The Squirt Show

Erica’s favorite new hobby is feeling Squirt kick my belly.

She felt it for the first time last week. It must have been an amazing experience for her because her face lit up like a Christmas Tree.

Last night, Erica and I were lying on my bed studying her spelling words. She took a break to let Squirt kick her. Squirt obliged a couple of times and she was very excited.

I started to tell Erica that Chris had SEEN Squirt kick me just the day before. We were lying in bed and my belly bounced. I didn’t get to see it, but Daddy did.

Just as I was telling her the story, Squirt kicked me again and we both SAW it!

The show continued as Squirt kicked me several more times.

We all have a new hobby now.

Twenty Five Weeks

What Baby is Doing:

In the round
"My body fills out a little every day." Your baby measures 12 to 13 inches and weighs about 1.5 pounds. Her skin is still thin, wrinkled, and pale, but she gets a bit plumper every day, thanks to the fat and muscle she's continually adding. Right now tiny blood vessels called capillaries are starting to develop below your little one's skin, and these will give it a pink hue. And she's still swallowing amniotic fluid. Too bad it doesn't come in different flavors!

Brain gain
The brain's cortex is developing into layers. Most of the action is still controlled by other brain areas that developed much earlier. The human cerebral cortex is the most elaborate brain structure in all the animal kingdom, giving us the ability to think, plan, and feel in complex ways.

What Mom is Doing:

Soccer mom
Does it seem as if your organs are starting to get squished? No wonder—your uterus is now about the size of a soccer ball. It measures from your pubic bone upward to a point that's halfway between your belly button and your sternum (the bone where your ribs come together), about 25 centimeters in diameter.

Diabetes check
It's time for your glucose screening test, a procedure that's performed between 24 and 28 weeks. This test looks for signs of gestational diabetes, a high-blood-sugar condition that usually goes away after birth. It affects 2 to 5 percent of pregnant women. If earlier tests detected sugar in your urine, or if you have a history of this problem, you may have been checked for gestational diabetes already.

The glucose screen is a simple test. First, you drink a sugary solution. A short time later, your provider or a lab technician draws your blood and tests its sugar level. If your blood sugar is too high, a more lengthy blood glucose test is performed to determine whether you have gestational diabetes. Treatment involves a special diet and, in a few cases, medication.

You go, girl
The need to urinate constantly may be one of pregnancy's most annoying challenges. As soon as you come back from the bathroom and get settled, you have to go again! As inconvenient as it may be sometimes, be sure that you empty your bladder as soon as you feel the need. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are very common during pregnancy, and they may be caused or aggravated by not urinating promptly or completely.

Dawn's Notes:

Ditto. My belly is huge because I am hosting Squirt's own personal disco party in there.

I tinkle all the time. I wonder if my boss realizes how much she pays me every day to pee?

We get to take our glucose test sometime in the next two weeks. Yummy.

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary

Chris and I went to Niagara Falls last weekend to celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary on November 13.

Some highlights that are appropriate for this blog:

(there are some things that no one else needs to know about)

*The drive that usually takes 3 hours took 4 hours on the way there and 4 ½ hours on the way home. Not to say that Squirt is to blame, but I’ve never needed to make so many rest stops on a roadtrip before…I’ll let you draw your own conclusion about why it took so long.

*Squirt is our lucky charm. We went to the casino and won enough money on nickel slots that our vacation was completely free. I have NEVER won money at the casino before. We still need to check the lottery tickets that we bought with Squirt while we were in Canada…

*We stayed in a beautiful hotel room in a great location and enjoyed a spectacular view, but it was surprisingly cheap. We were very scared when we saw the hotel lobby, parking garage, and elevator, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that our room had been remodeled only two years ago and everything was spotlessly clean. The hotel was right next to the Skylon Tower and across the street from the new casino, and the parking was free! We’ll be returning to that hotel with the kids sometime, so Squirt will actually be able to see it someday!

*Squirt does not like Chinese food or Indian food. Great learning experience for me.

*We visited the Niagara Parks greenhouse again, just like we did for our honeymoon, and we spent at least two hours there taking pictures.

*There was a holiday light display in the Niagara Parks.

*I was incredibly happy just to be alone with Chris and the weekend was over too quickly.

Twenty Four Weeks

Energizer baby
Jumping and diving, rolling and kicking—your little one is having a great time training for the Baby Olympics. Just as you settle in for a good night's sleep, he starts his workout. Does it seem as if he's moving more than ever? He is: Babies are most active between 24 and 28 weeks. After that, there won't be enough room for him to perform the acrobatics he's so adept at now.

Thin skinned
If your baby could look down at his chest, he'd get his first anatomy lesson. Because his skin is still thin and transparent, it's possible to see the blood vessels, bones, and organs beneath it. His skin will continue to thicken as the months pass, until it's opaque like yours.

Eye spy
Even though your baby's eyes are still fused shut, all the parts of his eyes are present, including the retina, which completes its development over the next month. The iris, the colored part of the eye, still doesn't have any pigmentation. Your little one's eye color will fill in over the next few months, though their final shade won't be settled until after he's born.

Measuring up
Your little gymnast weighs up to 1.3 pounds this week and measures 10 to 11 inches.

Dawn’s Notes:
We went to the hospital this week because I had a dizzy spell that lasted several hours. (Later learned that it was caused by insufficient salt in my diet)

The nurse connected us to a fetal monitor, and Squirt didn’t like it at all! Chris and I had fun listening to him kick the monitor all night long. He must not have liked it, because he was very persistent and his kicking was not random. Just one more good reason not to wear the monitor during labor!

Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared

I’m so excited about our Bradley Method classes, that I’m finally finding time to write in my blog again!

Chris and I attended our first Bradley class last night. We originally signed-up for a 12-week series of classes that was scheduled to start on November 1. We weren’t so thrilled that the only class available before our due date is 30 miles away from home, but we were thrilled to find a class that started AND ended before our due date. Imagine my devastation when we received a call from our instructor last week telling us that the class series was cancelled! Evidently, 4 of the 5 couples decided not to take the class at the last minute. AGH!!! The agony! I was so discouraged and wondered if we could ever achieve an un-medicated birth without this training and preparation. I was feeling very blue.

Our instructor realized that she was our only option, so she offered to let us join her other class that is currently in session. We’ve already missed 5 of the 12 classes, but we figured it was better than nothing. Our instructor also offered to meet with us alone to review what we missed in the previous classes. I was relieved to learn that we’ve mostly missed Nutrition, Exercise, and Relaxation. I’m really anxious to review the relaxation techniques (can you tell that I need it?), but I think the nutrition and exercise will be a piece of cake. I’m so relieved that we were able to find a class!

After attending our first class, it even seems that Chris might be convinced that we could do this. I know he only agreed to take the classes because he would do ANYTHING to make me happy, but now he seems to be more supportive of the idea and seems to better understand my motivations. It means the world to me to have his genuine support, so I am overjoyed. I feel like I could do ANYTHING as long as I had his encouragement.

We’ve also decided to hire a doula to help us both through labor. I think this will take some pressure off of Chris by giving someone else the responsibility to be an advocate for us at the hospital. I want him to be free to cope with and enjoy the emotional aspects of labor and delivery, and let someone else worry about arguing with the doctors and nurses.

I feel so much more confident about our ability to labor and birth that I’m actually excited and can’t wait to meet our baby!

Name Game

Since we won’t learn the baby’s gender until birth, we have been calling the kid “Baby” all these months. I found it hard to connect with the baby without having a name for him/her, so we began the hunt for a suitable nickname.

I liked Pumpkin.

Chris thought that was a sissy name.

I liked Monkey.

Erica loves monkeys, so she wanted that nickname for herself.

Kayla liked Peanut, but that was her nickname as a baby, so we considered that name as already taken.

I suggested Sugar Dumpling just to aggravate Chris, but it was too long to say repeatedly.

Erica finally suggested the name that stuck:

SQUIRT

The baby has been named after the baby turtle in Finding Nemo.

Twenty Three Weeks

Story time
"My favorite sound is my mother's voice when she sings or talks to me." Now that bones in her ears have hardened, your baby can hear you and prefers your voice to any other sound. Give her a daily treat by reading, talking, or singing to her. If you feel silly reading to your belly, remember that the more your baby hears your voice, the more familiar it will be to her when she's born.

Super sac
The amniotic fluid that surrounds your baby is the perfect place for her to grow into a healthy newborn. The salty fluid keeps her warm, protects her from infections, and is buoyant enough for her to exercise her developing body. Right now the amniotic sac contains about a pint of fluid, which is refreshed every three to four hours.

Measuring up
Your baby looks like a tiny, thin newborn. She now weighs close to 1 pound and measures 9 to 10 inches, about the length of a Barbie doll.

Twenty Two Weeks

Mommy started a new job during Week 22, so this update is a little late.
This is what baby was doing while Mommy was busy working:

Brow know-how
As if concentrating on a tricky math problem, your clever baby can furrow his brow. And now he's actually getting eyebrows to do it with! These fine hairs, like the hair on his scalp, don't contain any pigment yet—they're pure white. His eyelids are completely developed too, though they're fused shut until about 28 weeks.

Womb workout
"Waving my arms and legs is fun!" Jumping jacks may be your baby's favorite activity these days. Now that his arms and legs have reached their final proportions (but not their final size), he's exercising them vigorously—kicking, flexing, and clasping his hands. Speaking of his hands, fingernails now completely cover his fingertips, just as yours do. And they keep growing. In fact, you may need to trim your baby's nails right after he's born so he doesn't scratch himself.

Prepare for padding
Even though your baby measures more than 9.5 inches now, he still doesn't weigh much—about 13 ounces. At this point, he has only 1 percent body fat. But from here on out, he'll be adding layers of fat, which will help him to produce and retain body heat. Your little one's fat is a lot like the kind you're putting on during pregnancy. It's called brown fat and is readily turned into energy to keep both of you on an even keel.

What Has Mom Been Doing?

Welcome respite
Despite the occasional aches and pains, this stage of pregnancy is fun! Your belly has grown enough for you to really "feel" pregnant, and the rest of the world knows it too. But you're not so big yet that you have trouble getting out of a chair or tying your shoes. Your morning sickness has probably ended, and your appetite's back, perhaps with a vengeance. Enjoy this time.

Dawn’s Notes:
We’ve only gained 13 pounds so far.
Hurray!

Twenty One Weeks

Heart throb
"What's that noise—the one that sounds like galloping horses?" Your baby's heartbeat gets stronger and louder every day. Up until a few weeks ago, your doctor needed a special device called a Doppler to hear it. Now all that's needed is a stethoscope.

If you want to hear your baby's heartbeat at home, buy a simple stethoscope at the drugstore. (Dad, siblings, and grandparents may enjoy the chance to listen, too.) Your little one's beat can be difficult to distinguish from your own. Listen for the faster rhythm—a baby's heartbeat is 120 to 160 beats per minute, about twice as fast as your own. Many women think it sounds like galloping horses.

Snooze news
Your baby is already starting to sleep and wake in subtle cycles. Ultrasounds show that unborn babies may even settle into a favorite sleeping position. Yours might tuck her chin into her chest, clasp her hands under her chin, or tilt her head back.

Measuring up
Your baby weighs between 10 and 13 ounces and is around 9 inches long, the length and weight of a banana.

Dawn's Notes:
Chris can feel the baby kick now, and I can't wait to let everyone try the stethoscope!

Kick Me!

Chris felt the baby move last night!!

We were sitting on the couch watching our favorite TV show, Lost, and I felt the baby kicking HARD. I told Chris that I was curious to know if anyone else could feel how much stronger the kicks were becoming or if it was just me? He put his hand on my belly for a couple of minutes, and then the babe starting tapping out Morse code on my belly button. Chris could feel it!

I don't know if it's fair to imply that I'm more excited about this new development than Chris is, but it is honestly exhilarating to be sharing this experience with someone (besides the baby). Sometimes I feel like a little island, isolated by the knowledge that no one around me quite understands what I'm feeling as well as I do.

I've been saddened by the realization that Chris will never know what it feels like to have our little baby that we made living inside him. It's almost like I'm being selfish in keeping that feeling all to myself. I wish he could feel what I feel, but I'm glad that he can at least share this experience with me in this way.

It's also an indescribable feeling to feel my husband's hand outside of my belly and my baby's hand on the inside of my belly. I feel like I am the connecting force between them, and it's a very spiritual experience.

Mommy's Baby Belly at 20 Weeks

Twenty Weeks

Making sense
Your baby is truly starting to experience the world around him, limited though it may be. His brain has been working overtime developing the nerve centers dedicated to his senses, and they're coming alive. He's more responsive to the changes in the world around him: your activity, sounds in the environment, and even the taste of the amniotic fluid.

Pick up a hiccup
You've probably felt your baby rolling, diving, and kicking inside your belly. Now you might also feel a rhythmic jerking. No, he's not tapping out a tune; he's hiccupping. Most babies get the hiccups in utero, possibly due to an immature diaphragm having spasms. There's nothing you can do to stop the hiccups, but there's no need to—they won't harm your baby now or after he's born.

Sprouting a top
After establishing a scalp hair pattern several weeks ago, your baby is moving to the next step: growing hair. And this isn't lanugo; it's the real deal. But don't get visions of a lustrous mane just yet. Most of this hair will start to fall out two weeks after birth. Don't worry—your little one will gradually grow permanent hair, which will probably be lighter in color than the hair he has at birth.

Elsewhere in your baby's head, the bones of the inner ear are now fully formed, and the nose is beginning to develop into its recognizable shape.

Measuring up
Your baby weighs about 7.5 to 9 ounces and measures approximately 8.5 inches. You could cup the little guy in the palm of your hand.

What’s Happening to Mom:

Hump week
Congratulations—you're halfway through your pregnancy! You've come a long way in four and a half months. Your uterus has grown to three times its original height. When your health care provider measures it, he or she probably will find that the top is now even with your belly button. From here on out, your uterus will grow approximately one centimeter each week until you deliver.

Dawn’s Notes:
I can’t believe we’re halfway there already! It doesn’t feel like I’ve been pregnant very long, and I can’t imagine our baby actually living with us. It’s all happening so fast!!

Ultrasound on Friday, Oct 6

We had our second ultrasound on Friday, October 6.

Kayla and Erica joined us and got to meet the baby for the first time!

Erica thought the equipment was very cool and she was very interested in the ultrasound technician's job.

Kayla thought it was too gross to watch the heartbeat on the ultrasound screen and she closed her eyes!

The baby was wide awake and the ultrasound technician struggled to get some good pictures because the babe was moving around so much! We saw the baby kicking, swinging it's arms, and sucking it's thumb!

Nineteen Weeks

Second skin
"What's this creamy stuff all over my body?"
Around this time, the skin starts to produce a creamy substance called vernix caseosa, which is made of oils secreted by the skin, dead cells, and lanugo, the fine hair that covers the body. This waxy coating protects your little one's skin from the effects of floating in amniotic fluid. Most of the vernix will disappear before birth, unless your baby arrives early. Preterm babies are often born still covered with a lot of vernix. Even full-term infants will have a bit of vernix in the creases of their skin.

Measuring up
Your little one measures about 7 inches and weighs anywhere from 6.5 to 8 ounces. There's a definite upswing on the fetal growth chart now, so expect some big gains in the coming weeks.

Extra eggs
You probably don't know the gender yet, but if you're carrying a girl, the reproductive system is already well established. The vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes are in place, and the ovaries contain more than 6 million primitive egg cells. When your baby is born, that number will have shrunk to about 1 million, which is all the eggs she'll ever have. Isn't it fascinating to know that the egg that became your baby is as old as you are, that it was just waiting to be released while you were growing up?

You've got male
If you're having a boy, things are also moving along. The male reproductive system is nearly fully developed. Testicles have formed and have been secreting testosterone since about week 10 of your pregnancy. The external genitalia, which became male in the first trimester, are continuing to grow: A scrotal sac is usually evident by now.

Let's Mambo, Mama
Is this little one practicing some Latin dance moves? The fetus's activity now occurs in clusters, separate "dance numbers" alternating with twilight sleep periods.

Dawn’s Notes:
I’m feeling blessed that I’m not experiencing many of the pregnancy discomforts that are normal for this stage of pregnancy.

I do have occasional back pain when I try to get out of bed in the morning, especially if I was very active the day before.

I’m starting to notice new stretch marks as my belly continues to grow, but they are very light and white in color. No angry red stretch marks for me (YET).

I do feel like the baby is doing the Mambo in there! The baby is rolling around right this very moment. Instead of the popcorn popping feeling that I originally had, it is now a marbles rolling around in my stomach feeling. The baby is either becoming more active, or I am just feeling his movements more as he gets bigger.

The doctor says that the baby can hear now, so he can start getting to know our family and decide whether or not he wants to come out.

What's Up, Doc?

We had our monthly OB appointment yesterday.
I’ve been feeling the baby move for about two weeks, but I’m very anxious for Chris to share this sensation with me, too.

He can’t feel the baby moving yet, but he did hear the baby kick me yesterday when the doc was listening to the heartbeat! Feisty little jumping bean in there!

This pregnancy is progressing normally so far, which is always a huge relief to hear. I just love to go to these appointments to listen to the heartbeat and get out of work early!

We had a quad screen yesterday to test for Down’s Syndrome, Neural Tube Defects, and Trisomy 18. We almost decided to skip the test with the assumption that a positive result would mean we could terminate the pregnancy, which we would never do. After talking to the doctor, we learned that a positive result would affect the baby’s care immediately after birth. So, as much as I hate these tests that leave us in suspense for weeks awaiting the results, we both realized that it would be best for the baby that we are prepared for anything that could be wrong.

Luckily, I am in a pregnancy-induced euphoria where I can’t possibly imagine anything being wrong with our baby or anything going wrong during delivery. There must be a magic pregnancy hormone that I have that keeps me from worrying, because that is definitely not one of my normal personality traits.

We also talked to the doctor about considering birth without pain medication. I’m reluctant to get an epidural simply because I hate the feeling of being incapacitated and I think I would handle labor better if I could move around and help the process. I would rather be an active participant than a passive bystander.

Chris is surprisingly supportive of the idea, which is just one more thing that I love about him. Of course, the natural childbirth class is 12 weeks long, compared to the Lamaze childbirth class, which is only 6 weeks. Might as well give up our normal lives now…

Eighteen Weeks

One of a kind
This week, your little one is developing one of the characteristics that will make her unique: fingerprints. Pads of fat accumulating on the fingertips and toes will turn into distinguishing swirling lines.

Prepping the plumbing
"What happens when this stuff goes down into my stomach?" The large intestine has been tacked down to the back of the abdominal wall, and many digestive glands are forming. This developing digestive system has been going through its paces for several weeks already: The fetus is swallowing amniotic fluid, which then makes its way through the stomach and intestines. Now, that fluid combines with dead cells and secretions in the intestines to form meconium. Meconium is the black, tarry substance that will eventually make up your baby's first messy diaper.

Measuring up
The fetus weighs up to 7 ounces and is about 6.5 to 7 inches, top to bottom.

What’s Happening to Mom:

Help for the lightheaded
Do you feel dizzy sometimes? It's no wonder: Your heart is working 40 to 50 percent harder than it did before you were pregnant. This industry, combined with the pressure of your growing uterus on blood vessels, can occasionally leave you feeling faint, particularly when you get up quickly. Be sure to rest frequently. Lie down on your left side for a few minutes several times a day to increase your circulation. Low blood sugar can also lead to wooziness. Eating a piece of fruit is a great way to keep you on your feet and stave off the munchies.

Mini moves
Are those gas bubbles or tiny feet kicking against your belly? Most women first feel the fetus's movements between 16 and 20 weeks. Because your little one is still so small, what you feel probably won't be a forceful kick but a gentle fluttering, as if you've got a case of the butterflies.

Dawn’s Notes:
I feel the baby move everyday now! It’s seems like he/she is most active in the morning, between the hours of 7:00am and noon.

Knock, Knock. Is Anybody Home?

I think I felt the baby move today!

It’s the strangest feeling, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s actually the baby or just a little muscle twitch.

It feels like someone is tapping on my belly, but from the inside.

I’ve heard it described as a butterfly in your stomach or marbles rolling around. If I am actually feeling the baby moving, it feels like ticking or tapping from inside my stomach.

It’s a very weak sensation, and I probably wouldn’t even notice it at all if I was busy. I’ve had this feeling a couple of times in the last week or so, but I wasn’t sure if it was the baby or just more round ligament pain.

It’s such a unique sensation, now I understand why it is so difficult to put into words.

I’ll let you know if this is it!

Seventeen Weeks

How your baby's growing:
Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.

How your life's changing:
With more weight up high and out in front of your body, you may feel a bit off-balance as you walk around. Store away your high heels and wear low-heeled shoes to reduce your risk of taking a tumble. You're likely to feel protective of your tummy, and that's good. Trauma to your abdomen could be harmful to your baby and dangerous to you, so be sure to buckle up when you're driving. Keep the lap portion of the seat belt under your belly and very snug across your hips for maximum protection.

Dawn’s Notes:
I love maternity clothes!

Cravings

I’m proud to say that my cravings have not included any strange combinations of foods, but some of the foods I can’t live without lately are:

Nacho cheese, melted gooey cheese!

Ramen Noodles

Stuffing
(cornbread flavor is the best!)

Look at Me! 16 Weeks