23 Week Fun Facts

How far along? 23 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I'll figure it out at our appt on Thursday. Eek. :)
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Not too shabby this week.
Best moment this week: Today was the 1st day that I was able to feel Xander will standing up, which was kind of cool. Until now, I only felt him when I was sitting or standing down.
Movement: Yep. And still love it except when he kicks my bladder. Not fun.
Food cravings: Fruit
Gender: Absolutely a BOY!
Labor Signs: Hopefully not for another 14+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Can still just see the back of it. It's odd looking though.
What I miss: Small boobs.
What I am looking forward to: Still the doc appt on Thursday. We also have our 1st pediatrician interview on Wed afternoon.
Weekly Wisdom: Respect.
Milestone: Obviously feeling my baby daily...now I just can't wait for Mike to be able to feel him!

23 Weeks...

"Your baby's got a while to go before his lungs will be ready for air and is practicing his "breathing" on the amniotic fluid—sucking it in and out of his lungs. Other highlights this week:

Fat production is in overdrive at this point (for the baby, not you! Well, OK, maybe for the baby and you). Your baby will basically double in weight over the next four weeks! You'll be happy to know the same won't apply to you.

Your Mini is starting to look more like a newborn as his skin becomes less see-through. His body is looking more proportional now, although his head is still kinda big compared to his cute little body.

Your baby is about 11½ inches long and weighs 1 pound, or about the length and weight of a Harry Potter book."

*3D Pregnancy

22 Week Fun Facts

How far along? 22 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: 22lb as of last Saturday...yikes.
Maternity clothes? Exclusively.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Sleep: Not too shabby this week.
Best moment this week: I think my weeks are now a bit off, but from last week...getting his nursery set up. Today...we finished registering and managed to get everything except our cloth diapers on the Babies R Us registry. The diapers are at www.jilliansdrawers.com and I can't wait to start buying them. :)
Movement: So much...I feel him several times per day now and I love it. Laying in bed right now I was about to fall asleep but he had other plans...so now we're internet surfing. :)
Food cravings: Fruit and tomatoes
Gender: Absolutely a BOY!
Labor Signs: Hopefully not for another 15+ weeks!
Belly Button in or out? Can still just see the back of it. It's odd looking though.
What I miss: Small boobs.
What I am looking forward to: Our doc appt next Thursday and the fetal echo (details in another post) on July 10th...to calm my stress.
Weekly Wisdom: Try not to worry until you know there is something to worry about. And prayer is very powerful.
Milestone: Obviously feeling my baby daily...now I just can't wait for Mike to be able to feel him!

22 Weeks (and 3 days)...

"Your Mini's hands have grown bigger and stronger and the nerve endings in her fingers have developed her sense of touch. She's in there testing out her newfound abilities by touching her face and grabbing the umbilical cord. Other cool developments:

You're already raising a little Einstein. Your baby's brain is developing at a clip this week and will continue to do so until she's five years old (so load up on the Omega 3)!

Baby's hair is now a short, bright white crop (Billy Idol, eat your heart out!). No matter what color it will end up—red, blonde, black—all babies' hair lacks pigment at this point.

Your baby has started growing taste buds and may be able to detect strong flavors in the amniotic fluid. If you could see inside, you might catch her sticking out her tongue for a taste and then grimacing, a sign that perhaps you should chill on the chili powder.

Your baby now weighs almost a pound and measures almost 11 inches from her head to her heel, which is how the Stretch Armstrong in your uterus will be measured from here on out. Up 'til now your baby's legs were curled tight up against her torso, so she was measured from her head to her bottom (or crown to rump) and not head to toe. This week your mini is about as long as a package of Oreos and as heavy as a large bag of tortilla chips. Who's hungry?"

*3D Pregnancy

Xander's Nursery

Well, after a hectic, cluttered 2 weeks, the contractors are ALMOST done with the house and are done with Xander's room. The timing was a bit of a disaster because his furniture came early and was delivered on Thursday. Despite knowing for 1 week the deadline of Wed. night, the guys didn't finish the room until Friday. So while they were able to set up the crib in the middle of the room, we had to "store" his dresser and the glider in our room until yesterday. Mike and I spent yesterday moving things into the room and organizing the items we already have...I think I'm loving it. ;)

Some pics:
from the door

glider and ottoman and Mr. Elephant

Crocodile nightstand with lamp and some books

from the far side of the room next to the glider

Mr. Hippo on the crib

Bench and canvas bins from Lamds End that's missing the cushion...going to have a cover made for the cushion in the striped bedding fabric

glider again

closet system with new bi-fold doors...closet system from Container Store

view from the glider of the changing table/dresser and the hamper


Elephant hamper from Home Decorators Collection

Changing Table and closet

Next is to narrow down our ideas for the walls. We did already order one canvas picture and a rug...so stay tuned for more updates. :)

Army Ball

So I mentioned that last weekend we went to the Army Ball. It was a lot of fun, and a nice reunion for Mike and two of the guys he worked with in Afghanistan. The only unfortunate part of the whole event was that none of my formals fit me any more, and I had to go out and buy a new dress. Oh well! Mike looked pretty snazzy in his white uniform and all his medals. :)

Some pics:




20 Weeks, 5 days (let's call this my 21 week Belly Pic!) :)

21 Weeks

Wow. 21 weeks! As many of you know, today was our anatomy ultrasound. Normally, this is the "big" one where you find out the gender; however, since we already knew about our little boy I just asked the woman to tell me if it turned out to be a girl. ;) Thankfully, after sometime, Xander revealed himself and proved himself to be all boy. Good. Things looks good (accding to the tech) but we need the doc's sign off on Saturday at our next appt. So I'll keep you all informed. But it was awesome to take such a close look at his brain and heart, etc.

A pic for you:

So, who does he look like?

This week:

"Chances are good you're feeling someone performing a round-off back handspring in your uterus by now. Is there any other feeling this cool? Other highlights this week:

By now your baby looks like a mini-version of what she'll look like when she's born. All her facial features are formed and hair is growing on her head. She's even acting like a baby and will occasionally suck her thumb or yawn. Aww ...

Baby's heartbeat is getting stronger and can be heard using a good old-fashioned stethoscope. [XANDER'S WAS 148BPM THIS MORNING] Ask for a listen at your next prenatal visit! By 21 weeks, fetal bone marrow starts making blood cells—previously done by the liver and spleen. This may not sound that exciting, but it's good news.

The amniotic fluid that has been cushioning your little bean now serves another purpose: Your baby uses it to "practice" chowing down. [WE SAW SOME IN HIS BELLY AND BLADDER -- ALL FUNCTIONING] Yes, it sounds gross (as many aspects of pregnancy do), but it's an important step for your baby toward being able to chow down in the real world. Your baby has been swallowing amniotic fluid for a while now, but now the intestines are finally developed enough that she's absorbing small amounts of sugars from it. And let's face it, being able to effectively digest sugar is important at every stage of life.

Your baby now weighs between 10 and 11 ounces [XANDER IS WEIGHING IN AT 15OZ] and is approximately 7 inches long—the size of a delicious, cold, frothy bottle of root beer. Float anyone?"

*3D Pregnancy