A few pictures of our beautiful sunflowers!! Aren't they gorgeous?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
35 Weeks...
Ok, so it looks like my good luck with having such a great pregnancy has run out. Last Friday while at work, I got up to use the restroom and was overcome with pain over my pubic bone. Every step I took the pain got worse unfortunately and it never ceased. So I looked it up on the internet and apparently what I have is called Pubic Symphysis Diastasis. This is where, usually in later pregnancy, the hormone relaxin causes the pelvis, particularly at the pubic bone, to loosen. This is supposed to make birth easier for mom and baby. I guess that is my body's way of preparing for childbirth which shouldn't be too far away now. My last two visits to the doctor confirmed that her head was down as she's preparing.
I went to the doctor just to get things checked out and he said that unfortunately it probably won't get better but will get worse. I can't really complain though because I have truly been blessed with such a good pregnancy up to this point. The only downfall though, besides the pain of course, is that I can't work out because it hurts to even walk. I have been lucky enough to work from home which has been nice and hopefully will help with the pain.
Michaiah is now the size of a honeydew and weighs about 5.5 lbs now.From now on, her growth is mostly in the plumping up department -- though she won't get much longer, she'll put on a pound or more of baby fat before birth. (She's about 15 percent right now and will be about 30 percent by full-term.) Her hearing is also totally developed.
I went to the doctor just to get things checked out and he said that unfortunately it probably won't get better but will get worse. I can't really complain though because I have truly been blessed with such a good pregnancy up to this point. The only downfall though, besides the pain of course, is that I can't work out because it hurts to even walk. I have been lucky enough to work from home which has been nice and hopefully will help with the pain.
Michaiah is now the size of a honeydew and weighs about 5.5 lbs now.From now on, her growth is mostly in the plumping up department -- though she won't get much longer, she'll put on a pound or more of baby fat before birth. (She's about 15 percent right now and will be about 30 percent by full-term.) Her hearing is also totally developed.
Almost there...
Michaiah's size at 35 weeks
Thursday, August 19, 2010
34 Weeks...
Only six more weeks to go...or so they say. Michaiah now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like the average cantaloupe) and is just over18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well.
She can now recognize and react to simple songs...time to start practicing my lullabies! In fact, she'll recognize frequently sung tunes after birth and probably find them soothing. Less cute news: She now urinates about one pint per day. Better get the diapers ready!
She continues to kick me throughout the day and night, although thankfully the night kicks aren't enough to wake me. Michael often tells me that he had my hand on my belly while I was sleeping and he's amazed at how I'm sound asleep and yet she's kicking away like crazy. That surprises me too because I am usually a really light sleeper. Not lately though.
Just a few more items to get and we'll have everything we need, for now that is, for when she arrives. We have been so blessed by friends and family that it is truly amazing. My good friend Miko (thanks Miko) sent me her Angel Care Monitor which senses the baby's movements and sounds. If there is no sound or movement for 20 seconds an alarm sounds. I think this will be key as first time parents and will give us peace of mind.
All I can say is WOW and a big THANK YOU to everyone who has given us their hand-me-downs, advice and their love and support. I can't remember if I blogged about this but my mom came over last weekend and helped me organize Michaiah's room. Thanks Mom! What a relief to get that all done. Now all we need is baby.
She can now recognize and react to simple songs...time to start practicing my lullabies! In fact, she'll recognize frequently sung tunes after birth and probably find them soothing. Less cute news: She now urinates about one pint per day. Better get the diapers ready!
She continues to kick me throughout the day and night, although thankfully the night kicks aren't enough to wake me. Michael often tells me that he had my hand on my belly while I was sleeping and he's amazed at how I'm sound asleep and yet she's kicking away like crazy. That surprises me too because I am usually a really light sleeper. Not lately though.
Just a few more items to get and we'll have everything we need, for now that is, for when she arrives. We have been so blessed by friends and family that it is truly amazing. My good friend Miko (thanks Miko) sent me her Angel Care Monitor which senses the baby's movements and sounds. If there is no sound or movement for 20 seconds an alarm sounds. I think this will be key as first time parents and will give us peace of mind.
All I can say is WOW and a big THANK YOU to everyone who has given us their hand-me-downs, advice and their love and support. I can't remember if I blogged about this but my mom came over last weekend and helped me organize Michaiah's room. Thanks Mom! What a relief to get that all done. Now all we need is baby.
34 Weeks
Michaiah's Size
Michael getting some practice in. He looks so happy with his baby duck!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Green Thumb
Michael has taken on a new love of gardening and planting. He has done an absolutely wonderful job with our garden and beautiful plants. After much frustration because of some rodent eating our cilantro, Italian parsley and sunflowers and a few months without any produce we have finally been able to enjoy some things...mainly our peppers! Michael was able to pick a ton of cayenne peppers, some Thai chilies and even a few jalapenos. We can't wait for the habaneros to to come in so then I will be able to make Michael's favorite 5 Alarm Salsa.
We've got about 4 tomatoes growing although our tomato plants are over 6 feet tall! Who knew they could get so big? We're hoping that they'll start producing more fruit soon but because of the weather it has been slower. Our basil (sweet, lemon & Thai) and rosemary has been doing great! It's so nice to just go outside and pick some basil instead of having to run to the store to get some.
Michael planted me some sunflowers because he knows how much I like them. When I lived in Italy I always loved the fields of sunflowers but I never thought that I'd have my own little piece of Italy in my own yard. You'll see in the pictures below that some of our sunflowers are taller than our roof line!
We've got about 4 tomatoes growing although our tomato plants are over 6 feet tall! Who knew they could get so big? We're hoping that they'll start producing more fruit soon but because of the weather it has been slower. Our basil (sweet, lemon & Thai) and rosemary has been doing great! It's so nice to just go outside and pick some basil instead of having to run to the store to get some.
Michael planted me some sunflowers because he knows how much I like them. When I lived in Italy I always loved the fields of sunflowers but I never thought that I'd have my own little piece of Italy in my own yard. You'll see in the pictures below that some of our sunflowers are taller than our roof line!
Michael & his garden
Huge tomato plants!
Our humongous sunflowers!
Can you see the praying mantis?
33 Weeks
The 33rd week of pregnancy and the four weeks that follow mark a time of astounding growth as she reaches her ultimate birth weight.This week Michaiah weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 18-inch mark. She might grow a full inch in length this week alone!
She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood. The pupils of her eyes can now adjust to bright or dim light, just like ours.
My amniotic fluid has reached its maximum level now — there's simply no more room! With less fluid to cushion them, her kicks are starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.
She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood. The pupils of her eyes can now adjust to bright or dim light, just like ours.
My amniotic fluid has reached its maximum level now — there's simply no more room! With less fluid to cushion them, her kicks are starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.
32 Weeks
By now, Michaiah weighs almost 4 pounds (try picking up a large jicama) and is taking up a lot of space in my uterus. Of the pound a week that I'm gaining, roughly half of that goes right to my little girl. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.
Amazingly, to accommodate her growing needs, my blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since I got pregnant. My expanding uterus is shifting my center of gravity and stretching out my abdominal muscles while my joints and ligaments are stretching out as well. I guess that's what's happening when I wake up in the middle of the night to some serious hip pain!
Amazingly, to accommodate her growing needs, my blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since I got pregnant. My expanding uterus is shifting my center of gravity and stretching out my abdominal muscles while my joints and ligaments are stretching out as well. I guess that's what's happening when I wake up in the middle of the night to some serious hip pain!
Friday, July 30, 2010
31 Weeks...
Michaiah now weighs approximately 3.5 pounds (like carrying four navel oranges), measures just over 18 inches from head to heel, and is getting used to the world of light and dark by opening and closing her eyes. Her facial muscles continue to strengthen, and she can make different expressions. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. Her lungs are nearly mature; however, these last few weeks are crucial to healthy and complete lung development.
Michaiah's going through major brain and nerve development these days. All of her five senses are now in working order. (She won't pick up anything from her nose until after birth, though -- smell is transferred through air, not amniotic fluid.) Her rhythmic breathing and body temperature are now controlled by the brain and connections between the nerve cells in the brain increase.
Some of the amniotic fluid has to be removed at this point to make room for the growing baby so in essence that would mean that I have about half as much fluid as I did about a month ago. Less fluid means less cushion and so I'm feeling her kicks and movements more intensely.
We will get to meet our daughter before too long now and it is so exciting. I have been so blessed with such a wonderful pregnancy so far and so many wonderful things have been given to us by friends and family. I am still truly amazed at this miracle that is happening inside of me. I always new that I wanted to have kids but to actually experience it is truly an amazing experience.I can't even begin to put this whole experience into words. All I can say is that it is truly the work of God.
Michaiah's going through major brain and nerve development these days. All of her five senses are now in working order. (She won't pick up anything from her nose until after birth, though -- smell is transferred through air, not amniotic fluid.) Her rhythmic breathing and body temperature are now controlled by the brain and connections between the nerve cells in the brain increase.
Some of the amniotic fluid has to be removed at this point to make room for the growing baby so in essence that would mean that I have about half as much fluid as I did about a month ago. Less fluid means less cushion and so I'm feeling her kicks and movements more intensely.
We will get to meet our daughter before too long now and it is so exciting. I have been so blessed with such a wonderful pregnancy so far and so many wonderful things have been given to us by friends and family. I am still truly amazed at this miracle that is happening inside of me. I always new that I wanted to have kids but to actually experience it is truly an amazing experience.I can't even begin to put this whole experience into words. All I can say is that it is truly the work of God.
Friday, July 23, 2010
30 Weeks...
During this 30th week of pregnancy, Michaiah continues to steadily add weight and important, insulating layers of fat to her body. She now weighs about 3 pounds (like the head of a cabbage) and her length is about 16 inches—about as long as a laptop computer—and she measures almost 11 inches from crown to rump. From now until week 37 of my preganancy she'll continue to gain about a half a pound a week. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in my uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)
Her brain continues to expand and develop, creating additional grooves and folds in the brain's surface. These wrinkles will give her brain tissue the needed room to expand as she develops and learns throughout her lifetime. Her brain can now regulate her temperature so she'll begin to lose the lanugo - fine hair that has been covering her body for warmth.
Her brain continues to expand and develop, creating additional grooves and folds in the brain's surface. These wrinkles will give her brain tissue the needed room to expand as she develops and learns throughout her lifetime. Her brain can now regulate her temperature so she'll begin to lose the lanugo - fine hair that has been covering her body for warmth.
Michaiah's Room
Friday, July 16, 2010
29 Weeks...
Michaiah might best be described as long and strong at this point! She now weighs about 2 3/4 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. To meet her increasing nutritional demands, she'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron so I'd better start paying attention a little more to what I eat. And because her bones are soaking up lots of calcium, I've got to make sure to drink my milk! This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited into her hardening skeleton each day.
Her activity will keep getting more frequent and stronger in the weeks to come. They say that some of her jabs might even take my breath away. Let's hope she doesn't take after her father with his jab. During the next 11 weeks she'll more that double or triple her current weight.
Here is a picture from this week. Hopefully next week I'll be able to post pictures of her room...finally!
Her activity will keep getting more frequent and stronger in the weeks to come. They say that some of her jabs might even take my breath away. Let's hope she doesn't take after her father with his jab. During the next 11 weeks she'll more that double or triple her current weight.
Here is a picture from this week. Hopefully next week I'll be able to post pictures of her room...finally!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
4th of July Weekend
What an amazing 4th of July weekend we just had. Friday morning we decided on the spur of the moment to drive to Boise to see Michael's aunt & uncle and cousins. Our niece Odessa was already there visiting so we were able to spend time with her as well.
We had such an amazing time and a great visit. We played in the pool for a few days, jumped on the trampoline, talked, laughed, ate good food...what more can you ask for? We also got a chance to see both Colleen & Jim's appearances on Wheel of Fortune from about 20 years ago. That was a treat! Not to mention the firework show that the cousins put on with some of the kids in the nieghborhood.
It was so good to see everyone again and thankfully they were willing to put up with us on short notice. We also brought along Primo and he was so tired the day we left that he slept literally all but maybe an hour of the ride home, then once home he continued to sleep until we all went to bed! He's not used to this much excitement I guess.
On our ride back home Michael called his great uncle who he had never met before to see if he wanted to get together for breakfast since we would be passing through Winnemucca where he and his wife live. Michael has never met his real grandfather because he passed away long before Michael was born so it was quite an experience for him to meet his grandfather's brother and his wife.
They were so very sweet and while there is so much more Michael would have liked to have asked Uncle Stan about his Grandpa Butch, that will have to wait until the next visit. Uncle Stan's son actually lives about 20 minutes from us so the next time they come for a visit hopefully we'll get to see them again.
We had such an amazing time and a great visit. We played in the pool for a few days, jumped on the trampoline, talked, laughed, ate good food...what more can you ask for? We also got a chance to see both Colleen & Jim's appearances on Wheel of Fortune from about 20 years ago. That was a treat! Not to mention the firework show that the cousins put on with some of the kids in the nieghborhood.
It was so good to see everyone again and thankfully they were willing to put up with us on short notice. We also brought along Primo and he was so tired the day we left that he slept literally all but maybe an hour of the ride home, then once home he continued to sleep until we all went to bed! He's not used to this much excitement I guess.
Jim, Colleen, Courtney, Odessa & Kyle
Michael with his two cousins & niece
Our niece Odessa
Kyle, Courtney & Odessa
7 months prego
Pool pictures!
Primo trying to fit through Chloe's doogie door. Too funny!
Courtney getting her fireworks ready
On our ride back home Michael called his great uncle who he had never met before to see if he wanted to get together for breakfast since we would be passing through Winnemucca where he and his wife live. Michael has never met his real grandfather because he passed away long before Michael was born so it was quite an experience for him to meet his grandfather's brother and his wife.
They were so very sweet and while there is so much more Michael would have liked to have asked Uncle Stan about his Grandpa Butch, that will have to wait until the next visit. Uncle Stan's son actually lives about 20 minutes from us so the next time they come for a visit hopefully we'll get to see them again.
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