Zoo Time

Just a little slide show of some highlights from our trip to the zoo.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

22 Weeks

22 weeks, man the weeks just fly by. We only have 126 days left (roughly), and to think we started with 280 days. Crazy!

This week:
"Your baby is nearly an entire foot long and weighs almost an entire pound! What's more they've started to produce their own hormones as their little pancreas continues to steadily develop. " Well, there isn't a whole lot of news for here. Yup, still getting sick, still losing weight, pelvis still hurts, etc. We are still waiting for them to schedule our next ultrasound appointment, which hopefully will be soon. At our next doctor's appointment in June I have to do the dreaded Glucose test, yuck. I'm just hoping it stays down long enough to do the test. I'm not really worried about the results either way, just as long as Grace is healthy.

Well, that's it for now. Just some added pictures from the Memorial Day parade yesterday!

Weekend Update in Pictures

Well, my belly got a little bigger
And I see my feet a little less
Jackson got a sunscreen hair-do
And enjoyed the sun on his face
We updated the nursery, with a bookcase

Some curtains
Lamps
And my favorite little crystal ball curtain rod
Also an added video!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Check, Check

I feel accomplished! We finally did some things on our baby checklist. We scheduled our 3d ultrasound for June 16th. I can't wait to see Grace in 3d! We also finally booked our birth class for August. If it was up to me I probably wouldn't take a birthing class, I feel pretty comfortable with the whole birthing, postpartum, baby, breastfeeding thing. After all that's all I did for a year and a half. But I think Cole really would feel better about everything if he had a clue about what to expect. So we will do one very very long day of birthing class.

Now if they would just call and let me know what day they scheduled us for our next ultrasound, that would be good!

21 Weeks

Wow, 21 weeks! Time really is flying, we are officially more then half way there! Yeah, everyday we get closer to meeting our little girl!

What's happening with Grace this week:
"Your baby's blood circulation is completely functional. The umbilical cord system continues to grow and thicken as blood travels with considerable force through the body to nurture the baby. The placenta is now almost equal in size to the baby. Your baby will be getting much larger during the second half of your pregnancy. Your baby's crown-to-rump length at this time is 7.2 inches and she weighs approximately 10.5 ounces. Your growing baby is about the size of a large banana. You should be able to feel your uterus about a half of an inch above your navel. Your weight gain so far will be around 10 to 15 pounds."
What's happening with me this week:
Ok, well as usual I am still getting sick. Yes, still! Every single day at least twice a day since I was 5 weeks along, it's just so normal to me now. I have lost another pound this week due to morning sickness. We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and the doctor is a little concerned about me losing weight. So she wants us to have another ultrasound done just to make sure that even though I am not growing Grace is. Everything should be fine, at her ultrasound 3 weeks ago she was measuring 2 weeks bigger and yesterday at my appointment my stomach was measuring fine. The ultrasound is more to be on the safe side. They are suppose to call today and let me know what date my ultrasound will be.

As far as the pelvic pain my doctor said it's prob. just round ligament pain. Round ligament pain, my butt! This is not RLP, but I expected my doctor to say the pain is normal, most doctors will. I'm pretty sure it's my pelvis separating so I'm just trying to stay off my feet as much as possible. I'm also learning my limits, the hard way. We went to the Hanover mall Saturday, it's not a big mall. I walked one hallway of the mall and back and thought my pelvis was going to fall off. Walking back to the car it hurt so bad that I contemplated sitting down in the middle of the parking lot to rest. Thank god Cole is more sensible then me and was able to convince me to walk to the car then rest. I was in so much pain by the time we got to the car I couldn't move my legs to get into the car. Needless to say I didn't move the rest of the night, but I now know that the mall is not in my near future. I guess it's online shopping for me!


Here are my favorite pictures from the week:

Lily sun bathing in Gracie's room

Just playing with the water as I fill the tub
All the clothes I scored from our little shopping trip Saturday. I only spent $12, not bad!
Cole's cousin Deanna had her first prom Friday, God she's so beautiful!

Also we are missing the Brennan's soooo much! We know they are having fun in Disney, but we can't wait for them to come home! Five days with no Jackson is far to long! We can't wait for Wednesday!

Whooah, were half way there

We've made it, 20 weeks! We've finally hit the half way mark. We've made it up the hill and now we just have to make it back down.

What's happening with Grace this week:
"Your baby's skin begins to thicken this week and will develop four layers. Your baby's sebaceous glands secrete a waxy substance called vernix caseosa. Your baby will be born with this wax and it will look like paste. The vernix caseosa is crucial because it protects the fetus' fragile skin from the continuous immersion in amniotic fluid. Lanugo hairs secure the vernix caseosa in place and it is thick around the eyebrows. Scalp hair and toenails are beginning to form at this point. Hair can also be seen on the upper lip and eyebrows. "

What's up with me:
Well, we hit 2 milestones this past week! Cole finally felt Gracie move and I finally felt Gracie's hiccups! What an amazing thing it was to see Cole's face as he felt his daughter for the first time. The way his face lit up and he began to smother Grace with kisses was amazing, he was a dad, a dad who I saw fall in love with his little girl all over again, it was truly amazing! The hiccups are the weirdest thing. I can feel this rhythmic tapping that vibrates my stomach, both times it's happened I've gone to feel my stomach and startled Gracie so much that they stop.
Well, as usual I'm still getting sick and this past week has been worse then usual. I'm down 5 pounds this week, which means I'm down almost 12 pounds overall. This past week I've also started getting this awful pain in my pelvis. It feel like I've been kicked repeatedly in my groin area, it hurts to walk and lift my legs. I now look like the biggest idiot when I try to walk, because it's easier to sort of waddle. I can't be waddling this early!
Well, it sounds like my problem is actually a separated symphysis pubis, which means the front of my pelvic area has separated and there is a gap in between the two bones which makes it painful to do anything that involves moving the pelvis. I'm just trying not to move and icing it often. We go back to the doctor next Monday so I will be sure to discuss this with her.


Now some added pictures from the weekend

Here's a picture of both my girls on my first almost Mother's Day

Saturday as I was sitting at the computer eating pickles, I thought how cliche is this. It was so cliche that I had to take a picture. If you look closely you can see my bottle of Tums in the background. What would a pregnant girl do without pickles and tums?

And yes, I did polish off that whole jar!

Here's just a cute picture of Jackson, who wasn't feeling well Sunday, but still managed a big smile!

The Miracle of Birth

I think this video is so funny!

Favorite Pictures from the week

My 19 week belly

This is going to get a lot worse!

Lily's "Mom, are you really taking more pictures?" face

Must watch!

The BIG u/s

Ok, so I've been meaning to blog about the big ultrasound we had last weekend, but I've have been having a hard time putting my feelings into words. I'll try again today, but I don't think that I could ever truly put what I feel into words.

So last Saturday we went to Brockton hospital to have our big ultrasound. The ultrasound that lasts for 30 minutes, where the technician looks at every little aspect of our darling baby. We waited a few minutes before we were seen, it wasn't very busy because it was the weekend. The technician brought us back into this tiny little dark room and had me expose me belly. He globed on the belly goo and the there she was. Our little baby girl was up on the screen. Now, we've seen her before, but for some reason this was different for me. I instantly started to cry, something about seeing her up on this screen, made it finally sink in. That's my daughter! She's real!

The technician began to show us all of her parts. "That's her arm bone, her leg bone, her kidneys, her brain, her spinal cord, etc.." Well, every time he showed us a new part I thought "that's the most beautiful arm bone, leg bone, etc." Then he showed us her heart, her tiny little heart, beating like crazy, and I lost it! I couldn't stop crying, my baby has a heart and it's beating. She's real. It suddenly is all so real. Someday soon I will hold her and feel that beating heart.

It was that moment that I fell in love with her all over again. I felt my heart grow by 200% and knew that my life would never be the same. This little girl has my heart, every piece of it! She's the most amazing little person already. She loves playing with her hands and sucking her thumb.

I can't wait to meet you Gracie! You truly have captured my heart. I can't wait to hold you. I can't wait to see you, see your little fingers and toes. I can't wait to see your first smile, hear your first laugh,watch your first steps. But until them I am truly going to enjoy these last four months I have with you. Where you are a part of me. I will enjoy having you so close to me at all times. You are the love of my life! You're MY daughter.

One day you're gonna want to go
I hope we taught you everything you need to know
Gracie girl
And there will always be a part of me
Nobody else is ever gonna see but you and me
My little girl
My Gracie girl

Gracie Girl

Listen to my new favorite song! Then read the new blog below!

19 Weeks

Well here we are one week away from the half way point!

What should be happening this week:
"Your baby's crown-to-rump length is 5.2 to 6 inches this week. Your baby weighs approximately 7 ounces and will increase its weight more than 15 times between now and birth! Most women have gained up to 14 pounds now and only 7 ounces of that is your baby! The placenta weighs about 6 ounces and the amniotic fluid that surrounds your baby weighs 11 ounces. Your breasts have increased in weight by 6 ounces each and the uterus has grown to 11 ounces! You may be gaining weight in places other than your abdomen and this may be affecting your posture and sleeping habits. One of the most amazing aspects of your baby's growth and development is that of the fetal brain. Your baby's brain is one of the first organs to appear. Your baby's oversized head shows the brain's importance in his development. Because the nerves that connect the muscles to the brain have grown into place, your baby's movements are consciously directed. Your baby's ears stand out from the sides of the head and the buds for your baby's permanent teeth appear. Your baby's arms and legs have reached their relative proportions and her feet are approximately one inch long. "


What is really happening:
Well, we had another ultrasound this weekend (I will try to blog about the ultrasound in detail later) and our little princess in measuring almost 2 weeks bigger and instead of being 7 oz this week she was 10 oz last week. Oh, I thought she was going to be little, but now I'm not so sure. I'm just hoping that maybe she will make her entrance into this world a couple weeks early, not to early though! I'm still throwing up, I'm sure you all are very surprised. The good news though is that instead of gaining the 14 pounds I should've at this point, I'm still at negative weight gain, which I am loving! An added plus is that I had my first experience with people rubbing my belly and I am loving it! I love other people noticing my baby belly and wanting to feel our little girl. I say I'm loving it now, but ask me again in another 4 months and let's see if I still feel the same way.

*On a deeper note, a close family member was diagnosed with cancer last week. I know we will get through this and fight together!

"Cancer I did not give you the right,To invade my body and take a bite.This is my body and with all my might,I will prevail with one hell of a fight.To the cancer inside, I will battle and kill.For that is my body's God given will.To my cancer, these words I do send.Your life is short and near the end."

Now a little humor to end this blog on!

What Lily did this weekend:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com