Monday, January 17, 2011

Listen to the Baby's Heartbeat!!!

15 Weeks & Epic Retreat

"Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds."

In other news, Jeff and I went to the "diaper swap" as previously mentioned.  And it was terrifying!  I was really excited to go, but when we got there it was completely packed full of women and babies.  Jeff and I just stood there in the entrance to the little store, him inching his way back towards the door, me taking a few steps in to the chaos and then retreating back to him, trying not to burst into tears.  I was completely overwhelmed!  All of my years of thrift store, consignment, and garage sale shopping had NOT prepared me for this.  I was completely out of my element.  Even though I thought I knew what kind and style of diapers I wanted, there were so many different ones and so many people, I didn't know what to do with myself.  So after about 7 minutes, Jeff and I made our epic retreat back out the door, and I breathed a sigh of relief in the open air. 
Maybe I will try again in April with a cloth-diaper-experienced mom friend by my side. :)

The good news is that after this we went to Kohl's and they had Eric Carle books and stuffed animals for there "Kohl's Cares for Kids".  So I got a stuffed Hungry Little Caterpillar for the baby's room.  Yay!

Hokey Pokey

Last night baby Pat got to go roller skating!

Jeff and I went skating with Brook & Ryan and Lisa & John.  It was a lot of fun.  Okay, at first it was a little weird.  Lots of kids of course.  But I said we had a kid with us, so it was okay.  Basically whenever they had an "all skate" you had hundreds of little kids bee-lining it to your knees, ready to bowl everyone down.  We all agreed we had never seen so many crashes.  If you looked on from the sidelines it was quite the scene.  Kids crying, scatter about the rink floor in bloody piles, groups singing "Happy Birthday" behind you in the concession stand area ( which didn't have lids or straws for their cups for some reason, maybe they couldn't fit it into the budget).  And then of course the 2 or 3 older gentleman who used to be pro-figure skaters doing Triple Salchows in the corner of the rink. 

Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera.  So here is a picture that is the closest representation to Jeff and I skating last night.  At least this is what it felt like. . . pure bliss as we dodged and weaved around the falling children.  It was truly a magical night. 


And baby Pat this time next year.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Belly Laughs



I am hoping to check out this cloth diaper swap in Overland Park on Saturday.  If not this month, then it looks like they will have another in April.



Snow day # 2 tomorrow.  Giving me plenty of time to read natural birth articles online.  And I found what might be a good pregnancy devotional.  I will let you know.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

14 Weeks

Well, here I am at 14 weeks!  Not much to see yet.  I still look the same but I figured it was time for another picture.  I bet the next one will have some baby belly!


 



"This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active."

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Super Baby Smoothie

This morning I made one of my Super Baby Smoothies.  This is what I am naming my creation.  :)
And here is my secret recipe:

OJ
vanilla yogurt
frozen banana
frozen blueberries
frozen strawberries
spoonful of wheat germ
spoonful of ground flax seed

Blend it up.
Yummy!  Baby Pat likes it.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Quit Playing Games with My Heart...

Yesterday we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat on our fetal doppler at home for the first time!  Last week I had my stomach all lubed up trying to find the heartbeat, not really knowing where to look, and so I couldn't ever find it.  But after the appointment on Monday I knew exactly where to put the thing.  So yesterday I tired it and found it right away, it was pumping away loud and clear.  I just laid there with tears in my eyes and listened.  It's amazing to remember that heartbeat is going on inside of me all of the time.  Then when Jeff got home from work we both listened to it together.  Pretty cool!

I've had some inquiries about the cost of such a device.  Below is a link to the fetal doppler I got off amazon.com.  It was only $23 and it works great!

Baby Sound Fetal Doppler

Monday, January 3, 2011

13 Weeks and 2nd Appointment

God saw you before you were born. Every day of your life was recorded in His book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Psalm 139:16 NLT

Today we had our second appointment with the midwife.  We got to hear the heartbeat again.  I felt so relieved and got teary eyed.  I've just felt like the baby was going to go away or disappear, but now I feel much better.  I am in my second trimester so the chances of miscarriage are almost completely gone.  We can finally go completely public!  I am excited to share the big news with my third graders.  They will be so excited.  The midwife felt my stomach and showed us where the uterus bulge was above my pubic bone.  It's not showing yet, but with me laying down we could press down my stomach and feel where it gets hard.  That was really cool.  She said it will start to move up and then out and that I probably won't even need maternity pants until after 20 weeks.  We are scheduled to go back and get the sonogram in 5 weeks to hopefully find out the gender!  I guess about 10% of the time they can't tell because of how the baby is positioned.  I will go crazy if that happens to us!  I need to know! :)