Ready to Vote?

Vote for our baby's name!

If that link doesn't work for you, go to my home page and click on where it says to vote :) A pop-up should come up. And the third way to vote, is to simply go to the page I created to vote from! lol Any way you do it is fine by me and will be recorded :D I don't see myself closing it until we have officially named our son! hehe

You can vote daily if you so desire and you can make multiple selections.

Thanks!

Just Wanted To Say

How cool it is to feel this baby moving! hehehe

I'm really enjoying this... and savoring it as it is probably my last one.

Here's a picture of Ursula loving up on my 'baby belly' :) She's always kissing and hugging my belly.

I have told her that once the baby is born, I'll have more milk and she giggles :) hehehe Guess I'll be nursing two children come December. Oh well... no biggie. Its not like Ursula nurses all day. She usually only nurses to sleep; and then sometimes not even then. She might nurse twice a day.

Oh, please ignore the beautiful stretch marks... (yes, said sarcasticly)!

I'm still thinking of names. I know Jeremy likes Wyatt. I do too and I'm the one that mentioned it to him in the first place, but, it just doesn't 'go' with our girls' names... Elijah would fit pretty much perfectly... 3 syllables, 'a' sound at the end, and 'l' in there.

22 Weeks Today

Only one more week until I'm 6 mths along :D

Not much to say... lol Well, its really, really, really hot outside, usually... intolerable most times...

From my weekly pregnancy email:

This week your growing baby measures about 7½" from crown to rump and weighs slightly more than 12 ounces (350 grams). Also at this point, baby's eyelids and eyebrows are well developed and his fingernails have grown to cover the fingertips.

And from another weekly pregnancy email:

Brow know-how. As if concentrating on a tricky math problem, your clever baby can furrow his brow. And now he's actually getting eyebrows to do it with! These fine hairs, like the hair on his scalp, don't contain any pigment yet—they're pure white. His eyelids are completely developed too, though they're fused shut until about 28 weeks.

Womb workout. "Waving my arms and legs is fun!" Jumping jacks may be your baby's favorite activity these days. Now that his arms and legs have reached their final proportions (but not their final size), he's exercising them vigorously—kicking, flexing, and clasping his hands. Speaking of his hands, fingernails now completely cover his fingertips, just as yours do. And they keep growing. In fact, you may need to trim your baby's nails right after he's born so he doesn't scratch himself.

Prepare for padding. Even though your baby measures more than 9.5 inches now, he still doesn't weigh much—about 13 ounces. At this point, he has only 1 percent body fat. But from here on out, he'll be adding layers of fat, which will help him to produce and retain body heat. Your little one's fat is a lot like the kind you're putting on during pregnancy. It's called brown fat and is readily turned into energy to keep both of you on an even keel.

Where Is Thumbkin?

The baby has found his thumb and seems to be smiling about it. Hand to mouth comfort habits may be fully developed at birth. Sucking blisters can be seen often on thumbs, fingers, or lips of newborns.

21 Weeks

My mom brought me to my prenatal today, Ursula came along. Soleil and Calista stayed with Jeremy, who stayed home today due to being 'flashed' 3 times yesterday (welding terms).

I brought along my ultrasound photos, and all the nurses and midwife all agreed that it was indeed a boy :D hehe

My weight is 158.
Blood pressure is 110/60.
Baby's heartbeat is 146 bpm.

Melanie, my midwife, let Ursula hold the doppler, squeeze the gel, and try to find the heartbeat :) She's really cool about my kids coming along for the visits :)

Halfway There! 20 Weeks

Your Baby
This week marks the halfway point in your baby's development. And right around now, nature gives her a spa treatment--a white, cream-cheesy moisturizer called vernix coats every inch of her skin, keeping it smooth and wrinkle-free for the next 20 weeks as she floats in a warm bath of amniotic fluid. She'll still be covered in vernix when she's born; your doctor or midwife will wipe it off a few moments after birth, revealing skin that's (you guessed it) baby soft.

How your baby's growing:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to his bottom -- known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. (This is because a baby's legs are curled up against his torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.) A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats his entire body to protect his skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)

Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).

• Note: Experts say every baby develops differently -- even in the womb. This developmental information is designed to give you a general idea of how your baby is growing.

How your life’s changing:

You've made it to the halfway mark -- Congratulations! The top of your uterus is at the level of your belly button now, and you've likely gained about 10 pounds. Expect to gain an average of about another pound each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.) Make sure you're getting enough iron, a mineral that's used primarily to make hemoglobin (the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen). During pregnancy, your body needs more iron for your developing baby and the placenta, and to keep up with your expanding blood volume. Iron-rich foods include lean red meat, poultry, fish, lentils and other legumes, spinach, and iron-fortified cereals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I hope I've only gained 10 lbs... I don't think my hips have gotten any bigger from my last month's midwife appointment... so, I'm hoping I'm only gaining in the belly from now on!

I've been feeling more and more movements from my little boy :D I love it!

19 Weeks 4 days

Picture of me... make-up, hair fixed, and all :)

Two more pictures of me... all dressed up... Still look way too heavy for just being 5 mths along... but, of course, I know I will definitely lose all baby weight after the baby's born.

The dress isn't even a maternity dress... it belongs to my sister, Angele! lol But, I didn't have anything else to wear. I went with my sister, Aimee, to her 20 yr class reunion since her dh didn't come down with her from Georgia. I felt fat there! If I had had any inkling that I was gonna need a dress or dressy clothes, I would have definitely brought something from my house!

Week 19

I'm feeling the baby more and more! So exciting!

From American Baby:

Your Baby
Chances are you'll have a mid-pregnancy ultrasound (also called a sonogram) between weeks 18 and 22 to monitor fetal development. Be sure to bring your partner along--you'll both be amazed as your little one kicks, boxes, and even somersaults for the camera. Based on the baby's size, your doctor or midwife will be able to confirm or adjust your due date. Plus, you'll get photographic printouts to take home for friends and family. Save a couple for the baby book--these fuzzy, black-and-white snapshots are your child's very first baby pictures!

From BabyCenter:

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces (*woohoo, my baby boy is 10oz! hehehe*), and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing six million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

• Note: Experts say every baby develops differently — even in the womb. This developmental information is designed to give you a general idea of how your baby is growing.

How your life's changing: You're just a week shy of the halfway mark. You may notice some achiness in your lower abdomen (perhaps extending to your groin) or even a quick, sharp, stabbing pain on one or both sides, especially when you change position or at the end of an active day. This is round ligament pain, and it's caused by the stretching of the muscles and ligaments that support your growing uterus. It's nothing to be alarmed about, but if the pain continues even when you're resting or becomes persistent and severe, call your practitioner.

You may also have noticed some skin changes lately. Are the palms of your hands red? Nothing to worry about — it's from increased estrogen. Patches of darkened skin are also common during pregnancy. When they show up around your upper lip, upper cheeks and forehead, they're called chloasma, or the "mask of pregnancy." You may see these splotches on your arms or other areas that have been exposed to the sun. Your nipples, freckles, scars, underarms, inner thighs, and vulva may also darken during pregnancy. That darkened line running from your belly button to your pubic bone is called the linea nigra, or "dark line." All of this darkening is due to a temporary increase in melanin, the substance that colors your hair, skin, and eyes. For most women, these darkened spots will fade shortly after delivery. In the meantime, protect yourself from the sun, which intensifies the pigment changes. Cover up, wear a brimmed hat, and use sunscreen when you're outdoors. And if you're self-conscious about your "mask," a little concealing makeup can work wonders.

18 Weeks 6 Days

I figured that since I wore make-up and decent clothes today, I'd get a couple of pictures taken :D I gave Calista the camera... and of course, as always, Ursula had to get in the pic with me :D

I'm 19 wks tomorrow... duh :D

OH, this is one of the shirts I found at Goodwill for $2.49! Its Old Navy.

And as always, click on the pictures to see them bigger.

Its A Boy!!!

And we are so excited!!! Jeremy was tearing up when he saw the baby's genitals on the screen! hehehe We both had a feeling that we were going to have a son this time; now we have verification. Anyways, the ultrasound tech checked everything out and happily, everything is just fine! She said the baby weighs 10 oz (although, I've heard that can easily be off) and put my due date as December 25th. Being that that's only 2 days difference, they won't change my due date from the 27th. So far, his name is Wyatt :D