28 Weeks

Tuesday I went for another ultra-sound to measure the baby and check the placenta at 28 weeks and 2 days. The placenta is still low (8mm is covering the cervix). I had the same ultra-sound tech (Deb) as last month and she was great. She took more videos of the baby and pointed out some cool things.

We could see the baby doing phantom breathing or practice breathing. Babies don't breathe in the womb, but they do practice to strengthen their lungs before birth. We could also see the baby's pupil and iris move. I am not sure how that is possible, but it was cool. She also has some little tuffs of hair too. Surprisingly, the baby's feet and arms where both up by her forehead.

Peanut is still measuring large for her age. I am measuring around 30 weeks. The estimated date of delivery based on measurements was Sept. 30th. She weighed approximately 3 lbs. and 4oz.

Here are some videos/pictures:

Practice Breathing and Heartbeat

Hair

Eye Moving

Face


Cramped Space


Feet and Hands up near the forehead

Thursday I had my appointment with Dr. Minudri. It was the first time that I saw this doctor in the practice. We have to see all three of the doctors in the practice because you don't know who might deliver the baby. So far I have liked all of the doctors.

Since I do have lupus there are some additional precautions/testing that has to take place. Next month I will have to start getting stress tests every two weeks. They have been measuring the baby every month with ultra-sound to make sure she is growing approriately. Next week, I will go for the normal gestational diabetes test and for some lupus screening. Most likely I will have the baby early before there are any complications. The doctor meantioned anytime after 36 weeks. Most likely at or before 38 weeks.

My chances of the placenta moving are still good. Between now and delivery the baby will double in size. If it does not move up, then I will have the C-section. I have heard that C-sections are a lot better for people with lupus anyway. Since the placenta is low I will be on bed rest for at least another month. The doctor said chances are that I might be on the bed rest for the duration or late into the pregnancy.

We were excited to get things set up since we now have furniture for the baby's room. Duane found a cheap dresser and glider rocker at yard sales. The dresser is older, but still in good shape. The nice thing about older furniture is that it usually made a lot nicer. For $10.00 we couldn't pass it up. I think it has character and I love the layout/design of the dresser. It has a long drawer at the top and smaller drawers down the left side. They are just the right size for baby clothes and easy for me to open. I wanted something tall with at least 5 drawers and a armoire for storing items. Most dressers with armoires are short and wide. I don't like that design because it seems like such a waste of space.

The glider is like brand new and the owner said, she didn't use it much. The padding is so plush and soft. I was surprised at how comfortable it was when I sat in it. Plus it was too cheap $20.00 to pass up too.

This week Duane finished setting up the nursery. Here are some pictures:

Buterflies and Stars (my friend Julie gave us these) - really cute as
they move around with a breeze

Crib and Bedding - We picked the crib up for free at a yard sale.
Duane sanded, primered and repainted it.
We also have some winnie the pooh pieces that match the set too
including crib sheets and a comforter. They are all really cute too.

The Dresser

Glider

26-27 Weeks

Duane and I managed to get all moved into our new apartment. It was a lot of work in a short period of time! We had 17 people show up to help move things and it took about 2-3 hours. I am pretty sure the free pizza had something to with the high turnout for the move.

The worst part was prepping the apartment after the move. It made for a really long day (9 am until after midnight). We didn't get any help with the cleaning (should have offered more Pizza :)). I had to help Duane because it was too much for him to do alone. I just focused on doing the tasks that could be done sitting down. We never did finish everything on the checklist, but we did the best we could.

Duane has been pretty fast at unpacking things. We only have about a dozen boxes left to go through and some pictures to hang. Then we will get the nursery all set up!

We really like the new place. Having the extra room has made a huge difference. Not having an office for our desks and office furniture made the rest of the old place so cramped. I am so glad we decided to make the move. I will be able to put the baby down on the floor to play and have room for a swing in the living room.

We are in one of the highest apartments in the complex. Off of our deck we have a beautiful view of Moscow and the rolling hills beyond. At nighttime I like to look out at all the lights. It sorta reminds me of when I lived in Pennsylvania Place a high rise building. The nice thing about the set up is the ground is flat where we are. We exit out the back of the complex, so we don't have to worry about hills in the winter. It also seems to stay cooler. We haven't had to use any airconditioning.

As far as the baby goes....I am starting to feel her move. It is still pretty sporadic. I think what I am feeling is when she rolls over or makes a large movement. I don't feel anything inside, rather just movement against the outter wall and my skin moving on the outside.

Next week we go back for another ultra-sound of the placenta and basic measurements. We are hoping things have moved up. I haven't had any bleeding since the end of May, which is good.

Ultrasound 24 Weeks 4 Days

I went for my ultrasound today to check the placenta. The placenta is still partially covering the cervix. The tech also took some nice pictures and videos of the baby. It was so amazing to watch the baby open her mouth, move her tongue and stretch out. She is so beautiful.

This last month I gained 1lb. according to my weigh in at the doctors. The baby gained just about a 1lb. too. She is now measuring two weeks ahead and a little over 2lbs.

Here are some of the videos and pictures from my visit:

Her Kicking her feet (which I can't feel)




Baby's Face




Baby Moving Her Mouth and Tongue - Notice the Heartbeat too




Heartbeat




Stretching out (I couldn't feel this either!)

24 Weeks

I had my 24th week check up today. They baby's heart beat was around 148 BPM. The doctor has me scheduled on Friday 6/26 for another ultrasound to check the placenta. She also wants me to have measurements done more often because of my auto-immune problems.

Every once and a while I feel something in my belly. I am pretty sure it is the baby. For the most part it feels like some gas. I had Duane put his hand on my belly when I felt it happening. Duane thinks that he might have felt something move. Generally, it is pretty random and hard to catch. The other day I looked down and saw my belly move. However, I didn't feel anything. I guess that I am not as sensitive.

Duane and I have a list of possible names for the baby. I doubt we will name her until after she is born and we can see her. In the meantime, I started calling her my little peanut. Duane is calling her peanut too.

Over the years we have picked up odds and ends of baby stuff. Some of it is from friends/family and yard sales. Last week my friend Julie gave us a bunch of clothes. I can't get over how cute the little girl clothes are. We managed to get everything washed up and sorted into tubs by size. I am pretty much set for clothes through 18 months.

We have made good progress on getting the things ready for the baby. The two big things we are looking for right now are a dresser and a changing table. I would like to get a tall 4-5 drawer dresser and lightweight changing table with shelves. No luck so far on craigs or at yard sales.

Duane set the crib up and it looks nice. It is a lighter weight white one with wheels.

It's a girl!

I finally had my midway ultra-sound today. The biggest news is that the baby is a girl! Duane is officially out numbered.

The baby is doing great. She is measuring about a week ahead of schedule and weighs 1.2 lbs. The ultra-sound tech mentioned that she has long feet. I guess she must get that from Duane!

Baby's profile:

Baby's torso and spine:

Baby's Leg and foot

Baby's bottom and femur (the arrow is pointing to the lack of a boy part between legs)
All Pictures
Prego me

Week 20

The scheduler messed up and they didn't have me down for a 20 week ultrasound. I am scheduled for next Friday 6/5.

I was having some spotting again, so I went in for an ultrasound of the placenta on Tuesday. Unfortunately, the placenta moved down instead of up. Now I have full previa instead of having a partial previa. So now I am on pelvic bed rest for at least the next month. There is still time for the placenta to move up as the womb grows.

The ultrasound tech had a hard time looking at the cervix. The baby's bottom was covering the cervix. The baby was also not very cooperative. I had to roll over a couple times to try and get the baby to move its bottom. Then the lab tech tried to take some pictures of the baby for me. However, the baby would not hold still long enough to get any good pictures. It is amazing to me that the baby can be moving around like that and I still do not feel it. The tech thinks it might be a girl, but wasn't sure. I guess we will find out in another week or so.

The baby's heart beat was 140 BPM at my appointment yesterday. The nurse said the baby was really active when she checked the heartbeat. The nurse could hear the baby moving around on the doppler.

Pictures from Tuesday's Ultrasound. I know it sounds awful but these pictures sorta remind me of Skeletor from He-man.

Weeks 17-18

Nothing too eventful has happened with the baby the past two weeks. I still haven't felt the baby move yet. However, we have had some other exciting things happen.

I was glad to finish my semester with 3 A's. It was hard, but I managed to pull it off. Duane finished his semester with graduation. He is glad to be done!

We have both enjoyed a nice visit with his parents. They came up the day before graduation and will be going home tomorrow. Duane will go down with them for a couple weeks and help get the garden started.

I decided to take the summer off from school. It feels strange not having any school work. This is the first time I have taken a break after nine consecutive semesters. Now I just have to decide what to do with my time.

We have our next doctor's appointment in 10 days. Hopefully the baby will cooperate and we will determine the gender.

CONGRATS DUANE!!