The Baby Page - My Pregnancy (aka, possibly too much information for you!!)
If you're new to this page, and you want to read about my pregnancy, skip down to the bottom and read backwards. If you want to read the latest about Lila, you'll need to go to her main news page. You can read about her first year here and her second year here.I've password protected the bulk of the new photos of Lila (my daughter) from 2004 forward. If you're a stranger to me, you'll still be able to see occasional photos on her main page and updates about her on this news page, but the great majority of the new photos will now be restricted to my family and friends. I hope you can understand. It's one thing to have my life on parade, but it's another to have my daughter's out there. If you're a friend or family member who has forgotten the password I sent you, or if I missed you when I went to send it out, and let me know and I'll get you the info you need immediately!
11/24/03
I finally put up my birthing story, for those of you who aren't faint of heart. It's long and pretty detailed, so read it as you will, at your own risk!
10/24/03 - THE LILA HAS LANDED!!!
There will be more details forthcoming for those of you with the stomach for it, but for now,Lila was born this afternoon (Friday the 24th) at 1:42pm, weighing in at a SPECTACULAR 9 lbs 11oz and 21 1/4" length. Yes, it's like giving birth to two children. I went into labor sometime yesterday afternoon/early evening, and by 4am last night, I went to the birthing center to learn I was already 7 cm dialated (this is a huge thing, and had she been smaller, I would have given birth to her hours and hours sooner). I began pushing around 9am and by noon they had given me 1 hour to make progress getting her out or I was going to have to go to the hospital. Her heartbeat was steady and strong, which also really saved me from the hospital. It took two midwives, one birthing assistant, and one awesome mom (mine) and one AMAZING husband (also mine) to get me to bring her into life. (It also took 20 stitches afterwards to help me recover, dammit.) Her birth was 100% natural and by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. We're home now and I can barely walk on my own, but I wanted to let y'all know what's happened. Lila is the biggest baby I've ever seen. She doesn't look like a newborn at all, she's so big. Already, the 0-3 month clothes are looking small on her!!
This is all for now, as we're going to bed before we have to wake and feed her again around 12:30. Thank you all for your kind words of support, your prayers and thoughts and for everything you've done to get me to this point.
More sometime next week.
10/14/03
Only 2 weeks or so left, and let me tell you that this little girl can't come soon enough.Everything still sucks, but every day I make it through is one day closer to NOT BEING PREGNANT ANY MORE!! The receptionist at my chiropractor said to me yesterday, "I'll bet you can't wait to hold your little girl in your arms and look at her" and I replied "Forget the baby - I just can't wait to NOT TO BE PREGNANT!!" Does that sound jaded? As my Bradley Method teacher said about the third trimester "The thrill is gone." Ah, so true. Mom says that nature makes it this way, that by the time you actuall GIVE birth, you're so ready to get that baby out of you that you're willing to POP THE BABY OUT YOUR EYEBALL if that's what will get her out of you! I am SO THERE.
I have had accupressure done twice to try to bring on labor a bit early, to no avail. I was told me it meant my body wasn't ready yet, and I'm trying to be positive and say that we definitely want my body to be ready so it goes as easily as possible, but I'm really so done with all of this you can't imagine.
Seriously, I feel ruined by this whole experience. I cannot even fathom that I will ever look even remotely like I used to look pre-pregnancy. The stretch marks on my stomach are so bad, especially on my lower stomach since she "dropped" that there isn't really any normal skin left. You can't see skin between the stretch marks because there is nothing BUT stretch marks there. Just one big ripped raw area of skin from my navel down to my panty line (and about an inch above my navel, too). I've heard good things about Mederma to help lessen those, and it's safe to use while I'm pregnant and breastfeeding, so that makes it extra attractive. I'll let you know how that works out for me. If it's going to work, it'll take 2-4 months. Stay tuned.
I cry every day now. I cry when I talk about how I feel, I cry when I see the new photos of myself. I weigh exactly what Lane does now, and it's showing in my face and just about everywhere now. People say I only look pregnant in my belly, that I look like I've only put on weight there, but now I believe that my belly is simply SO HUGE that people can't even focus on any other part of me clearly. It's like my belly is the giant planet eclipsing all other parts of me. I'm tired of hearing "wow, you're so huge" or "wow, your belly doesn't even look REAL it's so big" or "are you having twins?" or any of the myriad variations. I'm so big I feel deformed. I have three, yes THREE things I can wear comfortably out in public now, and I'm seriously considering just not leaving the house until Lila gets here. I wore something out to Best Buy this last weekend that looks so awful on me that I told Lane we were going to tell people I was actually having twins if anyone asked (one boy, one girl, in case you were wondering). :)
My knees hurt when I get up. If it weren't for the soap dish on the wall in my bathtub, I wouldn't be able to sit up after reclining in the tub. On the PLUS SIDE, the weather changed last week, and my feet aren't as huge as they have been, nor do my hands ache as much. That's about all on the plus side there is. Oh, and because I'm pretty much carrying her completely on the outside of my body (as opposed to under my ribs, etc), I don't have to pee every thirty seconds and I feel better than I've understood some women to, but I might trade the occasional pee for one more outfit I can wear or 20% fewer stretch marks.
On to the standard stuff:
My measurements have increased since pre-pregnancy as follows (measurements taken one month after last time's measurements - not actually the two weeks it appears to be):
- Bust: 4 1/4 inches
- Waist: 10 1/4 inches
- Hips: 4 1/2 inches
- Arm: 3/4 inch
- Wrist: 3/4 inch
- Thigh: 1 3/4 inches
- Calf: 1 1/2 inches
- Neck: 1 inch
- Shoes: THREE and 1/2 full sizes on a bad day - ARGGGG!
- Fingers (ring sizes): each finger is increased by TWO or more full sizes
I've put on either 53 or 40 lbs, depending on what initial weight you want to use (see prior posting). 40 is my story, and I'm sticking to it. :) Why such a big jump from last time? I'm not sure, maybe I weighed on a bad day this month and a good day last time. Here are the updated animated bellies - you can REALLY see when Lila has "dropped" further into my pelvis now. I continue to call these photos "I'm starting to regret ever having done this and I'm not even making an effort to look like I'm enjoying any of this anymore": front and side. How pissed do I look in these photos? How much fun are these last few weeks? You tell me.
People say I'll forget all this discomfort. I don't think that's true. What I think is that I will come to view all of what I'm going through as WORTHWHILE to have my daughter, but I can't see ever forgetting any of this completely. I'm going to love being a mother and I'm going to love Lila very much and enjoy building a family with Lane, don't think I'm not, but this business of getting there is much harder than I ever thought it would be.
I have a few photos to show. Enjoy them, as I may not post any others!
To repeat what I said in my email update announcing this page:
- Please don't email me and ask if the baby has come or when she is expected. She'll come (apparently) when she's good and ready, and you will get an email. Until then, assume I'm still pregnant and bitter and be done with it.
- Please don't email me and ask how I'm feeling or if I'm excited. I feel like crap and I'm so far past excitement into a droning, plodding resignation of my condition that I can barely even remember being excited to begin with. I'll be excited when Lila gets here. You'll get an email. Trust me. We'll all be excited together. Just put a cap in your excitement for now. You make me want to hurt you.
More as I know it!
10/1/03
Only 3-4 weeks left, can you believe it!? This trimester continues to SUCK, but at least I can say it's almost over, so you'll get very little of the bitching I did last time. All of what was bugging me last month is still bugging me, only WORSE, so you get the idea. Also, I am now the proud owner of stretch marks on my belly, which THRILLS ME NO END, but I'm keeping a good attitude (after crying all evening one night) and trying to focus on the end results (i.e. Lila). Some days, if you showed me a photo of my own legs and feet, the only thing that would enable me to recognize them would be my blue toenails. ARGGGGGGGGGGG!We had a bit of a scare in that Lila was breech (would have meant a c-section for me) for just over a month, and they were afraid she wasn't going to turn, and then they weren't ABLE to tell if she had turned (heads and butts feel remarkably alike if the baby isn't turned properly), so I got to go in for an "emergency ultrasound", which, fortunately, revealed that Lila is now head down and good to go. The MOST interesting news from that visit, however, is that Lila is estimated at 6 3/4 lbs already, with potentially over 1 1/2 lbs left to put on!! ARGGG! I learned from one of my midwives, however, that a 7+ lb baby can be easier to deliver than smaller baby, because their fat helps them slide out like little seals, whereas a smaller baby's bones can actually "catch" and make the delivery a little rougher. My midwife also said that Lila had descended (lowered into my pelvis) and is "ready for delivery any day now". Not that it means I'll go into labor tomorrow or anything (I really hope not; I'm SO not ready), but at least we know that our days are numbered.
Birthing class is over, and we survived all the videos, handouts and personal stories. I THINK we're ready for this birth, but who knows until we get there. I'll let you know! (Birth is still really gross, trust me - there HAS TO be a better way to do this, like pods we take turns sitting on or something.)
On to the standard stuff:
My measurements have increased since pre-pregnancy as follows (measurements actually taken two weeks ago, so this could be radically different now; I'm just too lazy to measure again today):
- Bust: 4 inches
- Waist: 9 inches (wheeeeee!)
- Hips: 3 1/2 inches
- Arm: 3/4 inch
- Wrist: 3/4 inch
- Thigh: 1 1/2 inches
- Calf: 1 1/2 inch (a giant leap this month - damn water retention!)
- Neck: 3/4 inch
- Shoes: TWO full sizes, and still growing - ARGGGG!
- Fingers (ring sizes): each finger is increased by TWO full sizes - DOUBLE ARGGGG!
I've put on either 46 or 33 lbs, depending on what initial weight you want to use (see prior posting). I think you all know that I'll be going with the 33 lbs. :) Here are the updated animated bellies - I call these last photos "I'm getting so big I'm freaking myself out BIG TIME and it's getting hard for me to even look at myself any longer": front and side. There may not be any more added animated photos. They're starting to upset me. :/
Also, as my SPECIAL SURPRISE of this posting, I am so THRILLED to share some photos with you that were taken by a friend of mine who is also a professional photographer, Stephen Hopper, who managed to make me not look entirely grotesque. Relatives be warned: while these are NOT nudie shots of me, some are "implied nudes", where all my "bits and pieces" are covered, but I'm still not wearing anything, and several show my big, naked belly. My mother says that in her day, women didn't even show the SHAPE of their bellies, let alone show their bellies themselves, so she's a little iffy about the photos (even though she thinks they're beautiful). She's only shown a handful to my dad, so if you're squeemish about that kind of thing, please just don't look! But here are the photos!
More as I know it!
9/4/03
This is a long one, so bear with me.....Only 7 1/2 weeks left, THANK GOODNESS! Please allow me to be the first to say that this business about hoping for a Halloween baby is OVER. I'm thinking that anytime after the first week of October is GOOD WITH ME. :) If I ever had any kind of "love affair" with being pregnant, my third trimester is taking it out and stomping it into the ground. The third trimester sucks. As my birthing teacher says "your glory days of pregnancy are over." :)
I'm up at least a size and 1/2 in my feet, so none of my shoes fit. I have one pair of slip-on shoes that sometimes go on, but even then, sometimes it's a "squish" and I'm left with "extra foot" puffing out the top of the shoe. Yessssssssss, very pretty, I know.
My hands hurt pretty much from the middle of the night until midday, and sometimes they hurt all day. It's like having arthritis, but I can't take anything for it! (I always want to be the first to say, if I ever had to lose something, TAKE MY FEET, NOT MY HANDS, because this business of not being able to use, say, a can opener, is NOT GOOD.)
I'm hot all the time. I've totally let go of trying to keep the house at a "reasonable" temperature for money reasons. I no longer care. I keep it what it needs to be for me to just not sit and sweat all the time. And even then, sometimes I can feel the cool air on my skin, but I'm still burning up. I'm definitely a little oven and there's definitely something COOKING IN THERE. I'm looking forward to winter. I'm going to go outside in my swimsuit if it snows. :)
The word of this trimester is "ponderous". Think: elephantine, ginormous, mammoth. SUCKY. I'm starting to have trouble getting up off the sofa, and if I had to break into a dead run, I think I might just keel over. I tell Lane, if the KILLERS were chasing me, I might be able to manage a really fast shuffle, but, my goodness, it would take some real impetus.
Then there's the birthing class. I realize Lane and I need to know this stuff, but I actually believe that if they made every young person in the United States take a birthing class upon puberty, no one would EVER get pregnant except accidentally. It's crazy what they don't tell you about having babies until you're actually HAVING one. You don't even want to KNOW what goes on with my body AFTER I manage to have a baby (which in and of itself still doesn't seem physically possible, even though I have SEEN THE VIDEOS and I am assured that this is how it's been done for, well, EVER). This stuff is crazy, trust me.
Ah, the third trimester, the Trimester of Bitterness and Discomfort. :)
Oh, and did I mention that just a bare few weeks ago, the worst blow so far?!?! I woke up one sunny Thursday with - brace yourselves - stretch marks on my butt!!! Just overnight, there they were. NOT HAPPY! J9 sent me a lovely sympathy card that said "mourning the loss of your milky white ass." :) That's love for you, don't you think?!? Janet says I have "entered the ranks of scarred women who have borne children." Do I feel honored? Ask me after the baby is here. Right now, I'm just trying not to be too upset, because, really, it could be worse, and if I anger the Gods of Stretch Marks now, I may be smited with stretch marks on my belly, which would NOT BE GOOD for my bellydancing. And yes, I'm still using the oils every day, from everything from my knees to my shoulders, and I only have the marks on my rear end. I read something about stretch marks starting from the inside of your skin, not the outside, and that we're all fooling ourselves about using creams/oils/etc on the outside, and that if you're going to get them, you're going to get them, but I'm going forward with the oil anyway. Lane says my skin has never felt so soft - stretch marks or not!
So, let's move past the complaining and get to the photos. Here are the updated animated bellies: front and side.
Excitement these past few weeks: gestational diabetes scare (I'm FINE - there was just some conflict about how to interpret my MANY BLOODTEST scores and it was a little frightening for a while); preeclampsia scare (if you don't know what this is, in a nutshell, it can mean strokes/seizures/coma for baby and/or mommy) - but it turns out I'm just having hormone-induced ocular migraines - frightening, but totally harmless.
I'm also up another 6 lbs, making me just SLIGHTLY under Lane's weight! Argggg! I spoke with my midwife about this, and she helped me see it in a new light. See, mere weeks before I got pregnant, I lost 13 lbs in preparation for Carnaval (remember Carnaval, when I had a waistline?!?!) that I only had off for about a week or two, total. My midwife says that to start counting pounds from that lower weight isn't accurate, and that we need to go from the average weight I was for a year prior to getting pregnant. That means that I've only put on 28 lbs, not 41 lbs, as I've been thinking. She says that my body wanted to be back at my pre-Carnaval weight ASAP and that it rushed back there. At 28 lbs gained, I'm still WELL within the recommended 25-35 total weight gain. She even said that if I wanted to count it from my lower weight, I've still only put on 41 lbs, which isn't too far over the 35 lbs they recommend. I felt a lot better after talking to her. SO, why don't we just say I've gained 28 lbs and be done with it?!?!
Mom and I had to go emergency shopping two weeks ago because I had run out of things to wear! My "belly to ass" ratio had become too great for most all of my clothes, and if I didn't want to wear the same thing for the next 10 weeks, I had to act! We were able to find some great pants and dresses that are SAVING ME!
And just to make it worth your while reading all this, here are some new photos (and some old ones you haven't seen) of my glorious girth. :) Enjoy.
8/13/03
Hello! Welcome back to the pregnancy hotline. I'm up to a total of 35 lbs gained, with 10 weeks to go - and how short of a time does "10 weeks" sound?!?! GEEZE!! I'm betting I'll have a total weight gain of somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 or 50 lbs, which kind of sucks, but I'm still saying it's genetic and there's only so much you can do to fight your genes. :) That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!My measurements have increased since pre-pregnancy as follows:
- Bust: 3 1/4 inches
- Waist: 8 1/4 inches (wheeeeee!)
- Hips: 3 inches
- Arm: 1/2 inch
- Wrist: 1/2 inch (why my watch doesn't want to fit anymore!)
- Thigh: 1 1/2 inches
- Calf: 1/2 inch
- Neck: 1/2 inch
- Shoes: one full size, possibly more!
Here are the updated animated bellies: front and side. And yes, that continues to be my bellybutton sticking out. :)
I'd like to clear up something that may be confusing to you. My daughter's name is "LILA", and it's pronounced "LIE-luh", kind of like like "Lilac". Knox thought it was "LIL-luh", like "Lilly", but with an "uh", and I've had some folks say "LAY-luh", too, so let's all say it together now: LIE-luh! :)
I'm still having Braxton-Hicks contractions, but not as often and not as severe. The new thing to get used to this month is feeling her head move inside me (or her butt, who can tell!). It's no longer just little movements, but BIG movements where I can feel big parts of her body, maybe her elbow or a knee, and it's STRANGE!! Last night, she had the hiccups for the first time, and she kept me awake for 30 or 45 minutes until she finally stopped.
Interesting pregnancy factoids: her eyes are able to open now, and she can see a flashlight pressed next to my belly. She can cry real tears now, and she will "start" if there's a loud noise nearby and she's startled. My uterus is now bigger than a soccer ball. WOW!
We had our second ultrasound - everything is fine with my placenta - and they estimate that she is 3 lbs, 1 oz, which is in the 58th percentile for how far along I am. This means she'll probably be around 7 lbs, 8 ozs at birth, which is WAY bigger than I'd hoped, but is still perfectly do-able for a girl my size. Photos from the ultrasound are here.
Our Bradley Method birthing class started last week, and I'm sure I'll have things to say about that as we go along. I'm starting to have Fear of Labor, but I think that's natural. The moms I know tell me not to sweat it, but I'm still nervous. Labor is going to suck!! I'm still having sciatica pain from time to time, and my hands and feet are starting to give me fits, especially in the morning. I'm SO THANKFUL that I don't have a job where I have to stand all day while I'm pregnant. I don't know how I would do it!
Finally, I had my fasting Glucose Tolerance test two weeks ago, and I failed it by just a HAIR, and I had to go in yesterday and do it again, only the stepped-up version of it! The original test requires that I fast after midnight, go in the next morning, have my blood taken, drink this orange glucose drink, and then get my blood drawn again in an hour. THIS time, I had to fast after 9pm, go in the next morning, have my blood taken, drink a LARGER orange glucose drink, and get my blood drawn every hour for three hours after that. SUCK. I don't do well with needles anyway, and four blood draws before 10 in the morning just isn't my idea of a good time. I should get the results tomorrow or Friday, so hopefully I will have passed it and they won't say I have gestational diabetes or anything. I'll let you know.
Oh, one last thing: I have some neat photos of me from J9's bday boating party a few weeks ago. I'm in a swimsuit, of all things, and I thought you might like to see them.
See you next month, when I'll be down to just a few weeks before Baby Time!
7/17/03
Woo, it's been an interesting month! I continue to get bigger in the belly, as you will see from the updated animated bellies: front and side (yes, that's my bellybutton sticking out in front on the last side view). These files are getting pretty big, so I'm sorry for those of you on a modem! I've started using my belly for a remote-control holder while I'm watching TV. It's a great little shelf. :)Fortunately, my weight didn't skyrocket this month as it did last month, YAY! I only put on 4 lbs last month, which is exactly on target. No thoughts on why I started poofing the month before, except maybe the water retention. I took my measurements a week ago and they are exactly what they were last month except that my waist, such as it is, went up 1/2 an inch. Not bad! I'm REALLY hoping I've seen a slow-down in the growth of my breasts, as I'm starting to be seriously concerned that I'm going to grow out of some of my maternity clothes by virtue of my chest alone!!! What madness is that?!?
I'm eating grapes and watermelon (both rumored to fight the dreated water retention), and I've started swimming for 45 minutes some mornings at a neighbor's pool (I'm averaging 4 times a week). Lane and I are still walking 1 1/2 miles every night, which is great, especially in the weather we've been having lately. I'm skipping bellydance for a while, which I'll go into in a minute.
Lila is still moving around quite a bit. Lane feels her almost every day now. The other day, I was taking a bath and I SAW MY BELLY MOVE with her beneath the skin, and that was pretty weird. Later, as she grows, I'm told I'll be able to see more of that kind of thing.
The new and exciting symptom of the month is "Braxton-Hicks contractions". These are totally normal, painless contractions that's just my body (specifically my uterus and cervix) gearing up for birth. Normally, these wouldn't be a concern to a mom-to-be, only I have placenta issues, discovered at my first ultrasound. My doctor found that my placenta was a little low, which is why I have to go back in in early August to see if it's moved out of the way. If it hasn't, I will get more ultrasounds, and if it never moves, I'll have a c-cection. Everyone thinks it's going to move (that, in fact, it probably already has), so it's not a huge concern. But until we know, my contractions could damage the placenta if I don't take it easy, so I'm doing just that and am skipping out on dance class until we know more. On the contractions themselves, they feel FUNKY, like I have rocks in my belly. Mom remembers them as "baseballs" in her stomach. Just when I'd gotten used to feeling Lila move, now this comes and I have to get used to it!!
I'm also dealing with leg pain (I'm told brought on by the extra weight I'm bearing). Specifically sciatica pain, if you know what that is. Some nights, I wake up every hour with leg cramps. Suck! Hopefully that's going to abate once I deliver.
On the total plus side, Lane and I finished the nursery this month (with a little help from my parents, especially my father, who painted the room the second time - thank you guys!!). I have a TON of photos of it, beginning here.
I enter my third trimester in roughly two weeks. Only three and 1/2 months left!! :) Thanks for hanging in there with me!
6/22/03
Lila is a MOVER, let me tell you. I've been feeling her move for almost a month now, and two nights ago, Lane felt her for the first time, and today, Fran and my mom felt her. She loves bellydance class, and runs amok in my belly for hours afterwards. She's more active at night than during the day, which I'm told is likely to be her pattern when she's actually OUT, so I'll report back and let you know.For updated animated bellies, here's the belly from the front and the belly from the side. I've gotten giant like a frikkin BOAT since my last update (there are actually two photos added to each of the animations since last time), but there is still so much more to come.
I'm entering my 23rd week this week, which puts me slightly over half way (I deliver around 40 weeks, for those who don't know). It's going to be a long, hot summer, folks. Sigh.
I'm starting to puff up from water retention, too. My rings are getting much tighter (I feel certain I won't be able to wear them by August) and my feet have swollen a half size (NOT happy). I've put on a total of 23 pounds so far, which my midwife says isn't bad when you look at it over the total time I've been pregnant, but I still have far to go, and it's looking like I'll be gaining more than the recommended maximum of 35 lbs overall. Personally, if I had to ballpark it now, I'd guess 40-50lbs, which is around what the women on my father's side (who I tend to take after physically) gained. I have been assured that MY being heavy doesn't mean the BABY will be large upon birth, so that's good news! I don't want an 8 pound baby!!! I'm a small person!
My measurements have increased since pre-pregnancy as follows:
- Bust: 3 inches
- Waist: 5 3/4 inches (wheeeeee!)
- Hips: 2 1/2 inches
- Arm: 1/4 inch
- Wrist: 1/4 inch
- Thigh: 1 inch
- Calf: 1/2 inch
- Neck: 1/4 inch
I am back in the aforementioned bellydance class, I'm stretching and doing strength exercises every day, and Lane and I are walking a mile and 1/2 every night, so I know I'm doing OK now on that front. I'm hoping to start swimming soon; I bought a swimsuit and everything! I feel confident now that All is Well with the pregnancy, so exercising doesn't scare me anymore, but I am still careful not to get my heartrate up over 140 (a no-no).
As far as symptoms go, this trimester is MUCH easier. I haven't been unduly emotional, my breasts are mostly back to normal (other than being HUGE), and the gas, heartburn and itchy skin are much better. My back hurts more, though, and I'm dealing with a little round ligament pain (the ligaments that hold the uterus in place to my body so it doesn't come crashing down through my legs - pretty imagery, right?). My hips are starting to get really mobile as they're loosening up for birthing, and I had my first massage by a pre-natal masseuse the other day (she rocked; ask me for her name if you live in the Austin area) and that really helped. Oh, and my feet hurt a lot more, too. :(
I go in for another ultrasound in early August, just to check on some things the doctor wanted to follow up on, so I'll post more photos of that then. I'm still working on getting the first video online. There have been some Computer Challenges this past month that have delayed things. Can you say "new harddrive"? Back up your files, folks; harddrives just plain DIE sometimes!!! (eeeep!)
5/28/03
We're having a girl!!
Click here to see the ultrasound photos! We just got back from the doctor. :) Soon, I will have the ultrasound itself online in some kind of .mov. Stay tuned!
We will be naming her "Lila DorothyAnne". Lila, besides being just plain a pretty name, is my old piano teacher who died this last year. Dorothy was my maternal grandmother and Anne was Lane's maternal grandmother.
For updated animated bellies, here's the belly from the front and the belly from the side. For those who have said that I'm getting too big too soon, you're forgetting that I'm only 5'3" and that baby ain't got noplace to go but OUT. :)
We have a new heartbeat sample, in both .wav and in .mp3 format. This is worth listening to in comparison to the first sample (see below if you haven't heard it yet) because the heartbeat is SO MUCH stronger. You can also hear the baby move. When you listen to it, you'll hear some BANGING noises at the beginning until the heartbeat gets regular, and that's the baby moving around. My midwife and I are also talking throughout most of it, so you can hear that too. I'm told that the baby is "extremely active" and "exceptionally healthy". All my tests have come back smack dab in the middle of "normal", so all is well!! This time, the heartbeat is 160 beats per minute. Before, it was 162 beats per minute.
All continues to be well. No update on my measurements this time; I wanted to get these photos online ASAP!
5/8/03
For those who don't want to read the gory details, I present, first, THE ANIMATED BELLY. To see the belly from the front, click here. To see the belly from the side, click here. Links will launch a new window, and the file will grow in size as the months pass (we're not getting weekly shots, but we're averaging once every three weeks or so), so be warned. I will also not bitch publically about how I look (or my HAIR, specifically) in any of these photos. I save that for Lane. :) Oh, and you can still see some Carnaval fake tan in the first one, which is probably why I think I look so much better in those. Maybe I should start tanning? (When I told Lane's mom that I felt fat, she told me "honey, you don't know from fat yet!". Thanks, Fran! I can feel the love!)
Also, BIG THANKS TO JR, I have THE HEARTBEAT ONLINE. Here it is in .wav and in .mp3 format. The mp3 has some strange "clicking" in it; that's not the heartbeat - I don't know what that is. The original file is wav, so it's something the converter threw in. Oh well!! (Once we get the sonagram, I'll put stillshots - or animations? - from that here too.)
So, pregnancy is not that bad, overall, for me, that is. I have been spared the indignities of morning sickness, and am really only dealing with gas, belching and extremely tender breasts. Oh, and the occasional bout of uncontrollable crying. Thrilling. :) I'll be laughing really hard, then suddenly, without warning, I'm crossed right over into seriously uncontrollable sobbing that I can't stop, sometimes for 45 minutes or so. Eating makes me want to cry too. Commercials, whatever. That stupid dairy creamer commercial where they sing the Turtles song "Happy Together". Pretty much any rendition of "Just the Two of Us". Almost any Hallmark commercial. And, oddly enough, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I just love Will Smith, don't you?
Since getting pregnant, I've put on a little weight (just a TAD) and probably I need to start trying to stay in shape or something. :) For the first trimester, I was a little apprehensive about excercising, but now that that's done with and I think I'm GOOD AND PREGNANT, I need to get off my ass and work out again. I've put on approximately 12 pounds, which is just a little less than half what I should put on while pregnant, and it's still early yet! I'm not even halfway there yet! Personally, I think it's my Carnaval weight loss, RUSHING BACK onto my body as fast as it can. :)
My measurements have increased since pre-pregnancy as follows:
- Bust: 2 1/4 inches (no kidding)
- Waist: 3 3/4 inches
- Hips: 1 inch
- Arm: 1/4 inch
- Wrist: n/a
- Thigh: 3/4 inch
- Calf: n/a
- Neck: n/a
I'm already into maternity pants (obviously), and I'm about to go up my first bra size in years (no cause to celebrate, they hurt like crap all the time). For the first time ever, I'm dealing daily with dry skin and scalp and have had to change my shampoo (Joico Biojoba - it ROCKS) and my face moisturizer (varies). Wherever I have skin, it's dry and it itches. I'm using Mother's Special Blend (a blend of oils and other stuff) to help prevent stretch marks. No sign of them yet, but there is MUCH growing to come!!
We should know the sex (if it's possible during the sonagram) sometime in June, and I'll let you know what we're going to name him/her then.
Stay tuned to this page for more updates, probably monthly.
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