden turn for the worst while we were gone. Thankfully we made it in time and sequestered ourselves with her for a couple days to soak up every second. We were able to have her euthanized at home, in her bed, very peacefully. She was my furry baby and I have gobs of great memories with her to make me smile, even though I miss her like crazy. Rest in peace, Abbey.