29 wks

from a different source:

Weighty matters. You're in the home stretch now—11 more weeks to go! Your baby will be putting on most of her weight over the next three months, and so will you. You can probably expect to add about 11 pounds in the last trimester, about a pound a week.

Temperature control. "How does it stay so warm in here?" This week marks an important milestone in your baby's brain development: The brain has matured to the point where it can help regulate body temperature. Of course, your little one isn't ready to do it all on her own yet; she still needs the warmth of your body to keep her toasty until birth. She also continues to develop nerve cells in her brain. By the time she's born, she'll have hundreds of billions of them. That seems like a lot, but she needs to stock up, since she won't produce any more after birth.

Puttin' on padding. Your baby is looking more like a full-term baby, too. She's plumping up nicely; the surface of her skin is smoother and paler because of the fat she's starting to gain. This fat will be an important factor in her ability to keep warm. Your baby also has eyelashes; she may be batting them at you right now!

Measuring up. Despite the increase in fat, your little one is still pretty thin—only about 2 to 3 percent of her 2.7 pounds is made up of fat. Crown to rump, she measures 10.4 inches, but if you stretched her out, she'd be more than 16 inches long.

Going for the glow. The baby will move toward a soft light shown through the mom's abdominal wall. She'll start when she hears loud sounds but turn toward soft ones.

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to accommodate hwer brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester. To keep yourself and her well nourished, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, and calcium. (About 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton — which is now hardening — every day.)

belly is moving

so our baby girl is really moving. tonight you can see her move across my belly. mike even got to see her. it's so hilarious and amazing all at once. i couldn't stop laughing and mike was trying to watch her move, but i was jiggling because i was laughing so hard. it kind of tickles. it's so weird, but fun to see her move. is it alien when something is in their bellies and comes out. well luckily we know it's not an alien, but it is still so different to see.

our baby is a genius. ha ha. ok i'm not going to be one of those parents. but i did have to joke. i was talking to her - yes i talk to her. and i asked her if she liked pumpkin pie - and she did a quick sharp kick. i said tell daddy that you like the pie and she kicked again. ha ha. ok so she is just kicking because i am eating and she has to make room, but it was pretty funny. maybe you just have to be there.

29 wks. yea. full term is considered 37 wks. so 8-12 wks we could have a baby girl in our arms. yay. can't wait. 12 wks if i go to 41. i'm going to hopefully get induced no later than 41 wks. if i don't go by then.

bib recall

last night we saw that there was a bib recall. so we watched the segment. i guess a grandma tested bibs with a home lead test. and found out some of the bibs her grandson was chewing on had huge amounts of lead. the count was higher than some lead paints i guess. that's not good. so if you used walmart bibs - i'd suggest you throw them out.

tomorrow we hit 29 wks. someone said i looked 5 mos pregnant. then she looked at my ankles and then said - those are huge. awww - what a nice compliment - then a 'huge' comment. oh well. i had to laugh. she said by the time she was 7 mos she wasn't working and was just enormous. i think she was making up for her shock reaction on my cankles. ha ha.

a friend of ours just had a 9 lb baby boy. ouch. she gained no weight. she was sick the whole time. so how in the world did she have a 9 lb baby. no clue. but i give her props!!! congrats!

they were told they were having a girl. and i got an email that it was a boy. mike and i were just talking about what if that happened. we might have to return some dresses and pink stuff. but we have names in mind. :) for back up.

nursery update

we got our crib yesterday. and again the ups guy just dumped off a 100lb box on our front step. we could barely open the door and get in. i was home and somehow i missed this guy bringing this box up our steps. so we have our crib, our changing table, rug, nightstand, curtains...glider is on the way. things are coming together slowly - it is really nice to have plenty of time. actually mike is putting everything together - i can barely lift things. and i made the mistake of trying to move our rug. mike's a trooper. mike is also putting closet organizers together to get some extra storage. yay. so fun.

we got our car seat. i know it's early, but that's the one thing you need to have :) we will do little stuff like diapers, sheets, etc. when we get even closer.

people have started asking my due date. then they are shocked that it's end of july. some have said i don't look big at all. awww that's nice. and some probably think i'm ready to burst. i'd rather have those reactions than the horror stories/war stories i have been hearing.

pics of the nursery to come. thank you for everyone who has helped us with the nursery furnishings. great presents :)

meeting jayden

proud uncle! so cute. she is just perfect. chris made jayden smile in her sleep. awww.

28 wks

3rd trimester and 7 mos.



all you get is the pic of the belly. compare it to 8 wks ago in the 20 wks picture to the left. i tried to do a similar position - definitely growing. :)

How your baby's growing: By this week, your baby weighs a little over 2 pounds and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can open her eyes — which now sport lashes — and she'll turn her head toward a continuous, bright light from the outside. Her fat layers are beginning to form, too, as she gets ready for life outside the womb.

How your life's changing: You're in the home stretch! The third trimester starts this week and lasts until 40 weeks. If you're like most women, you'll gain about 11 pounds this trimester.

doc appt today went well. baby is healthy and good size. i am getting enough of all my nutrients and we don't have gestational diabetes. yay.

nursery

so we finally got part of our nursery furniture yesterday. we got the dresser/changing table. it fits perfectly in the nursery. it is so fun and exciting. we just stood there and stared at it - we can't wait to have the baby to make the furniture/room complete.

can't believe i'm 7 months pregnant. yay.

notes from the underbelly

been watching this show. it's pretty funny. they just covered the 'super sonic smell' - and it made me laugh because that's totally how i felt.

everything is pretty exaggerated, but it's funny anyways.

lots of babies

1st pic is of samara pulanco. my cousin ben's new baby girl.


2nd pic is of brooke merlin. mike's cousin amy's new baby girl.


3rd pic is of jayden cohen. mike's brother joe's very new baby girl.


lots of girls. we have a few more to come. my cousin noel has a baby due a few weeks before us and we don't know if it is a girl or boy. and then there is our girl. and that's just family. :)

small belly button, big belly

ok so you see people around you all the time that are pregnant. you know what to expect. you know you are going to get huge. but it is so different when you are going through it. i wake up to our baby kicking and squirming around. i smile, then i look at my big belly and look at my small belly button. it is slowly disappearing. pregnancy is just so fascinating.

it was beautiful out this weekend. hope everyone had a chance to go outside. the flowers are blooming and colorful...everything is just clearer and prettier than normal. i guess this is the 'glowing, happy pregnancy hormones' talking.

i can't believe that in 12-14 wks we will have a baby. :) nursery furniture is on it's way. can't wait.

27 wks

How your baby's growing: Your baby is really starting to fill up your uterus. This week she weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with her legs extended. She can now open and close her eyes, and she sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. She may suck her fingers, and although her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if she were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn't bothersome to her, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Wonder what she's thinking?

wow - 27 weeks. we could have this baby anytime in the next 10-14 wks. exciting. my belly button is getting smaller and smaller as my belly grows. :)

donate

i know i have talked about banking and donating the cord, but want to bring it up again. i just read that minorities are urged to donate. i'm not sure they will take ours because i don't fully know our medical history since i'm adopted, but if they can't use it to save and help someone - they can use it for medical research. anything that can help someone else - i'm all for it. go to this site - they'll send you a kit and the hospital will do the rest. it's free and it only takes a few minutes.

congrats

congrats to joe & marney - new proud parents of a beautiful baby girl - jayden. everyone is doing well & healthy. she has blue eyes & short brown hair - just perfect. we are very excited & happy for them. mike's an uncle & i'm and aunt. can't wait to meet her. isn't she perfectly adorable!

photo from mike

katie at 26 wks. she loves it when i take her photos.

26 wks

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs a little under 2 pounds and measures about 14 inches, from head to heel. The nerve pathways in her ears are developing, which means her response to sounds is growing more consistent. Her lungs are developing now, too, as she continues to take small breaths of amniotic fluid — good practice for when she's born and takes that first breath of air. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

doc visit went ok today. got to hear her heartbeat. it's always so fun to hear her and we could hear her move around too. i got blood drawn and they had to poke me on both arms. nice huh. i do not like the weighing in. i am not one who likes to keep track of my weight - so it's just not fun stepping on that scale every month. otherwise things are great. yay. long ways to go still though. 14 wks.

just stopping by

so i have been watching previews for a new show coming out 'notes from the underbelly' - i think that's what it is called. anyways - looks funny. mike and i have laughed at previews because some of the jokes are very similar to ours. my favorite one is still getting mad at mike because i thought he moved the steering wheel, but it was my belly that had moved. stuff like that. you just have to laugh at those changes. it's the joys of pregnancy.

i also realized today that i have only taken maybe 4 tylenol this whole time. anyone who knows me knows i get lots of headaches and i usually have ibuprofen with me and lots of drugs. well - now that you can't take meds and stuff - i probably save a lot of money not buying my allergy meds, decongestants, headache stuff, etc...i am sure i'll make up for that money saving on cute little baby stuff :) but it is nice to feel pretty good. and it is weird that i can breathe better and feel better than i do when i'm not pregnant. maybe my allergies won't come back. fingers crossed.

25 wks

How your baby's growing: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — doesn't sound like much, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. Her hair is probably recognizable now (in color and texture), although both may change after she's born.

i'm thinking she will probably have dark hair and dark brown eyes, but i could be wrong.

had a great visit with fam in omaha. my mom and dad got to feel her wiggle and nudge my belly. i think it is more realistic now that i'm getting bigger. when we saw them last i was only maybe 8 wks pregnant. so not showing then and it is hard to believe until you see a big belly or feel the baby. :)

so no more size comparisons to food. i guess 13 in things aren't really as easy to compare as littler stuff like peanuts, shrimp, lemons, etc.

24 wks

here's a photo with my sisters & mom during my quick trip to omaha. mike will have to take more pics soon now that i'm getting even bigger. :)