V-Day (plus one)

I intended to write this post on the actual V-day, but I was busy turning my house upside down yesterday to clean it... So I'm a day late. (hence the plus one).

Yesterday was the day i've been looking forward to my entire pregnancy. Viability day. Some of you may know this, some of you may not, but there has to be a cut off point where NICU doctor's say, "Your baby is just too little, we can't do anything". Even though she only weighs approximately 1.5-2.2lbs, Baby S is now past that stage. Viability day was yesterday, @ 24 weeks (according to the doctor's due date).

It's really strange to think that if something had happened on Monday, they wouldn't have tried to save her (@ most hospitals). But Thursday comes, and BAM. We're "viable".

Now, we'd prefer if if she cooks another 16 weeks! Every week past this week is more weight for her to gain, more for her lungs (and other systems) to develop. Survival rate @ 24 weeks still isn't great... but it really wasn't all that long ago that people were losing babies @ 30 weeks! The technology that God has blessed us with is truly amazing.

I probably looked forward to this day more than the average pregnant person (and honestly, I held my breath till this day for my sister-in-law's pregnancy, as well as some of my good friends). I attribute this to being a labor and delivery nurse. I've seen too much for my own good. I won't go into gory detail, but i was working on a night when we had a patient come in and deliver @ 22 weeks. While there was no way that baby would have lived (even with medical technology as good as it is), he DID live for several hours. And he was a baby. Not a fetus. It was truly one of the worst days of my life. His face and tiny body are etched in my memory. I am so thankful to God that we've made it this far! Praise Jesus!

Another was when I delivered a lady whose baby had died in utero, 2 weeks before christmas. She was 38 weeks pregnant. There was nothing wrong with her beautiful baby girl...sometimes these things happen... I'm terrified of it happening to me! I often find myself remembering this delivery, which was heartwrenching. (Again I won't go into the details). I have to remind myself, that throughout my daughter's life (whoa, that's weird to be typing... I'm used to BEING a daughter, not HAVING one!), that God is in control. He isn't in MORE control now b/c she is inside me. He will be in JUST as much control when I'm parenting her. When I make mistakes, He is still in the SAME amount of control. We can rely on Him. For everything. He is there with her now, and He will be always. (Just as He is for me). When I remember to remind myself of this, I have so much more peace, and less worry. Thank you Jesus for your goodness, your love, your everlasting peace!

Update to Baby S movements...

There has been a new movement instilled in me this week (week 24 of pregnancy).

Slithery-Roo

This is sort of a combination of the "Twitch" and the "Jab", except for that instead of the movement seeming to be directed out (away from my insides) the slithery-roo's defining characteristic is that it is directed more towards my internal organs. While I still LOVE feeling her move, these movements are giving me the heebie-jeebies. It feels SO weird, like she is touching stuff that isn't meant to be touched!! I felt a little "rolling" this AM so I was hoping the slithery-roo was over and she had moved enough that it would be back to "normal". But alas, she is still doing the slithery-roo jig on my bladder, intestines and various other organs. Still isn't a painful movement, just incredibly weird!

:)

Movements of Baby S

I've been thinking about all the different movements that this lil one makes. This is probably NOT interesting to anyone besides me, but since I will one day feel nostalgic for pregnancy (supposedly) I figured I should type out these musings.

"The Twitch"

Ever have a random twitch in your thigh muscle? That is what this movement feels like. This is currently her most common movement. It is sort of fluttery, and this is what i feel, I'd say 80% of the time.

"The Roll"

@ least, that's what I assume this feeling is. Sometimes I will get this slow, hardening sensation (but i know it isn't a contraction b/c of the location) and then I will feel the "twitch" movement afterwards. I think she is rolling side to side or top to bottom when i feel this. This is currently the most rare movement.

"The Jab"

This is MUCH stronger than the "twitch". The Jab is much more likely to be felt by outside observers (so far, outside of myself of course, only B has experienced feeling any movements by baby S). In fact, there have been a few "Jab's" that were so strong they startled me! While I have been feeling the Jab for awhile now, it has been mainly fairly low. But in the last few days I've been feeling many more Jabs in my mid abdomen... so I think she has moved around some. I have a feeling as she gets bigger and the space around her gets smaller that the "Jab" will become the most frequent (and painful!) movement. But for now, this is about 15-20% of Baby S's movements.

Of course all of these movements have much more detailed subcategories, but I am not yet observant enough to define them. :)

Panic is Settling in...

We found out yesterday:

It's a GIRL!

I knew it, B knew it. We weren't surprised at all! I had two dreams that it would be a girl.. plus, out of the 10 or 12 kids that have been born to our friends in the last year all but 2 have been boys. Evolution said it would have to be a girl. 

She is a snuggle bunny, apparently. There is all kinds of room in my upper abdomen, but she is lodged snugly in my lower belly- and she is all jackknifed up. She has her hands AND her feet by her head. (this made attaining the measurements needed for my ultrasound pretty difficult for the tech. She also didn't be have for my previous u/s at 12 weeks. Further proof that she is A) a girl and B) my kid).   Currently, she is butt down,  but has TONS of time to flip to head down. But, again, with my luck, I bet she winds up staying right as she is and I'll have to have a c/s.'

Her position pretty much made it impossible to get any cute shots of her. I have one of her little foot, but that is about it. Maybe I will add pictures from my 12 week U/s to this post later, since she was much more into posing for the camera then...

More later when I'm not panicking over the idea of "it" being a "she!"

Baby Bump and Cruise Pics

Here's a link to my facebook photos that have my "bump" pictures... I'll go ahead and show you the most recent one, taken at 19.5 weeks, on our cruise:

Right now, I can still just look fat, depending on the angle and the outfit. Trust me, this is a really flattering "bump" pic. :) Hopefully I will be more on top of taking pictures now!

Over the last week, baby S has REALLY stepped up the movement. Before I used to have to be sitting still for awhile to feel him/her. But now, almost as soon as I sit or lay down, I feel the baby moving! Its crazy! I love the feeling. 

Another baby note- we find out tomorrow if baby S is a boy or a girl! We both think it is a girl.. but we will see!! Or, with my luck, the baby will be super shy and not show it (or the lack of an "it") off! :)

Here's a link to our Miami and Cruise pictures... I will add a few of Brian's pics later, probably to the same album, so don't be afraid to check again!

This is a slideshow of the same pictures, in case you are too lazy to click on the link. :o)

Be sure to check out the captions to hear about our trip! :) I may post a trip blog, or I may not... so the captions may be all you get! :)

25 Things...

25 Things is a Facebook Phenomenon. Basically, you write 25 "interesting" things about yourself, then you get other people you are friends with to do the same. I finally caved and did mine, and figured i should add it to the blog as well... Thus taking care of my weekly post. :)

Here are my 25 things...

1)I had to read other people's notes for inspiration in order to come up with 25 things. That's kind of sad, b/c i think of myself as fairly interesting.
2) I scrunch my toes when i am nervous. In general, i move my toes a lot. I really like moving my toes.
3) I LOVE my husband. He spoils me rotten, and I love it.
4) Along those lines, I LOVE having my feet rubbed by said husband, but I won't rub his. Boy feet skeeve me out.
5) I am good at ideas- I'm a starter, not a finisher. Probably why it has taken me so long to finish this! Brian jokes that pregnancy is the one "idea" that i will have to finish! Hopefully it will help me to grow!
6)I love old cars. I'd love to redo one someday, though I have no idea what i am doing. And, I'd probably never finish it (see#5!)
7)I am a pretty decent swing dancer. I miss it. Someday, I would love to compete, if i ever got that good.
8) 8 is my lucky number. I was born 8 days late, 8 days before christmas, and the digits in my birthday = 8 (1+7=8). When i say my "lucky #", what I mean is, it is my favorite #.
9)When I was a little girl, my dad brought my brother and I to work (@ the FBI) and we took polygraph tests. I failed.
10) I'd love to climb a "fourteener" someday, even though when I lived in CO I could barely climb a foothill. I'd love to do it though!
11) I plan on running a marathon someday!
12) I love to travel, but hate to plan for the travel. Another reason I love my husband, he is a good planner! :)
13) I belong to an "Online Community" which makes me feel extremely geeky. However, I've met some awesome women on there, and it keeps me from being totally isolated since moving to MA! So I love it!
14) I REALLY enjoyed gambling the few times I have done it. I am pretty sure I should never live anywhere where gambling is legal. I might get into trouble.
15) I LOVED playing texas hold 'em with an old group of friends- not for the gambling, but b/c we always had such a fun time! I wish I could get a group together again to play, but I am sure it would never be the same..
16) the baby just kicked me. Such a cool feeling!
17) I LOVE how close I live to to the ocean now, even though it is REALLY cold water, even in the hottest summer. I think I will always need to live this close to water now...
18) I finally got up on one ski last summer, on the last water skiing day of the season. I am bummed that i may not get a chance to practice again this summer, due to the arrival of baby S. But, i think that is a good reason to skip it next year!
19) I love Coach bags. I always said I didn't "get" designer bags. I blame my addiction on my best friend.
20) I love my best friend. She is totally awesome, so generous. She knows how to handle me, and she puts me in my place! she rocks my sox off.
21) I have two cats. One of them has never gotten a name that sticks. So her name is "baby girl".
22) I have started to like baseball, b/c I have been swept into Red Sox Nation.
23) I always have been, and always will be, a die hard Redskins fan.
24)I love Jesus. I'm struggling with what it means to be in a Christian marriage and raise a Christian family. But I am excited to find out, and I know He will carry me, and bring me through!
25) I think I have been tagged so many times, not because everyone wanted to know more about me, but because my name begins with "a" so that brings me to the top of a list quicker...

16 weeks pregnant, maybe I should finally blog?

Well, the cat is out of the bag, as everyone knows already. So I can finally blog about being pregnant.

Of course, I would've done it sooner, had I had the energy.

The first trimester, I felt VERY blessed, b/c i really had no morning sickness. Yay! Praise God! I did have some food aversions (still do!), but it has really been very easy to manage.

I did however, get the Oh-so-fun insomnia, which still comes and goes, though it isn't as bad as in the first trimester.

And, the lovely exhaustion. Hopefully my subsequent pregnancies I won't be quite so exhausted!! I can't imagine having a toddler running around and being this tired!! ACK! Anyway, the exhaustion, like the insomnia, seems to be coming and going now.. some days i am really good, and other days, i could sleep all day!

Still no baby bump.

I had my 16 week appointment yesterday, which was really good. My midwife assured me that all was well even though I have no bump, and no weight gain. We scheduled my appointment for my "big" ultrasound.. this is the ultrasound where they check fetal anatomy for different typed of birth defects-- heart chambers, the brain, abdominal organs, etc. This is also the ultrasound where we get to find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl! We can't wait! :)

Baby S's heartrate was in the 140s again.. seriously, best sound ever! :) It was such a great reassurance to hear it! According to my weekly emails, baby S is about the size of an avocado this week.

I have started to feel the baby move- i think! I really can't tell for sure if it is the baby, but I am 90% sure! I usually can feel it when i am laying on my stomach, or sitting really still (like when i am typing on the laptop!) I can't wait for the movement to be more regular!

Alright, i think this is enough excitement for now! Hopefully I won't go so long between blogs from now on! :)