30 week belly

My goodness, it's grown exponentially!

30 weeks, 3D scans & stubborn babies

Oliver is going to either be a very shy boy or a very stubborn one. We were in Wilmington, NC, visiting my family and we decided to get a 3D/4D ultrasound done since I was at 30 weeks. Well, the first day, the very nice lady at Womb's Window tried every possible thing. We had a Coke, candy, we prodded and pushed my belly, but Oli would not face forwards. She said she would reschedule us and when I told her we were leaving for MD on Monday, she called another coworker and asked her to come in and open up on Sunday. I tell ya, true Southern hospitality. So, we went back Sunday. Good news! Oliver was facing forwards, BUT he had an arm and a leg and the cord in front of his face. We got some good photos but not as many or as clear as we could have if he'd just lowered a foot or a hand.



I am at 30 weeks, 10 more to go. My God, I am 3/4ths of my way through this pregnancy. Wasn't it just yesterday that I took that Clear Blue test into the ladies' room at Paradise Indian Cuisine?

At 30 weeks, the good people at Baby Center tell me, Oliver's like a yummy head of cabbage:



Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day.

Hmm, I really think he should be weighing around 8-10 lbs already; I mean that is what my weight gain is, right? All baby?

According to the site I am pregnant,

Because you are getting larger, you are probably becoming slower and clumsier. You should try to be careful to avoid dangerous falls. Good posture when sitting and standing can help you feel better during your pregnancy. You also should be rolling over on your side to get up after lying down because your muscles have stretched to accommodate your growing uterus.

Uhh yeah, if I sit down on the ground or lie down on my back for a few seconds, somebody's got to pull me up or I look like a tortoise who got flipped onto his back.

Your baby now does `practice breathing` to get ready for life outside of your womb. If you have an ultrasound at this time, you will be able to see this. If your baby swallows amniotic fluid down the wrong passage, he will still get hiccups that are noticeable by you.

We could actually see this in the ultrasound today. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, we saw his tongue at one point. And, he gets hiccups a lot, so he really needs to practice his breathing.

29 weeks; 77 days left

The only reason I mention the 77 days is that the ticker to the left caught my eye since I was born in 77, that's all. But, since I have reached 29 weeks, both The Bump and Tarzan's Guide to Baby Development give us new items to compare baby to:

A papaya:



Really? The baby is not round, so why do we compare it to spherical things?

A big wheel:



Ah hah, a website that tells me the baby looks like:

A butternut squash, mmmm yummy. This is according to Baby Center:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain.

Yay for more brain, but the size of the head still gives me nightmares.

Your baby's very active now. Your healthcare provider may ask you to spend some time each day counting kicks and will give you specific instructions on how to do this. Let your provider know if you ever notice that your baby is becoming less active. You may need a nonstress test or biophysical profile to check on your baby's condition.

Considering we've already had a trip to Labor & Delivery over this issue, this is something I intend to bring up with my doctor today. I have a hernia mesh and an anterior placenta, so movements are hard to feel. Oh, I feel him when he lands a nice jab right to my bladder, but beyond that if he's just slowly swimming around in there, I don't necessarily feel it.

And just as I finished typing that, he rewarded me with a swift kick to my belly.

Just a small addition from the I am Pregnant website:

Research has shown that your baby is not only able to hear, but also able to recognize your own voice. This shows that your baby can already learn, remember and recognize.

I think he moves more when we talk to him. We'll keep talking and singing to the belly and see if more movement occurs.

Shoes & books & hiccups

Let's start with hiccups:

Last night, I am lying on the couch watching some quality television (Bridezillas) when I feel something weird right below my belly button. I put my hand on my stomach and just feel it for a few seconds. It felt like a slight knock, very light, but every couple seconds. It would go on for 10-15 knocks, take a break for a few seconds and then happen again. I suddenly realized it was hiccups!!! I called my mom over and she felt them too. Jeff came home and he felt them too. The baby had them for a good hour. And again, this morning, for a few minutes.

Books:

I asked Jeff to read a book to Oliver last night. It feels weird but I know he can hear us and I want him to hear more than my work meetings and my driving outbursts. I also want him to know his dad's voice. So, Jeff read Goodnight Moon to him. It still felt weird till Oliver kicked a few times towards the end. I don't know if it was just his regular kicking or if he was responding to Jeff's voice. I'd like to believe the latter.

Shoes:

Found the first casualty of pregnancy. I tried these on last night and though a little snug, they felt fine. I could walk in them and nothing hurt. This morning, I couldn't zip them up. Welcome, fat feet. RIP for a few months, shoes.

The only thing keeping me from sobbing about this is the fact that we leave for Niagara Falls tomorrow. Yippee!

7 months, and a shower

Well folks, we have a belly! It could be all the food I ate on Sunday, but here it is:

7 months down, 3 to go (if you count 4 weeks as a month; if you count 30/31 days, then I have 2.7/2.8 months respectively). I think I can safely say, so far, this trimester is my favorite! That might change when I gain more weight but so far, the 1st had slight nausea all day long and the 2nd had debilitating heartburn pain everyday almost, so in the absence of those 2, this trimester is shaping up to be a breeze. I know things can change so all you naysayers, let me enjoy my bliss while it lasts.

According to Baby Center, this week the baby looks like a Chinese cabbage. They didn't provide a photo, so I looked one up.

Your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. Your baby can open his eyes now and see the light that filters through your womb. He can hear, too, so go ahead and talk or sing to your baby.

Oh yeah, time to start indoctrinating him in the ways of country music. Also, probably should read movie synopsis more carefully before renting them. I thought Kick-Ass was a comedy, not so much as I cringed while watching limbs get cut off and stuff.

Billions of neurons have developed and are firing in your baby's brain, creating essential connections that will help him learn in and outside the womb.

Thank heavens he won't be stupid ;-)

This past Sunday, 4 amazing and beautiful women, threw us a baby shower: my sister Suheir, Brenda, Kimber and Anjuli. It was great to see our friends and feel the love, not just through their gifts but through their support and their warmth. I managed not to cry at the shower itself, but I did as I was writing our thank you cards. Days like Sunday make us glad we moved to this area. It shows us that we have a support group here that's always there for us even though we might not speak with these people every day or even every week. Thanks to everyone who showed up and made the shower so special. Here are a couple photos; most others are on Facebook but I'll put them on Flickr as well for those who aren't on FB.

This cake was yummy, coconut on the top and lemon on the bottom 2 tiers.

For now

you'll have to do with this photo. Lisa is due 11/23 and I am due 11/15. You can try to figure out when our husbands are due hehe.

Sneak preview of L&D

So, I got to see the labor and delivery department at St. Agnes today, way before our September 11 & 12 childbirth classes which include a hospital tour.

Backstory: My OB told me on Monday that after eating, for 2 hours, I should count Oliver's movements. I told her how I didn't really feel a lot of movement, just a couple kicks here and there. She told me if I didn't count at least 10 in 2 hours, I should call her. So, for 2 days, I counted and called her today because the maximum I could ever get to was about 7. On average, I counted 3-4. She told me to immediately go to labor and delivery.

Oye Ve. This was at 2:10 p.m. and my parents & sis were supposed to arrive at the airport at 2:40. So, I picked them up and we all hustled to St. Agnes. Where they gave me their sexy hospital gown and hooked me up to some monitors and watched the baby's heartbeat for 45 minutes or so. It was between 130s to 150s and the doctors were happy. I was told to keep on counting movements but to see if they're "normal" for me, i.e. if 7 is normal for me, then I should be happy with 7.

So, I guess it was an hour spent to reassure ourselves that everything was ok.