22 weeks is she still a girl???

Yesterday we had had our big ultrasound! Karen and Rodger came in Wednesday for the festivities. We had a wonderful dinner at Charlie Gittos my favorite St. Louis restaurant. My family dressed nice even the kids! We didn’t even get a picture. Surprise surprise. Sometimes I think not having pictures means we had even more fun because we are so wrapped up in conversation and fun that we don’t think of anything else. So it’s memory pictures we will have to remember. ❤️ Ricky was stopped and asked if he was a famous star from Top chef! 😂 Our waiter was incredible and just swore it was him. We looked the guy up and there was a resemblance! The kids thought that was just great. I really wanted baby Mac to move so Karen could try to feel because the other night Ricky said he could feel it! Apparently baby Mac enjoyed dinner so much that it was straight to bed! I was so excited to get home to sleep I was beyond full and sleepy.

So Thursday morning our appointment was at 9:30 am. I don’t really like early appointments. I feel more rushed but it was fine. Baby Mac was moving and kicking like CRAZY during my ultrasound even the tech could feel it. They went ahead to re check and make sure she was still a girl and she definitely was! That would have been quite a surprise and shock if we had seen something different lol. She was moving so much she put on a great show. She was so precious and perfect. We even saw her sucking her fingers! They said her size was perfect and right on track. She was estimated at one pound and 3 ounces. ❤️❤️❤️

You guys are not going to believe this but it looks like I have a two vessel cord AGAIN this time! How weird is that. Thankfully I know because of last time that it’s nothing to worry about it just means I get more ultrasounds and appointments to go to. I won’t complain about getting to see her cute face more often. I’m honestly wondering if this is more common in ivf or it really can just be a fluke and happed to me two times in a row?

They also said at 36 weeks they want me to do non stress tests. Basically I will go in once a week and be hooked up to monitors and they will just watch her I guess and make sure we are all good to go. It was funny though because she said it was because of ivf pregnancy but as we know my last 5 pregnancy’s were ivf and I have never had these before. 😆 Weird but I’ll be there. After the appointment we left and went to the hospital for a hospital tour. They showed us the birthing room and told us they will do their best to get us rooms close together. I made sure to get a cup of that great ice before I left! All in all we had a great time. It’s so exciting to be getting so close. Today I have a regular appointment with Dr Sammons. Oh I almost forgot to mention baby is also already head down. Well at least so far! She obviously has lots of wiggle room and can be switching it up any time but I hope for my sake she stays like this.

Let’s see what baby Mac is doing this week.

How’s Baby Mac?

Baby Mac is now just under a foot long — about the size of an ear of corn — and weighs just over a pound (478 grams). 

When Baby Mac isn’t sleeping the day away (which at this point is 12-14 hours a day), they’re trying to touch anything they can. Whether it’s their face, body, or umbilical cord, your baby is working on their physical abilities and motor skills by practicing movement and getting a feel for things. Your little one’s inner ear is also developing their sense of balance. While Baby Mac may not be using that sense of balance on any gymnastics equipment yet, the more their ears develop, the better the chance that your baby is hearing you when you talk, and learning your voice, so that when they arrive, they’ll recognize you!

Their eyes are still developing, and right now your little one still lacks pigment in their iris, so doesn’t have an eye color just yet. And his pancreas is already busy creating its own hormones, which helps alleviate all of the hormonal heavy-lifting you’ve been doing. 

What’s new with you?

Your feet and hands may be some of the next places to feel pregnancy’s side effects, as some swelling is not uncommon during these months. You might notice that any rings you wear on your fingers might start to feel tighter, and your feet could grow a whole size bigger. Wearing maternity compression stockings may help improve your circulation and reduce swelling in your feet and legs, in addition to helping with varicose veins if those have been an issue for you. 

And your expanding womb may have turned your “innie” into an “outie” by now. Don’t worry, it’ll go back to normal after you give birth. Your newly out-facing belly button might be a little sensitive, especially as it rubs against your clothes, but that’s generally nothing to worry about. If, on the other hand, it’s causing you pain, talk to your healthcare provider to make sure that you’re not dealing with an umbilical hernia. 

Really, as any strange symptoms or discomforts pop up for you, be sure to ask your provider about it. Even if there’s nothing wrong, it never hurts to know exactly what’s going on in your body, and it can help you feel better knowing that whatever’s going on is normal.

We celebrated Bo’s first birthday yesterday!
We needed a picture by the expectant mothers sign!
Mr. Shawn Brock from top chef. Who they thought Ricky was. 😆

21 weeks

We are moving right along and thankfully things are going smoothly and uneventful just how we like it! Baby Mac is definitely starting to kick and wiggle more and I’m so happy to be feeling it. It’s a nice little reminder each day that she is happy and growing. It’s been harder to feel her since my placenta is in the front but I know as she gets stronger she will make her presence known! Karen and Rodger are coming back this Wednesday. It’s only been like a month but it feels longer. I’m so excited to see them and take them to one of my favorite restaurants! We are going to Charlie Gitto’s on the hill. It’s so so yummy and I’m going to eat so many toasted raviolis. If your not from St. Louis then it’s a St. Louis food here. 😂

Our appointment on Thursday is the big 20 week ultrasound but they couldn’t get us in until this week so technically I’ll be 22 weeks. That’s ok that just means we will have better pictures of her hopefully. I was hoping she would be kicking hard enough so Karen could feel her but I’m not sure she is strong enough yet. Karen also invited me to her baby shower today!!! This may seem silly but it’s the first baby shower I have been invited to where I’m carrying the baby. It’s such an honor. I’m hoping to just blend in a bit though I want to make sure the day is all about her! I got her what I think is a great gift already I had ordered and was going to send it. I can’t share though because she will see this. 😂 I’ll take a picture and share with everyone after. The great news is that’s a few weeks away so by then baby Mac is SURE to be big and strong enough so they can feel her moving! I hope Karen gets lots of baby kicks I want to to experience as much as she can.

We are also doing a hospital tour when they are here so they can have that experience also. In 18 weeks or likely less she’s going to be here and that’s so exciting. I’m just soaking everything I can in. Even the parts where I can’t get comfortable or sleep all night. I’m still eating lots of ice and sleeping has been not great. I take forever to fall asleep and then if I wake up it takes forever to fall back asleep! I just keep thinking this is it. I do get a little winded sometimes when I shower for too long or come up and down the stairs. Also after I eat sometimes I get winded. I think it’s because I don’t have as much belly and lung room. Today I got home and I had a package I had to swear to Ricky I didn’t order anything and wasn’t sure what it was. Turns out Karen sent me the cutest and most comfy one piece outfit. I now want one in every color for every day!!! Plus baby Mac looks adorable in it. Kailynn is so jealous and swears she’s going to steal it.

Let’s see what baby Mac is up to.

How’s Baby Mac?

Baby Mac is about 10 ½ inches long (27.2 cm), the size of a bok choy, and weighs between 1/4 and 3/4 of a pound. Your baby looks a lot like a miniature person at this point, which is huge growth when you think about how they were just a microscopic ball of cells merely 20 weeks ago. Baby Mac’s skin is still a bit see-through, and it has also developed wrinkles that will allow for internal expansion once their baby fat starts to set in — they’ll soon fill out into a cute, plump little thing! This baby fat is especially important for Baby Mac’s development, both because the fats in their system will directly fuel their brain’s development and because it helps baby regulate their temperature once they’re born. Baby Mac is also still producing meconium, the black tarry substance that makes up their first poop.

Sooooo cute and comfy. I’m sure this won’t look as adorable without the baby bump.
Ice ice baby! Two cups at a time.
Lol 😂

18 weeks/19 tomorrow!

Time just keeps getting away from us. I’m sure the holidays make it seem faster. I am so excited for Christmas! One of my love languages is definitely gifts. 😂 I love to give and receive. I’m so excited to see the kids faces when they open up the stuff we got them! Plus my nephew Travis is going to be so excited to open gifts this year I just know it. The most exciting news of today is I finally felt little baby Mac move!!! I have had a few times when I thought maybe but I couldn’t be sure. Then today I was sure! She even gave me a couple extra kicks so I knew it was her. I immediately texted Karen the great news.

Last week is when they were in town for a drs appointment. It was a quick visit but a great one. I told Dr Sammons that I still couldn’t feel her moving yet and that it bothered me because I wanted to feel her by now. I told her I thought I had an anterior placenta. That’s when the placenta grows in front of baby so it can be harder to notice the early movements because they have extra cushioning. She reassured me that lots of women don’t feel anything until 20 weeks. I just have been pregnant so many times now I know what it’s supposed to feel like. 😂

Plus like I said I did have a few times I was like well maybe that was her but it just wasn’t enough to convince me. So we got to the fun stuff and did an ultrasound. Oh my is she just perfect and beautiful. She is so much bigger then the first few times we saw her. It’s crazy how fast a baby grows in there. Especially since we saw her as the tiniest little 6 day old embryo that they had to magnify times like 1000 so we could see her! There was no missing this little girl she was very wiggly and loved to move her little hands and feet all over. We could see all her little fingers! Also turns out I am basically a dr now since I self diagnosed my anterior placenta! Lol. I was right and that’s why I wasn’t feeling her yet.

Early on these movements are so small and tiny I have to be laying down and quiet to really even notice them for sure. She will get stronger each week and will quickly be able to kick hard enough you can feel from the outside and even see it. I really hope by our next big ultrasound she’s kicking hard enough for Karen and Rodger to feel her! It was so special and fun watching them see her on ultrasound. Karen thankfully took pictures and videos because I was so excited seeing how happy they were that I didn’t do anything but watch them enjoy their baby. 🥰

Because of my old age 37 😂 I’m considered advanced maternal age. That means I will get to go to a high risk Dr to look at the 20 week ultrasound. We are actually going to be doing the scan at 22 weeks because that’s when they could get us in. They will look at all the important stuff and we will get to enjoy seeing how cute and perfect she is in there. They may want to keep seeing me up until delivery day or they may let us just do regular Drs appointments we will just wait and see what they say. Regardless I’m just so happy and excited that we have made it.

These last 21 weeks are going to fly by. I’m so excited and a bit sad. I love everything the end of pregnancy brings. All the joy and excitement the planning. Guessing each day if it’s the day baby Mac is going to choose for her big birthday debut! I’m going to do my very very best to soak it all in and enjoy every last moment of this last pregnancy. Now I’ll add what baby girl is up to this week for week 19 since that’s technically tomorrow and I’ll add the cute pictures Karen took of her.

19 weeks pregnant is how many months?

If you’re 19 weeks pregnant, you’re in month 5 of your pregnancy. Only 4 months left to go! Still have questions? Here’s some more information on how weeks, months and trimesters are broken down in pregnancy.

How big is my baby at 19 weeks?

Six inches long this week and just over a half pound in weight, your baby has gone through a bit of a growth spurt. 

Vernix develops

Your little one may have a cheesy varnish this week.

Say what? You read that right — a protective substance called vernix caseosa (vernix is the Latin word for “varnish”; caseosa means “cheese”) now covers your fetus’ skin. It’s greasy, white and made up of that downy hair known as lanugo, oil from your baby’s glands and dead skin cells.

This waxy “cheese” may not sound too appealing, but it’s there for good reason: Vernix protects your baby’s sensitive skin from the surrounding amniotic fluid. Without it, he’d look very wrinkled at birth — sort of what you’d look like if you soaked in a bath for nine months.

The vernix sheds as delivery approaches, though some babies — especially those born early — will still be covered with it at birth, so you might get a look at your baby’s first anti-wrinkle cream.

Your Body at Week 19

19 weeks pregnant woman

Leg cramps

There’s nothing like getting into bed at the end of a long, exhausting day — especially when you’re pregnant. Aching for a good night’s sleep — literally, if your back’s been acting up again — you throw back the covers and prepare to happily drift into dreamland.

But if you’re like many expecting moms, something may be keeping you awake tonight — besides what color to paint the nursery: leg cramps.

These painful spasms that radiate up and down your calves are very common during the second and third trimester. While these cramps can occur during the day, you’ll notice them — oh, baby, will you notice them! — more at night.

No one knows for sure what causes them, though there are plausible theories aplenty. It could be that your leg muscles are just fatigued from carrying around all the extra weight of pregnancy. Or that the vessels that carry blood to and from your legs are compressed by your growing uterus at 19 weeks pregnant. 

There’s also speculation that it may be somehow related to diet or not being fully hydrated, though this hunch hasn’t been substantiated by studies.

Whatever the cause, you’ll need a quick fix when a leg cramp does strike — especially when it’s standing (or lying) between you and a good night’s sleep. So here’s one for you: Straighten your leg and gently flex your ankle and toes back toward your shins.

Feeling baby’s kicks

Your sister said baby kicked by this point in pregnancy — and so did your best friend — but so far, you haven’t felt a thing. Except those gas bubbles this morning … those were gas, weren’t they?

Maybe, maybe not. Those first tiny kicks can be felt many different ways — generally starting between week 18 and week 22, though it can be a week or two later if this is your first pregnancy.

Sometimes you might feel like something is swimming inside you (which it is!), while other times those first fetal movements may feel more like bufferflies in your tummy.

Once your baby grows bigger, you’ll be able to easily tell what those little kicks feel like, so there won’t be any mistaking them for something else. Learn more about fetal movement during pregnancy.

What a perfect little profile!
Look at these fingers!!!