22 weeks

So I found these fill in the blank questions on another person's blog, and I thought it was kinda neat...here are my answers :)

How far along: 22 weeks (going by 9/27 edd)

Weight gain: 15 lbs so far...and it seems like most of it showed up in the past 2 weeks lol
Stretch marks: none so far...yay!  I'm am definately not giving up on the lotion any time soon :)
Symptoms: Sometimes I feel a little nauseous after eating dinner or a bigger meal, but that may be due to the fact that I usually try and lay down or lay back and relax after and may have some acid reflux or something going on.  I feel pretty good and active...I was able to clean the entire house this weekend and I was soooo relieved about that, but my feet and back were aching at the end.  I have to use the restroom whenever I stand up (and sneezing is not my friend if you know what I mean).
Sleep: I am having some trouble sleeping...I have no problem falling asleep, but around 3am, I start tossing and turning and it is hard for me to get comfortable.  I'll find a good position and then wake up 30-40 mins later and have to roll over.
Best Moment this Week: Being able to visit with friends and family...all of whom can't resist touching the belly and talking to little Adrian.  He just wouldn't kick for anyone this week, but man, as soon as I lay down in bed, he moves around a lot (probably getting himself comfortable for sleep) :)
Food Cravings: Nothing really...I had been eating at Chipotle at least twice a week, but now I have switched to wanting Samurai Sam's at least twice a week (All white chicken meat, rice, veggies, with teriaki sauce).  Oh and salad too this week...we tried going to Sweet Tomatoes on Friday, but apparently everyone else in Henderson wanted salad too, so we ended up going to Marie Calendars and I have a chicken pot pie with a salad :)      I have had a sweet tooth lately too though I must admit.
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button in or out?: Still in...although Margie keeps reminding me that I will need to buy a pregnancy belly ring soon lol
Rings on or off?: Ring still on...no swelling in my hands thank goodness, I can't decide if my ankles have swelled a little or not though...I never really paid attention to them before so I have nothing to compare them too lol
Movement: Lot's of movement...especially when I lay down for bed and around lunch time too
Milestones: Having a baby belly that looks like a baby belly!  22 weeks...they went by really fast!  Here's to the next 18!

Twenty Weeks

Here's a picture update...This was me last Monday at 20 weeks...and the last picture was this Saturday at Karla's graduation...she's so funny :)  I'm getting bigger and bigger, and it seemed to have happened over night!  He is still very active, but definately getting stronger because those little kicks are definately kicks and not just flutters anymore :)  Oh and for the record, we have agreed that our baby boy will be named Adrian Alexander Pena!!

My heart is at peace again

Well I had my appointment with Margie today and I got a copy of the report Dr. Roberts sent over to her regarding the ultrasound.  From what she read and from what I read, there are two tiny cysts on the left side of the placenta.  One is 10 mm and the other is 12 mm...to put this in perspective, I found some pictures...

So each of the cysts are smaller than the diameter of a dime...from the way they looked up on the screen, they looked huge, but seeing it in writing at the actual size and seeing it on a ruler helps make things more clear.  I think that sometimes us as patients hear terminology from doctors that we don't clearly understand.  Also, he was explaining worst case scenearios with us, but I think it would have helped if he had a ruler and showed us just how small these cysts are to really make us understand how they really are of no harm.  Also when I saw them up on the screen, it looked like a big hole in the placenta, so thats where some confusion came in too.  The report says that there is no blood flow in the cysts, which is really good because that means they are not harming the placenta, but I completely understand that they are something to watch because if they do happen to grow bigger, then thats where complications come in because they will compromise the space in the uterus which could cause intrauterine growth restriction.  Now it all seems so clear why he is having us wait until the end of June to see us again because these cysts are really not that big and going and seeing him more frequently is completely unnecessary considering the size of the cysts because they may not grow much or at all.   Here's a website I found on Placental Cysts http://www.sonoworld.com/Client/Fetus/page.php?id=173

As far as the brain thing goes, the report noted, "fourth ventrical is communicating with the posterior fossa."  And anything that I can Google on that subject talks about cysts as well, but he never mentioned a cyst in the brain, just that the areas between the two had not closed yet.  But again, at the appointment he made it clear that he wanted to keep an eye on that area, but didn't seem too concerned at this point that it wouldn't resolve itself by the next appointment.  Margie said that she had one other woman recently that saw Dr. Roberts and he had communicated somthing similar to her regarding the brain scan, and when her baby was born, they did a CT and everything was fine...so I feel like I can relax now, and actually look forward to the ultrasound in June instead of dreading it like I have been. 

Of course I still have all the motherly concerns that come with pregnancy and I cannot wait to see him and hold him and really know and physically see that everything is okay, but I think that this has helped me relax a little and see that things aren't as horrific as I thought.

So on the the fun part...At our appointment today Margie went to find his heart on the doppler and he started moving all around and she had to "chase" him down to get a reading...it was 157 today, and she said that it had actually had started lower but when he started moving them it went to 157 which is a really good sign that his little heart is working perfectly how it should :)  Also, I am 20 weeks and 2 days today, and when she did the uterus measurement (measuring from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus) it was 24cm (usually the measurement corresponds to the # of weeks you are...so it should be 20cm)...so he is obviously growing, and growing well!!  He is very active and he kicks a lot...he is getting really strong and sometimes the kicks catch me by surprise because they come out of nowhere really hard lol

Sorry this is so long...but I wanted to share the news...I will post some pictures when I get home tonight :)

Thanks for reading, and thanks again so much for your prayers and keeping us in your thoughts!

Happy and Sad

First I would like to share pictures of our beautiful baby BOY!!! (haven't decided on a name yet) He is healthy and growing as he should...he measured at 19 weeks today, estimated weight of 9oz (over 1/2 pound!!). Heartrate of 142. Great looking heart & kidneys. He also did a couple somersaults for us too during the ultrasound :) Here he is...

Baby Face

Side profile, 4D...I think he has daddy's nose lol

Baby face 4D...he looks kinda funny in this one :)  That is his hand right by his face on the left

Baby Feet!!!  How adorable is that? :)

Proof....He's all boy!!!!!!

So now for the not so great news.  When looking at the placenta, the doctor pointed out to us that it is abnormally shaped, and it appears that there is an area that didn't grow in the center...he also mentioned something about a cyst, so I don't know whether the spots in the middle were cysts or an actual "hole" in the placenta.  The doctor seemed very optimistic about this, and that it will hopefully take care of itself with time, but there is always the possibility that it won't.  In that case, babies tend to have some growth restriction as well as not being able to tolerate labor as well, so constant monitoring would have to be done during labor, and I'm sure that it would ultimately end in c-section (worst case scenario).  Then the doctor also showed us a spot in the brain that he was slightly concerned about, although again he seemed very optimistic about it as well.  There is a spot in the brain that has not quite developed to the point where it should by now and there is some cerebral fluid that is still being "communicated" between areas which should be closed at this point...he stated that at a 10 week ultrasound scan, this would look normal, but at 19 weeks, it is something to keep an eye on. 

So while the first part of our appointment was extremely exciting, especially when my "motherly instincts" were validated as being true about Baby Pena's gender, the second part was not so fun to hear.  Dr. Roberts is a perinatologist that deals specifically with high risk pregnancies, so I feel like I am in the best care possible at this point.  I am soooo thankful that I chose to go to see him to get the full medical ultrasound scan performed because if I would have gone to just do a gender check with someone else, who knows if they would have found these things.  Our follow up ultrasound with Dr. Roberts is to be in 8-10 weeks, so end of June/ beginning of July. At that time he will be able to reassess the placenta and brain development and hopefully give us a clean bill of health.  Again, Dr. Roberts tried to emphasize that although it's not great news, he was pretty confident that there would be much improvement before our next visit.

Although I am saddened by news I never expected to hear, I am also feeling very optimistic that everything will turn out alright.  As I was reminded today, the Lord does not give us more than we can handle, so I must put my faith in the fact that everything has its purpose, and these things will only make you stronger if you just have faith.

I want to thank everyone for their support and prayers today as this was hard news for all of us, but we will get through and I'm sure we will be looking into the face of a healthy baby boy in September!  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  Love you all!

Before vs 18 weeks

Here's my before and "after" pictures.  The one on the left is right after I found out I was pregnant. I believe I was 4 weeks at the time.  The on the right is a picture of me tonight at 17 weeks 6 days. :)  I don't feel much bigger than when I started...and a lot of people still don't think I look pregnant, but I think it definately shows in these pictures lol...it looks like my butt has gotten a little bigger too (oh no!!!) looks like I'll be doing a lot of stairs when baby comes lol  Only 2 days until we find out!!  But waiting until Saturday to reveal!  I'm so excited to bake a pink or blue cake! I'm 95% sure it's a boy, but Manny thinks its a girl...man Monday is going to be the slowest day ever!!

Too Funny...my little bump

So last night I was laying on my side, watching tv in bed when all of a sudden I felt a lump move in my lower abdomen and it felt really hard...so I turned and layed on my back, and this is what I saw...lol too funny

Apparently laying right on my bladder is the comfortable spot because I have to go to the bathroom so often now! I have been feeling some kicking (and by kicking I mean bubble popping sensations) every so often since monday, but it's mainly when I'm laying down at night...although as I type this I felt it again.
This is so exciting!!  I'm in love :)

Here's another picture I found...just for fun...my 2 boys, they're so cute :)

Midwife Appt & scheduled baby's big gender debut!

So today was a pretty good day! I had my midwife appt today, and Manny couldn’t make it, but fortunately mom didn’t have to work until 1pm today, so she got to go instead. Worked out great! It was a good visit…baby is doing just fine…measuring right where (s)he should be…heart beat sounded strong…150 bpm this time.

Last night I swear that I felt the baby kick twice, and both times happened to be when Manny came into the bedroom and started talking…baby must love him already :) He doesn’t believe me that I felt it, and I may have been feeling something else, but I don’t think so…I think it was baby…either that or I am going crazy lol

The next great thing was that Margie (midwife) gave me the information for the perinatologist that she works with so that I could schedule the BIG ultrasound!!!! So of course I called as soon as I could this afternoon, and it is scheduled for April 27th at 8am!! I am so excited, and hopefully baby cooperates because I would hate to have to go back for a second one. Margie says that he is a great doctor and they have very great ultrasound machines, so I am hoping for a very clear picture…he will also do all of the measurements and all the other checks to make sure baby is healthy too. Of course I am excited about finding out the gender, but having a good bill of health was just as important…if not more important :) (I had the choice of an ultrasound technician that comes into her office because she has an ultrasound machine, but he charges $125 and she said the clarity of her machine isn’t as great as the doctor’s office…but I wanted to go to the doctor because 1) he takes my insurance (saving money) and 2) because I wanted more than just a gender check…I wanted a check on the health of the baby as well)

So so so excited!! I haven’t discussed this with Manny yet, but I’m not going to give him a choice lol, and I am going to throw a little dinner for our parents at our house…I am going to bake a cake and the inside will be either blue or pink, and the outside will be decorated to where you can’t tell the color inside. After dinner, we will cut the cake, and everyone will find out together what we’re having…for our family far away, I will send a text picture right away so they will know too.

After that, I will post a picture here for the rest of the world to see PINK or BLUE!!

Until next time...here's an update picture...16 weeks and counting...24 weeks to go!