Monday, January 28, 2013

24 weeks and the Land of Viability

How am I feeling physically? Heartburn is my biggest complaint. I finally decided to give Zantac a try, and so far, so good:o) The Tums was working, but Zantac is safe during pregnancy and prevents the heartburn instead of treating it after it starts. The weird tongue thing I had with my daughter seems to be staying about the same. It gets worse for a day or two, then a little better for a few days.

Doctor's Appointment: I had my 24 week appointment today. Mr. GummyBear had a heartrate in the high 140s, my bp was 120/80, which is perfect and urine dip was normal.
From here on out, at each appt, The Dr. will use a tape measure to measure the height of my uterus. The number of centimeters should correspond to the number of weeks gestation and, basically, indicates the rough size of the baby. It is definitely not an exact science. Today, she measured my uterus at 25 weeks, so, maybe a smidge big, but basically, right on! My next appointment will be February 25th and will include the dreaded (which I say because a lot of ladies dread it) Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), which I really don't mind. The drink isn't my favorite, but it isn't too bad. The worst part is having to sit there for an hour and wait to have blood drawn. Lucky for me, I can go to the lab first, drink the stuff, then go upstairs for my OB appointment, then go back down and have my blood drawn. This should get rid of or significantly decrease, my sit and wait time:o)


Weight Gain: 6 pounds total!

Sleep: I am a tummy/side sleeper. So far, I can still sleep in my comfy position- on my tummy with one leg bent, so slightly off to the side. When I can no longer sleep on my tummy, it will take some time to adjust. The waking up to empty my bladder at night has started, but luckily it is 0-2 times per night and not too disruptive yet. I have started having a litlle trouble falling back to sleep after getting up. Overall, not too bad.

Mood: Things are moving along well. I can't wait to see R & T holding their little Gummy Bear. I really wish that R & T lived closer, so they could be a little more involved in the pregnancy, but I totally understand the cost and logistics involved in flying halfway around the world, when you have a baby on the way. We thouroughly enjoyed visiting with my sister and her family last week. It is so much fun to watch the 2 year olds play together and to see DD interact with a newborn. So sweet all around:o)

Movement: Mr. GB definitely likes to play down low, which can be a problem, if I am sitting in the car or trying to sit forward to eat. It seems like he is trying to tell me, "Quit cramping my space!" ;o) As a matter of fact, he is kicking down there, right now, as I am sitting at the computer to type this.

Exciting Moment(s): We are in the treasured Land of Viability! I don't remember being this excited about this milestone with DD, but it is super exciting to me this time:o) We have passed all genetic screening and anatomy scan with flying colors and we have rounded third base and are headed for home. Hopefully and likely, we still have 3-4 months left, but I say it is smooth sailing from here:o) But, it is nice to know that if GB decided to make his debut now, he would, very likely, be OK.

Milestones Achieved:GB is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. 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. (Source: thebump.com)

Next Milestones/What I am looking forward to: The last little hurtle is passing the GTT, which I am pretty confident we will. Then, we can sit back and relax until GB decides it is time to meet his daddies:o)

24 weeks
 
P.S. I will post some pics of the cousins playing next time;o)

Saturday, January 12, 2013

22 weeks

This has been a pretty exciting week!

How am I feeling physically? Heartburn is my biggest complaint (which responds well to Tums, though seems to be increasing in frequency). The weird tongue thing I had with my daughter seems to be getting worse slowly, but it isn't too bad, yet.

Doctor's Appointment: I had the "20 wk anatomy scan" and OB appt this past Monday. I am happy to say that Gummy Bear is still a HE and everything looked great during the ultrasound. They take tons of pics and measurements and use some of them (head circumference, torso length and leg length, I think) to guess the weight and gestational age. It put him at 15 ounces and 20wk5da (he was 21wk2da, so very close). The tech spent about 40 minutes getting all of the pics and video she needed. I am always amazed at the detail you can see on the ultrasound. It is so cool to see the 4 chambers of the heart and the valves opening and closing as the blood flows through!He was being a smidge stubborn and would not change positions, so the tech could get the arm and leg on the other side. I think she finally got what she needed:o) Then it was on to my OB appointment.Everything there was good, as well. GB's heart-rate was 146 bpm both times. My next OB appointment is January 28th.
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Weight Gain: 5 pounds total!



Face
Sleep: I am a tummy/side sleeper. So far, I can still sleep in my comfy position- on my tummy with one leg bent, so slightly off to the side. When I can no longer sleep on my tummy, it will take some time to adjust. The waking up to empty my bladder at night has started, but luckily it is 0-2 times per night and not too disruptive yet. Overall, not too bad.

Mood: Things are moving along well. I can't wait to see R & T holding their little Gummy Bear. My sister and her family, including my 3 month old niece, whom I haven't met yet, are to visit at the end of this week, so I am super excited about that. and the next two weeks will probably fly by.

Movement: Definitely feeling more movement the past week, or so. This week I am feeling him at more times during the day, though after dinner is still his favorite, consistent time to play. I am feeling him down really low, which is different than I remember with DD, but maybe I am just not remembering the early stuff as well.

Exciting Moment(s): Gender confirmation and the ultrasound:oD

Milestones Achieved:
Gummy Bear weighs about 15 ounces now. He's also around 11 inches from head to heel. Now that he's got more developed eyes and lips, he's looking even more like a newborn. He's sleeping in cycles -- about 12 to 14 hours per day (Source: thebump.com)

 Next Milestones/What I am looking forward to: I have been able to feel a few "kicks" from the outside, but I look forward to those increasing and maybe even being able to video him moving for his daddies.

22 weeks