Ultrasound Day

If the pink ticker below doesn't give it away... we're having a GIRL! It was very exciting to find out! I guess my intuition was correct, I really believed it was a girl since we found out I was pregnant.

Well to say the least Jeromey and I were both overwhelmed with emotions on this day. It was almost as if the reality of actually having the baby set right in, not that it didn't before, but this experience today made it that much more real.
We went to a place called XDI Ultrasound (http://xdiultrasound.com/). Everything checked out ok, 10 fingers and 10 toes. Her heart beat was strong at 160 beats/minute. The technician took all sorts of measurements and we were on our way out with a ton of pictures, DVD, VHS, and CD-ROM of the whole 45 minute appointment captured. Quite amazing.

It started out as a regular Ultrasound, but after he told us the sex of the baby, and was done taking all sorts of important measurements and making notes, we switched to 3D and 4D and could see the baby's face. We were told she was wide awake and we saw her swallow fluid, move around, kick and even yawn. My due date got moved to December 15th as well. Less than 20 weeks to go and we can't wait to meet her!

Here is a 4D picture of the face and another B&W one

Week 19 and Week 20 (5 Months)

Well we took the baby to Cancun, and had a fun time with our friends! Our last vacation before the baby is born.

Ultrasound tomorrow! Time is flying by, 20 weeks already and I am 1/2 way there.

Hopefully the baby will cooperate and I'll find out if it's a boy or girl and if not Jeromey will be excited since he wants it to be a surprise.

The baby is kicking now, I can definitely feel the little movements especially in the evening time, it's very gentle. In just a few weeks Jeromey might be able to feel it too. My belly has grown quite a bit. Here is the latest picture.

Week 19 Development

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, 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 6 million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

Week 20 Development

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She'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 her 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 her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her 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 her digestive system. She'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 her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery)

Week 17 and Week 18

We're off to Cancun tomorrow! I am super excited for a chance to get away for a few days and relax. The last few weeks have definitely been intense, an emotional roller coaster. I should have known that selling and buying a house is not going to be an easy task. We are finally in escrow for the condo and things are moving right along, and I am sure we'll soon be able to find a home that we love, where this little baby will grow to be very happy. Other than the "house stress", I've been feeling pretty good. On the weekends I get a lower back ache and that's not very pleasant, it doesn't really go away until I go to sleep at night and wake up the next morning. My body is used to sitting all day Monday - Friday, so when I am up doing a million things over the weekend, it really seems to take a toll on me, I get exhausted! I still have not gained any weight, but I can sure eat! My belly has grown soo much, I will try and take another picture soon to compare with the last one I took at week 13.

Week 17 Development:
Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.

Week 18 Development:
Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Week 16

We had another appointment yesterday. It was supposed to be in another 4 days but I had to call the doctor in the morning because I got really anxious and needed some sort of confirmation that everything was ok. I had felt the baby moving, also described as "flutter" or "quickening" for a good week, and then last week it stopped, and I haven't felt anything since. I moved in positions that earlier made the baby move, I had a full stomach and still nothing. I tried not to worry and let it go to my head since it is still super early to even feel anything, but after 3 or 4 days or so I just couldn't stand it anymore, so after I called the office and described what was going on, they moved my appointment so I can come and make sure the heart beat is still strong, and to our relief it was! The doc made fun of me and said that it's too early to feel it, and I probably felt a burrito in there implying that it was just indigestion or something of that sort. I am still convinced that it wasn't but, oh well as long as things are ok.

While getting some paperwork for the labs and my ultrasound (which is now scheduled for July 30th), Jeromey kept joking w/the doctor and said something about his bad swing to the right when he played golf last Friday and thinking of Dr. Lim who is an avid golfer, to which the doctor didn't hesitate and said you know your wife will go into labor and she will not be getting an epidural... it was pretty funny. Then Jeromey quickly decided to fix the situation by writing him an apology email from the Blackberry, to which the doc replied with "apology accepted, but she still might not be getting an epidural". I think I am going to have to leave Jeromey at home next time...


Week 16 Development:

At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.