Weeks 15 and Week 16

Since I know my mother loves these and all. I thought I would keep you updated with all the development these last couple of weeks. Since I am measuring a little early I am a little less than 16 weeks. (Can you believe it? 16 weeks? 4 more weeks and I will be midway through) I can not believe it at all.

So here is what has happened in Week 15.

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

And here is what happening in week 16.

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Lately I have been feeling flutters. Just a tad, usually if I am upset or if I am eating too much sugar. Last night I was awakened by what I felt to be a punch in my belly. But of course I am not sure what I felt. All I remember saying when I woke up was "ouch!" hehe. I am honestly not sure if it's baby yet. Maybe it could be my imagination.

Overdue Weekly Update

How far along? 15 weeks and 2 Days
Total weight gain/loss: Last time I went to the doctor I only gained 6 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Wearing them almost exclusively now. However, I do have some skirts I have pulled out that are really comfortable at the moment.
Stretch marks? I haven't looked.
Sleep: Very crazy dreams lately. But this could be due to all the stuff happening right now.
Best moment this week: Last Monday seeing the arms and legs moving and hearing the heartbeat.
Movement: Not sure yet. Sometimes I feel a little bit of light brushing in my belly but I am not sure if that is baby or gas.
Food cravings: Wouldn't mind having some chipolte.
Labor Signs: Nope..Many weeks away from this.
What I miss: Well I miss my Nana. But I also miss dieting.
What I am looking forward to: Feeling some real kicks.
Weekly Wisdom: Life is way to short. Enjoy and cherish every single second you have on this earth.
Milestones: Baby is close to being 16 weeks. This is when the doctor told me that I would know if this pregnancy would last or if I would lose this precious child.

This last week has been really tough on me. First I lost my dear Perfect Nana and I miss her terribly. On top of that I spent a majority of my time in Austin making funeral arrangements and making a small dent in helping my mother organize my Nana's papers. She had bags and bags of trash and she kept everything. Lets just say that the entire week was exhausting. It's funny though that my body seemed to hold up well. I did have a small spotting episode when I went down there as well as I am experiencing some right now. It's very light and just brown. It's as if the body has a little still left in there.

I got the results back from the blood and urine tests and I am pretty healthy expect I have Type O negative blood. So while I was down in Austin I missed a few calls. By the time I returned them (Friday) I was told that I had to get this shot (RhoGam) like that very day. That they really wanted me to come back to Dallas to get the shot. Of course I told that this would be impossible since I was in Austin going to my Grandmothers funeral. Luckily the nurse called me back later and told me that it could wait till Monday. So I got the shot in my ass on Monday. It hurt like a bee sting but the pain is gone now. Did I mention that this shot costs $120 dollars? It's like paying someone to torture you.

One month until we know the sex....

So the bad new first..There is a still a little clot there. But it seems to have gone down in size. They did say that I could expect more bleeding but that the placenta was healthy and seems to have taken over. When she first did the u/s the blood seemed to not move but then it started to tapper down a little to the cervix. Maybe the pressure from the u/s. The cervix appears to be on lock down but blood does and can get through so it's expected. As long as it's not as it's not a full on period then she said it's normal.

Baby looked amazing but didn’t want to be bothered. He/She was hiding it’s face away from the camera but kicking and moving like crazy. They where very impressed with it’s movement and that size of the brain and other measurements they took where perfect. The picture that I have that I will post later you can see the spinal cord and it’s in a fetal position. The HB was 151 but it was moving around a bit so it was hard to catch. She did my first OB appointment (blood work, pap, and breast exam) which really boasted my confidence level because that means that she thinks that it will most likely be fine. I don’t go back again for an entire month. Which part of me is going to go crazy but the other part recognized this as a very positive sign. She wasn’t even concerned about getting another U/S and asked me if I really wanted another one next time, however I reminded her that I will be 18 weeks and she was like…well you need to find out the sex at that point so lets do anyways.

U/S picture to follow after I scan it tonight.

Dr's Appointment Today

Just a few more hours. I haven't been to the doctor since the 2nd of April. It feels like forever. I am crossing my fingers for good news. I can tell my belly is growing. I will be posting a picture later in the week. It's almost too big to hide. I am just trying to go in there with the most positive outlook possible.

Main Mantra I want to focus on today:

* "I am pregnant until someone tells me otherwise."

He caved.

Dear Baby,

This is one of many letters to you as your developing in my womb. I am not the overly sappy type but I just had to tell you what happened yesterday. Your overly stubborn father actually gave into one of my cravings for the first time this pregnancy. All I could think about for the last couple of weeks was biting into a burrito from Chipotle. All I could think about was that rice they have there. I hope they have Chipotle around when you are able to enjoy them. I ended up getting the vegetarian burrito w/rice, beans, guacamole, cheese, sour cream. It was absolutely heaven. I opted out of getting hot sauce or chicken because I didn't want to cause un-needed heartburn. I didn't get it at all which of course your father could not comprehend. Your father was nearly impossible to battle with. When I refused to eat anything else and (for about a hour) he caved finally. He was trying to get me to compromise for a different place but I felt like every single alternative he was offering didn't have that rice that Chipotle has. There is no alternative for it. He was trying to get me to go to Tinstar but it's not nearly as good and last time it gave me heartburn. Lets just say your stubborn mama got her way. I hope you enjoyed it much as I did. I am looking forward to the next.

This week has been mexican heaven ehh? First on Tuesday you wanted Soft Taco's (which we made at home) then on Wedesday you wanted Taco Salad which I got the small verison at work and then on Thursday I had frozen enchilada's. Of course it ended with the best Chipolte fix ever. Maybe you will turn out Mexican and surprise all of us!

Love, Mama

13 wk 1 day (13 wk 6 days)

Here is what happening in Week 14. Which technically I am either in the middle of or ending shortly.

Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Lately I have noticed I have a tad more concentration that I have in the past. No more first 1st tri fog which is awesome. However, my constipation has become a normal thing again. I am taking Metamucil capsules and trying to make sure I get as much as water as possible in. I still feel really tried by 8:30 ish though but really I think that is because I wake up at 5:30 everyday. I have 4 days until the next U/s two days in which is on the weekend. We truly hope that we get some positive results. I leaked brownish goo spotting/clotting for well over a week. I feel it has to be some of this SCH making it's way out. I am not to trying to get my hopes up too much...but my spotting is very minimal (almost all gone)...hehe I as soon as I say this..instantly it will come back. But as long as it gets out...the better I feel about it all.
I am totally craving Chipolte today but knowing Sandro I don't foresee that happening anytime soon. Sigh...

Weekly Update

How far along? 12wks 6 days (per last appointment 13 wk 4 days)
Total weight gain/loss: When I last went to the doctor I had gained 6 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Almost time to go shopping for more.
Stretch marks? Perhaps my old ones resurfacing a little.
Sleep: Getting harder. Mainly because of the heartburn but also because it's hard to get comfortable. I tend to fall asleep well but if I wake up to pee it takes me a while to get back to sleep.
Food cravings: I had a huge craving for tortilla pinwheels and I made a ton for Easter and ate them for two days.
Labor Signs: Nope..Many weeks away from this.
What I miss: Being about to eat spicy food. Everything I eat now is bland for the most part. Also, I miss sweets. Sweets also tend to give me Heartburn.
What I am looking forward to: The short term..my next appointment. The long term..being about to have full confidence that this baby will completely make it.
Weekly Wisdom: Bleeding/Spotting isn't always something bad. I am so happy I found a excellent support group of ladies who are experiencing the same thing that I am. It's really not that uncommon.
Milestones: Well based on my last appointment I am beginning my 2nd trimester.

As for the spotting I am experiencing. It's goes in waves. All day Saturday I had hardly nothing..then Sunday it was back again. Then yesterday only in the AM then nothing in the evenings. Then today a little in the morning. Perhaps this means that there is less and less of it.

Also I have a huge Asthma attack this weekend. Sandro decided to make popcorn from scratch on the stove with Olive Oil. (sigh...warned him this was a bad idea) He burned half of it. So we had so much smoke in the air. On top of that I had saved my dessert for late. (Cheescake) and it gave me the worse heartburn I have had so far. Lets just say I was pretty miserable and couldn't sleep well at all.

12 weeks (12 wk 5 days) w/Picture

So here is my picture for 12 weeks..well technically 12 w/5 days. I am wearing the same outfit I wore for the last time I took a picture at 10 weeks. Obviously My belly is getting bigger. Soon enough I won't be able to hide it anymore. This shirt is almost too small for me. I accompany this outfit with a light jacket to hide the bulge. But I know people aren't stupid. Sure I look like I just increased my eating and gained a few pounds. As for how I am feeling. Increasing bigger. I feel like a gained at ton more than I actually have. My tummy grumbles a lot and again I focus on eating good for me food. Currently today I am feeling a little bit crampy. It could be the fact that I haven't pooped in 4 days or I could have be a result of round ligament pain.

As for the spotting. I spotted for about 4 days. Fairly heavy. Enough to fill a pad. All brown and has a dark clot like look. Today it's very light spotting. I hoping this is good news.

I decided today I am going to post both week 12 and week 13. Since right now I have technically completed week 12 and I am well into week 13.

Here is week 12.

Your baby continues to grow and develop tremendously during pregnancy week 12. You'll be amazed at the pregnancy week by week changes that start occurring within your baby in the upcoming months. Your baby's genitals will start showing signs of being either male or female soon. During pregnancy week 12, your baby's brain is starting to make hormones, and nerve cells are multiplying at a rapid rate. Your baby may be sucking as early as this week, and your baby's kidneys may even be producing urine.

By pregnancy 12 weeks if you stimulate certain points of your uterus your baby may move in response, though you won't be able to actually feel your baby moving for another few weeks!

And Here is week 13.

Your uterus is continuing to grow at pregnancy week 13, and as it does you may start feeling some aching or discomfort in your abdomen. This is perfectly normal. The ligaments that surround your uterus will stretch in the upcoming weeks to accommodate your baby, and this stretching often results in what is called round ligament pain.

Round ligament pain is fairly common by 13 weeks pregnant, but can be alarming if you have never experienced it before. It usually presents as a brief but sharp or stabbing pain in your abdomen, but you may also feel a dull ache in the lower abdomen that lasts for a short time. Most often women feel this when they get up suddenly or change position. You might feel this pain as you attempt to roll over swiftly in the bed.

Update: Looks like it was poop related. Awww...I successful pg poop. Nothing compares.

Weekly Update

How far along? 11wks 6 days (per last appointment 12 wk 4 days)
Total weight gain/loss: When I last went to the doctor I had gained 6 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Wearing them almost exclusively now. They are a tad on the snug side already. (sigh)
Stretch marks? I haven't looked.
Sleep: Still crazy dreams. Also, becoming a little difficult to get comfortable.
Best moment this week: Seeing the baby move on the u/s. Such a active little one.
Movement: Sometimes I put my hand on my belly and I could swear I feel something. But I think that is all in my head.
Food cravings: Nothing crazy this week. Actually I have been eating less portions and smaller meals.
Labor Signs: Nope..Many weeks away from this.
What I miss: I miss being more active. This whole relaxing stuff isn't fun. Gets kind of boring.
What I am looking forward to: Being able to tell people and hopefully this hematoma leaving the body and healing for good.
Weekly Wisdom: For all you people who aren't pregnant or have been lucky enough to have a child don't give advice to people when it's not requested. I have also learned that never question a person about having children or make jokes towards someone else's fertility. It really is just a personal issue and really don't have any idea what they may be experiencing. It's as bad or worse than giving advice when it's not wanted.
Milestones: Less than 200 day mark reached. Baby is almost in the 2nd trimester.

Unsolicated Advice

You will discover when people learn that your pregnant that everyone and their mama wants to give you advice. Sometimes this advice is requested and sometimes this advice is just given without any regard to the intelligence of the woman that is pregnant. You know that people mean well but sometimes it just drives you completely insane. Let me give an example of what I mean.

So this weekend was Zdenko's birthday. Usually birthdays mean food and even more food. Well we went over at our usual time to have dinner and give our gifts. I come in and my sister in law is making some kind of shrimp kabobs and had some crab legs. Both are not my favorite unless they are cooked well in Sushi. (Philadelphia Rolls, or Shrimp Tempura or Cali Rolls) SIL says she researched it and I can have crab legs but she wasn't so sure about the shrimp because she wasn't real sure where it came from. It can be potentially dangerous (from her knowledge). Honestly neither looked appetizing so it wasn't on my food agenda. Then I proceeded to tell her that I still eat Sushi (the above mentioned only) and she immediately told me that I shouldn't do that. I think I would know what I can and cannot eat. She started to attack me and tell me that it has too much mercury. I just had to walk away. Here is an article for those who are interested. But just Google it and you will find the same result. Oh and here is a list of the fish that is safe to eat in Sushi. The ones I like are two 6 ounce servings per week.

Then the night proceeded on. Mother in law got on to me for not wearing shoes. I was wearing thick socks and I wasn't even cold. I asked her why she wasn't wearing shoes and she said..it doesn't matter she isn't pregnant. Then Father in law asked me why I wasn't laying down. It's not as if I was being terribly active or anything. He immediately jumped on the couch and asked me to relax with him. So I did. All this with in a hour of visiting. While I know they do this out of love and concern they just need to relax a little.

On the side note I ended up eating a small piece of steak, potato salad (which was terribly over seasoned with mustard), a roll, and a few bits of corn on the cob. Usually I eat more but during dinner the heartburn came back with a vengeance. Watching them open the crab legs was also disgusting so my stomach was not liking any of this. I am not sure what caused the heartburn return but its a tie between the potato salad and the little bit of steak that I did have. I ended up not even getting a piece of cake. It was sorta ironic if you think about it.

On how I feel front. I am okay today. I have a lot of brown clottish glue spotting usually in the mornings. I am taking it as a good sign. It's more than likely means that it's trying to make it's way our of my body. Trying to stay as possible as possible. Two more weeks to the appointment to check on the little bean.

Afterthoughts and Moving Forward

So yesterday I was feeling really down about everything. Mainly because I feel at this stage of pregnancy if the baby doesn't make it for some reason it's entirely my fault. Well my bodies fault. So I call up my mom and cry for about 20 mins. I think just needed to get it out. While I talk to Sandro about these things sometimes I have to hear from a different perspective. For one I am sure I am driving him completely insane but because he can only see the positive and feels that I am over reacting to the negative. I think it's because we just see things differently some days. Like I see the glass half empty and he sees the glass half full. He does try hard to comfort me but my mind sometimes tend to focus on the negative.

After talking to my mom she made some valid points. One that my grandmother (My Dad's Mom) bleed throughout most of her pregnancy with my Dad. She didn't find out she was pregnant for awhile later. She also reminded me of the last time I had a m/c. My uterus was strong then and didn't want to let go of the pregnancy until I forced it by taking medication to help the cervix open up. I haven't even thought about that in a while. I know I am strong and I am healthy and I am doing all that I can. There really isn't a way to prevent what nature has in store for me. I just have to do all I can to overcome this battle and again think about having a healthy fetus in my womb. Hopefully it will stay strong and kick that clot to the curb.

On a different note sometimes I wish I could have a husband that would let me eat what I am craving. I say this with a cheeky grin. He is just so adamant about eating healthy all the time. I mention chick-fil-a and instantly I am told absolutely not. I see all these girls all the time eating McDonald's everyday and here I am stuck on eating healthy. He is relentless. Maybe I will sneak over to Taco Bell today. A once in a while indulgence can't hurt right?

Good News & Bad News

Good News first. Baby is measuring perfectly and is growing perfectly. The heartbeat was 166 which is wonderful. (they say it goes down a little at a time from here) You can see the baby waving it's hands and kicking away. No signs of problems at all with the fetus. The cord is in the back and the placenta looked healthy. He/she is measuring 5 days ahead so 11 wk 6 days.

Now for the bad news. The Hematoma is bigger. Actually it's no longer a small blood clot but a medium one. It appears to be right under the sack now. Since the sack has obviously gotten bigger with it's grow. The doctor seems worried about this and wants me to come back in two weeks. So next appointment is April 20 and 10 in the morning. She says right now "it could go either way" which to me didn't sound to reassuring. Sandro says not worry and thinks the the Dr. wanted to be as honest as possible. She told me if I can make it to 16 weeks that most likely everything will be fine. Of course this really didn't help my confidence level any. I am just going to do my best to relax and take it super easy. No Sex, No working out, no heavy lifting.

I have to look at this way..the positives out way the negatives. Healthy baby doesn't even appear to know what's going on and is loving it's home at the moment. The baby is in a nice high spot getting all it's nutrients and growing rapidly. My hope is that what the Dr. is seeing is just a different view (I had a abdominal u/s) and that maybe it's not as big as it appears. Positive thoughts is just going to have to get me through this.

Brown Spotting

Sigh. Yes again. Woke up at 2:00 a.m. for normal run to the potty and guess what I had when I whipped. Brown spotting. It was a strange type. Almost like glueish looking. Couldn't go back to sleep for at least a hour. Worry does that too you. No cramping. I have no idea why it came back. Haven't had sex since the last spotting or done anything out of the ordinary. I am really happy I have an appointment today. It's at 2:00 p.m. (funny how that is exactly 12 hour away from when it started.) Hopefully all is well with the baby. I am probably going to just be the unfortunate types that has strange spotting episodes throughout their pregnancy.

Nonetheless, it's time to pull out my mantra's and just remember to be as positive as possible.

* "Today I am pregnant and I love my baby."
* "I am pregnant until someone tells me otherwise."
* "My past does not dictate my future. A previous m/c does not mean I will have another m/c."--"Just because something sad is happening to another poster, does not mean it will happen to you. We all know m/c and complications are not contagious!
* "Hope does not make bad things happen" You cannot ‘jinx’ your pregnancy by creating a ticker, getting excited, or telling someone. Live in the positive!
* And this is the hardest one: "There is nothing I can do to prevent a m/c from happening. Worrying yourself sick doesn't prevent a m/c. And if (gods forbid) it were to happen again, I know I will survive."

11 Weeks

So tomorrow we have a u/s to check on the baby. If it is a boy then sometimes they can tell by now. However, they don't tell you for sure until week 18-20. There was a post yesterday that girl was told what she was having at 10 wk 4 days. (since it was a boy)

It's strange, I am feeling hungry, but the thought of actually eating disgusts me. Mainly because I am worried how I feel after eating. Yesterday Sandro took me to Blue Mesa. I had never been before but I heard it's not traditional Tex Mex. (which what I was craving) The best way I can describe it is New Age Mexican based cuisine. I tried to order the closest think on the menu to Tex Mex possible. I got a chicken taco and a cheese enchilada. The chicken taco was good. I should have just gotten two of those. The enchilada had nice cheese but the flavor of the sauce was just a little too different for me. On the side of this the rice to me had a lavender flavor ... first it tastes like Mexican and then you have this strange lavender aftertaste. It was good but not something I wanted to eat a lot of. It also came with this corn mesa stuff. That was good. But it was a really small portion. Of course it gave me indigestion but it was fast. Too bad I still want a burrito.

So here is what is happening in Week 11.

By pregnancy 11 weeks your baby's fingers and toes have lost their amphibious like resemblance, now separated instead of webbed. Your little one is taking advantage of the huge space she is floating in by pregnancy 11 weeks, by kicking and squirming about. In the next three weeks your baby will go through a tremendous growth spurt, almost doubling in size. At no other time in your baby's life will she undergo as many rapid changes as are occurring during this stage of your pregnancy.