Week 26: HUGE kicks and a wonderful wedding

This past week we went and got an ultrasound done to monitor my placenta previa and got the wonderful news that the placenta has completely moved out of the way of the cervix/ birth canal. This means that I finally get to make my real birth plan and get ready for it with my doctors. During the ultrasound they measured our little bear at 2 pounds already! Which means he is in the 50.38 percentile for infant growth and development during gestation. Almost exactly right on where the average is.
He's also about 14 inches long according to babycenter.com. When he kicks now, and I have my hand on my belly, I can feel if it's a foot or a hand. He kicks a lot and moves a lot. This morning my husband saw my belly move while little bear was kicking really hard. He watched for a good 5-10 minutes in awe saying "That's so weird." several times. :)
This weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to attend my dad and his new wife's wedding on the Oregon Coast. My husband and I had a blast and it was such a joyous day, my face hurt from smiling so much, I was so happy. Before we headed to the coast for the wedding, my husband bought me a beautiful blue dress to wear to it. We went to goodwill because we couldn't find anything decent in any store. Goodwill didn't have a maternity section, so we decided just to look in the dresses part. We picked a few dresses to try on and I ended up fitting in a regular size large dress at 6 months pregnant! Not only that, we had to pin the dress in the back because it was a little big, but fit my belly and everywhere else wonderfully. It originally came from david's bridal priced at like $100. We got it for $20. :)
Here's a baby bump pic for you, since I didn't get the ultrasounds this time. It's a picture of me (left) with my Uncle Chris at my dad's wedding. We were joking that his belly kinda looks like mine at the moment and my sister took a picture of us holding our "bumps" :)

That's it for Week 26. I can't believe we are headed into Week 27 now. It's insane how quickly time is flying by.

Week 25

Week 25. This week little bear was about 13.5 inches and about 1.5 pounds.
I had a really interesting dream the other night and in it, our son was about 3 years old and said to someone "This is my mama!" and wrapped himself around my leg. It was so cute. I can't wait to be a mom to our sweet little bear.
This week went by without much in the way of news. My belly grew more taut, but I didn't gain any weight. I think I might have lost some weight again. I had morning sickness all week and the reflux/heartburn made me pretty nauseous. I didn't eat much, but I didn't vomit which is good.
I did catch a cold that my husband had, but thanks to Chinese herbs it was shortlived. I still have a tiny bit of a cold, but the worst of it is over.
Classes are going well. I got a 92% on my big unit 1 test in my math class. Although, I discovered that the homework assignments for each section are worth more than the "big" unit tests... odd. So the test didn't impact my grade much at all. I still have all A's. It's exhausting to keep up with, but it's very rewarding to log in to my classes every day and see those grades.
Tomorrow I have the test for gestational diabetes and an ultrasound. I have to drink the syrupy orange drink and get a blood test. But at least we get to see little bear again! And hopefully the placenta has moved away from the cervix. I'm sure I've mentioned that I have placenta previa. In my case it doesn't entirely cover the cervix, but it does still need to move quite a bit in order for me to be able to have a vaginal birth. If it doesn't move in time, I do have to have a c-section which is not what I want. Anyway, since it wasn't entirely covering, my OB is optimistic about it moving enough so that I can have a regular birth.
That's about all I have time to write for week 25, as I am trying to get my homework and classwork all completed by Friday morning so I don't have to worry about it this weekend. My dad is getting married and I want to be able to be all there and enjoying time with family rather than worrying about turning in assignments that are due that day.
I'll post the ultrasound pics next week with my week 26 post.

Baby bump pics of week 24!

This week, our little bear is about the size of an ear of corn!
Meaning he's about 11.8 inches and 1.3 pounds. I can feel the growth each week. Things are pretty crammed in my belly.

This week went by pretty fast without much in the way of news or exciting events. I have been focusing so hard on school that I haven't been able to do much else. I know that with our little mini trips coming up, I need to make sure I am in a good standing and have a good schedule going with all my classes. We are headed to the Oregon Coast very very soon for Friday, Saturday and a Sunday. The first two are days when a lot of assignments are due and when a lot of classwork happens.

Baby Bump!!!

Here it is once again. Getting much bigger since I last had my husband take a picture for me. As you can see, I gained a good amount of weight (not too much or too little) on my legs and arms finally. And a lot on my belly (kinda out of my control :) I currently weigh 162 pounds, still 13 pounds under pre pregnancy weight. Doctor says if I didn't have the baby belly and extra breast growth I would probably be about 148 pounds. I am feeling a lot better and healthier, but it is very difficult to roll over or move around in bed. I also sometimes have to ask for some help when standing up from sitting.

                                                      ~****~

 This is sort of a front view of the baby bump, you can see I'm still pretty thin, but the doctor says I'm at a healthy weight now and not to worry. Plus I haven't thrown up in over two weeks! Still get light morning sickness though.
  My dad and his soon to be wife bought me a few maternity shirts and two pairs of maternity leggings (by the way most comfortable things EVER) And my husband really liked this t shirt that they got for me. I know the text is backwards because of the mirror selfie, but it says "We are hoping it's a dinosaur". I think it's cute and funny. I'm wearing it today and I'm going to wear it to the gym. In the picture above, I'm also wearing clothes they got for me. I am so so so so grateful for their kindness.
                       
                                            ~****~


That's really all for week 24. I am a little late writing this post, as I am currently actually 25 weeks pregnant, but oh well.
I have a doctors appointment in week 26, where I have to drink the orange syrupy stuff and get a blood test for gestational diabetes.
Thanks for reading about our progress! Little bear is doing great and loves to kick now when he hears mommy sing <3

Week 23 post

I am currently trying to get lots of classwork and homework done and it may be a few days until I get to do a nice, formal post. Here's a little blurb about how week 23 went:

This week baby boy's kicks got even stronger. You can clearly feel them by touching my belly and if you watch, you can see my belly move. This week, for the first time, someone touched my belly without asking or without my permission. It was weird and I got a little protective of my son. Even though the lady was well meaning and I sort of knew her, it's a little odd to just watch as someone touches my stomach. Even though she's obviously not going to steal my boy, I was very protective of him in that moment.
People are recognizing more and more that I really am pregnant and not just walking around with a nasty belly that looks like a beer gut. My belly has become more round and it definitely has the shape of someone who is pregnant... which is good, considering that's what I am :)
I had some problems with reflux and hot flashes this week. Yesterday (Sunday) I had hot flashes so bad that I was constantly clammy and sweaty. We walked into the air conditioned house after church and it felt so wonderful. My husband goes "It's FREEZING in here." He went to check the internal temperature and the thermostat said 64. I didn't mind.
So the week went well and tomorrow (Tuesday) begins another week. Week 24. Soon I will be in the third trimester. 2/3 of the way through this experience. It's going by fast. I am glad it is too. The faster it goes, the faster I am done with the semester, and the faster we get to meet our son. :)

Fall semester

  I just took on another class for this semester. That makes a total of 9 credits. I'm taking FDENG101 (Foundations English), FDMAT108 (Foundations Math), and NUTR105 (Nutrition). These are three classes that are required for me to apply to the program at BYU Idaho I am working towards. After this I have to take 3 Biology classes, 2 Biology labs, 2 Chemistry classes, 2 Chemistry labs, Psychology, and another Math class. For the program I have to have at least a 3.5 GPA to apply. Needless to say, I'm going to be spending a lot of time on classes this semester. I'm not going to blog as frequently. I will still do weekly posts to show progress of the pregnancy, but I just won't have time to post other little blurbs or anything. I won't really even have time for Facebook. Since I'm doing 9 credit hours as well as getting ready for our first baby, my days are going to be very busy.
  Not going to divulge what the program is that I'm working toward, although as you can see it's clearly science related haha. I really appreciate how many people read this blog and like to follow the progress of Baby Meyers and his growth/development. Once I have him I will still be busy doing classes and taking care of him. I probably won't have time to do blog posts that often and this blog will probably become a private blog once he's born. Just for his protection and all.
  Anyway, today I am starting my diligent classwork and study schedule which means less facebook, less blog, less internet outside of classes. Thanks again for reading this blog. Don't worry, I'll post on Monday about week 23. I'll include a belly picture too :)

22 weeks

This week baby boy is about 11 inches and almost 1 whole pound. He's about the size of a spaghetti squash. That seems about right, although I feel like I am looking at the spaghetti squash we have in our kitchen and thinking "that's HUGE!" Maybe looks a little big to me, but I definitely feel him getting bigger as my belly does.

This week was weird and boring as far as pregnancy news. Nothing exciting really happened and I was so lethargic the whole week. I was also getting ready for my classes to start, so I didn't keep my journal much. Although this week I felt a definite difference in the strength of baby boy's kicks. He's been merciful and his movements and kicks at night aren't really enough to wake me up (or maybe I'm so exhausted and out cold my body doesn't care to alert me anymore haha) But during the day I find myself often saying "oof" or looking down at my belly and saying "you behave in there!" It's so surreal and weird feeling to have a moving human in there. Oh! Something new this week though: you can see very clearly his movements and kicks/hiccups when you look at my belly as he does it. It can creep me out sometimes and if I do watch while he moves I usually look up with my jaw wide open like "SO WEIRD". But like I said, cool at the same time.

I did gain a little bit of weight this week. I am now 157 pounds. On some days it drops to 154 again, but since baby is growing so rapidly there will be no escaping some weight gain. I might just get back up to my pre pregnancy weight at the end of my pregnancy haha.

I've had dreams about being in labor with our son the past 3 nights in a row. I can't remember before that this week, but I know that when I'm not dreaming of being in labor I usually dream about having him home and holding him. I'm so excited to meet him. We started our baby registry stuff and I was just ecstatic to be choosing the things we will be bringing our son home in, the things he will sleep in and with, clothes, cloth diapers. It's so exciting. But we still have 119 days until my due date.I'm stoked to be going in to week 23, because it means 17 more weeks until my due date.

Anyway, I have a doctors appointment this week on Wednesday. I think another ultrasound is happening because of partial previa (if I haven't mentioned it before, it's where the placenta is either partially or entirely covering the cervix. This little condition may keep me from having a natural birth. But since mine is only partial and only needs to move a little tiny bit out of the way, I should be fine.) - they are going to check on development of our boy I think but mainly on where the placenta is deciding to be. The next visit I think is two weeks after that with an ultrasound and I think it's the dreaded blood test appointment for Gestational Diabetes. Ick.

21 weeks

This week Baby Meyers is about the length of a carrot from the top of his head to his bottom. He weighs almost a pound too.

This week, eyebrows and eyelids are now present.

Corry has been able to feel almost all kicks and even some movements. I read something this week that said some of the jerking movements I feel might be baby having hiccups. Isn't that cool? I don't know why but I think it's another really cool thing that helps me be connected to our son and helps me realize how real this is. Sometimes I have moments of self awareness where I'm like "holy crud, I'm pregnant". Maybe I'm not using that term right, but I don't know how else to describe it. It's a cool feeling.

This week I decided to redo that little questionnaire I did back on the week 16. Since today is my last day of being 21 weeks I think it's accurate enough to answer how things are for me up to today.

How far along? 21 weeks, 6 days
Total weight gain/loss: Started my pregnancy at 175, now 155. But that's +4 pounds from the lowest weight I've been during this pregnancy.

Maternity clothes? I have a few and they are the most comfortable thing to wear now. My dad's wonderful fiance helped me order some online and they bought them for me, which is so wonderful and kind of them. Also got a couple belly bands, which will be awesome to have.
Stretch marks? Still no stretch marks on my belly even though it is huge. I eat a ton of vitamin C and drink tons of water, and my doctor says that’s probably what’s keeping me from getting stretch marks.
Sleep: Not much this week. I have been getting these monster hot flashes every night and it’s a little uncomfortable to sleep with my big belly.
Best moment this week: ^Having an entire half day where I had no nausea. It was awesome.
Have you told family and friends: Yes- announced to close family April 31st, announced to more family a few days after. Announced to facebook on Mother's Day.

Movement: Lots of big kicks, especially when I stand up and walk.
Food cravings: yogurt with granola, pineapple juice, and craisins
Anything making you queasy or sick: The thought of garlic or onion, dark green veggies, and the smell of marijuana. Disgusting.
Have you started to show yet: Yep, and a stranger who didn’t know I was pregnant asked when I am due. The belly is obviously not a food baby gut anymore haha.
Leakage: Super awkward question… but yeah. It happens when you have a tiny human who likes to use your bladder as part of his hourly kick boxing routine haha.
Gender prediction: It’s a boy J

 Labor Signs: I get some gnarly Braxton hicks contractions, but they’re really not labor signs. They’re just getting me ready for labor.

Belly Button in or out? It's still halfway out. I’m not sure it will be an outie.
Wedding rings on or off? Finally able to wear both of my rings again, and I am thrilled. J
Happy or Moody most of the time: I’ve been mostly happy this week, but there are times in the morning where I am very moody. That’s mostly because of my mood swings that come with the morning sickness.
Weekly Wisdom: It’s probably best to wear panty liners when you hit 20 weeks…
Milestones: Learned how to roll out of bed without rolling on my belly or sitting up and causing cramps.

So, there it is. The end of week 21. It started to feel like Autumn this week and we got some much needed rain here. The slightly colder temperatures have been helpful for my hot flashes. Not a totally eventful week, but still a good one where I managed to stay out of the hospital. :)