Friday, May 25, 2018

16 Weeks and Taking a Beat

Whew!  The time is really flying by!  We can't believe we're already 16 weeks along and baby is the size of an avocado.  (Speaking of avocado, am I the only one who has really bad luck in getting the avocado to be ripe -- and not under-ripe or overripe -- when cutting into it?  I feel like it should be perfect based on assessment of the outside, but nope, it never is!!)
We went for our monthly appointment earlier this week and heard baby's heartbeat loud and clear at about 160 beats per minute.  There's an old wives tale that says the baby is a boy when the heart rate is below 150 and a girl when it's above.  That worked out for Gabriel (130-140 most of the time), but I read a lot of comments on message boards that says this is not true for all babies!  Well, we'll see come November!  (Click on the video to hear the heartbeat via Doppler - the ultrasound picture is from a month ago)


It was great to hear the heartbeat, because baby's little fluttery movements have been few and far between the last two weeks.  Maybe that's stress-related or maybe this baby is just a good sleeper right now, haha!

We received a lot of well-wishes by phone and text this week, after the baby announcements went out, which was really special for us.  We're so happy that so many people are as excited as we are (or more so!).

In other nesting news, I went through a lot of the baby stuff we had from Gabe, and thankfully things like bottles, diaper bags, car seats, and clothing are in great condition still.  I guess it's time to stock up on diapers and a few odds & ends that should be replaced.  I also began working on a new crocheted baby blanket for the baby.  (Gabe got 2 Mama-made ones when he was born, so I figured this kid should at least get one!)  It's a gingham pattern in different shades of teal and I'm excited to try a new edging pattern when the blanket part is complete.  Photos to come soon!

After a busy May, we're taking a beat to enjoy the new-found summer weather here in Massachusetts.  Craig has been working diligently on getting grass to grow in a new part of the yard where he erected Gabriel's {{giant}} playground.  We're thankful it's finally showing GREEN!  I've been growing some herbs inside, awaiting warmer weather for planting outside.  We've put some perennials and bulbs in the ground already, but I have to get Dziadizu's red canna flowers planted still.  The pool has been open for about a month but even with the solar cover on, it's not above 68 degrees yet - brrr!  Here's to hoping for a more consistent warmer stretch of weather!  This pregnant mama wants to float in the water ASAP!  (Not to mention the resident 3.5 year old!)

Sunday, May 20, 2018

It's Official!


We mailed the announcements a couple days ago and are so excited for our friends & family to share in our joy!

To answer a few questions up front for anyone reading:
  • No, we aren't finding out if it's a boy or a girl.  We're excited either way and just want baby to be happy & healthy!  (Gabriel wants a "real crying baby" and seems to be leaning towards a boy since he wants to name the baby 'Gabriel,' haha!)
  • Baby is officially due November 8th, but seeing as Gabriel was due Oct 20th and arrived Nov 1st after a long drawn out unsuccessful induction leading to a c-section, we have no idea how accurate this will be!
  • We're going to name the baby 'Gabrielle' if it's a girl.  Just kidding!!
  • This is actually pregnancy #5 for us.  Baby #1, #3, & #4 are angels in heaven now.  That's why it seems like there's such a big time gap between Gabe & this baby.
  • Craig may say he wasn't interested in having more kids, but he sure did get excited when Gabe & I told him about this baby!! (Click here to go back a few entries for the video of it)
  • It's been a whirlwind of a miserable pregnancy until a few weeks ago, which is so different than how I felt when pregnant with Gabe... Debilitating nausea & vomiting and thus rest & medication for me meant we turned down a lot of events and get-togethers that we wished we could have attended, and we didn't give the real reason why because we were still in the first trimester, so we apologize for that.  Thankfully, when I hit 13 weeks along, the nausea mostly went away and I'm slightly less tired.
  • We're officially 15 1/2 weeks along right now.  Baby is supposedly the size of a navel orange right now, weighing in at roughly 2.5 ounces.  I don't have much of a baby bump yet, which is fine by me.  Here are baby's ultrasound pictures from April 23rd:
Baby's front view
Baby's side view - waving!

We're eager for our appointment this week.  No more ultrasounds until mid-June, but at least we'll get to hear that cute little heart ticking away!  We're excited to have this new addition to our family this fall!!

Thanks, as always, for your kind thoughts and prayers for our family.


Monday, May 7, 2018

It's a miracle!!

Well, finally at 13 weeks and 2 days, the horrid nausea is subsiding and I was able to stop taking the reglan!!  Whoo hoo!!  I feel almost like myself again (though bloated and still tired).  Thank goodness!

This week, the plans are to get our baby announcement photos done.  I found a cute theme to use for Gabe to help us out.  I just had to wait for his face to heal up after having a raw runny nose for a week and then a scratch, so it looks like this week is the perfect time.  And that works out great because we'll be able to get our cards printed and sent out with perfect timing for right after Mother's Day / 2nd trimester starts.

On to baby news... Baby is about the size of a peach now, according to my baby app.  Plus, I've been pleasantly surprised to have internally felt baby wriggling around gently over the last week or so!!  Even while I was sitting at my students' graduation ceremony this past weekend, haha!

Craig & Gabe (& me for about 5 minutes, haha!) have been hard at work building the new playground in the backyard.  It was a long time coming and is looking great!  It's a lot bigger than we (ok, maybe just I!) expected, and Gabe is so excited.