Picture Update

22 Weeks

Michaiah's closet is already filling up thanks to my sister and coworker! 

Thank you sooooo much Michelle & Megan!!

 

22 Weeks...

At 11 - 12 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, she is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily. Her liver, with some help from Mom, is starting to break down bilirubin, a substance produced by red blood cells.

She is also kicking a lot more nowadays and I think she is starting to get into a routine although still sleeping between 12-14 hours a day. I usually feel her kicking around 5am, 11am, 8pm and then right before I fall asleep. It's really a weird feeling and hard to describe to someone who has never experienced it...but at the same time I love it. I can't wait to meet her!!

Milestone weekend...

Well this weekend was a big one as we hit a few milestones. The first being that we purchased our crib set. We headed out early Saturday morning for breakfast with Mom and then off to pick out the crib. We picked out a beautiful crib in the dark espresso color (not the color shown below) and a dresser to match.

My grandfather actually bought this for us as a gift and we are so thankful to him. We absolutely love it! The best part is that the crib turns into a toddler bed and then into a full size bed.

Mom also bought Michaiah a stuffed monkey that goes along with our nursery theme. It is so adorable. Michael was posing with the monkey in the backpack carrier. We're definitely going to get one of these.

Next milestone...

On Sunday night we were sitting there watching Glee and all of a sudden I felt her move. I don't know if it was the music from Glee that she was dancing to or if it was her daddy's voice but she was jumping all around. I told Michael to put his hand on my tummy and she started kicking like crazy and amazingly enough, he could actually feel the tiny little kicks. I think he must have felt at least 10 kicks in just a few moments.

Up until that point I never could really feel anything and I thought it was because I never slowed down enough to actually feel the kicks so Sunday night I just decided to sit down and watch Glee and there she was. It was truly an amazing experience and one we will never forget. By the way, if you've never seen Glee, I highly suggest you rent the first season. It is such a great series and the music & singing makes it that much better.

Anyway, it was such a great experience to share together and one that we will never forget. We thank the Lord daily for His blessings and this little miracle...our baby girl. 

21 Weeks...

Michaiah is halfway to her birth size, measuring an amazing 9 or 10 inches long and growing fast. She is now the length of a carrot. From this point onwards she'll focus on gaining weight rather than growing in length. She'll double in length but weight-wise there will be about a 12-fold increase. There is a slowdown in growth but different organ systems within her are maturing.  Essential nutrients are passed to the baby from the amniotic fluid. Up until this point, her liver and spleen have produced nearly all of her blood cells. The liver will keep doing that until after her birth, and now her bone marrow's getting up to speed, churning out red blood cells as well.

Her brain is growing as fast as the rest of her, and it will keep growing rapidly for several more years. As her senses develop, she's becoming increasingly aware of my eating and sleeping habits and of light and noise levels outside my body.

 21 Weeks

Michael's Gardening

Well, I must say that Michael did a fabulous job on our flower garden and our vegetable garden this year. Our vegetable garden was definitely taken to the next level this year. Last year we planted a few veggies (habaneros, jalapenos, sage, bell peppers and cilantro), but this year we've got a few different types of tomatoes, a variety of peppers, more cilantro, basil, green beans, zucchini, sage, cilantro & rosemary. I can't wait until they are ready to eat! Yummm.......

Veggie Garden

Flowers

Rose Garden 

(did I mention that we've got over 150 rose bushes!)

This is where we get to sit and enjoy our garden.

20 Weeks...Halfway There

Woohoo! I'm already halfway there and I can't believe it. We'd better start working on getting her room ready because it will be here before I know it! Here's a sneak peak of what the baby's room will look like.

So this week Michaiah is around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel - the length of a banana. She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. Supposedly she's moving around quite a lot at this stage but unfortunately I have yet to feel her. Hopefully soon I'll be able to but then I'm sure come month 8 or 9 I'll be begging her to stop kicking me in the ribs!

It's A Girl...Michaiah Eliana Stephens

Michaiah (pronounced mik-ay-ah) Eliana was brought into full view this morning. We are so blessed to even be given the opportunity to bring a life into this world. Now we just pray that the Lord will continue to bless us with a healthy baby girl. She had the hiccups this morning during her photo shoot which was really cute. She wasn't moving around too much though as she was probably tired from mommy's workout this morning! It was absolutely amazing to see the chambers of her heart working and her kidneys as well. We got to see her swallowing too. They estimate that she is 11 ounces...almost 1 lb!

Her Foot

So, what's she up to this week? Her sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. She is also able to hear me so I'd better get my voice ready to start some singing! She's about the size of an heirloom tomato and her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid. The vernix and amniotic fluid are responsible for that positively intoxicating baby smell.

18 Weeks...

Our baby now measures 5.5 inches, about the length of a bell pepper, and weighs almost 7 ounces. Our baby is continuing to grow and develop but the rapid growth rate has slowed down a little. Baby has a more human appearance now. Body hair is becoming coarser, eyeleashes are beginning to appear on baby's eyelids, baby's lips have formed, taste buds have started to develop, and regardless of gender, nipples are starting to develp on top of the mammary glands.  If it's a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place and if it's a boy, his genitals are noticeable now. Finite features of the heart including ventricles and chambers should be visible during an ultrasound.

Baby is busy flexing arms and legs and passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. Baby's blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will contine for a year after baby's born.
 

Our Weekend Getaway

Michael and I decided to get away for the weekend for a much needed relaxing weekend for just the two of us. We had such a wonderful weekend! We stayed in Pacific Grove in a cute little place called the Sunset Inn. The room was small but cute and it featured a jacuzzi tub and fireplace. Friday night we went to the Fish Hopper for dinner and I had Ciopinno & Michael had a steak and lobster...yummy!

We had a couples massage at Elysium in Monterey on Saturday morning after we slept in which was absolutely amazing! I had hot stones incorporated into my massage and let me just tell you that there is nothing better. I can't really explain it but it was THE BEST massage I have ever had. Thanks Mom! (She gave us $$ to use for our massages for our birthdays). Then we went to this place called Gianni's which is a pizza place for lunch. It smelled so good driving by Friday night that we had to go in and taste what smelled so good. Mmmm....was that place good.

We then headed back to our room and then walked across the street to the beach and just enjoyed the sun and the sound of the waves. Saturday night we went back to Cannery Row and ate dinner at the Chart House. This time I had a filet mignon and Michael had oysters on the 1/2 shell for an appetizer, then he had prime rib and king crab legs and then we shared a chocolate lava cake. Needless to say we ate good. On the way back we caught the sunset...our first sunset together.

Then Sunday rolled around and we decided we should make a trip to the wharf because after all, who goes to Monterey and doesn't go to the wharf? So off to the wharf for some clam chowder, a few pics, and then we were off again. It's funny how we didn't do much of anything really but we had the BEST time we've ever had. It was so relaxing and just being together enjoying one another was great.

I think we put a little too much bubbles in the jacuzzi!

 

At the beach...

Such a beautiful day.

Weird but kinds cool looking flowers.

Beautiful coastline

Just the two...actually three of us!

Sunset

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17 Weeks...

So far so good! I am still feeling great and thankfully still able to work out. I had a bit of a "scare" yesterday morning. I was at work carrying a box and I turned the corner and smacked right into my coworker and the box hit my tummy pretty hard. I have a fairly high pain tolerance, but it hurt. I emailed my doctor and told him what happened...he said baby should be fine but said that I could go in and get an ultrasound to give me piece of mind. I went in and everything was just fine. It's crazy how much you can worry about someone you've never met. The doctor told me it was my motherly instincts taking over.

Michael and I started looking at cribs and furniture for the baby's room which was fun. The baby's room, boy or girl, will have a jungle animal theme to it. We are trying to familiarize ourselves with the different car seats and other item that we have absolutely no clue about. We definitely look like first time parents in the stores. We got our FIRST baby item yesterday...a red BOB. Perfect for trying to get back into shape after our little one arrives.

I've been trying to clean our the closet in the baby's room that has been my overflow closet for 4 years now...what a chore! At least it is forcing me to donate old clothes that I always think I might wear again while at the same time knowing that I will never wear them again! Hopefully in the next month or two we'll have the room cleaned out and ready to be painted. Exciting stuff!

So how about baby? Baby starts plumping up this week, as body fat is deposited under the skin. The baby will continue adding these essential layers from now until it leaves the womb, when baby will need them to help stay warm in the outside world. Added bonus: They help baby achieve that precious, pudgy baby look.

Baby is continuing to "breathe" amniotic fluid through the lungs, prepping for those first oxygen-packed breaths after baby's born. Baby weighs 5 ounces now, about as much as a turnip is around 5 inches long from head to bottom.

Baby's delicate skeleton continues to harden from rubbery cartilage to bone, so I'll have to make sure that I'm chugging that milk. The calcium helps build a strong, sturdy frame. Baby's umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints.

16 Weeks...

Boy or Girl???? We still don't know. We had hoped at my last appointment that we would be able to tell, but no such luck. We'll have to wait for our official ultrasound on May 4 (it's been changed) to see what we are having. But...I have to say that our last appointment was pretty exciting. The baby was jumping all around and it even looked as though the baby was waving at us! What an amazing sight to see and truly beyond words.

It is really hard to imagine that all of this is going on inside of me yet I can't feel a thing. I should be able to feel some "fluttering" in the next few weeks or so, but nothing just yet. It is a strange thing being pregnant for the first time. It's hard to explain but I have never really "felt" pregnant, other than the migraines that I experienced early on and the fatigue. Everything seems to be the same except that none of my pants fit from this every thickening belly. I am really looking forward to feeling this baby's flutters just so that I have some peace of mind that everything is OK in there. Seeing the ultrasound on Friday though definitely made it more realistic, but I was still looking at the ultrasound in amazement thinking that this little miracle was growing inside of me.

So, we are now at week 16 and in the next few weeks the baby will double its weight and add inches to its length. Right now, baby is about the size of an avocado:1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. The legs are much more developed, the head is more erect than it has been, and the eyes have moved closer to the front of the head. The ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. Baby has even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, baby's heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day.

It's growing...

Ultrasound from 4/9

Michael & his sister Dee Ann

 

Michael as a baby...isn't he cute?! Nice hair!

Michael & his cousins playing dress up!

These pictures were just too cute and funny not to share.

William Thomas Restani

My sister gave birth to their second child, a boy this time, name William Thomas. He was born by c-section on April 10 at 9:18 p.m.  He was 3 weeks premature but weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. He has reddish hair too.

William had a tough first hour in this world as he swallowed a lot of water upon his arrival and was having trouble breathing. They tried to get his lungs to expand so they gave him a bath which seemed to do the trick as Michelle said he was crying up a storm. He has been eating well and passing it well too. His face was a little bruised as you can see in the pictures because the doctors expected a smaller baby and made the incision a little bit too small.They said that by Sunday the bruising has lessened a lot and he looked much better.

I hear that my niece Julietta was thrilled to see her new baby brother and was so sad to leave him. I'm sure she will be a great big sister. 

CONGRATULATIONS RESTANI FAMILY!!

New belly pictures....

 15 Weeks

 14 Weeks

  13 Weeks

12 Weeks