23w2d - 4D ultrasounds *UPDATED*

I hope these come out alright. I tried using the blogger video upload for the first one but it took FOREVER and was making me crazy. So the rest are on youtube, I didn't link to all of them, but if you go and choose my user you can look at any of them. Some came out better than others, and it looks like we have daddy's nose!

I think I like working for a medical device company! This was what I did at work yesterday and I will have another on Thursday morning.











***I forgot to add that while the scanning was occuring, the man was measuring the head. The diameter of the head (ear to ear) is 6.1 cm. Apparently this is larger than our dates would suggest. He felt that we were actually at 24w6d, I tried to explain that we are pretty certain of our dates, but he was stubborn. I didn't want to explain IVF and how it all works but how did this stranger expect to know more about my body than I do?

I told a woman I work with the story and her response is that you can be off by a week or more in either direction. I explained again that we were certain about our dates, and implied that with a husband who travels often for work this calculation becomes easier, but still she believes we might be further along too.

Does it not occur to anyone that some people have larger heads (both myself and H included) than average? That by having a dr, a petri dish, and a scheduled appointment, one can be fairly certain of the T=0 timeframe? So odd.

22w3d, Update to previous post

I tried to add this as an update, but I did something wrong so I am creating a new post.

Sorry, but here is a photo to make up for it.

This is a profile shot, with hands over the nugget's face:

And this is a shot of the nugget's foot. Which is horrifyingly similar to its father's foot, flat and wide.

I do believe that I am incubating a lizard though. Everyone told me that you run hot during pregnancy, which is alright with me since I run pretty warm most of the time anyway. Well I have been cold for months. When H puts his hand on my belly it is frequently cold to the touch. I think this nugget is a heat sink. No matter how much heat I put in, it sucks it all up.

22w2d

Just at the start of the sixth month and had another U/S.  Our place does two of the 'survey' ultrasounds, where they measure everything and tell you where your risk levels are.  We got another very good result.  Our nugget is exactly the right size and has none of the indicators for an issue.

 

This was very good news, especially since this might be the last appointment H can come to with me for a while.  He is so crazy busy at work and each appointment is half a day.  I understand, and am glad he got to see another U/S before he wasn't able to come anymore.

 

This is such a weird time in the pregnancy.  I am looking pregnant most of the time.  Occasionally someone looks at me like they are trying to figure it out, whether I am fat or pregnant, but mostly people are aware that I am pregnant.

 

For the first several months it was so anxiety inducing.  Things moved so quickly but everyday was something new to worry about.  Right now I am sort of coasting.  I know the end is going to be crazy but still I can't really get into doing stuff like remodeling a nursery that we aren't going to have furniture in for 2+ months.  We have been talking about a few design options, but that is it. 
 

I have started some registries and a list of things I would like to accomplish, but nothing feels like a crazy race right now, which is so weird after 3 years of hurry up and now we are just waiting. 

 

The only significant changes I am feeling/seeing are the real tightening of my belly.  It really feels like there is a lot of pulling going on and sometimes it gets so tight and tense.  Last night in bed the bump was sticking straight up.  It was a little uncomfortable, but still funny. 

 

I left our U/S pics at home today, so I will have to bring them with me to work tomorrow to post.  I will try to scan and post them tomorrow.

21w3d, Welcome to the Club

I had been worried as I hadn't felt any movement up till almost 21w.  I thought 20w was pretty normal and I was hoping to be 'normal'.  Finally though on 20w6d, (deadlines people, what would we accomplish without deadlines!!) I felt the first certain push.  What was really nice was that it was the day before my 35th birthday.  Maybe it was a little present from the nugget?

 

Either way it made me feel better.  Then two nights ago I had a bowl of ice cream and the nugget seemed to enjoy the buzz.

 

This morning was the big change though.  H was up early for work and I was awake and feeling a little odd.  I kept rolling over and my belly was hurting a little, mostly on the left side.  Not a big deal, just achy.  So I rolled onto my back and waited, there was a definite pushing/kicking feeling.  I put my hand on it and there were big motions!  I called H in to the room and he put his hand on my belly.  The biggest push happened about 30 seconds later.  It was enough to bounce his hand a little. 

 

It was an incredible morning. 

 

Now that I am fairly obviously showing, depending on the outfit, people talk to me about pregnancy, babies, blah blah blah.  It is like finally being inducted into a club that I knew existed but no one would admit to.  It is really nice to be 'accepted' but it does feel a little like fraud.  I feel like I got in under false circumstances.  I don't have the puppies and rainbows feeling that everyone else seems to have about pregnancy.  I feel much better than I did the first 5 months, but still, I keep expecting something unpleasant to occur.

 

I think I have almost broken H about knowing the gender.  We need to go shopping for some stuff for a registry and I looked around the other night.  I saw these cute outfit sets from Tar-jhay.  There was a set for each gender with a couple sleepers, onesies, hat and bib.  So cute.  The alternate, non-gendered option, was a pack of white onesies.  Boring.  I am hoping that he will want to know soon so we can pick out cute, appropriate stuff. 

20w2d

Things are moving forward faster than I am quite ready to handle. I finally told everyone in the family and at work. Now that everyone knows, everyone wants to discuss, everything. I am happy to finally be able to talk about stuff but it feels so wrong, so confusing to talk about every little thing.

Of course I tell you most everything, but that somehow feels different. The people who read this know what path we have taken to get here and understand what we have gone through. Everyone who knows now just thinks that I just accidentally fell down pregnant one day. Not after 3 years of very directed activity.

H is super protective of me now. He doesn't really want me going to work in case someone hits me in the stomach. I don't precisely know how that would occur, but he fears that it will. A coworker believes it is because he is 'proud of what he has done', and that may be a little bit of truth but mostly I think he knows what we both went through to get here and doesn't want anything to take it away from us.

I promised photographic evidence and have had no luck getting into blogger. I don't use this account regularly and always forget the password so any time I want to do a more complicated post I have to figure out passwords, track down info. It is always a pain, but I am in today, so I am going to try to get up to date.

Today are pics of the belly growing. Unfortunately H scanned the ultrasounds to a different computer that I can't see from my laptop, so I will have to post those separately.

To me I was seeing big changes between the first 3 or 4 pics, but the photos don't show what I saw in the mirror. The last change though is really the noticeable one. We call it the delta. Basically it is the change I see each morning. I go to bed not really pregnant, but wake up larger and fatter. It is kind of amazing, in a really weird way.