May 28, 2006

23w6d

So much has happened in the last few weeks.

At 20w6d, I saw my belly jump when the baby kicked while in the tub. I guess baby must really like the motion of the water - when I sloshed side to side, I got really big kicks! (Hopefully, the little one liked it!)

At 21w6d, Jay got to see my belly jump a bit, too! We were laying in bed and he got to see a few good ones. It's hard to distinguish between my pulse, breathing and kicks, but *usually* the kicks are obvious. To me, anyway.

Around that time as well, my boobs started leaking. I had been seeing crusty residue in my bra fir a few weeks, but never actually saw any liquid. I had gone bra shopping at Sears on a Saturday afternoon and discovered that I'm now a 38D or DD instead of a 36C. And in the change room, I started leaking a bit! It's weird. I see wet spots on my nightshirts once in a while.

No stretch marks yet, but I know they can appear at any time. I put cocoa butter on after every bath/shower and whenever my skin feels tight or under pressure.

2 nights ago, I woke up screaming due to incredible pain in my left calf - a cramp that was very fierce. I cold feel the muscle bunching and jumping. It finally went away but I was so sore all day. The muscle was still very tight.

Poor Jay, it took me a while to explain why I was yelling. Scared both of us - I didn't know what was happening and he thought something was wrong with the baby!

I'm going leg stretches and putting on warm compresses before bed. I'm also taking my calcium/magnesium supplement before bed instead of in the morning in the hope that it helps. But leg cramps are very common in pregnancy. (Oh joy!) I've read that several things can help, but in the middle of such pain, it's hard to remember: relax, flex toes towards head, straighten legs, stand up, stand on a cold surface.

I wonder how I'll handle contractions. I'm sure the first few will catch me off guard like the cramp did, but hopefully I'll have done enough to prepare myself - relaxation & pain management techniques. Plus, contractions generally start slow then get bad, unlike the cramp which was instant pain out of a dead sleep! Well, we'll soon see, I guess!

May 12, 2006

Just back from a doctor's appointment. Both the ultrasound and maternal serum blood test results were great. (According to the blood test, our risk for having a baby with Down's Syndrome is fabulously low - better than that of a 15 year old!)

Fundal height (or "roundness of my belly") is measuring perfectly at 21cm. (It grows on average, 1cm per week.) Baby's heartbeat was very strong and very healthy at 148 beats per minute - the dr was able to find it right away, no searching around my belly to find where the baby was positioned (which is still sideways - child, don't get too comfy in that position!). I've gained 9lbs in the last month (eek!) which is normal and healthy for my body type.

So, all good news - yay!

May 8, 2006

Daddy Delivers!

Friends of ours had their baby over the weekend, in what must break records for quickest delivery ever. They didn't have time to call for a ride to the hospital. They didn't have time to wait for an ambulance. Daddy delivered his daughter in their bed within 10 minutes. Mom and baby are doing beautifully and are expected home today. Isn't that the most awesome birth story ever??!!

Of course Jay is now very jealous and has asked me if i would consider a home birth! (EEP!) He's only half serious, but we're going to ask our doctor if it's possible that Jay be the one to catch our baby and be the first to help him/her into the world, when our time comes. How beautiful would that be! Wow...

May 3, 2006

I've been feeling movement for quite a while now, but Jay has been having a hard time distinguishing between the extra pulse in my stomach, digestion, and movement. Well! Monday, May 1, we had just finished supper (pizza!) and were curled up on the couch watching Medium and the baby started kicking harder than i've ever felt before. Jay put his hand just below my belly button and within seconds had been kicked squarely in his palm!

Last night i came home and he had bought me tulips to celebrate. Awwwwww!!

After the ultrasound: there's only one baby, so Jay is relieved...i was teasing him about twins, as i was feeling movement on both sides at once!

everything looks great... baby is measuring a bit big: 14oz (standard right now is 10-12oz, i guess) but no one was concerned. i'm measuring a day ahead of schedule, but will keep my Sept. 18 due date!

baby is pretty much horizontal across my belly, and is face down. we actually got to see him/her kick and punch my very full bladder during the scan! head is measuring 6 cm in diameter, we saw the right amount of hands and feet and fingers (the bones in the feet were so cool!)

no pictures or gender determination - they don't do that here, but the tech did keep calling the baby "pretty" and "beautiful", so maybe that means girl???? either way, we'll be happy! (Jay is still holding out for a boy, though!!)

yay! there's a real baby in there!!!