|
|
|
Week 21 Milestones: Rapid growth period is slowing down now, now that baby weighs almost one pound! The growth of the legs is catching up to proper proportions. My uterus should now be about 1/2" above my belly button. My Journal: Well, the big news from this past week was our ultrasound last Thursday! I'll include more details in the ultrasound section, but the big news is that our little baby boy is healthy! Now that we know he's a boy, it also makes settling on a name much easier since we've mostly been looking at boy names and already had Avery chosen as a first choice among them. So we are settled on Avery for the first name, and now just have to think about a middle name. We're leaning towards Ryan, but aren't sure about how it sounds with Avery, and with having two letters end the first name and also start the second ("ry followed by Ry"). Of course having a boy also means having to decide on other important topics like whether or not to get the baby circumcized. Paul is leaning towards yes, I'm learning towards no, so we'll do some research and see what we can agree upon! Another important decision I've been thinking about a lot lately has been the decision about whether or not to have a repeat Cesarean. I was originally planning on a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), but am starting to consider the possibility of just having an elective C-section. There are so many pros and cons on either side, but one of the main reasons I'm thinking about a C-section is because of how much I've been through (especially physically) already. Now that I'm past the "halfway" mark, I realize it really feels like I've been pregnant for so long and that even though I'm really enjoying this pregnancy, it is tiring to think about how long it took to get to this point (since my journey to have a 2nd baby really started 2 and a half years ago with 3 pregnanies inbetween then and now!). I almost feel like I've put in my dues as far as hospital visits and labour and recovery go, and wish I could just have this baby without having to go through labour or surgery! I also thought I'd be totally relaxed and worry-free by now, but I find I still worry about the baby and how he's doing and if I'm really really truly going to be able to hold him in my arms in 4 months or so. In a way it still feels too good to be true... Even before going to the ultrasound, I was a little worried about how it would go. I knew he was alive and relatively healthy from all those kicks and how big my belly was getting, but I was worried that whatever had caused me to lose my other three babies would cause some type of problem for Avery as well. So I'm terrified of anything happening during labour and delivery - it wouldn't be worth the risk after we've come so far to have this miracle baby. This was Paul's main reason for leaning towards a C-section as well - once we saw the statistic about the infant death rate going from 1 in 8,000 repeat Cesarean births to 1 in 800 for VBAC births, he was worried about the risks we'd be taking if we chose VBAC. Another (more practical) reason for having the baby via Cesarean would be to have him on this side of the New Year (in 2004 instead of 2005). That way, he could go to school earlier instead of waiting another year! Paul and I are both gifted and remember being bored to tears in many of our classes all the way through school, and Harmony is also gifted and ahead of many of her peers even though she is a late November baby. So of course we suspect that Avery will be really bright as well, and don't want him to be a January baby and bored throughout his whole education. Also, having the baby while it's still close to everyone's Christmas holidays does ensure having lots of help and support around for the immediate recovery time in the hospital and for baby's first days at home. I haven't made a decision either way yet, but it is something I'm thinking about more and more as I realize how far along I'm getting and how fast it's already been going! Test Results/Ultrasounds/Appointments: Where to start!? Well, my 20-week check-up was on Wednesday and went well. Blood pressure, weight, etc. was all normal. The baby's heartbeat was in the 130s, but I hadn't felt any movement before or immediately after so maybe he was sleeping. I asked my OB for some information on VBAC/repeat Cesarean births and she gave me a paper from the hospital that had all the information and statistics. I also asked when they would do a C-section if I chose that option and she said they usually do it at 38.5 weeks, although with me it might be different since I know exactly when I ovulated and am not going by a rough estimate based on LMP. I checked my calendar though, and 38.5 weeks places me exactly on Christmas day, and somehow I doubt they would schedule a C-section for that day! So I'm guessing that they would do one after Christmas weekend, which would be the 27th or 28th of December. I'll have to remember to ask at my next appointment when exactly they would deliver the baby if I chose to go with a repeat Cesarean. After the appointment on Wednesday, I went back on Thursday to get the ultrasound! And it couldn't have gone more perfectly, I was soooo thrilled! We got to see so much detail with every little body part the technician was checking out. The tiny hands were what amazed me the most, so itty-bitty, but so perfect. She did a close-up view of the heart and we could see the two chambers pumping away. We also got to see the spine, and saw the brain from a top-down view (and so could see the two hemispheres). The technician had asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby and we said if possible, yes. And she had no trouble at all seeing that it was a boy - even said she was 200% sure he was a boy and if we had a girl, we'd better bring that baby back to see her! Harmony and Paul were there too, of course, and it was great for all of us to see our baby and feel more connected to him. Harmony was really excited sharing the news about the baby to everyone, and wanted to be the one to make a few phone calls that night. She told everyone "We have exciting news! The baby is a boy! And he's healthy!". She also added that "we knew he was a boy because we saw him on the TV and we saw the penis!" so that was a real giggle and a half - I'm sure my grandmothers loved that one. I'm glad she was so excited though, she seems really happy about having a baby brother. As for Paul, he seemed happy about it too, although I wouldn't say "excited" really. He was the one who first noticed the baby's nose in the picture though - it is exactly like his own! We got two pictures of the baby in profile and I can't get over how much he looks like Paul already. He is actually a really cute baby, even from what you could see in the ultrasound. I'm sure he'll look even cuter to us when we get to see him after birth too! We've had a lot of fun showing off the ultrasound picture though, and sharing all the details. Most friends and family seem to like the name too, which is good reassurance that we've chosen a good one. It has been nice to have that extra bond with my baby since seeing his face... now when he kicks me, I can picture his little body and what he looks like while he's doing it. Physical: Sleeping is getting a little better, I think I've finally found a way to be comfortable and stay that way. I'm getting more and more used to staying in one spot for most of the night too, and once I settle in for the night in my little "fortress" of pillows, I try to just stay put. I'm still feeling really drained and tired some days though, so maybe I'm still not getting the greatest night's sleep, but overall, I find I'm not doing too badly with it. I think my suspicions about stretching out last week were right - I have continued to feel more comfortable and less "stretched" in the belly area. Baby's movements have also not been as pronounced as they'd been getting right before the 20-week mark. I still hear from him often enough though, so that's still nice to have. So with lots of physical areas of the pregnancy, I feel like things have settled down (at least for a short time, anyways!). Overall, I feel pretty healthy and normal most of the time. A little bit tired, a little bit sick, a little bit uncomfortable, but I am really enjoying this part of the pregnancy as not being too physical cumbersome. Despite the little aches and pains that continue to happen once in a while (still getting a few round ligament pains, still getting leg cramps at night, etc.), I'm not too uncomfortable carrying this little one around 24/7! Weight Gain/Food: I've been at a 6 or 8 lbs total gain the times that I've weighed myself this week, which is great! I find that I am eating a little bit extra for baby, but not a 2nd portion or even half portion or anything like that. I'm mostly drinking a lot more, especially milk. Last time I did grocery shopping, I picked up two 4L bags of milk, because we go through more than 1 per week now. Food aversions and food cravings haven't been particularly strong this week. Emotional: Well, the positive side to having higher highs and lower lows is that when things are exciting, it's really exciting! I was over the moon with happiness about how the ultrasound went and just couldn't help smiling and looking at that little black and white photo again and again. I feel so blessed and happy to have such a beautiful and healthy baby that I've literally been in tears over it. I also was in tears a little bit tonight since it was my first wedding anniversary. We had a really nice dinner, danced to our wedding CD, looked at photos, and even had some wedding cake (that had been frozen for the year!), and it was so emotional to go over the memories. I felt so happy that we'd had such a nice day for our wedding and that it was such a happy occasion, and that now we are celebrating our first anniversary together and had the excitement of a new baby on the way too. As I was saying over dinner, we have such a lucky and special little family. I had to explain to Harmony that mommy was crying because she was so very happy!!! Daddy Thoughts: I was pretty excited to see little Avery at our ultrasound this week. I wasn't as excited as Kris, but I was still excited. Now that we know we're having a boy, I'm a little more nervous. I suppose if we'd had a girl, I could have counted on Kris already having raised a girl. Now we're both in for a new experience. I gotta admit though, I really can't wait to meet him, and see what he's like. Maybe he'll be just like me, but smaller. A mini version of me... Hey sweetie! how 'bout we call him Mini-me? ;) Yeah, I thought not. Another cool thing that happened last week was getting to feel the baby kick. Kris was getting booted pretty hard, and so I put my hand on her belly and I felt a few little boots. Not that hard on the outside though, but I'm sure they'll be more noticeable soon.
|
