27 Weeks

Your Baby:

Baby's lungs and immune system are maturing this week as baby prepares for his grand entrance. If he were born today he would have an 85 percent chance of surviving as his lungs are capable of breathing air (with medical assistance, of course). Other exciting developments:

Baby's done a lot of growing over the past few months. His length has more than doubled in the past 15 weeks! And that's not the only thing growing—baby's brain tissue and neurons are all developing at a rapid pace. His brain waves are now firing away just like those of a newborn baby. If baby is a he, his testes will have completely descended at this point.

Your baby now weighs in at approximately 14½ inches and just over 2 pounds, or about the size of that roast you made last time your in-laws were in town. (OK, the baby is the size of that roast you meant to cook before you decided that ordering Chinese was a much better idea.)

Baby Belly at 27 Weeks:

So I am feeling alright. :/  I am getting more tired as the weeks go by. It seems no matter how much I do sleep, I wake up still ready for more. Sleeping has been mediocre at best. I am resting, but waking up a lot. Mostly to go the restroom every 2 to 3 hours. Yawn. Or I am so uncomfortable on one side, that I have to switch to the other. Or I am sweating like crazy and need to throw the blankets off, only to be searching for them again 20 minutes later. It's funny to me that I am freezing my husband out of bed now. It's usually the opposite. Even when it has been in the 30's outside, I have the ceiling fan on as well as our giant industrial fan. Poor Dan just looks at me and then pulls the covers up to his chin.

My lower belly is feeling very weak. It's a strange feeling to describe, weak is the only thing I can think of. It is sometimes sore, and I feel like I need to support my belly when I get up and sometimes when I walk. It's odd, but I have asked other preggo's and they said that it is "normal". So I am chalking it up to baby is getting bigger and heavier so my body is adjusting. I am starting to get SO uncomforable though. Simple tasks are becoming daunting. Example 1: Turning over in bed. Baby boy is head down on the left side and is over 2lbs now. This doesn't sound like much, but man does it make my body hurt. Don't forget all the other extra weight of placenta, amniotic fluid, blue bell ice cream etc. etc. I am so sore on that left side, that when I turn in bed IT HURTS REALLY BAD. Example 2: Sneezing. Yes I said sneezing, it hurts as well. It sends shooting pains all over my lower abdomen but mostly all on that left side. :( I hear it's only going to get worse as baby gets bigger.

I am very sad to say that the nausea has returned. I don't know why. It could be because baby boy is sitting on my stomach and causing me more heartburn then I already had, as well as nausea. Or maybe, it's just normal for this stage of pregnancy. Who really knows? I almost feel like I am in the first trimester again. I feel nauseous a lot and mostly when my stomach starts to get empty. Although I am feeling like myself as far as my portion sizes go, I am still getting hungry or needing to eat every couple of hours or I feel miserable. Thankfully, at this point, there has been no vomiting. I pray that old "friend" does not return.


So other than that, things are great! :D Baby boy is very, very active. To the point where I want the doctors to make sure that there is only 1 in there. I feel movements all over the place. They are so STRONG now too!! He has given me a couple of good whoppers that had me hollering. It catches you so off guard! He does a lot of weird things in there, he still has his toes in my ribs. It feels like there is a sticker on my rib and sometimes it gets peeled off. Over and over again. Very very odd.

I love it. I love all of it. I keep reflecting on how much of a blessing this baby is. I can't even put into words how wanted and loved he is already. When I think about the fact that as much as I love this baby that I have never even met or known, God loves him so much more, it brings tears to my eyes. I am overwhelmed at how much of a spiritual journey pregnancy is. Pregnancy has opened my eyes and my heart to God in a way that nothing else could ever have done. This has been a great growing experience, I feel so much closer to Him through it all. It seems crazy, but I have learned so much about who I am in Christ and who God is in my life, in just these last couple of months, than I have in the past couple of years. I am so very thankful for this blessing it is unreal. I just can't put it into words.

We started our childbirthing classes this past week. It is a 7 week class that is biblically based. It was interesting to say the least. I love organization and structure. I tend to learn the best when the class is set up with the same ideals in place. Although I think the class was intended to be so, our instructor was less than. She is very sweet, but is scatterbrained. She rushes from one topic to the next, reads off one verse and then the next, without really breaking anything down or explaining anything. Everything she says kind of runs together in one long run on sentence. It's hard to keep up and pull any one point out of the class. There are so many different things competing for your attention. Dan felt the same way. We are hoping that it was just because it was the first class and that the next one will be better. We are keeping open minds and hearts and are really excited about what God has in store for us through this ministry. We will keep you posted.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

26 Weeks!!

Your Pregnancy: Week 26

If it feels like time is speeding by while simultaneously dragging on, you're not crazy, you're just pregnant. One minute you feel totally unprepared for the changes having a baby will bring, the next minute the anticipation of meeting the Mini that's been swinging from your ribs makes you cry. Such is the roller coaster of pregnancy (and strangely enough, of being a parent, too).

Your Baby at 26 Weeks:

Deep breath! Air sacks are developing in your baby's lungs, which means it just might be possible for your baby to take a breath at the end of this week. The air sacks (technically called alveoli) will continue to grow for the next nine years. The membrane that keeps the alveoli separate from the blood vessels is now thin enough to allow for that oxygen–carbon dioxide exchange we call breathing. Other highlights this week:

The retina completes the development of its normal layers this week—all the better to see you with. Well not you, per se, because his eyes are still sealed shut and it's really dark in there, but your baby's eyes are now fully developed.

Brainwaves for the auditory and visual systems are detectable in baby's noggin this week. That means baby's brain is registering things like sound and light. He can't understand what any of it means yet, but he's on track to comprehend an entire episode of Blue's Clues in no time!

As hearing continues to develop, your baby will start to recognize your voice. One hint that your karaoke rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" is not the best would be when the baby starts banging on your gut. Your bambino will also start to recognize your partner's voice. He may feel silly talking to your stomach, but assure him that somebody other than you is definitely listening. Research has shown that newborns actually recognize familiar sounds after birth. Proof that your baby has been paying attention all along.

Break out the sparkling apple juice—baby has now completed two-thirds of his stay in Hotel Womb. Your baby is about 1 2/3 pounds and is 14 inches long head-to-heel, or about the length of a burp cloth (otherwise known as your primary wardrobe accessory for the next several months).

We had our appointment today with Dr. Reiter! Baby looked great on ultrasound, as usual! He is weighing in at 1 pound 15 ounces! Such a big boy! He is now head down and is indeed sticking his toes in my ribs. I knew something funny was going on there. He was moving throughout the ultrasound. It was amazing to feel him moving and actually see what he was doing. :) I loved it. His heartrate was a healthy 150 and he still shows no signs of a goiter! My fluid levels looked great, everything is moving along just as it should! PRAISE THE LORD! We are so very thankful for this little boy I can't even begin to explain. Dr. Reiter said that we will continue to see him about every 4 weeks throughout the rest of my pregnancy. When we left Dan informed me that we only have 2 more definite appointments with Dr. Reiter, and maybe 3 if I am still pregnant. ISN'T THAT CRAZY!! Where did the time go??? I am SO excited! <3

Once again not the greatest of ultrasound pictures. Nonetheless, here's our little boy at 26 weeks:

It looks like he is smiling, but I don't think he actually was. This was the best picture of the 3 so that's the one we are sharing.

Baby Belly at 26 Weeks:

So Dan and I have been working hard getting as many things done as we possibly can. We are almost completely done with our registry's. We have to add just a few more items, then we will be DONE. I can't wait. :) We cleaned out baby boy's closet and I organized all his clothes in there last week or so. It looks really cute, I just have to get dividers to put up to separate the sizes. I am itching to finish the nursery, but have to wait til we get the rest of the items off the registry. Patience is not a strength of mine. :/  I am also trying to get the guest room completely organized. We have so many random boxes full of random things in there that either need to find a home in our house or in the trash. So that's on our short list.

I have all of his shoes and socks in a little tray that makes them look super cute. The panda is from Momo and Grandpa. That cute little Winnie the Pooh hand sewn alphabet?? No, not by me my friends. My Aunt Jane did that for me when I was a baby and it hung in my nursery. Mom held on to it and gave it to me, so now Baby Boy gets it! :D So sweet!

Speaking of sweet, our sweet Aunt Bonnie bought baby boy a cute little outfit and I have to showcase it on here! Thanks so much Aunt Bonnie!! It says, " I make my own sound effects." Perfect for daddy. :]

25 4/7 Weeks

All I find myself thinking today is how badly I want a paczki.

It's Fat Tuesday people.

My count for today:

Polish: 1. Pregnant: 1. Paczki's: 0.

There is something very very sad about this. It brings a tear to my eye.

Enjoy them you Michiganders.

25 Weeks

Your baby at 25 Weeks:

Get ready for pat-a-cake! Baby's hands are now fully developed and he spends most of his awake time groping around in the darkness of your uterus. Brain and nerve endings are developed enough now so that your baby can feel the sensation of touch. That doesn't mean he can feel it when his father pokes your stomach, however, so tell him to knock it off. Other highlights include:

Your baby's arms and legs have grown to almost the proportions they will be at birth, which is still sort of short. So don't be alarmed when your newborn's arms barely clear his waist. Baby's nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, clear out (like he's taken a super-dose of Sudafed) and he can practice breathing through the nose. The structures of your baby's spine are now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings and some 1,000 ligaments. Can you believe you're growing something that complicated inside of you?

The capillaries, the teeniest blood vessels, are now forming in your baby's body, giving his formerly translucent skin a pink glow. The blood vessels in the lungs also develop this week. You'll see how well that worked out when your baby gives those lungs a workout while you're in line at the bank in a few months.

Your baby weighs about a pound and a half and is about 13½ inches long—roughly the length of one of those recorders you played in elementary school music class. Who's up for a round of "Hot Cross Buns?"

Baby Belly at 25 Weeks:

The Nursery So Far

I forgot to post these pictures of Dan finishing up the painting in the nursery! Shame on me! So here he is finishing up, then the finished painting project, and last but not least the nursery so far.

The pups waiting outside the room. They are not allowed in. See how sad they are about it??

Painting for baby boy!! What a good little daddy!!

I LOVE THE COLOR!!

Daddy did such a great job painting!!! XOXOXOXOX

OK. So brace yourselves. The nursery furniture is in. It looks beautiful!! It actually looks like a  nursery in there now!! Can you believe it? A BABY NURSERY!!! IN MY HOUSE!??!?!?!?! Now we don't have everything we need yet to complete the nursery. This is obvious in the pictures. The rest of the nursery things are waiting to be lovingly purchased on our registry located to the right of the screen. hint. hint.

Dan, myself and sweet baby boy want to send out a very special thank you to Nana and Papa for the beautiful nursery furniture! We really appreciate it and it is such a blessing to our family. Thank you so much. We love you guys!

Also, thank you Momo and Grandpa for all the nursery decor thus far! Everything you see was purchased by Momo literally 2.3 seconds after we posted the registry. :) Thanks y'all, we love and appreciate you as well!!!

For some reason, these pictures DO NOT do the room justice at all. The room is small and it is very difficult to get pictures when you are backed into a corner. Literally. So imagine it being WAY cuter than it actually looks. If you can't do that, then you need to come over and look at it in person. It looks amazing, and we couldn't be happier. We can't wait to finish it. :)

That chair is not staying there. We are going to place a glider there, we just haven't found one yet. We wanted to get the feel of the room though with a chair being there.

The beautiful crib for baby boy!!

Our beautiful dresser/Changing table for our son! <3

The cutest lamp ever!!

Wall Art!!  YAY!!

So there it is my friends! Our beautiful nursery well on its way to becoming fit and finished for our little bouncing baby boy! I can't wait to see him in there!!!

<3 <3 <3

24 Weeks!

I am officially 24 weeks! Time seems to be creeping by pretty slowly now. I am not sure why. It just is. I have this anxiety about being in this part of pregnancy, I just want to scoot right on past here and be comfortably in my third trimester and onto 30 weeks+.

Anyhow. I am still feeling great! My sleep patterns STINK though. I can't seem to get very restful sleep unless I worked the night before. Then of course I pass out until my alarm goes off. I toss and turn non stop and wake up sweating like crazy. It doesn't matter what temperature the house is, I am still ridiculously warm whenever I wake up. Sigh.

I am hungry all the time, and I can't ever tell if I am overeating or eating just enough. Is it pregnancy making me this hungry, my meds, or just me? This is puzzling. For the time being, I am just trying to have healthy eating habits, most of the time. I will not deprive myself of the occasional delicious bowl of Blue Bell ice cream. I have indigestion all the time. Wicked, horrible heartburn. I read in a Parents article that there is actually some truth to the old wives tale that heartburn can equal a baby with a lot of hair. Something about the same hormones that give babies their luxurious locks, are the very same hormones that make the sphincter in your esophagus weaker and more susceptible for reflux, or heartburn. Don't know if I buy that though, not for this baby at least. I am pretty sure he is going to be a baldy all the way. Dan and I will both be SHOCKED if he comes out with any hair at all other than some peachfuzz. We will have to wait and see though.

NURSERY FURNITURE COMES TODAY!!!! SO EXCITED!! Will post pics as soon as is possible. Unfort I have to work again this evening, so I probably won't be able to get to it today. But soon enough.

Baby boy is moving ALL the time. He is kicking, punching, poking, rubbing, rolling...everything you could possibly think of. It is amazing. I love it! You can actually see all the movements through my shirts now. It is awesome to see. We have tried capturing it on our camera's video recorder, but no luck. Dan and I are planning on buying a small portable video camera here soon, so we can start making baby belly videos. Hopefully blogger will one day soon start letting me post them. I can't wait til our next ultrasound!! I want to see him so bad!! I keep wishing that they had created a portable US machine that I could carry around in my purse, and just hold up to my belly whenever he is doing something crazy in there. That would be fantastic. All of you creative folks out there, get to makin that happen. Within the next month please. :)

Dan and I had to follow Jess' lead and schedule ourselves for a 3D Ultrasound as well. We want to be able to see what this little guy actually looks like, not just his skeletal system. :/ Ours is scheduled tentatively for the week of our anniversary, a little anniversary present for us. :) We want him to be a little chunkier and more filled out--so it's scheduled for March 12th.

I am going with Jess to see her little man today! I can't wait to see what my nephew looks like!!!

23 4/7 Weeks

Today we had another appointment with Dr. Ortique my OB. It was supposed to be last week Friday but they had to cancel me because she was going to be out of the office. This appointment was uneventful because they NEVER do ultrasounds of baby boy! They always just listen to his heartbeat with the doppler. Since I am getting ultrasounds every 4 weeks from my Perinatalogist, I guess they figure there's no need. I think there's a need. I always have a need to see baby boy!

Anyhow, I was weighed in this appointment, as with every appointment. This time though, they made me get back on the scale to weigh me a second time. I guess it was a lot? I gained 10 lbs in the past 5 weeks. :/ What can I say, I was hungry  baby was hungry. I knew it wasn't going to be a big deal to the Dr. because when I asked her how much I should be gaining at the last visit(because I was concerned that it was gaining too fast over the holiday season) she said about a pound a week. So, if you think about it, I was just being a very good patient. She says she wants one a week, I'll see you that and raise you another! I'm just trying to follow the rules here people. After all, these are just guidelines, right? The doc also said that it would take me gaining a TON of weight for her to be concerned at all since I started off underweight. So although the tech was looking at me funny, I knew Dr. Ortique wouldn't.

But I was wrong.

Dr. Ortique came in the room and was doing the regular small talk about the Superbowl and what not and then stopped in the middle of the conversation and said, "WHOA, Amanda is this really your weight gain?" "Yes", I said sheepishly. Then she asked what my starting weight was again, and then she said, "Oh, ok, no big deal. You started off way under, so this is ok." PHEW! I was so nervous! But it did make me a little paranoid about exactly how much food is going into my mouth. I have been eating pretty healthy throughout this pregnancy, except that my diet is sans green veggies of any sort. The thought of which makes my mouth water in not such a good way. I am trying to get over this though, because I want this little boy to be exposed to as many different healthy food options while in utero as is possible. Supposedly the more they are exposed to now, the more they will be willing to try when they are here. Thus, I am trying to incorporate those little green ipecac infused thing-a-ma-jigs back into my diet. Sigh. I told the same thing to Dr. Ortique, and she said something about avoiding the candy bars. It was to this comment that my husband then tattled on me, saying something along the lines of me inhaling some Reeses Peanut Butter Cups...and maybe some a few gallons of Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream.  These two things have been absolutely heavenly. Honestly. Like I am tasting heaven. The Reeses just started this past week or so. But my love affair with Blue Bell has been stretching back since Christmas. =) The thought of which just makes me smile, and dream of when I will be reunited with my freezer. Anyhow.

She gave us some homework, and when I say us, I mean me. I have to find a Pediatrician, and I should be signed up for childbirth classes this month. I already know who I want my Pedi to be, I just have to find her. I worked with her way back when I was in nursing school, and I absolutely love her. Then to the childbirthing classes. I can't have just any old classes, I would prefer to be taught the Bradley Method. So I have to find somewhere relatively close that teaches this method. Working nights is also more than likely going to be an added challenge. I have to fit in 3 nights for work a week, preferably not on the weekends, so I can see the hubs. I also have a Beth Moore bible study that I am attending on Tuesday evenings which is a MUST attend. So I am torn as to when I am going to be able to sign Dan and I up for these classes, but where there is a will there's a way, so it will be done.

Baby boy sounded great, his heartrate was in the 150's again, same as it has been. He was moving around while she was taking a listen. Wish I could have SEEN what he was doing, but what can you do? Dr. Ortique drew my thyroid labs to check on them and everything was within normal limits. She wants to be the one to follow up on my labs from now on. That is fine with me, one less person in the mix, one less person to fax things to and repeat information to. She is keeping me on the same doses of the PTU for my Thyroid, but she said I can stop taking the BetaBlocker for my heart. PTL! This drug is the one that caused the most potential harm to the baby, so I am so very glad to be getting off of it! So I am weaning off over the next 2 weeks and will be keeping track of my heartrate in that time. As long as it stays within normal range I can stay off of it. So please be keeping that in your prayers.

Other than that, not much else has been going on. We are making plans for the Michigan baby shower, and putting the finishing touches on some of those details. Dan, Marcie and I have all bought our plane tickets home and are more than excited to be able to spend time with all of you! It is such a blessing to be able to have both Dan and Momo coming along for the trip, I wouldn't have it any other way! We are waiting on the furniture delivery company to contact us about scheduling delivery of the nursery furniture. The nursery is done being painted, so we are anxiously awaiting filling it up! Once we get it delivered, you'll have some pictures! BUT NOT UNTIL THEN MOMO.

Hope this finds all of you well and very very blessed.
Much love from the Paynes:
Dan, Amanda and Baby Boy!!