Week 23

With each passing week I am even more astonished how fast the time seems to be going. Then I realize I still have until the end of July and it seems so far away. I say that every week, don't I? :)

Her progress this week:

Baby is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound. Her skin is red and wrinkled. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare her for breathing. Loud noises heard often in utero — such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze baby when she hears them outside the womb.

I have started to notice her awake times this week. She usually starts stirring around at 8:30 in the morning. Then again before and after lunch. Another session late in the afternoon and definitely during dinner. She likes the eating times like her mommy! :) So far, she is sleeping at night when I am sleeping. Yay!

We haven't really made any progress on the nursery. I am still searching for a fabric to use for the bedding. I just can't seem to find anything I like. C and I have a plan to get the furniture moved out of the room and have the room painted by May. Having an actual completion time as a goal is going to be more helpful for me. I'm getting really excited about getting the room painted and being able to order the crib.

Cravings and kicks

I was sitting at my desk at work on Tuesday afternoon and got an overwhelming craving for chocolate ice cream. It was the oddest thing. It wasn't odd that I craved chocolate or even chocolate ice cream but the fact that it was such a strong craving. I HAD to have it NO matter what! It was the first time I've had a craving like that so far. So, I had the chocolate ice cream that night after dinner. I was even trying to be a little good and bought Edy's slow churned and it was really pretty darn good to only have 120 calories and 4 grams of fat.

After my cup of yummy, delicious chocolate ice cream, I couldn't get the thought of another craving out of my head. Fruit has been a huge craving the last 5 months, but I've been on a banana kick this week. I swear I am getting about 3 pieces of fruit in every day. So, I've been eating a banana every day and for some reason I kept thinking about bananas and peanut butter together. Now, I've never had a banana and peanut butter sandwich in my entire life and had no idea what it tasted like, but for some reason I just had to have it. I thought about it and thought about it and finally decided to stop torturing myself and made one. It really wasn't even that good. It was like it was missing something like mayonnaise or something tangy. At least I stopped thinking about it. LOL!

In Mia news: I was typing at my computer today and she kicked me so hard, I could see my shirt move. It made me laugh. I just love her SOOOOOO much.

Week 22 Belly pics

Whoa! I don't realize how big I'm getting until I see it in a picture. :)
These were taken this past Sunday which makes me 22 weeks and 2 days.

Week 22

Week 22! 5 whole months! Can you believe it? I hardly can sometimes. Only 18 weeks to go and 126 days until her due date of July 28th. I still think she'll decide to introduce herself to us all on August 1st but we'll see. :)

She has been super active this week and I just love it. I can actually feel her moving when I'm standing up or walking now. Before I was just feeling her when I was sitting or lying flat on my back. I even felt her moving in the shower this morning. I need to get in the bathtub and see if I can hear her under water like my mommy used to do when she was pregnant with me.

I am getting so excited about meeting her. 18 weeks to go doesn't really sound like a long time but then again it seems like an eternity. Here's her development so far for this week's post:

Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily. Her brain is growing rapidly and will continue to grow for the next five years. Baby is about the size of a child’s Nerf football (head to rump).

Daddy is going to take some new belly pictures in the morning to post. Stay tuned!

Week 21

Here's an update on Mia's development this week:

Your baby is about 7½- 8 inches in length (crown-to-rump) and weighs close to 10½ ounces. Your baby's bones are growing harder, stronger and ossifying. Arm and leg movements will increase and become more coordinated now as the muscles strengthen. Your baby should be moving vigorously by now, with lots of amniotic fluid to provide plenty of room. Your baby is quite the little gymnast, busy with twists, turns, and forward summersaults! Baby’s sleep and wake cycle may be getting more predictable as the weeks progress. Your baby’s brain is growing at a very fast rate and the immune system is beginning to develop, as white blood cells are created.

She is moving a lot but it just never seems to be enough. :)

Go Cocks!

We went to the NIT game last night that USC played in with Papa H and RJ. It was actually the funniest and most entertaining basketball game that I've been too. Can't remember the exact score but the Gamecocks won by something like 20 points. During the timeouts the band played and Mia just seemed to love that. Everytime they started up she started moving and kicking. I guess she can hear outside noises now. She was pretty excited about the chocolate Dippin' Dots, too. :)

C cannot wait to be able to take her to football and basketball games. They are going to be so cute dressed up in their Carolina gear, off to see the Gamecocks play.

Exercise time

I think I have a little acrobat growing inside of me. Last night, while I was sleeping, Mia was so active. It didn't wake me up or anything, but I could sense it and feel it even while I was dreaming. She's been pretty active all day and moving even as I type this. I'm enjoying being pregnant and experiencing all of this - actually I love it - but her arrival seems so far away sometimes.

Daddy's girl

C felt Mia move last night! It was so exciting. I had just laid down in the bed and she started bumping and nudging me a little bit. I told C she was moving around. I hadn't felt her very much during the day. He put his hand on my belly and I felt her move and asked if he felt it. He did! Then, I swear, I think she actually kicked me. The feeling wasn't as subtle as it usually is and he really felt that one. It just made my day!

Week 20

We are halfway there! Had an appointment with the doctor this morning. Everything's fine and measuring like it's supposed to. Mia's heart rate was 148 today. The doctor said my weight was about right for the halfway point but measuring on the high end. I really need to start walking. :(

Here's some info on her development for this week:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)

Your baby is already starting to kick. And while you're feeling her first kicks, she's feeling all kinds of new sensations, too. Her touch receptors are now forming connections to the brain, and she's developing a sense of touch. Not to mention a sense of hearing. That's right, her inner ear, or cochlea, is developing. Believe it or not, your little one can now hear you speak.

A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).

My next appointment is scheduled for April 7th (Week 24). During this appointment I will have to take the glucose test to test for diabetes. They gave me some orange stuff to drink before the test and I can't eat or drink anything 4 hours prior to the test. Good thing the test is in the morning. :)

Can you feel me now?

I have been feeling little Mia's bumps and nudges all week. It is the neatest feeling in the whole world. Most of them are still very faint but they are there. I feel like I have been waiting an eternity to feel this! I only notice it when I am sitting down too. Now, I can't wait until C can feel them from the outside of my belly. I was sitting on the couch last night and said, "She's bumping me again." C came running over to see if he could feel and he couldn't. That's going to be so exciting for him when he finally can feel his daughter move. :)

Also, this week I have been running through my head some things I can do in order to stay home with the munchkin. Nothing I think up seems to be workable. I thought about selling my car and getting a cheaper one, but I wonder how much that would really save in the long run since I will be financing for longer than it would take to pay this car off. I thought about refinancing my car but I'm not sure that a bank will be able to get my monthly payment much lower to be able to make a difference. I thought about turning the home phone off since we both have cell phones, but little things like that don't seem to be enough for me to quit work altogether. I want to finish this stupid associate's degree but that student loan will just be one more bill to have to worry about. I know I'm making this way more difficult than it should be. I should just accept the fact that I'm going to have to work and start getting used to it now. It's going to be so hard to leave that beautiful little girl with a stranger while I go to a job that I find so boring. I guess that's life, huh?

Movement?

I think I felt Mia yesterday. I was sitting on the couch and rather than flutters or something like that, it felt more like little bumps in my belly. It was really sweet. Guess that was her birthday present to mommy! :)

Week 19

She sure is getting big! :)

YOUR BABY THIS WEEK

Your baby’s senses of hearing, smelling, and touching are developing quickly. Talk and read to your baby, as your voice is likely the first your baby will hear.

This week your baby is approximately the size of a medium eggplant (head to rump).

It's official

Just an update on the previous post. Daddy and Mommy have decided to name the sweetest little girl in the whole wide world Mia Claire. :)

Mia Claire?

We've decided to call our precious little girl Mia. There's only one problem at the moment. We can't decide on the full name. I thought we were set on Mia Claire, but daddy doesn't think it has the right flow or enough syllables. I've been trying to think of replacement names and just can't seem to like anything but Mia Claire. I just love the way it sounds and looks.

After some research on the internet I've found that Mia can be short for Amelia and Miranda, neither of which I care for very much. C thought that Mariska would be nice for the first name but everywhere we looked the meaning of that name was "bitter" - not really something you want your child's name to mean. I just found a place where Mariska means "of the sea" which I just absolutely love. We're talking it over but she will definitely be called Mia. Sweet little Mia. :)