We are over halfway there!

Hello all!

So it's been a while and a lot has happened, I am now over halfway there, 23 weeks, so Froggie is now putting on the weight! We'll start with belly pictures! (J makes me take them every 2 weeks :D)

18 weeks:




20 weeks:




22 weeks: Looking bigger finally!





We had another ultrasound on August 28th in order to try to get clearer pictures of Froggie's heart and to check on the placenta. The ultrasound went normally (although the tech once again commented on what a stinker Froggie was!) however they were unable to get pictures of the heart that were clear enough and my placenta measured 2 cm too close to my cervix. Here are the pictures from that ultrasound:


Froggie! This is at 22 weeks and 1 day, Froggie measured at 11.2 inches long and weighed in at 1 pound 4 ounces. All of Froggie's measurements were ahead- most fell in the 66th percentile for a baby at that gestational age, so we may have either a bigger baby or just an early baby :D


Froggie's nose and lips (one of the photos we couldn't get last time) which confirms no cleft lip, good news!


Little foot, we were able to count 10 fingers and toes (which disapointed J, he thought 6 fingers would be cool...)


After the ultrasound on the 28th, we were scheduled for a Level II ultrasound on the 31st to follow up on the placenta and to have a fetal echocardiograph with a doctor to check the baby's heart. This was at 22 weeks 5 days, Froggie gained 1 ounce during the past 4 days :D


Little hands


Little kicking feet! (I swear it feels like this child has 10 legs and arms, it rolled over at least 4 times during the ultrasound and spent the ENTIRE time kicking and punching... the doctor just laughed and said we would have fun chasing this one... oh oh!)


Head to the right, arm up on top snuggled up by the head, J claims Froggie was posing!


It's getting cramped in here!


Froggie's heart was cleared and looks well, and my placenta has moved far enough away that we are in the clear for the rest of the pregnancy!

So lots of good news- the only bad is that now there are no more ultrasounds until the end :D

We were scheduled to be finished here and moving on Wednesday, September 2nd, but as J is only halfway done, we have been given an updated finish date of the first week in October (not sure if we'll make that though!).


All is well here! We had two wonderful showers a couple weekends ago and I am still editing photos, but they will be up here soon!

Much love,
J

A sign of things to come...

So we were able to go in for another ultrasound yesterday, and J finally got to go! And (for the second time) the tech spent the entire time remarking on what a little stinker our Froggie was being! She spent 45 min trying to the get the pictures she needed, was about to give up, and finally Froggie moved to show us the four-chambered heart- little stubborn one we've got coming! But I guess J and I deserve what we get, right ;)

Here are the photos:


A good profile shot- Froggie is head up, feet down, facing forward out to the world. Froggie now weighs in at 1/2 a pound and is 8-10 inches long. Froggie is already several inches above my belly button, so we should see a lot more outward progress of the belly in the next month!


So for the last week I've been feeling what I suspected was Froggie kicking, but wasn't sure it was a kicks or not. however, we watched Froggie give a VERY strong little kick, so I know for sure now! These are the little feet that have been kicking my bladder!



Waving hello!!

Some fun facts about Froggie's development since the last update:
*is changing cartilage into bone
*is covered in a waxy protection all over the skin
*has unique little fingerprints
*can hear some sound outside the womb now (particularily Mom and Dad's voices)
*can see and react to light
*is lulled to sleep when I move during the day and is most active at night
*has hair on it's head, eyebrows, and eyelashes
*the circumference of Froggie's chest and stomach have caught up to it's head



Froggie is developing well and looked very healthy. All of my (MANY) blood and urine tests have been normal, however during this ultrasound we did find a slight problem.

I currently have a condition called Placenta Previa. This means that the placenta is partially covering the cervix. During the second trimester, about 10% of pregnancy's have this condition. It does not become a real concern unless it does not clear up by the third trimester. At that point in time, the baby weighs enough to cause the placenta to bleed and potentially slip partially out the cervix. The condition ends up affecting about 2% of pregnancy's in the third trimester and always results in bed rest and c-section. You can not deliver naturally with placenta previa. Like I said, at this point in time, I am not at a major risk, however it does mean that I am under more observation. Instead of scheduling another ultrasound for when I am 7 or 8 months along, we are scheduling another one in a month, I will be about 5 1/2 months then.

The way this condition fixes itself depends on how the uterus grows, since the placenta is firmly attached to it. Since Froggie has very little room left in my (very) short abdomen to grow up and will shortly be growing out only, and my placenta is currently anterior (in front of the baby- on the outside of my belly) hopefully Froggie will just push the uterus out and the placenta up! But like I said, we will be checking on it again in a month. The plus side is that we get to see even more pictures of Froggie! :D

And here are a few finished projects for Froggie:


Nursing covers- run about $30 in the store, I made these for $6 each.



And a panel quilt using some helo fabric!

Much love to you all!
J

Colors...

Hello again!

Short post today, just wanted to show the fabrics that my wonderful mother helped pick out for Froggie's room. We all know I am horrible at making decisions, but the fabric is bought and finalized!


Here are the fabrics for the crib quilt (which won't actually be used in the crib, haha).



These are the fabrics for the throw pillows to go on the glider. Plus the teal fabric with a small brown pattern will be the dust ruffle on the crib, and the white fabric with the brown, teal, and green pattern will be lamp shades and edging on solid brown (lined) curtains. I will use the dark brown with teal accents plus a brown flannel to make covers for the nursing pillow and use coordinating flannels to make receiving blankets, drool bibs, and burp cloths.

More pictures when they are done of course, which may be a while! I am also learning to knit, ND is cold, you know! Plus I'm finishing up announcements and scrapping first and second trimester, so I'm super busy with baby stuff, but it's nice to have things to do!

16 weeks 2 days bump pictures below. I don't think there is much of a difference, but J does! Although I didn't realize how tan I've gotten! J got to go to my first OB appointment with me and finally hear Froggie's heartbeat, so fun! Although the doctor was surprised to hear I would be moving for a SECOND time while pregnant. (I put on a few pounds, so that was good news!) New ultrasounds in week, we'll see how big Froggie is then!






Much love to you all!!

J & C

I can never come up with good titles...

Greetings again!

First off, have a new belly picture: 14 weeks 1 day-






White belly :D


Second, here's some fun info for those who care. Everyone has a different experience with pregnancy, here's my experience with the first trimester. (This info is on my first trimester scrapbooking pages- I'm so on top of things :D)

Food Cravings:
popcorn
Whole wheat freezer waffles
strawberries
soup (of all kinds)
Chicken nuggets- all the time!
Fries
Oreos


Food Aversions:
Chocolate (until 11 weeks)
Seafood of all kinds
Steak
Any strong smells


Highlights:
Sharing the news with family and friends and their reactions!
Hearing the heartbeat
Seeing Froggie move on the ultrasound- I swear my heart stopped- amazing!
Discovering the Boppy Pregnancy Pillow (I do not sit or lay down without it)
Maternity clothes (so comfy!)
Registering! Baby stuff is oh, so cute!


Low points:
Achy back
CONSTANT Heartburn/nausea
Looking chubby but not pregnant
Being super hot all the time!


The ultimate high point, however, has bee my amazing husband's reaction! I didn't think I could love J anymore, but he has been so excited and involved (and willing to spend hours registering and trying on maternity clothes) that I have been blown away! I knew he was going to be an amazing father but it is so wonderful to how interested he is and how excited he is to meet Froggie and be an integral part of raising Froggie. I have enough experience and book knowledge that he could easily step back and defer to everything I say, but he wants to talk about it and know why one bottle is better than the other, how breast-feeding works, what the benefits of cloth-diapering are, what is safe for cribs and what is not, which car seat is best, and all of the tiny information that I find oh, so interesting (I love details) but he usually doesn't! As much as I can't wait to meet Froggie, I can't not wait even more to see J with his child! It makes me smile just thinking about it! A HUGE thanks to all of his family for helping to raise the wonderful man that I have had the blessing to marry and have a child with! I love you all!

On a less sappy note, :D, I have finished all of the baby thank you notes (handmade of course!), mostly finished the *gender neutral* baby announcements, and am working on scrapping the first trimester and making pages for the birth. I plan to be on top of scrapping this child's life, and I know I won't have much time after Froggie is born, so I'm working ahead!

I'm also starting to sew the bedding/room decorations and other things for baby. It's nice to keep my time occupied and get to do baby stuff!

Much love to you all!

C

It's really a baby!

It's amazing how unreal this whole pregnancy has seemed to me, until today at least! I was finally able to get in for an ultrasound and some first trimester screening (albeit a little late!).

J, unfortunately, had to work, so after dropping him off at 6 am, I went to my appointment alone. It was absolutely incredible!! Here's the low down on little Froggie.

Froggie:
*is 6.72 cm long (about 3/4 of an inch)
*measured at 13 wks 1 day (about 4 days ahead, maybe we will have a Christmas baby!)
*loves to move all around, kicking legs, pumping arms, rolling around, and pushing up to arch his/her back (incredible to watch!)
*has all of the major organs although they are still refining
*has fully formed limbs (no more webbed fingers and toes) and is working on growing nails
*can swallow and process liquid and was happily drinking amniotic fluid, fascinating!
*has a steady, normal heartbeat of 147 bpm (music to my ears!)
*was annoyed with the pressure of the ultrasound and would not cooperate to measure the space behind the neck (took almost an hour!)
*finally got annoyed and ended the session by a little thumb sucking! (adorable!)

Here are some pictures!


Heartbeat! If you look at the white line across the picture, the heart is right under the break in the line, beating away!


Good profile shot, head to the right, legs up on the left, arms by side. Look at that little nose and belly :D Keep in mind, Froggie is less than an inch from crown to bum, about an inch including the legs!


Wriggling and arching, Froggie has crossed legs here, so you get to see the bottom of the right foot!


You can just see Froggie bringing the right hand up, thumb sticking out to place in the mouth! Froggie's mouth is open too if you look close enough! For the rest of the pictures, Froggie had that thumb firmly in the mouth!

I hope you enjoy those! It is an absolute miracle how God forms children in the their mother's wombs! Froggie is the size of a large olive, and yet looks very much like the newborn he/she will become.

As far as the screening goes, it is two part, ultrasound (which Froggie passed, all normal there) and blood work from me, which we will hear back on in about a week, but we aren't worried, it's a formality!

Momma is feeling good, much better! I am getting my energy back, slowly but surely, and have been getting more done and getting out to explore Albuquerque more! I am still losing weight despite attempting to eat more proteins and carbs, but the belly is sticking out there! They are not concerned at this point, but are hoping I will put on some pounds by my next appointment. How many times do doctors tell you to eat more? :D

Here's what to look forward to:
In the next five weeks before my next appointment, Froggie will have a fully functioning liver and kidney, will have four fully developed heart chambers (operating on two right now), will be covered in a soft, downy hair and have eyelashes, eyebrows and some hair, and will be about six inches long!


Much love to you all!
J & C

Welcome!

Hello all,

After much encouragement from several grandparents-to-be, we have decided to blog about our adventure with our first little one on the way! I hope to update frequently with pictures and information so that you all can be involved, no matter where we are living at the time!

A little update on Daddy and Mommy for those who may not know: in the middle of May we moved from Fort Rucker, AL to Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, NM. J completed his second phase of training on the UH-1/TH-1 in Alabama and received his wings. He is officially a pilot and can rent any small plane or helicopter on his own! We are supposed to be in New Mexico for just about 4 months while J completes specialized training on the Huey, however the flightline is backed up and I anticipate we will be here until at least October, and who knows how long after that! I am continuing with my scrapbooking business, although it's somewhat difficult with moving so often, I am looking forward to really focusing in on it in North Dakota. Besides that I am spending my time making things for baby and working on the announcements/thanks you notes (which will all be hand-made with Close To My Heart products!).

As far as the little one goes, I am now into the second trimester, yay! Despite the fact this is my first pregnancy (and thus should show later) at about 9 weeks I stopped fitting into all of my pants as my belly started to round out. By 12 weeks I was into maternity clothes :D

J and I spent the day yesterday walking through Babies-R-Us and Target registering for the huge amount of stuff a tiny little baby needs! He made it through 2 hours and BRU and a half hour at Target before I lost him to more interesting things, I was impressed! It still needs some refining, but I am glad to get the bulk of it done! We are waiting until the baby is born to find out whether we will will have a boy or a girl, which makes registering somewhat difficult, so neutrals it is. Everyone can vote and we'll see how it turns out, haha!

My last appointment was at 6 weeks, back in Alabama, where we got to see the little heartbeat on the screen, which was thrilling! Due to moving, changing insurance cover zones and needing referrals, it will be about 2 and half months between appointments, but I hope to get another ultrasound then that actually looks like a baby!



6 week blob!




And 12 week bump!


I hope you enjoy this blog and the chance to stay involved! We figured out the other day that this little one has 6 grandparents, 13 great-grandparents, and 2 great-great-grandmas, not to mention tons of aunts, uncles, great-aunts and uncles and cousins. We know this baby is very, very loved!


Much love,

C & J