Week 38

Hello all :) We are getting super close to the end now! Only a couple of weeks to go! I really don't know if mister RCA is going to wait that long, but we will see. At our appointment last Thursday, we got to see our little guy and found out that he is getting pretty big! He was already 7 lbs 10 oz! His head was measuring about a week bigger than his gestational age, and his feet were already 2.95 inches long! That's why I've been receiving some pretty power blows to the rib cage :) He was poised head-down and ready for whenever God has him planned to make his grand entrance!

Average babies around this week weigh about 6.8 pounds and are over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). Ryder now has a firm grasp, which we'll soon be able to test when we hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

I hadn't really thought about it much until my mom asked me what I thought his eye color might be. We may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. I can't wait to see what kind of a little person he turns into :)

At our sono he actually let us see his face a little bit and his cheeks are so chubby! I can't wait until I can give them great big kisses. He kept making a face where he would purse and push out his lips and kind of scrunch his forehead. Already making little faces :) This might be my last post until he's here, but we shall see! I have an appointment on the 22nd to see if I'm dilating any more.

Until next time!

Here's what Ryder might look like this week:



And here I am:

Week 37

Less than a month to our due date!

I wonder if Ryder will want to hang out in his cozy current home that long, or if he will come early. I kind of hope he's a little bit early so that I'm not trying to deliver a gigantic baby :) I get to see how big he is in a few days! Can't wait :)

Ryder is now considered "full term," even though my due date is three weeks away. If I go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz. I can't believe there's so little time before we finally get to meet our little man and see what he looks like :)

The classes at the hospital this past week were really good. I'm glad we took them to get a little more information to help us prepare for what we are about to experience. I am still planning on going with no epidural. The part I'm most worried about is the healing part afterwards lol. I think I am fully capable of handling the contractions and delivery, just not looking forward to recovery.

I'm currently trying to find a pediatrician for Ryder and have an interview with two of them in Burleson this coming Monday. I'm looking forward to having that part covered and out of the way so there's one less thing to worry about. The dresser is getting delivered Monday also, so everything is just about ready! Not that there is really a time when you can say you're fullly "ready." Maybe prepared is a better word. One thing that I know Russell and I are both ready for is to hold our little baby and get to meet him for the first time and start bonding and living the rest of our lives together :)

Here is what Ryder might look like this week:



And here I am:

Week 34

This week, on average, most babies now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Ryder was just under that about 3 weeks ago, so I wonder how much he weighs now. We will get to have another sonogram after 37 weeks and see if he's turned head-down and how big he is. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. The need to worry about preterm labor has pretty much diminished; babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

As for me, I've still got a decent amount of energy, but these hot days are kind of getting to me during car rides and things like that. Russell always used to freeze me out every where we were, but now I'm the one freezing him out. I never thought I'd live to see that day! My bladder is also taking a major beating lately. I think Ryder is starting to drop and use it as a punching bag. Not too much longer to go!

I'm really excited about our baby shower coming up next week! My mom is coming up with so many cute ideas for it :) Can't wait!

Here is what baby boy might look like this week:



And here I am:

Week 25

Hi guys :)

Another busy week has gone by and Ryder is still growing and developing. Head to heels, our baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight — somewhere over a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. He's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture. I have been trying to come up with an image in my head of what he might look like as a combination of Russell and me. I guess we'll have to wait and see!

A huge thank you goes out to Ashley Rankin for helping us out with a trip to Babies R Us. We walked all of the aisles and she gave us awesome advice on what she's liked and what she didn't so we have a better idea of what to actually register for and what we will need. It's a little overwhelming when you go in there completely clueless as to what you will need. Thank you, Ashley!!!!

Here's an idea of what mister Ryder Cole might look like this week:



And here is me at the 25 week mark:

Week 24

This week was a fun one :) We got to see Ryder again at the Arlington Perinatal Associates and my mom got to come with us this time! He was being a little shy and hid his face for most of the sonogram. We got one little frontal view and then he crossed his arms in front of his face and would only let us get a look at his mouth and nose. But we caught him holding onto his feet at one point and that was pretty darn cute :) He was totally healthy and his heartbeat was about 144. We don't have anymore sonograms scheduled at this point, but I think we are going to go get a 3D/4D sono sometime soon.

Here is the video from our most recent appointment:



Our little boy is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. The doctor told us that he is right at a pound and a half, which is right where he should be at this stage in the game. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Here are some pictures from our last sonogram:












And as for me, in the past few weeks, the top of my uterus has risen above my belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball. That's kind of a lot to take in haha. It's weird seeing my belly button getting less deep too. Pretty soon it will be popping out! haha

Most women have a glucose screening test (also called a glucose challenge test or GCT) between now and 28 weeks. I actually have this scheduled for May 31. This test checks for gestational diabetes, a pregnancy-related high-blood-sugar condition. It's not going to be a fun appointment from what I hear (lots of time spent just sitting there for hours and drinking some yucky orange-soda-without-the-carbonation-like stuff and then getting poked with needles). Yay! Not.

Here is what Ryder might look like this week:



And here I am:

Week 23

Hey there :)

As of this week, they say to "turn on the radio and sway to the music." With his sense of movement well developed by now, Ryder can feel me dance. I actually put on some music and danced around the house one day while I held onto my tummy. Our first mommy/son dance :)

And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), I have been able to see him squirm underneath my clothes. I laid on the couch one day and felt some kicks, so I got out my phone and took a little video :) It's hard to see the kicks since they aren't really close together and you kind of have to know where on my stomach to watch, but it's fun to see my tummy twitch when he kicks :)

In other news, blood vessels in Ryder's lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that his increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as the dogs barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

Here is what Ryder might be looking like these days:



And here I am at 23 weeks:

Week 22

Hello :)

Ryder has been quite the wiggle worm lately. He is kicking me a whole lot more and he's kind of getting on a schedule too. I feel him in the morning around 11:00am and then he's pretty quiet until about 3:00pm and sometimes starts moving around more in the evening. I hope he's a good baby and will get on a schedule for me when he's actually here!

Russell and I got to enjoy a massage together earlier this week since our 2 year wedding anniversary was on Monday the 25th (our 10 year dating anniversary was the next day - I'm so glad I've had him by my side for so long!). That was so awesome haha. The first prenatal massage I got wasn't really that enjoyable since I had to lay on my side, but the lady had a pillow with a cutout for my belly so I was able to lay on my stomach. It was so nice!

As for baby developments, at around 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and probably somewhere at around 1 pound, Ryder is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside my womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Here is what Ryder might look like this week. Starting to look like a real little person:



And here is me this week:

Week 21

Wow, so I'm 21 weeks now! I can't believe that my whole pregnancy is already over half-way done. It is really flying by. I thought it would never end at the beginning when I was feeling so sick all the time. During week 21 we finally gave our little guy a name and started feeling some pretty powerful kicks!

As you may already know, the boys on Russell's side of the family have RCA initials, so keeping with that tradition, we are naming our boy Ryder Cole :) I love it! He certainly is growing a lot now, and I'm getting bigger at a really fast rate. No stretch marks yet tho, so that's good! Keep your fingers crossed for me that I don't get any!

One night after Ryder finally started going by his real name instead of Tiddle (bitter-sweet lol), I was lying on the couch and started to feel him kicking away. I told Russell and he put his hand on my lower belly and Ryder kicked him hard three times! It was so cool! I had felt little flutters and slightly distinguishable movements up until now, but he really gave us a good kick that time! I was so glad that Russell got to feel him! We were both so happy. It was like our first thing that we did as a whole family hehe :)

Right about now on average, Ryder should be about 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. I can definitely start to feel like he's going to be a soccer player like his daddy with all the kicking and nudging he's been doing. In other developments, his eyebrows and lids are present now.

As for me, I'm feeling pretty comfortable these days with the exception of the occasional leg cramp. Funny story about that...I woke up in the middle of the night with a KILLER charlie horse in my left calf and it hurt so bad that I was kind of yelling for help from Russell to rub it out for me. Well, he instantly woke up and attempted to help, but he had been lying on his arm and it had fallen asleep. He could barely move it, and was trying so hard to help and I was laughing and crying out in pain at the same time haha. Leg cramps are pretty normal about now too, and they are pretty annoying to wake up to in the middle of the night. At least Russell provides some comic relief for me when I'm in distress :)

Here is a picture of what Ryder might look like about now:



And I feel totally huge in this picture: