18 Weeks

So I'm back at school again, and of course on my first day there were major thunderstorms in Chicago.  So bad that the tornado sirens started going off right as I was about to walk out the door.  Then the hail started, giant balls of ice pounding our window.  Well, well maybe giant-pea sized balls of ice.  But still scary.  Henry ended up having to drive me to Evanston which was a good thing because the lightening was striking so close to the car I'm sure had I been driving I would have flipped out and then spun out.  This weekend Henry went to the Family Law Institute here in Chicago.  He learned a lot and it was definitely time well spent.  But now it's back to studying full time and trying to keep the cats from turning him into a permanent pillow.

• What's the Baby Doing?:  This week the bones are beginning to harden (ossification).  The bones in the legs and inner ear are the first to ossify.  Now that the bones in the ear are developed enough to function, and the nerve endings from the brain to the ear are connected, the baby can now hear!  S/he may even be startled by loud noises.  The baby can now also swallow and is swallowing a fair amount of amniotic fluid every day.
• Total Weight Gain:  Big week!  I gained 1.5 pounds this week, which means I've made up for the slow gain in the previous weeks.  I'm supposed to gain 1 pound per week from now until the end of the pregnancy so I am now back on track.

• Showing?:  Wow, it's hard for me to tell the difference from one day to the next, but by the pictures it looks like it's getting bigger.  Right??

• Symptoms:  Lots of pulling low down on my sides this week, and pressure on my lower stomach area.  I'm assuming round ligament pain.  Also the cats are mysteriously passing over Henry to come cuddle with me.  It really started to freak me out because usually they won't even stay in the room with me unless Henry is there too.  The one exception was when I was stuck in bed with the tumor.  But even then, they weren't super cuddly, just wanting to be near by.  But today both cats have climbed up and slept on my lap.  Gosh, maybe I'm dying...
• Sleep:  Slept through the night twice this week!  Which was great because the other nights, right after I get back to bed from nightly wake-up, Dante decides it would be a good time to curl up next to me and purr like a motorboat.  Try getting back to sleep with a 20 lb (yes 20) cat purring in your face.
• Movement: Still not a lot of movement this week.  Felt a little this evening, but nothing like we felt a couple weeks ago.
• Best Moment of the Week:  Another Key Lime pie best moment!  When I heard that Henry's group at the Family Law Institute were going to Joe's Stone Crab for dinner I was insanely jealous because not only do they have delicious crab but they have the best (barring Henry's homemade) Key Lime pie in the universe.  So when I go to pick up Henry after his dinner, he had a huge bag with him.  He had ordered a bunch of crab claws and a whole Key Lime pie to go just for me!  Best husband ever!!!
• What I Miss: Not missing much this week.  I have felt a desire for diet coke this week and did break down and have one.  The caffeine is not such a big deal, but I'd rather not be drinking all the fake sweeteners right now.
• What I'm Looking Forward To:  Well, it would be nice if it was November already.
• Milestones:  The baby can hear!  Time to break out the Mozart!

Okay, no big parting remarks today, Deadliest Catch is on and I've got a baby blanket to finish...

17 Weeks

Congratulations to my brother Brett and his lovely wife Courtney on the birth of their baby girl!  Savannah Grace was born on June 20th, the day after Brett's birthday.  I'm so excited for them and can't wait to meet my new little niece!  Now I just have to hurry up and finish the baby blanket I'm making for them, but unfortunately I've got a ways to go. 
Well here we are going in to month five.  Things are going pretty well this week, I was able to go for a short walk down to the lakefront one day.  So much for my dreams of walking around the lakefront while Henry rode his bike on the weekends.  I guess that dream went the same way as the pregnancy exercise videos I was going to do in the mornings before work... oh well!

• What's the Baby Doing?: Hair is continuing to appear on the baby's scalp and eyebrows.  The baby is also continuing to have bouts of hiccups which I might even be able to start feeling soon.  Fat is also starting to develop under the baby's skin!
• Weight Gain: This was a very odd week.  For most of the week it looked like I had lost the half-pound I gained last week which started getting me a bit nervous and prompted Henry to agree to get me a box of cookies on Monday and to even let me have half of them before they mysteriously disappeared.  For those who know Henry (aka the cookie monster) sharing half a box is a pretty big deal ;-)  But then today when I weighed myself it looked like I gain a whole pound.  I have therefore resolved not to weigh myself during the week and just do it once on Tuesdays from now on.  It's just too confusing. 

• Showing?: Yep, and the bump is starting to move up a little.  You can now feel the hard part well above my belly button!

• Symptoms: Still on my onion kick.  I had to buy two jars of cocktail onions because I ate almost a whole jar last week.  Henry grilled some sweet onions this weekend, yum yum!  Other than that, the nausea seems to be doing a lot better, although it's still difficult to eat in the mornings.
• Sleep:  Still the same.  Waking up once a night, but starting to get used to it.
• Movement: Sadly I can't remember feeling any movement this week.  :-(  Hopefully as I get farther along the moving will get more pronounced.
• Best Moment of the Week: Hearing the heartbeat on the Doppler at our Friday appointment.  Always amazing!  And a relief to know that everything is still doing okay in there. 
• What I miss:  There seemed to be a lot of conversation about alcohol this week!  Joselyne and I were talking about all the great wine she's going to have at her wedding, I was looking at the cool new movie theater downtown that has VIP seating with food service and a bar, and my office starting talking about doing a summer happy hour outing.  I haven't really missed alcohol that much, but somehow during the summer it seems to be everywhere.  Henry was so sweet and made us virgin pina coladas with organic coconut and pineapple juice and we sat out on our balcony in the sun for a while this weekend.  It was totally just as good.
• What I'm Looking Forward To: There is so much cool stuff going on with the baby this month, so I have to say I'm really excited for that.  This is a really big growth and development month, by the end the baby will weigh over a half a pound and we'll get to find out the sex!
• Milestones: Well this week marks the end of the fourth month.  Five more to go!

To end here's a picture of Isis "helping" Henry study for the bar:

16 Week Doctor's Appointment

Well nothing major to report.  We heard the heartbeat on the Doppler, which was wonderful, nice and strong!  It sounds so fast, but of course it's supposed to.  Then they took more blood (I'm surprised I still have some in my body, it seems like they have more of it now than I do) for the second trimester tests.  But that was really it.  All that was said about the tumor was that hopefully it won't happen again.  Yeah, tell me about it!

Next appointment is at 20 weeks for the second trimester diagnostic ultrasound, which means we'll find out the sex of the baby!!  If anyone wants to put down bets now, see our new Guess the Sex poll!

16 Weeks

Today I am 28, but since Henry will always be a year older than me I'm okay with it.  Just kidding, I'm really not one to worry about birthdays, it just means I get a Key Lime pie and that by itself is reason to celebrate!  I'm continuing to feel better, but still keeping work to part time so I can rest.  I've been informed that I'm starting to sound more life myself over the phone, which makes me wonder how bad I sounded previously.  But I will definitely take any improvement.  I've finished my quarter at school and now have a two-week break before I'm back at it again.  Henry is studying for the California Bar and doing great.  It sounds like it's coming back to him from the Illinois Bar, which I'm sure makes studying much easier.  With all the extra alone time I have now I'm trying to get some writing done, but my syllabus for the class I'm teaching this quarter is due at the end of the month and is hanging over my head.  Probably I should work on that...

• What the Baby's Doing:  Facial muscles are now developed enough to allow for a variety of expressions, although they are not yet conscious expressions of emotions.  More calcium is being deposited on the bones as the skeletal system continues to develop.  If we're having a girl, millions of eggs are forming in her ovaries.  The baby's eyes are now sensitive to light and as s/he develops breathing technique s/he is having frequent bouts of the hiccups, although I can't feel them yet.  The baby is about 5 inches long and weighs a bit less than 3 ounces.
• Total Weight Gain: Only half a pound up from last week, but any gain is good and there's no need to pack it on too fast! :-)

• Showing: Hmm, I feel about the same as last week.  Now that we're doing pictures maybe it will be easier to tell!  What do you guys think?

• Symptoms: Still taking my medication but it's working so no complaints.  The weirdest thing this week is my sudden craving for ONIONS!!  I can't get enough.  Pickled onions in V8 juice is my favorite right now, but basically Henry's just chopping up a bunch of Vidalias and putting hefty amounts on whatever I'm eating.  Since we're both of the school that food cravings mean something, Henry and I looked up what's in onions to see what it is I might be wanting out of them and found out that they are very high in vitamin K, which helps calcium bond to bone and is actually used for osteoporosis patients.  Very interesting!  Also, onions are supposed to help lower cholesterol in the blood stream, something which I could definitely use.  So for now, bring on the onions!  (as long as Henry can stand my dragon breath anyway)
• Sleep: I slept through the night one night this week!  Actually it was the day before my birthday so perhaps the baby was giving me a present.
• Movement: Felt a new kind of movement this week.  Instead of butterflies it felt more like popcorn popping.  Very very cool.  We were in the car so Henry quickly put his hand over the spot and felt it too.  It was very short and hasn't really happened again, but we're keeping our hands ready!
• Best Moment of the Week:  Well, unfortunately not baby related, but I'm going to have to go with Key Lime pie. :-)
• What I Miss: The sushi bar at Whole Foods is an evil evil place.  They have spicy tuna hand rolls just sitting out there, taunting poor pregnant women who aren't allowed to eat raw fish (or tuna for that matter if you're married to Henry who's on a personal crusade against high mercury fish).  I wonder how weird it would be for my first meal post-partum to be a big plate of spicy tuna and hamachi rolls.  Does Kamehachi deliver to the hospital?
• What I'm Looking Forward To:  Our 16 week appointment on Friday.  I'm hoping they won't be able to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler (which is totally possible with the location of the tumor) and we'll have to get an ultrasound so I can try and con them into telling us the sex ::rubs hands together villainously::
• Milestones: The new movement was big, now I just hope we feel it again.  Also getting my first pregnancy craving is pretty cool if not a little gross.

 

Next post will be on Friday for our 16 week appointment!

15 Weeks

I'm definitely feeling better and better.  I'm able to be out of bed more often, but mostly it's either work or resting on the couch.  Although I accompanied Henry to the grocery store for the first time in a long time to find something I would feel like eating, we still only walked out with a bag of cherries, miso soup and a little thing of greek yogurt.  The good part is I'm only really hungry for food that's good for me, especially apples and peanut butter, but I'm still mostly relying on the protein shakes Henry makes me. 

• What's the Baby's Doing: Eyebrows and hair on the scalp are starting to form as well as a thin layer of skin.  Bone, marrow and muscle are continuing to develop and by the end of the week the baby will be able to make a fist! 
• Total Weight Gain: Well, depending on where you count from it's either -6 or +4.  I'm still down from where I started, but since I began the protein shakes and eating more I've managed to put on four pounds which is great.
• Showing?:  Oh yes.  Basically because of the tumor I'm showing much earlier than is normal.  At 10 weeks, when we were at the hospital, I was measuring 18 weeks.  I don't know if that's gone up or down because I have no idea how big or small 18 weeks is, but maybe we'll find out on Friday at our next appointment!
• Symptoms: Still a bit nauseous, and I'm still having to take the pills that control my stomach acid so I can eat, but it's getting better and I'm eating more.  I still have my super sense of smell, so I'm very very excited that June in Chicago means Henry can break out the barbecue and start cooking food outside!
• Sleep: I started waking up in the middle of the night around the time the tumor situation happened.  Still waking up around 2:30-3:00am which makes getting up for work extremely difficult.  Especially since the cats think that while I'm up I might as well play with them.  They show their love by pawing my face as I try to go back to sleep.
• Movement: We've felt the baby move!!  Right now it's mostly little flutterings, but Henry was able to feel one too.  They're very few and far between, but exciting every time!
• Best Moment of the Week: We went to San Diego over the weekend for Henry to attend a seminar with my mom and her associates.  We were both really worried how I was going to handle the plane ride, and right up until a couple hours before we had to leave it was still up in the air as to whether or not we would actually go.  But I made it, and it was better that I expected.  I have to say that the whole trip was the best moment of the week because every day I did a little better.  I ate a massive amount of food at the Fish Market upon our arrival and the next day I visited with Dad, had lunch with Mom and went to a movie with Mom, Henry and Courtney (my very pregnant sister-in-law) which was much more than I had done in over a month.  The plane ride back was not as great due to some awful turbulence but overall it was a great trip.
• What I Miss:  Being able to function normally.  I just get so tired and after sitting for long periods of time I still end up in pain.  It's better, but I'd really like to just be normal again.
• What I'm Looking Forward To: Feeling the baby move some more!
• Milestones: Well the movement was probably the biggest milestone, coupled with my increased activity it's definitely been the best week in a long time.

Next week I'll post a belly picture!

4 Weeks - 14 Weeks

This will unfortunately just have to be a very long post to play catch up since I slacked off quite badly for the first trimester.  But here's the rundown:

4 weeks - zygote implanted, we found out we're pregnant, and besides being extremely excited I pretty much felt no different than usual.

5 weeks - now officially an embryo the baby is forming into three layers that develop further into the neural tube and brain, the circulatory system and heart, and finally the inner organs.  Baby is about 1/17 of an inch.  I still feel no different.

6 weeks - baby triples in size, eyes begin to develop, heart begins beating.  We have our first ultrasound this week and see the heartbeat which is nice and strong.  It's official!

Baby Rau at 6 weeks 5 days

7 weeks - arms and legs are taking shape, brain is continuing to develop and become more complex.  Now I'm starting to feel the pregnancy and understand what all those morning sickness sufferers were talking about.  Food = Bad.  We have another ultrasound to check out how my uterine tumor (preexisting condition) is doing.  Seems like all good news, baby is still doing great and is actually measuring ahead of schedule, we just have to watch out for degeneration on the tumor, most likely sometime after the 14th week.

Baby Rau at 7 weeks 5 days





8 weeks - finger and toes are forming, heart function and circulation are more fully developed.  Still feeling pretty sick, eating has become a challenge for me and a guessing game for Henry.  Every night we play a round of 20 questions of what will Tori actually eat today??
9 weeks - now we're into the third month, but the morning sickness has not let up even a little.  The baby is becoming more human in shape, the embryonic tail is disappearing and the baby is starting to make tiny movements, although there is no possible way to feel them as the baby is only about an inch long.
10 weeks - bones of the skeleton are forming, as are buds for teeth, the brain is growing very quickly now producing almost a quarter million new neurons every minute.  But we've hit our first hurdle.  The uterine tumor started to degenerate this week, sending us to the hospital for a bit.  All that happened was that the tumor that is hanging out in the wall of my uterus grew too big too fast and outgrew it's blood supply which caused part of it to die.  The baby was not affected in any way, in fact s/he is still measuring ahead of schedule!  It just caused me a lot of pain.  After a ton of tests and monitoring, we are sent home with painkillers.  Basically there's nothing to do but get through it.

Baby Rau at 10 weeks 4 days





11 weeks - now officially a fetus, the baby and placenta are growing fast, reproductive organs also start to form this week.  I'm basically on bed rest since I'm really unable to get out of bed, still waiting out the tumor...
12 weeks - facial features are becoming more defined, fingernails and toenails are forming, and the first trimester is ending!  I'm starting to do better with the pain and have cut back on the painkillers dramatically, but unfortunately I've lost ten pounds in just these two weeks which has left me pretty weak and my appetite almost non-existent.  We have our 12 week appointment for our NT scan.  Everything comes back perfect and the baby is doing absolutely fantastic, nothing that has affected me during this whole ordeal has affected the baby which is great news!  The baby was moving around like crazy during the ultrasound, waving his/her arms and kicking legs, nodding his/her head and even moving his/her lips! 

Baby Rau at 12 weeks 3 days





13 weeks - hello second trimester!  All the baby's organs, nerves and muscles are formed and beginning to function together, eyelids are fused shut, baby can even put a thumb in his/her mouth, but sucking will come later.  I'm slowly but surely starting to make some progress, even making it into work for a few hours every day.  This is mostly due to the superb care Henry is taking of me and the baby.  We find that protein shakes are a quick and easy way for me to get nutrition, so until my appetite comes back, we're mostly relying on those.  But the weight loss has stopped, now if we can only get to the weight gain!  (and that is the last time you will ever hear me say that)
14 weeks - reproductive system is the site of the most action this week, either the prostate is developing or the ovaries are moving down into the abdomen, by the end of the week the palate will be completely formed.  I'm still making slow progress but it's definitely getting better, appetite is starting to come back and I'm still managing half-days at work which is probably what I'm going to be doing for a while.  I'm even gaining some weight, which is great because I'm supposed to be gaining a pound a week right now.  I think the dark phase may have passed, thanks to lots of bed rest, lots of medications, and lots of care from Henry.