25 weeks!

Baby Ariel is getting so big! She is 1.5 pounds this week. 15 more weeks to go... I am 143 pounds now and same symptoms as last week. I have had a bad cold for a week now that has made sleeping go from horrible to impossible since I can't breathe, have sore and constantly dry throat/nasal passage, and cough repeatedly until thick yellow flem is released (enjoy the details?). Hoping to be better soon so I can make it through the last (worse) three weeks of the winter quarter without messing up my grades. My new mattress pad arrived, and despite it smelling like drying paint, it does seem to help relax my back muscles more. Hasn't been able to improve sleep, but hopefully next week I will be able to notice the difference. Going to a breastfeeding group/class in a half hour :).

24 Weeks!

We are at 24 weeks... age of viability in the US (~50% of babies born at this gestation will survive with intensive care). I am at 142 pounds, as you can see my belly is huge now. Just large enough for people to start noticing the belly, but not big enough for them to assume that it is from pregnancy not obesity... Well my sleep has not really improved although I am taking the Ca/Mg still. I ordered a memory foam mattress topper from living social on sale and it has been shipped out today! Hopefully it will help me sleep (thank you Hieu for sponsoring the purchase!). I also woke up with sore throat today... I suspect it is from somewhere in the last few days while in the midst of insatiable hunger I ate left-overs off of other peoples plates and tried others' drinks with the same straw... I can only speculate, but a reminder that I need to be more careful especially while I am pregnant. New symptoms: sore gums, very thirsty, some tummy troubles this week, and everything still remaining from the last couple weeks. I also think my vision is slightly worse than before, which I have read can happen but usually goes away after the birth. Only 16 weeks left until we get to meet baby Ariel! She says hello to everyone reading with a hard kick at the top of my tummy lol.

23 weeks!

23 weeks! That means... 17 left?? Can't believe she will be here in 4 months! My midwife appt went well. Belly is measuring 23cm from pubic bone to top of uterus (fundus) so she is right on track. She offered that I try taking Calcium-Magnesium to help me sleep at night so I am trying that. I think it is somewhat helpful, and I would probably be getting better sleep if I wasn't woken up by various roommates the last couple nights :(. Maybe tonight will be better... Midwife talked about next visit where I will have to drink a bottle of red "fruit punch" sugar drink an hour before my appt and then get my blood drawn to screen for gestational diabetes. I'm not too excited about it, but hopefully results will be normal. Hieu and I have now met all of the midwives (2 originally + 1 new one in orientation) and we could have either one of them, or two of them if the night is slow, at the delivery. I am glad they are all very nice and feel comfortable with them. Not really any new complaints... 141 pounds (ahh I don't know how it's possible to gain 2 lbs/wk but its obscene), same upper back pain while "sleeping," haven't had very much heartburn in last few weeks (has her hair stopped growing?!), gas/indigestion, and belly feels tight and enormous when my stomach or bladder are full - everything is competing for space, but I think Ariel is going to come out on top... She still kicks in bursts throughout the day, and night sometimes I will notice too if I am awake. She usually starts kicking shortly after meals and around midnight. Ariel already enjoys listening to classical guitar music, hymns, and nursery songs :).

22 weeks :)

22 weeks, wow time flies! More belly photos taken on 2/5/13 - don't be confused because I'm wearing the same pajamas as last week lol. I am about 138/139 pounds now... woo hit the ten pound mark. It is getting more difficult to move around and I have had an especially difficult time sleeping this week due to upper back pain (not sure why upper back and only when I'm laying on my side?). Our appt with the Midwife is coming up on the 11th... she will probably discuss the ultrasound results and not sure what else. Little Ariel has been quite happy this week enjoying delicious food and having martial arts training while inside my tummy. Her kicks and punches are much stronger now and can see them if watching my stomach. She is probably about a pound now and maybe 11 inches head to toe... hard to imagine her curled up in there. Nothing else really new this week... just feeling obese and hoping most of it is from baby... :P

21 weeks!

Pics above are at 21 weeks! As you can see I removed my belly ring. My belly button was slightly uncomfortable due to stretching so I thought it would be easier on my skin to just remove the ring. I don't think the hole will close, but may be more prone to stretch marks in that area from the scar tissue. My inny has flattened and will likely be an outty soon. Weighing 137.5 this week... I don't know how I can keep gaining so much and baby Ariel is not even a pound yet! Back pain continues to make sleeping difficult and not very restful, but I have enjoyed stretching and mild exercises with my yoga ball. I also made it to the IMA for eliptical workout this week - first time in months... My energy is better than last trimester, but I need an afternoon nap on most days to make it through. Appetite is good as you can probably tell and the only new complaint this week, I was hoping to avoid until at least third trimester, hemorrhoids! I have self-diagnosed this, but will confirm with the midwife on the 11th and see what she suggests for treatment. The joys (and unpleasantries) of pregnancy... Little Ariel says hello with a couple kicks :).

19 & 20 Weeks! Baby Girl!

20 weeks!

20 weeks!

19 weeks!

Baby Girl at 20 weeks gestation!

The last couple weeks went by fast! I had an appointment with the midwife who said everything looked great and then just had our 20 week ultrasound today! We have a healthy baby girl as you can see above. She is weighing about 11 ounces and is measuring at 19 weeks 6 days, so pretty accurate to the new due date of June 11th. We have a profile shot of her head and torso, and you can see the umbilical cord folded and floating in front of her face. She was laying transverse with her head on my right side and butt on my left. Also, pretty squished and bent in half with her feet and hands in her face for much of the ultrasound. We got quite a few good shots of the external genitalia verifying that she is indeed a girl (as I suspected ;) ). She was also very active and wiggling around a lot during the ultrasound. Sorry no video, I am afraid I may not be able to even view the ones I took from my phone. They did not save in a compatible format... but I will see what I can do to fix the problem. :( 

I have felt her kicks/punches since the middle of week 18 (I will update that post later) and since then have developed from tiny little flicks of movement into stronger pops. Not really painful, but sometimes the kicks feel pretty strong. I'm sure eventually they're not going to be very comfortable... Last week (19) I was weighing around 135, and am about 136 now for a total of 8 pounds gained. The weight came on fast recently, maybe you cannot tell as much as I can from the pics, but I feel much heavier/fuller and tire easily just walking up and down the stairs at home or to class from the bus stop. The good news is that I have noticeably more energy than the first trimester, although I do tire easily and need a nap pretty much everyday or my brain/body are useless all evening. My appetite is really good, thus the rapid weight gain lol.

Well overall a good day with exciting news to share with family/friends! Everyone that knows so far is happy and excited to start buying girl stuff, and we like girls in our family and house I live in (Baby makes 8 girls!). So far I like the name Ariel Grace, but still have 20 weeks to keep brainstorming... 

Wk 17 and 18!

 18 WEEKS 1 day

17 WEEKS 2 days

The last couple weeks there haven't been many changes. Still a lot of gas - burping frequently and especially after meals. Lower and upper back pain continue and make it difficult to sleep, plus heartburn all day/night. Belly is definitely growing and baby is 5.5 inches now from head to but. We have midwife appt in a few days and the ultrasound on 22nd and will hopefully find out if baby is girl or boy! Check back next week for update!
Middle of week 18 I started to feel tiny flicks (baby kicking/punching) in central lower abdomen just above the pubic bone, finally signs of life!