We're home!

So I need to play catch up from the last week or so, but I thought I'd jump on quickly and let everyone know we're home. Alaska was awesome, both Mike (34) and his grandpa (80) seemed to enjoy their birthdays, and I'm officially in the 3rd trimester as of yesterday. Wowsers! Lots of pics and updates planned for tomorrow.

xoxo --
V

Xander's World

The pic for above Xander's changing table arrived yesterday. It's a canvas reproduction and is so awesome. The colors are perfect!Now just to get Mike to hang it up for me...




I can't wait to start traveling with this lil' guy and show him the world. I have so many places I can't wait to go with him. In fact, I've already been trying to figure out where our first non-domestic family vacation will be and when...next Summer? Anyway, so much to daydream about, and this map just helps with that process!

xoxo-
Vicky

25 Week Fun Facts

How far along? 25 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 23lb. :)
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Very good.
Best moment this week: Being told that all was well with Xander's heart was the best part of this past week. :)
Movement: It's amazing.
Food cravings: Fruit.
Gender: Absolutely a BOY!
Labor Signs: Hopefully not for another 12+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Can still just see the back of it. It's odd looking though.
What I miss: Non-achy hands and feet. My hands and feet have been so sore for the last couple of weeks. I swear it feels like arthritis in my knuckles and my feet feel like I've walked a marathon barefoot and every bone is sore. It really stinks.
What I am looking forward to: Our trip to Alaska is a week from today.
Weekly Wisdom: Love and respect are the foundation of male and female relationships. Men need respect and women need love. Seems simplistic enough but it was the focus of a marriage seminar at church last night that was truly enlightening.
Milestone: I think I finally look pregnant all the time. I think.

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 on 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?""

*3D Pregnancy

Yes, we're ready to be parents...:)

even if we still act like college kids every now and again. The BBQ this past Saturday was so much fun, and we had a great turn out of about 40 of our friends and family from the DC area. Unfortunately, this is the only pic I have of the entire event...seriously! And, yes, that would be Mike doing a keg stand and me holding the tap. Gotta love it! We will be putting this one in Xander's baby book.



xoxo-
V

All is well with the Pumpkin...

We had the fetal echo today, and the specialist confirmed that all was fine with Xander's little heart. Apparently the term the other doc had used was a mild "prominence" not "pronation" (whoops) of the left artery and it turns out to be nothing. The doc said it is a normal'"variance" and nothing to worry about. He checked the various parts of the heart and listened to various parts and watched blood flow in and out and said it was perfect. Yay! Such a relief.

He also said X was weighing 1 lb, 9 oz (he's grown so much) and measuring perfectly. He apparently has long legs too -- guess he's his daddy's son. :)

Anyway, this made for a very good start to the weekend. Now if I just didn't have another hour of work to do and then housecleaning for tomorrow's BBQ. Blah to work and cleaning -- yay to having friends over for a BBQ! :)

xoxo
V

24 Weeks Fun Facts

How far along? 24 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: Um, I'm still saying 22lb because I don't actually know but I like that #. :)
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Not too shabby this week.
Best moment this week: Mike finally felt Xander. On the 4th of July (he truly is proving to be a very patriotic lil' boy ;)). Unfortunately, I don't think he has the patience to do it so often since we still can't get the lil' guy to move on demand. :)
Movement: Most of the day everyday...I love it!
Food cravings: Fruit
Gender: Absolutely a BOY!
Labor Signs: Hopefully not for another 13+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Can still just see the back of it. It's odd looking though.
What I miss: This week...slim arms. :) I keep seeing all these girls in tanks and cute dresses and it makes me realize my arms are a bit bigger than they were pre-preg. As a very nice woman I used to work with yesterday told me..."it's nice to see me with some meat on my bones"...I told her at least one of us thinks it's nice...blah!
What I am looking forward to: Getting the fetal echo done this afternoon and having some answers...good or bad.
Weekly Wisdom: Sometimes you just have to sit back and watch a movie.
Milestone: I think me feeling him from the outside and Mike finally being able to feel him is a total milestone!

24 weeks, 3 days and I'm a bit behind...

I have the best of intentions every week to take my belly photo, ACTUALLY upload it to my laptop and do my weekly post (at a minimum) on time. And then what...nothing...until of course I wake up early to get to work early and find myself still sitting here 20 minutes later working on my blog. :) Whoops! Anyway, lots to tell this week, so I'll take the time.

1st...CONGRATS TO MELANIE AND KEVIN. Mel gave birth last night to lil' Sean Devoe Lombardi. There may be a 3rd middle name in there (before Devoe -- Andrew? -- but that has not been confirmed either way as of yet. I'm waiting to call her until today and I'm hoping I get the blessiing to go see the babe sometime today or this weekend. So excited. Kevin told Mike the kid weighed 8.5lb, but we'll see. He did come 3 days before her EDD, so yay for lil' Lombardi on being more than punctual!

2nd...my hernia is killing me. It actually stopped me in my tracks twice yesterday and resulted in my cabbing all the way home instead of me making my usual shlep to the metro. Hoping laying down would take the pain away, but nope. I plan to call the doc today.

3rd...today is our fetal echo at 3pm. Trying not to be nervous and will update everyone as soon as we have some details.

4th...4th of July...yes, it's a bit late, but I have pics from the weekend. Nothing too exciting but it was a fun weekend. We went to the sculpture garden on July 3rd with Tia Carmen and her friends and then to the Air Force Memorial on July 4th with some of our friends and nephew Nicolas to watch the fireworks. Pics:

Boys on the 4th of July
Our whole family on the 4th of July...23 weeks, 4 days pregnant
July 3rd
OSCAR

Xander is now 1/2 way through his 24th week of gestation and here's what is supposedly going on...

"Your baby isn't just sitting around (on your bladder) doing nothing, he's working hard preparing for life outside the womb—perfecting his lungs and packing on the pounds. He'll gain ½ pound this week alone. Other highlights this week:

Things are starting to get a little crowded inside the old womb as baby grows bigger and bigger. Your ribs are probably pining away for the good old days when they didn't have a foot permanently lodged between them. Hate to break it to you, but it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Your baby's ears are fully functional now. And since they are, you may notice that loud noises and sudden movements can startle the little bugger. He's getting used to the everyday sounds inside the womb: the sound of your heart beating, your lungs inhaling and exhaling air, the growling of your stomach because your partner promised he'd be right back with that double cheeseburger and he's taking forever! He'll even be able to hear your voice when your partner finally arrives and you ask him where the bleep he's been! So talk nice!

Baby's got a fully developed inner ear now. This means his sense of balance is working and he can tell whether he's hanging upside down or right side up. He can also feel you moving, so go ahead, pop in your favorite tunes and boogie.

Your little Wiener schnitzel is about the length of a foot-long Chicago hot dog and weighs about 1 1/3 pounds."

*3D Pregnancy

Doc Appts yesterday...

We had two. One for me and one to meet with a pediatrician that we're considering for Xander.

My doc appt went fine. Just an aside...I'm still up 22lbs and Xander seems to be measuring perfectly (at least my uterus is at 23cm). On this track I will be at +40lb when the little guy is born...oh well! All the more incentive to get the weight off quickly. :)Anyway, my appt was to discuss our anatomy ultrasound from a couple of weeks ago. I know last I referenced it I said the tech said all looked well, but after that post I was called in for more pics and then we were recommended to a fetal cardiac specialist to do a fetal echo and get a better look at the little guy's heart. All the docs/midwifes keep assuring us that they're just being overly cautious and it's probably nothing, but who knows...we're just praying about it. The doc yesterday said he didn't even really understand what the u/s doc was saying in her assessment and that it was probably nothing. Something about a "mild pronation of the left arterial something or other". Anyway, we have the fetal echo scheduled at the hospital on July 10th, and we'll now more then. Hopefully it's nothing to worry about.

Pediatrician was very nice. Her name was Dr Arnold and she works at a practice called The KidzDocs. There are 4 docs who own the practice. They have privileges at our hospital and would be in to see Xander after he's born and every day until we leave the hospital. Then, they like to do office visits everyday until he starts to gain weight (about a week). As much as I liked her and the office, we have two more appts scheduled over the next several weeks to speak with other practices in the area that were recommended to us. What a process!

Just one for the memory books...

I felt Xander kick on the outside of my belly for the first time yesterday afternoon. It was just once and I wasn't even entirely certain, but now I am. This morning, it's happened several times while sitting here working on the computer. Wow! Now if I could just get Mike to be patient enough to sit with his hand on my belly for more than 30 seconds before getting bored...someone wants instant gratification...geez!

Anyway, I'm excited. And hopefully Mike will get to feel the lil' guy soon too.

Happy 4th of July (almost)!

xoxo
V