30 Weeks

Yesterday Jordon and I had our 30 week appointment, and it was by far one of the hardest things we've encountered on this journey. I had to have an ultrasound done because I haven't gained much weight during the pregnancy and they wanted to check that Tyler was still growing alright despite that. Well, he was definitely a big boy. He was measuring far ahead of his due date (they dated him as being due the 12th instead of the 28th of July) and was estimated to weigh 3 lb 14oz.

Unfortunately, his head size was measuring >95th percentile for his gestational age. One issue with that is the possibility that he'll have a big head and I'll need a c-section (which this pro-natural birth mom-to-be would like to avoid), however there were other indications. The ventricles of his brain were measuring large as well, something called ventriculomegaly. Apparently they need to be less than 10 mm and Tyler's were measuring somewhere between 10-15mm (I'm not really sure the number but it classified his case as "moderate"). So this bought us a trip to UVA for a level 2 ultrasound.

The midwife explained what this all meant a little bit, but either she wasn't very familiar with it (it is rare, occurring in only 1 of 1000 babies) or she really just didn't know enough from the ultrasound we had at the office to say anything about our case because she didn't give us much to go on. Long story short we know that there is some swelling, but we don't know a definite on the degree until we get to the next ultrasound. They have no clue what is causing it until we get to UVA, but it COULD be an infection that I fought off but the baby couldn't fight, a virus, a genetic/chromosomal disease, or something that has no known origin. We won't know until we get to UVA where it is going, but it could either resolve on it's own, resolve to a lower classification (so mild ventriculomegaly), or it could progress. Progression (from what I've read on the internet... I know, bad idea) could mean the baby could get hydrocephalus (increased pressure in the brain from increasing fluid), or could have neurological problems. Even if it doesn't progress, there is the chance that he will have developmental delays because of the increase in pressure going on right now, we just don't know if that is something our baby is at risk for.

So it is just awful having all of these uncertainties hanging over our head. Part of me is just sure everything has to be okay because this is my perfect little boy and he's been just fine until now (And with that cute little foot up there, how could something be wrong with him)! The other part of me fears the worse and I'm not sure if I need to start preparing myself for the possibility that Tyler will have something wrong with him when he's born, or for his entire life. The worst part is that we finally had our appointment scheduled, and they couldn't get us in until next Friday (the 27th)! That is 8 long days of worrying. I am trying SO hard to just pray about it and have faith that everything will be just fine. The Bible says, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for..." so I am going to try my hardest to be sure that Tyler is okay!! And whatever comes of the situation, I will be stronger for it and be able to handle it.

Jordon has been the best husband ever through all of this... poor guy has to deal with my crying all the time and still manages to stay positive throughout it all. Even though most my prayers are aimed for Tyler, I still make sure to thank God for really hitting the jackpot when he gave me Jordon as a husband :-)

So if you all could keep our little man in your prayers, we would truly appreciate it. Please pray number 1, that he is okay, and whatever going on in his head resolves without any major complications. Also pray that whatever God's will be with this situation, Jordon and I will be able to handle it and will be stronger for it. Thanks for reading and we will keep you updated!

29 Weeks

This week has been thankfully much more uneventful than the last. Baby has been growing and growing, and as he grows his kicks and punches are getting stronger and stronger. Jordon and I are still amazed whenever we can see his foot clearly move under my skin... talk about crazy!

As I read what is happening inside my belly each week, I am amazed at the process of the growth of a human being. This week, Tyler is getting closer to being 3 lbs, and about the length of a loaf of bread! I can't believe I have that inside me! His brain has developed to the point where he can control his own breathing and body temperature. They say babies "practice" breathing in the womb by breathing in amniotic fluid (um... ew) and can get hiccups from swallowing all that fluid. I know my man must be getting plenty of practice because he gets hiccups all the time! I had always heard stories of babies getting hiccups in the womb, and always wondered what it would feel like, and the other day I felt little movements which I thought were tiny kicks, until they started happening every 2 seconds for a few minutes. I KNEW they had to be hiccups! And he gets them every few days now haha.

And hiccups aren't the only movement I've been feeling. He is still moving around like crazy. I feel kicks, punches, squirms, rolls, tosses and turns all the time in there. Sometimes I swear he is trying to do the worm because I'll feel a rolling/squirming that make my entire belly visibly move. I've read your should start doing "kick counts" twice a day, and count the # of times your little one moves in an hour... if you count less than 10 movements in an hours, there may be some sort of issue in there. Well, I've started to do them, but they only last about 10 minutes or less because he moves SO much and SO often. Jordon and I are a little frightened of how crazy this boy will be when he comes out and learns to walk haha.

Next Wednesday we have an appointment at the OB and an ultrasound to make sure Tyler is growing despite my lack of packing on the pounds. Jordon and I are excited that we get to SEE our little one again! And the next week we're doing a 3D/4D ultrasound, so we'll get to say hello again! We are lucky, lucky parents!

28 Weeks

Wow. What a week it has been. My first official week in the third trimester really showed no mercy.

Like I mentioned last week, I had an awful toothache, which I ended up seeing my dentist for on Friday. Turns out I probably needed a root canal, but made an appointment with an endodontist for Monday to confirm. Monday rolled around and I got a call from the dentist's office that they'd checked with my insurance, and at best they would pay $300 of my $1000 root canal if I had to get one. Plus, they didn't cover the crown that I would need to have put on the tooth afterward, which would run another $1050. Like I really have the money for that?? I went in for the consultation and found out I definitely needed to have a root canal. Or I could have the tooth pulled, but I'd probably need a bridge put in later, or an implant, which would probably end up being even more expensive. They also told me I could wait until the baby was born to get it done if I felt more comfortable that way, but I would be risking it getting worse or infected. I called my mother who graciously offered to pay for my endodontic adventures and decided to go ahead and schedule the procedure for May 19th.

Well, that night I started to have some contractions. They weren't painful, but my belly was super tight and my uterus was definitely contracting. I tried laying on my left side and drinking water like they say to do, but nothing would help. I was having them every 5-7 minutes consistantly so I finally called the midwife on-call at the hospital and she told me to come in. Well one round trip to Harrisonburg and 2 and a half hours later, we found out they were just Braxton Hicks contractions brought on by stress. Hmm I wonder where all that stress came from?? The good thing though was the baby's heart rate was just perfect the whole time and the nurse said she was surprised that such a young baby was responding so well to contractions. Go Tyler!

Anyways, Wednesday rolled around and I went into the dentist for a cleaning. Well, I had swelling around my root canal-doomed tooth, and the dentist said it was the beginning of an infection. They called my endodontist and moved my procedure up to the next day! Plus I had to go on antibiotics. Could the week get worse? Long story short, I had the root canal done yesterday and it actually went really well... I am terrified of the dentist but the guy was great and so nice!! Still cost an arm and a leg (and a couple extra fingers and toes at that), but at least I didn't feel any pain! Plus, although I can't take Ibuprofen for the pain/swelling as normally recommended (since I'm preggers), I'm not in much pain at all today.

We also had an OB appointment yesterday morning. I had to drink the 10 fl oz. of extra sugary orange Hi-C (well, that's what it tasted like) for my glucose tolerance test. Yuck . Then I got my blood drawn when I got into the office(the results came back and I'm gestational-diabetes-free!). I then went in and met with the midwife who was concerned because I had actually lost 1/2 lb since my last visit, so I've only gained 11 lbs overall. She scheduled us for an ultrasound to make sure baby is growing despite my lack of growth on the scale. However, according to the belly measurement, he's growing right on track, so I'm not too concerned. It was pretty funny because when the midwife was measuring my belly, Tyler was kicking and moving like a mad man! She got a little kick and was so surprised! Then he kept on kicking her hands! She loved it haha. I KNEW my baby moved more than the average boy ;-) They also decided to take more blood because I've been feeling extra tired recently, and they wanted to check to make sure my thyroid is still behaving.

So there is my long rant about this week. It definitely was not fun, but it is over and things are getting taken care of. We go back in 2 weeks for another appointment and the growth ultrasound, and then the next week we're doing a 3D/4D ultrasound! We are very excited to see our little boy 2 weeks in a row! We also have an appointment to pre-register at the hospital in 2 weeks, so it is just making everything that much more real!! I cannot wait until this little boy comes to meet us!!

27 Weeks

After 27 weeks of pregnancy, I’m entering my 28^th week, which means I’m officially entering my THIRD trimester! Boy, does time fly! I cannot believe I have been pregnant this long and how quickly the time has flown. It really makes me think back on everything I’ve experienced thus far in this journey:

Some of the worst parts about being pregnant:

1. morning sickness

2. fatigue

3. not being able to run at the intensity/duration I used to be able to

4. being grumpy at my poor husband all the time

5. not being able to fit into 95% of my clothes

6. the literal pain of my belly growing

Some of the best parts about being pregnant:

1. having a baby in my belly!

2. The first time I felt my boy move

3. Having an excuse to be lazy

4. Random strangers who smile at my belly

Some of the WEIRDEST things that have happened while pregnant:

1. I ate meat (just a little, and yes I regret it)

2. I get one or two sporadic hiccups whenever I’m hungry

3. I sleep at least 9 hours a night

4. I rarely crave sweets and will randomly crave beer (even though I almost never drank pre-pregnancy and definitely have not indulged!)

5. My nails are so long it looks like I have fake tips on them

So these past 27 weeks have really taught me how awful, exciting, and weird pregnancy can really be. Yes, I realize I have more “worst parts” than “best parts” and will admit, pregnancy isn’t quite as fun as I thought it would be, but I am realizing more and more everyday that the end product will be such a blessing that I will most likely forget all the bad parts of pregnancy (that is, until baby #2 makes their appearance!). I am going to be SO much more prepared the next time around!

Tyler has sure been busy this week. He is just moving all the time! Sometimes I wonder if it is abnormal to have a little one who moves SO much. He is about the size of an eggplant (just not quite so purple), over one foot “tall” from head to toe, and weighs about 2lbs. Maybe more, as I’ve been eating like it’s going out of style. Still right on track with my weight gain though… just about 12lbs so far (although personally I think my thighs say otherwise haha). And his little brain is developing rapidly and apparently his brain waves are firing like those of a newborn (or faster because my child is definitely a genius!).

I’ve been doing pretty well this week… I’m not as sore from everything growing as I have been for the past couple months, and I’ve been sleeping fairly well thanks to my Boppy. I even brought it to Roanoke with me when we went to visit family for Easter. I do, however, have an awful toothache and am terrified I may have an infection/need a root canal. Last time this tooth was sore, it was just from grinding my teeth in my sleep, so I’m hoping that’s the case this time. I’m scheduled to go to the dentist next Wednesday though, so if it hasn’t cleared up by then, we’ll see what my options are (can they do root canals on pregnant women??). PLEASE keep my poor tooth in your prayers!!!

I appreciate you all following me this far on my journey to mommyhood! Hang in there, we only have 13 weeks to go!

26 Weeks

My goodness does time fly. This week went by like it was nothing. It probably had something to do with the fact that I was so extremely busy! I subbed twice at the Christian school, had a tennis match all the way over at East Rockingham and finalized and submitted my Masters thesis!

Despite how busy I was, it was hard to forget just how pregnant I am. First of all, I have a beach ball in my belly, seriously. My belly is just huge. And in the last couple weeks, I feel like I've really been noticeably pregnant to everyone else as well. I'm not sure if its because I'm really that much bigger, or because it's warmer and I'm no longer wearing sweatshirts everyday, but I'm getting all of those "Oh, when are you due??!" questions from strangers all the time. I am enjoying the special, pregnant-lady treatment though. The other day I was in the Walmart and forgot to grab a cart, so I was heading toward the carts and this man who was almost inside the store was like "Oh here, take mine!!" I mean, it's not like I couldn't have walked that last 10 ft to get shopping cart, but it was pretty nice that he gave his cart up haha. And when we went to Chick-fil-a the other night after our tennis match, I went up to order an ice cream cone, and the lady behind the counter asked me how far along I was and what I was having etc, and then she comes out around the corner with my "small" ice cream cone which was the size of the Eiffel tower. I guess she thought that pregnant women need their ice cream!!

On the downside, I'm definitely feeling the side effects of that big belly. My back aches all the time! I realized how pregnant I was on Tuesday when I was watching the girls play tennis for hours, and during doubles the other team's coach came up and asked me when I was due, etc. I realized then that I had been standing with my hands on my lower back, belly pushed forward a bit, rocking back and forth. I'm one of those pregnant women!

Other than making mommy look like she has a beach ball in her belly, Tyler has been busy growing and developing. He weighs about 2 lbs now, and his lungs are just maturing away. Sometime this week his eyes will start to open (they have been fused shut for quite sometime now) so apparently he may respond to light changes in the womb. I've read if you shine a flashlight on your belly they baby may start to move because he sees it (Although he moves pretty constantly these days, so I doubt he needs much encouragement!). His hearing is also much more sensitive these days and his brain waves are working like crazy. I think he'll be a smart little boy!!

25 Weeks

I'm 25 weeks and still growing. Sometimes I can't imagine getting any bigger than I am, and the next day I wake up even larger. However, my pregnancy pillow is seriously from heaven, so at least I'm sleeping pretty well!

I had an OB appointment on Thursday which went well. My darling husband had to meet me at the office because he was working during the day, so I had to start off the appointment all by my lonesome. It was good though, because I got to hear the baby's heart rate (a strong 143 bpm), and then Jordon showed up about 30 seconds later, so the midwife let us hear the heart again so Jordon could hear. It was so funny because she put the doppler back on my belly, and the baby's heart rate had jumped so much! She said it was probably because Daddy had come in the room! I believe it ;-)

My next appointment will be in THREE weeks instead of four, which is pretty exciting, and then after that appointment I'll go every two weeks. And at my next appointment I get to do my glucose tolerance test (woo hoo!) and drink sugary orange drink and get my blood drawn one hour later. Fun, fun. I'll have to give an update about that experience!

Jordon and I kept our little baby nephew last night (as well as the little t monster) and it gave us a nice little taste of parenthood. Lucas was super fussy when he got here, but once he fell asleep around 11pm, he was OUT. We put him in the pack and play in our room to sleep, and he was fine, but anytime he made any little noise Jordon and I would jump out of bed! We both slept so lightly because he were so worried about the little guy! Then Jordon tried to feed him at 2am, but he was so passed out he only ate a little bit, so we went ahead and put him back in the pack and play. I woke up at 4:30, not because he was fussy, but because I just kept worrying about him. I ended up taking him to eat, which of course he only drank a tiny bit, and then passed out again (apparently he doesn't ever sleep through the night for his parents, but he was behaving for Aunt Mandi and Uncle Jordy!). Then I ended up falling asleep with him on the couch for the next 4 hours. It was amazing. Jord and I missed both of the kids so much when Luke picked them up this morning!!! If one night attached me to baby Lucas that much, I know it will take the jaws of life to separate me from Tyler for any amount of time once he comes.

Spaking of my little boy, Tyler had been active as ever this week. He really does LOVE tennis. I'm not sure if he knows tennis is going on, or he's just reacting to me stressing out from watching tennis, but I like to think he loves tennis already! His spine is almost fully formed this week (150 joints, 33 rings, and 1,000 ligaments), so he is getting ready to be a little tennis star! His nostrils are also opening up (hey have been closed until this point) so he can start practicing breathing through his nose now too. Busy week!

24 Weeks

Getting closer and closer! Little Tyler is about 1 foot long and weights anywhere between 1 and 1/3 lbs to 1 and 1/2 lbs. If I had to guess, I'd say the latter, because I've been eating like a professional competitive eater recently. A couple days ago I had a burrito (in my defense, it was fairly small) and then I decided I needed a second lunch, so I had a veggie burger haha. Two lunches? No big deal :-) I have been able exercise a lot though, so between being pregnant and active, I don't feel so bad about my growing-teenage-boy-sized appetite.

I've started to have a higher tolerance for exercise than I did a month ago... A few weeks ago I did a "long" run with my tennis girls and had on/off contractions for 15 minutes afterward, but then I did the same run with them a few days ago and I felt nothing! I also played an hour and half of tennis on Sunday without any belly pains or contractions (however my thighs were definitely killing me the next day from running after all those balls!). I've been using my Wii Fit a bunch, which is the perfect pregnancy workout... not too intense, a nice mix of cardio, yoga, and strength training, and I get to pick my exercises so I don't have to do anything I know I shouldn't be. I wish I had a video of me doing it though, because my belly is just huge and it is the funniest thing to see. Have you ever watched a pregnant lady do the hula hoop workout on wii fit? I could probably make some money on a video like that!

Like I said, my belly is just growing and growing! All my workout shirts seem to be failing in the covering-my-tummy department. Thankfully, I just got a whole new maternity wardrobe thanks to SR becoming a mommy and no longer needing her big in the belly clothes. Today I took out all the clothes from my closet that will inevitably be too small for me to be wearing while this pregnant, and made room for all of the maternity stuff I have acquired. Brand new wardrobe? Check.

Yesterday I had to worst back pain of my life. I believe it's from my sleeping positions (because I wake up 10 times a night uncomfortable), so darling husband and I decided it was time to invest in a pregnancy pillow. Jordon stopped by the Target on his way home from Bridgewater yesterday, and dropped $50 on a Boppy total body pillow. Ridiculous amount to spend in a pillow, but after sleeping so well last night, I firmly believe it is one of the best investments we've ever made. This bad boy starts at the top with a curve so the head and back of the neck is supported, continues down the front of the body, cradling the belly, then continues to curve between the legs all the way to the back, completely supporting the hips. Yes, it's huge, but I love it. Yay for pregnancy pillows!

As for my dear little baby boy, he is twisting and moving all about all the time. This week and during the weeks to come is the time for him to start gaining all that subcutaneous fat, so his body will plump out and he'll start to look less like a little skeleton and a little more like a chubby baby. His lungs are maturing, meaning that if for some reason he was born prematurely, he'd have a chance of survival that only will go up in the following weeks. Reading all of this information about his development really makes it sink in that I have a CHILD in there and he is going to be in my arms SO SOON! It is wild to think about. I continue to pray everyday that he is growing healthy and strong, and I hope you all will continue to pray for us as well!