april 29- 22w3d

here's the belly! i'm always taking these impromptu pictures while thadd and i are sitting around at night... i need to actually take some when we're on our way out somewhere so i'll look decent for once! i'll work on some better pictures of me this week.

april 26- ultrasound pics up!

down at the bottom on the left hand side. enjoy!
more to come on the 15th!

april 16- get ready for pink!

today we found out you're a girl!

we've already transitioned in our minds to being the parents of a girl, and how that will be different. (although i'm sure there will be more adjusting mentally to be done over time.) we were really in the mindset of parenting a boy. just because that's what we'd always hoped to have first... and then knowing that max was a boy... it's just different to think "we're having a girl!
but it is also exciting. it comes with so many different opportunities and challenges. we can't wait to get started.

here's the overview:

-everything's PERFECT! literally every aspect of the ultrasound was 100% normal. as though i didn't have APS at all! we couldn't have asked for a better result.
-the quad screen came back negative. (it's not that trustworthy anyway... but good news nonetheless)
-the only thing that didn't measure over 20 weeks was the femur. when i asked if that was ok, the lady doing the ultrasound laughed and mentioned that neither one of us are very tall anyway. hehe.. so it makes sense that our kids would be shorter.
-all the organs were good. spinal cord good. brain good. placenta good. cord good.
- she weighs a pound now. how exciting! she weighs already more than max did when he was born. it's hard for me to think about... but... it makes me happy too. just to know that she's so much healthier than poor max was.

she spent the majority of the time doing flips and putting her hand to her face. she also had her mouth open almost the whole time! i guess she'll be like me someday! (or maybe like her daddy- singing all the time.)

we have some really cute pictures that i hope to have up by mid-next week. thadd says she looks like me already. (her feet definitely do! i have long skinny toes.. thadd's feet are...well... a bit more hobbit-ish. :) which is funny because max, even at 21 weeks really did look like a morris. we both think he looked a bit more like thadd's brother, titus, than thadd... but still, he looked a lot like his dad. (and he had hobbit feet and connected earlobes just like his dad for sure!) so i guess, time will tell. she would look a little weird if she came out looking just like her male relatives... i think there's some sort of general rule about that... hopefully the girls will look like girls, and the boys boys. :)

after the ultrasound we went to borders to pick out a book. for max we picked out "where the wild things are". (this was one of my favorites!) for this little girl we got "oh the places you'll go".... another favorite of ours. (though thadd is a little worried about gender ambiguity. it says "guy" a few times. i think it's probably ok for a girl too.)



thanks so much for all of your prayers and well wishes. i know that they truly made a difference. now i'm just taking it 4 weeks at a time from here. i'll have my next ultrasounds at 4 weeks apart. then after 30 weeks, i'll have non-stress tests twice weekly and ultrasounds weekly. they'll induce me if any clots show up to save the baby...or, on the terrible off chance i get eclampsia again, to save me. full term for me will be about 38-39 weeks... which will change my delivery date to somewhere close to the august 23.

april 9- 19w4d

the belly bulge.

(and thadd's "i work night shift window blackout". at least its not trashy from the outside. :)

march 31- another belly picture 18wks 2 days

here's some skin!
i am relying on thadd for picture taking right now... and well, we can see how that's turning out. :) but i think you can see the belly better than in the other pictures....

(i think i need a belly tan...and a more supportive bra!!)

march 29- 18 weeks

the maternity pants that fit me a few weeks ago are already painfully small. :/ and sitting with my legs up is pretty much out of the question... it's a little crowded in there already. at 18weeks i'm already bigger than i was with max at 21.

march4- ultrasound pic updates

i've messed with the sizing for about an hour. i'm going to work on it more tomorrow. in the mean time feel free to just click through to the pictures. (i'm having no luck right now re-sizing them.)

these are photos of the pictures. (my scanner still isn't working.) but i think they turned out ok.

march 4- the baby bump

a big bump- but i haven't gained any weight yet. :)

feb 16- a tiny bit heavy in the belly

so.. as you can tell from my previous and extra long post... we have our computer back!!! yay! which means it will only be a matter of time before i'm able to properly scan in and post all my ultrasound pictures to date! i have another doctors appt tomorrow. so i'll have another one then. (i should also get the results from the pint of blood they took from me last week.)
on the ickiness front i'm doing better. the nausea is almost completely gone. i'm just really dizzy and tired all the time. i think i'm supposed to feel more energetic soon.... right? :) i still can't really stand the smell of meat... particularly cooking meat at certain times of the day.
i am having trouble sleeping... insomnia and restlessness in full force! it's like wow- where's my snoodle? (i've already got thadd's agreement that it's coming out of the march budget. sleep is just way too important to miss.)
on a high note my excessive ear wax has calmed down a little. haha!
a few days ago i actually had the "heavy" sensation in my belly for the first time. i don't think i noticed it with max... but i'm conscious of every detail with the fleck. it's actually a neat experience to feel everything a little sooner, and know what's going on with my body. (and the baby) my sister has me all neurotic about feeling the kicks. she's convinced i should feel them like... this week! (i looked up the "normal" and it said between 14 and 26 weeks.) i think i still have some time to go. :)
so i'll keep you all updated on a much more regular basis. and soon i'll be posting belly pics. thadd's actually really excited about watching my belly get bigger. (or maybe he's excited because that means the BABY is bigger!) he's chasing me around with a camera. you can definitely see a little pooch (below my fat pooch.) right above my pelvic bone... and it's hard as a rock! what a crazy thing- to have a little person growing in my abdomen!

feb 6- watching wiggles

it was so amazing over the past few weeks to see the gummy bear grow arms and legs, and then today... to see them moving around!
i had a stomach virus last week. which is not what you want- trust me. apparently i have to get it about once a year. so i spent about 12 hours in the hospital and got 4 bags of fluids. my bilirubin levels were elevated, so i got to get transported to the hospital (from the clinic) in an ambulance. woo-hoo! riding backwards in an ambulance, pregnant, with a stomach virus, on hawaiian roads.. this is also an experience i'll tell you to skip.
they never did find out why my levels were elevated... said it just could be random. so hopefully everything is good with that.
i'm still having some odd cravings and aversions. i guess i'm just going to have to get used to passing on steak for at least the next few months. i've started eating ketchup on my eggs- which i haven't done since i was about 13. and i really can't stand the taste of soda. i keep thinking "mmm.. i'd really like a coke" then i get it and i can only drink a couple of sips.. it's just too sweet and syrupy. ick.
thadd is convinced that the fleck is a girl. mostly due to the fact that i've been a little moody. just a little. with max, and all my prior pregnancies i've been super sweet and so considerate. just as loving as can be. notsomuch this time. :) but i'm trying to not go all crazy pregnant woman on him. :)
i've been having really crazy dizzy spells lately too. i guess i'm like a victorian era woman... just swooning while i'm with child. the doc said it's normal. probably due to all the extra blood my body is starting to have to pump around. he said just not to exert myself, get up slowly... the usual.
i am still periodically having spotting. in fact i was very nervous about my ultrasound today.. that things might not turn out so great. but they did. and the doctor said that some people spot their whole pregnancy.. etc.etc. blah blah... doesn't make me feel any better... blah blah. but at least i'm confident for today. and that's really what i have to do. just take it one day at a time.
as i mentioned above... the weekly ultrasounds should make you jealous. watching the baby grow in such a detailed way is really an amazing experience. we're really happy to be able to follow this baby so closely.
i've had my ob registration appointment. (where they order bloodwork, and you do a ton of paperwork.) and will have my first real ob appt. on feb 20. i got the bloodwork done today. i think they took a pint and a half.
my computer is still on the lam. but i should have it back hopefully early next week.. so i'll be able to keep more updates on here.
again, thanks for all of your support!
i scanned in all my recent pictures- but the lab here on base doesn't have a very good scanner. i'm just going to wait. sorry! i promise to have them up next week! 4 more pictures then!