17 Weeks

We're now half way through week 17! I'm doing great, and as far as I know, baby seems to be doing great as well. Nothing much new to report...which is good!

I assume the hematoma is continuing to shrink because I feel much better. We'll know for sure next week. I've gone back to work after nearly a month of barely working. As much as I hated getting up on Monday morning, it's good to be back in the routine with my darling knuckleheads.

This is the first week we've had in a long time without a doctor's appointment. (Knock on wood.) I CAN'T WAIT till Monday when we have our next ultrasound and meet with the doctor. First of all, it makes me nervous going for long periods of time without checking in. Second of all, we may be able to start painting furniture blue or pink after this appointment. Third of all, I want some new ultrasound pics!

I'm also really starting to look pregnant now. The baby bump kind of comes and goes though...very strange. I read in the baby book that this can happen. Who knew? Eric left one morning with me looking pretty much the same as always, and came home to a fully pregnant woman sitting on his couch that afternoon.

The most exciting thing is that I think I'm starting to feel baby move. It's hard to tell sometimes because it's so faint, but there's something going on in there. The first time I really felt it was when we went and saw the Boston Symphony last week over school break. I thought that was funny because the first time I felt Ellis move was during a concert as well. It must be Eric's musical genes! I was trying to explain to Eric what it feels like. Popcorn popping is the best comparison I've seen.


Mmmm, popcorn.

Baby Allium Cepa Witts-Linsner?

How's THAT for a name for our baby?

It's week seventeen, and baby is the size of...

An onion?!? What happened to all the cute veggies?



And I'm the size of...

16 Weeks

Week sixteen is nice and relaxing because we are on spring break. I love that Eric and I are both teachers so we have the same time off. It makes life very nice.

Baby is still doing well. I'm still feeling good, and everything looks normal. I went to the doctor today for my regular monthly checkup. The baby's heart rate was at 140 which is right where it should be. It was a very quick appointment; they poked me with needles and sent me on my merry way.

Our next ultrasound is on May 3, and it's with a high risk specialist, which will give me some peace of mind. At that appointment, they will check on the hematoma and check the baby's anatomy. We'll also hopefully be able to tell if it's a boy baby or a girl baby.

We'll be spending the rest of the week relaxing and doing some much needed cleaning and organizing around the apartment. Well, honestly, Eric has been doing most of the cleaning so far. But, I give him something to clean up... We're a good team that way.

Shhh, the avocado can hear you!

Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? It's a baby! And, this week baby is the size of...

An avocado!


And I'm the size of a...



Baby is also starting to hear this week! Hope baby likes to hear lots of loud, out-of-tune singing.

Pink Baby? Blue Baby?

While I admire those moms who can patiently wait nine months while decorating their nursery in gender-neutral tones, patience is a virtue I know not of. We're hoping to find out the sex of the baby when I have my ultrasound on May 3. In fact, I'm way too impatient to wait until May, so I decided to turn to the wisdom of old wives everywhere to find out if we're having a little GI Joe or GI Jane.



Test #1: High or Low

If you carry high, it's a girl. If you carry low, it's a boy. While it's still a little hard to tell because my belly is just starting to pop, I think it's on the low side.

Verdict: Boy

Test #2: Number of Heartbeats

A heart rate below 140 is supposed to be a boy, and above, a girl. We've been averaging around 150.

Verdict: Girl

Test #3: Sweet vs. Sour.

If you're craving something sweet, it's a girl; something salty/sour, it's a boy. I crave both. I like to eat ice cream and dill pickles. So, where does that leave me?

Verdict: One chubby momma!

Test #4: Chinese Lunar Calendar

The mother's age at conception and the month of conception are used to create this calendar.

Verdict: Boy

Test #5: Mayan Calendar

The Mayans say if the age of the mother and year of conception are both even, or both odd, then it's a girl. If they are different, then it's a boy. Although, as Eric says, if we start listening to the Mayans we may be in trouble in a few years...

Verdict: Girl

Test #6: Morning Sickness

If you have morning sickness= girl. No morning sickness = boy. I have not had one moment of morning sickness. Hooray! Although, I didn't last time either, and it was a girl....so maybe old wives don't know jack.

Verdict: Boy

Test #7: Drano and Urine

Supposedly, if you mix drano and urine, the color can predict the baby's gender. Ummm gross?? I did not attempt this test.

Verdict: Sorry baby, we'd rather wait.

Test #8: Is the mother a beauty or a hag?

If a pregnant woman is looking radiant and shiny and glowy with fantastic hair, then it's supposed to be a boy. If the mother is looking a little well...like a cat slept on her face, then it's a girl.

Verdict: Girl

Test #9: Ring Above the Belly

Hold a ring on a chain over a pregnant woman's belly. If it swings in a circular motion, it's a girl. If it swings back and forth: boy.

Verdict: Boy


There you have it; the old wives have spoken. Our baby will most likely be a boy. Still, I won't start painting the nursery blue or anything until we find out for sure...hopefully, on May 3.

15 Weeks

Week fifteen is shaping up nicely.

I had an ultrasound yesterday and a follow-up doctor's appointment today. The hematoma is getting smaller, and the baby looks great. Good news! I feel better this week too. Last week I was having cramps pretty consistently, but this week I'm feeling normal again. I can head back to work tomorrow and Friday.

The ultrasound wasn't as exciting this time around...so no pictures :( She basically just measured a lot. The baby is big enough now where they stop measuring crown to rump, and start measuring individual body parts. Baby had it's thigh bones, head, and abdomen measured. Baby is right where it's supposed to be for fifteen weeks.

I have my regular monthly doc's appointment next week, and it's April break for school...so my life of leisure will continue another week.

I went to work Monday with no problems. It was good to be back. I was feeling guilty about missing so much work. I thought my kids would be psyched to have another sub for a few days this week, but they weren't. It's nice to know that they're really good children underneath it all.

Orange you glad you read my blog??

Continuing through the produce aisle, this week baby is the size of....

An orange!!



And I'm the size of a....




(P.S. The fruit pictures are from www.thebump.com if anyone's interested.)

How Twilight Is Affecting Our Baby...

You may have noticed that the name Esme is on the list of our favorite baby names. Well, Eric has tried to veto it because he says it sounds like it came from, "the book of baby vampire names." If anyone is familiar with Twilight, you will know that Esme is the name of one of the main characters. This is NOT, however, why I chose the name. If I was going to name any of my children after Twilight I would obviously choose Edward....sigh.

On deeper investigation though, I've come to realize just how prevalent Twilight has become in naming one's future offspring. Websites such as www.babynames.com and www.babynamesworld.com have categories devoted to names from Twilight. Even Renesmee, the name of Edward and Bella's half-human-half-vampire baby, is on the list. If you click on the name, up come several photographs of cute little babies who have recently been named Renesmee. I just hope those babies don't give their parents the problems Bella and Edward had.

On the list of the most popular baby names at babynames.com, names like Bella and Alice have risen in popularity from last year. Esme and Rosalie are both new to the list at spots 84 and 88. As for the males, Emmett is new to the list while Jasper and Edward have both risen by over ten slots at 42 and 65. Jacob has actually fallen a few spots to #8, but I think that's probably because people are tired of Taylor Lautner's abs.

Eric may get his way. Esme may have to be vetoed...but I'm not giving up on it quite yet.....

Subchorionic Hematoma

Second post of the day! Can you tell I'm a bit bored staying at home for the second week in a row? I've been busy scouring the Internet for information on my blood clot. I found this helpful...probably because it's not scary at all. The rest of the searches came up with women's horror stories.

But, if you read the article, it shows that, while kinda scary, usually this condition is no big deal. In fact, it says that the pregnancy loss rate with a SCH is only 1-3%. Good news. I'm glad my doctor is doing such a good job monitoring it though. I've been stressed about this pregnancy since the beginning, and getting an ultrasound every week or two definitely helps ease the fears.

Week 15 is only a few days away. We're making progress!

A Rose by Any Other Name...

I know we still have months to decide, but picking a name this time around is proving much more difficult than it was last time. Last time, at only a few weeks pregnant, we had names for both a girl and a boy picked out already. Ellis Jane for a girl, and Jack Davis for a boy. We just sort of fell into the name Ellis and loved it immediately. I suppose we could still use Jack, but I feel like there have been a million Jack's born in the past year. On the other hand, I need to reel myself in so we don't end up with baby January, Tuesday or Zooey. (All of which I've suggested and Eric has swiftly vetoed.)

We still have a long list, and it changes all the time, and it will probably change again many times before baby arrives, but here are some of our ideas so far...

Girls:
Harper
Hadley
Esme
Celia
Avery
Norah
Isla

Boys:
James
Harrison (Harry)
Henry
Miles
Holden
Luke

When life hands you lemons...

When you read any baby books, or look at any baby websites, they like to compare the size of your baby to various fruits and vegetables. Sometimes you get a random dairy or meat product in there, but it's usually fruit.

So far, baby has been a seasame seed, a lentil bean, a blueberry, a kidney bean, a grape, a kumquat, a fig, a lime, a shrimp, and now...

Baby is the size of a lemon!




And I'm the size of a...




Yup, lemon-sized seems right :)

Fourteen Weeks

The second trimester has officially begun!

Baby is healthy, and besides a few minor complications, I'm feeling pretty positive.

I'm also on modified bed rest for the rest of the week.

To recap the events of the last few weeks:
I've been having spotting and cramping on and off since I found out I was pregnant. Luckily, the doctors have been great about getting me plenty of reassuring ultrasounds. The bleeding got worse about a week and half ago. It was very scary until we got an image of our baby dancing around on the ultrasound screen like it was hosting it's own personal ABDC.

The bleeding is the result of a small blood clot on my uterus. It doesn't seem to be affecting the baby at all; it's just a pain in the neck for Eric and I. And hopefully it stays that way!

I was on modified bed rest the majority of last week although I did get into school one day. We spent Easter weekend mostly in bed or on the couch...although Eric did take me on a scenic driving tour of the beaches of New Hampshire since I was going a bit stir crazy after my week at home.

I thought things were back to normal, but I woke up this morning with pretty nasty cramps again. Baby is still doing well. The size and heart rate are right where they should be. But...I'm on bed rest for the remainder of the week. I have to go back a week from now to see if I can return to work. The doctor said we're just going to take it week by week at this point.


It's nice to be able to relax and focus on keeping me and the baby healthy, but it's also stressful being out of work for long periods of time. We control-freak teacher types like to make sure our classes are running smoothly, and the students are not spending their days watching The Wizard of Oz instead. (Actually happened while I was out once.) I also don't want to use too many sick days because I'd like to save them for when baby is here in the fall. At this time, my plan is to work through September and then take off October through Christmas break. I just need to get through the last two plus months of work, and then I'll be able to sit back all summer long. It's great being a teacher!

So what does modified bed rest mean? Well, it means I can move around the apartment, do light housework like cooking (no laundry though right??) and generally just chill out at home. I can't go to work or exercise or go to the mall for the afternoon or anything like that though. (Darn, guess that marathon will have to wait. I do so love exercising too...)

The good news is that with all this baby mama drama, I've been getting lots of glimpses of my future offspring. Here "it" is at...
Thirteen Weeks


Eleven Weeks


Seven Weeks