Week 20 - Halfway There!

We had our official ultrasound and first midwife checkup in 5 weeks so I was anxiously awaiting week 20. And it didn't disappoint. We were able see a great ultrasound and confirm the baby is a girl. She measured amazingly average (our kids tend to be on the small size) and my due date was not adjusted. Everything looked great. My placenta is low lying but the midwife said it was not low enough to be of concern.

On the more surprising side of things was my weight gain. So far, I'd only gained 3lbs. Well, add 5 weeks of less nausea and an increased appetite and add NINE pounds! Holy moly! My midwife gave me the benefit of a doubt and suggested a pound or two could probably be attributed to the nearly 30oz of water I drank before my ultrasound. She didn't seem overly concerned and neither am I. So far I've gained 12lbs and I'm 21wks. With my other two kids, I gained 13lbs in the first trimester alone! In the end, I gained 29 with my daughter and 31 with my son. So we'll see. I started off at 118lbs and 5'6 so I could stand to gain a little anyway. :)

Other vitals and everything were great. That's always a nice thing. I guess the next big and non-exciting test will be the glucose screening. I failed it the first time with my son and passed it with flying colors the second time. I'm quite certain my breakfast played a part that day. I'm going to request to do it fasting the first time to keep from having to mess with a retest for no good reason. Hopefully they'll let me.

We went out of town for my nephew's 5th birthday party this weekend. It was a very short trip as we left Friday morning and returned Saturday night (it's about a 4hr drive with kids). By God's grace, both kids did really well overall with the driving. My husband had to work so it was just me with them. On Saturday morning, I got nauseous out of the blue. That hasn't happened in a while. I ate a peanut butter sandwich and drank some Sprite. After about an hour or so, it passed. That was a blessing.

Until next time...

Take Care,
Terra

Week 19: Cardio Updates and Bouncing Sophia

Week 19 was pretty busy. I babysat three different days (which can be draining on top of my own two kids and being pregnant). On Thursday, I had my cardiology appointment. The doctor was very friendly and very thorough. I really appreciate it when a doctor takes me seriously, listens to all of my random ailments and seems to genuinely care how I'm feeling. After listing what all was going on with my symptoms, he decided to do another EKG, schedule me for an ECHO and put me on a heart monitor (for 2-4wks). I'm still awaiting the scheduling for the ECHO (we've been playing phone tag). I've had the heart monitor on since Saturday night. It's a little bit of a pain to mess with but not uncomfortable. I just have to be sure my clothing works appropriately with it. I can mostly hide the electrodes stuck to my chest but definitely not the big pager looking contraption on my pocket. It monitors continuously but only records when I tell it too. Basically any time I have any symptoms, I press record and then later send it via telephone to the company. They send a report to my doctor and he monitors things. Fun stuff! :)

So what did he actually say? Well, he's not sure what's causing it though he doesn't believe it's structural (blockage, etc.) based on my symptoms and other factors. The ECHO will confirm that. He did seem to think it's pregnancy related - though not serious. He said my heart is likely just working harder with this fourth pregnancy. So...though uncomfortable, another doc says it's likely not serious. That's hopeful. We'll see if anything comes up with the heart monitor or ECHO.

Babywise... little Sophia is finally doing some flips. :) I say finally because I felt it was forever before she really started making 'noticeable' movements. I LOVE feeling the baby move during pregnancy. That is by far my favorite part. Now that being said, they can certainly make you uncomfortable at times but I still like it overall. It's such a joy and seems so miraculous to me. By the time I write next, I'll be able to give all the fun info from my midwife visit. We have our 20 wk ultrasound and I always love watching that. It's also reassuring if there are no health issues of course. I'm always curious to see how 'average' the baby is in size. I tend to have slightly smaller children (my hubby is Asian and 5'3") so that's fun too. A confirmation of the baby's sex from another doctor will be great too. You hear so many stories of the sex being wrong. I can't imagine! As much as we're aware, she's a Sophia!

I've also included a picture of me taken at 19wks and 3 days. There's no missing the belly!

Until next time...

Take Care,
Terra

Guessing the Baby's Sex

Here is a video of the kid's guessing the baby's gender.

A side note...they were correct!



Take care,
Terra