19 weeks!

How far along? 19 weeks, 5 days
 
Total weight gain: Gained 2 lbs total since my positive pregnancy test. I'm actually happy about that. Baby needs nutrients - as does Mom.

Appointments: Had an appointment today with the OB. Everything looks good. I'm measuring right on track, baby's heartbeat is strong and in the 160s.

How big is baby? She weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.  (Nobody wants a pickled baby!)

Clothing?  Got a bunch of (8) shirts at Ann Taylor Loft this past weekend. Their new Spring line includes tons of peasant style shirts and flowy shirts with elastic waistbands. I was a happy, happy camper to leave the store with so many shirts that worked. They won't work for the whole pregnancy since they aren't truly maternity shirts and the bump will poke out eventually, but for now they're awesomesauce!! 

Sleep? Sleep time has kind of stunk lately. My hips have been hurting and so has my growing belly. The round ligament pain is fierce right now. I figured out that sleeping with the maternity belt (Godsend!!!) on and using the Boppy pregnancy wedge works really well.  The 'getting up to pee' thing is sort of out of control right now. I'm up probably 4-5 times each night still doing that. I thought that slowed down after the first tri. No such luck!

Food Aversions? None that I can think of, except I'm very sick of nuts and peanut butter courtesy of the GD diet. And I have a strong aversion to NOT having ice cream lately.

Symptoms? Only have nausea maybe 1 time per week - maybe. :)    New things: Hip pain, Charlie horses in my thighs, wicked Round Ligament Pain on right side, back pain. Just lotsa new pains.

Picture: One from the front this time. The side one made me look like a circle.

 

She's in there allright. Growing big and strong. :) 

18 weeks!

How far along? 18 weeks, 3 days


Total weight gain: I've actually lost 2 pounds since my last OB visit. That can be attributed to me following the GD diet. More on that below...

Appointments: We had our anatomy scan on Monday. It was amazing. Well, amazing aside from the new tech pressing on my side so hard with the ultrasound wand/gun/thingy that I ended up getting nauseous. But we found out we're having a girl. AAH! We are so so so excited. Mike is still sort of in shock since he was convinced that it was a boy, but he's still so happy and excited to meet our baby girl.  After the scan, we had an appointment with Maternalfetal Medicine to discuss my gestational diabetes. I'm doing ok controlling it through diet, but they actually want me to eat more and get more calories because I'm still hungry during the day. So I have to eat every two hours and load up my foods with fats when I can. I still have to be careful with carbs, but I've found that I can load those up during dinner with no ramifications. Woohoo! I'm going to have some fun eating more, I can tell you that. Although it of course is a fine line in regards to eating more and not having my sugar levels go up too high. Wish me luck not crossing that line!

How big is baby? Head to rump, baby girl is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs (We saw her do this during the ultrasound. So cute!). Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin, and her ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from her head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born.

Clothing?  Went shopping this past weekend. Not fun. I'm not big enough in the bump area to look right in most maternity shirts. I ended up getting a cardigan and two blousy shirts. One is pictured below.

Sleep? Sleeping pretty good. I'm so used to getting up three times each night now. It's no big deal. Still miss sleeping on my stomach though. Sigh.

Food Aversions? Can't think of any. YAY!   (Although I'm pretty darn sick of peanut butter and eggs - my main protein sources)

Symptoms? Stomach still hurts most days but nothing too bad. New symptom = I can feel my hips expanding. It feels kinda crazy.

Picture: One from the front, one from the side this time.

Baby Girl deserves to have her picture included, too!

17 weeks

I skipped posting last week. It wasn't a great week. 

 

How far along? 17 weeks, 2 days

Total weight gain:  I believe I weigh the same as I did 3 weeks ago. I'd like to gain weight, but with the GD diet, I don't see that happening until the baby itself causes me to gain weight. I'm healthier now than I've ever been in in my life -diet wise.

Appointments: Had an appointment with Maternalfetal Medicine to discuss my gestational diabetes blood level results. I'm doing ok controlling it through diet, but they want to treat me as a pre-diabetic due to my age and that will mean lots more appointments to monitor the baby once I hit 28 weeks.    The next appointment is our anatomy scan on March 5th. YAY!
 
How big is baby? The baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — the lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. He/she weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and he/she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. (I can't wait to not have to write he/she!)

Clothing? I need more maternity clothes!

Sleep?  Sleeping ok but I really miss sleeping on my stomach and even flat on my back now. I have found myself sleeping sitting up so that I can sleep in a position other than on my side. I've been using a small pillow between my knees to keep my back aligned. Don't need no back problems!

Food Aversions? Not as many. Still don't love dry foods though.

Symptoms?  My stomach may just hurt until the baby is here. I'm becoming convinced of that one. Oh wells. It's all worth it!


Other: We were in a car accident last week. (See, told you it was a bad week) We're all fine but it was SCARY! Everyone please pay attention to red lights. Don't treat them as optional as the idiot who hit us did.

Picture: Told you I need more maternity clothes. I'm repeating clothes now every week. Does the belly look bigger? I can't really tell. 

15 Weeks

How far along? 15 weeks, 4 days

Total weight gain:  Lost 1 lb since last month. Think that has to do with getting used to the gest diabetes diet. I'm eating SUPER healthy and not a ton of food for each meal. The OB wasn't concerned.

Appointments: Had one today. :)   Heard the heartbeat - nice and strong at 160something. I'm measuring perfectly for my due date. Next appointment is on Mike's bday - March 16th. But before that, we have the gender scan/ultrasound on March 5th!!! I'm so so so excited for that. Fun fact from the appointment today: The OB (one I've never met before) came in kinda close to shake my hand at the end, I got confused and hugged her. Niiiice.

How big is baby? The little one is now the size of an apple, about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces. (So tiiiny still!)  He/she's busy moving amniotic fluid through the nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the  lungs begin to develop. His/her legs are growing longer than his/her arms now, and he/she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although the eyelids are still fused shut, he/she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, he/she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but he/she is forming taste buds. 

Clothing?  I'm in maternity pants every day now. And I feel like my bump popped a lot this week so my regular shirts are sorta clinging to the bump.

Sleep?  Not getting up as much to pee during the sleeping hours. Maybe once - sometimes twice. Mike has been banished to the guest room at night except on the weekends so I can get a solid night's sleep before work and not be kept up by his log sawing.

Food Aversions? Not as many. Still chicken a bit. Staying away from foods that cause gas for reasons that involve much regret over not doing so.

Symptoms?  Shhh - I think the nausea may be outta here. Knock on every single plank of wood near you though because I'm not 100% sure yet. I sure have been having gas pains. I am attributing that to the GD diet though. The new symptom is muscle stretching in my stomach. Um... ow! I'm also still pretty exhausted in the late afternoon and have to go to bed by 9:30 PM.

Other: I seem to be managing the GD through diet. My levels are all good after each meal. Yay! I meet with the Dr to go over these numbers on Tuesday. We'll see what they say. It has been hard for my body to adjust to the diet though. I've switched to only lactose free protein options. I used to be able to ignore my lactose intolerance and just deal with it because I didn't eat tons of cheese or drink lots of milk, but now there's no ignoring it.

Picture: Looks like I popped a bit, no?

14 weeks along

How far along? 14 weeks, 3 days

Total weight gain:  Don't know. I'll find out at my ob appointment on the 16th. Still don't think I'm gaining since food and I are still barely on speaking terms.

Appointments: Next ob appointment is next week on the 16th. Can't wait to hear the little rapid heartbeat of Baby P again!

How big is baby? The little one is now the size of a lemon, 3.5 inches long and weighs 1.2 oz.  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 may even suck his thumb.

Clothing?  My new jeans and pants from Motherhood are working out great! I'm still able to wear regular shirts.

Sleep?  I still get up twice each night to pee. I also still wake up every single night at 3:30 AM for no apparent reason. I'm trying to sleep with the Boppy body pillow, but it is so huge and knocks Mike in the face a few times each night. Oh and speaking of Mike... I'm selling him up the river: That boy snores alllll night long like Lionel Richie. I wear earplugs and yet still it comes on through to my eardrums. I feel bad but I may have to banish him to the guest room here and there so I can get as much sleep as possible. He still doesn't believe that he snores. Pfft.

Food Aversions? Still not in to most veggies. Or chicken. Or dry foods.

Symptoms?  The m/s is sloooowly going away, I think. It usually is most noticeable at dinner time. I'm still not that hungry though. One thing that is challenging is the amount my nose is running and how congested I am. I'm pretty sure my allergies are missing their pills. I am going to start taking an ob-approved allergy medication so I can get some relief and we don't spend baby's college fund on tissues. 


Other: I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes yesterday after taking the 3 hour glucose tolerance test on Saturday. I got da 'beetus! Boooooo. I knew it was possible since I failed the first test pretty badly, so I was prepared for the news, but it is not the best thing to find out. So I meet with a dietitian tomorrow to go over meal plans/choices and then I'll start testing my sugar levels after meals. I have to report back weekly. I am hoping since I didn't totally tank the test that I can regulate things via diet. I'll do anything to keep the little one safe and healthy so it's forward march... 


Picture: Sort of looks like last week. And maybe I should stop grinning like a creeper.

Me + 1

Oh.. hi there! I've been gone from the blogging world for a while. I have a good excuse though. I was busy getting to where I am now... 13 weeks, and 3 days pregnant! :)   The road to this point was hard. I don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable sharing everything that we went through, but it was an over 2 year process complete with many, many specialist appointments, four failed medical/fertility procedures, injections, pills, herbs, thousands of acupuncture needles, LOTS of (oh so many) $$s, and more emotional hills and valleys that I care to remember.  But it was all totally, 100% worth it. Mike and I are so happy that we will be creating a little family together. It's going to be a wonderful, fun, comical, crazy change in our lives that we can't wait to experience. It took both of us a while to get here, but I wouldn't want to be at this point with anyone else so the wait was worth it. 

 

My good friend Candice blogged about her pregnancy and used a format that I found to be fun and informative. So I'm stealing it! Thanks, C. :)

 

I'm starting a little late because the first 12 weeks were tough. I'm still having trouble with nausea, but at least now I feel well enough often enough to want to share the details.

How far along? 13 weeks, 3 days

Total weight gain:  Hard to say. Nobody weighed me at my first ob appointment and according to my own knowledge, I lost weight during the first several weeks. I think I've gained a bit back so I'm going to guess that I'm about 3 lbs less than when I got pregnant.

Appointments: We've had many appointments so far since we worked with a reproductive clinic and they spoil you with appointments and ultrasounds. We just had our first trimester screening sonogram and saw the baby then. It was pretty wonderful. The next appointment is a regular appointment with my ob on February 16th. We will find out the gender sometime in early March (aah!).

How big is baby? The bambino is now the length of a (small) peach, 2.9 inches long and .81oz.  They are forming teeth and vocal cords.  Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy.

Clothing?  I'm struggling with clothes right now because the maternity jeans I bought early on (9 weeks-ish) are too big still. They fall down when I walk because they are full panel and my bump isn't big enough to hold them up. I did buy a new pair last weekend, but I can't wear them every day. Being pregnant but not showing much is a confusing place to be maternity clothes wise. I also bought a pair of maternity khakis. Regular shirts still work for me.

Sleep?  I get up twice each night to pee. I also wake up every single night at 3:30 AM for no apparent reason. Sleeping on my stomach is not very comfortable now. I feel sort of queasy when I do. I miss it so.

Food Aversions? Many. This has been a very tough thing for me to work around. I definitely can't eat chicken (one exception - hot wings). I can't eat dry foods very easily. They all taste like sawdust. It's easier to say what I can eat... fruits, ice cream/sorbets, and Subway's Big Philly Cheesesteak.

Symptoms?  Thought the m/s (morning - HA!!) was getting better, but that was wishful thinking. I usually feel very queasy after my morning shower until around 9 AM, then at around 4:15 PM until 7 PM, I feel very nauseous. That stinks because it's dinner time and dinner is (was) my favorite meal. I'm also exhausted most days. I've basically been a hermit because of the nausea and moodiness. I only feel right making Mike put up with me right now. (Poor Mike) So sorry to all of my friends! I miss you, but I'd fit in the 'Poor Company' category still. Unless you want to come over and feel me sorbet and brush my hair. Then I'd be super happy.

Picture! (Taken by myself in the work restroom. Please forgive the poor quality.) I pulled my shirt back so you can see the bump. It's riding high, I think. :)

Nothing New

I haven't had much to say over the past month. Not too much going on right now. Plus I couldn't type easily because of wrist tendinitis surgery. I feel like I share a ton on Facebook anyway, so I don't feel like I have much to say when I think about blogging. Many funny and interesting thoughts in my head. None when my fingers rest on the keys though.

No home improvement going on right now. The summer weekends have been pretty busy with Mike helping his Dad clean things out of the family farmhouse in a big downsizing effort. I love my father-in-law to no end, so I'm fine living in the house as-is. Family is #1 always. We'll get there. Mike reminds me of that when I forget my patience and start to whimper about wanting to be in the master bedroom or the unfinished kitchen window paint. Oh - plus we bought a car! Yaaay! Forgot about our new navy love. BTW - Mike LOVES driving now. He never drove in the Ford Focus. No mystery to solve there as to why. I'm enjoying being a passenger now though. I can finally stop paying attention and switch the radio stations over and over in an effort to find something other than Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep.' (Hi T!)

We did get five free gallons of paint from Pittsburgh Paints. I filled out a survey that they sent me and they SO generously sent me a coupon good for five free gallons of paint as well as a $5 check. WIN! I don't even need to mention my love for free things, do I? I had to breathe in a paper bag when I got those puppies in the mail. I got one gallon for my sister since she is renovating her house right now. The remaining colors and assignments include:

Guest room/possible future nursery: Two gallons of Toasted Almond (Boring perhaps, but neutral and soothing)

Guest bathroom off of family room: Baked Bean (We love us some rust colored paints, don't we?)

Man cave room in basement: Cathedral Glass (Such a cool color. Mike - though colorblind - has great color taste IMO)

You like?

I also changed my mind about our master bedroom bedding. I thought I was in love with the bedding that we got months ago, but turns out I kinda wasn't. It felt a bit too regal - what with the velvet detailing on the pillowcases and edging on the comforter. Here is the new love of my life in the bedding department:

Pottery Barn's Bella in Red

It matches the Cider painted walls perfectly. Thank jeebus, because I know at least 10 people that would skin my hide if I changed the wall color.

That's about it in terms of progress at the Petruska homestead. Hopefully before Fall, or 2012, or my 45th birthday, we'll be nestled in our bed in the Cider bedroom. We'll get there, right?