Week 23

Although I'm posting this photo on Sunday, my mom took it on Friday when I was 23 weeks pregnant.  My girls and I were in Wisconsin visiting my family (they had a great time) so my mom was able to take my photo for me. 

I have been getting a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions this last week.  My stomach gets so hard when that happens.  He's still moving around a lot and he sure is a kicker!  Maybe he'll be a soccer player :).  My pregnancy has been going pretty well. No major complaints now that morning sickness is past. 

By this week, our baby weighs almost one pound and his crown-to-rump length is about 8 inches.  He's about the size of a small doll.  Our baby's body is getting plumper but his skin is till wrinkled.  Lanugo hair on the body occasionally turn darker at this time.  Our baby's face and body begin to assume more of the appearance of an infant at birth.  His pancreas is also developing now. 

Week 22

Emile felt our little guy kick this week (21 weeks 4 days).  He's definitely a mover.  He kicks, rolls and punches constantly.  Drinking water or juice makes him even more active.  I can see him kicking and definitely feel his body parts pushing out. 

My belly is very hard and feels stretched a lot, especially as the day goes on.  It's hard to picture that I'll have room as he gets even bigger, even though I've done this two times already.  I'm starting to have a hard time sleeping - have to move around a lot and now that I'm getting bigger I have to get up to use the bathroom more often.  I also struggle to bend over now.

I bought our first set of newborn boy clothes last weekend.  I think the little jogging sets and pants and button up shirts are so cute.

Our baby is probably close to a pound, has a crown-to-rump length of about 7 2/3 inches, and is very thin but very developed. His eyelids and eyebrows are now formed, and the brain begins rapid growth. His testes have begun their descent from the pelvis to the scrotum.

Wee 21 - 5 months!

I can finally say I'm 5 months pregnant which is nice given I feel at least 5 months if not 6 months with how big my belly is.  My belly has gotten very hard and firm lately.  And I'm pretty sure I'm starting to waddle.  But the best part is that I can feel our son moving around a lot now.  Daily he does flips, kicks and punches.  Hopefully soon Emile and the girls will catch him at a time that they can feel him kick. 

I'm getting up more now in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and have more aches when I move around in an odd position but over all, everything continues to be low key which is great.  I haven't weighed myself this week (probably shouldn't after all the Halloween candy) but earlier this week I was on par with where I should be weight-wise which is great given I haven't had much chance to work out given how hectic work has been (hopefully that changes soon).  I did stop wearing my rings but mostly because it bothered my knuckles and not because of swelling.

I've been looking into bedding for his room.  We'll be moving Claire to Natalie's room (which they're very excited about) and convert Claire's room back to a nursery.  We'll probably make the transition in January so that we can paint the room (lavender may not be the ideal color for his room) and get the crib and everything else set up.  I think I'm going to get the following bedding.  Emile likes the idea of having a car theme given how much into cars he is.  We have chair-rail in the room so we'll probably paint the top a blue or green color and keep the bottom the cream that it is now.  I think I'll also use the green curtains we have in there now that are green.

The rapid growth phase begins to slow down this week. The heart grows stronger this week, and the legs are reaching their relative proportions.  He is probably swallowing amniotic fluid now which contributes a small amount to his caloric needs.  He now weighs about 10.5 ounces and has a crown-to-rump length of 7.25 inches.  He's about the size of a banana.

Week 20 (and 1 day)

I can't believe that I'm already over halfway through this pregnancy, given I'll have a repeat c-section by at least 39 weeks.  I can feel him moving multiple times a day now.  My belly feels heavy when I lay only partially on my side so I have to lay so my belly is laying on the couch or bed.  I noticed today that if I stand too long my knees start to hurt.  I'm definitely reaching the point where aches and pains are going to happen more frequently now.

This week our son should be about 9-10 oz. and have a crown-to-rump length of about 6 inches. The amniotic fluid has reached a volume of about 12 ounces. Our baby's heart is beating at a rate of 120 to 160 beats per minute. The baby's sense of smell is present now.  Our son has as much sleep and awake time as a newborn. The scalp hair begins to grow.

Week 19

This week has been fairly low key.  I am starting to feel him moving around more.  Not consistently everyday yet but more so than a week ago.  It's a nice feeling.  I even saw my belly moving when he kicked earlier this week.  And tonight I just felt him kicking with my hand.  It was a subtle movement a few times.  Very exciting!

I'm getting more aches when I move the wrong way.  The top of my belly button is sticking out a lot more; the outline is visible through most of my tops.  I can see a few tiny stretch mark lines right about my belly button, pretty much in the same location as some I had with Claire.  I felt a little light headed the other day, again the shower.  Thankfully, this time, unlike with with Claire, I didn't pass out in the shower.

We've started narrowing down some names we like.  I've also started looking into new bedding for the nursery.  I'm not sure yet when we'll move Clair in with Natalie and re-paint the nursery but probably at the latest by January.  That's coming up quickly.

Along with the lanugo, vernix caseosa is forming on our baby's skin. Vernix is a white cheesy substance that protects our baby's skin from its aquatic environment. The placenta continues to grow and nourish the baby.  Our baby's crown-to-rump length is probably about 5 1/4 to 6 inches; he weighs about 7 ounces and is around the size of a mango.

Week 18

I'm definitely feeling our little guy now.  Today I even saw my belly moving has he kicked me a few times.  That's such a great feeling.  I had an appointment on Tuesday with Dr. Huffman again.  She was able to find his heart beat right away (around 170 bpm this time -- he was kicking when she was using the doppler).  She said my belly looks right about where it should be for this stage, even though I feel so much bigger this time around.  When laying down, my uterus is about 3 inches below my belly button but moves up pretty far when I stand up due to my other organs.  My weight gain has actually slowed down a lot; I really haven't gained any weight in a few weeks.  My body seemed to want to get ready for the baby quickly in the first trimester and is now letting him catch up to me.  I'm sure I'll start gaining again soon though.

Dr. Huffman also said that even though my lungs are doing much better, I'll need to stay on the steroid inhaler for the remainder of this pregnancy and probably a few weeks after.  This time around, pregnancy has definitely made my usually minor case of asthma much worse.  She doesn't have any concerns about me using the steroid inhaler or my albuterol inhaler during the pregnancy.  Which is good, given I do keep having breathing issues almost daily, especially later in the day and at night. 

This week I also got a random rash on my cheeks, like I'm a teenager with acne.  Not sure what happened there, maybe from laying on my hands but it was on both cheeks.  It's mostly gone now though.  My hands have also started itching a little the last two days.  I'll have to keep an eye out for the itchy skin rash I got with Natalie.

Our boy should be about 5-5.5 inches long and weigh around 6.5 ounces; he's about the size of an onion. As seen in the ultrasound last week, we can now see the chambers of our baby's heart.   His vocal cords should be fully formed also. Over the next week, our baby will start forming hair on his head and forming teeth buds.  Pads are forming on the fingertips and toes, and the eyes are looking forward rather than out the sides of the head. Meconium, the baby's first bowel movement, is accumulating within the bowel. His prostate gland is beginning to develop.

Week 17 (4 months) - It's a ...

Boy!  We're super excited.  You can't see his legs in the ultrasound photo below because he has his legs pulled up to his chest.

We had his anatomy scan today at Duke Perinatal.  Everything looked great.  All the bones were the correct length for his age, brain, kidneys, bladder, heart were all functioning and looked great developmentally, and hands and feet looked wonderful and outstretched.  His heart rate was 153 bpm.  We even got to see his eyes.  The technician we had was really great about explaining what all the shading colors meant and so forth.  I think we got more information this time than the last two anatomy scans with the girls.


I was so nervous beforehand given the recent X-ray and the medication I've had to take for my lung issues lately so hearing all this great news was very reassuring.  And he wasn't shy about showing us the family jewels.  We couldn't be more excited.  I had been feeling it might be a boy but I only had a 50/50 chance of being right!  Now to start shopping and looking into new bedding!  He will definitely change the dynamic of our house which right now is dominated by princesses and pink.

Natalie was very happy to hear she was having a brother and already asking when he'll be here.  (Claire is still too young to understand).  The girls are going to be great big sisters to their brother.  We announced to our family via Skype again.  This time we showed them a profile photo in a blue picture frame.  Unfortunately, my family couldn't really tell the color of the frame so we had to tell them but Emile's family picked up on it.  Everyone is super excited.  

Looks like I'll be following in my mom and Nana's lead -- both had two girls and a boy!


I'm now 17 weeks pregnant and 4 months pregnant!

I think this photo makes me look bigger than I actually am but I'm definitely filling out more (maybe I should start taking my photo first thing in the morning).  My belly button is sticking out more now too.  I have gotten a few more aches and pains when I move around or even when I cough.  I think a lot of this is round-ligament pain.  The other night I think I had sciatic nerve pain down my left leg which I didn't have before.  The cause is thought to be associated with pressure on the nerve caused by our developing baby.  Other than my continuing lung irritation, everything has been going great.


Our baby is now roughly the size of my hand outstretched.  The crown-to-rump length is probably about 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 inches.   He has a much more normal "human" appearance now.  He is now able to hold his head more erect and his body and limbs are longer in proportion to his head. Pads are forming on the tiny fingertips and toes. Soon those individual swirls and whorls will be apparent. Our baby's eyes are looking forward now. Our baby's skeleton is transforming from cartilage to bone. The bones remain flexible to make the journey through the birth canal easier.  This is a period of rapid growth as the fat begins to form underneath the baby's skin. Baby and placenta are about equal in size now. The tiny heart is pumping as much as 25 quarts of blood a day! The reflexes are probably in place now as the baby sucks, swallows and blinks.