Pregnancy Police - Coffee

So I heard this on the radio this morning & it made me so mad, I have to post about it! Apparently there is a coffee chain (they didn't name names) who is refusing to serve fully caffeinated beverages to obviously pregnant women! The woman that was mentioned on the radio left with only a 1/2 caff - 1/2 decaf latte.

Now I don't know a ton of details, such as if this is a policy of that coffee place or just a manager in particular. However, I would be pissed if I went into Starbucks to order a latte and was turned down! I happen to know how many milligrams of caffeine are in lattes and I know how much my doctor recommends. If I choose to have coffee, it's my decision and I'm an educated woman.

Now having said that, I haven't had my favorite latte in 20 weeks (since I found out) even though I know I can. I'm overly cautious and have chosen to stay away. However, I can't promise I'll make it through the holiday season without a peppermint latte. If at that time I am refused service, there will definitely be hell to pay.

Okay...rant over. :)

24 Weeks

Fruit pictures and baby details are courtesy of thebump.com. Dad's pregnancy pictures courtesy of http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/dads-pregnancy-guide.

"Baby's skin is becoming more opaque as the fat starts to pack on. And, thanks to the formation of small capillaries, her newly thick skin is taking on a fresh pink glow."

Weekly Checklist

How far along? 24 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 17 lbs and I think 4 lbs of that came in one week!!

Maternity Clothes: Yes and next time I'm pregnant, I'm hiring my friend Katie to be my personal maternity shopper. She likes it way more than I do and she's much better at it than me too. But thanks to her dressing me in Old Navy I got a couple warmer tops last weekend. :)

Sleep: Not too bad.
Food Cravings: same foods as the last few weeks.

Labor Signs: none
What I miss: Energy. Just going to the Badger game last week took a lot out of me. I took a nap on the car ride there and on the way home.

What I am looking forward to: A new fruit. Anyone notice it was a papaya two weeks in a row? Boring!

Weekly Wisdom: Time flies when you're pregnant. I'm sure this seems obvious and there have definitely been slow moments throughout, but I can't believe I only have 2 more weeks in my 2nd trimester. I am already wishing I had done a better job documenting everything so far, so I can imagine how I'll feel watching my little guy grow-up!

Milestones: Feeling the baby kick move up higher in my belly.

Viability Day

24 weeks is the day many women call "Viability Day." The reason to "celebrate" this day is because the baby has at least a fighting chance if he were to be born today. Also, I've read a few stories of women who ended up giving birth prior to 24 weeks at which the doctors won't do anything to help the baby. He would have no chance. Starting today, he has some chance.

So Happy 24 weeks to my baby boy! Stick in there for another 13-16 weeks and save your mommy from worrying. :)



**Eek! 13 weeks? As a type this I realize that his birthday isn't as far away as it once seemed!

Letter from Mommy

Dear Baby Boy,

Welcome to the top half of my uterus! You've never moved around up here so I had to stop for a moment to figure out what this sensation was.

However, I would greatly appreciate it if you could stay there for more than 2 minutes. My bladder is not a trampoline!

With lots of love,
Mommy

24 Week Dr appointment

Yesterday I had my monthly doctor appointment. Although it was actually more like 3 weeks from my last appointment. We had to schedule this one earlier because we're going out of town this weekend. A weekend trip, even if it is only 5 hours away, warrants and extra trip to the doctor.

This was my first appointment without Jason. As they become more routine, I've told him that he doesn't have to attend all of them. I stand by my decision, however, I have to say I was a little bored without him! All went well and here's a rundown of my 20 minute appointment:

Weight: up 6 lbs....really?!? ick! My home scale tells me otherwise...so I'm going to live in denial for a bit.
Blood Pressure: Right on track
Heartbeat: Around 140
Fundal Height: This is a new measurement starting this week, which is based in centimeters from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus. He said average range is 1 cm per week of pregnancy give or take 2 cm. That puts me in the 22-26 cm range. I measured at 25 cm. Right on track!
Cervix: He only checked this because I will be out of town and he needs to make sure I'm not dialated. He said everything was good & closed!
Questions:
I asked about timing for birthing classes. He just recommended that I complete them by 34 weeks. I will be just a couple days past that if I sign up for the classes at our hospital. Which was reassuring because otherwise we'd have to take an "abbreviated" version - which means more self study. Honestly, I'm much better at classroom learning, so I am glad we're taking the 4 week class.

I also asked about kick counts. I've heard of them but don't know much about when you should worry about it. His answer was that I don't have to worry about consistent movement until 28 weeks and he won't recommend kick counts until 34 (or was it 36?) weeks. Obviously if there is an obvious decrease in movement, I should give him a call.

Next appointment: October 19th -- which I realized is right around when my one of my friends is due with her little girl! Time is flying by! Meeting her daughter is much more exciting than the Gestational Diabetes test I'll have to take that week.

23 Weeks

Fruit pictures and baby details are courtesy of thebump.com. Dad's pregnancy pictures courtesy of http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/dads-pregnancy-guide.

"Baby's now the size of a papaya! Baby's little face is fully formed...minus the baby fat, of course. The next task at hand for baby: sprouting two teeny-tiny nipples!."

Weekly Checklist:
How far along? 23 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 13 lbs give or take (no additional gain this week, which surprised me)

Maternity Clothes: Yep!

Sleep: Sleeping well though I'm waking up once a night now. Not too bad

Food Cravings: Still on a golden oreo kick...have you tried the double stuff ones? Yummy!

Labor Signs: none

What I miss: Being able to shop in the normal size department. I walked through a huge misses department at Kohl's this week to the 4 or 5 maternity racks. It made me sad.

What I am looking forward to: Not really baby-related, but next week we're off to Minnesota with another couple to visit some really good friends. We don't get to see them very often and I've only been to their house once in 3 years, so I can't wait!

Weekly Wisdom: When you're pregnant, you really have to take what other people say with a grain of salt. Luckily for the most part, I haven't heard any comments that are too offensive (yet). But, the variety of comments that I've gotten on my baby bump at this point is funny. I've heard everything from "You're getting fat!" to "Wow, you're really small!" Then Jason informed me this week (in case I didn't already know) that "you're growing every day!" I informed him that it's really the baby thats growing.

Milestones: J felt the baby kick!

Party in my Belly!

The baby's kicks are getting stronger and stronger every day. I've started to feel him more during the day and his movements are a lot harder than they used to be. However, they haven't been very constant (typical for this stage). Usually I'll feel a hard kick and then nothing for 5 minutes. This makes it very hard for Jason to be able to feel the kicks as well. Everytime I call him over to feel it, nothing happens.

Last night I could feel him moving all over the place. It was harder movements and he wasn't just in one spot. I think he was having a dance party in my stomach! :) So I called J over to feel it, and he did!! It was very exciting. He just kept saying, "ooh I felt that!"

I'm happy our baby officially started kicking his father instead of just me.

22 Weeks

Fruit pictures and baby details are courtesy of thebump.com. Dad's pregnancy pictures courtesy of http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/dads-pregnancy-guide.

"Baby's now the size of a papaya! Baby's settling into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. Real estate within your belly is getting tight, with growing baby leaving little room for your lungs to...well...breathe. Expect the huffing and puffing to start soon. There's not much room for your belly button, either -- it'll pop out any day now."

Weekly Checklist:
How far along? 22 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 13 lbs give or take
Maternity Clothes: Yep!
Sleep: My dreams have gotten crazier and I'm learning my lesson about what I read before bed. My dreams over the week consisted of story-lines pulled straight from the book I was reading. This wouldn't be so bad if the book I read wasn't about a woman accused of killing her newborn child and another woman who had a miscarriage. :(
Food Cravings: I think I'm going to change these to food of the week, since nothing I've craved is really strong. But this week I did eat a lot of Golden Oreos.
Labor Signs: none
What I miss: nothing in particular
What I am looking forward to: Taking our baby camping next summer. We went camping over labor day and it was fun to picture taking our son with next year. It's a lot of work to bring a long a 7 month-old, but I think it will be fun to start family trips early on!
Weekly Wisdom: This is Jason's weekly wisdom (or random question): "So, why don't newborns naturally know how to swim if they spend 9 months in amniotic fluid?" I laughed, I love the way husbands think.
Milestones: Nothing new.

Just for Fun

I ran accross a website that will "predict your birth experience." Basically I answered a bunch of random questions and here is what it said:

The day you deliver, outside will be dark. Your baby will arrive in the middle of the night. After a labor lasting approximately 14 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 15 pounds, 12 ounces, and will be 20-1/2 inches long. This child will have medium gray eyes and barely there auburn hair.

Please pray that I don't have a 15lb 12oz baby!!! The rest I can live with. :)

The website did get it correct that I was having a boy though.

http://pregnancyandbaby.sheknows.com/pregnancy/baby/Madame-Zaritska-predicts-your-birth-experience-1.php

21 Weeks

Fruit pictures and baby details are courtesy of thebump.com

"Baby's now the size of a banana! Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion, and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, if baby is a girl, her womb is now stocked up with her lifetime supply of six million eggs (the number will drop to around one million by birth).-Thebump.com

Or according to http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/dads-pregnancy-guide, the baby is about the size of a beer bottle! For those fathers sick of seeing fruit pictures, this blogger came up with items that were geared more towards Dads. Going forward I will also include these.

Weekly Checklist:
How far along? 21 Weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 11 lbs
Maternity Clothes: Yep!
Sleep: Starting to sleep longer through the night without waking up to go to the bathroom...I'm guessing that won't last long.

Food Cravings: nothing weird

Labor Signs: none
What I miss: having a more extensive wardrobe. What I can wear out of my closet is shrinking considerably. I think I'll have to move out the too small stuff so I don't feel as bad.
What I am looking forward to: Working on the nursery, the theme was pretty much a no-brainer since J is such a sports nut. But I picked out a bedding set that inspired me, so I can't wait to start pulling it all together.

Weekly Wisdom: I am lucky to have such a good husband. In another blog (http://expectingwords.com/) I found this week, there is a list of 5 things that women should "teach" the future father of their child. It's meant to be a helpful guide of things your husband will have to help out with more once the baby comes. J passed with flying colors. He either already does it or in the case of #5 is already expecting to take part in it. It's nice to have a partner at home.

(1. grocery shopping, 2. laundry, 3. teaching him where to find cleaning supplies & what to do with them, 4. what to buy at the drugstore, 5. show him how to use a baby carrier)

Milestones: finding out it's a boy!!

20 Week Appointment

It's a boy!!

Sept 1st we had our "big ultrasound." This is the 20 week ultrasound that is done to measure the baby's bones, organs and overall growth. Also, this is the best time to determine gender. Of course not all parents want to know until birth -- but we did!

The ultrasound seemed to go by relatively quickly. The ultrasound tech knows what she's looking for so she speeds through the measurements pretty fast. At one point she needed to see his spine better and pushed a little while telling him to move. He switched positions right away and she was happy he listened to her. Later the doctor came in and the tech mentioned that we had the most cooperative baby all day! That's a 180 from our 12 week u/s experience.


Then she asked us if we wanted to know the gender, which I replied, "yes please!" She moved the ultrasound wand over and instantly I was pretty sure I knew what I was looking at. She confirmed my thoughts by telling us we were having a boy!


We're definitely excited about having a boy. Truly we could have gone either way, but just knowing one way or another was the best part. Now I can move on to planning his nursery.


Right after the ultrasound we had our 4 week doctor appointment. The dr already came in towards the end of the u/s so he read the basic measurements. He said that everything he saw looked perfect. Our son is growing right on schedule. He also assured me that my weight and growth were also right on track. Overall this pregnancy is progressing as well as can be expected.


I only had a few questions this appointment:
#1. After week 20 I had been instructed to set up an appointment if I'm going out of town. Since we're going camping this weekend, I wanted to make sure he had no concerns. Since we're only 1 1/2 hours away and my cervix isn't dialating he said we're good to go. In about 4 weeks we'll be traveling up to MN to visit friends, so we set up our next appointment a little early. Since we will be a little further away, he's going to send my records along in case anything were to happen.

#2. I had heard about the gestational diabetes test but knew very little. He tells me that everyone gets this test between 24-28 weeks. Basically I will come in, drink some liquid, wait an hour and they'll draw blood. This will then test my glucose levels to make sure I don't need to go on a diabetic diet.

#3. I asked about the side pains I had been experiencing, which I thought were completely normal but wanted to make sure. He assured me that they were round ligament pains as the muscles are adjusting to my growing uterus. He explained that I should only be concerned if the pain centers around my stomach instead of the sides.


Then they gave me the flu-shot (regular flu not yet the H1N1). I've never had the flu shot before, so that was new. But it was no big deal, though my arm muscle is a little sore the next day.