31 Weeks Along (Friday, 12/19/08)

Saturday was my baby shower with my friends given by my best friend Amy at my house. A lot of people didn’t end up attending due to various illnesses but we had a decent turnout and a good time. Amy really outdid herself with a beautiful ‘Welcome Baby’ sign that she drew and colored herself, a Classic Pooh themed décor, and Pooh approved snacks of honey related items. I got a lot of great gifts for the baby. I got a pooh bear bank, a diaper bag loaded with goodies, nesting baskets, pooh clothes, crib sheets, bath supplies, a bathtub, a bath seat, blankets, a gym, bibs including some handmade by my mom, a book, a calendar, a high chair, a spoon, a bowl, a dishwasher basket, sippy cups, a bottle brush, a harness, a soothing crib accessory, a bottle rack, pacifiers, a car seat cover, and lots of cute clothes. Here are some pictures from the event:



getting food under the cute sign Amy painted


the cake


the diaper cake and more


Julie, Meghan, mom, Cate, and Lois playing a game



Cate and Lois


Julie and Meghan


time to open my gifts


adorable bibs handmade by my mom

My dad came with my mom and during the shower, he and Paul put together the changing table that I had Paul get me for Christmas then went to the movies. After the shower, my parents took us out to dinner at Border Cantina to celebrate Paul’s birthday. It was quite a celebratory day.
Sunday was Paul’s actual birthday. He worked on the mural a little and took advantage of the relatively not-so-frigid weather to clean out the garage a little so he could set up his new table saw stand. I gave him his gift of a new work jacket which came in handy in the cold garage. He watched Sunday night football and helped me set up the tree then put lights on it for me. We had delayed putting up the tree until after the baby shower since it greatly decreases the usable space in the living room. I started hanging up the ornaments but Amber was so viciously enthralled with undecorating the tree that I decided to cut my losses in hopes that she would eventually grow sick of the tree as a toy. This has yet to happen.
Monday evening I had the fun pregnancy symptom of my hip pain. I could barely walk and could not bend over to save my life. We went grocery shopping and I had to have Paul get anything that required bending as I limped along leaning on the shopping cart. It took me forever to get back in the car when we were done since I couldn’t bend down. I finally had to drop into a sitting position from standing which resulted in me whacking my head on the top of the car. Not fun! It is so odd because I woke in the middle of the night with it still hurting then by morning it was magically better.
Paul worked on the mural a bit this week, not nearly as much as I wanted him to. He put countless coats of paint onto Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger then was able to shade Tigger. I finally put all of the ornaments onto the tree, concentrating on the branches that Amber can’t reach. Every day when I got home from work I had to rehang the branches and ornaments that she tore down. She should be thankful that she is such a cute cat because she is a pain in the butt sometimes. Thursday was no fun as the brakes on the car started making scary noises on the drive home which resulted in Paul having to finish cleaning out the garage, get new brake parts, and change the brakes in the garage in less than 10 degree weather until midnight. We wanted to get to bed early that night because of the huge winter storm that was forecasted to hit that night but no such luck. We got up really early and navigated the slick and snow covered roads into work on Friday without incident. The hardest part was just getting up the hill on our street. Most of our patients for the day cancelled due to the weather so it was a pretty easy day. I never found out how much snow we got but I assume it was about a foot. Tomorrow we pick up Rachel from the airport for her Christmas break with us. I am glad that she didn’t fly in today. The snow is supposed to hit New York too so hopefully things go okay tomorrow.

News from the womb…
By now, the baby may have a callous on its thumb from sucking it in the womb. The baby sits in the womb in a fetal position with the legs drawn into the chest because there isn’t room for them to straighten out. However, strong methodical movements from the baby continue to be felt. The baby’s brain is still developing rapidly, increasing the number of interconnections between individual nerve cells and identifying groups of cells that will perform complicated functions throughout its lifetime. Rapid ossification of the baby’s skeleton is taking place. The baby can now register information from all five of its senses but after birth, the sense of touch will be the most sensitive and well developed of all of them.

30 Weeks Along (Friday, 12/12/08)

Most of this week was spent with Paul working on the mural while I cleaned the house, finally put up Christmas decorations, and wrapped Christmas presents. I am finally done shopping now. Usually I am done before Thanksgiving or at least by the weekend after but this pregnancy just doesn’t have me in the mood for a whole lot of walking around and shopping. It’s too tiring and too likely to make my feet swell so I have to do it in small increments. Over the weekend we finished putting on the third coat of blue and green and Paul drew and painted Pooh’s house on the left side of the mural wall. He spent hours shading the tree which I thought was crazy until I saw how it turned out. It is amazing! I would have just painted it plain brown and been done but he added highlights and lowlights of many different colors until it looked almost real. He then did another tree during the week in the right corner of the mural wall which extends partially onto the adjacent wall. This tree he shaded amazingly as well. Then he drew and began painting Pooh, Tigger, and Piglet but ran out of time to finish them as it was Friday already. The mural is nowhere near done like I wanted it to be for the shower but it looks so much better than I could ever imagine that I can hardly complain. I have been taking pictures of its progress and will post them when it is all done. Tomorrow is my first baby shower. I am excited.

News from the womb…
The baby’s brain has now begun to take on a wrinkled appearance because of its rapid growth. A wrinkled, or convoluted, brain contains more brain cells than a smooth brain and is potentially more powerful. By now the red blood cell production by the spleen has been taken over by the bone marrow. However, the spleen retains its potential for blood cell formation into adulthood. Myelinization of nerves continues which speeds nerve cell transmissions. Most of the lanugo (the downy hair that covered the baby’s body) has disappeared now except for patches on the back and shoulders. However, the white (as yet unpigmented) hair on the baby’s head is well developed. The baby’s crown to rump measurement is now about 11 inches and its weight is at least 2.75 pounds.

29 Weeks Along (Friday, 12/5/08)

I didn’t sleep well on Friday night worrying that we would miss the alarm at 3:30am. I finally fell asleep around 1:30am to be awoken by choking on a bunch of acid reflux. That is a new one for me. What a horrible, gross, and disturbing way to wake up. It took forever for me to stop choking. I took some Tums, drank a bunch of water, and tried to go back to sleep but then I started wheezing because of all the coughing and the fact that probably some of it got into my lungs so then I had to get up again to use my inhalers. I still had a lot of residual coughing so I think I finally fell back to sleep about 20 minutes before the alarm went off. The very grumpy and sleepy Ryssos left the house about 4:00am to head to the airport. While we waited at the gate for the plane to board, Paul and Rachel worked on their Jonny Quest story while I tried really hard to keep my eyes open. With an unaccompanied minor, she is the first on the plane but we can’t leave the airport until her flight is in the air. That didn’t happen until about 6:45am and we got home around 8:00am. I went straight back to bed but poor Paul was awake by then so he stayed up. I finally got some good sleep which is fortunate because I signed up to work the afternoon shift in the Blood Gas Lab for some more overtime. When I got up to get ready for work, Paul was taking advantage of the nice weather and putting the Christmas lights on the house. He hates this task and his hatred of it was reinforced by all of the problems he encountered. First, only 1/3 of the strand would work and after struggling with it for a while, he decided to just go to the hardware store for new ones. Then he tried to hang the new strand only to find that most of the gutter clips were so old that they were breaking so he had to make yet another trip to the hardware store for more of those. Plus he discovered that the gutters were clogged so he got to clean those as he went. Thus, a half hour job turned into an all-afternoon extravaganza.
Sunday and the rest of the week we began working on getting the nursery painted. My goal is to have it ready by the baby shower that will be at my house on 12/13 which doesn’t give us a whole lot of time but we procrastinators work best under a tight deadline. We repainted three of the walls the same color yellow that they already were. The fourth wall which is the wall you face when you walk into the room is going to be a Winnie the Pooh mural. We worked a lot on the design this week but did manage to get the top half of the wall painted blue for the sky and the bottom half green for the grass. We got delayed a day on our paint buying run due to a lovely blizzard. This weekend Paul will begin the mural portion since I am artistically useless. I am more of a director. I tell him what I want it to look like and he makes it happen.
Lily’s kicks have gotten a lot stronger this week. Unfortunately some of those karate kicks are directed at the bladder. This sends me running for the bathroom even if my bladder is mostly empty. What fun!

News from the womb…
The baby’s brain has reached another milestone. It can now direct rhythmic breathing and control body temperature. This is important because if the baby is born early, the brain can usually stimulate the baby to breath without medical intervention. The baby is becoming mores sensitive to light, sound, taste, and smell. This is preparing the baby to see me, hear my voice, recognize me by smell, and taste the liquid nutrition I will provide. The baby’s eyes are moving in their sockets and the baby is practicing looking. What does it see? Under bright lights or sunlight and without the protection of clothes, the baby’s world may look pinkish as the light shines through my vessels. At night, with clothes, or in a darkened room, it must be dark. The baby is probably aware of changes in light intensity but “pink” is a stimulus that will takes months to perceive since, even at birth, the baby’s color vision apparatus seems to distinguish only among pure reds, greens, and yellows. The surface of the baby’s skin is smoother and whiter as body fat is accumulating under the surface. The fat the baby is putting on is white fat, not the brown fat that is used in temperature regulation earlier in the pregnancy. White fat is insulating and is an energy source.

28 Weeks Along (Friday, 11/28/08)

I am seven months along now!
Saturday we spent the morning cleaning the house then picked up Rachel at the airport. When she gets home she likes to spend time with all of our pets, explore the house for changes, and settle back into her bedroom. Then my parents came over and we all went out to dinner at Red Robin, one of Rachel’s favorite restaurants, to celebrate her being home. Sunday we had a lazy morning then went to the Exhibit Museum of Natural History on U of M’s campus, took a traditional voyage to Wal-Mart to do our grocery shopping, and watched Madagascar on the couch for movie night.
Since Paul and I are saving our time off for when the baby comes, we did not take Monday through Wednesday off to spend with Rachel but instead she spent the days while we were working at her friend Kassiana’s house. The girls had a blast giggling privately, having snowball fights, playing video games, sewing, doing spa treatments, and generally being goofy girls. They are excited to get together again so we may do the same for a few days over Christmas break if her parents are game. We spent the evenings with Rachel mostly talking and watching very old Jonny Quest cartoons that I had gotten Paul for Christmas last year. Paul and Rachel are very into bonding over the cartoons of Paul’s youth and even got the idea over the week to write their own Jonny Quest adventure. They are taking turns with every other sentence with me interjecting every once in a while. The story is going along well and they have plans for many more. My silly kids!
Monday I did my glucose tolerance test and Tuesday I had my monthly OB appointment. He said that my bloodwork was perfect and there was no concern or tendency toward gestational diabetes so that was good news. I lost another 4.5 pounds making a grand total of 10.5 pounds lost since the pregnancy began. My OB is still not concerned because the baby is growing well and getting all that she needs.
Thursday we went to my grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. She is 88 years old but still does everything on her own. What a woman! It was great visiting with her, my parents, my Aunt Robin and Uncle Lee, their kids Ashlee and Todd, Ashlee’s husband Jeremy, and my Aunt Gloria. We spent the night afterward at my parents’ house and watched a movie on their giant screen TV and home theater in the basement which Rachel always loves to do. The next day the girls went shopping, mainly for Christmas presents for Rachel as she is getting harder and harder to buy for in her ‘tween years. The boys stayed home to do a small amount of work on my car then go to the movies. Unfortunately, changing the turn signal in my car turned out to be a giant pain for them so the movie never happened. We had leftovers for dinner then headed home to pack up Rachel for her return trip to New York. Lisa booked her on a 6:15am flight which means that we will have to get up at 3:30am. No one is looking forward to that. The week really flew by but we all had a lot of fun. Poor Rachel had a few meltdowns over loving it here in Michigan and not wanting to return to New York but we reassured her that Christmas would come quickly and she would be back before she knew it to enjoy another holiday with us. In a way, we were also reassuring ourselves as it is never easy to part with her.

News from the womb…
By now, the baby’s body is composed of 2-3% body fat. The baby’s eyelids have unfused and now open partially. The baby’s eyes are completely formed and eyelashes are forming. The baby’s sucking and swallowing skills are improving. The baby now measures about 10 inches in length and weighs 2.13 pounds.

27 Weeks Along (Friday, 11/21/08)

On Saturday, I worked a double shift of overtime at the Blood Gas Lab. I didn’t sleep well the night before but did okay. The first hour and a half and last hour and a half of the shift were the worst. I worked from 8am to midnight so I went straight to bed when I got home. Sunday I relaxed and watched more of Gilmore Girls. I am up to the last season now. I had ambitions to clean the house but being lazy won out.
On Monday I caught Paul’s cold which has apparently been circulating the globe. I was sick all week with sinus congestion, runny nose, sore throat, coughing, and general malaise. Neither of us missed any work but we spent most of our evenings laying on the couches as we had no energy. Tuesday, Paul’s sister, Debbie, had her baby. Sophia Lucille Vincent was born at 2:12am and weighed 8 lbs 7 oz. We can’t wait to meet her. We wanted to visit Lovells and detour to Traverse City to meet the baby this coming weekend but with all of the viruses going around, Debbie is protecting her from germy visitors for the time being. Rachel flies in tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving week with us. We can’t wait to see her. It has been a long but busy three months since she left us.

News from the womb…
The baby’s lungs continued their rapid growth this week. The brain wave patterns are now similar to those of a full-term baby at birth. The forebrain began to enlarge to cover all other developed brain structures while still maintaining its hemisphere divisions. As a result, significant brain development will occur. The baby has grown ½ inch this week to measure 9.5 inches in length from head to rump. As the baby gets bigger, it begins to press on my diaphragm which may cause me to be short of breath. The baby is growing more and more active and usually at least 10 kicks can be felt in a two hour period. The baby is likely to be more active at times when I am less active. This is because my movements can lull the baby to sleep.

26 Weeks Along (Friday, 11/14/08)

On Saturday, I picked up another overtime shift in the Blood Gas Lab. Paul went up to Clare to prepare his hunting blind for next weekend. I was bummed because I picked up the afternoon shift before I learned that everyone would be getting together for dinner on Saturday for Grandma’s 88th birthday. No one would trade shifts with me so I ended up missing the party. Instead, we went up to Davison on Sunday to take her out for lunch after church. My mom joined us. We went to Big Boy, her usual after church lunch spot then ended up hanging out at her house for many hours afterward. My cousin, Ashlee, and her husband, Jeremy, came over to the house as well as my dad when he got back from an American Legion meeting in Lansing. I think Grandma had a lot of fun telling us stories about my mom and her siblings when they were little and about her childhood on the farm. We stopped back at my parent’s house to drop off my mom and pick up some stuff and ended up going with them out to dinner at John’s Pizzeria. We then finally headed home to find it snowing in Brighton. We already had accumulation which I took some pictures of.
We had a pretty busy work week which was marred by Paul’s truck having problems with the transmission and clutch. He couldn’t get the car in first gear at all and had a very difficult drive home on Monday. He was in a bad mood that evening but was cheered up when he finally got to feel the baby kick. Since I was at the Brighton Health Center on Tuesday and he was there on Wednesday, whoever was going to the main hospital caught a ride with our gracious coworker, Cate. Paul had an appointment for his truck on Thursday but was very worried that the work would not be done in one day so he would be unable to leave to go hunting on Friday. Luckily the problem was exactly as our neighbor, Jeff, had diagnosed and it was a quick and cheap fix. Paul had Friday off of work and left in the afternoon to head up hunting. I have an exciting weekend of working in the Blood Gas Lab to look forward to so I worked then went to bed early.
I haven’t had any new cravings this week but have been more tired than in the previous few weeks. Lily has been kicking stronger.

News from the womb…
At the beginning of the week, alveoli (air sacs) began to develop in the baby’s lungs. Alveoli will continue to form for about nine more years. By the end of the week, breathing air is usually possible because some of the alveoli have developed at the end of the bronchial tubes and the lung tissue is well supplied with blood. In addition, the membrane that separates the air sacs from the capillaries is thin enough to allow oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. Lastly, the lungs are secreting surfactant, a substance that keeps the lung tissue from sticking to itself and allows the air sacs to inflate. Brain wave activity began for the baby’s visual and auditory systems. The sensory systems began developing the kinds of connections with the brain that will be useful for interpreting input after birth. While the presence of brain wave activity means that the baby’s eyes have encountered a light source or that the baby’s ears have intercepted a sound message, no comprehension is possible yet. This system needs practice just like all the others. The baby has now been alive in my womb for 6 months now (remember the first two weeks of pregnancy started before conception) and has completed 2/3 of its stay. Over the next few months, the baby will be progressively able to survive without such an intimate attachment. The baby now weights 2 pounds and is about 9-13 inches long.

25 Weeks Along (Friday, 11/7/08)

On Saturday, I picked up an overtime shift in the Blood Gas Lab which I used to do all of the time but haven’t since I got pregnant. I figured since our baby budget is bleak and my energy level is up, I might as well earn some extra moola while I can. Sunday I was a lazy bum and sat around all day watching Gilmore Girls. Somehow I have become hooked on rewatching it. I have all of the seasons on DVD and finished off season 3 on Sunday. Perhaps it is being pregnant with a girl that has me so connected to the mother-daughter show. Plus Lily kicks the most when I am lying on the couch watching the show. I am still getting use to that miraculous feeling.
Paul spent most of the weekend winterizing the gardens and planting the last of our spring bulbs. He did finally finish grouting the bathroom which I have been bugging him about for 8 weeks now. It is impossible to keep him focused on indoor tasks when the weather outside is nice. We had such beautiful weather this week but couldn’t enjoy it from our windowless world at work. With daylight savings time over, it has been pretty much dark when we get home from work. Wednesday was a light day for Paul so he took the afternoon off to enjoy the weather and get more yardwork done.
I always thought I would have the nursery done by the end of month 3 of pregnancy. I started decorating it with such fervor when I learned I was pregnant. But then we got busy and now we only have 3 months to go. We have all of the furniture (minus the changing table) and have registered for all of the accessories but the walls have not been painted so nothing can be put into place yet. The theme of the nursery is classic Winnie the Pooh and I want to have my artistically inclined husband do a mural of the 100 Acre Woods on one wall. I have been kicking over ideas in my head and finally sat down and poured through every Pooh book we have and every image I could find on Google and we have come up with a tentative plan. Paul started drawing out his ideas on Friday and I am psyched. My dad found an overhead projector at work so we can blow up the drawing onto the wall. I know this is a big project to take on but I think it will be really great when it is all done.

News from the womb…
The baby continues to perform reflex movements that will be essential to its survival after birth. The lips and mouth are sensitive and if the baby’s hand floats near its mouth, it may suck its thumb or fingers. The startle reflex is also present. By this time, I may be able to feel the baby “jump” when it hears a loud noise. The baby will also develop a strong grip during this month- far more powerful than that of the infant soon after birth. The fingernails and toenails continue to lengthen and cover the nail area. The blood vessels have developed in the baby’s lungs. After birth, these vessels will allow blood to flow through the lungs to bind to oxygen and circulate it to the baby’s tissues. The baby’s nostrils (which until now have been plugged) are now opening. The buds for the baby’s permanent teeth have begun to come in high in the gum behind the baby teeth. The baby’s spine will be made up of 33 rings, 150 joints, and 1,000 ligaments, all of which are used to support the body’s weight and all of which are now beginning to form.

24 Weeks Along (Friday, 10/31/08)

Happy Halloween! I am six months along now! I am now onto the third trimester of pregnancy.
Saturday we went and picked up Lily’s crib at Mother Hubbard's Cupboard and put it together. I love it. Here is a picture:

After assembly, it was time for the MSU versus U of M football game. It was a bit of a nail biter. Even though my Spartans led for most of the game, I kept expecting disaster to strike. Alas, it did not and my Spartans won the game for the first time since 2001 (that game was right before I hired into U of M). I was very excited! After the game we got ready and went out to dinner as it was our 5th wedding anniversary. My, how time flies. We had dinner at Tia Helita’s in Flint which is where we had our rehearsal dinner. Afterward we visited my parents in Davison and got home really late. Sunday was mostly about sleeping in. Paul worked outside a bit and I spent most of the day being a lazy bum.
The week was mostly uneventful. It started out strange with an impromptu meeting at work that I had to teleconference into from Brighton. The supervisors wanted to inform us all that one of our coworkers quit abruptly but they won’t tell us why. No one has heard from her but the general impression is that something bad happened. I worry about her and hope that all is well.
Today (Friday) is Halloween. Everyone brought a bunch of snacks into work so we mostly spent the day grazing like cattle on chocolates and such and moaning that we were really full. I had my OB appointment at 4pm which I was worried would show that I gained a bunch of weight from all the snacks but actually I lost 5 pounds this month making the grand total a loss of 6 pounds since I got pregnant. I was shocked. Apparently the only way I can lose weight without major dieting is to get pregnant. My doctor wasn’t concerned because the baby is still growing just fine. The heartbeat is strong and her kicks are strong. My blood pressure is still doing great. Sometime between now and my next appointment, I need to drink a bottle of gross sugary stuff and get a blood test to check for gestational diabetes. What fun. We hurried home from work for trick-or-treating from 6-8pm. We lost count but had around 50-60 kids. There were so many cute costumes. I love seeing all of the little kids and can’t wait to have a kid around for Halloween next year. Halloweens just haven’t been the same for us since Rachel moved to New York. Lily will be too young next year to really get into the holiday but we can’t wait to get her all dressed up and share in the fun with her nonetheless.




News from the womb…
The appearance of the baby’s skin has begun to change. The skin is wrinkled right now but as more fat is deposited and more muscle development takes place, it will begin to look smooth. The skin is still transparent because it is so thin. Capillaries are just beginning to develop under the baby’s skin. As blood fills these new vessels, they give the baby’s skin a red or pinkish appearance. Between now and the expected due date, the baby’s feet will almost double in size from about 1.8 inches to 3.3 inches. The baby now weighs just under 1.5 pounds. Most of the weight gained right now is muscle and bone mass as well as growing organs and tissues. Very little fat is being manufactured right now. Sounds that are heard daily by the baby include the beating of my heart, the sound of my voice resonating as I speak, the sound of air filling my lungs and being exhaled, and growling noises made by my stomach and intestines.

23 Weeks Along (Friday, 10/24/08)

This is going to be a short entry. The weekend was totally uneventful. It was really weird not having my mom come to work on the basement. We received our first baby present in the mail this week. It was a bouncer seat from Beth and John. We were so excited to get our first gift for the baby off the registry. Thursday we received a call that our crib is in. We get to pick it up on Saturday which we are really excited about. Friday we went to Julie’s Halloween party. That was fun. Paul and I wore our bee costumes. I was a pregnant bee with a tight costume and he was a killer bee with a machine gun. I got to take pictures of all of the drinking festivities while consuming pop and juice but still had a good time as a bystander. We met one of U of M’s assistant football coaches but I had to admit to him that I would be cheering for MSU tomorrow. I have had more kicking now which is a cool but odd sensation.

News from the womb…
The bones of the middle ear have begun to harden to make sound conduction possible. The sound information transmitted to the baby’s brain won’t trigger an interpretation because the baby has had no experience with the outside world. Only sound intensity seems to register since loud sounds trigger an automatic startle reflex. In a week or two, the baby will blink or jump when it hears a loud noise. The baby is growing actively and begins to gain considerable weight making conditions in the uterus more crowded.

22 Weeks Along (Friday, 10/17/08)

Saturday was a beautiful day so we took a drive to East Lansing. We went to Ted Nugent’s book signing, wandered around Grand River, and had dinner at Amy and Wynn’s house. I can’t believe that it has been 10 years since I graduated from MSU. It sure flew by.
Sunday my parents came over for our final basement organizing session. Yes, it is finally done and it looks great. It feels so good to finally have everything done in the basement.
My dad fixed the phone problem (apparently a mouse chewed through a cord outside the house killing all but the main phone line in the kitchen) then he and Paul installed the new bathroom fan light that I bought about 6 months ago. We got to take a little break because we had a surprise visit from my Aunt Robin and Uncle Lee. They were nearby enjoying the beautiful day at a cider mill and decided to stop over. It was good seeing them and we were grateful for the rest it gave us.
The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. I have pasta cravings now. I can feel her kick lightly every once in a while, or it could just be gas. Who know?!

News from the womb…
During this week, the baby’s brain will begin to grow rapidly. This rapid growth continues until the child is five years old. The lungs begin to secrete surfactant- a substance that permits them to inflate. The eyebrow and head hair are more visible. No matter how dark the hair will become, right now it is completely unpigmented. Currently the baby is very lean, only about 3.5% of its body weight is due to fat. This proportion will change over the next few weeks and months as baby accumulates fat to become energy and food reserves to draw on after birth. The baby’s uterus is completely formed now and has just wrapped up its most rapid period of growth. Even though the eyelids are fused, the baby is now making blinking movements. The spine, ribs, and long bones of the arms and legs have hardened into bone. The bone at the base of the baby’s skull has begun to form. At this point, the skull plates that cover the forehead, temples, and top and back of the skull are present and made of cartilage. The size and strength of the baby’s hands have improves so that by now, it can grip with some force. The uterus now reaches the belly button and the baby inside now measures about 7.5 inches in length and is about the size of a Barbie doll. The baby weighs about 1 pound.

21 Weeks Along

Paul abandoned me for the weekend to try to kill Bambi with a bow and arrow. The past few times he has left me home to go hunting bad things have happened so I was very nervous. Last year during bow season, the dog got sprayed by a skunk (what a disgusting time that was) and I got in a fender-bender. This weekend I did not leave the house and was paranoid every time I let the dog out after dark. Nothing bad happened other than having to chase a bumblebee out of the house. Saturday I chilled, caught up on my shows on the DVR, and cleaned the house some. Sunday both my parents came to help with the basement. Dad also worked on trying to fix our phones (they have been acting up) and mowed the lawn for me since the baby doesn’t like the bouncing of the riding lawnmower. Mom and I worked on organizing the play area and put all the organized toys on the new shelving unit. We got the play area completed and it looks great. We could open a day care with all of the toys we have. We also moved some bookshelves and set up the family room area. We are almost done and it looks so good! Paul came home just in time for dinner with all of us. He didn’t get a deer which doesn’t make me sad at all.
Monday I was pretty tired from all the work in the basement on Sunday. I wanted to go to sleep after work but we had a funeral visitation to go to for my good friend, Carol’s grandfather. He was such a nice man. After the visitation in Davison, we went grocery shopping and got home at 11:00pm. We only put the perishable food away then went straight to bed. Wednesday we got to do what Paul has been excited about since October began- decorate for Halloween. I am in charge of the inside and he loves making the front porch into a scary scene of a giant spiderweb and tons of spiders. He even has a new sound-activated one this year that will drop down. I am sure the little kids will just love that. Wednesday and Thursday we went for 40 minute walks. I was pretty much exhausted all week but couldn’t sleep well for some reason. Friday I had a little scare. I had some mild spotting and called the OB nurse in a panic. She reassured me that since it was just a little bit and not bright red that it is probably just from strain and to take it easy. I pray that it does not worsen. It is way too early for little Lily to arrive and I don’t want to have to go on bed rest right now because I have way too much to do!

News from the womb…
The baby’s legs have approached their final relative proportions. The baby’s heart is growing stronger and stronger and now the heartbeat can be detected by a stethoscope. The arms and legs move with noticeable more force now as the muscles strengthen and the bones become stronger. By now the baby looks like a miniature newborn. Its face looks peaceful with closed eyes, nostrils, and a nicely formed mouth.

20 Weeks Along (Friday, 10/3/08)

I am five months along now!
Saturday we went to the Midland Antique festival on a quest for a beautiful antique oak dresser for the nursery. We found and bought one. It is a highboy with a curved front made of quarter sawn oak in perfect condition with a beautiful mirror on top. We are really happy with it. It was super hot at the fairgrounds so I pooped out pretty quickly once our mission was accomplished. I also got kind of crampy but I think it was from the heat and dehydration because once I relaxed in the air conditioning and drank lots of water, I was fine. We stopped in and visited my dad on our way out of town since he was in Midland at an American Legion convention. Then we drove down to Davison and took my mom out to dinner for her birthday. It was a busy day!
Sunday my mom came to help clean the basement some more. We spent the majority of the time sorting through Rachel’s old clothes, donating many and putting the rest in Space Bags by size in case I have a girl. My asthma did okay with the new medication which I was very grateful for.
The rest of the week was fairly unnoteworthy with the major exception of the ultrasound on Tuesday. I have already done an entry about that. The only note is that if one more person says how Paul must be sad that we are not having a boy I am going to scream. Paul says that a healthy baby is a wonderful thing, no matter the gender. Besides, biology lesson here: the sperm determines the gender. Apparently his girls are better swimmers. Anyway, we can’t wait to have a cute little girl and we sure have a lot of clothes for her already!
Thursday my parents came and set up another great shelving unit in the basement. Now we have one full wall of shelves which greatly helps with storage. The Indian food craving is waning. I only had it twice this week.

News from the womb…
The baby’s eyebrows have begun to form as well as fine scalp hair (permanent hair, not lanugo). The vernix caseosa is more noticeable. The baby now sleeps and wakes as much as a newborn does. When the baby sleeps, it characteristically settles into its favorite position. The baby is now 6.33 inches long and weights about 11 ounces. Lily was 9 inches long on Tuesday so she is obviously ahead of the curve!

Today was the big ultrasound!

The big ultrasound finally arrived. I invited my mom to come with us since she had never seen an ultrasound before and was fascinated by the tale of our last one. The baby was definitely awake and active for this one which made it a bit hard for the ultrasound tech to do all of the measurements and assessments. The heart, brain, and spine were looked at in detail along with the kidneys, bladder, and other organs. Per the report, all of the following were found normal on the fetal anatomical survey: calvarium (top of skull), choroid plexus (part of the brain where the cerebrospinal fluid is produced), neck, palate, lips, sacrum, aortic arch, ductal arch, chest wall, kidneys, genitalia, forearms, fingers, lower legs, toes, intercranial anatomy, cisterna magna (space in the brain), nuchal fold (space at the back of the neck that, if too large, can indicate Down Syndrome), face, cervical spine, four chamber heart view, cardiac axis, lungs, ventral wall, humeruses, hands, femurs, feet, umbilical cord, lateral ventricles, midline falx (division in the brain), profile, thoracic spine, right and left ventricular outflow tract, cardiac position, diaphragm, stomach, bladder, cerebellum, cavum septum pellucidum (a cavity in the brain that is present in all fetuses but closes by 3-6 months in healthy babies), orbits, nose, lumbar spine, fetal heart motion, ribs, liver, and bowel. Nothing was found to be abnormal which is a relief. The baby is big for its gestational age measuring 9 inches tall, in the 96th percentile. The due date per the ultrasound is 2/19/09.

And the question on everyone’s mind is- what is the baby’s gender?
We are proud to announce that we are having a girl! Her name will be Lilia (Spanish for Lily) and we will call her Lily. Her middle name will be revealed after she is born.

Here are some pictures:


a side view of Lily, her hand was always by her face



a cross section of the nether regions: a lack of anything sticking out plus the three white areas apparently = girl



a 3D image of her face tucked up against the wall of my uterus

19 Weeks Along (Friday, 9/26/08)

The weekend was spent doing stuff around the house. Saturday I mowed the lawn for the first time in forever. Finally getting rain brought it back to life. The baby did not appreciate the bouncing of the riding lawn mower. I tried to go slow but it didn’t help. It caused some cramping which resolved after lying down and drinking lots of water. We gave the dog a bath as well. I wanted to clean the house but I was just too darned pooped. Sunday my mom came to help clean the basement again. For some reason, it gave me a lot of trouble with my asthma. We must have kicked up a lot of dust. My asthma was still really bothering me on Monday. I did a breathing test on myself and compared it to the one I had done last week as part of regular quality assurance at work. My numbers were way down. I talked to Dr. Flaherty about it and he changed my Pulmicort to Symbicort. I hope it works for me. He also suggested having Paul go into the basement and do a bunch of dusting and vacuuming for me before I go down there. I asked for that prescription in writing but I believe he thought I was joking. The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. My craving for Indian food is still going strong. I bought a bunch to go then ate it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Yummy. The ultrasound to find out the baby’s gender is on the 30th. I can’t wait! I still have no premonition or preference other than I want a nice healthy baby.

News from the womb…
Lanugo (temporary downy hair) now appears on the baby’s head and body. This helps hold the vernix on the skin. The vernix caseosa is a creamy looking substance that now covers the baby’s skin in order to protect it and its developing glands and sensory cells. If the baby is a girl, mature egg cells now exist in her ovaries. From now until the baby is born, the placenta will grow in diameter but not thickness. Heat-producing brown fat has begun to form at the base of the baby’s neck, by the breastbone, and near the urethra.

18 Weeks Along

Saturday it rained like crazy. I slept in then we went to Nicholas Kafkakis’ 1st birthday party. He was so cute. We grocery shopped and thus ended our eventful day. Sunday it rained like crazy as well. My mom came over to help me clean out the basement. She will be helping me with this enormous task for the next two weeks. Although we worked for nine hours and got a lot done, we still only got through about 1/5 of the basement. Gladly I sent a Suburban full of stuff with her to be donated to Salvation Army. One of the cool things we went through were five totes of my old toys. It was fun reliving the memories. Most of it I reminisced about and then put in the pile to donate but some I set aside for my baby to have. When we were going through some of my old dolls and their clothes, we found an old onesie that was actually mine when I was a newborn. It was so tiny! I was only 5 lbs 6 oz when I was born but still it looked so little. It was a green sleeper with Pooh on it. I saved that as well. It would be cool to have my baby wear the same thing but it would have to be pretty small to fit into the onesie. All in all, we got 8 inches of rain over the weekend.
We took an hour walk most days of the week for exercise. I was pretty hard to motivate but was glad that we did it. My reflux has finally gone away. I think because my stomach is jutting out now the baby isn’t pressed against my esophagus anymore. Over the week I had an incredible craving for Indian food. I had it for lunch Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The only reason I didn’t continue was that I was working in Ann Arbor Thursday and Friday. Now I am craving it again! Ooh, and Honey Nut Cheerios.

News from the womb…
By now, all of the major elements of the lungs have formed except those involved with oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. Thus, breathing air is not yet possible. Pads have begun to form on the baby’s fingertips and toes that will develop the characteristic swirls and creases of the fingerprints and toeprints. The external ears now stand out from the head and are in their final position. The eyes look forward rather than to the side. Most of the endocrine glands secrete hormones that now appear in the baby’s bloodstream. Myelinization has begun which is the coating of the nerves with a fatty substance called myelin to speed nerve cell transmission and to insulate the nerves so that messages are not interrupted. The baby now measures 5.5 inches in length, big enough to cradle in the palm of my hand.

17 Weeks Along (Friday, 9/12/08)

Saturday we spent the entire day crib shopping around the Novi area. We saw lots of high end and lots of low end cribs. I fell in love with a crib at our first stop, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, but Paul insisted we keep looking. Being short, I need a crib with a drop side. I was amazed at how crappy and loud the drop mechanism was on a lot of the cribs. The majority of the high end models didn’t have drop sides which would apparently mean that I would have to toss the baby in. Not a good idea. After spending the entire day shopping (always Paul’s favorite activity), we decided that the crib at MHC was indeed the best so we went back there and bought it. It is made of hardwood (we refused to get one made of pine), has a super smooth drop side, and is sleigh style with beautifully carved legs. Plus it is normally about $800 on sale for $498. We ordered it in a medium oak color to match the rest of the furniture. Now we have to wait 6-8 weeks for it to come in. I hate waiting! I can’t wait to set it up.
Sunday we cleaned then spent the day relaxing. We had Vince over to watch the Lions lose. The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. I spent a lot of time researching baby items for my registry from my “Baby Bargains” book. I have already registered for most everything I need at Target and Babies R Us. I know it is a bit early to register but I am such a planner, I just can’t help myself. Plus, for Christmas I just want people to get us things for the baby so in case they are early shoppers, I am all set.
Although my pants have been growing increasingly tight, they have still been wearable. Then all of a sudden on Tuesday morning, my pants didn’t fit at all. My shirt was even tight. Paul commented that evening that I instantly looked pregnant. Luckily the maternity clothes I ordered online from Old Navy arrived that day so I had stuff to wear the next day that wasn’t painful! I love the maternity pants. Elastic waistbands rock! Some of my shirts still work but I ordered some maternity shirts too. They make my belly look a little bigger than it is but I don’t care. For once, I don’t care if my stomach looks big. I want to show it off!
Thursday I had a new symptom, edema in my feet. I know that this happens due to the increased blood volume. I had a really busy day at work so I was constantly on my feet. It took until the second loosening of my shoelaces to figure out what was going on. I was just so puzzled as to why my laces kept getting tight. Needless to say, I spent that evening on the couch with my feet up. At least this time, I had a good reason. :)

News from the womb…
During this week, the baby grew rapidly, with growth setting the stage for development later in the month. Existing structures became larger and more developed but no new structures were formed. With the help of the placenta and the umbilical cord, the baby’s system operates as it will after it’s born. The baby has its own circulation, pumped by the heart, which at this stage pumps the equivalent of 25 quarts of blood a day. The placenta helps with protection, digestion, respiration, waste removal, and hormone production. These functions will be taken over by the baby’s digestive system, lungs, and kidneys after it is born. The baby and placenta are nearly equal in size but the baby will soon grow larger than the placenta. The baby is practicing the reflexes of blinking, sucking, and swallowing as well as others. The kidneys have reached their final mature position in the body.

16 Weeks Along (Friday, 9/5/08)

I am four months pregnant now! One change that I have experienced this week is a super sensitive sense of smell. I can smell a skunk from about five miles away (not a desirable skill) and just about everything stinks to me. Everything tastes differently too. I have eaten a few things this week that I normally love that now taste awful. One example is the yams I had Monday that tasted like metal to me. So weird.
Saturday we took Rachel to the airport. We got there with lots of time to kill so we had breakfast at Max & Erma’s and sat around for a while at the gate. I think giving Rachel time at the airport helps her transition but it doesn’t make it any easier to let her go. I, of course, cried for a while after we put her on the plane and had to sit around waiting for her flight to leave the ground (the rule when you take an unaccompanied minor to the airport). That took up most of our day but then we decided to go antiquing as I am on a quest for a cute antique oak dresser for the nursery. We went to the Livingston Antique Outlet and found a few dressers but nothing perfect. Sunday we went to Bay City to the Bay Antique Center and Americana Antiques. We found two potential dressers but one wasn’t in good enough shape upon closer inspection and the other was in perfect shape but not exactly what I am looking for. We are keeping it in mind as a runner up, though. Monday was Labor Day which Paul spent working on finishing the trim tiles in the bathroom and I spent relaxing on the couch watching TV, researching cribs, and trying to fight off a headache (only being able to take Tylenol sucks and works about as well as taking absolutely nothing). The rest of the week was completely uneventful. We did shop for cribs at Babies R Us on Thursday and intend to do a bunch of shopping in the Novi area on Saturday. Oh, and I ordered some maternity pants online since I am down to one pair of pants and one pair of shorts that fit my expanding waistline.

News from the womb…
The baby’s head and neck have assumed more of a straight-line relationship. This may be due, in part, to the fact that the skeleton is actively ossifying. The head now appears upright and no longer rests on the chest. The ears have moved close to their final position. The baby’s toenails have begun to grow from their nail beds. The baby now measures 4.75 inches long from crown to rump and weighs 3.75 ounces.

15 Weeks Along (Friday, 8/29/08)

Everything I read keeps telling me that I am supposed to be feeling better and more energetic now that I am a few weeks out of the first trimester. I feel no improvement. I am still exhausted like I am going through the day drugged on Nyquil. I still have to pee every hour and now I have the fun symptom of getting heartburn every time I bend over. The hormone level of Relaxin has apparently peaked which relaxes my joints and now causes my hips to pop out of joint frequently and I get round ligament pain every time I step on or off the bus. For some reason I can’t get enough Frosted Flakes cereal. I don’t even normally like the stuff.
Saturday we went to Cate’s wedding. It was fun. I had to buy a semi-maternity dress to wear to the wedding that would also last me a few more events. Sunday we drove Rachel up north to spend her last week here with Paul’s parents. It was a long drive up and back in one day in Paul’s uncomfortable truck so that we could bring Rachel’s bike up there.
Thursday I had my second OB appointment but it was my first time meeting Dr. Szekely. I thought he was very personable and made himself very available to me which was nice. The baby’s heartbeat was 160. I told him I had been having a little bit of cramping over the past few days but he reassured me that this is normal as my uterus is doing a lot of stretching. I didn’t gain any weight between last month’s visit and this one. I am glad because I know that I should watch my weight gain closely. Nonetheless, my pants are fitting tighter as the baby grows and I am going to need maternity pants pretty soon.
Friday Paul took off work to drive up north to pick up Rachel. We had a bittersweet last evening together going to Red Robin, Rachel’s favorite restaurant and watching a few episodes of Monk, one of her favorite shows. Tomorrow we will take her to the airport and she will go back to New York until Thanksgiving. It has been so nice having her with us. I hate having her leave. It sucks that she will miss so much of the baby’s development now and especially after the baby is born. She is with us so little that I worry that she won’t have a strong sibling bond with this baby like she does with her mom’s son who she gets to spend a lot more time with.

News from the womb…
The baby’s scalp hair pattern has been determined. The baby continues to practice breathing, swallowing, and sucking movements in preparation for life outside the womb. Some amniotic fluid is swallowed and processed by the baby’s maturing digestive tract as it practices for the time when conventional food will enter its system. The baby now displays more sophisticated hand and arm movements such as making a fist, moving the thumbs, bending the wrist, and grasping. All of these movements are practice to make sure that the nervous system and muscle connections are working. The baby’s leg movements are considerable as well such as kicking, turning its feet outward and inward, curling its toes, and fanning its toes. The baby now weights 1 ounce and stands 3.38 inches tall.

14 Weeks Along (Friday, 8/22/08)

Saturday was our Second Annual Rysso Family Luau. Everything came together perfectly and the party went great. The weather was beautiful and everyone seemed to have fun. The best part was the piñata which finally needed to be put out of its misery by a very enthusiastic Jamie Rumminger. My parents and Aunt Gloria were a great help and I don’t know if I could have done it without them. The neighbors and their adorable sons helped us take down the tent and pull all the decorations onto the patio after the mosquitoes broke up the party after dark. It was my intention to spend Sunday cleaning up but I was too exhausted to move that day. I slept in until almost 2pm then just lazed around all day. Everyone kept talking about doing it again next year but I don’t know if I will have the energy once the baby is here. I want to have another one but I guess we will just have to wait and see. We will definitely have to downsize the festivities, though.
The week was mostly spent slowly cleaning up after the party. Rachel wasn’t around this week. Since her camp had concluded, she spent half the week at my parents’ house and the other half at Cedar Point with the Roofs. She had a lot of fun while our week was mostly unnoteworthy. Thursday I went to a bachelorette party for my friend Cate. I was the lame one not drinking who had to have a two hour nap before the party so I could stay up past 10pm. What wild child I have become!
I almost forgot that the results from the first trimester screening came in this week. The nuchal lucency was normal, the risk for Down Syndrome is 1 in 3,299, and the risk for Trisomy 18 is 1 in 17,561 meaning that all is well.

News from the womb…
The baby practices inhaling and exhaling movements in the womb that sends amniotic fluid in and out of the lungs. The presence of the fluid is essential to the proper formation of the air sacs within the lungs. The baby’s colon has rotated 180 degrees counterclockwise and has formed a square around the small intestine. The two top corners of the colon have attached to the body wall and the colon ends in an anal canal while the small intestine remains suspended in the abdomen. The baby’s spleen is now fully functional and assumes functions supervised by the liver: the removal of old red blood cells and the production of antibodies. The sucking muscles have filled out baby’s cheeks and the salivary glands have begun to form. The baby has begun making breathing, sucking, and swallowing motions. The baby is now quite active and its movements have gone from mechanical and puppet-like to smooth and fluid. The baby is now about 3 inches long. (Apparently mine is ahead of schedule since it was 3 inches long last week.)

13 Weeks Along (Friday, 8/15/08)

Saturday had drizzly and cold weather. We were sitting around doing nothing when we got a phone call from Katelyn’s parents asking if Rachel wanted to come up to East Jordan to spend a day with Katelyn. She was excited to go since this would be the last time she would see Katelyn before she left to go home to North Carolina until Christmas. We dropped off Rachel then went on the Ironton Ferry, circled Lake Charlevoix through Boyne City (which was really nice), then explored Charlevoix. We walked around and took pictures of all of the Earl Young storybook houses. I love them. Then we ate a late lunch at The Weathervane and went back to pick up Rachel. She had fun with Katelyn riding around the property on golf carts. Sunday we packed, cleaned, and returned home. I had to spend the week unpacking, cleaning, and getting ready for our Second Annual Rysso Family Luau.
Thursday I had my first trimester screening ultrasound and bloodwork to check for Down Syndrome. Since there was an ultrasound involved, Paul took time off work to come with me. The ultrasound was really cool. I can’t believe how much the baby has grown since our last one. They said that it is 3 inches long. At first the baby was sleeping on its side with its legs and arms stretched out in front of it. For the screening measurement, they needed a side view of the baby so since it wasn’t moving, they told me to cough to wake it up and perhaps it would roll over. It took a few tries but then the baby suddenly woke up and started flailing its arms around. It rolled over and they could get the measurement. The whole thing took almost a half hour. It was so cool to see the baby moving around in there. They said the heartbeat was perfect. I got quite a few good pictures. The bloodwork part wasn’t so fun because they lady had trouble getting the pinprick on my finger to drop properly on the paper. They had to milk the finger like a cow and it throbbed for hours afterward. They said that the ultrasound looked normal and it would take about a week for the bloodwork results to come back.
Friday I had the day off work to prepare for the luau. It was a really exhausting day and I broke down crying at one point because I had so much to do and no energy to do it. I ended the day way ahead of where I was the night before the party last year but I was completely beat and unable to stay up any longer to get any more done. That is such a weird feeling. I am used to being able to pull all nighters to get ready for anything with no problems; finals, packing for vacations, party prep, finishing a good book, whatever. Now that is impossible.

News from the womb…
The vocal cords have formed but the baby is unable to make sounds because sound travels through air, not fluid. The intestines have forming into folds and have becoming lined with nutrient-extracting villi. The liver has begun to secrete bile and the pancreas has begun to produce insulin. The baby’s hands are becoming more and more functional and it can move its thumb in opposition to the other fingers. The external genitalia of girls can now be clearly distinguished from boys.

12 Weeks Along (Friday, 8/8/08)

I got to spend another weekend frantically doing laundry and packing. I had to cut out a few things on my to do list because I was exhausted and it is physically impossible for me to stay up past 10pm. Sunday morning we left for our vacation at Higgins Lake. At least this time we had a much shorter drive although it was in the uncomfortable and not air-conditioned truck so it was torturous nonetheless. We had great weather with only a tiny bit of rain interference. We rented canoes for a 2 hour ride on the Au Sable in Grayling. Paul and I shared a canoe with Rachel riding along in the middle but halfway through, we switched canoes with my parents since my butt kept going to sleep in ours and theirs was much more comfortable. When we switched, Rachel stayed in the canoe with them and actually took over paddling duty for nearly an hour while my mom got to relax in the middle of the boat. How nice! She was pretty good at it. Having finally mastered riding her bike, she took it with her to the cabin and rode a few times around the block every day. We are really proud of all of her progress this summer. Most of the week was spent reading on the porch, lying in the sun, floating around the lake on innertubes, and roasting marshmallows over the campfire while looking for shooting starts. I shared my pregnancy books with my mom who was amazed at how much more they know now than they did when she was pregnant with me. In my opinion, knowing what’s going on in the womb makes that connection with my baby all the more strong.

News from the womb…
The baby’s skin is sensitive all over and any type of touch will cause the baby to move. The brain now has the same structure it will have at birth, it’s just a smaller size. The baby’s olfactory system is developing. The thyroid, pancreas, gall bladder, and bony part of the palate have completed their development. The tooth buds for the permanent teeth have begun to form as do the membranes that will become the vocal cords. The pancreas has begun to secrete insulin. The intestines are now fully contained in the abdomen. The muscles in the wall of the baby’s digestive tract have become functional in order to begin practicing the movements required to push food down the tract. The urine that formed in the baby’s kidneys has been excreted into the amniotic fluid. The baby is now 50-61mm (2.5 inches) long and weights about 1/2 ounce.

11 Weeks Along (Friday, 8/1/08)

Saturday we packed up and left the resort fairly early in the morning to begin our 14 hour car ride home. This time we drove straight through. We didn’t get home until really late then got up the next morning to go to Lapeer to Grayson’s 5th birthday party. I wasn’t as exhausted as I thought I would be and the party was fun so I am glad that we made the effort to go. We picked up Betsy from my parents who had been dog-sitting then went back home to attempt to do some unpacking and laundry before work on Monday.
Wednesday I had my first appointment with OB. It actually wasn’t with my OB doctor but with the nurse practitioner instead. She is the same person that I see for my annual pap smears (what fun). The visit was to basically familiarize me with what was ahead. I did get a quick audio (not visual) ultrasound and could hear the baby’s heartbeat again. That is such a wonderful sound. When I left, I set up all of my visits right up to my due date. It made that day seem all that much closer!

News from the womb…
The baby’s body continues to straighten. The legs are completely vascularized. The skin begins to thicken and become less transparent. The iris of the eye begins to develop. The eyelids temporarily fuse shut. Ossification centers establish in the skull. The bones and muscles grow rapidly. The body proportions begin to resemble those of a newborn. The baby has doubled its weight to between 1/4 and 1/3 ounce. The baby is now 5cm (2 inches) long and stands as high as the short side of a credit card.

10 Weeks Along (Friday, 7/25/08)

Saturday I had Cate’s wedding shower then a lot of packing to do to leave on our vacation to South Dakota on Sunday. It was a really busy weekend which made me even more tired. We spent the week at Roy Lake Resort in Lake City, South Dakota which is near where Maureen grew up. We shared a condo with Debbie and Jack across the hall from the condo shared by Paul’s parents and his brother, Mike, and family. I was grateful to be in the quieter, more relaxed condo but not grateful to be awakened at 6 every morning by little Jack. As everyone keeps reminding me, I better get used to it! Many of Paul’s cousins stayed at the State Park which was adjacent to the resort so it was really pleasant meeting all of them. They are such nice people. The week was pretty relaxed. We mostly just sat around and visited while the guys fished. Paul and I took a number of drives around the countryside to take pictures.

News from the womb…
The retina of the eye is now fully pigmented. The external ear and tongue are completely formed. The bones of the palate are beginning to fuse and the taste buds are beginning to form on the tongue. The fingers have lengthened and separated. The toes become unwebbed and lengthen. Fingernails, toenails, and hair follicles have begun to appear and the soles of the feet are visible. The limbs are now capable of purposeful movement. The head is rounded and disproportionately large, making up almost half of the baby’s length. The neck region is established. The legs are now at their proper location and proportional in size for this stage in development. The shoulders are present and have rotated out to place the arms at the sides of the body instead of touching in front. The legs have rotated in and the knees point up to the face. The ectoderm which has covered the baby is being replaced by a layer of flattened cells which will become the surface layer of the baby’s skin. The intestines have begun to migrate from the umbilical cord into the body cavity. The external genitalia are developing but do not yet look distinctive of either gender. The baby assumes a more upright posture. Midweek, the baby was 22-24mm long from crown to rump, as wide as the face of an American quarter. This is 4 times as long as the baby was just one month prior. At the end of the week, the baby is 29mm long and weighs about 0.04-0.11 ounce.

9 Weeks Along (Friday, 7/18/08)

It was another busy weekend for us. Saturday we went to the LaVictoire family reunion. That was fun. We haven’t been able to go for the past few years. Rachel had fun with her cousins. She won the bean on a spoon race and the triple sack race. Sunday we went on the LaCasa garden tour. This was less impressive than in years past but I love going because it gives us great inspiration for our gardening projects. All of the wandering around in the sun pooped me out, though.
Wednesday I had the day off of work because Janet and Bill were in from Austin, Texas and we planned that day to meet up. Last time I saw her, we were 6 months into our infertility journey and I was getting pretty frustrated. Little did I know that it would take 19 more months and a whole lot of patience to achieve pregnancy. Janet, Amy, and I had a girls-only lunch while Bill watched Brayden, Cooper, and Rachel at the Imagination Station. We then went back to my house and hung out until Wynn arrived with Austin and Mya and Paul returned from work. We had dinner at Zukey Lake Tavern. It was nice getting to spend so much time with them. We have all come a long way since college but I am glad that we have remained friends through the years and miles.
Friday we went to Art Fair. We took Rachel and Katelyn, her best friend who had a sleepover at our house that night. Remembering how we ran all the way across Art Fair last year to get to a booth before it closed to how I kept having to rest this year, I definitely noticed a change in my energy level due to pregnancy. I was very glad that the girls were quiet and didn’t keep me up all night like they did at their sleepover in December.

News from the womb…
The baby now displays a reflex response to touch. The upper lip, elbow, toe ridges, and indentations where the knees and ankles will be have formed. The nose, tongue, and eyelids have begun to form. The arms have lengthened and now bend at the elbow. The fingers and thumb appear short and webbed. As connections continue to improve between the baby’s brain and tiny muscles and nerves, the baby’s trunk and limbs have begun to make spontaneous movements. The baby’s body proportions begin to change as the trunk begins to elongate and straighten. The surface of the baby’s brain has developed characteristic rounds and fissures. Primary ossification centers appear in the long bones. These direct the replacement of cartilage by bone which starts in the upper arms. The baby’s heart is beating strong, the stomach can produce some digestive juices, the liver can manufacture blood cells, and the kidneys can extract some waste products from the baby’s bloodstream. The baby is now 16-18mm long and weighs about 0.033 ounce, about as heavy as 1/5 teaspoon of water.

8 Weeks Along (Friday, 7/11/08)

We spent the rest of the weekend in Traverse City and Lovells. We went to the Cherry Festival Air Show featuring the Blue Angels on Saturday. We watched it on the roof of Debbie’s work building downtown with her, her husband, and Paul’s parents. Debbie and I shared in our pregnancy experiences. It’s like I finally got to join the club! It is cool that she is due only 3 months ahead of me. All weekend, I kept dwelling on my boss’ chilly reception to my work restrictions. It shocked me but did not quite pop my balloon of delight on Friday. But the more I thought about it over the weekend, the more I became incensed at her lack of respect for my and my baby’s health. Since she still had me scheduled to do the testing that I was restricted from, I felt my only way to be listened to was to send an email to her, her boss, my other supervisors, the doctor who wrote the note, and human resources. Their response was that the doctor’s orders had to be obeyed no matter what and in the end; I was put on the proper restrictions. I felt bad that I had to go over her head but I had no other option. Now I am under the microscope as I have upset the balance of power.
This week I was supposed to get my hair cut and highlighted but I cancelled the appointment. I keep reading contradicting things on whether coloring your hair is bad for the baby or not. Most things I have read cannot come to a conclusion and therefore recommend waiting until at least the first trimester is over to get it done since this period is so critical to baby’s development. I know that it is selfish to be concerned about my hair but I hate the grays!
Overall, I have been a little less tired this week but still pretty bad. I can’t believe that two months have passed. It hasn’t been all that long, though, considering that you spend the first month clueless about the pregnancy!

News from the womb…
The pituitary gland, trachea, larynx, bronchi, external ear, upper lip, facial muscles, tooth buds, gonads, nipples, eyelids, and diaphragm have begun to form. The intestines have begun to form in the umbilical cord because of shortage of space in the baby’s gut due to its massive liver and all the sets of kidneys. The palate continued its development. The eyes look pigmented even though the color won’t be established until after birth. The baby’s head is much larger than the trunk and is bent over a bump of tissue that contains the developing heart. Now the neck and trunk have begun to straighten and the hand plates have developed ridges indicating where the fingers and thumbs will be. The eye muscles have completed their development. The trunk of the pulmonary artery has separated from the trunk of the aorta in the heart. The kidneys have begun to produce urine as they start their ascent to their final position near the small of the back. The arms are now at their proper location and proportional in size for this stage in development. The cartilage that first appeared during week 5 has begun to harden into bone. The lower limbs have developed foot plates and indentations have formed where the knees and ankles will eventually develop. Near the beginning of the week, the baby was 8-11mm long, having doubled in length in just eight days and could fit within the perimeter of a dime. By the end of the week, the baby was 11-14mm long and could fit within a peanut shell and weigh less than the whole peanut in that shell. The growth rate is so fast that if my baby grew as fast right after birth as it is right now, it would be 15 feet tall by the time it was one month old!

7 Weeks Along (Friday, 7/4/08)

This weekend Rachel came home for the summer. It is so great having her back. We decided not to share the good news with her yet as she tends to not be so good with secrets quite yet. Monday I was nauseated for the first time but never threw up. I just had a general distaste for food. Paul reminded me that I said that I would never complain about morning sickness because it meant that I was pregnant. That made me smile even though I would hardly classify this as morning sickness. I had my prenatal blood test that was ordered by OB. Everything looked good as far as I can tell. My white blood cell count was a bit high but I think it is usually that way. On Tuesday, my sister-in-law, Debbie, had her 20 week ultrasound and found out that she is having a girl. Now that I am pregnant I am definitely less bitter toward pregnant people but I still found myself jealous that she got pregnant so easily twice and gets her dream of one of each. How come it is so easy for some people but not for me? I guess I will always feel the pains of infertility no matter my outcome. Wednesday I had my phone meeting with the OB nurse. It was basically just about 10 minutes of questions about my health history.
I thought that I was going to burst in anticipation before my ultrasound on Thursday but I made it. We still hadn’t decided how to present the whole thing to Rachel so we found ourselves in the waiting room of Reproductive Endocrinology at 7:15 a.m. with her completely clueless! When I checked in the clerk saw my family sit down and asked if my daughter was excited about becoming a big sister. I had to admit to her that Rachel had no idea because we still hadn’t figured out how to tell her yet. I had both of them come into the exam room with me. As I sat on the paper in my gown with the ultrasound machine next to me waiting for the ultrasound tech, I finally said to Rachel, “so, you’re probably wondering what we are doing here…” and told her. She was really excited. All she could talk about all day was how she wanted to help name the baby, take care of the baby, and most importantly help decorate the nursery. The ultrasound went well. There was only one baby in there. Paul was thankful for that. It was attached right in the perfect spot which relieved my fears greatly. I had been having a few side pains isolated on my left side so I was paranoid that the baby was ectopic. The best part was that we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat. It was so fast! I was so glad to hear it because I read that once you can hear the baby’s heartbeat, the risk for miscarriage drops significantly. I got some pictures with a little blob and an arrow pointing to it that said “baby”. I called my mom and told her to spread the word but she said that it was up to me. She shares in my excitement that everything is going well. When I got back to work I was so-o ready to spill the beans. I told Lois first, then Kim, Cate, and the rest of the gang. Everyone was really happy for me, even my coworkers who seem like they wouldn’t give a hoot. The only damper on the day was that before I told my coworkers, I handed my boss the doctor’s note about my pregnancy-related restrictions and she told me that I could do the testing without risk even though the note said otherwise. What a nice way to say congratulations. I called and set up my first OB appointment for 7/30/08. When we got home from work, I called my best friend, Amy, to share my news then we packed our bags and headed up to Paul’s parents’ house. We didn’t get there until after midnight. When we saw them the next morning we joyfully shared the news of the pregnancy with them. Having told the most important people, I then went on to their internet (dial up by the way, painfully slow!) and composed an email to all the other important people in my life sharing the news. Then we went on up to Mackinac Island where I immediately called my grandma then got flooded with congratulatory phone calls. Apparently my mom received a lot of them too. It was a little difficult to do our traditional 8 mile bike ride around the perimeter of the island with my fatigue and my phone ringing constantly. It was a joyous day spent at one of our favorite places on earth.

News from the womb…
Thirty-eight pairs of somites (what forms the bones and muscles of the head and trunk) have formed by now. The brain has differentiated into the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain with the cerebral hemispheres well marked. Rapid brain and head growth continue throughout the week. The hypothalamus, mouth, larynx, jaw, mammary tissue, spleen, cerebellum, palate, and muscles that control the eye have begun to form. A primitive version of the mouth is now present and the trachea and esophagus have separated. Nerves and muscles have started growing in the arms and legs. The arms, then the legs, begin to look less like flippers and more like paddles. The hand plates have appeared and the elbow and wrist regions of the arm are identifiable. The third and final set of kidneys has formed and will begin to function in about a week. Near the beginning of the week, the baby was 5-7mm long, about the size of a small coffee bean. That is 15,000 times bigger than at conception in only thirty days. Quite a fast growth rate! Near the end of the week, the baby grew to 7-9mm long. Now my baby weights about 0.001g which is about as heavy as an eyelash from my lower lid. Amazing that something that tiny is so functional!

6 Weeks Along (Friday, 6/27/08)

This week I visited with many friends and family. It was so hard not to tell anyone but we still want to keep the news to ourselves until we have the ultrasound and confirm that everything is okay with the baby.

Tuesday I could no longer contain myself in waiting for my 6.5 week ultrasound. I pathetically begged one of the OB nurses at Brighton for an early ultrasound but she said that I am already getting one as early as possible to see or hear anything. Darn! I was still tired this week but not as bad as last week. I attribute that to Paul and me exercising for an hour every day. I am very proud of us. Instead of eggs, I now crave Chinese food. I experienced some pain when laying down in bed and stretching to the side but then I read in one of my books that it is just round ligament pain and is normal but usually occurs in the second trimester.

News from the womb…
This week the baby’s aorta, intestines, gall bladder, stomach, pancreas, tongue, nasal pits, lymphatic system, eyes, and lungs all are beginning to form. The thyroid is still developing. The liver has formed. The top of the tube that protects the spinal cord is closing and the heart has begun to beat. Limb buds for the arms are legs are now present with the arm buds becoming more prominent and looking like flippers. The first two of three sets of kidneys have appeared but never becomes functional. The baby is now 3-5mm long and can fit on the eraser end of a standard lead pencil.

5 Weeks Along (Friday, 6/20/08)

Monday at work I called my Reproductive Endocrinologist’s office to tell them the good news. I was glad to be able to share it with someone. They ordered a confirmatory HcG blood test. I went and had my blood drawn as soon as I could get away at 10:30 then checked Careweb every few minutes for the results. Finally at 12:15 they were up. 25 mIU/mL and higher is positive for pregnancy. Mine was 292. Yeah! The nurse called me later in the day to congratulate me again. She said that we would repeat the test on Wednesday to confirm that the numbers are rising as they should. Then I will have an ultrasound at 6.5 weeks and if everything is okay, they will release me to the care of a regular OB. My due date is 2/24/09.

Wednesday I had my second HcG blood draw today at 10:18. Wade totally guessed that I was pregnant since I kept sneaking off to have blood draws. I didn’t want to lie so I told him to keep it hush hush. I am not quite good at this secret thing after all. The results were up at 11:49 and my levels have risen to 575 mIU/mL. Yeah! The nurse said that my HcG levels were good so we didn’t need to repeat the test anymore. I shared with her my concerns about exposure to Methacholine and having to do DLCO carbon monoxide testing on myself at work. She talked to one of the doctors and agreed that I should not be doing those things. They wrote a letter to my supervisors and faxed it to me. I think I will wait until I absolutely have to give it to them since they are not receptive to limitations or any happy news in general.

Paul is hoping we only have one baby in me but I am not so secretly hoping it is twins. There is a good likelihood for twins since I had two good eggs release for the insemination. Maybe a boy and a girl but I will really settle for anything as long as the baby is healthy. I still don’t feel pregnant but I sure am tired. I went to bed early every day this week and have been craving eggs like mad.

News from the womb…
The baby has turned from a flat embryonic disc into three distinct layers of tissue. The endoderm will eventually form the glands, lining of the lungs, tongue, tonsils, urethra and associated glands, bladder, and digestive tract. The mesoderm will eventually form the muscles, bones, lymphatic tissue, spleen, blood cells, heart, lungs, and reproductive and excretory systems. The ectoderm will eventually form the skin, nails, hair, lens of the eye, lining of the internal and external ear, nose, and sinuses; tongue, mouth, anus, tooth enamel, pituitary gland, mammary glands, and all parts of the nervous system. This week the top cells of the ectoderm form a thickened area called the neural plate that will form the baby’s head. The rest of the ectoderm has compressed to form a groove called the notochord that will give rise to the vertebrae. The cells on the periphery of the notochord have begun to fold inward to create the baby’s central nervous system. The primitive version of the baby’s heart has been forming all week and by the end of the week it will have divided into all four chambers and will have begun circulating blood cells throughout the baby’s body. As the circulatory system forms, the mesoderm on either side of the spinal column divides into blocks of cells called somites which will eventually form the bones and muscles of the baby’s head and body. About eight pairs of somites have formed this week and the neural tube (later called the spinal cord) has begun to form between them. The thyroid gland has begun to form as well. The baby’s growth this week is quite rapid. At the beginning of the week, the baby was 0.4mm long and two or three babies the size of mine could fit into the space occupied by a printed period. By midweek, the baby was 1.0-1.5mm long and was tiny enough to rest on the point of a ballpoint pen. By the end of the week, the baby was 1.5-2.5mm long and was about the size of a sesame seed.

How I found Out

I expected my period on Friday, June 13 but it never came. I was anxious and excited but I didn't want to get my hopes up as I had faced disappointment so many times before. Plus, I messed up on my meds and took 2.5 mg Femara instead of 5 mg on days 5-8 and corrected myself on day 9. I completely didn't expect this IUI to work. I was still too chicken to take the test on Saturday. Plus I thought I had cramps and/or a UTI so my hopes were not high. On Sunday (Father's Day), I finally got up my courage and peed on a stick. It was positive! I was pregnant! I was completely dumbfounded. I believe what I said to Paul was, “Oh my God, It’s positive”. What a great Father’s Day present! We spent the day cleaning the house before my parents came for Father’s Day dinner but I snuck out to the store for another test and a last minute present for my dad. When they arrived, I was taking the second (different brand) test in the bathroom and it was positive too. I kept the secret until I had my dad open his last gift which was a bib that said ‘I love Grandpa’. He looked thoroughly confused until I shouted “I’m pregnant!” My mom then burst into tears and there were a lot of hugs. I told them that it was very early and that we should keep it to ourselves for the time being. Although I wanted to shout it on the rooftops, I also wanted to confirm with my doctor that it was real.

What I've Been Through

Last pill 8/9/06
1) 8/26/06 (25)
2) 9/7/06 (10)
3) 9/18/06 (32)
4) 10/21/06 (30)
5) 11/21/06 (26)
6) 12/17/06 (26)
7) 1/12/07 (26)
8) 2/7/07 (31)
9) 3/10/07 (25) first consult with reproductive endocrinologist 3/20/07
10) 4/4/07 (30) Clomid 100
11) 5/4/07 (32) Clomid 50
12) 6/5/07 (24) Clomid 50
13) 6/29/07 (32) Clomid 50
14) 7/31/07 (31) Clomid 50
15) 8/31/07 (28) Clomid 100, IUI #1
16) 9/28/08 (26) hybrid (5/75), IUI cancelled due to high risk of multiples
17) 10/24/07 (25) Femara only, no IUI or Gonal-F due to 17 mm ovarian cyst
18) 11/18/07 (23) hybrid (5/33), IUI #2
19) 12/11/07 treatment break begins
20) approx 1/1/08
21) approx 1/29/08
22) approx 2/26/08
23) 3/24/08 (28)
24) 4/21/08 (26)5/17/08, hybrid (2.5/75), Ovidrel 5/28/08, IUI 5/30/08 SUCCESS!!!!!

The Sweet (and Slightly Nauseating) Smell of Success

Hi! I know it has been a long time since I have posted and for those of you who know me, you know that my infertility journey has finally led to pregnancy. We are overjoyed every day in saying those words. "I'm pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant". Now that all of the proper people have been informed and the craziness of the summer has started to die down, I will begin updating my blog with entries from my personal pregnancy journal.
Warning: It may take me a while to catch up.

As OK Go Says, Here We Go Again

There are few things in life that you can count on. Me getting my period every damn month is unfortunately one of them.

However, this means that I am go for my next round of hybrid meds (pills and injectables) and insemination. We are doing the super high dose of meds this month that before gave me 4 good follicles and forced my insemination to be cancelled. This time they promise not to cancel the insemination and made me promise not to freak out if I get pregnant with multiples. I said, "Just get me pregnant, that's all I care about."

Tomorrow I have an ultrasound just to make sure that I don't have any ovarian cysts as they won't let me do the meds if I have them. If all goes well, treatment will begin (again).

Game On

My break from treatment is over. I had my appointment with my Reproductive Endocrinologist yesterday to reestablish care and explore my options. I was an emotional wreck during my appointment. During my six month break, I think I just let all of the sorrow, anger, frustration, and fear build up inside me and once I sat there with her and looked at a sign on the table that had a picture of a baby and the word "Hope" I just lost it. I could not stop crying. It's not like I got horrible news or anything. She just suggested trying two more IUI cycles with hybrid therapy. After that, she recommends moving on to IVF. (The price list for IVF was overwhelming but we will jump off that bridge when and if we get there.) I guess I am just scared to start all of the turmoil again. She very gently recommended that I see a therapist specializing in infertility and gave me a few names. Poor thing must have thought I was completely crazy, crying nonstop for no reason. I will definitely take her up on it because I am having trouble dealing with all of this, especially with Mother's Day coming up. Treatment will begin again with my next cycle.