Week 15

Christmas has come and gone in a blur!  I think the lead up this year was overshadowed by the excitement over baby!!  With all the festivities and busyness of the season, it made the days go by so fast....but now I fear the next 3 weeks will drag on until the anatomy scan. Will we have a little girl in a red tutu next Christmas, or a handsome little boy in a tie and vest? 

I have been rooting through the basement storage to see what sorts of baby things I could find.  Luckily I kept the exersaucer, the bouncy chair, highchair, boxes of diapers (various sizes that I had planned to donate to a woman’s shelter) and some toys.  There are also boxes of clothes/sleepers which will be good if June Bug is a boy.  So we’re in pretty good shape considering I ‘thought’  I sold everything.  I’ll keep an eye on the Boxing Week sales and hopefully be able to pick up a baby swing at a good price.  (Or check good ole’ Kijiji)  

To pass the time, until I know if we’re “team pink or blue”, I’ve been window (internet) shopping for bedding.  As I mentioned, Bryce suggested we paint the nursery green which is a great, neutral colour.  So keeping that in mind, plus the brown crib/dresser, I’ve found two crib sets I like.   I love this one for a little boy.  Just something about Monsters...and the colours would match a green room perfectly. http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/coc/coc7835-847_pop1_coc7835-847.html  I’m having a harder time for a girl.  Most crib sets are VERY pink and white oriented.  It’s a little harder to find something that coordinates with green and brown but I did find this very muted, whimsical bird themed set.  http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/ban/banlbb0143_pop1_banlbb0143.html

Lots of baby movement these days, noticed mostly when laying down just before bed.  It feels like a rolling pressure.  I’m surprised at how far down in the pelvis baby still is, (based on where I hear his/her heartbeat with the doppler) considering my noticeable increase in abdominal girth?!  I guess my growing belly is just displaced organs (intestines) and not really baby yet.  I saw this diagram representing how much displacement actually takes place.  Our bodies really are remarkable!

What is baby up to this week? “Baby's gaining weight fast! At around 1 ¾ ounces, he's nearly doubled in weight since last week, and ultrasound pictures at 15 weeks would show that he's now the size of an orange (around 4 ½ inches or 10.5 cm). His thin skin shows a web of blood vessels stretching across his body and he may be testing his recently developed reflexes by sucking his thumb. The eyes are now on the front of the face as the retinas develop under the paper thin skin, but they're still very wide apart. Lanugo, the extra fine hair that regulates your baby's body temperature, is starting to cover his body and his tiny eyebrows are becoming defined.  Inside his little body, Baby's bones are hardening and lengthening. The tiny bones of the inner ear have begun to harden, but his hearing is too rudimentary for him to understand any sound. Limbs of a 15 week old fetus are growing longer and bones are retaining more calcium, and so you would be able to see baby's skeleton with an X-ray this week!

Only 25 weeks to go!

Week 14

Welcome to the 2nd trimester, the land of energy and absence of nausea.  Dare I say I actually feel a little bit better for fear of jinxing myself?  Hope this trend continues. :)

June Bug

Bryce

On a baby community board, I learned of a new “method” of early fetal gender determination.  It’s called the “Skull Theory”.  Of course there is no real scientific basis for this method but it’s fun to try to predict while I wait these long 4 weeks until the anatomy scan.  (Which is scheduled for January 19^th) Apparently the skulls of little boys will look more squarish with a caveman brow.  Whereas little girls have a more semi-circular, rounded forehead/skull.  Take a look at the ultrasound pic?  What do you think?  You know what's funny when I look at these pictures side by side?  My uterus is already much more "relaxed" around June Bug than it was around Bryce.  Poor little B was squished.  Guess it's true that it never really ever shrinks back to the size it was pre-pregnancy.

When I was at my OB appointment earlier this month, I questioned whether a recent LEEP procedure would affect my pregnancy at all.  (LEEP is a medical procedure that removes pre-cancerous cells from the cervix)  She said that I should be O.K., but it does increase the possibility of having an “incompetent cervix” meaning I may not be able to carry to term  The reason being is that the LEEP procedure shortens the cervix.  Dr. Moores said she will consider adding in more exams/Ultrasounds to monitor for any changes.   Additionally, she told me that because of the scar tissue left behind, I may have MORE difficulty dilating , with a prolonged  labour.  Oh Joy!  Not exactly what I wanted to hear.  :(

So begins June Bug’s birthright as a “hand me down kid.”  (Sorry kiddo)  I actually managed to find all the required screws to reassemble Bryce’s old crib, and re-built it today.  Glad now that I kept it as that just saved me a couple hundred bucks.  Money well spent elsewhere.  Also glad I kept Bryce’s stroller which I disassembled this weekend to wash.  (Despite the fact that the cover is apparently NOT machine washable as stated in the manual.  You are supposed to “spot” clean it.)  UNFORTUNATELY I did sell the matching (and stroller compatible) car seat so had to buy another. FORTUNATELY, I found one in pristine condition on Kijiji (where I sold mine) and purchased for $70 less than new.  It also came with a bug cover and winter cover which would easily cost another $100 to buy separately.

What's going on with baby this week? "This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possible suck his thumb!  Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another.  His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him - a process he'll keep up until birth.  He can grasp too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.  In other news: Your baby's stretching out.  From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches - about the size of a lemon - and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.  His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck.  By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the res of his body.  (His legs still have some lengthening to do.)  You baby's liver starts making vile this week - a sign that it's doing its job right - and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells.

Only 176 days to go!! 

 

Week 13

Baby is the size of a Peach this week!

Most of you who are reading this know that there has been a little bit of ‘stress’ in my life these past few months. Of course this inconveniently coincides with the very important 1^st trimester.  So being the curious type, I immediately consulted Mr. Google to see how harmful all this stress has/can be on a growing fetus....and well the results just stressed me more! Argh!!  Apparently, chronic stress leads to elevated epinephrine (fight or flight chemical) which can constrict vessels and reduce oxygenation. But MORE worrisome is that when a pregnant woman experiences stress (especially in the first trimester) the body produces a chemical that essentially “ages” the placenta prematurely....which leads to preterm birth.  And the WORST of all is that baby’s temperament and neurobehavioral development can be altered.  As one article states "Who you are and what you're like when you're pregnant will affect who that baby is." SO the take home message for me is…take a breath….sing a song….count my blessings….and RELAX! 

No peach so ornament instead.

On a happier note, I have definitely been feeling little June bug wiggling around.  I had forgotten how incredible that sensation is. It feels like a gentle rolling or tapping.  I looked back to Bryce’s blog and noted that “quickening” was documented around the same time. (14 weeks) I feel fortunate because many times, women don’t feel this movement until closer to 20 weeks especially in their first pregnancy.  Why do they call it quickening anyways!?  The word “quick” originally meant “alive”. Historically, quickening was considered to be the beginning of the possession of "individual life" by the fetus.

Bryce and I decided to attempt to reassemble his crib for the new baby.  I wanted to buy a new one by couldn't justify throwing it out when it's perfectly fine. (minus the teething marks)  So of course Bryce was eager to "help" with the screwdriver, placing random screws in random holes.  Come to find out we were missing many key components. I had a feeling that would be the case as Bryce had from time to time, removed the Ziploc baggie of parts to play "Mr. Fix It".  So after an hour, it was deemed to be a futile endeavour and I'm afraid it will be headed to the landfill.  If June Bug is a girl, I'd like a white crib anyways.  Just something about white for a little girls room.  And if we are blessed with another boy, I think I'll choose a nice espresso colour again.

What's going on with baby this week? "Buckle up folks, we're about to head into trimester two!  You little womb tenant is getting bigger and smarter every day! Their skin is paper thin and rather see through, showing off all their shiny new functioning and still developing organs.  Their sense of taste and smell are more developed and refined while their cozy amniotic sac continues to increase in size and mass and fill with more fluid.  As we embark on the second trimester, it's time for your manatee-to-alien-to-tiny-weird-human to evolve into a monkey baby!  Little hairs, known as lanugo, will start to cover your baby's body this week, which will eventually be shed some time after birth.  Of all the trimesters this one has been the most critical to ensuring your baby's development is on the right track.  If you've carefully adopted a healthy diet, continued to stay active, and made sure you're getting all the rest you need, you've got you little one set up for some spectacular growth and development in tri-two.  Way to go mama!"  (Active? when feeling insanely sick all day?  And getting rest? With a spirited 3 year old?  That must have been written for 1st time mom's! lol)

184 days to go...bet they'll fly by!!

Week 12





Baby June Bug - 12 weeks

 Here he/she is!!  The size of a plum. What a cutie pie!  Baby was wriggling around but being very cooperative for his/her first photo shoot. The tech said everything looks good so far.  The NT (neck) measurement was only 1.4mm, (<3mm is normal) and he/she measured at 2.1 inches. All limbs were accounted for, spine and head looked good too.  I was also very happy to see that the nasal bone was present because research says that 75% of babies diagnosed with a chromosomal problem DO NOT have a visible nasal bone. (And also have >5mm NT results) The 20 week scan will provide a more detailed look at all his/her bits and pieces, but so far so good.  I compared June Bugs pic with Bryce's 12 week scan.  His NT measurement was 1.3mm and he was a whopping 2.6 inches already!  I really wouldn't mind a slightly smaller baby this time around!  Not just for the selfish birthing reasons (lol) but Bryce didn't fit into any of his cute little newborn outfits.  He was in 0-3 month right outta the gates. :)



I know it's much too early to be thinking of labour again.  But I was doing a little reading on Pitocin and its effects on contractions.  When it was offered to me, I wasn't told of the risks to baby nor did I give it much thought.  I believed it was a safe synthetic contraction hormone that would just help to speed things up. But I had no indications for its use.  My labour was not stalled, I was not overdue, nor was baby in distress. I remember now that the nurse said, "We will give it to you to speed you along so you don't get lost in the shuffle or forgotten about "?!  Well that's certainly not the indication to receive this powerful synthetic hormone. According to research, Pitocin-induced contractions will be longer, more forceful (MORE PAINFUL) and much closer together than a woman’s natural contractions. This can cause significant stress to the baby, because there’s not enough time to recover from the reduced blood flow that happens when the placenta is compressed with each contraction. The net effect of this is to deprive the baby of necessary supplies of blood and oxygen, which can in turn lead to abnormal fetal heart rate patterns and fetal distress. "The situation is analogous to holding an infant under the surface of the water, allowing the infant to come to the surface to gasp for air, but not to breathe." Additionally the research found that the hormonal disruption may also explain the reduced rate of breastfeeding following labor that was induced with Pitocin. (I know I sure had a hard time with breastfeeding)  So the point is, I think I may ask to delay the Pitocin unless my "NATURAL" labour stalls or baby becomes stressed. :)

What's happening with baby this week? "The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce."

Mommy is still feeling nauseous..much worse in the later afternoon-evening.  I pray that I am not one of those women who are afflicted throughout their ENTIRE pregnancy!!  Ugh :s

Bring on the 2nd Trimester!!

Week 11

I was reading a very interesting article this week.  It was a study involving 5000+ pregnant women and was trying to correlate the gender of the fetus based on which side their placenta was attached.  The data was collected through ultrasounds, and the gender confirmed at birth.  The results were incredible! In 97.2% cases where the placenta was attached on the right, the baby was a boy. And in 97.5% of the cases where the placenta was attached on the left, the baby was a girl.  Amazing right?  I'm pretty sure my placenta is on the left because that's where I can hear it.  So if this method (called the Ramzi method) is correct, we're having a girl! 

My new Obs-Gyn is so nice!  What a difference from the last in terms of bed side manner!  I met her while pregnant with Bryce.  I was at the hospital for a stress test and she was finishing up a specialty in OB's.  (Already a GP at the time)  I met her again after Bryce was born. She came into my room and had a little visit.  After that she became my family Doc...and shortly thereafter...my Obs-Gyn.  She always has time for questions, and I never feel rushed.  She's very thorough, explains everything, and offers advice.  In fact her clinical practice is geared towards Mothers and Newborn health. Very happy I found her. Oh - and the amazing thing is, she or her partner (Dr. Millar-who I'll meet throughout my care) are on call to deliver all their patients babies.  No more Doctor du Jour when you arrive in labour.  http://www.millarmoores.ca/new-patients/dr-daisy-moores/

What's happening with baby this week?  "Slightly more than two inches long now and weighing about a third of an ounce, your fetus is growing by leaps and bounds when you are 11 weeks pregnant. And so is his or her head, which is equal in length to the rest of the body (don't worry — all fetuses are top-heavy). On the crown of that large head (and over the rest of the body), hair follicles are forming. Fingernail and toenail beds begin to develop this week and by next week, the nails themselves will start to grow (so don't forget to add a baby nail clipper to your to-buy list).Your baby's body is straightening and his or her torso is lengthening (sounds like a yoga pose, doesn't it?). Other poses your baby can assume now: stretches, somersaults, and forward rolls. And while you can't tell this baby's gender by its cover yet, testes are developing if it's a boy and ovaries if it's a girl. 

I have my 12 week ultrasound on Monday Dec. 1st, so stay tuned for my next post.  Hopefully I'll have a great little pic of Baby June Bug.