Baby Blog 33

Potato or hamster?

This week, my pregnancy ticker says that little Gordon Lee is the size of a sweet potato. I am starting to think these statements reflect his size at the end of each week of pregnancy rather than the beginning.  So, since I am less than 2 days away from being 19 weeks pregnant, I will say that he is probably close to that size right now.  

If it seems he has grown exponentially, it is only because he has reached the point where his legs are long enough to be factored in to his length.  Before, all of the measurements were crown to rump (i.e. head to butt).  Now, he is being measured from head to toe!  

I was just talking to my mother today describing the fact that he began getting active today near the end of the school day (maybe he was excited for school to let out! ;) ).  And, as I was telling her that I was feeling him move, he was still moving all around.  I really couldn't think of a way to describe it.  Butterflies just didn't fit for me.  I know the feeling and I can see why people would say butterflies.  However, it didn't seem to aptly fit the description of what I was feeling.  I finally found myself saying "It feels like there is a hamster running around inside of me!" And I laughed out loud about that, but it was so true! That's exactly how it feels to me when he moves!

Granted, I've never had a hamster inside of me.  However, compared to the way the one feels in my hand, the tickling of the little feet is the way it feels at this point when he moves around!

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Right now, I am on "winter break" for the school system here, which is really nice. I had Friday off and then I have Monday off.  So, we get a 4 day weekend.  Anyway, with my day off Friday, I went shopping! It was wonderful I was up and out to get to the stores by 10 am.  Nothing was crowded at all, so shopping was a breeze.


Anyway, amid my shopping, I decided to swing by Carter's to see if I could find anything on sale for little Gordon Lee.  Well, I did! I found 5 adorable outfits for $7 each.  I went to the Carter's website to get pictures of the outfits I bought because I can't find my camera cord to upload pictures to my computer right now.  I know it is nearby somewhere. However, we're organizing right now and putting things in storage.  I'll find the cord later.  For now, here are some pictures of what I bought for baby on my mini shopping spree.

I got a cute gator romper!

A shorts set (size 3 months)

This froggie sleeper...I love the feet!

Then, I bought 2 outfits LIKE this one, but I didn't buy this one (mine were not pictured on the website but you get the idea).

Q&A

There are a few FAQ that I've been getting asked recently, and I've decided to go ahead and answer them here.

1.) How do you feel?

I feel GREAT! I'm in the 2nd trimester (honeymoon phase) of pregnancy and I'm definitely going through one of the easier phases of it right now.  I still have a strong sense of smell, which doesn't always make things great.  But compared to how I felt in the 1st trimester, this is smooth sailing right now!

2.) Are you feeling the baby?

Yes, I am! I'm not sure exactly what I'm feeling. But when I feel a little live being moving around inside me, I know it is him.  He seems to alternate between being active and not very active.  Yesterday, he was moving around a lot.  Today, he hasn't moved as much. I'm not so worried because I read it's normal for this to happen at this point in pregnancy.  I'm not supposed to start counting kicks until 28 weeks.  I have a pregnancy book that counts down each day, and this week it suggested I drink orange juice.  It said that the coldness of the orange juice plus the vitamins in it will get baby moving.  Well, it's true! Whenever I drink orange juice, I feel him moving immediately.

3.) What are you going to call him?

Right now, I'm settling for Gordon Lee (double first name) or calling him GLee.  I'm satisfied with both.  But we'll have to see what he looks like when he comes into this world!

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Well, I had the anatomy ultrasound today.  All of his organs looked great! He also had good bones.  So, that was a relief.  Everything came out normal.  Plus, I got confirmation from the tech at the hospital (and a much clearer 2D ultrasound) that he is indeed a boy.


The black and white pictures from the hospital are much clearer than the ones I had privately over the weekend.  So, I'll go ahead and post them here for all interested.  I put "18 weeks" on there because I'll be 18 weeks tomorrow.

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I like updating my blog on Tuesdays as I see it as a sort of halfway point in each week.  Granted, it's more than halfway seeing as how every Friday marks the beginning of a new week in pregnancy for me.  However, it feels halfway to me.  So, that's why I settle on Tuesdays.


Anyway, I hope nobody is getting tired of seeing these blogs.  If you are, I am sorry.  I just like writing updates.  Nobody is forced to read it anyway. ;)


Anyhow...here's some information that I left out of the last blog (seeing as how all I really said is "It's a boy!" lol).  Baby measured 17 weeks + 1 day on Saturday making my due day July 22nd, which is exactly what it was at my last ultrasound.  This makes me think July 22nd is a good due date to go by.  I saw his little heart beating IMMEDIATELY when they brought up the screen.  I LOVED seeing that! :) His heart rate measured 152 bpm, which is about the same as it was at 12 weeks. 


They gave me a DVD to take home with me of the whole appointment.  So, I get to watch him in live action whenever I want.  It is set to some very cheesy music, but muting the sound does the trick.  I wanted to share some of it on here.  Unfortunately, too much of my information  is visible, and I can't edit the DVD to show only a portion of it.  I would LOVE to do that, though.  I may play around with imovie to see what I can do.  However, I'm thinking I probably won't get that far with it.


I am so excited to be able to say "he" and "him" etc. instead of just "the baby" or "he/she."  It makes it seem so much more personal, and it makes me feel more connected to my child somehow.  At the appointment, our sonographer said she was 100% convinced we're having a boy.  She wrote "Baby BOY" on everything she gave us. Ha! I am sparing you the "proof" on here.  But I did watch the video last night and saw the clear proof again.  


As for the pregnancy fruit bowl, I now know the exact size of my baby at this point.  He was 5 inches on Saturday.  So, we're still in avocado mode.  Besides, the "fruit" on my ticker this week is an onion.  An onion? EW! I do not want to compare my unborn child to an onion.  So, we'll stick with an avocado which is actually a fruit (unlike an onion) and is actually not smelly.  My pregnancy book said that this week he is the size of the middle of the bottom of my palm to the end of my thumb.  I got out my measuring tape and sure enough that's 5 inches!


I go in for another ultrasound on Thursday.  This one is medical, though.  They will be looking at his organs and making sure everything is going right developmentally.  We went ahead and booked the other ultrasound this past weekend because we really wanted to see him in 4D.  Plus, I will be 1 day shy of 18 weeks this Thursday, and the radiology department at the hospital may not want to say whether they think we're having a boy or a girl. They said they don't tell until 18-20 weeks.  So, being 1 day shy of that, who knows? 


Anyway, that's all I have to report on now.  Here's one more picture of Gordon Lee 3.

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We had a 4D ultrasound today at 17 weeks + 1 day and we found out we are having a...

BOY!!!

Here are some of our pictures from today's ultrasound.

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I'm sure that everyone reading this blog is under the impression that my unborn child looks EXACTLY like an avocado (green skin and all).  However, I'm sorry to burst your bubble.  That he or she actually looks like a small human being. :) This is an image I came across while looking up what my baby looks like at 16 weeks pregnant.

This picture is supposed to represent what baby looks like, and it's pretty exciting for me.  

Last night, I felt my "stomach" "flip" out of nowhere.  I'm wondering if baby did a flip.

As of today, my stomach has become very hard, risen up higher, and sort of "popped" out.  I'm getting pretty excited! 

I cut off my head because I have to take a picture of my stomach with my computer and the only way to get it in without standing a mile away from it is just to get an up-close shot.  

There isn't a whole lot else to report.  Sometimes, I worry because I don't seem to be feeling anything.  But then I remind myself that it's still early to be feeling any regular movements.  It's very easy for baby to change positions.  So, the position of the baby will probably dictate how much I feel. 

I consider Tuesdays to be my 1/2 week point.  Since there are obviously an odd number of days in a week, I'd say 4 days into it is as close to halfway as I can get.  

Big ultrasound in T minus 9 days! 

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Guacamole anyone?

This week, the baby is the size of a large avocado! Neither of my tickers actually gives me a size in inches for baby this week.  So, I'm going to guess that the baby is 5 and 1/2 inches long.  

Here are a couple of other odd little facts from my Pregnancy Countdown book and my tickers.  Right now baby weighs a whopping 5 ounces! Yup! Still so tiny!  He or she has taste buds, and what I eat at this point will actually impact a lot.  The amniotic fluid will start to smell like the different things I eat.  What a wonderful thought gag.  But I can actually have an impact on the foods that my baby will like/tolerate based on what I eat now.  That's a really neat development to me.  

Baby is also now probably able to hear my voice as the bones in his or her ears are in place! My pregnancy countdown book suggested I start talking to baby.  I have tried it; yet, I'll admit that it feels kind of weird at this point.  It makes me feel more bonded to the baby, but it makes me wonder what the baby hears.  I imagine the baby being on Charlie Brown and only hearing "WA Waa Wa WA wa Wa."

I am 90% positive I started feeling quickening this past week! It's a pretty cool feeling.  It feels like a tickling or like little butterflies.  I think it is quickening because it is coming from the same place every time.  It lasts for a short while and then stops.  I have to be paying pretty close attention to notice it, though.  And other things such as feeling hungry or feeling like I need to go to the bathroom grab my attention so that I probably wouldn't notice if baby was moving then.

I'll be ready to feel regular obvious movements, but I'm going to have to have some patience for that one. :)