Change of Plans

The Bad News?

My doctor's staff really is that incompetent. I was scheduled for our "Big Ultrasound" on August 8th. I've been scheduled for a month. (Although it did take two tries for them to actually put me in the system... Even after giving me an appointment card.) Fine. So I call yesterday to confirm my appointment because I do not trust the office AT ALL. They say everything is set. "You'll be meeting with Kevin the Ultrasound Tech at 10:00AM on Friday. No problem." Great! I get a call this morning from someone I've never spoken to at the office. He informs me that Ultrasounds are never supposed to be scheduled on a Friday and someone must have made a mistake (very surprising, right) and that he would need to reschedule me to next week. Not like I was counting down the days or anything.... *UGH*

The Good News?

I'm finally making the break from my current doctor and will be moving onto the new one. I've scheduled a 3D/4D ultrasound for TOMORROW at 6:00PM to find out the sex!! We're going with Prenatal Peek in San Jose. This way we'll be able to take our time getting everything set up with our new doctor. Also, my friend Sarah will be going a half hour before to find out the sex of their baby, too!! It will be an exciting evening.

The Moby

The hubs and I plan to wear the baby (especially when Sprout's an infant), so we've been doing a LOT of research on slings and carriers to find out which ones will be the right fit for our family.

One wrap has received so many rave reviews that we knew we'd be getting it: The Moby Wrap. I've been looking at their color/style selection and realized that the color I wanted (moss) is gender neutral. I've been dying to buy some baby stuff, but have been really good, so J and I headed over to Tiny Tots Baby Boutique in downtown Campbell to pick it up. It was the first time I'd been to that little baby shop and I was really impressed. They had a lot of great products and their staff was really helpful. The lady showed me how to wrap the Moby and then let me try it.

So what did I do when I got home? Well, put my cats in it of course!! I'm such a mean mean mommy. ;) Amber wasn't having it, but Thor seemed pretty darn content. I always knew he was just a big baby. :)

16 Weeks

Time continues to fly by!



Not too much to report this week. I've been having some trouble with dizzyness/nausea/almost-fainting, but it seems to be fading now. I think the increased blood supply is starting to get to me.

A couple nights ago Sarah invited me to go through some (okay a LOT) of maternity clothes some co-workers gave her. I ended up with quite a few nice things. It's perfect timing since I'm actually starting to outgrow my shirts.

I've been putting on a steady pound a week now, so I'm really glad I don't have to worry about not gaining anything like I was before. Here are this week's belly pics. Sprout's growing quickly!







Toes? What toes? Those things are LONG gone.

I have to say that I love having this baby bump... Really, I do! But it definitely takes some getting used to!

Last, but not least: 6 Days until our Big Ultrasound!!!

Guess Sprout's Gender!!

Take this poll to guess if we're having a boy or girl. Don't forget to leave your name when you vote.

15 Weeks

I think that I'm really showing and that strangers are probably fairly certain I'm pregnant. However, it hasn't been acknowledged yet. I'm just waiting for a random person to ask me what my due date is. :) (A question I'll probably be beyond sick of by the end of the pregnancy.)

I haven't taken any belly pics this week. I was doing it every other week because there wasn't much of a difference week-to-week, but I know I can definitely feel a difference from 14 to 15 weeks so I'll try some photos.

This week I am starting to not feel like such a slug. Work is busy, but I've been feeling more motivated, so not too bad. I was doing some cleaning and organizing yesterday and am feeling more and more like myself the farther I get into the 2nd trimester.

The changes in my body are becoming obvious. Last night the hubs and I went out for a walk around the neighborhood (which is also a Redwood forest). Before we headed out, I chugged some water. As we were walking I could feel it slushing around. Normal, right? Nuh-uh! It stopped me dead in my tracks. The slushing was RIGHT under my rib cage!! Since when did my stomach move all the way up there?! Baby Sprout is making himself quite at home. No wonder I have near-constant heartburn: my stomach is practically in my esophagus! I knew this would happen eventually, I just didn't expect it so fast. :)

2 Weeks and 1 Day until we find out if it's a Boy or Girl!!

14 Weeks

14 weeks down and 26 weeks to go! At this point I'm starting to notice a difference in how I'm feeling and in my energy level. Ironically, my sleeping is worse, but my energy is higher. My nausea rarely shows up (although it still does make an appearance about once a day) and I am now able to eat more and am even putting on a little weight.

My tummy definitely continues to poke out.





I think this is the last week my tootsies will be in view without leaning forward!

NT Scan

From Wikipedia:

A nuchal scan is a sonographic prenatal screening scan (ultrasound) to help identify higher risks of Down syndrome in developing babies, particularly for older mothers who have higher risks of such pregnancies. The scan is carried out at 11-13 weeks pregnancy and assesses the amount of fluid behind the neck of the fetus - also known as 'the nuchal translucency'. Babies at risk of Down tend to have a higher amount of fluid around the neck. The scan may also help confirm both the accuracy of the pregnancy dates and the foetal viability. Its high definition imaging may also detect other less common chromosomal abnormalities.

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We had ours done on July 9th. (13 weeks & 1 day)

The bonus, of course, was getting to see our little Sprout!! We did get the results back and our risk (it's not a real yes or no answer) is extremely low. One more thing we don't have to worry about.

It was so amazing watching our little tyke moving around on the screen. Every time the tech would jab the wand into my tummy to try to get Sprout to move, Sprout would jerk in annoyance at being disturbed. As the u/s wand moved around, we could so so many awesome details like the tiny little fingers moving around.

Here are some of the photos the tech took during the exam.


(Front-Facing)





Isn't that just amazing? Especially compared to our first ultrasound when he or she was just a blog with arm and leg buds.

13 Weeks

I'm 13 weeks today! I'm "officially" out of my first trimester and into the second!!! I really can't believe that I'm 1/3 of the way through the pregnancy. Time has really flown by and I actually wish it would slow down a little. It's not that I'm nervous for the baby to get here (though I'm sure that will come), it's just that I've been enjoying being pregnant so much! I've definitely had my share of uncomfortable moments/entire weeks, but I've wanted to carry a child my entire life and I'm not taking for granted what a wonderful experience this is.


We went to a regularly scheduled doctor's appointment yesterday. The baby's heartbeat sounds good, so that's what's important. Unfortunately, we've been having a LOT of problems with her office and are going to be switching doctors. We're really not that picky and it's very stressful to change doctors while pregnant, so we wish it wasn't this way, but we know we're doing the right thing. Very luckily, a friend's girlfriend just happens to be the daughter of a highly-sought doctor that delivers where we want to. She may not be accepting new patients, but we'll probably be able to get in thanks to this very sweet lady who is going to put in a good word for us!

About little Sprout this week:

"Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce."



P.S. We find out the gender in 5 weeks! (I think it's a girl. ♥ )

New Belly Pics

12 Week Belly Pics.

Let's just say I have popped out a little. I have a feeling I'm going to get huge.





And the view from above. (aka Renee's disappearing feet!)

The Mighty Fetal Doppler

J & I decided to rent a Fetal Doppler from Belly Beats for some peace of mind (and also because it's so cool!).



At first try, it was a little challenging and, admittedly, a little frustrating. I'm still not sure what the problem was, but after 10 minutes of searching, we couldn't find our little Sprout's heartbeat. That was on Friday. It took me a little while to gain the courage to give it another shot (I was afraid the same thing would happen), but last night I went for it.

I'm so glad we did, because we found our little one's heart going at 174 beats per minute and her or she was on the move. I'd start to count the beats (I only needed to count them for 10 seconds) and then before I could get the count, the heartbeat would fade out to nothing and I'd have to chase Sprout down and start over. It was pretty amazing. :)

Here it is!! Please excuse Jase's creative video tactics. ;) Notice in the end how it begins to fade out...