Ready... Set... Go!!!

We've hit 28 weeks this week!  That means a mere 12 weeks (OR LESS!) until this baby shows up!  It's getting real.  The next weeks are going to speed by, ready or not!

We had a good prenatal appointment this week.  I passed my glucose tolerance test (for gestational diabetes) and got my Tdap (whooping cough, etc) vaccine.  That was the first time my arm ever hurt for an injection before, surprisingly!  The baby went crazy for the glucose and was jazzercising all over the place.  Actually, it was more like a TEAM of jazzercisers in my belly!  Baby's heart beat was chugging along at 152 beats per minute.

I've been preparing to head back to work for the semester in the next week or so.  This summer flew by and I'm not quite ready!  My new course in Veterinary Practice Management is {finally} all set, but I'm still making tweaks to Radiology.  Better late than never, ha! 

Gabriel has been acting out lately, and I'm wondering if it has to do with my increased work responsibilities lately - a full day meeting last week plus two full days coming up this week.  Of course, it could also be the crazy weather we've been having (torrential downpours mixed with incredible heat and humidity, and then the odd 70 degree cool day).

We're also gearing up for a Mother's Blessing celebration with close friends and family in early September.  (If you haven't yet RSVP'd, please do so, as my friend Kat is waiting to hear from you!)  It's not going to be a typical baby shower, so gifts aren't required, but our registry is www.babylist.com/babylatour if you wanted to check out what we still have to purchase for this baby.  Luckily, we have a lot from Gabe that is still in great condition.

A Mother’s Blessing is a celebration for a new life

inspired by an old Navajo ceremony,

which Native Americans created to celebrate

a woman’s rite of passage into motherhood. 

It celebrates pregnancy, birth, and motherhood,

and thanks our amazing God who has blessed us with new life. 

It focuses on the spiritual experience of birth

with a gathering of female friends and family showing support and encouragement. 

The emphasis is on providing emotional strength and harmony to the mother

                             by surrounding her with love and fellowship.

Double Digits

Well, we are officially at 99 days till baby's due date!  This pregnancy is flying by!

Over the last week, I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions (fairly mild, practice contractions).  They're not that painful but they are pretty inconvenient, as they tend to happen when I'm in the middle of something (like checking out at the grocery store!).  I never had them with Gabriel, so it's a new experience.  They feel like my abdomen is getting rock hard.  Interesting, to say the least!

I can't believe August is here!  School is only a few short weeks away.  I am definitely not ready!  Too bad time waits for no (wo)man, ha!

Oh!  We got the go-ahead from the Deacon at St Brigid Church on baby's baptism date for December, so that was great news!  Yes, that is my type-A showing, haha!

Third trimester starts next week (according to some sources - others say it's a week later) and we have our next appointment the following week.  Then we jump right into appointments every other week (joy! NOT!).  The end is near!!

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.

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!)

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.

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.