Deep in the Thick of It

We're deep into the sixth month of pregnancy at 24 weeks this week.  That's a mere 16 weeks to go!  This pregnancy has flown by.  It's true when they say that time flies faster as you get older.  I imagine when I'm 60, I will be mid-blink and turn 70, haha!  I think my belly finally popped, though most days I still feel like I look more fat than pregnant!

This week we had a monthly prenatal appointment, but we ended up seeing a different doctor.  (My usual doc was on vacation - lucky him!)  The doctor we saw was actually the doctor who delivered Gabriel by c-section 3.5 years ago!  He was excited to meet Gabe, though I'm not sure the feeling was entirely mutual, as Gabe was more interested in playing his monkey fix-it game on my phone, ha!

Skip this paragraph if you're not interested in the ins & outs of birthing children...  The doc and I had a nice long chat about whether a repeat c-section or an attempt at a vaginal delivery was a better choice for this pregnancy (resulting in a "do what you're comfortable with, and we'll see what baby does" generalization).  There are advantages and risks to both approaches to this birth, believe it or not.  I'm leaning more towards wanting to attempt a vaginal birth even though there is very slight risk of uterine rupture (but faster recovery), as the risks for future pregnancies increase with a repeat c-section (plus it's major surgery and has a lengthier recovery).  I still hold the stance that my babies are not to be taken out before 'fully cooked' at 40 weeks, unless baby decides to come out on his/her own or there is a problem necessitating earlier action.  So, I'm hoping for going into spontaneous labor prior to 40 weeks, with a scheduled repeat c-section sometime after that if needed.

You can pick back up reading here, if you skipped the last paragraph!  At the appointment, baby was doing a good job moving around (not that anyone but me would know yet) and his/her heartbeat was strong and fast.  I didn't get to count or record it, because I was too busy watching Gabriel's face light up when he heard his sibling's heartbeat!  He thinks it's the coolest thing!

Swollen fingers and feet have been the theme these last couple of weeks.  My wedding ring has been retired to the jewelry cabinet because it no longer fits!  My engagement ring is off being repaired for a few weeks, which I guess is good timing, ha!  So my finger feels a little naked and I've been putting larger sized rings on it when I go out so at least I attempt to look married and knocked up ::wink wink::  Otherwise, everything is pretty good and the summer is flying by waaaaaayyy too quickly.

Procrastination at its Finest

Well, let me start by apologizing for not being timely with this pregnancy, haha!  I was supposed to make a post at 20 weeks but it's now almost 24!  Ah, well, that is what's supposed to happen with subsequent kids, right?  Fewer pictures (definitely won't be us when baby is actually here!), fewer tracked firsts, more hand-me-downs, etc.

Anyway!  Ok, so backtracking a bit...

On June 25th, we had our level 2 anatomy scan, which is just a fancy was of saying, 'Alessandra, you are now considered old and thus baby has a higher risk of genetic defects, so we look at baby more in depth on ultrasound.'  First off, 34 going on 35 is NOT old, at least not in my opinion, haha!  But whatever, we got an hour to look at our sweet Baby Seed (as Gabe & I have been calling him/her from the beginning).  Back to the ultrasound... (can you tell I am pregnancy-distracted?)  Everything looked good with baby aside from one "soft marker" for Down's syndrome.  Baby had a little white spot on the heart.  We spoke to a specialist after, and one marker is not super exciting or cause for concern.  50% of babies born with Down's have no markers, and plenty of babies with them are born normal.  We declined any further testing (we didn't do any genetic testing in the first place since it won't impact anything we do at this point anyway), and we obviously won't love this child any less either way!

Baby was also measuring 5 days ahead at this scan, and s/he had a normal heart rate of 151. If I remember correctly, Gabe had a 130-140 heart rate most of the time, so maybe girl??  A lot of our friends & family think girl, and even Mr. 'I-only-make-boys' Craig is debating, but we'll see!  We did not take the opportunity at this ultrasound to find out the sex, so we all just have to wait!

Baby's two feet

Bottom of baby's left foot

Baby's profile

Baby's profile zoomed in a little

Baby's head on the left and open left hand on the right of the image

In other baby news, I have been nesting way too much (and procrastinating other obligations, ha!), and if anyone sees me attempting to buy more diapers, call the authorities!  Our basement cannot handle the size of the stockpile, ha!  

I finished two baby blankets about a month ago.  The gingham one was a cool new way to carry yarn without having to weave in ends (for the crochet enthusiasts out there), and the hearts one I made off of a crochet diagram, my newly self-taught skill.

I also could not resist getting little brother/sister onesies for when Gabriel finally meets his little sibling.  How cute are these?!

Craig has been busy making repairs all around the house these last few weeks.  Gabe's playground is finished, new deck stairs are in progress, and we finally have decent grass in the entire yard.  Gabe has been 'setting aside' some of his things for the baby lately, so I guess we are ALL in the process of nesting.