23 weeks tomorrow!

I actually have a lot to update for once!

Last Friday was our 22 week OB appointment. I have only gained 13 lbs so far which I am really happy about, especially because it seems I am always hungry, and for the first trimester I was less nauseous if I ate. BP was perfect, no urine issues. Baby totally cooperated this time and they found his heart beat right away. In fact, due to his position, the Doppler was right on top of his heart and my OB could hear all of the valves functioning "just beautifully" as she put it. My uterus is measuring 24 instead of 22 weeks, but I was told that's normal and better than measuring too small.

Our u/s results were fantastic; no soft markers for Downs! He has a prominent nasal bone and all the bones in his pinkies plus his femur length was normal. However, our baby is a stubborn little dude, because they have not been able to get good views of his heart so we went back one more time on Wednesday.

This ultrasound was a way better experience. It was at another OB's office in the same building, and Nate was able to be in the room the entire time. We both watched our baby during the entire ultrasound on a big TV screen on the wall. The tech was super sweet and went over all the body parts she was measuring and answered any questions we had. It was so cool to watch our little guy for a whole hour! He curls his hands up under his chin when he sleeps like I do, and I totally think he has my nose and Nate's lips! I asked if she could confirm the gender, but he was sitting breech with his legs crossed so no further visual of his boy bits. He also kept putting his hands in front of his face when she switched to 3D so no good face shots to take home. But he's healthy (he showed us his heart which looks great!) and that's all that matters.

I reached another milestone the other day. TMI (too much information) warning for those who do not want to read about my boobs....

They started leaking colustrum!! I was a bit surprised and excited all at once, only because I was happy to know the plumbing up there works, haha!

In other exciting news, progress is being made on the nursery. My tree-shelf wall is almost done, and mom has gotten a lot done on the owl mural on the closet. Last week we bought a light fixture for his room and a bookshelf that matches the off-white colour of our crib and dresser/change table. I also found out this week that I have the same baby furniture as Elaine! Which is funny because when we bought it, I was looking for something similar to hers as I loved it back when Matty was born. Not only that, but she is doing an owl, birds, and butterfly theme for her little girl (due within the next 4 weeks), and we are doing an owl and dragonfly theme for our little boy. Great friends think alike! ;-) I can't wait for both of our babies to be here. It's so much fun to be pregnant at the same time as one of your very best friends.

Oh, and I've popped even more I think. I feel enormous. Here's my latest belly picture (taken yesterday):

21 Week Follow-up Ultrasound

So our baby boy is doing really good! Yesterday was the follow-up anatomy ultrasound since the first was a bit "early" and he was too small to get all the measurements they needed. He is measuring right on target, his heart rate is good, and thanks to the tummy probing he finally turned so that he is no longer beating up my cervix and bladder. I actually saw my belly jump very slightly from a couple good knees/elbows during the ultrasound so I think all the poking ticked him off!

Unfortunately the u/s was super short and the tech I had was a tight lipped cow. She barely grunted when I asked if he was cooperating, and I was starting to freak out that something was wrong because she said absolutely nothing the whole time! When she left to give the doctor the scans and to get mom and Nate, I felt baby like crazy (that's when I saw my tummy jump!) so thank god I had that reassurance. I had to drag it out of her that he was measuring perfectly and what his heart rate was (143 bpm). I asked if she was able to see his boy parts, and she said no, that this was a follow up so she didn't look. Hmph.

We plan on going for an elective 3D ultrasound in a few weeks, so I guess I can get a better look then! At least we were able to see him "looking" at us and sucking his thumb! Here is a picture from the ultrasound, but it's pretty crappy. It's of his face as he was looking at us. It looked so much cuter on the actual screen.



We will get our combined ultrasound results on Friday, but I'm feeling good about everything.

Last night was also pretty exciting because he was moving a ton since the ultrasound and had been giving me his hardest kicks/punches/nudges yet. So, while we were curled up on the couch watching "The Business of Being Born", Nate had his hand on my belly and felt him for the first time! I was worried that with my extra padding it would take a while for him to feel it, but after I saw my belly move today I began to wonder. I'm so happy he was able to experience that!