23 and 24 Weeks!

It has been a hectic few weeks! But, the best news we received was that I no longer needed to be on bed rest. Turns out I actually never needed to be on bed rest! I have had two ultrasounds since my Specialist appointment - one with Dr. Santiago and one with Maternal Fetal. Both showed no signs of funneling and it appears that the first sighting was probably not what they thought! As frustrating as that is, I am just thankful that everyone is concerned about me and Baby Girl and that ultimately, everything is good for now! And, honestly, it was kind of nice to work from the comfort of my own home. Especially because when I hit 23.5 weeks, I all of a sudden got somewhat uncomfortable! Not sure why since it's still pretty early, but it seems like everything is accelerated with this pregnancy. I felt movement earlier, the bump got bigger earlier, and I am feeling the discomfort already.

I honestly do not remember feeling super uncomfortable with Jameson...ever! I do remember when I hit 28 weeks that I started having a little trouble breathing, but it went away after a few days and I felt great until about 35ish weeks and even then, I barely had a complaint! This time, my breathing already feels labored, my hips hurt when I sleep and I am having Braxton Hicks contractions constantly! BUT, I am trying so hard not to complain because I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, but pregnant :). And, I adore the fact that I have a little dancing queen in my belly who is constantly reassuring me that all is OK and that I have SO much to look forward to.  I said it when I was pregnant with J and it's no different this time - pregnancy is a hard journey at times, but man, the end result is worth every single ache, pain and moment where I feel like I can't breathe! It's amazing to me that in just a little over 3 months, I will be holding our princess!!



23 weeks



24 weeks - I think you can maybe see why I was
in a little bit of discomfort towards the middle of week 23....
someone clearly had a huge growth spurt!!

Adorable profile shot of Little Miss at 23 weeks. Love her!

Like Brother, Like Sister...melts my heart!!

22 Weeks and Level 2 Ultrasound

 

Today is the big day! I was beyond excited to see our little peanut for a long period of time and to get confirmation that all is perfect with her. I was also hoping to get good news about the bed rest situation. I definitely was not holding my breath since it's only been 2 days, but one can hope!

We got to the appointment and baby girl was rolling around in my belly like crazy while we waited. So, I was a little nervous that maybe it would be hard to get measurements. But, she was pretty still for most of the measuring and the tech was able to get some great measurements of everything. She walked us through every single thing she was measuring, which was so cool. She flipped the machine over to the 4D option while baby girl was somewhat still, so we could really see her. She was moving her little arms and at one point, she must have hiccuped or something because she jerked and then hit herself in the head! She was opening and closing her mouth and opening her eyes. So amazing to see and if it's possible, I fell in love even more.

And, we finally got to see a great profile shot of her - she has been so active during all other ultrasounds, so this was the first time we got a good shot! And, it was amazing to me how much she looked like Jameson in her profile shot!

After the tech was done, Dr. Renfroe came in to measure my funneling issue and we discovered that nothing was in fact funneling. Awesome news - no bed rest! Or so I thought! Although there was no funneling, she wanted me to "take it easy" until we reach a stage of viability, which is about 2-3 weeks. This is mainly due to my and my sister's history. I could feel myself deflate, but figured if 2-3 weeks is the worse it will be, we can handle it. She then explained that I can still get up and move around for short periods of time, shower, play with Jameson...just no work and no lifting. Most people would be thrilled to not have to work for 3 weeks...me, not so much! It'd be different if I could be with Jameson, but to sit idly for 3 whole weeks, no thanks! But, luckily, I will be able to work from home. Going to take it easy the rest of this week and start with work next week!

The very most important thing out of all of this is that our sweet little girl is perfect and healthy. The doctor said all of her measurements were great and overall she looks great! She was measuring a few days ahead and has some long arms and legs (surprise, surprise!).  She weighed 1 lb. 1 oz. She had a healthy heartbeat of 152 and hearing that sound will never ever get old! Best news we could hear and if it takes bed rest to keep her healthy and safe, I would be chained to my bed if I had to!

22 week bump!

I think she looks like big brother here!

Love her!

Mouth wide open!

Not much cuter than  some baby tootsies!

Another adorable video that just makes my heart smile. She is sucking on her little hand and is a wiggle worm toward the end:

Bed Rest...noooooo!

These are two words no pregnant woman ever wants to hear! Especially one who works full time and has a 2 year old toddler! Over the weekend, I was experiencing some cramping and a lot of pressure in my belly. I chalked it up to growing, but when it didn't really subside, I called the nurse when they opened on Monday. We thought maybe it was a urinary tract infection or something simple, so she wanted me to come in just to check. Everything checked out fine, so they wanted to do an ultrasound to make sure it was nothing with my insides...to put it nicely! The ultrasound showed some funneling of my cervix, which is a bit scary if it was also shortening, which it was not in the least bit. So, I wasn't too worried, especially because baby girl was rolling around the whole time with a healthy heartbeat of 153. B even commented on what a beautiful 4 chamber heart baby girl had!

Then came the news. Vicki wanted me to go on bed rest until further notice. I already had our Level 2 ultrasound scheduled for Wednesday, so she wanted me to take it easy until then to see what they say. Ugh. So not prepared work-wise for me to be on bed rest. I asked if it was OK if I went back to wrap up some stuff and she said OK. I ended up working the rest of the day and half day today just to do payroll. I came home and rested the rest of the afternoon until Jameson woke up from his nap.

Let me just tell you how painful it is to not be able to pick up your child when they want you to (which happens to be a lot right now since he's in somewhat of a mommy phase!). We are adjusting, but it's tough - probably way more tough on me and Darin than Jameson, but it is heart breaking right now. I am really praying to get some good news at our appointment tomorrow! But, I know that in the grand scheme of things, this will seem like nothing when we are holding our beautiful, healthy baby. And, Jameson is already learning how to be a good big brother and watching out for his little sister :).

Our smiling baby girl with her long arms flailing everywhere!

Enjoying my first afternoon of bed rest with my fur baby snuggling against my belly!

21 weeks!

Apparently, we had a growth spurt this week! I received a few lovely comments from people at work regarding my size...something no pregnant woman wants to hear!  I guess maybe some people forget the fact that I am growing a human in there!  But, I love my belly, I love being pregnant and I love this baby girl, so I embrace the growth that comes with being pregnant!!!

I also embrace all the movement going on - she is quite the acrobat! Darin got to feel her finally the day before his birthday on March 29. I love that she is getting bigger and stronger - it should be very interesting when we get late into the 3rd trimester - I am sure I may feel a bit battered!  I also think I felt her hiccup today. I cannot be certain because it's still pretty early, but there was a definite rhythm to the movement and I remember that feeling with Jameson.