My Pregnancy, Week 24

How big is your baby?

Your baby is now 11 inches long and weighs 1¼ to 1½ pounds.

Actually our ultrasound today showed baby to weigh 1 pound, 10 ounces. To help you visualize the length, 11 inches is the length of a sheet of paper.

What is happening with your baby?

Your baby's brain is growing rapidly at this time. Taste buds are also developing, and the lungs are becoming more developed and complex. The branches of the main lung are beginning to form as well as special cells that will produce surfactant. Surfactant is necessary for the air sacs to inflate easily. Babies who are born prematurely often have trouble breathing because these cells have not had enough time to develop or are not producing the necessary amounts of surfactant.

At times I think that baby is practicing to audition for Riverdance. Kicks (which I started feeling about 10 days ago) are becoming stronger and stronger. Most of them are felt really low and are directed right at my bladder. C got to feel one for the first time last night.

What changes are occurring with your body?

You can now feel the top of your uterus around 2 inches from your belly button. The skin on your abdomen and breasts are stretching, which can cause these areas to feel itchy. Many times the itchy skin can be caused by dry skin. If you are having itchy and/or dry skin, use a good moisturizer or lotion. Your eyes may also be sensitive and dry during your pregnancy. You can alleviate some of the discomfort by using artificial tears to keep your eyes moist.

My uterus is high enough into my abdomen that the baby's head was up in my ribs at today's ultrasound. Hard to believe that he/she takes up that much room! My ankles aren't swelling nearly as badly, so I definitely think it was related to the heat. I have my 24wk OB appointment on Thursday, so I'll update my stats at that point.

Not surprised

A couple of weeks ago I had C dig through the storage unit to find my sewing machine. I thought that maybe if I had it here at the condo, I'd find myself working on the list of projects that I want to accomplish before Thanksgiving.

Today I finally found the perfect fabrics for two of the projects on that list. In an effort to hasten the progress of said projects, I just went to pull my sewing machine out of the box. Figured that if it's in my peripheral vision (or even direct) I'd be more apt to work on stuff for a little bit at a time when I need a break from work.

As the box so clearly stated, my sewing machine was inside. Missing was the power cord and the control pedal.

Damn. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson already.

At a loss for words

Anyone who knows me on a personal level knows that I can be very "wordy". I can talk until you'd think I have nothing left to say, and then miraculously find something else that needs to be voiced. C laughs about the way I tell stories because I use about three times as many words and details as necessary.

It seems though that lately I've morphed into this person who has very little to say. Whether it be on this blog, on the phone with friends/family or via e-mail messages. It's not that I'm being rude or trying to give people the cold shoulder. I just don't have the ability to voice the things that I have bouncing around in my head. Not that there is much that is bouncing right now. Seems as though there's a lot of empty space up there.

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I get asked often how "things" are going. Truth be told, "things" are about the same as always. I'm glad to be working but my days blend together with little differentiation. My day-to-day schedule is simple. Mornings are spent working on the computer and attempting to keep meals down. Lunchtime brings C home from work and another wave of nausea for me. Afternoons consist of a possible nap, a shower (if I find the motivation) and more work. By 5pm the worse of the nausea has passed, only to be replaced by heartburn. Evenings are spent watching tv, reading and wrestling with the ever present concept of "what to make for dinner". After a couple of hours of restlessness in bed, sleep consumes me--only to bring numerous trips to the bathroom during the night and the restart of this ritual upon daybreak.

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I think that I've really bumbled some conversations with some friends lately. Two in particular, both of which had rough days yesterday. In my fledgling attempt to help I think I did more harm than good. Perhaps it was related to this empty space I'm carrying around right now and my inability to converse efficiently. Perhaps it was just...well, who knows...

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I'm hoping that this will pass in time. Honestly, I really don't like feeling like I don't have anything to say.

The dog days of summer

The heat the last week has been unbearable. Especially living in a condo that does not have central air. We had naively thought that moving north (from Utah) would provide a reprieve from the hot desert heat. Ha! Boy, were we wrong.

Yesterday's temperature crept upwards of 100 degrees. As we drove through town around 4pm, one of the local banks was displaying 103. The news last night reassured us that these temperatures are not normal. Most of the West is being blanketed by temperatures twenty degrees hotter than average.

We are wishing for the closing on the new house to speed readily towards us. So that we can finish off the summer sitting comfortably amidst the central air and furnished basement. Until then, we all find our ways to maintain some comfort, although far from our ideals.

Both dogs manage to place themselves in the direct path of one of our three fans, soaking in as much breeze as they can and managing to find the most cushy spot possible.

My Pregnancy, Week 22

How big is your baby?

Your baby is approximately 9 inches long and weighs a whole 14 ounces.

We read last night in one of my books that baby is about the size of a Barbie or Ken doll right now. I'm not quite sure how well C took that analogy! Guess he didn't play with Barbies as a kid...

What is happening with your baby?

Your baby has pretty much taken on the form of a newborn baby, but is incredibly small. Much development will continue to occur over the next 18 weeks. His or her skin appears wrinkly, but this is because he/she has not yet gained enough weight to fill the skin out. The lips are becoming more distinct. The eyes have completely formed, but the iris (the colored portion of the eye) still lacks pigment. The eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and the pancreas is continuing to mature.

What changes are occurring with your body?

You can now feel the top of your uterus about ¾ of an inch above your belly button. As we talked about last week, many women describe this as a comfortable period of pregnancy.

Not sure if comfortable is the right word...still getting sick. I think the exhaustion of last week and the beginning of this week caught up with me -- I couldn't hardly keep anything down until dinnertime last night. My ankles are starting to swell too; I'm sure it's from the heat that we've been experiencing lately.

The dust is settling

Actually, it all got washed down the drain at about 6:00pm tonight.

Our field day is over and it was a huge success. I'm exhausted after working over 60 hours last week and almost 30 between yesterday and today. Even through the exhaustion, I am filled with the feeling of accomplishing a monumental task.

As frustrating and tiring as it can be, I love my job. I love it so much I'm entitling myself to a day off tomorrow!

0 to 60 in 3 seconds

I started my new job on Monday and I'm so incredibly swamped right now that it's not even funny. Hopefully life will slow down considerably after our Field Day on the 18th.

I know that many of you have been curious about updates. Curious about how the new job is going. I love it but I'm exhausted. I've been working 11 hour days. Once life slows down a little and I can take a breath, I'll write more.

Sorry for this. I haven't gone AOL, just crazy!

Pictures of the new abode

Front View


Living Room (main floor), directly through the front door

Kitchen, on back of house, behind living room

Master Bedroom, back of house, main floor, behind garage

Family room (downstairs), under Living Room (will turn into office/den)

Small Bedroom (downstairs), under Kitchen (will turn into nursery)

Large Bedroom (downstairs), under Master (will turn into guest room)

Backyard

Things have picked up speed, considerably

Three big things to hit in this post, and then I really need to head to the mall to look for shoes for my sister's wedding...

1. I passed my criminal background check with flying colors. I have to go into the University on Monday to fill out all the new employee paperwork and get my direct deposit set-up. Earlier this afternoon I talked to my boss, B, and I'm hitting the ground running. He has a big "field day" (where we put on various demonstrations for local agricultural producers) on the 18th and is horribly behind. I've already got a list about a mile long of things to do.
2. We signed the purchase contract on our Utah house last week. Closing date is tentatively set for the 11th. Meaning we should have money in hand that day.
3. I found a great house yesterday that just came on the market on Wednesday. It's a newer home, built in 1997 in a quiet little cul-de-sac of a subdivision on the west side of town. The location is fantastic--a nice subdivision on the outskirts of town (our backyard looks onto an alfalfa field), C can still see the mountains although much more distantly than in Utah, at most an eight minute commute for C into work, a 5 minute commute from the interstate entrance/exit, a ten minute drive from Idaho Falls airport--the best of all things possible for location. It's got a nice fenced in yard for the dogs and 75% more square footage than our old house. And the best part, is that it's OURS! We put in an offer this morning and it's been accepted already.

My Pregnancy, Week 20

How big is your baby?

Up until this point your baby's length was measured from the crown of their head to the bottom of their rear end. Now your baby's length is measured from crown to heel. Your baby is about 8 inches long and weighs 9 ounces.

Actually, my ultrasound yesterday showed baby to weight 13 ounces and is measuring two days ahead of "schedule". No pics right yet as baby wouldn't cooperate for a good profile shot.

What is happening with your baby?

Your baby is covered in a white substance called vernix caseosa. This substance helps protect your baby's skin from becoming irritated while submersed in amniotic fluid, and it also aids the baby's passage through the birth canal during labor.

Your baby is beginning to produce meconium, a dark green or black sticky substance that constitutes a baby's first messy diaper. A few babies pass meconium while in the uterus or during labor. Meconium consists of cell loss, amniotic fluid that has been swallowed, and digestive secretions.

What changes are occurring with your body?

The top of your uterus is now at the same level as your belly button. You may have gained an average of 8 to 10 pounds up until this point. Expect to gain ½ a pound to one pound per week during the rest of your pregnancy. The amount of weight may be more or less depending on your pre-pregnancy weight. Your doctor or midwife should let you know how your weight gain is doing and if you need to make any adjustments in your eating and activity level.

Weight gain is at 9 pounds so far and my doc is super excited about that considering I was so sick at the beginning. She said that it is very realistic for me to stay in the "safe" zone of gaining about 35 pounds for this whole pregnancy. This is what my body looks like so far...



And don't worry...I made sure to clean that mirror this morning!