33 Weeks: Putting A Face To A Name

I have a feeling all my posts from now on are going to take on the same tone of nervous excitement. Peanut is going to be here soon, whether Jeff and I are ready or not. Granted, we feel ready, and I think if she showed up tomorrow we'd be alright. But that doesn't mean she should.

Do you hear me little one? You stay in there and keep growing for as long as you need to, okay?

At 33 weeks, little Peanut is growing like a weed. Or at least it sure feels like she is. She moves almost constantly, which means I regularly have the pleasure of feeling little feet in my ribs and little fists in my side. Sometimes it feels like shes somersaulting, and it takes my breath away for a second. No matter how long she's been growing in my belly, I don't think I'll ever get totally used to some of the strange sensations that happen when you're sharing your body with another person, even if that other person is very, very little. I'm glad she's moving around though, I'd prefer that to a lazy baby. At least I know she's active!

I had an additional ultrasound yesterday to check on Peanut's size and growth. Normally the last ultrasound of a low-risk pregnancy is the "anatomy" scan at around 20 weeks, but because my doctor was concerned about preeclampsia, she wanted to look again and make sure Peanut is a normal size and all is well. Here are a couple shots from the scan yesterday:

Peanut's face from the front. She's so cute, right?

Side profile shot.

I realize ultrasounds are, for the most part, ugly and unclear photos. Frankly sometimes I'm shocked at how much the ultrasound techs can decipher from what looks like static to me. It was a little eerie to see her this far into the pregnancy. Even at 21 weeks, she didn't appear too much like a baby. She had all the main features, but they're so much more developed now that she looks like a little person. Not so much in these pictures, they don't really do her justice. I'm convinced she'll be a doll though.

And if she's not, just lie to me and tell me she is, mm'kay?

Most importantly, after all the measurements were taken and averaged, the ultrasound tech told me Peanut is measuring at about 33 weeks and 5 days, so about 5 days "big." I'll have to see what the doctor says about this when I go again next week, but it definitely rules out the small baby doc was worried about. I'm thinking this might ease her fears about preeclampsia and she may reevaluate her idea that baby girl will need to come early.

I can't say I'm surprised she's a little big (and I'm pretty sure this isn't terribly uncommon), because I still feel like a whale. Sometimes I look down and I'm amazed at just how big my belly has gotten. Wasn't it just yesterday I was wondering if strangers could tell that I'm pregnant? No doubt these days, haha.

(Random side note: to this point, I have still managed to avoid any uninvited belly rubs. At this point, I'm considering myself the champ of whatever facial expression it is that says "Do NOT touch my belly.")

Here's the 33-week bump pic:

 Thankfully the ultrasound tech also confirmed that Peanut is still a girl! Thank goodness.

I would've been in so much trouble if she were now a boy, somehow. I've got enough pink to outfit ten little girls for a lifetime, haha.

My iPhone app says shes the side of a cauliflower, but I myself have never seen an 18" cauliflower, so I doubt that's a good size reference. I think for the most part she probably just looks like a small baby. A VERY CUTE small baby. =)

We also start our "childbirth classes" tonight, and I'm interested to see how that goes. With so much information out there so readily available, I'm not sure there's too much they can teach us that we don't already know, but it'll be good to tour the birthing center, hear about some recommended techniques for labor and delivery, and maybe meet some other people in the same boat as us. Perhaps I'll write another update about that tomorrow, but only if it's terribly exciting.

I visit the doctor again on Tuesday for my 34-week checkup, and I'm sure we'll discuss Peanut's size and doc's thoughts about the preeclampsia. This will be the first doctor appointment I go to without Jeff, which makes me a little sad. By some miracle, he's been able to attend every single appointment we've had, and I think he's really liked being able to participate in the whole process. But since he just started training, he wasn't able to go with me to the ultrasound yesterday, and will probably miss all of our doctor appointments from now on. I suppose as long as he's there for the last one that's all that really matters.

I think that's about it as far as updates from this past week. I'll check back in soon with more updates!

Halfway There!

Yesterday marked the end of our 20th week of pregnancy, roughly the halfway point. It feels like its drug on and flown by at the same time. Part of me can't imagine that in about 4 1/2 months, we'll get to hold our little Peanut. Another part of me, though, knows how much will happen between now and then, and that makes me a little anxious. I don't think anyone ever feels completely ready, but we're a long way from even being close to ready. It's mostly a conscious decision not to collect a bunch of stuff we're just going to have to move with us in a little over a month, and I think we're also waiting until we know Peanut is a he or a she to move forward with purchasing a lot of stuff. So it's been minimal nesting for me, so far. I'm sure next week I'll go buy a few little things for Peanut. He/she doesn't have much right now, and I feel kind of bad, haha.

Anyway, here's the 20-week pic. I really should try to start taking these earlier in the day when I don't look so darn worn out, but it's tricky when Jeff leaves the house at 5:00 am. So just don't judge my laziness, at least I put real clothes on, haha.

Also probably never wearing that shirt again...haha.

Not much else is new, we're just anxiously awaiting our gender sonogram on Monday. Our plan is not to find out at the actual appointment, but rather wait until later in the day when Jeff and I's reactions can be captured on video. I feel like there's something anti-climactic about sitting in the dark in the ultrasound room and having the tech just tell you what your baby is. So I've put my bestie Maggie Mae in charge of delivering the good news.

I'll inflate two black balloons, one filled with pink confetti, and one filled with blue confetti. Both will be labeled and delivered to Maggie with a note from the doctor about Peanut's gender. She'll return later to our house with the correct balloon, and will record Jeff and I's reaction as the balloon is popped. I'm sure I'll be anxious all day, especially knowing that Maggie knows and I don't. It'll be fun to see our reactions live though, for the first time, and to be able to share that with our friends will be so fun too.

So unfortunately, you probably won't hear anything from me here until Tuesday. You can wait another day, I promise. If I have a chance I'll put something on Facebook Monday night, but I've yet to come up with a clever way to announce it.
"IT'S A ______!" 
just doesn't seem to do it justice. We'll see if my creative brain can come up with something between now and then.

Also in the meantime: spending today and tomorrow preparing for Tiffany's baby shower, staying up way too late on Friday night to go see DIVERGENT (I'm seriously so stoked about this) and then co-hosting Tiff's shower on Saturday. I suppose I'll need to spend Sunday resting and recuperating from such a busy few days, and then bright and early Monday morning we head out to see the doctor!

Eeeeeeee I can't wait!!




COUNTDOWN TO THE GENDER SONO: 3 days, 23 hours, 37 minutes...

15 Weeks!

Technically this post comes a day before our 16 week mark, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to take the same photo on the same day each week. If I'm being honest, the self-imposed pressure to update the chalkboard with something new and creative is usually the real reason behind my procrastination. I'm just not that creative with chalk!

Anyway, here's the 15 week pic:

Seemingly out of nowhere, this little bump has appeared on my belly that won't go away, even if I'm sucking in with all my might. It's crazy to see how much and how fast your body changes. This little bump showed up really in a matter of days, and caught me a little by surprise. Not that I'm complaining, I was really feeling the awkward mid-point of "too big to be normal" and "too small to be pregnant."

Although now that its out there, I'm convinced everyone is staring at me when I'm in public somewhere. Its strange to feel like people can tell something personal about you just by looking at you - but they can! The good news is, I've got roughly six more months to get comfortable with this.

We also had our 16-week check up with our doctor yesterday, and she says everything is normal. She had a much easier time finding Peanut's heartbeat this time around, which means he/she is growing and getting bigger! Since our next appointment (we go roughly every four weeks) is right around the 20-week mark, we're planning to do our "anatomy" ultrasound along with the appointment. They say its so they can count fingers and toes, etc, but we all know what anatomy they're REALLY looking for, tee hee!

Technically it's a five-week wait since our doctor will be out of town for spring break, and the wait just might kill me. I'm trying to remind myself that four months have already gone by, and I'll miss all of this when it's over, but its hard to imagine a little person growing in there without knowing if it's a he or a she. We have no choice but to wait, though!

The other development I'm anxiously awaiting is feeling Peanut move around for the first time. They can it can happen anytime between 16 and 22 weeks (although realistically first-time moms usually don't feel it - or can't distinguish it - early on).

Hopefully I'll be able to write about something new and exciting soon, though! Technically I should post our week 16 pic tomorrow or Thursday, but we'll see if I actually get around to taking it.

More soon!

It's Official!!

Today is our first notable milestone!!! While we've known of our pregnancy for about five weeks now, we hadn't yet had it medically confirmed. This can cause some stress, knowing, but not knowing, at least not for sure.

That changed this afternoon!!! We had our first ultrasound, and got to actually see Baby Van Orsow for the first time. Not long after we found out we were pregnant, Jeff and I decided to nickname it Peanut (and Butter, should there have been a second baby). So here's the first real look at Peanut, our little gummy bear: 

It looks, Jeff and I decided, remarkably like a baby. We had both been expecting a small blob on the screen that the ultrasound tech would have to convince us was a baby. But this, this looks like an actual, albeit large-headed, human baby. Who knew?!?! (That's a rhetorical question...obviously anyone who has ever had or seen an ultra sound knew...)

This probably goes without saying, but we're over the moon. We have proof now, real proof, that there is a tiny human growing in my belly. We heard his or her little heartbeat and watched it blip blip on the screen.

This is crazy. 

Because Peanut is only about the size of a strawberry (and hopefully just as sweet!) he or she hasn't really made his or her presence known in the way of a bump. Yet. 

See? 

Week 9:

I'm pretty sure any bump I'm seeing is just my jeans, right?? That's just bunchy denim?? Let's hope so, I don't feel quite ready to have my body spill the beans. 

That reminds me, it's KILLING me not to be able to tell my friends. Especially those who are already very suspicious. Now that everyone is coming back into town, I'm eager to see them again and tell them our news, but I know that I will feel most comfortable in the long run if I keep quiet just a little longer. Here's hoping my excitement doesn't get the best of me and let my secret slip!

So far, so good. I'm feeling fine as long as I can get a nap in, and it seems as though what little nausea or sick feelings I had have passed. I'll be a happy clam if I'm in the clear!!! 

I hope you're enjoying reading this, Pids. So far you're the only one who knows about it. ;D