15 Weeks and Feeling GREAT!

Wow, I cannot believe that I am already 15 weeks preggo! That means roughly only 25 more to go... :-) I am feeling MUCH better now and I have been getting out of the house with Isaac much more often these days. I am busy planning my 10 Yr High School Reunion, to take place August 2010, so that keeps me busy too. Thank goodness for toddler naps. Ha! Arie's schedule has been pretty nice, although, this weekend he is on-call Friday AND Sunday...yuck! Isaac is now singing every song he knows to the T. He can sing you his ABC's, Itsy Spider and Twinkle word for word...he's adorable and so sweet!

Week 15 Update:

How your baby's growing:Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

14 Weeks, Our Little Lemon

This week the baby is the size of a lemon. I have been feeling a little btetter during the past two days so that's a good thing. And, I have been wanting to eat tons a of fruit, veggies and cheese, which makes me feel better too.

Week 14:

How your baby's growing:
This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly 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 rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

13 weeks and counting...

Wow, so time flies when you're busy (or sleeping a lot!). :-) We celebrated Isaac's 2nd bday this past weekend and had so much fun with our family in town. Erika and Jake drove down from Omaha and spent a couple of extra days with us. (And, thanks for the new swingset, Isaac loves it!) The birthday theme was trucks and bulldozers and we had about 25 people attend. Isaac had so much fun with all of his friends. We even had a little tractor pinata, which the kids thought was great! I really cannot believe that my little baby is two years old. I just don't want the next couple of years to go as fast as these have. It's so important to enjoy each day to the fullest and remember that the "tough" days don't last forever.

As far as the pregnancy goes, it's been a little rough. The morning sickness has subsided some, but now I seem to have endless migraines. Just trying to take it easy-sleep a lot, stay around the house, take hot baths at night, go to yoga and read to relax. It seems to be working some, but boy will it be a good day to wake up feeling refreshed and energized! (I think my body is telling me to take it easy because with two little ones I may not be sleeping as much. :-) OH, and I felt the baby moving for the first time on the night of Isaac's bday, August 3. It actually woke me up in the middle of the night and the baby was all balled up on one side of my belly. It was really cool, and I look forward to feeling the baby move more as the pregnancy continues.

Arie passed his Step 3 exam!!!! This means he can get his TX License as a physician! Go Arie. We are so proud of him. We are looking into a program called HealthFind/HealthMatch which gaurantees physicians a job after residency at a certain rate in a rural town within TX. They also pay you a stipend while you are in residency and then you owe them the amount of time you've agreed upon. Although, both of us are not small town folks by far, we both agreed that it would be pretty neat for him to be the family doctor for an entire town or city (all 50,000 people or less, most of them are 10,000 people or lessin the town). So, we will be getting more information about that soon too.

My August HypnoBirthing classes are full which is definite plus. We really need the money right now and I love teaching my classes. It is "my" time and it makes me take some time away from the house. :-) I am hoping to have a full schedule for the fall and look forward to teaching more moms about gentle, calm natural birth. I have also applied for a couple part-time jobs (one in particular that I think I would love, and hope to get an interview). Isaac will be attending a Children's Day Out program beginning Sept. 1 on Tues/Thursdays from 8:30am-2pm. It's at a local church (http://www.mbagchurch.org/) and I think he is ready for more interaction (and it will give me some time alone with the new baby once the baby is born).

We have chosen our careproviders for the birth! Christine Messarra (http://www.houstonmidwives.org/index.php?id=99) will be our attending midwife and we will be birthing in the comfort of our home. We will have a back-up OB, Dr. Hofmann, at San Jac Methodist in case of a transfer. I will be having prenatal appts with both careproviders to form relationships with both of them. In addition, the two of them will be meeting in September to meet each other and to talk more about the care I will be recieving. We are so happy to have found the right match, and we are really lucky that Dr. Hofmann has agreed to go along with us in this journey.

Well, I guess I had a lot of catching up to do, but I will wait til next time to write more.

Here is the week 13 update:

How your baby's growing:Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.See what your baby looks like this week.

10 Weeks and counting...

So, we are ten weeks along now and my body is def making some changes. Yeserday was the first day in both pregnancies that I couldn't hold down my food. Yuck, don't like that part of pregnancy! I've been pretty naseaus and am hoping that it subsides soon! Today Isaac and I went to Palm Beach in Galveston to change up our lately routine. We had a blast. Isaac loves going down the mini water slides and the shallow waters are perfect for him to attempt some swimming. He def is still a little water baby. Arie is on-call tonight and I am really looking forward to spending some time with him this weekend. He took his license exam last week so say a little prayer for him. He will get the results in the next month or two. Have a great week!



Week 10:

How your baby's growing:Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Spring 2009 Pics

Arie's cousin, Vlad, took family photos for us this spring. Here are a few of them...

9 Weeks Preggo!

So this week Isaac and I have been taking it easy. I think we have nearly watched a total of ten disney movies and Toy Story at least once a day. :-) In addition, I think after this week Isaac will have every one of his books memorized, including the Bird Book with 400 bird sounds. LOL. Anyhow, we are doing really well and hope to be back at 100% next week. I really cannot wait to get back to walking and yoga. My body is aching from sitting so much! Arie has an exam tomorrow and Saturday so he has been helping out as much as possible while maintaining his study schedule. Once this weekend is over we will have more time together which will be so nice. Good Luck, Arie! This exam is for his licensure requirements.

Week 9 Update:

How your baby's growing:Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Scary Situation-Happy 4th of July!

So, we have officially had our first ever pregnancy scare. On Saturday, July 4, we were hanging out at the house and I felt some cramping. I stood up to use the restroom and suddenly felt a gush of blood. After going to the restroom I called for Arie...I needed to go to the ER and quickly. I had lost a lot of blood at this point. Thankfully, our neighbor offered to watch Isaac and we left for the hospital. I called my potential midwife and she said due to the fact that I was both cramping and bleeding that most likely I was miscarrying the baby. We were really scared. As soon as we got the dr we were admitted because Arie knew the doctors and nurses. After four hours of tests, they concluded that the baby is fine and healthy! They think it was some sort of subchorionic bleed (the midwife mentioned it could be this also) and that it should be a one-time deal. I have an appt with an OB tomorrow to make sure everything is progressing normally and to check the baby once again. I am on bed rest for one week, but that's a little tough with a toddler. :-) So, even though it was a scary situation we ended up having a happy 4th of july. At the hospital the ultrasound technician let me have a glimpse of the baby (even though they are not supposed to in the ER) and showed me where the heart was beating. Though I was hysterical in the beginning, something deep inside me knew this little one was okay. It just goes to show how precious life is, and how a pregnancy cannot be taken for granted. I will take it easier from here on out, and keep praying to have a healthy and happy baby come next February. Lots of love...