Pregnancy Belly Pictures

I've created a slide show in the side bar to the right for belly pictures. Unfortunately, I think you can only view them if you have a high speed connection to the internet. My slow dial-up takes forever to load the images, so I can't test this out tonight, but I will. I hope some of you are able to view the slide show now. This is where I will upload new pregnancy belly shots in the future if it is working. What a techie I'm becoming! :D

19 week Ultrasound

Here are the pictures from my 19 week ultrasound on Tuesday. The first one is a 4D picture and the second one is a regular ultrasound picture. It was so cool the see the baby moving all around during the ultrasound and I could feel some of the movements too! Its amazing to me how much the baby has grown when I compare these picture and the first ultrasound picture.

All is well with the baby's anatomy and internal organs. The growth is a few days behind my due date, but still on track for a healthy pregnancy. The estimated weight from the ultrasound is 9 ounces. Jesse was excited that the baby was bigger than 1/2 a pint of beer! I am going back on May 1st (Dad's second favorite holiday!) for another ultrasound with the maternal fetal medicine doctor.

I'm feeling a lot more movement now. Yesterday while I was at work I felt 4 movements in a row that were distinctive taps coming from the baby, but they were probably kicks or punches.

My next midwife appointment is next week, and I'll keep you updated on anything new! Be sure to check out the bottom of the blog page for updated belly picture from time to time. I'll try to be better about posting them weekly.

17 Week Belly Shot!

The era of progressively bigger belly pictures has arrived for me. I did take a picture at 16 weeks, but you really cannot see much of a baby bump. This picture was taken on Tuesday at 17 weeks and now finally have time to post it.



All seems to be moving along well. I'm starting to feel the baby move more and more, but not every day yet. Yesterday, when I was at work, I felt a lot of movement, even when I was standing up.

I'm really going to need that chiropractor appointment this week though, as my hips are hurting everyday from my expanding midsection and the extra pull on my back muscles. I can no longer do my back stretches from physical therapy because they involve me lying flat on my back or flat on my stomach. The chiropractor and massage therapist are going to be my best friends for the next several months!

16 week Update

Ok, I'm really tardy in posting this update. Apologies all around!

My appointment was on Tuesday and everything was well. My blood pressure was normal. I've gained back a pound since my last appointment. All of my lab work so far is normal, including the genetic tests. The baby's heartbeat was right on track as well!

I'm getting a chiropractic referral for my sciatic pain as I know it will continue to bother me as time goes on and will most likely get worse.

I had the alphafetal protein blood work drawn after my appointment and I will get that result on March 24. That is the test for open neural tube defects like spina bifida. March 24 is also the day I go to the maternal fetal medicine specialist for the full anatomy scan. We are still not finding out if this is a boy or girl, so you'll all have to wait on that one!

I'm also starting to feel some kind of movements now and then. I've heard other women describe these early movements as "flutters" or "butterflies" but that's not exactly how I would describe them. Its more like a strange gas bubble, stronger than a gas bubble, and it occurs in the wrong place to be gas so I know its something else. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else, but that's the only way I can describe it. I was definately feeling those strange movements last night when I was eating my birthday cake! Apparently this baby likes chocolate cake with coffee ice cream just like mama! (Thank you for the cake, Marta! It was delicious!)