22 Weeks- Lots of Cuddles!

We had a good appointment with Dr. Ono on Friday!  We listened to the little guys heart beat, reviewed the ultrasound results and measured my uterus.  Todd and I also bombarded him with a million questions.  :)  He said my uterus is a little over 22 cms, typically you account for a centimeter for every week of pregnancy so I am still running a little bit big, but nothing alarming.  He also said that everything with the last ultrasound looked great and that everything was developing as it should be.  The little guy weighed a little over 7 oz. and typically at 18 weeks the baby weighs 6.5 oz.   So he is a little big, but again, nothing to be alarmed about.  We have some homework from the doctor over the next few weeks- find a pediatrician, determine what parenting classes we want to take and make a final decision about where we want deliver.  (Eeek- delivery!!)

I am feeling exhausted these days...I don't sleep very well at night and even on the rare occasions that I do get a decent nights sleep, it never seems to be enough!  Everyone I talk to says, I need to get used to it because there isn't a whole lot of rest in my future!  The only plus to my increased need for rest is that I get lots of time cuddling with the two babies I already have...they are thrilled that Mom is tired all the time and spends lots of time in bed and the couch!  Vivian definitely knows I am pregnant- she likes to rest her head on my belly or cuddle up next to it.  (The doctor said she can probably hear him or feel him moving around!)  Sable is appreciative for the extra cuddles but is pretty annoyed I won't let her walk across or lay on my stomach anymore.

 Below is a photo of Viv cuddling with her brother:

Here I am at 22 weeks:

21 Weeks- Life with the Wiggle Worm

The amount of activity from this little guy has really picked up in the last week!  As I write this, Todd and I are watching him stretch either his rump or his head into the left side of my abdomen making my belly look totally lopsided!  He is responding to Todd's voice when he talks to him, seems to get excited when I turn on the juicer and the blender for his morning protein shake and even started kicking in response to Todd's whistles at the dog.  (The last one I am not totally thrilled about.  I don't really want the dog and the baby responding to the same cues but at the time when we realized what he was responding to, it sure was amusing!)

We have a doctor's appointment on Friday morning, so I will give a brief update after that.  Until then, here is what the wiggle worm and I look like this week:

Don't forget you can compare the bump photos from the last 2 months if you click

on the "Bump Alert" Page from the right hand column of the blog. :)

20 Weeks- Helllloooo Daddy!

The last week flew by!  Besides my disappearing waist, not a whole lot has changed.  EXCEPT that Todd can now feel his little guy kicking and punching!  He is so active and strong with his movements that you can see him moving if you stare at my belly, so I knew that if Todd was patient enough he would be able to feel it.  So last Sunday, while we were lying down watching TV, I made him put his hand on my belly just to see if he could feel the baby and after a few minutes- baaam!  Baby boy DeCook gave his daddy a good kick to say hello.  This is now our nightly ritual, I lay there while Todd tries to communicate with this son and get him to respond.  :)

This is the week where the baby uncurls his legs, and the way you measure him changes.  Prior to this week, you measured the baby from head to rump.  This week, you can measure him from head to foot because his legs can stretch out.  So, on average a 20 week old baby goes from 6 inches in week 19 to 10 inches in week 20.  Which explains why one second I feel him kicking above my belly button and the next it feels like he is punching down by my pelvis- he is just stretching out and enjoying all the room he has in there!  I read somewhere that he is the size of a cantaloupe this week.  I am thinking more of a watermelon, especially if you look at the photo below!

19 Weeks- Please Don't Call Him Olaf!!!

We have spent the last week starting to make the decisions that we were waiting to make until after we found out the gender of the baby.  Now that we know it's a boy, his Daddy sure wants to be really involved in all the decisions that are made. We decided which stroller we wanted, which car seat we liked...we even bought a crib.  I THINK we have agreed on a theme for the nursery.  The one thing we have not made any progress on is his name.  We talk about it daily. (Actually, hourly might be more accurate.)  Todd has taken to calling the little guy Olaf, which I can assure you will NOT be his name. 

In the interim, the baby boy not named Olaf continues to make my belly expand and my appetite increase!  I have taken to waking up at 4 or 5 in the morning for our first breakfast (usually toast with peanut butter).  I go back to sleep right afterwards, and wake up and have our second breakfast (a smoothie with fresh juice and protein powder) at a normal time.  He is still really active and highly food motivated- he kicks and squirms when he his hungry and he kicks and squirms right after I eat.  Much to Todd's dismay, you stilll can't feel the kicking from the outside.   He is really excited and anxious to feel that first kick!

Here is what the baby boy not named Olaf and I look like at 19 weeks:

18 Weeks- It's a BOY!!!!

Today, Todd and I went to our 18-20 week anatomical screening for the baby.  We had so much fun during this appointment!  First, and most importantly, the baby is healthy.  HE has 10 fingers, 10 toes and all of HIS major organs are there and are the right size.  SECONDLY, HE is a HE!!  Our little GUY made it very clear several times that HE is definitely a BOY.  HE is also a complete wiggle worm and won't stop moving around.  HE was literally doing flips, kicking and waving HIS arms around the entire hour long appointment- it was comical and explains a lot about what I have been feeling in my abdomen!  HE was making it really hard for the ultra sound technician to get all of the measurements, so the photos below are a bit fuzzy.

We won't know exactly how big HE is until my next appointment with my OB in March, but based on what we saw from the measurements they were taking HE is only measuring 4-5 days bigger than HIS due date.  Not the 2 weeks that my OB told me based on the size of my uterus.  Which I am quite relieved about...

Say hello to baby BOY DeCook  :)

You can see HIS little foot up on the left side of the photo.

That is HIS little hand on his chin.  HE is deep thinker already.

Waving hello to everyone!  HE is a friendly little GUY :)

Heather at 18 weeks

17 Weeks- Happy Baby!

I have to say the high light of my day today was at my doctor's appointment this morning.  Dr. Ono, my OB, pressed the fetal heart monitor against my stomach and looked up at me and smiled after we listened to the baby's rapid heart beat for a few seconds and said "that's a happy baby".  I love hearing that little heart beat!

I was going to tell everyone that at week 17 the baby is size of an onion. However, after the doctor's appointment today I am not sure this is true.  Dr. Ono feels that my uterus is the size of someone who is 19 weeks along even though I am only 17.  This means that the baby is probably not the size of an average 17 week pregnancy.  So, I think for now we will drop the fruit references and just say that the baby is happy and appears to be really healthy.  :) 

We have our next ultra sound next Wednesday, so we will have new baby photos and know the GENDER this time next week!  We will also know more about how big this baby really is...

Here is what I look at 17 weeks pregnant, with a baby bump the size of someone who is 19 weeks:

16 Weeks!

This week the baby is the size of large avocado (about 4.5 inches).  We have one sitting on the kitchen window sill and I look down at my belly every time I see it.  It's kind of amazing!  I am feeling much better this week and have started working out again.  Well, ok...it's not really working out but I have been going for long walks and doing leg and arm exercises. I figure just because my abs are getting all stretched out, doesn't mean I can't still have pretty arms and legs!

 Here is what our little avocado is doing to my belly:

P.S.  For those of you who have been asking me to wear my hair curly again since I got pregnant- this is it.  It appears the curls have unraveled with age.  (Either that or all the treatments penetrated my hair follicles!)