Friday, March 15, 2013
Quick update
I JUST SAW MY STOMACH MOVE!!! No, like literally. I was sitting at my desk working away (still am) and I noticed baby Gill was moving around quite a bit, but they were big movements. I looked down and saw these thump like movements coming from within! Really cool and really weird all at the same time. When I really take time to think about it I find it hard to fathom that there's a human being growing inside of me! Seeing the movements on the outside was a whole new experience. I wish Justin was here to see it.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
23 Weeks!
Things are moving right along. I was told by a couple people that once I hit the halfway point and found out the gender the pregnancy would fly by. Let me be the first to tell you that it's not "flying" by. It doesn't help either that I don't have any patience. I mean we were engaged for 14 months before getting married and it seemed to take forever to get to the actual wedding day (when I get really excited things seem prolonged). Looking back we've been married three years next Wednesday and I can't believe how quickly the three years have gone by! Maybe in a few months I'll agree that this time has "flown" by. For now, come on baby, I'm ready to meet you! Then again, it is nice to have a few more months to save money and figure out exactly what our next steps are (living situation, car, etc.)
How your baby's growing:
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance (this is great news! Now I can play rock band and have an "audience". Although, she may not like mama's singing) And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango) you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes (haven't seen this happen yet). 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.
As for me, I'm still feeling great. I try and work out if not every day then every other day. I've recently started swimming at the gym. That's been a nice experience. Fortunately the updates I get on how "my body is changing" haven't happened, at least not yet anyway. The most recent update I got was my feet are probably starting to swell, sluggish circulation in my legs, and just overall swelling. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that these things don't happen, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they do. I can see that my face is starting to fill out...and I still have 17 weeks to go!
How your baby's growing:
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance (this is great news! Now I can play rock band and have an "audience". Although, she may not like mama's singing) And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango) you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes (haven't seen this happen yet). 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.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
4D Ultrasound
I have scheduled my 4D ultrasound! Justin thinks it's a waste of money (apologies now to our little girl who will some day read this), but I have friends who keep telling me to do it and that it's really worth it. The place sounds really nice. They offer comfortable seating for 10 adults (although they've accommodated up to 25!) in San Diego's largest theater viewing rooms. They have a deluxe scan room, top of the line GE Voluson 730 Expert Technology (I have no idea what this means, I pulled it from the site), we can hear the baby's heartbeat upon request, have the gender confirmed, and most importantly, we'll get to see our little girl's facial features! We'll also get a dvd of the video they take along with color photos (I did have to laugh at that part. Is Sepia really considered "colored"?) This place was recommended by a friend, so I'm not worried about it being dodgy. I'm very much looking forward to this appointment especially because we haven't received any decent pictures from good old Kaiser. As far as pictures go I just want one side profile of the baby.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Justin felt baby Gill kick!!
All day yesterday our little girl was quite active. I went to the gym after work and she must have not used as much energy as I did because she was full of energy when I got home. We were sitting on the couch and I felt her moving around much more than normal. I had Justin just hold his hand on my stomach for a bit to see if she'd kick (or punch). Usually she stops as soon as he puts his hand on there. Well, last night she was putting on a show! I'm not sure if she was kick boxing or practicing her dancing skills. Either way, Justin finally felt it. He thought it was pretty cool. The kicks are still fairly weak, so I'm sure they'll be easier for him to detect later on.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
22 Weeks!
22 Weeks! Although technically, I'm a day early. My doctor (mid wife) looked at my due date again yesteray and it's now July 11th. I guess the ultra sound tech had rounded up by saying I was 20 weeks at the appointment. In the system it showed 19 wks 5 dys. I'm still betting on July 9th. Anyway, they said they hardly ever change it in the system, but if I'm sure about when my last period was then they'd change it. So, here we are...July 11th is now the final date. Apparently they won't be changing it again.
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.
Yesterday I had my monthly check up with my doctor. Justin normally goes to every appointment, but was unable to attend this one. While I was disappointed at first I had to remind myself that he's been to all the others and not every husband is able to go to every single appointment. However, I am extremely grateful for the times he can go. These monthly check ups are usually pretty quick. They check my blood pressure, weight, baby's heart beat and a couple of other things. My appointment yesterday went great! The mid wife said I was very healthy and things were moving along smoothly (that's always a relief to hear).
I don't know if I've mentioned it in previous blogs but we are trying to figure out which hospital I should deliver at. Let me break it down. We have full coverage on Justin's insurance through Kaiser (this is where I've currently been going). If I deliver at Kaiser we won't pay a dime, not even a co-pay. Nice, right? Well, the other hospital, Sharp Mary Birch specializes in women and newborns, more specifically, deliveries. In fact, all they do is deliveries. They don't see other patients except for expecting mamas. I am able to use my insurance through work to go there, however, we will end up having to pay out of pocket for some of the expenses. At most it sounds like we would pay $2,000. It probably doesn't sound like much when comparing the two hospitals (especially considering Kaiser is one of them), but $2,000 is $2,000 and we have a ton of other stuff coming up that we'll have to pay for. So in the meantime I'm trying to find every positive aspect about Kaiser, but even Justin thinks Mary Birch is the way to go, it's just the financial part. I'm still looking into other ways we could cut the cost on that (ex: will Kaiser help cover the bill?) One last note on the two places. At Mary Birch I'm guaranteed to have my own room for recovery. At Kaiser there's a chance I could end up in a shared room (depending on how busy they are). From what Kaiser tells me July is very busy!
Back to the appointment:
In trying to find more positive things about Kaiser I decided to ask the midwife some questions that have been on our minds.
1) C-sections - are you quick to jump to doing a c-section.
MW (midwife) Response: "Oh no, not unless it's absolutely necessary. Why do you want one".
My response: I'd prefer not to.
2) Epidurals - are you big on epidurals?
MW Response: "Only if you want one. We will not force you to have one".
3) Episiotomy - Is this guaranteed?
MW Response: "Absolutely not. We rarely ever do episiotomy's."
My response: "What about tearing? Don't you heal better if you're cut, not that I'm encouraging it".
MW Response: "You are really healthy and won't be having a 9 lb. baby. I don't think it will be necessary for you to have an episiotomy. I also don't think that you'll tear because you're healthy and you exercise. If you do tear it would be very small."
My thoughts - my tear would be small? I don't want to tear at all. Crying on the inside.
4) Prenatals and Iron - My prenatals don't have any iron in them. Should I be taking a supplement?
MW Response: "What?! I'm glad you mentioned this. You need to switch your prenatals. You would have been anemic by next month!"
My Response: Wow, I thought I was taking good prenatals. I've had friends recommend them and I see them in magazines (could I have sounded any more incompetent?)
MW Response: Blank stare. "Buy the ones in the pharmacy downstairs. Stop taking the other ones".
My thoughts: Poop, I really liked the other ones. They are gummy and taste like candy. Just goes to show you that things that taste too good to be true probably are. :/
Overall I do feel better about the questions I asked. At least I know what to expect. I didn't want someone who was going to be pro c-section right off the bat and trying to rush home for dinner.
Speaking of dinner, last night I got to have dinner with grandma Sharon, grandpa Bob, grandma Jackie, and uncle Joe! I haven't seen grandma Jackie in a couple of years, and I haven't seen uncle Joe in probably two decades! We had such a wonderful time. They are going to be in San Diego for a couple days, so I drove down to Coronado where they are staying and we had Mexican food for dinner. Again, it was such a great evening.
How baby Gill's growing:
At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, 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.
Yesterday I had my monthly check up with my doctor. Justin normally goes to every appointment, but was unable to attend this one. While I was disappointed at first I had to remind myself that he's been to all the others and not every husband is able to go to every single appointment. However, I am extremely grateful for the times he can go. These monthly check ups are usually pretty quick. They check my blood pressure, weight, baby's heart beat and a couple of other things. My appointment yesterday went great! The mid wife said I was very healthy and things were moving along smoothly (that's always a relief to hear).
I don't know if I've mentioned it in previous blogs but we are trying to figure out which hospital I should deliver at. Let me break it down. We have full coverage on Justin's insurance through Kaiser (this is where I've currently been going). If I deliver at Kaiser we won't pay a dime, not even a co-pay. Nice, right? Well, the other hospital, Sharp Mary Birch specializes in women and newborns, more specifically, deliveries. In fact, all they do is deliveries. They don't see other patients except for expecting mamas. I am able to use my insurance through work to go there, however, we will end up having to pay out of pocket for some of the expenses. At most it sounds like we would pay $2,000. It probably doesn't sound like much when comparing the two hospitals (especially considering Kaiser is one of them), but $2,000 is $2,000 and we have a ton of other stuff coming up that we'll have to pay for. So in the meantime I'm trying to find every positive aspect about Kaiser, but even Justin thinks Mary Birch is the way to go, it's just the financial part. I'm still looking into other ways we could cut the cost on that (ex: will Kaiser help cover the bill?) One last note on the two places. At Mary Birch I'm guaranteed to have my own room for recovery. At Kaiser there's a chance I could end up in a shared room (depending on how busy they are). From what Kaiser tells me July is very busy!
Back to the appointment:
In trying to find more positive things about Kaiser I decided to ask the midwife some questions that have been on our minds.
1) C-sections - are you quick to jump to doing a c-section.
MW (midwife) Response: "Oh no, not unless it's absolutely necessary. Why do you want one".
My response: I'd prefer not to.
2) Epidurals - are you big on epidurals?
MW Response: "Only if you want one. We will not force you to have one".
3) Episiotomy - Is this guaranteed?
MW Response: "Absolutely not. We rarely ever do episiotomy's."
My response: "What about tearing? Don't you heal better if you're cut, not that I'm encouraging it".
MW Response: "You are really healthy and won't be having a 9 lb. baby. I don't think it will be necessary for you to have an episiotomy. I also don't think that you'll tear because you're healthy and you exercise. If you do tear it would be very small."
My thoughts - my tear would be small? I don't want to tear at all. Crying on the inside.
4) Prenatals and Iron - My prenatals don't have any iron in them. Should I be taking a supplement?
MW Response: "What?! I'm glad you mentioned this. You need to switch your prenatals. You would have been anemic by next month!"
My Response: Wow, I thought I was taking good prenatals. I've had friends recommend them and I see them in magazines (could I have sounded any more incompetent?)
MW Response: Blank stare. "Buy the ones in the pharmacy downstairs. Stop taking the other ones".
My thoughts: Poop, I really liked the other ones. They are gummy and taste like candy. Just goes to show you that things that taste too good to be true probably are. :/
Overall I do feel better about the questions I asked. At least I know what to expect. I didn't want someone who was going to be pro c-section right off the bat and trying to rush home for dinner.
Speaking of dinner, last night I got to have dinner with grandma Sharon, grandpa Bob, grandma Jackie, and uncle Joe! I haven't seen grandma Jackie in a couple of years, and I haven't seen uncle Joe in probably two decades! We had such a wonderful time. They are going to be in San Diego for a couple days, so I drove down to Coronado where they are staying and we had Mexican food for dinner. Again, it was such a great evening.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Cowels Mountain - 21 Weeks 4 days
Last weekend I hiked Cowels Mountain with some friends. I told Justin I'd like to go again this weekend so just he and I went on Saturday. The hike is about 2.7 miles round trip (I actually mapped it this time). We took our time getting up and down. I think Justin enjoyed it as well. It was really easy for him. I decided to take the weekly board with us so there'd be a change of scenery for the background.
Here's my weekly picture: 21 Weeks 4 Days
Today we drove to a hilly area near us and Justin rode him mountain bike and I hiked around. I also ordered some maternity clothes online from Target. Wish me luck! I've had a heck of a time finding maternity clothes that I like, that fit, and that are in my price range. I talked to Nicole for quite a while today and she's going to let me borrow her maternity clothes. What a life saver. I hate the though of spending any more money on clothes that I'll wear for such a short time! I hope everyone is having a great and relaxing weekend.
Here's my weekly picture: 21 Weeks 4 Days
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