27 weeks.

I made it to 27 weeks on Friday! 1 more week until my 3rd trimester begins.I celebrated my 30th birthday yesterday. I may not look 30 but I definitely feel like it. My hubby, parents, and I went out to dinner. We went to Macaroni Grill because I really wanted to have their mushroom ravioli again. I was kind of bummed. These pregnancy hormones are affecting my taste buds and so many foods that I love seem so bland lately. ugh! Can't wait to enjoy food again.

Felt something new yesterday - I could feel baby kicking me in the ribs! Usually he kicks low either at the navel or below. It was really weird feeling him hit my ribs and the lower part of my belly at the same time. This little dude is getting big!

According to babycenter.com:
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (about the size of a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Baby is the size of a rutabaga, according to thebump.com:

 

How far along?     27 weeks 3 days
Total weight gain:   around 26 lbs

Maternity clothes?   yes, maternity pants. I can still fit into most of my regular shirts but they're getting tighter..
Sleep:     it's ok. Waking up at least once per night.
Miss Anything?      not really.
Movement:    Yes.. quite often! yay!! :)
Food cravings: just the usual junk food...
Anything making you queasy or sick:  nope!
Labor Signs:   no
Symptoms:    backache daily, occasional round ligament pain
Belly Button in or out?   in
Wedding rings on or off?   on.. my wedding ring is too big for me anyway, so I don't think I'll ever have to take it off!
Happy or Moody most of the time:   Happy today :)
Looking forward to:     Starting on the nursery, and having our 3D/4D ultrasound on 7/24!! :D

26 weeks

We're at 26 weeks now! Only 2 weeks left of my second trimester. Time is just flying by! All of the baby shower invitations have been sent out. My baby shower is less than a month away now! (July 20th) 
We bought a new mattress yesterday, which was long over-due! I'm pretty sure our mattress was >10 years old. I keep waking up with back pain everyday. I can't wait to sleep on our new foam mattress instead of a spring. We bought a Serta icomfort. I'm excited!! :D

According to babycenter.com:
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about 1 2/3 pounds and measures 14 inches (about the size of a scallion) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

TheBump.com says baby is about the size of a head of lettuce:

How far along?     26 weeks 2 days
Total weight gain:   around 23 lbs

Maternity clothes?   yes, maternity pants. It's hard to find shirts that look right! I broke down and bought maternity scrub pants.. mine just don't fit me anymore! Especially since I've gained about 6" on my waist.
Sleep:     it's ok. Waking up at least once per night.
Miss Anything?      not really. Maybe fitting into my old clothes! :)
Movement:    Yes.. quite often! yay!! :)
Food cravings: just the usual junk food... ice cream and cookies!
Anything making you queasy or sick:  nope!
Labor Signs:   no
Symptoms:    backache almost every day, getting short of breath with exertion
Belly Button in or out?   in
Wedding rings on or off?   on.. my wedding ring is too big for me anyway, so I don't think I'll ever have to take it off!
Happy or Moody most of the time:   a little moody lately, but I think it's stress related. So much to do and so little time!
Looking forward to:     Painting the nursery (still have to pick a color), starting my 3rd trimester in 2 weeks, and having a 3D/4D ultrasound done around 30 weeks :D

25 weeks - I'm carrying around a cauliflower?

I'm 25 weeks today! Can't believe I'll be starting my third trimester in just 3 weeks. I'm feeling the baby kicking all the time now. I can see my belly move when he kicks. :)

Here's a video!

 I worked on my target baby registry yesterday. I feel like I'm getting a little overwhelmed. I've never done this before. I really don't know what all I need! 

Father's day is on Sunday. I bought David a card and a book called "Baby: The owner's manual". It's pretty cute. :) I can't wait to give it to him.

I would really like to get a prenatal massage soon! I've only had one professional massage (ever) and it was awesome. I think I need to do this more often! With my 7-year wedding anniversary and 30th birthday at the end of the month, I'd really like to treat myself to something nice and relaxing. I definitely need it after all the stress I've been through over the last month. 



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

I wonder what color baby's hair is! :)

Thebump.com says that baby is the size of a cauliflower:

How far along?     25 weeks
Total weight gain:   around 20.8 lbs

Maternity clothes?   yes, maternity pants. I can still fit into my regular shirts but they're getting tighter..
Sleep:     it's ok. Waking up at least once per night.
Miss Anything?      not really.
Movement:    Yes.. quite often! yay!! :)
Food cravings: just the usual junk food...
Anything making you queasy or sick:  nope!
Labor Signs:   no
Symptoms:    round ligament pain (OW!), backache, occasional headache
Belly Button in or out?   in
Wedding rings on or off?   on.. my wedding ring is too big for me anyway, so I don't think I'll ever have to take it off!
Happy or Moody most of the time:   Happy today :)
Looking forward to:     Getting our baby registries completed, starting on the nursery!!

24 week update

I'm 24 weeks now! (as of Friday) We're officially at the age of viability! I'm getting closer everyday to my 3rd trimester. This is going by fast! I still can't believe I'm carrying a baby large enough that I can feel his kicks (and see my belly move when it happens). I had my mom, my friend & her mom over yesterday to help plan things for the baby shower. It is coming up quick! We're planning for July 20th. Also, David and I finally got started on our baby registry at Babies R Us. We also want to do one at Target. I just feel like we have so much to do this month and not enough time to do it. We need to finish planning the baby shower, get the invitations sent out, pull weeds/landscape in the backyard (the shower is at our house)... ahhhh! so much to do. In the meantime, we both have work and I have to drive to downtown Detroit for 2 days of computer training for work (two 9 hour days.. wee)

According to babycenter.com:
Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at about 1 1/3 pounds. Since he's almost a foot long (about the size of an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.


TheBump.com says that baby is as long as a cantaloupe:

 

How far along?     24 weeks 2 days
Total weight gain:   around 20 lbs

Maternity clothes?   yes, maternity pants. I can still fit into my regular shirts.
Sleep:     it's ok. My energy seemed a bit better yesterday, but I did have a little bit of coffee..
Miss Anything?      not really.
Movement:    Yes.. quite often! yay!! :)
Food cravings: just the usual junk food...
Anything making you queasy or sick:  nope!
Labor Signs:   no
Symptoms:    round ligament pain (OW!), backache,  occasional headache
Belly Button in or out?   in
Wedding rings on or off?   on.. my wedding ring is too big for me anyway, so I don't think I'll ever have to take it off!
Happy or Moody most of the time:   depends. Kind of cranky lately, but work has been stressing me out.
Looking forward to:     Getting our baby registries completed, starting on the nursery

23 weeks! :)

I'm 23 weeks as of today. I can't believe that, in 1 week, I'll be 6 months pregnant!! Crazy! I had an appointment today. Everything looks good. Baby's HR was in the 140's. My 1 hour glucose tolerance test will be in 3 weeks. I feel like I'm gaining weight too fast lately. I need to stop eating whatever I want! It could be all the sodium intake too... I feel like my food is never salty enough!

I got a copy of my Panorama test results - everything is low risk. My risk for a trisomy is 1 in 10,000. :)

Anyhoo, according to babycenter.com:
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he'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 him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him 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 him when he hears them outside the womb.

Baby is the size of a large mango - 10.5 to 11.8 inches long:

 

How far along?     23 weeks
Total weight gain:   around 18 lbs

Maternity clothes?   yes, maternity pants. I can still fit into my regular shirts.
Sleep:     better!
Miss Anything?      not really.
Movement:    Yes.. quite often! yay!! :)
Food cravings: just the usual junk food...chocolate!
Anything making you queasy or sick:  nope!
Labor Signs:   no
Symptoms:    round ligament pain (OW!), backache everyday, occasional headache
Belly Button in or out?   in
Wedding rings on or off?   on
Happy or Moody most of the time:   happy!
Looking forward to:     Getting our baby registry done, starting on the nursery

The results are in!! :)

Well, I finally got the call from my doctor yesterday morning while I was at work. I missed the call so he left a voice-mail. I called him back because I wanted to hear it directly from him... my results are low-risk for any chromosomal abnormalities!!! I've been waiting ALL MONTH for these results. It's just a huge weight off my shoulders. I feel like I can finally start enjoying my pregnancy again. :) Thank you to everyone who prayed for my baby and I! So excited that my baby boy will be ok. :)

22 weeks!

I'm officially 5 1/2 months (22 weeks). Time flies! One good thing - David was finally able to feel the baby move last night!!! I was SUPER excited. I was laying on the bed waiting for baby to move. I've noticed that baby tends to move a little bit more when I'm laying on my back on the bed. So...baby starting kicking like crazy, practicing his ninja moves. I was watching my abdomen move with some of the harder kicks! I called David over and he placed a hand on my belly. Baby let out a little kick that he couldn't feel.. My thoughts were "oh great.. here we go again." I've been having David try to feel the baby move lately but he'll have his hand there for 10 minutes and there will either be no movement or it will only be light kicks that he can't feel. Anyway, baby kicked really hard (after the light kick) and David finally felt it! I told him "See?? I'm not making it up!" lol :)

In other news, I called my Doctor's office last Monday because I had a billing question. I figured I'd ask about my test results because, by then, it had been 9 business days. I knew it was still a bit early to ask but figured what the heck.. The biller told me she couldn't find the chart and she assumed it must be on the doctor's desk... So she said she'd have the doctor call me back. I was thinking if my chart is on his desk, maybe my results are back ?? He called me back and told me that he didn't have the results yet. He said it was too early and asked if my blood was drawn on 5/10. I said no my blood was drawn on 5/7. He responded with "oh, well the results should be back by now. I'll have the nurse check into it." I was expecting to get a call Tuesday or Wednesday... but nothing. I regret not calling back myself! I had to work Thursday and didn't have time to call the office. I decided to call on Friday while I was at work and had a little down time. Of course.....the office is closed for the holiday weekend. What the heck? I told the charge nurse about it (I told her a while ago that I had the testing done & why, etc..) She said she would call the answering service if she were me.. rather then having to go through another weekend all stressed out. I decided to call them and explain the situation. They said they'd leave a message for the office to call me back, then I get "oh! I didn't know they were going to be closed all weekend! They reopen on Tuesday." I told the women that I already knew that and is there any way for the on-call Dr to look up my labs. She said no and that they only deal with emergencies. :( So I have to wait till Tuesday to call & hopefully get my results. It's just so nerve-wrecking. I didn't want to be at work when I got the results just in case they weren't what I was hoping for.. but I plan on calling as soon as they open tomorrow morning. Waiting for these results have been torture.

According to babycenter.com:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. 

 If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

According to thebump.com, baby is the size of a papaya:

 
How far along?     22 weeks 3 days
Total weight gain:   around 15 lbs  :-O
Maternity clothes?   yes, maternity pants. I can still fit into my regular shirts.
Sleep:     better! Still waking up at least 1x/night but not to use the bathroom. yay! lol
Miss Anything?      not really.
Movement:    Yes.. quite often! :) David finally felt the baby kick last night.
Food cravings: just the usual junk food...chocolate!
Anything making you queasy or sick:  nope!
Labor Signs:   no
Symptoms:    round ligament pain (OW!), backache everyday
Belly Button in or out?   in
Wedding rings on or off?   on
Happy or Moody most of the time:    a little moody lately. Could be the stress from waiting for those test results..
Looking forward to:     Getting my test results, starting on the nursery, and starting our baby registries! :)