24 Wk Dr. Appt.

Today I saw Dr. Webb at 4pm. My weight was up again, making my total gain +9lbs. Ugh! I feel so huge and the baby feels really big inside. Nothing like Ainsley who felt so tiny and my belly didn't feel big at all - of course I didn't gain any weight with her either.

My blood pressure was up according to what the nurse had taken, so the dr. had to take it again using a larger cuff - it was then normal -Thank God! Baby's heartbeat sounded great on the doppler and my measurement was right on (though he didn't say what it was, just that is was good.)

I will see him again on Sept. 15th as well as have the glucose screening test. I am still awaiting a phone call from the university about scheduling an ultrasound with them. I am really going crazy not knowing if it's a girl or boy :( I still say girl!

24 Weeks

How your baby's growing:
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.

23 Weeks

How your baby's growing:
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she'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 her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her 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 her when she hears them outside the womb.

22 Weeks

How your baby's growing:
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.

21 weeks

Wow this baby is moving so much! It went from barely any movement to dancing all day and night LOL! Still fighting the nausea during the day but no morning sickness since I have been eating toast first thing in the morning. Seems like I am getting hungrier and hungrier each day! This baby will be a big eater I think!

How your baby's growing:
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.

And It's A..............

Well we don't know for sure. U/S tech said she thought it was a girl but the little bean wouldn't open it's legs so we could see. From what I saw I think it's a girl too. She said too that she thought this with another one and then at the last minute it opened its legs and it was a boy! So she had another tech come in to try to see and she said the same thing. So they recommended we schedule a free u/s with the local university and get more info then.

They wouldn't do a 3d much to my dismay! She said they only did those at 32wks or later, but I know better as I have seen them from friends. Oh well!

Here are some of the u/s photos (the first 2 are videos of the heart).







Here is the face:


Looking down over it's head, it's hands are together:


Here are the legs (at this time they were obviously apart - looks like a girl to me):


Here is a measurement of the femur:


And the spine:


Heartrate was 152 beats/min and baby weighs approx. 13 oz.

After the U/S I had an appt with Dr. Webb. My weight was up 6.5 lbs! Yikes! And my blood pressure was 140/80. We heard the heartbeat and he measured me. Then we told him about the u/s and that we weren't sure of the sex. He said he figured it was a girl since most of the time when the legs were crossed it was a girl. But hey we won't know 100% til we see or til the baby is here right?

20 Weeks

Baby bean is moving and kicking lots now. However I remember that around this time, Ainsley was kicking lots harder. Every pg has been so different as far as baby moving.

How your baby's growing:
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).