Week 26

Howdy :)

We've gotten a lot done in the past week. Thanks to the help of Ashley, we've gotten our registries done! We are registered at Target and Babies R Us for the essentials and Lone Star Baby for the bedding and room decorations. It feels good to get that big job done and out of the way!

It's been a busy week for Ryder too. The network of nerves in his ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear our voices as we chat with each other. Russell talks to him thru my tummy :) It's super cute!

He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. I can't wait to see him when he comes out to see if he's a chunky monkey or not :) He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds (average for this stage in the game) and measures 14 inches (the size of an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. And since we're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

The day after the 26 week mark, we headed down to Wortham, TX for the outdoor MX Nationals. It was weird being pregnant in the heat for the first time. Normally, I LOVE the heat and prefer it to the cold and it has never bothered me before. That day, I was definitely feeling the 97 degree weather. I think I had a couple of Braxton Hicks contractions from being a little dehydrated and walking around in the heat a lot. It only happened twice, but my tummy got really hard for a couple of minutes. I felt better after I had some water.

Russell's dad and sister got to feel Ryder for the first time while we were at the race :) He was being super wiggly and everyone got to feel him!

I've been keeping track of some pregnancy memories on a baby book app on my phone, and one of them was a weird dream that I had. I dreamed I had Ryder and he looked just like Russell with a ton of hair on his head. His feet were also as big as Russell's (that would be a scary sight on a little newborn haha). He was all cute and chubby, then ended up being a plastic doll. Then, he turned back into a real baby lol. I was instantly skinny afterward (that's how I knew it was a dream hehe) and was worried that I wasted all of the brand new maternity clothes I had gotten the week before. It's crazy what dreams you will have while pregnant.

Here is a pic of what Ryder might look like this week:



And here is me at the 26 week mark:

Weeks 18 and 19

Hello all :) I have been really busy and just plain pooped the past couple of weeks, so I've been kind of behind on my posting, but I finally have some time to catch up!

As of the 18th week (April 1), Tiddle was about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and weighed almost 7 ounces. At that time, he/she was busy flexing its arms and legs — movements that I'm pretty sure I've started to notice more and more. I have felt little flutters here and there, but I'm not totally sure if that's the baby moving or not. His/her blood vessels are visible through thin skin, and the ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from its head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around the nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he/she's born. If we're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If we're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from us during an ultrasound. I sure hope the little one isn't shy when we go in for our ultrasound!

Our appointment to see the doctor and find out what we are having is THIS TUESDAY! I am soooo excited I can hardly stand it :) In a couple of days, Tiddle will have a real name hehe. The first appointment (when we will have our ultrasound) is going to be at 7:45 am in Arlington at the hospital where I'll be delivering, then it's over to the Mansfield office for a follow up with my doctor at 1:15 pm. They said that we can bring a DVD and they'll put the whole sono on it for us, I can't wait!

As of yesterday, I was 19 weeks along and can tell I've grown significantly since last week. If you look at the difference in my belly pics from last week to this week (below), you can definitely tell. About this time, our baby's sensory development is exploding! His/Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he/she may be able to hear my voice now, so I might turn into one of those crazy pregnant ladies you see talking to her belly :) Tiddle now weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. His/Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of the body now. The kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on the scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on its skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

In the past week I've also realized that I'm hungry WAY more often than I normally have been. I still haven't had any weird cravings I guess, other than when I had to leave work yesterday to go satisfy my need for a lunchable! haha. And for all of you moms out there, gotta love that round ligament pain. There are ligaments that stretch to support the growing weight of the uterus, and they sometimes cause shooting pain in my stomach when I move really sharply. The other day I was lying in bed and Russell made me laugh at something, which made my stomach instantly hurt due to the jabbing pain, which caused a loud "OUCH!" from me, which made me laugh harder, which confused Russell, which made me laugh EVEN harder! It was definitely funny, but I was glad when I finally quit laughing and hurting haha. So here are my pics for this week. The first two are what the baby is looking like over the past couple of weeks (you can tell it's getting cramped in there):

Week 18:

Week 19: And here are my latest belly pics. Starting to really grow now!

14 weeks

I know I'm behind, but here is what you would have heard from me a couple weeks ago if I were on top of things :)

Week 14's big developments: Our baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, facial muscles are getting a workout as its tiny features form one expression after another. Its kidneys are producing urine, which he/she releases into the amniotic fluid around itself — a process it'll keep up until birth (As Amanda pointed out to me, "Your baby is peeing in you!" haha. Indeed). It can grasp, too, and if we were to have an ultrasound now, we may even catch Tiddle sucking its thumb. Our next sono won't be for a while tho.

In other news, the little one is stretching out. At week 14 from head to bottom, it measured 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighed 1 1/2 ounces. Tiddle's body is growing faster than its head (no more alien baby!), which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of the 14th week, arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body. (The legs still have some lengthening to do.) It's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over its body. Our baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and the spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though I can't feel any tiny punches and kicks yet, our little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Only about a week until I am allowed to get that wonderful massage Russell got me for my birthday, can't wait!!