Sweet Baby

Monday, September 28, 2009

27 Weeks

Here is the baby's profile. His or her foot and hand are both up near the face. It looks as if the baby is blowing bubbles (there are no bubbles, though, because there is no air in the lungs...yet).

The Thinker

Monday, September 28, 2009

27 Weeks

Here the baby's finger is posed against his or her cheek as if in deep thought. Told you we had a smart one brewing!

In Your Face!

Monday, September 28, 2009

27 Weeks

It's kind of hard to see, but the baby is sticking his or her tongue out at us in this picture. Paul said is was a sign that the baby was going to bad like his or her Mama. Not true! The dark spots are shadows from the baby's foot, which he or she had positioned over his or her face nearly the entire time. Very agile!

Head of Cauliflower

Monday, September 28, 2009

27 Weeks

Head of Cauliflower

From a rutabaga to a head of cauliflower in 2 weeks! That's what I call growth. The baby now weighs 2 pounds 12 ounces (he or she has doubled the weight from 1 month ago). Today the baby's weight measured at the 78th percentile, and Dr. Roussis was very happy with his or her growth. Everything looks normal on ultrasound. The head measures a little ahead of schedule. I figure this is either because he or she has a huge brain and is ready to enter the "Think Tank" or because he or she takes after Paul (he has a big noggin). We were able to see the baby "practice breathing" on the ultrasound today. The baby does not really breathe right now, because he or she is in a fluid-filled environment. However, babies begin to "practice breathing" in utero by moving the diaphragm and abdominal muscles. Dr. Rogers, my boss and a pediatric pulmonologist, said that it's a very good sign that the baby is doing this already (a lot of babies don't practice this early). As always, the baby prefers to keep his or her back to the camera, but we were able to get some 3D/4D shots of his or her face today (see next posting). We also got video of the baby today and will post it as soon as Paul can transfer from VHS to digital (hopefully later this week or this weekend). I started the insulin pump today. Blue Cross Blue Shield finally gave us the "OK." So far things are going really well. We have to start counting the baby's movements once per day to make sure he or she moves at least 10 times in an hour. I assure you all that he or she moves way more than that. It's like there is a gymnastics class in my belly! Our next appointment is on October 12th, and we have another ultrasound on October 26th. Starting November 2nd, we have to go every week and will have ultrasounds at each visit. Time is flying by, and the baby will be here before we know it.

Rutabaga

Monday, September 14, 2009

25 Weeks

Rutabaga

So the baby has become a rutabaga, but he or she feels more like a bowling ball. We had another uneventful day at Fort Sanders Perinatal Center. The baby is doing great, as always. My blood sugars continue to fluctuate, but I am feeling good. We will hopefully hear something soon about the insulin pump. I am actually excited to use it, because I think it will smooth things out for both of us. The baby is moving so much! Such an active little thing. I have grown accustomed to the pokes and prods, and I miss it when the baby is resting. My belly continues to grow - mostly forward. It's like carrying a basketball around all the time. I have started to notice a change in my center of gravity, and I am somewhat clumsy these days. We are having lots of fun getting ready for the wee one to come! We will have another ultrasound on September 28th, and I am going to see if they will record it on a CD-RW. If so, I will post it here so that all of you can see this little acrobat in motion.

Uncooperative Little Thing

Monday, August 31, 2009

23 Weeks

So the baby was somewhat uncooperative for the ultrasound today. The top photo is the only profile view we were able to get, and that one took some real coaxing. You can definitely see eyes, nose and mouth, though. The bottom photo is the baby's spine, and that's what she or he really wanted to show us today. It was like pulling teeth to get the baby to flip over!

Mango

Monday, August 31, 2009

23 weeks

Mango

Sorry for the delay in updates. We have been crazy busy around here! So this was the day we had the fetal echocardiogram (baby's heart ultrasound). Survey says . . . everything is totally normal! Yay! It's very cool to know that your baby has a perfectly normal heart even though no one suspects anything different. We also got to see the baby hiccup on the ultrasound. I don't think I can feel her/him do it, but we could definitely see it. It was aggravating to the ultrasound tech, because it made it harder for her to get the pictures she wanted. I thought it was hilarious. Speaking of feeling the baby, we definitely know he or she is in there. The baby is very active, and I feel movement throughout the day but mostly at night. As you have seen from Paul's postings, he can feel and even see the movements from the outside. It is truly amazing. The baby now weighs 1 pound 6 ounces, which blows me away. I see patients every day, who weighed less than that at birth! This baby is going to stay put, though. We think he or she is very comfortable in there. We continue to grow more and more excited. We go back on September 14th for a regular check-up, and we have yet another ultrasound on September 28th, so we will keep you updated. The third trimester is just around the corner. Time is going so fast.

Push!

I have seen the little crazy pushing on Mary's belly! I think he/she may be athletic -it was a BIG bump.
A oft-repeated quote from my Dad: "You can't hurt steel." Hopefully, I can get in shape before our kid figures out that I'm not as tough as my steely Dad.