21 Week Belly (July 4, 2008)

19 more weeks and I’m scared of just how round I will be!

How your baby’s growing:

How your life’s changing:

You’re probably feeling pretty comfortable these days. You’re not too big yet, and the usual discomforts associated with early pregnancy are, for the most part, gone. If you’re feeling good, relax and enjoy it while you can — the third trimester may bring with it a new crop of complaints.

That’s not to say you won’t have some minor glitches to deal with now. For example, increased oil production may contribute to the development (or worsening) of acne. If that’s the case, be diligent about washing well with a gentle soap or cleanser twice a day, and make sure that any moisturizer or make-up you use is oil-free. Don’t take any oral acne medications — some are very hazardous during pregnancy — or use any topical acne products without first checking with your practitioner.

You’re also more prone to varicose veins now. As your pregnancy progresses, there’s increasing pressure on the veins in your legs; higher progesterone levels, which may cause the walls of your veins to relax, can make the problem worse. You’re more likely to get varicose veins if other family members have them. Also, they tend to get worse with each successive pregnancy and as you age. To help prevent or minimize varicose veins, exercise daily, prop up your feet and legs whenever possible, sleep on your left side, and wear maternity support hose.

You may also notice so-called spider veins (a group of tiny blood vessels near the surface of your skin), particularly on your ankles, legs, or face. They may have a spider- or sunburst-like pattern with little branches radiating out from the center, they may look like the branches of a tree, or they may be a group of separate thin lines with no particular pattern. Though they may be a bit unsightly, spider veins don’t cause discomfort and usually disappear after delivery.

I am having to sleep on my left side all the time – nothing else is comfortable, though I do sometimes wake up on my back (again, though, I wake up because I am uncomfortable).  I can feel her move a lot more often and they are strong enough for Jeff (or who ever is close) to feel them too.  We are still talking about her name, so no news on that to share.

I’ll post a picture from tomorrow (Dogwood Dell!!!) as my 21 week picture.  Miss Bean Cronin will have her first exposure to fireworks.  I can’t wait to see if she reacts.  According to everything I’ve read, she can hear loud noises that are around me.

Profile Shot:

See the feet?  One is clear and the other is to the right.

20 Week Belly!

ONE DAY UNTIL BOY or GIRL!!!
In about 24 hours, Jeff & I will know what we’re having!!

3 Days Until We Know Boy or Girl!

(Belly photo will be posted later today!)

How your baby’s growing:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He or she is also around 6 1/2 inches
long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby’s legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements
are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the “crown to rump”
measurement. After 20 weeks, he’s measured from head to toe.)

He or she is
swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his/her digestive
system. He/She is also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of
digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his/her bowels, and
you’ll see it in his/her first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in
the womb or during delivery).

Sorry if I look tired!  I had worked a LONG day & helped with dinner.

How your baby’s growing:

Your baby’s sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don’t be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom —about the size of a large heirloom tomato.

Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Yeah – that looks comfortable!

To answer a big question I’ve received from people:
YES, I am keeping all four of my cats!  I feel that Jeff & I are responsible enough to keep their claws trimmed and to keep them from sleeping with the baby.  I understand from quite a few people who have had a child that my cats will no longer be the “children” that they are now, but they are still four excellent loving creatures that we have raised and love and they aren’t going anywhere!
Strangely enough, no one asks if I’m getting rid of my dog.  I guess dogs are more acceptable as pets when one has a baby?

1. Have you noticed that the picture of the 17-week baby looks a lot like an alien?  Seriously, I know my kid’s head is out of proportion with the rest of its body right now (and will be at birth, looking at some baby pictures), but can’t we make it a little less odd looking?

2. I posted that I’d felt the baby, but didn’t describe what it felt like.  It does feel a little similar to gas, so I can see how people mistake the first movements as such.  I’ve heard the description of this first feeling as “butterflies” or “popcorn”…well, folks, mine felt like someone had rolled up some bubblewrap and twisted it so it popped all at one time.  It really was like a crackling sensation near my right ribcage area.  So weird!

3. I’m very quickly becoming a vegetarian (who eats seafood).  First meat to go was chicken, then pork chops, then bbq, and now it appears as though steak is leaving my list of acceptable and desireable foods.  I want rice, beans, veggies, and fruit more than anything.  So this little one is getting its protein from black beans & eggs at this point in time.  Now, the three times I’ve attempted steak in the last two weeks have all been seasoned steak.  Sometime this week (or next weekend) I’m making the trip to my local Golden Corral for some plain old steak and some A-1 sauce and see how I do.
Please keep my poor husband in your thoughts.  I isn’t just that I don’t want to eat any of the above mentioned meats – I don’t want to prepare them either!  I did cook chicken and split a dinner I made last week so that his half had chicken in it, but man was that disgusting!!

4. I’m tired & HOT (we’re setting records here in RVA).  I never planned on being pregnant during the summer and now I realize why.  God bless my mother for having my brother in AUGUST!  Warren, I hope you are extra good to mom on all future mother’s days because I can’t imagine going through this weather at 7 – 9 months!

Love you all!  Thanks for checking in!!

I FELT THE BABY MOVE FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY RIGHT BEFORE 1:30 PM!!!!!!!!!!!!

How your baby’s growing:

Your baby’s skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she’s around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

17-week picture from Baby Center (looks a little like an alien, doesn’t it?)