Happy Halloween - 23 Weeks!!!

Happy Halloween from me & my little pumpkin!

How far along?  23 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: large mango.

Symptoms:  Feeling really good these days!  And thankful for it.

Sleep: It's getting a little poorer in quality here in the past few days.  I have a feeling it's just going to go downhill from here!

Best moment this week: Every time I feel this little one move all around inside me!

Miss Anything?  Lying on my back.

Number of times I get up to pee each night: It seems to be getting more frequent, as in 2-3 for the past several days.

Food cravings: Nothing too intense.  Still loving the French Fries and candy is especially tempting these days since it's everywhere!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope! Yay!

Gender:  It's a Girl!!!

Mood: Good!  I just cry at anything and everything (including kids in their Halloween costumes).

Looking forward to: Doing a lot of practical things in the next few weeks, like...visiting a prospective birth center tomorrow and continuing to figure all of that out...registering for baby items...starting to decorate the nursery...etc.!

What the baby is up to this week according to Babycenter.com: 
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 the size of 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! Is that even possible?!?

The velocity at which this pregnancy is speeding along is really starting to be quite evident to me.  Obviously, it's not a new concept and this isn't the first time I've mentioned it here on this blog.  But, as I get closer and closer to the culminating event, I am keenly aware of everything I have to do beforehand!  I am trying not to freak out but rather use that awareness as motivation to get things done.  Today, I have been tackling the not-so-fun task of estimating costs of hospital birth vs. home birth vs. birth center.  This is especially important because I have to decide by tomorrow whether I want to change my insurance plan at work for the coming year.  The good thing is that even though I have not totally figured out how much it will cost us to do any of the above options, I have realized that if I change my plan, I will most likely be paying more than if I keep my current plan with higher premiums but a lower deductible.  So, I'm trying to gather as much information as possible and trying really, really hard to remember to give all of this to God in prayer so I can make the very best decision about where to give birth to this baby!

Otherwise, we had a very busy but fun weekend spending time with my family.  Saturday, we celebrated my Gran's 80th birthday (her birthday was back in August but this was the first chance for us to pull off such a big party).  I'm not sure we got an actual head count but there were approximately 60 people there.  Here are a few pictures from the party.

 Me and my Grandparents

 My Momma and Daddy

 Me and my Aunt Marjorie (Grandma's Sister)

Left to Right:  Mom, Aunt Joan, Gran, Papa, Aunt Kim, & Uncle Rusty

Jeff and I went to a play at his school on Sunday afternoon.  One of his students had the leading female role.  It was really funny and very entertaining.  They did a really great job!  My sister and her family and my Dad left that afternoon.  My Mom and Aunt Kim stayed until Tuesday.  On Monday, we went to lunch at Magnolia Foods.  Then, we went and got apples at Morris Orchard.  We went shopping at Kohl's and I got two pair of sneakers and a pair of boots.  I was in desperate need of shoes.  My feet have grown due to pregnancy and a lot of my shoes are no longer comfortable.  I also scored four maternity shirts on sale.  For dinner, we met Jeff at Rivermont Pizza.  It was super yummy.  I love that place!  Tuesday, my Mom, aunt and I met my Gran, Papa, 2 great aunts, and my Mom's cousin and her granddaughter at King's Island, my grandma's favorite Chinese restaurant.  It is pretty yummy and I haven't been there in years! 

Yesterday, we celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday by eating at Texas Roadhouse and having pumpkin pie that I made for dessert.  I've gotten my energy and motivation back to do some baking.  Unfortunately, all this baking and eating out was quite evident when I stepped on the scale this morning!  This time of year is never good for my weight gain anyway!  I told Jeff to hide the Halloween candy so I don't eat it all!  Haha. None of my pictures turned out all that great because of the horrible restaurant lighting but here are a couple.

The beautiful birthday girl and her lovely sister.

The pumpkin pie I made for the occasion.

Robin sporting her new footie pajamas (Dr. Suess's Cat in the Hat if you couldn't tell).  Hazel insists upon being in the picture but refuses to smile.  Silly girl.

Back to my pregnancy, here is my ever-growing "bump"

And here are my stats for this week:

How far along?  22 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: Spaghetti Squash or Papaya

Maternity clothes? Almost finished washing everything and finding a place for it in my closet/dresser...soon enough I won't be able to fit in hardly any of my regular clothes!

Symptoms:  Overall, I feel really good!  I still have some reflux (but not heartburn, thank goodness), hyper-gag reflex, increased appetite.  I've been on the lookout for varicose veins and swelling and so far, so good!  I really can't complain!

Sleep: I've had some weird dreams here and there but overall, I'm sleeping well.

Best moment this week: Not having to work quite as much and being able to visit family and friends. 

Miss Anything?  Not really. 

Number of times I get up to pee each night: Just once!

Food cravings: French fries and sweet stuff!  Nothing new!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Gender:  It's a girl!  Really starting to think more about names and nursery decor.

Mood: Other than crying super easily, I've been in a good mood!

Looking forward to: Starting to do some more practical things like register and decorate the nursery.

What the baby is up to this week according to Babycenter.com: 
At 11 inches and almost 1 pound (about the size of a spaghetti squash), your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her 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 her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

The Bird is 21 Weeks!

This week has been a bit of a roller coaster ride emotionally and physically. Let me explain...first there was the whole fiasco with the scheduling of my ultrasound and then there was the actual ultrasound which although exciting, was very stressful! I think I did an amazing job of not getting stressed or worrying too much about all the millions of things they could find wrong when looking at AppleSeed's anatomy. But...in spite of that, the ultrasound tech did find something that was a bit worrisome to her when it came to the baby's heart. The way she explained it to me was that there was a narrowing of the aorta (or the outlet of the left ventricle). She admitted that she was overstepping her boundaries in even telling me that but since she knew I am a Pediatric Nurse who works in a large medical center caring for many, many children with congenital heart defects, she felt she could be candid with me (I also requested that she be up front with me and not try to dance around the subject or sugar coat it). Unfortunately, all I could do was come up with more and more questions as Jeff and I waited to see the midwife and talk to her about the next steps. Then, when we did get to talk to the midwife, she couldn't give any more information about the ultrasound results and could only refer us to a Pediatric Cardiologist who would do a fetal echocardiogram (in depth ultrasound of the baby's heart) as soon as possible and then, make further judgments and a plan from that. As you can imagine, I was very anxious to get the echo completed as soon as possible so I could get on with dealing with a definitive diagnosis and treatment options. Thankfully, they were able to schedule it for the following morning at 11am. Also, thankfully, God was able to use the situation to force me to turn to Him and rely fully on Him for peace and comfort. I was even able to say I was excited to see how God was going to glorify Himself and bring us closer to Him through our circumstances!

I had the fetal echo the following morning and it lasted an entire hour!  I got to see my baby girl moving all around inside me again which was a blessing.  I was praying hard that nothing was wrong with AppleSeed's heart but I was also praying that no matter what happened, God would be glorified through the entire situation.  After the echo was complete, the Pediatric Cardiologist came in and reviewed all the images.  Praise God he didn't see anything wrong!!!  I was so relieved and I give all the praise to God.  The doctor thought everything looked so normal that he doesn't even recommend any follow-up (unless, of course, I have any concerning symptoms)!  In addition to the obvious (baby girl's heart being totally healthy), I was so thankful that I am not considered a high-risk pregnancy since I want to have a completely natural labor and birth.  (I don't have any further updates on that...I hope to contact the birth center and visit sometime in the next week or two).

Other than all of that, I have been working a bunch and preparing for my family to come into town this weekend.  Today, we are celebrating my grandmother's 80th birthday!  I'm looking forward to seeing extended family and celebrating my Gran's life.

Jeff and I agree that my bump really popped this week.  Do you agree?

No mistaking there's a baby in there now!  Here are my stats for this week...


How far along?  21 Weeks

Baby is the size of a:  carrot

Maternity clothes?  Still just pants but I did finally wash most of the shirts that my sister gave me yesterday!  I look forward to wearing them soon!

Symptoms:  Lots of fetal movement, growing belly, back pain, aching feet, nausea and hyper-gag reflex (more rare these days but still present), vivid & weird dreams...

Sleep:  Some very weird dreams lately, none seeming significant to pregnancy...otherwise, sleeping fairly well for the most part.  I finally got a body pillow and although I'm still getting used to it, it seems like a godsend!

Best moment this week: Finding out that AppleSeed is a GIRL!  And that her heart is perfectly healthy!

Miss Anything? Not particularly...

Number of times I get up to pee each night:  Just once, yay!

Food cravings: French fries and sweets.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No, it's usually just when I'm exhausted after working a 12-hour night shift.

Have you started to show yet? See for yourself!!! ^^

Gender: IT'S A GIRL!!!

Mood: Pretty good for the most part!  I cry at the drop of a hat but it's not always because I'm sad!

Looking forward to: thinking about names (we're working on it but don't expect any announcements any time soon), looking at nursery decor, etc.

What the baby is up to this week according to Babycenter.com:  Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — about the size 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.

It's A....Baby!

If you haven't read my most recent blog post, you might want to do that before proceeding here (but I doubt many of you will...hehe).  Well, I called at 8:30am this morning to see what was going on & they indeed had to reschedule my ultrasound appointment originally scheduled for 2pm.  Thankfully, they were able to fit me in at 11am and Jeff was able to get away from school for it (we're thanking God that it was not a normal school day or there's no way he would've been able to do that at the last minute).  So, we headed in for my ultrasound at 11am this morning.  Baby was not super cooperative but we were able to see the gender after a few reassuring minutes of looking at other parts of her body.  I doubt many of you have read this far without scrolling down to find out what everyone is dying to know so without further stalling, let me introduce...


















...Baby Girl Brown

My intuition was right!  Jeff & I could not be more ecstatic!  We are thinking hard about names now but don't expect that announcement for quite some time.  I got some more good pics that I will post on Facebook a little later!

Halfway There!

What a day!  I hit the halfway mark yesterday but since I worked last night, I didn't get around to taking my weekly baby bump picture or writing this post until tonight.  I was all set to share how excited we are to find out the gender of this little AppleSeed on Monday until I got a voice mail from my midwives' office telling me that there's been a schedule change and I need to call Monday morning to reschedule.  Say What?!?!?  First of all, the message also alluded to my appointment being Tuesday, when, in fact, it's on Monday...so, I don't really know what to make of that!  Then, there were no more details, just to call Monday morning at 8:30am because they were closing in 9 minutes for the entire weekend and there is no way for me to get in touch with anyone until they reopen Monday morning.  Grrrr!!  I understand that things happen and if that affects my appointment time, but having to wait alllll weekend to find out why & just how long I might have to wait to see this little baby moving all around inside me...really frustrates me!  I've been counting down to this ultrasound for weeks and now I have no idea when it will be!  Thankfully, I am more at peace about it now that it's had a few hours to sink in but suffice it to say, I am very anxious for Monday morning to get here so I can gain some clarity and a new date/time to look forward to!

In other news this week, I met with a doula and had a very good chat about hospital birth, home birth, and a fairly new birthing center located about an hour and a half from here in Rocky Mount, VA.  It's quite a drive for me but I'm willing to at least check it out.  I really haven't been happy with my midwives and now I'm really ready to check out some other options.  I just don't think a hospital birth is right for me.  The great thing about this birth center is that it's the only accredited free-standing birth center anywhere in the area and the midwife is a CNM versus a CPM (if you don't know the difference, I'm going to leave it to you to do the research).  So, after the next week which is set to be quite crazy, I am going to explore that option.

Jeff and I were able to go on a much needed date night tonight and I was finally able to fulfill my craving for Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Yum!  We also went to Kohl's and bought a body pillow and some new tennis shoes for work.  Yay!  Technically, Jeff and I are still on our date night so I'm going to wrap this up with my pic and stats.  Enjoy!

How far along?  20 Weeks!

Baby is the size of a:  Banana

Maternity clothes?  Just pants. (I mean, I wear shirts, they just aren't maternity shirts yet, hehe).

Symptoms:  Fetal movement, "hearty appetite" (as my app calls it), indigestion, occasional vomiting, constipation (sorry that's TMI), growing belly (but no stretch marks yet, yay), that's all I can think of right now!

Sleep:  Been having some weird dreams this week.  Otherwise, sleeping well.

Best moment this week: Meeting with the doula and having a good chat about natural childbirth.

Worst moment this week:  Finding out that my ultrasound will have to be rescheduled.

Miss Anything? Quickly beginning to miss comfortably lying on my back.

Number of times I get up to pee each night:  Just once.

Food cravings: The same...french fries, ice cream (everything bad for me & nothing good for me at all)!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really, I just gag randomly every now & then and sometimes that makes me throw up!

Have you started to show yet? Yup!  (See above pic)

Gender:  Well, we would be finding out in 3 days but now, I don't know!!!  (I still think it's a girl, though).

Mood: Currently still pretty bummed about Monday.

Looking forward to: Having my ultrasound (whenever that may be)!!!

What the baby is up to this week according to Babycenter.com:  

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 — about the size 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).

Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.