15 more to go!

How far along? 25 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: 21 #'s total - Just found out last night.

Stretch marks? Nope not yet!

Sleep: Sleeping great with my body pillow!

Best moment this week: Corey finishing the nursery and my mom getting us our shower present early: The bedding!!!!!

Movement: Kicking, punching, elbowing, somersaults - apparently Brody takes the 2am Turbokick class at Gym a la Leannes belly!

Food cravings: Right now all I want is a good breakfast. But as always, grapefruit.

Labor Signs: Nope. (Lets keep it that way for ...um... another 10 weeks at least, please!)

Belly Button in or out? Flat, but not out yet!

What I miss: Not really until this weekend, but a good glass of wine.

What I am looking forward to: Being done with these Dr.s appointments - Being in labor and having our baby. Seriously, I cannot wait. - Coreys Surprise party. - My baby Shower! Spring! Grilling tonight!

Weekly Wisdom: I've got nothing.

Milestones: Brody is doing great at my OB appt last night.

How big is baby: Your baby is about nine inches long and more than a pound and a half in weight this week. And don't look now (as if you could), but your baby's skin is turning pinker as small blood vessels form under the skin and fill with blood. Lungs and nostrils are also growing at this stage of fetal development
Weeks 25-28 -




How big am I: In my new Mat. Scrubs!! These are like the sisterhood of the traveling maternity pants. They have been passed around from 3 different girls that I work with now!

And a bare belly shot: (dont mind the blurriness)



Brodys Room: I love it! Can't wait to get the crib put together!!!

The crib will go in back of the rug!

Is this not the cutest turtle room ever!!??



Best Corey QOTW: "My new favorite thing to do is play music for Brody and feel him kick" AWWWWW!!!

On another note - I don't feel like writing a seperate post for this, but our plan on asking for a c-section got shot down last night. Apparently a c-section will raise the pressure in my head just as much as active pushing will. So.... my OB talked to Corey and I about the spinal tap procedure, explained the risks and benefits, told us it was totally safe for the baby as long as they do not use flouroscpoy, and is right now pulling some strings so I can just get it done by this new neuro and not have to go for another 3 hour long Neuro workup - for the third time. Whatever. The good news is, is that if they find nothing, which they suspect the wont, I get to have a normal labor, with pushing and everything. If they do, I will be HEAVILY drugged up (with an epi) and allow labor to happen naturally, and when the baby crowns to use the vaccuum to asssit. (sorry if TMI) .... So I guess we'll see.

Ugh- Can I cry more?????

I don't know why crying is my outlet - but I just cannot help it. I hear bad news - I cry. Corey and I fight - I cry... you get the picture.

Well, We got some news today, that kind of shook us up a bit....

Well as for Brody - he is doing great. He is a little bit ahead of schedule, which I don't mind ( I would love to get to meet him earlier!). Moving around a ton and is the picture of great health!

I am not so sure about me, however. We got a disappointing call from our perinatalogist (high-risk pregnancy specialist) today who had a meeting with my OB and my Neurologist. They feel that it will be best for me to go ahead and have the Lumbar Puncture (spinal tap) done to rule out some additional problems. I have now been to the opthamalogist, Neurologist, had an MRI of my brain, had a Lumbar Puncture scheduled (but cancelled because they were worried about the safety of the baby), and have seen a Neuropthamologist - none of which can figure out what is going on in my brain. Everything that could be wrong presents with symptoms that I do not have, so they are baffled. So now I am going to Froedert (the best hospital in WI) to see another Neurologist to get a 2nd opinion and he feels that it is for the best to do the LP.
They are worried about a diagnosis called Psuedotumor Cerebri - http://www.revoptom.com/HANDBOOK/SECT53a.HTM

But again, I don't have the symptoms, and am not obese. So they just do not know. They want to get the testing done ASAP so things do not come up later on in my pregnancy (when they can't do any diagnostics) or worse, during labor.

I am scared, of course, for me and our little one. And I have a meeting with the OB on the 19th to discuss my concerns about the spinal tap procedure and if they found a way to do it which minimizes risk to our baby. If they did not, then Corey and I decided to try and have an elective c-section, and worry about diagnosing me after Brody is born. (The main concern is that during labor, if there is increased pressure on my brain, that I could have an aneurysm while pushing) I have my Neurology appointment on April 7th and the LP will follow right after that.

We just wanted to update everyone on what is going on. We are taking this one day at a time.

So its been a rough day. I just want to go to bed.

Grow Baby Grow!

Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

A little recap:
Week 10




Week 13



Week 17



Wow - Bun and I sure are growing and I love it!

Not too much new going on this week. Bun is moving all around like crazy! Sunday what the best day of moving yet. I constantly felt the flutters and swooshing of the baby moving... it was great!

No new symptoms going on... except the leakage - and that's all I need to say to remember what I mean, so I am leaving it at that.

I did not go for my spinal today. The Neurologist really messed up and wrote the orders for me to have the procedure done, without specifying to the hospital that I am pregnant. Apparently the dye that they inject into you to do the spinal is extremely dangerous to the baby and they cant go in blind, because that could cause paralysis. So until the baby is born, I will not be having that done. I am going to see a specialist within the next two weeks to see if they can figure anything out. If not we are going to go with the cautious birth plan [strong epi - minimal pushing for me - possible forceps :( ] But whatever keeps me and our little Bun safe is what we are going with. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I was not a better advocate for myself - What if I just assumed they knew I was pregnant and they did the spinal. Yikes. I cant even imagine what we would do if something happened to Bun.

I will keep everyone updated on whats going on with that as I learn more.

Next weeks post will have NEW ULTRASOUND PICS!! And hopefully the answer to the question .... boy or girl! Ahhhh! I am so excited I can't believe that its almost here! My mom is going with Corey and I to see ( Its been 22 years since she has seen an u/s done, so I figured she would love it - and to be the first to know what we are having!) the ultrasound and then we are going out to celebrate!

Oh and I have been having the strangest cravings for bloody Marys this week - well, I should clarify- A V8 with a pickle an olive and a piece of string cheese. This is very strange for me, but I can't get enough!!
YUM!

Its all here...

9 days until we find out if Bun is a boy or a girl and all the furniture is in! Woo Hoo. Corey came home from work today and said: "I just want to put it all together now!" But we both know we have to wait. We are just glad everything is going on schedule.


* All the stuff is here

* Spinal Tap scheduled for Tuesday

* Wed the 28th - Anatomy Scan...Do we have a gymnast or a soccer player (Corey played soccer, I did gymnastics... Bun can do whatever he/she wants!)

* Pick out paint color and paint the room

* Shampoo the carpets

* Put it all together - We figure by March EVERYTHING should be done! And I will be 23 weeks!!


I cannot believe how close I am to half-way right now!


I cannot begin to tell you how scared I am of the spinal tap on Tuesday.


I cannot even describe the joy and smile Bun puts on my face every time I feel him move around - its incredible!

15 weeks and my little navel orange!

Wow 15 weeks are here and only 175 more days to go! Yay! I am beyond excited to be at this point. 2nd week of my 2nd tri :) And feeling more and more pregnant every day! I know that Bun is only the size of an orange, but my baby belly is growing more and more. Each day is different though, sometimes my bump is more pronounced and other times, I still just look like I had one too many hostess cupcakes :)


Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.


I swear sometimes, and this just started this week, that I feel something in there. It literally feels like a butterfly fluttering - it only happens about twice a day, and it really subtle, but its like nothing I have ever felt before, so I don't really know.

We bought our Nursery Furniture this weekend. I am in love with it! Here it is:





The crib is awesome, it converts from crib, to toddler bed, to big kid bed! I can't wait till the 28th, that is when we find out the sex and will begin painting the room and getting the carpets shampooed, and setting everything up. You may be saying - woah, that so early, well I will be about 20 weeks by then 1/2 way there and I just want to have it done and ready for anything :)

Along other lines, my MRI came back normal. Which is great news. I was really scared about that. Now I we are just awaiting the spinal tap/lumbar puncture procedure to be scheduled, and hopefully we can move beyond this. My OB said if I do have a problem with pressure in the spinal cord or on the brain (from Cerebral Spinal Fluid) then we would just have to monitor it closely throughout the pregnancy and when it comes time for labor, they will just give me a very very strong version of the epidural and let the labor and delivery happen as naturally as possible without me having to push much (we are avoiding a c-section at all costs- it is healthier for the baby of a diabetic mom to be delivered the old-fashioned way) She also said that they will induce me, most likely, at 39 weeks. So that means that I will be having my baby around June 25-28th :)

Here are some 15 weeks pics:


And my New Years Resoulution are: 1. Keep in better touch with friends and family and 2. Get organized!

Oh and I forgot to add. The results of our 1st tri screens came back NORMAL !!!!! The gentic counsler said that I have a lower than the average woman my age risk of having a baby with a chromosomal disorder. She gave me the exact numbers 1 in 16,000 something for one of the tests and 1 in 25,000 something for the other. Bun - your doing great!!