33 weeks 2 days

33 weeks: By the end of this week, Avery could be around 5 lbs and 20 inches long. She is baby-sized! It's amazing to think even if she was born now she would be decently sized. It's hard not to imagine her peanut-sized! Not much to report in growth and development. She is differentiating light and dark more and her fingernails my have reached the ends of her fingers by now but otherwise she is just steadily growing! She can gain up to a half a pound a week from here on out.

Cravings/Aversions: I am really into red grapes these days. I also had a craving for Cajun food recently. Otherwise nothing new to note. I guess I'm reaching the stage of having very little room left for my stomach because on several occasions I've been unable to finish a light meal and have ended up very uncomfortable and sick. It should be no big deal for me to eat a chicken sandwich and yet I could only manage half the other day at chick-fil-a. I guess I'll have to start eating smaller, more frequent meals. Which is. . . annoying. I don't have time for that.

Symptoms: I am having very mild swelling in my fingers now but I'm still able to wear my wedding ring. I'm hoping I don't reach the point of having to leave it off. I have nausea after meals sometimes now as I mentioned above. I am very tired all the time but often have insomnia at bedtime. I can often fall asleep at bedtime but wake up in the middle of the night and find myself unable to get back to sleep. I am hot all the time. We keep our house relatively cool but there are times I find myself sweating just sitting. I guess this is preview of what menopause will be like!

News this week: We had a little excitement recently. I had a day that I wasn't really feeling our little girl move. She has her lazy days but generally I feel her at least a few times. On this particular day I hadn't felt her at all so that evening I drank a big glass of orange juice and laid down to try to get her to move. No luck so we went over to the hospital to get checked out. The doctor had advised that a decrease in movement is worrisome and reason enough to make a trip to L&D. So we went and got hooked up to the monitors. Avery looked good. My blood pressure was good. But I was contracting every 2 minutes! I didn't even know it. Once I relaxed some I could feel the contractions but it was odd to know they were coming so frequently and I hadn't realized. Thankfully I was not dilated at all and after relaxing in bed for awhile they tapered off. Guess this mama needs to slow down some! I have noticed Braxton hicks here and there when I'm really busy or worn out. Luckily nothing terribly regular (that I know of!) yet. We had a 4d ultrasound at 32 weeks and it was an amazing experience! I will try to attach some pictures at the end of this post. Our little girl is BEAUTIFUL!!! I am so in love. There is nothing like seeing the movements I've been feeling for months. I will definitely recommend the experience to anyone considering it in the future. Coming up this week we start some new testing. We will be doing weekly non-stress tests and biophysical profiles. I believe the non-stress test is similar to what I experienced at L&D the other day. I think I'll spend a little time on the monitors just making sure mom and baby are doing ok. I think the main idea is to make sure baby is still thriving in there and not under too much stress. I don't know much about the biophysical profile. From what google tells me, it accompanies the above and looks at fetal movement and amniotic fluid level. They are able to score the baby on a scale and the score gives an indicator of how well the baby is doing or if they may need to be delivered. I'm guessing that because my hypertension can cause some strain on the placenta which in turn would put stress on the baby this is their way of making sure that hasn't happened yet. I should know more after this week. I have my first testing tomorrow and see the doctor Wednesday. The countdown has begun! This baby is coming sometime in the next 6 weeks or so! I think the plan is still to induce at 39 weeks if she doesn't come before then. Things are getting real!

31 weeks 1 day

31 weeks: Baby Avery is just working on growing and developing skills to use when she arrives at this point. She is practicing swallowing, breathing, kicking, and sucking. She should be about 4 lbs and 19 inches long but who knows how big she really is as she was 3.3 lbs 3 weeks ago?

Cravings/Aversions: Still craving St Louis style pizza. I guess I didn't eat my fill while I was there. I have been eating a lot of fruit which is at least a healthy craving. I'm not really interested in chicken recently. I hope that doesn't last long. All through this pregnancy (and before really) I have loved chick-fil-a and popeyes. Anything chicken, or better yet, spicy chicken made me a happy mama. But today I was looking for some lunch and the thought of chicken was gross. I still hate the smell of coconut but I don't mind the taste. I had an ocean water from sonic for lunch and loved it. The lid on the cup kept me from smelling it.

Symptoms: I think I've hit the stage of being hugely uncomfortable. I am having lots of pain in my pelvis. I am guessing it is stretching but by the end of a long day at work it is hard to walk. My leg cramps are getting more and more severe and they are an almost nightly occurrence. I feel bad for Carl because I think I'm pretty grouchy lately. It is just hard feeling miserable so frequently. I feel better today since I got some good sleep and I've been able to stay off my feet. But I'm sure next week, by Friday, I'll be super angry again. (Sorry Carl!) On the positive side of things, I love feeling this little girl move. I think I will miss it when she's born. I am never alone, I always have my little girl with me and every movement is a reminder. As of right now I can tell she is not head-down because I can feel her butting her head up under my ribs on my right side and I can often feel her feet kicking me over by my left hip. She is not interested in being upside-down right now and I don't blame her!

News this week: Avery had her first flight! We went to St Louis to see my family. It was amazing to see everyone and I was surprised how comforting it was to be around everyone. I would love to be pregnant and live close to home. I can only imagine how nice it would be to be able to shop with my mom or invite everyone over to see the latest ultrasound pictures. I got a huge surprise when I thought I was meeting my family to head out for ice cream and instead walked into my own baby shower. I was so incredibly touched that my mom, brother, and grandma planned one for me. I did not expect it and was genuinely shocked. I think it is incredibly sweet that my brother played such a big role in the planning. Not all young men will plan a baby shower for their sister. I got lucky to have such an incredible brother. And an incredible uncle for Avery. I know he already loves her and that is such a blessing. I got to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a very long time. There was yummy food, Jim created a playlist of all my favorite childhood songs, and there were lots of thoughtful gifts for Avery. My family requested that instead of a card, everyone bring a book for Avery's library so we got a nice selection of books to read to her when she arrives. Such a cute idea. I am so very lucky to have such a great family and that they went to a great amount of trouble to put together a shower for me. I was in town for just a short amount of time and it was quite a lot of work to fit this into everyone's busy schedule. We were also lucky enough to get tot celebrate both Carl's and my grandma's birthdays while in town. We are getting ready for another baby shower tomorrow. This time it is with Carl's family and friends. I'm excited to see everyone and get to celebrate Avery again. I feel incredibly happy that Carl is having this experience with me. I'm sure not too long ago, neither of us imagined a baby in our futures. I think Carl is going to be such a great dad and I am so happy that I get to be the one to make him one. Avery will be a very loved little girl. I am excited for him to get to celebrate with his family. We are both so blessed to be surrounded by people who support and love us.
I have a few more pictures to share since the last post:

Here is my 29 week picture:

 

Here is my 31 week picture:

 

We placed another decal over Avery's changing table/dresser:

 

We have quite a stash of cloth diapers thanks to help  from Carl's parents. Here is her drawer full of diapers:

28 weeks 3 days

28 weeks: Avery should be the size of a small cabbage right now and weigh between 1.5 and 2.5 lbs. At this point she is working on packing on the fat. She should appear less wrinkled as her fat stores build and she will start looking like the chubby babies we are used to in the coming weeks. Her site is improving so she can sense changes in light. Her lungs are now mature enough she could potentially breathe on her own.

Cravings/Aversions: I am craving bologna sandwiches! I Saturday morning I ate one for breakfast. I really shouldn't even be eating bologna but I can't help it! I wouldn't call pizza an aversion but strangely, I normally love pizza and I have no desire to eat it right now. I have slowed down on sweets too. I normally love candy and I still feel like I want candy but when I try to figure out what kind, nothing sounds good. I was also craving fried chicken and orange juice recently but I've had both and now I feel better. The only craving that's hung around is the bologna.

Symptoms: Heartburn got to the point of misery so I've started on a daily zantac and feel much better. I still keep my tums in my purse just in case but I only use them rarely now. The crazy exhaustion from the first trimester seems to be coming back. I am worn out a lot because I don't sleep well. I wake up around 3 or 4 most mornings and then toss and turn. Unfortunately, I think I also wake Carl up.  I guess we are practicing for when she arrives. My leg cramps have gotten worse. I have been getting Charlie horses since the beginning but they have been mild until now. Now they make me jump out of the bed. Imagine waking up to extreme pain in your calf, trying to untangle from the blankets, roll over with a beach ball for a belly, and get out of bed to massage your leg and try break the cramp. No easy task. Probably funny to watch though. Summer time in Houston is not kind to a pregnant lady. I feel like once I get hot, I have a very hard time cooling down.

News this week: I saw my doctor last week and expressed some concern because I wasn't feeling Avery move much. I had been seeing my stomach jump and move and then it seemed to dwindle to the point I was only feeling her maybe once a day. The doctor ordered an ultrasound because with my hypertension I'm at risk for low amniotic fluid levels. Low levels would cause decreased movement.  Either that or it could be a lazy baby. I was concerned and not excited to have to wait until today to see how Avery was doing. Well ever since the doctor called her lazy my little girl has been working to prove her wrong. She's been moving and grooving several times a day. We had our childbirth class on Saturday and she kept bumping and kicking Carl's hand while it was on my belly. The ultrasound was today and according to the sonographer, she has plenty of fluid. She is also still a girl. And she's a big girl! She is 3.3 lbs. I guess at her size she is measuring at 30 weeks rather than 28. I don't think they change due dates at this stage of pregnancy because babies grow at different rates at this point but I guess she is about the size of a baby due October 27, rather than November 8. So who knows, maybe she will surprise us and get here before Halloween!

I haven't posted any pictures lately so here are a few:

Here is Avery today. Can you see her face? Her eyes and her little button nose?!

26 weeks!

26 weeks: The fruit and veggie comparisons are getting a bit wacky but evidently she is about the size of a head of lettuce. She is about 2 lbs and 15 inches long so I'm guessing she is closer to the weight of a head of lettuce rather than the actual size. She is hearing more and more and can probably recognize the sound of mine and Carl's voices. I told Carl he needs to start singing to her! Lol. Her eyes can distinguish light now and I've read that if I shine a flashlight at my belly she might kick or move away from it but so far no luck with that. My uterus is the size of a basketball now. Prior to the pregnancy it was the size of a clenched fist so it's done a lot of stretching. So those of you who have indirectly called me fat (you know who you are) imagine your current body and then imagine a basketball inside of it. Anyone is going to be a little fat, right?

Cravings/Aversions: Well, I have had a long-standing craving for sweet and sour chicken but after ordering a dinner sized portion for myself and eating it for 3 meals, I think I've cured it. I love yoohoo. Other than that, I can't say there is anything else that comes to mind. Carl and I have been unfortunate to have a stomach bug that just won't go away so my appetite has been hit or miss.

Symptoms: My pelvis is breaking! But seriously, it feels like this baby must be jumping on it. Heartburn is crazy again. I've had some weird moments of insomnia. If it's not having a hard time falling asleep, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and then am wide awake for about an hour before I fall back asleep. No swelling so far which I'm super happy about. I thought being on my feet all day would mean that my feet would barely fit into my shoes but I only have mild swelling in my fingers so far and that could just be from the heat. My blood pressure is still good so I'm very thankful for that. Avery is still kicking but it seems like she's flipped. I used to feel and see her kicks up near my belly button (still an innie!) but now they are low and more internal. I am 95% sure she is breech right now but it doesn't matter this early on. My doctor's appointments have been every 2 weeks for awhile now and I am assuming they will continue that way until close to the end. This is the stage in which other people without any risk factors start seeing their doctor every 2 weeks. Did my 1 hour glucose test on Wednesday and am waiting to hear results. I'm hoping I hear Monday. The stomach bug I mentioned above seems to be hitting me hard and sticking around a long time and my OB says that's to be expected since I'm pregnant. She says baby is fine even if mom is miserable. I would not recommend this. As I said I have days that it is hard to eat and last night I woke up out of a dead sleep with stomach pain. I just want to feel good!

News this week: We have a childbirth class coming up! We were supposed to do it in July but we were the only ones signed up so they cancelled the class. I'm looking forward to the information and also to touring the labor and delivery unit. I just want to see what to expect. I also want to find out when the recommend you pre-register and how to go about doing that. I'm a planner and I want to get things done. We are also getting excited about our trip to St Louis for Labor Day. Hoping to catch up with a lot of people and eat a lot of delicious food. We will get to celebrate my grandma's and Carl's birthday's while there which will be fun. I think it will be weird for my family and friends to see me pregnant and I'm interested to see how everyone reacts. Hopefully we will make some decisions about daycare and a pediatrician soon too. Just over 3 months until she gets here! We will get to choose her birthday sometime near the beginning of October. I will be induced about a week earlier so it's strange to think we will get to choose her day. Can't wait! I'm going to have a daughter! I still can't believe it.

23 weeks 3 days

23 weeks: She is the size of an ear of corn and weighs about 1.5 pounds. Her hair is growing darker and her fingernails are almost fully formed. Her lungs should be almost fully formed but not yet ready to function. By week 24, though, she will be considered a viable baby! Still, we hope she stays in an "bakes" for many more weeks to come!

Cravings/Aversions: Still crab Rangoon; specifically wanting cold ones at breakfast time. Also had a big craving for sweet and sour chicken last week so Carl took me out and I got a huge portion that lasted 2 meals! As my trip to St Louis approaches, I am craving things that I know I can get there: Lion's Choice roast beef sandwiches, Imos pizza and toasted ravioli, arrancini from Bommarito's, and Krispy Kreme donuts. I think I'm going to eat my way through the city. No real aversions right now.

Symptoms: My pelvis is starting to hurt. I don't know if it's loosening up or just experiencing pressure from the little one but it hurts and sometimes I waddle. I also think I have carpal tunnel! Who knew? Apparently it can happen during pregnancy due to some swelling and is more common at night when your feet are up and swelling can move out of your lower extremities. For quite some time now my hands have been falling asleep and causing pain at night time. Only recently did I read about the cause. Otherwise I still get tired or nauseous sometimes but otherwise I'm ok. My blood pressure is still good. In a little over 2 weeks I will have my glucose test to check for gestational diabetes so cross your fingers I don't have that!

News this week: Carl felt her kick!! She was particularly active and he rested his hand on my tummy and could feel her move and then he felt two big kicks! I was so happy I cried! It just made me very emotional to see him feel her. It makes it seem more real. I feel her pretty much every day now. I love it. It is so funny when she gives me a hard kick and surprises me and I literally jump. I love everything this baby does.
Carl and I went to a cloth diaper class last weekend and we are pretty excited about the concept of cloth. It just seems like a better all-around option. We ordered a couple of diapers and a wet bag (to put the dirty diapers in) as samples so we could get a better idea of what we liked and I'm going to try to attach pictures.

Diapers and wet bag:

 

Bump Updates:

 

 

 

22 weeks 1 day

22 weeks: Wow! It's been a long time since I updated. Baby girl is the size of a papaya. In the next four weeks, she should double her weight! She is getting so big. If w could see her now, she would be wrinkled because her skin grows faster than the fat underneath accumulates. But she will be plump and soft by the time she is full term. Her tooth buds are forming as are her taste buds.

Cravings/Aversions: I want some crab rangoon! The craving started the other morning and hasn't gone away. I don't actually want Chinese food, just the crab rangoon. I have been eating more cheese sandwiches like I did in the first months. I like American cheese on white bread with a little mayo. For some reason they hit the spot and they are good for when Carl's not home and I'm too lazy to make real food. Iced tea tastes weird to me again so I'm drinking lots of flavored water and juice. I love anything tart and lemon. I love lemon-ices and fresh lemonade. I picked out two varieties of cranberry juice for this week so maybe I'm just drawn to anything tart.

Symptoms: Nothing too new this week. I have my second cold of this pregnancy and have a cold sore again. I never had them before and I told Carl if I ever get another cold sore I'm going to immediately think I'm pregnant! When they say your immune system is diminished when you're pregnant, they mean it! I feel terrible and there is next to nothing I can take. On a positive note, baby girl is kicking. It is not consistent, some days I feel it and some I don't. I can feel her kicks getting stronger and I felt one from the outside today. I can't wait for Carl to feel! Otherwise, space is growing tighter. I get winded easily and  this cold isn't helping. Climbing the stairs makes me winded right now.

News this week: We got our crib not too long ago. We have been waiting and waiting for it to be back in stock and once it was, we raced to get it. So now her room has a glider, a dresser, and a crib. Those are really the only major furniture pieces we plan on getting for her room. Next I think we plan on choosing some decorations to create a "theme" for the room. This baby girl is so lucky to have a daddy who is so involved. I am so glad that Carl is with me through every step of this. He really takes an active role in each decision we make and he wants to do the best for his little girl. It is really so sweet. In other news, we are looking at daycares and it looks like cloth diapers are back in the picture. Several daycares say they have never used cloth but are willing to give it a try. Carl and I have ordered some samples to look at and hopefully also take to whichever daycare we choose to give them an idea of what we are talking about. Most seem to think we are doing the old-fashioned prefold diapers with the safety pins and diaper covers. We want them to see what our diapers would really be like. I am excited to further explore the cloth option and can't wait for our samples to arrive.

19 weeks 1 day

19 weeks: Baby is the size of a mango now. Baby should be approximately 10 ounces but from an ultrasound 2 days ago we know that our little one is approximately 11 ounces. At this stage babies are growing at slightly different rates so Baby Curtis might differ from the average. I read somewhere that baby may start sleeping now.  Interestingly enough, at the end of our ultrasound it looked like the baby was tucking it's chin and hunkering down into a sleeping position.

Cravings/Aversions: Not really craving anything on a regular basis. I'm pretty spoiled though because Carl lets the baby and I choose dinner any time we go out. He says I'm the pregnant one so I get to choose what we eat. I will say that last night we went to Joe's Crab Shack and I ordered some spicy citrus steam pot thing. I thought there was going to be no way I'd finish. I did! It was awesome. The crab and shrimp soaked up the flavors of lime and tabasco and it was heavenly! I'd go back tonight and do it again if it wasn't a little pricey! I'm going to be thinking about that meal for awhile. I am eating twizzlers as I type this but that's nothing new. I have always loved candy and pregnancy hasn't changed that. It doesn't really count as an aversion but I'm sick of sprite. I try to avoid caffeine and so it's what I normally order when we're out but it's getting old!

Symptoms: Heartburn! It's striking every night and it stinks. I guess I should just start eating tums for dessert. I am also getting random waves of nausea. I get hot and dizzy and then nauseated and it just comes out of the blue. I am feeling the baby more now. I think I felt it roll over or flip. It felt like when your stomach drops on a roller coaster ride except it wasn't in my stomach. I can also feel little kicks or punches but they happen so fast it's almost hard to know what I really felt. Can't wait until they are strong enough for Carl to feel his baby's movements.

News this week: It's a girl! We had an elective ultrasound around 17.5 weeks and found out we are expecting a daughter. That was confirmed at our anatomy scan 2 days ago. We are thrilled. She's going to have us wrapped around her finger. The elective ultrasound was cool because we saw her moving around in 3d. She was very still until the sonographer gave me a drink of very cold water. Once the water hit my stomach the baby started dancing. The anatomy scan was cool too. No 3d but we could see the baby's brain, spine, the 4 chambers of the heart, and her 2 kidneys. The sonographer could even see her bladder filling so we know her kidneys are working. We have to wait for the radiologist to read it and get back to our doctor before we hear any more details but it seemed like all was well. When we tried to look at her face she crossed her arms over it so she might be a little shy. She is already the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. 
Carl and I have worked on our baby registry this week. I thought a wedding registry was hard but this is worse! There is so much to choose from and we have to weed out the things we don't really need. For the things we do need, it's just hard to know how many we might need. There are swings, bouncers, and play mats. Does a baby need all of these?! We are trying to keep things pretty minimal for the most part. But it is fun to look at all the cute baby stuff!
Here are some pictures:
Baby girl in 3d:

 

 18 week bump, haven't taken one for 19 weeks yet:

Baby's face (too small to see much detail yet):

 

 

 The girl parts:

 

 

Side profile of baby (you can see her little spine!):