It feels like it's been forever since I've updated (sorry Hunter)! I think it's just because I've been so busy! But here we are... starting our 23rd week:):)
I have an appointment with the perinatologist on the 12th! My mom is going to try and come up to be with me for it, and we are all staying very positive about everything!! Please say a little prayer for my "moms"! My mother is having surgery on her wrist on the 5th and Thomas' mother is also going through something with her health right now as well. So please just lift them both up in your thoughts and prayers this week!
I have started to feel the Braxton Hicks contractions! They aren't painful at all but are uncomfortable! I get them a lot when I'm standing or walking around a lot but as soon as I sit down they get better! It really is a weird feeling... knowing that I'm getting closer and closer to them being the "real thing"!! But I'm excited nonetheless!!
I feel like my belly is bigger every time I see it, but I still think it's a small baby bump! I've started using this great oil (I guess it's oil... it's thick though, almost like honey) that I got from amazon.com... it makes my skin so soft and it smells like chocolate! I'm praying that it will help keep the stretch marks at bay... even though I know that there isn't much you can do to stop them... if I'm going to get them then I'm going to get them! But at least this stuff helps me feel proactive lol!!
This morning was a big morning for Thomas!! He pinned on SSGT:):) I made it pretty clear to him that his life was at risk if someone didn't take pictures for me! So hopefully I will have those soon and will post them for all of you!! He also found out that he pasted his final CLEP test (surprise surprise!) and has all the credits he needed to complete for his Associates Degree:):) I'm a verrry proud wife! He is doing SO great! God gave me such an amazing provider!
I should be hearing back from the insurance company by Thursday about the damage to the Durango and then we'll go from there! I'm still hoping it's not totaled! I miss it soo badly! But we just have to wait and see!!
I finally got in touch with the fence company! They should be here at the beginning of the week to get started! Woo Hoo:) It's going to be so nice to be able to let the dogs run around out there!!
I also gave my notice at work! I'm not sure if I mentioned the situation on here before! When I started working for this family in august, i had to sign a contract saying that I would work for them through May of this year, when they would be moving. Well, the contract never stated when in May (beginning, middle, end). So when she told me last month that she found a house in her next town I asked if she knew when they would be leaving in May! She told me that they weren't moving until July and would need me to work all through June! Well!... If you know me, you know how much I have been looking forward to my last day! So I talked with Thomas and my family and pretty much decided that I would fulfill the contract and work through May... and that's it! I really hated this situation because I felt like I was quitting... but I'm confident in the decision now!! And I can't wait to have a whole month to myself before Thomas gets home and then the baby comes!!
Well now that I have rambled on and on... I'll leave you to enjoy all the fun facts about Lily's development over the next week!!
WEEK TWENTY-THREE:
*Proportions of the body are now quite similar to a newborn although thinner since he hasn't begun to form body fat.
*Bones located in the middle ear harden.
*Your baby is able to hear. (Dads, did you know: low-frequency sounds mimicking a male voice penetrate the abdomen and uterine wall better than the higher frequencies of the female voice?)
*The eyes are formed, though the iris still lacks pigmentation.
*The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. She has begun producing insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars.
*If born now, your baby has a 15% chance of survival, his odds going up with each passing day. .
*The average baby at this stage weighs 1.1 pound (501gm) and is 11.38 inches (28.9cm) long.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
I finally went out a bought a maternity shirt for myself and I love it! I hate how expensive cute shirts are but I had a spouse's dinner and wanted to look pretty so I just spent the money! And I have to say that it felt great! I curled my hair since I have nooo body in it anymore from the pregnancy and tried to snap a few pictures for Thomas... but I'm not very good at mirror pictures, so sorry for the flash! But I thought I would post it up here so you can see what "The Bump" looks like and show off my pretty new shirt!!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
"Twenty Week" Doctors Appointment
Technically I'm 21 weeks today, but it had to come in at 21 weeks to be able to see my midwife!
We started off by going over the anatomy ultrasound that I had done at Womack on the 14th! Everything came back ok with the Baby but there was a significant find. I have an Amniotic band... which is a band of fiborous, scar tissue going around the amniotic sac that the baby is sitting in. My band is at the top of the sac, above the baby right now. In some cases the band can form around the sac in a place were the baby is forming and can cause malformations and/or malfunctions to the area of the baby that it is surrounding. Basically it's a band of the sac that just won't expand as the baby grows. Like I said, it's up above the baby at this point so there is no affect on the baby's growth at this point. The condition can also cause my water to break early. I have been referred to a peri-natologist (a high-risk pregnancy doctor) and should hear from them within the week to schedule an appointment! They will do more ultrasounds and they are more qualified in these sorts of situations than the regular radiologists that initially looked at the scan! The peri-natologist will determine whether is need to stay with them as a high risk pregnancy or if I can go back to my midwife's care with additional ultrasounds from them!
Right now I am just thanking God that everything is looking good with the baby and her development! I think the only think that calmed me down was thinking that if my water does break and I have to deliver her early, at least she will be as healthy as she can be and will have the best chance of pulling through! I just feel very blessed that Lily is growing strong! Please just keep this pregnancy in your prayers.
The rest of the appointment was typical! It took a while to find her heart beat (I got a little scared since I was just in the accident... even though I could still feel her moving all morning!) but when she did find it it was strong and beautiful at 149:) I have only gained 1.4 pounds in the 5 weeks since my last appointment... so she seemed a little worried about that. The baby is growing fine, but it's not good for me if the baby takes everything from me! So pray that that turns around for me here shortly too!
Other than that we just wait to hear from the specialist and then see what they can do for us!! Thank you all so much for all of your love and support through this deployment and pregnancy! Thomas and I appreciate it sooo much! I will keep you posted:)
We started off by going over the anatomy ultrasound that I had done at Womack on the 14th! Everything came back ok with the Baby but there was a significant find. I have an Amniotic band... which is a band of fiborous, scar tissue going around the amniotic sac that the baby is sitting in. My band is at the top of the sac, above the baby right now. In some cases the band can form around the sac in a place were the baby is forming and can cause malformations and/or malfunctions to the area of the baby that it is surrounding. Basically it's a band of the sac that just won't expand as the baby grows. Like I said, it's up above the baby at this point so there is no affect on the baby's growth at this point. The condition can also cause my water to break early. I have been referred to a peri-natologist (a high-risk pregnancy doctor) and should hear from them within the week to schedule an appointment! They will do more ultrasounds and they are more qualified in these sorts of situations than the regular radiologists that initially looked at the scan! The peri-natologist will determine whether is need to stay with them as a high risk pregnancy or if I can go back to my midwife's care with additional ultrasounds from them!
Right now I am just thanking God that everything is looking good with the baby and her development! I think the only think that calmed me down was thinking that if my water does break and I have to deliver her early, at least she will be as healthy as she can be and will have the best chance of pulling through! I just feel very blessed that Lily is growing strong! Please just keep this pregnancy in your prayers.
The rest of the appointment was typical! It took a while to find her heart beat (I got a little scared since I was just in the accident... even though I could still feel her moving all morning!) but when she did find it it was strong and beautiful at 149:) I have only gained 1.4 pounds in the 5 weeks since my last appointment... so she seemed a little worried about that. The baby is growing fine, but it's not good for me if the baby takes everything from me! So pray that that turns around for me here shortly too!
Other than that we just wait to hear from the specialist and then see what they can do for us!! Thank you all so much for all of your love and support through this deployment and pregnancy! Thomas and I appreciate it sooo much! I will keep you posted:)
21 Weeks Pregnant!
We are now on the down slope of the pregnancy mountain!! I am in my 22nd week:) And as you can see from the post below, we know that I am having a little girl! We can now call Baby Whitten Baby Lily!! I'm sorry I didn't post more about the 3D u/s, it was a pretty busy weekend!
I got in a car accident on Thursday in Clinton, NC on my way to Jacksonville for the weekend! It was pretty unfortunate, but everyone walked away fine... everyone except the Durango! It was towed to a body shop there in Clinton and I should hear something about the damage by Friday! It was an accident, but I was at fault, so I have a court date for the 2nd of June. The u/s was the next morning and it went off without a hitch! Everyone (except Haley) was able to be there with me and Thomas called on the cell phone! Our baby girl was being shy and modest! She pretty much hid behind my placenta the whole time with her hand between her legs! But she was moving all over the place! Finally at the end of the session she pulled her feet up to her face and played with and sucked on her toes for a bit so we were able to see that there was no "external plumbing" as the tech worded it! Thomas was able to hear her heart beating for the first time and was kind of taken back by how fast it was beating! But he was very happy to find out and said that we were "starting a new Halford family!" (My parents had 3 girls). His dad said that the past 7 generations of Whittens have all had boys first... so we are definitely breaking the mold on his side!
I had a doctor's appointment today and I'll post about that and put up a new belly picture later tonight! But for now enjoy all the Fun Facts about Baby Lily!
WEEK TWENTY-TWO
*Your baby weighs close to a pound at this point!
*Your baby can now hear your conversations more clearly than before!. When you talk, read, or sing, expect her to hear you. Studies have found that newborns will suck more vigorously when read to from a book they heard frequently in utero.
*Eyelids and eyebrows are fully formed.
*Fingernails have grown to the end of the fingers.
*Be prepared for all those "Why" questions coming! Your baby's brain has entered a stage of rapid growth, especially in what's called the germinal matrix. This structure deep in the middle of the brain serves as a kind of factory for brain cells and disappears shortly before birth. But the brain's amazing expansion program continues until around the five birthday.
*With some help from mom, baby's liver is starting to break down bilirubin, a substance produced by red blood cells.
*Length is 10.94 inches (27.8cm); weight is nearly 1 pound (430gm).
Friday, April 18, 2008
3D Ultrasound Pictures! 20w2d
(1) It's a GIRL!!! Lillian Michele Whitten
(2) Sucking her thumb!
(3) Profile and hand
(4) Frowning
(5) Hands in her face
(6) Skinny little chicken arms:)
(7) Both legs stretched out stright with feet crossed at the ankles!
(8) Big Yawn
(9) Lily's Feet!!
(10) Flexible baby! Feet folded up to her face!
(11) Playing with her toes!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Gender Poll
Only a few more hours to vote!! Girls are pulling ahead for the first time in the whole race!!! Can't wait to know who has it right!! Thanks for playing:)
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