Week 24: Corn baby

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.
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Today was my 24 week update with Dr. Grant. I ran into John's mom's cousins Eleni & Viki and her son Taso at the doctor's office which is a nice surprise! Viki is 20 weeks I think? We waited together and got to catch up which is always nice (and a good distraction while waiting for the doctor who is always busy and running behind). Anyway my actual appointment was great, I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again and he sounds so wonderful. She told me that I have an anterior placenta which could have been why I wasn't feeling his little kicks as early as other women feel their babies, but that it's totally normal. Other than that there isn't much else to report! I'll post more pics soon since I think my belly has REALLY popped since the last time I took a photo. It's such a bizarre but amazing feeling!

Videos of the ultrasound

Here are a few clips from yesterday's ultrasound! In the first one, you can hear his heartbeat and see him moving around quite a bit. The second is a 3D shot, and the last video you will see him sucking his little thumb! This was at the end of the exam, so my Aunt typed "bye-bye", and we SWEAR you can see him waving to us!! Ok he was probably just moving his arms, but come on... Check it out and tell me what you think.

3D photos!

John and I snuck in a visit to see my Aunt Laura today at work, who just so happens to be a sonographer. We've been wanting her to take some pictures of the baby since we found out we were pregnant, and today was the day! What an amazing Anniversary gift she gave us... Just look at these pics!






There are a ton more but these are our favorite. His little hands were up near his face almost the whole time. John saw him sucking his thumb at one point and nearly burst into tears, it was just so cute. Laura also recorded the entire ultrasound on DVD that I'll try to edit and upload here when I have more time. Isn't he so cute?!

Week 20: Banana baby BOY!

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).

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We're halfway there!!! The best part about being this far along is that I'm starting to feel movement. Our lazy little man is definitely kicking more, finally! At our appointment yesterday, Dr. Grant asked if I was feeling him all the time now. I said no, and she told me not to worry (obviously he was ok, we just saw him on screen a few minutes before) and it should happen any day now, although some babies wait until 22 weeks to really get moving. Last night while laying on the couch, I definitely felt little kicks and it was so cool! This morning around 5am I also felt itty baby kicks, which is also cool, except I was then wide-awake thinking about baby boy names, clothes, nursery items, diaper bags... This won't be the last time the little one wakes me up so I'm getting used to it already :)

Little baby Zogas is a....

Totally healthy baby! The ultrasound couldn't have gone better. Paula, the ultrasound tech took lots of great pictures and went over every possible detail of the baby's body. She didn't see any problems at all and said everything looks great. Here are a few shots:

Profile shot!

Right leg

Right arm

Left leg

Left arm

And of course, the best picture for last:

We are SO excited that we are having a BOY!! I have had so many dreams that we're having a girl, but I wondered if maybe that meant it was a boy. I knew I would be so happy with either gender, I just wanted to know already! At the beginning of the exam I was worried we wouldn't get to see because the baby was crossing his legs, just as I told John that it probably would! Knowing our baby, he will do things HIS way and if he didn't want to show the goods, then he wouldn't :) But luckily halfway through the exam, Paula was near his bottom and stopped and said, "Oh! I see a scrotum!" We both laughed and John shouted, "Whoo hoo!" He was so proud. It didn't feel real to me and I said "You're joking!" I felt like I was watching a movie, and that it wasn't really happening to us! Then at the end of the exam she took a cross-section photo from the bottom up and very clearly on the screen was a tiny white little blob which she said was his penis. Suddenly everything felt more real, and I instantly began imagining our life with our son. Our little boy... Our man! OMG it's all too exciting. After the exam we made phone calls and text messages to tell the world our news, then met with Dr. Grant quickly and got to listen to the heartbeat. I told her about some round ligament & sciatic nerve pain I've been having, which she confirmed is totally normal. She said I can see a physical therapist or chiopractor if it gets really bad, so that was great to know I have options if it's ever too uncomfortable. After the doctor appointment, we swang by Presents of Mind and bought a cute little outfit and some pajamas, because we just HAD to since we knew it was a boy! It is SO wonderful to finally know so we can pick out clothes and crib bedding and all sorts of fun things... For our son :) Yay!!

Baby's Heartbeat

Because John couldn't be with me at today's doctor appointment, I wanted to be sure he could hear the baby's heartbeat. I recorded it on my phone and it's actually pretty good quality! You'll hear a steady heartbeat (in the 150s which is good), then at 16 seconds a tiny interruption. Dr. Grant then says, "It kicked!", and you'll hear my laugh. I couldn't feel the kicking but she just knew that the baby was moving around in there, kicking its little legs. How cute!!!

12 week check-up

Today was my 12 week appointment with Dr. Grant! John had to work, so I went alone. I had my BP taken (110/70, totally healthy), and I've only gained 2 pounds. I was worried it was more than that but luckily I'm right on track! Next I met with Dr. G, and we listened to the heartbeat through the doppler (which, by the way, is super cool and I want one). She found it right away, but the baby moved and she lost it. It took a few seconds to find it again because the baby was on the move... Hard to believe a child John and I made is moving around like crazy and won't sit still :) Anyway, she found it again quickly and said, "It sounds great!!" What a HUGE sigh of relief. I have no reason to believe the baby won't be totally healthy, but you just never know. So it's wonderful to hear the doctor say things like the heartbeat is great! So there you have it, I have a baby in my belly and it has a heartbeat and all is well!! Tomorrow I'm going to let my co-workers in on our little secret, and I believe our parent's will be doing the same. It will be so nice to finally tell people and have this out in the open. Yay for babies!

First ultrasound!

Here's our baby, the gummy bear!Today was surreal. John and I got to the hospital for our ultrasound around 9am. Paula the sonographer called us back and I laid down on the exam table while John sat right next to me. I looked up and noticed a screen hung from the ceiling so I could see everything that was going on (so cool!) She went to work and breezed past the baby quickly and said "There's the baby, we'll save that for the end and I'll show some other things first." My heart skipped a beat as I said, "Oh good, so there is a baby?!" She laughed and said, "Yes, it's there with a heartbeat and eveything." Yay! She showed me my uterus, ovaries and bladder then took some measurements and made sure everything was where it was suppose to be. Then came the best part. She zoomed in and showed us our little one! We laughed because it looks so weird. We thought its' head was actually its feet, but we were wrong. The dark spot there (which looks like an empty space between legs) is actually the developing brain. She measured the baby (1.5 cm) and said I looked to be about 7 weeks, 6 days along, due November 27th!! After that, she zoomed in a bit and we could see this itty bitty pulsating part on the baby, and she turned the volume up on the machine... Then came the heartbeat. A tiny and quick heartbeat at a healthy 167 bpm. As expected, I burst into tears. I knew it would be an amazing sound, but I had no clue how awesome it would be. I looked over at John and he had the biggest smile on his face! It was such a special moment that I will never forget.

After the ultrasound, we met with Dr. Grant. I want to be her best friend! This woman is amazing. She is so comforting and smart, and said to us a few times, "This is great. We are going to have a fun time together!" She even hugged us goodbye. And if you know us, you know we love hugs! John and I left feeling super happy and confident, and we can't wait for the next ultrasound on July 9th. I'll have two other appointments (May 12th and June 11th) between now and then with Dr. Grant to make sure everything is going well. After my next appointment, I'll be safely into the 2nd trimester and will then start sharing the news publicly. Just a few more weeks everyone :) Thanks again for being great secret keepers!