carrie's first pregnancy: August 2008

Friday, August 29, 2008

viability

Woohoo! I made it to 24 weeks, and as of today, the baby is "viable", meaning he can live outside the womb if anything went wrong and he delivered early. :) I'm inching closer and closer to 3rd trimester (which starts at 27 weeks), and we leave today for New York, to visit my in-laws. Last trip to upstate NY before baby arrives... crazy! Here is what is going on with baby this week:

"Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture."

Some minor aches and pains to complain about... other than heartburn, I've started to feel a pain in my back, on the left side by my hip. It just aches a little when I'm sitting, walking, or lying down... but if I bend over and then straighten, it really hurts. I think it's similar to sciatic pain, but I don't feel it shooting down my leg. Just my back and butt :) So I'm going to try to look up some stretches, to see if I can find any that will work, and if it still hurts I will bring it up at my next doctor's appointment. I can only assume this will get worse until the kid is here and I lose the weight, so I'm just looking for ways to live with it until then. Other than those two things, I'm still doing fine :) Baby has started kicking a lot more, and Joe felt his first kick on Wednesday night, while we watched Joe Biden give his vice-presidential speech at the democratic national convention. So he's definitely getting stronger, and it's been fun feeling him move around!

Off to NY, and still on the lookout for a nice cherry/dark wood crib on craigslist! :)

24 weeks

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

heartburn

This past week, the inevitable heartburn monster reared his ugly head. I'm getting heartburn about 2-3 times a day now... ugh. I have found that I get full really fast too, which I know is normal as baby grows and starts pushing on my organs. I feel for those ladies who have dealt with this from day one. Ugh! So I try to eat slower and I'm popping Tums... but man this sucks! I guess I was bound to get it sooner or later!

23 weeks 4 days

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another checkup

Had my 6 month checkup yesterday, and everything is looking great! I'm up 23 lbs, baby's heartrate is a strong 154 bpm, and my blood pressure and all other vitals look good :) So yay for good appointments! Next month I get my lovely RhoGam shot for being RH negative... fun. I also get to take the Gestational Diabetes test, where they make you drink a concentrated orange sugar drink, and then test your levels after an hour, to see if you are at risk for developing GD. My next appointment also signals the start of my 3rd trimester... I can't believe it! So only a few more weeks left here in 2nd tri... time is going by so fast! I'm about due for some updated belly photos, even though I don't feel a whole lot bigger than last month. I'm sure I am though, as shirts are starting to feel a little more snug. *sigh* It sucks having to worry about clothes fitting every couple of months, only to wear them for a short time.

Anyway, no change on the home front, as far as getting things ready for baby. We're still planning on painting the spare room some time in September, and I'm still scouring craigslist for a nice crib. I've seen a few, but they were gone before I could respond to the ad. Once we have that set up, I think the room will start to come together :) We've still got time!

23 weeks 4 days

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Friday, August 22, 2008

gifts from grandma chris

Joe's grandmother (his mom's mom) sent us these books today:

We're doing a Peter Rabbit theme for our nursery, so she found a Peter Rabbit "First Year" book for me to keep track of stuff. Hopefully I'll do a great job, but from what I can see from other people's baby books, it might be tough once he's here :) I love them though... and when I opened the Lap Book which is full of nursery rhymes, out came the tears. Good to know I'm still hormonal ;) Such thoughtful gifts!! :)

23 weeks

Posted by carrie at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

23 weeks

I'm 23 weeks today, and baby is moving around a lot more. I notice him kicking after dinner, while we are watching TV. I keep trying to see if Joe can feel him, but he doesn't do it consistently or hard enough, so he can't quite feel it yet on the outside. It's so strange... to me it still feels like "spasms"... kind of like when you are tired and your muscle involuntarily spasms by your eyes. Nothing really hard just yet, but I'm sure it's coming :)

Here is what is going on with baby this week:

"Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon."

We are back at home this weekend, but Joe is gearing up to travel on Tuesday night up to NY, and then I will meet him up there on Friday for Labor Day weekend. It's the last trip to see my in-laws before baby comes! Only 17 more weeks to go!!

23 weeks

Posted by carrie at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, August 21, 2008

fun facts

Fun facts about the baby from babies online:

Your baby's birthstone will be Turquoise (Prosperity)
Your baby's Astrological Sign will be Sagittarius
Your baby's Flower is Narcissus or Holly (Indigo, Green, Greenish-Blue)
Your baby will be born in the Chinese Year of The Rat
Your baby will start kindergarten in 2014, be old enough to drive a car in 2024, finish high school in 2027, and will graduate from college with the class of 2031, give or take a year.

Wow! :)

22 weeks 6 days

Posted by carrie at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

first registry gifts

Wow, the past week we got our first gifts from our registry already! I'm surprised and so thankful to have such generous friends and family! Now I guess I have to make sure I complete it this weekend, since people are looking at it :) We are only registered at Babies 'R Us, since that's the only chain that is in DC, New York, AND Michigan. I thought about registering at Target, but their return policy is a BEAR, so I opted to just stick with one store. We received our carseat (Graco Sungride) yesterday (very important, since we can't bring baby home without it!) and last weekend we received the "bumbo" seat :) I hadn't even put it on our registry yet (but I was going to), so yay for friends with kids who know what we will need ;) Putting all the baby stuff into the room upstairs is fun, and it's making it feel more real! I know once we get the furniture in there and I start putting stuff away, I'll feel more "ready"... I can't believe it's only 6 weeks until our baby shower! That's the last travel date... it's creeping up on me!

22 weeks 4 days

Posted by carrie at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

Friday, August 15, 2008

22 weeks

I finally felt movement yesterday that was unmistakable :) A few times it was so hard, that I swear I could feel it on the outside. I made Joe try to feel it, but of course he couldn't yet. But it gives me hope that he soon will! The "pops" are not constant or regular yet... but the little guy was active last night while we were watching TV :) So yay, baby is alive and kicking in there! I'm 22 weeks today, and here is what is going on with baby this week:

"Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb."

My next appointment is not until the 25th, but I haven't had any complaints or questions, so I'm still just hanging in there. My feet hurt a lot more now that I'm walking more each day, and hopefully it will subside as I get used to it. I'm still hovering around the 20lbs mark for weight gain, which is still fine. I have two pairs of pants from Ann Taylor Loft maternity, and they are heaven for work :)

Two more weeks and I'll be in NY again for Labor Day, and it will be our last visit with my in-laws before baby comes! After that, we have a wedding and the baby shower in Michigan, and that's it! Time is creeping up on me, and I still haven't found a crib yet, or painted the nursery. Joe's mom wants to come down and help us paint, so that is scheduled for sometime in September or October. I'm hoping for September, since I want to be able to help, and I want to be able to put the room together after we paint, and there's no telling how I will feel during the last two months. I've started organizing things in there, but it's a huge mess right now, while we sort out all the crap that we have been storing in the extra room. We're participating in a "garage sale" with our co-op, so I'm hoping to offload a bunch of stuff then, otherwise we'll have to get creative on where to put things.

Anyway, no big plans for the weekend, just taking it easy and cleaning the house up, since we've been gone for the past two weekends in a row. It needs it! :)

22 weeks

Posted by carrie at 8:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, August 14, 2008

baby names

We had a long car ride to NY last weekend, so I brought Laura's baby name books that she let me borrow, and this is our short list of names so far (we're still open to new ones though):

Anthony James Nelson
Benjamin ? Nelson
James Patrick Nelson
Alexander ? Nelson

A lot of our NY friends really liked Benjamin, which surprised me. I really like James Patrick, but Joe's parents' next door neighbor had a little boy and named him James. So every time we visit, there will be two "James". Which to me isn't a big deal, but might get annoying. Joe really likes Alexander, and it's growing on me, but it's still not my favorite.

Ah, decisions! ;) I think it actually might take us up until delivery day to figure this out!

21 weeks 6 days

Posted by carrie at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

Friday, August 8, 2008

21 weeks!

I am 21 weeks along today, only 19 more to go! I feel great, no complaints, and am loving my new commute to work :) I figured out that combined with my walks with Lily every day, I am walking a total of 2.5 miles each day :) Any little bit helps! Here is what is going on with baby this week:

"At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily."

We are off to NY tonight to visit friends for Lobsterfest, and I'll be sure to take lots of photos! :)

21 weeks

Posted by carrie at 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

feeling movement!

Well, I *think* I finally felt movement today :) Nothing major, but I feel little "muscle spasms"... but they are inside. Weird!! I guess you could call them flutters, but spasming feels more appropriate for me :) So yay! Now I just wait til they get stronger, and feel more like real kicks!

I also updated the belly shots last week, and finally got a chance to upload them. Here they are at 20 weeks (and one comparing my belly at 3 weeks vs now) :) I definitely am showing the weight gain. Some clothes I look pregnant, but some I just look really heavy. The last photo is from a wedding we went to last weekend to show what I mean. The pregnancy shots I can handle... but the ones where I just look like my old heavy self are depressing. *sigh* I know, I know... all in good time! At least Joe looks really good :)

We're off to Lobsterfest this weekend, and I'll get to compare pregnancy stories with our other friends that are pregnant and due this winter/spring! :) That, and all our friends with little ones will be there... I'm definitely taking my camera!! I'm so happy baby Nelson will have lots of kids to play with around his age :) We get to meet baby Christopher (Chris and Joyce's son) for the first time... I can't wait!

20 weeks 5 days

Posted by carrie at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

Friday, August 1, 2008

half way!

Well, we made it half way through! Only 4 1/2 more months to go, and only one more month left in my 2nd trimester! It's going by fast, but I think we are getting things under control. We are travelling a lot in August, so I think that will make the time go by faster, and September will mark my 3rd and final trimester. Then it's our baby shower in Michigan in early October, and after that, baby time! :) Here's what is going on with baby this week:

"Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well."

Well, we're having a boy, so I can ignore the last part ;) Here's hoping I feel some kicks this week! There have been a few times where I *think* I feel something... but when I sit still, it doesn't happen again. So nothing really obvious just yet. I picked up the crib mattress last night, so now it's just a matter of cleaning out the extra room and getting rid of anything we've been storing that we don't need, painting the room, and getting the crib. After that, we just need to stock it up, and get myself ready for labor. Well, as ready as I can be, I guess :)

This weekend we are off to a wedding, and next weekend we'll be at Lobsterfest, so fun times! Hopefully the dress I bought will still fit, and I won't be dying outside!

20 weeks

Posted by carrie at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

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