My dear little pumpkin,
It has been quite busy over these past few weeks!
The weekend after I last wrote you Mommy, Daddy and Oliver drove down to Massachusetts for T-Jocelyn's bridal shower. While Mommy was down there, Shaina and I went to try on our bridesmaid/matron of honor dresses for the wedding. The ladies were well at work adding a strap to my gown and trying to figure out how they would accommodate little you into my gown. They didn't seem very worried - it sounds like they have to do this all the time! The next day, I attended T-Jocelyn's bridal shower. It was a beautiful event and I was happy to have you experience it with me. There were a few close calls with a mimosa that almost gave away that Mommy was pregnant but I finagled my way around it. However, your T-Mary missed a few of my cues when talking to T-Berta and accidentally slipped that we are expecting. T-Berta was sworn to secrecy. Your T-Jocelyn opened lots of beautiful gifts and had lots of fun. She loved our scrapbook, cupcake holder and thank you notes. She also loved the decorations Mommy made for the shower.
This is Mommy getting a hug from T-Jocelyn at the shower :) Somehow we managed to match dress colors almost identically!
10 weeks pregnant with you!
The next week (@ 11 weeks) Mommy went in for blood work for several chromosomal tests that will be used in connection with a nuchal translucency test/ultra sound to tell us about your health. I spoke with the nurse about Mommy's lack of ability to sleep through the night and she suggested Mommy take some Bendryl, which is safe for pregnancy, to help me sleep. It has worked wonders. I have started to feel more energy and less tired so easily now that I am sleeping. I still don't have much for an appetite most days, so I have only gained a pound so that is actually good given I had some extra pounds already. Most weight should be gained later in the pregnancy, so this is actually very normal. The weekend following the blood work, Daddy had some work stuff to do so Mommy and Ollie had some date time! We went to a dance party on Friday night and to hold some bunnies on Saturday. We also had a special little backseat picnic, just the two ( ...three!) of us.On Sunday, Grandpa and Grandma Ellen came over and we told them the good news. We hid your ultrasound pictures in a folder with Oliver's Easter picture so they got to see both. They were very excited. Grandpa thinks you're going to be a girl.
I almost forgot...we asked Oliver at one point during the 10-11 weeks what he might like to name you if you were a boy: Harrison or Holden (two names we like) and he said Harrison - then he told us, like from Chuggington (a tv show about trains). We'll see how that one holds up (It's got a Mommy vote!).
Another fun name thing happened during week 12. Daddy just started a new job two weeks ago so his schedule changed from 10-6. This has meant a lot of new adjustments but mostly, Daddy takes Oliver to daycare in the morning. Well on the morning of our ultrasound at the hospital for the nuchal translucency test (NT), Ollie woke up, saw snow on the ground (yes 3 inches on April 16th!) and said, "tonight is Christmas Eve!" Well your Dad said it's a sign that we should name you Noelle if you are indeed a girl. Noelle is a front runner if not THE name you will have if you are a little girl.
This leads me to our 12 week ultrasound. It was pretty hysterical actually because your Mommy is quite the overachiever with drinking plenty of water all the time (plus I am ALWAYS thirsty!). Well the ultrasound technician said I could use the bathroom before the ultrasound but I was nervous about not getting good results so I didn't fully empty my bladder - well we they tried to see you ALL we could see was my very very still full bladder! SO I had to get up and go again!
Well after that we got to see beautiful YOU! It was as if it finally sunk in that we would really be having another baby. You are growing PERFECTLY! Crown to rump length (CRL) was 5cm and your heart rate was 168bpm. You were just hopping around in there for a while then you were lifting your arms and waving that hand. We have a video of the whole thing - it just blew me away. There you were so well formed and so perfect - and you developed SO much since just 3 weeks ago! It is just astounding to see you grow! Your little hands and feet and legs and arms are just so great to see and of course just so cute! The ultrasound technician said you look great and that your NT was 1.43 which is GREAT. 2 is in the normal range for your gestational age but everything below that is just awesome! Daddy asked if it was too soon to tell sex and the technician said that she could get up to 80% accuracy which measuring some angles. She took a long time trying to get the right angles and it was very close, but she said if she were to guess from the measurements she took (angle between genitals and spine) that you could be a girl? We are excited whether you are a girl or a boy and we are so happy you are healthy! We aren't sharing this "guess" until it is confirmed at 20 weeks - because after all, it's easy for a few angles on an moving baby to look less than/greater than at any given moment - as we saw from her trying to measure you. The only people who know that you might be a girl are your grandparents because we know they will keep a secret.
12 week ultrasound! Full body picture.
Your adorable little face with your hand raised to say hello to your Mommy and Daddy!
It was during this week that Mommy told Ollie's (and your future) daycare about your arrival in October and needing a spot for you when Mommy goes back to work.
Mommy also told her colleagues at work and my supervisors.
On Easter Sunday we broke the big news to our family! We sent them this text message. For your family in New York - we had dinner with them and did the same type of thing we did for Grandpa and snuck the picture in with the Easter picture and slipped it to your great grandma. Everyone was surprised and excited for our newest addition.
We are beyond excited as is our WHOLE family and all of our friends!!
After Easter, Mommy had April break from school which consisted of a Dr's appt for you again. Oliver got to come with me and he got to briefly hear your heartbeat and see you on the ultrasound monitor. He is only 2 1/2 so it didn't capture his attention too much, but I was pretty excited to hear and see you again, even if only for a minute. Doc says everything sounds great! I continue to have trouble sleeping if not taking the Benadryl and the doc gave me the ok to use some topic cream on my chest and back acne. AT the end of this week Vavo and Vavo came to visit. We surprised them with a lobster dinner when they arrived and Oliver gave Vavo a pot we made together using his feet and fingers to make a butterfly and flowers. In the pot was a blue hydrangea for transplant in their yard.We got to spend Vavo's birthday with her - shopping and out to dinner. Vavo bought Mommy some maternity clothes at Karen's Closet - a consignment store in Essex. WE also ordered some things on Gap.com. Mommy had also purchased a dress for T-Jocelyn's wedding shower rehearsal at the Little Vermonters Consignment Event earlier in the week - it's really pretty blues and pinks. I am thinking that if you are a girl - I'd love to have your room in those colors. Exciting things are happening! It all still seems a little surreal. All I do know is how much I love you already!
Love,
Mommy
The
head of the baby is still very large compared to the body, about half
the total size of the fetus. In this week the irises of your baby's eyes
will grow as will his tiny nails. His eyes are now closed and will only
open again around week 26.
Your pregnancy should still not be visible although you will be able to feel your growing uterus. If you lie flat on your back and gently feel above your pubic bone with your fingertips you should feel a hard edge. This small ball-like structure is the top of your womb although it will be a while before you will begin to develop a clear pregnancy belly.
Many
women are concerned with their weight and during pregnancy this is even
more so. Some women find that they lose weight within the first few
months because they are working or they suffer from pregnancy symptoms
such as morning sickness. Others find they gain weight quickly and each
woman is different so try not to worry too much at this stage. The
average weight gain during pregnancy is somewhere between 12 and 20lbs
and this can be gained at the beginning, the middle, or at the end of
the pregnancy. Some women weigh less at the end of their pregnancy than
they did before although this is very rare. The important thing is that
you do not suddenly start to diet as it is vital that your baby gets all
the necessary vitamins and minerals to help him grow properly." (I haven't gained any weight these first 12 weeks.) photos and text courtesy of pregnology.com
"The
tail of the fetus disappears completely this week and your baby begins
to resemble a tiny person. The organs will continue to develop and the
jaw will be formed as will the upper lip. The baby's eyes are now fully
opened but as of next week they will close and remain closed until week
25.
The baby's head is still very big compared to the rest of the body. The inner ears are now ready and the outer ear will now begin to develop although the baby still won't hear anything for quite a while. The tissue joining the fingers will now begin to disappear and the fingers will separate, making them independent of each other. The urinary tract will now also be formed.
By
the end of this week the placenta will be formed and the baby will be
fed via the umbilical chord which is now also formed by three blood
vessels which will connect it to the placenta. These blood vessels are
well protected by a jelly like layer which completely surrounds them.
If you are using a folic acid supplement you can stop around this time as the brains and spinal chord are now complete. However, continuing to take this throughout your pregnancy will not do any harm.
In week 10 the hormone hCG is at its highest concentration and many women find this is when they experience the most acute symptoms of their pregnancy. After this period, things should gradually ease off as the hormone levels are reduced". (still having pretty strong food aversions) photos and text courtesy of pregnology.com
It has been quite busy over these past few weeks!
The weekend after I last wrote you Mommy, Daddy and Oliver drove down to Massachusetts for T-Jocelyn's bridal shower. While Mommy was down there, Shaina and I went to try on our bridesmaid/matron of honor dresses for the wedding. The ladies were well at work adding a strap to my gown and trying to figure out how they would accommodate little you into my gown. They didn't seem very worried - it sounds like they have to do this all the time! The next day, I attended T-Jocelyn's bridal shower. It was a beautiful event and I was happy to have you experience it with me. There were a few close calls with a mimosa that almost gave away that Mommy was pregnant but I finagled my way around it. However, your T-Mary missed a few of my cues when talking to T-Berta and accidentally slipped that we are expecting. T-Berta was sworn to secrecy. Your T-Jocelyn opened lots of beautiful gifts and had lots of fun. She loved our scrapbook, cupcake holder and thank you notes. She also loved the decorations Mommy made for the shower.
This is Mommy getting a hug from T-Jocelyn at the shower :) Somehow we managed to match dress colors almost identically!
10 weeks pregnant with you!
The next week (@ 11 weeks) Mommy went in for blood work for several chromosomal tests that will be used in connection with a nuchal translucency test/ultra sound to tell us about your health. I spoke with the nurse about Mommy's lack of ability to sleep through the night and she suggested Mommy take some Bendryl, which is safe for pregnancy, to help me sleep. It has worked wonders. I have started to feel more energy and less tired so easily now that I am sleeping. I still don't have much for an appetite most days, so I have only gained a pound so that is actually good given I had some extra pounds already. Most weight should be gained later in the pregnancy, so this is actually very normal. The weekend following the blood work, Daddy had some work stuff to do so Mommy and Ollie had some date time! We went to a dance party on Friday night and to hold some bunnies on Saturday. We also had a special little backseat picnic, just the two ( ...three!) of us.On Sunday, Grandpa and Grandma Ellen came over and we told them the good news. We hid your ultrasound pictures in a folder with Oliver's Easter picture so they got to see both. They were very excited. Grandpa thinks you're going to be a girl. I almost forgot...we asked Oliver at one point during the 10-11 weeks what he might like to name you if you were a boy: Harrison or Holden (two names we like) and he said Harrison - then he told us, like from Chuggington (a tv show about trains). We'll see how that one holds up (It's got a Mommy vote!).
Another fun name thing happened during week 12. Daddy just started a new job two weeks ago so his schedule changed from 10-6. This has meant a lot of new adjustments but mostly, Daddy takes Oliver to daycare in the morning. Well on the morning of our ultrasound at the hospital for the nuchal translucency test (NT), Ollie woke up, saw snow on the ground (yes 3 inches on April 16th!) and said, "tonight is Christmas Eve!" Well your Dad said it's a sign that we should name you Noelle if you are indeed a girl. Noelle is a front runner if not THE name you will have if you are a little girl.
This leads me to our 12 week ultrasound. It was pretty hysterical actually because your Mommy is quite the overachiever with drinking plenty of water all the time (plus I am ALWAYS thirsty!). Well the ultrasound technician said I could use the bathroom before the ultrasound but I was nervous about not getting good results so I didn't fully empty my bladder - well we they tried to see you ALL we could see was my very very still full bladder! SO I had to get up and go again!
Well after that we got to see beautiful YOU! It was as if it finally sunk in that we would really be having another baby. You are growing PERFECTLY! Crown to rump length (CRL) was 5cm and your heart rate was 168bpm. You were just hopping around in there for a while then you were lifting your arms and waving that hand. We have a video of the whole thing - it just blew me away. There you were so well formed and so perfect - and you developed SO much since just 3 weeks ago! It is just astounding to see you grow! Your little hands and feet and legs and arms are just so great to see and of course just so cute! The ultrasound technician said you look great and that your NT was 1.43 which is GREAT. 2 is in the normal range for your gestational age but everything below that is just awesome! Daddy asked if it was too soon to tell sex and the technician said that she could get up to 80% accuracy which measuring some angles. She took a long time trying to get the right angles and it was very close, but she said if she were to guess from the measurements she took (angle between genitals and spine) that you could be a girl? We are excited whether you are a girl or a boy and we are so happy you are healthy! We aren't sharing this "guess" until it is confirmed at 20 weeks - because after all, it's easy for a few angles on an moving baby to look less than/greater than at any given moment - as we saw from her trying to measure you. The only people who know that you might be a girl are your grandparents because we know they will keep a secret.
12 week ultrasound! Full body picture.
Your adorable little face with your hand raised to say hello to your Mommy and Daddy!
It was during this week that Mommy told Ollie's (and your future) daycare about your arrival in October and needing a spot for you when Mommy goes back to work.
Mommy also told her colleagues at work and my supervisors.
On Easter Sunday we broke the big news to our family! We sent them this text message. For your family in New York - we had dinner with them and did the same type of thing we did for Grandpa and snuck the picture in with the Easter picture and slipped it to your great grandma. Everyone was surprised and excited for our newest addition.
After Easter, Mommy had April break from school which consisted of a Dr's appt for you again. Oliver got to come with me and he got to briefly hear your heartbeat and see you on the ultrasound monitor. He is only 2 1/2 so it didn't capture his attention too much, but I was pretty excited to hear and see you again, even if only for a minute. Doc says everything sounds great! I continue to have trouble sleeping if not taking the Benadryl and the doc gave me the ok to use some topic cream on my chest and back acne. AT the end of this week Vavo and Vavo came to visit. We surprised them with a lobster dinner when they arrived and Oliver gave Vavo a pot we made together using his feet and fingers to make a butterfly and flowers. In the pot was a blue hydrangea for transplant in their yard.We got to spend Vavo's birthday with her - shopping and out to dinner. Vavo bought Mommy some maternity clothes at Karen's Closet - a consignment store in Essex. WE also ordered some things on Gap.com. Mommy had also purchased a dress for T-Jocelyn's wedding shower rehearsal at the Little Vermonters Consignment Event earlier in the week - it's really pretty blues and pinks. I am thinking that if you are a girl - I'd love to have your room in those colors. Exciting things are happening! It all still seems a little surreal. All I do know is how much I love you already!
Love,
Mommy
Development:
13 Weeks: Baby is the size of a peach!
"You are now in the second trimester of your pregnancy and if you are suffering from any of the pregnancy related symptoms these should begin to decrease now and you should start to feel better and have more energy.
This is the week when most women choose to tell the rest of the world about their pregnancy because the chances of miscarriage are now greatly reduced although many women choose to tell immediately after they have the results of their pregnancy test.
It
is wise to tell your employer that you are pregnant early on in order
that they can seek a replacement or a temporary worker to fill your
position once you have gone on maternity leave. It may also be the case
that some of your work related activities have to be changed if for
example you are involved in any heavy lifting duties which are not
advised during pregnancy. Legally you are only obliged to inform your
employer 3 months before your expected delivery date although it is
generally impossible to keep your secret that long because of the
increased size of your tummy.(Told my supervisors but going to tell HR after we get back from school break. My principals don't know quite yet but will after break as well.)
Your uterus is now almost as big as a fist and the top of your uterus (fundus) is now at the same height as your pubic bone (symphysis). The midwife will regularly measure the distance from the fundus to the symphysis (fundal height) and record this on your visit card in centimeters.
The baby now has good space to move around as the amount of amniotic fluid in the womb is increasing. Occasionally he may take a sip of this and this will train his swallowing reflexes. The placenta ensures that this fluid is constantly refreshed and repleted because your baby will already pee in it. This is a good sign that his kidneys are now functioning properly.
Although all your baby's teeth are shaped and formed they are still hiding in the gums and will only come through a few months after birth.
The baby and the placenta now weigh approximately 30 grams." photos and text courtesy of pregnology.com
12 weeks: Baby is the size of a plum!
"Week 12 signifies the first milestone for you and your baby. The major organs are now formed and will continue to develop and your baby will now focus on growth.At this time the chances of miscarriage are greatly reduced. (woohoo!)
Over the past three weeks the baby has doubled in size and the
digestive tract now begins to move into place, allowing the baby to
start transporting food. The bone marrow now makes white blood cells
which will help the baby fight infections and the placenta will begin to
create hormones.
The baby will now begin to move his hands, making small fists
and often they try to grasp the umbilical chord. However this is so
strong and sturdy it is impossible for him to do it any harm and you
will see after the birth how difficult it is to cut the chord. The head
will now begin to lift and he will now be able to move his feet. At this
time your baby is also able to yawn and may also try to suck his thumb.
The part of the bowel which was attached to the umbilical chords will
now be drawn into the baby's tummy. (we got to see in the ultrasound that this is progressing well!)
The baby's brain has grown considerably and the basic structure
will remain as it is now until after the birth. The baby's heart will
now beat at a tremendous rate, over 160 beats per minute. This will
however drop to between 120 and 160 after birth.(it was 168 at our ultrasound!)"
Your own body will now produce almost half again the amount of blood as usual which will be used to transport nutrients to the placenta and for the disposal of waste coming from your baby. This increase of blood going to the baby can result in a drop in your own blood pressure causing dizziness as there is less blood to your brain.(Yes! Definitely feeling a little dizzy now and then)
It is often said that pregnant women `glow` and this is because
the increased levels of hormone in your bloodstream can help improve the
color of your skin and make your nails and hair thicker and shinier.
Your uterus will now be about the size of a grapefruit but because it sits higher the pressure on your bladder may be relieved meaning you shouldn't have to urinate as frequently as before." (definitely feeling the grapefruit size this week - I wore my first pair of maternity pants this week and they were just much more comfortable than my regular jeans). photos and text courtesy of pregnology.com"
11 weeks: Baby is the size of a lime!
"Your baby has
already completed its most important stage of development. By this point
the basic foundations of all his vital components are now in place and
simply require growing and developing further. His skeleton now consists
only of cartilage and only during the first years of life outside the
womb will this be replaced by natural bone.
Your pregnancy should still not be visible although you will be able to feel your growing uterus. If you lie flat on your back and gently feel above your pubic bone with your fingertips you should feel a hard edge. This small ball-like structure is the top of your womb although it will be a while before you will begin to develop a clear pregnancy belly.
10 weeks: Baby is the size of a prune!
The baby's head is still very big compared to the rest of the body. The inner ears are now ready and the outer ear will now begin to develop although the baby still won't hear anything for quite a while. The tissue joining the fingers will now begin to disappear and the fingers will separate, making them independent of each other. The urinary tract will now also be formed.
If you are using a folic acid supplement you can stop around this time as the brains and spinal chord are now complete. However, continuing to take this throughout your pregnancy will not do any harm.
In week 10 the hormone hCG is at its highest concentration and many women find this is when they experience the most acute symptoms of their pregnancy. After this period, things should gradually ease off as the hormone levels are reduced". (still having pretty strong food aversions) photos and text courtesy of pregnology.com
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