25 Weeks

Merry Christmas!! I hope everyone had an amazing holiday this year. I know we did. We spent time with family, ate way too much, and got so many great gifts. My Dad and Shirley made and really cute pink and white Christmas tree all decorated with "It's a girl!" and Kylie already has her very own pink Christmas stocking at my mom's house. She got some baby gear and some really cute outfits and I can hardly believe that someone will actually be able to fit into such tiny clothes. I got my awesome Coach diaper bag and we plan on using some of the money we got for Christmas to buy a video camera to capture all the moments as our baby grows up. We feel so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives and everyone is very excited to meet the new addition to our family.

I'm looking and feeling pregnant these days. My belly seems to grow every day and some of my normal shirts are getting too short in the front and while my jeans still fit, I'm constantly tugging on them because they feel like they are sliding down my butt all the time. I went out to attempt to buy some maternity clothes, but apparently I'm still too small for them so I might have to try out my belly band and see if that will keep my pants up. My lower back is starting to hurt when I stand or sit for too long and my belly button is starting to flatten out. Actually, I think the top portion of it is starting to pop outward already. My linea nigra is also starting to show up. It's still very light, but Jason noticed it the same day I did so I know it's there. I never got a call back from my doctor regarding the glucose test results, so I'm assuming I passed? No news is usually good news when it comes to results.

Weekly Update: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

I'm bored with the survey for now. Nothing seems to change except for my weight gain and that just gets depressing, and I only get monthly fruit updates instead of weekly now so its no fun anymore. Here are this week's pictures!

24 Weeks

We've reached a milestone this week. At 24 weeks, the fetus is considered viable and if she were to be born from this point on they say she would have a good chance of survival. This week is also important because if I were to go into early labor, the doctors would try to do all they can to stop it. Of course, there would be great challenges ahead if the baby is born this early, so let's hope she stays warm and cozy in my belly for at least another 12 weeks until she is full term!

In other news, I'm finally looking pregnant! I think I've finally popped and am no longer rocking the beer gut. This morning was actually cold out, so I dusted off the 3 sweaters that I own and, of course, none completely covered my belly! I guess I need to start shopping for some maternity clothes. Although my jeans still fit pretty perfectly, and I'm not quite sure how that is even possible but oh well! I'm feeling great and Kylie has been super active. I'm starting to notice somewhat of a routine from her and if she's anywhere near as active as she is outside of the womb as she is inside, we are going to have our hands full. I think I'm also starting to feel hiccups. I almost always feel her kicks up high and around the sides. Then the other night I felt what I thought might me kicks right to the crotch. They felt weird though, and different than regular kicks and I've felt this randomly for the past few days with the distinctive kicks still up high. So either shes literally doing flips in there all the time and kicking me everywhere, or she's head down and hiccuping! I'm feeling great overall and I can't believe we are getting so close to meeting our baby girl.

This week I also had my glucose screening to test for gestational diabetes. I had to drink a sugary drink, which was actually really delicious, and then wait an hour and have blood drawn. My doctor specifically told me that no fasting was required, so I had breakfast and then went. When I got there, the lady asked me if I ate, I said yes, and she kinda huffed and rolled her eyes. I said, "My doctor told me I didn't need to fast, is that ok?" and she's like , "Well if your doctor said so but I'm sure I'll see you back here next week for the 3 hour." She basically told me that I was going to fail because I had breakfast! I thought that was really rude of her, but I didn't say anything, I just really hope she is wrong!

Here I am in regular clothes when I realized I had popped.




How far along? 24 weeks 2 days
Weight gain/loss this week: +1
Total weight gain/loss: +13
How big is the baby? almost a foot long and just over a pound
Maternity clothes? no, but I need to start buying some shirts at least
Sleep: What's that?
Best moment this week: looking pregnant!
Movement: Yes! Her kicks are getting so strong
Food cravings: I give up on this question
Gender: GIRL!!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss the most: sushi, apple martinis
What I am looking forward to: Christmas next week
Symptoms: the usual

Weekly Update: Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Baby Pool

So I found a fun online game from ExpectNet. Anyone who wants to play can click on the link to the right and make your guess when you think Kylie will arrive and how big she will be. The winner is the person who has the lowest points when she is born. And the prize is....well nothing! Kylie being born is the prize! LOL

Stupid Comments part 2

This involves someone I work with, does that surprise you?

So I was having a conversation with a girl I work with in the break room and she was asking a lot if questions about the baby. Nothing out of the ordinary. Mid conversation an older guy comes in and joins us. I was telling the girl, who is also very thin, how it is hard to accept the fact that you are going to gain weight and how it's weird to see numbers on the scale you've never seen before. So the guy butts in and is like "yea because you were always so thin." So I'm thinking he knows what we are talking about. I continue telling the girl how I can tell when I go out in public people are starting to look at me and wonder "is she pregnant or just chubby?" to which the guy replies "ok so you are pregnant then." I say yes and he says "ok good I wasn't sure if marriage was just starting to catch up to you."

::insert blank stares from me AND the girl I was talking to and a very akward pause::

So I said "you see what I mean?"

23 Weeks

We had a busy week this week. On Sunday, Jason got free tickets to the Dolphin's game from work and I managed to get off of work at the last minute so off we went. This was only my second football game ever and it was fun, but I have to say football is not the same without beer. At the beginning of the game they were announcing all the players and shooting off these firecrackers and it totally scared the baby! She jumped in my belly. And at times when the crowd got really loud, she would do the same thing, or wiggle around in there. I found this to be hilarious!

On Wednesday we celebrated Jason's birthday. I brought home a cold stone birthday cake, a tradition I started for him a few years ago. They are sooooooo yummy! I was really hoping the baby would kick for him for his birthday but no such luck. He is so impatient! He puts his hand on my belly for like 2.5 seconds and says"I don't feel anything." LOL Or when he really tries to feel her kicks, she is sleeping or shy. I'm sure it will be any day now though that he catches her at the right time. Sometimes, she is really active in there!

Friday morning I had a doctor appointment. My doctor is part of a practice, so during my prenatal care I have to see all 5 of the doctors since we don't know which one will be on call when I go into labor. So far 3 different doctors have commented about how strong the baby's heartbeat is when they listen to it on the doppler. They pick it up right away and are always like "WOW!" The doctor also said her heartbeat sounds very regular so that is another good thing.

Then on Friday afternoon, we built all of her furniture! It took like half the day but it looks great! Now I get to start picking out all the accessories and making the room pretty. It is VERY bland and boring right now, but I have a lot of ideas to make her room perfect. So far I know we are going to recover the chair wiith a fabric that matches the bedding, and change the knobs on the dresser to something nicer.





I'm feeling pretty good and the belly seems to be slowly growing outward. I'm approaching the six month mark so I'm assuming its going to be any day now that I just wake up and have a huge belly. What I'm wearing depends more and more on how pregnant vs. fat I look, but its still not obvious to people who don't know I'm pregnant. Last night we went out to dinner and were waiting in the bar area for our table and I got asked by three different bartenders if i wanted a drink so I'm gonna assume that means I'm not obviously pregnant yet. I'm having to pee so often, and I think it just because the belly hasn't popped yet and everything is so squished in there. Last night I got up every hour to pee for the first 5 hours I was "sleeping." This is ridiculous and I hope it was just due to the fact that we had dinner pretty much right before bed and I had a lot of water to drink.

Finally, I think we have decided on her name. We really decided on it like 2 weeks ago, but I keep asking Jason "Are you sure?" I don't know why, I love the name but committing to something so huge as our daughter's name has been hard. I mean, she's only going to be stuck with it for the rest of her life, that's all! So without further adieu, we'd like to introduce you to the future...

Kylie Marie

(Now hopefully we don't change our minds!)




How far along? 23 weeks 1 day
Weight gain/loss this week: +1
Total weight gain/loss: +12
How big is the baby? 11 inches and just over a pound
Maternity clothes? nope
Sleep: What's that?
Best moment this week: finalizing her name, starting her nursery
Movement: Yes! Her kicks are getting so strong
Food cravings: I give up on this question
Gender: GIRL!!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss the most: sushi, apple martinis
What I am looking forward to: Actually looking pregnant, Christmas!
Symptoms: the usual

Weekly Update: Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

22 Weeks

I think I am finally starting to show just a little bit, at least to people who already know that I'm pregnant, but I don't think I have popped yet. I got a lot of comments from co-workers this week about how they are starting to see a little belly. To strangers, on the other hand, I'm DEFINITELY in that in-between stage of is she pregnant or just chubby. I've noticed that when I'm out in public, people will look at my belly and they totally get that look on their face like they are trying to figure it out. I'm feeling fat, that's for sure, and I still don't think I look pregnant yet. The past two days my belly has been itching a little bit so I guess that means it is starting to grow a little bit.

I feel like the pregnancy has kind of stalled. I felt like I was flying through the weeks up until now, but lately it feels like I'm not moving forward at all! Hopefully, with the holidays approaching fast the weeks will start moving fast too. We are making progress on her nursery. It is officially cleared out now. I think I've decided to keep the current color in the room, it just needs to be touched up and then we can start working on building her furniture. I think I've also chosen her bedding and have a lot of ideas of how to decorate the nursery and I can't wait to get started working on everything and have it all come together and make it perfect for our baby girl.

Also, I think we are thisclose to finalizing her name. I think we've actually decided, but now of course I'm like second guessing it. I just want to make sure it's the right name for her!

Pregnancy wise I'm feeling the same, mostly good. I don't sleep well at all but honestly I'm just getting used to functioning on no sleep. I woke up the other night to a painful charlie horse in my calf, the second one of the pregnancy, which means you guessed it, I'm still not drinking enough water. I'm actually getting a little bit better with this. Now I can pretty much tell when I'm not getting enough, and how much water is actually enough, which is A LOT! I'm really trying to correct this problem. My boobs are huge and apparently still growing. I'm gaining weight as appropriate, I hope not too much, and I'm pretty sure its going straight to the belly and boobs. The baby is soooo active lately. She kicks and moves almost all day long. I was laying on the couch with my shirt up the other day and she was kicking so hard that my belly actually jumped and vibrated a little bit. The kicks are able to be felt from the outside now I think, but Jason still hasn't felt them.

This picture is from Tuesday before work and how I look in normal clothes.



And these are from today. Actually I think my belly has grown in the 4 days between these pictures.



How far along? 22 weeks 1 day
Weight gain/loss this week: +2
Total weight gain/loss: +11
How big is the baby? papaya
Maternity clothes? nope
Sleep: I've accepted that I'll never sleep the same again
Best moment this week: seeing her first kick from the outside
Movement: Yes! Her kicks are getting so strong
Food cravings: I give up on this question
Gender: GIRL!!
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out? In
What I miss the most: my flat belly
What I am looking forward to: Actually looking pregnant
Symptoms: the usual

Weekly Update: Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.