Dan and Mallory

Dan and Mallory

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

We are more than halfway there!

I have now made it to 21 weeks, which means Baby Berry is more than half baked! I am anxious to get to 24 weeks which is viability day, where the baby can live outside the womb if it came to that.

A lot has gone on in the past few weeks since I last updated. We had our anatomy scan to make sure all of the organs were where they were supposed to be, that they were all there and that there were not defects. The baby looked very healthy. Dan and I had fun watching our little one kick and wave, he even gave us a thumbs up. Soo cute!


Here I am at 20 weeks: Half baked!!



We thought it would be so much more fun to invite family over and reveal what we were having by putting either pink or blue inside the cupcakes, rather than just tell them over the phone. Right after our appt. I went home and made the cupcakes and had everyone over to our house.

These are the cupcakes before the reveal:


And the inside is........
BLUE!!!! Our baby is a boy!!!


We are so over the moon happy. I never knew I would be so excited to be having a little boy but I am sooo thrilled. I always thought I would be a better girl's mom but I am so attached to my little boy and I can't wait to see him.

I'd like to add that I am feeling him all the time now. His most active times are at night, and sometimes right when I am laying down to go to bed he decides he is going to have a little dance party. Dan has been able to feel him kick now. He kicks so hard that we can now see it from the outside.
We are currently debating the name. I am in love with Mason, and have been calling him this since we found out he was a boy. Dan wasn't so sure about it, but he has been calling him Mason lately. So I think the name just might stick. I hope so!!




Here I am at 19 weeks:
21 Week Update:
Feeling: Very good! I am feeling like a mostly normal person, other than the fact that I get tired more easily.
Energy: I feel like I have a normal amount of energy, but I hit a wall in the afternoon everyday.
Cravings: Chocolate milkshake and ceasar salad (I can't wait to have ceasar dressing again :(
Baby planning: We have our crib, and it is all set up! I can't wait to get our bedding next! I ordered a couple more diapers, in blue of course. We did our Target registry over the weekend! So much fun! And Carter's had an online sale, and OMG they had the cutest things. I had way too much fun buying some clothes for Mason.
Movement: All the time. I get nervous when I don't feel him for a while. I feel him most when I am laying down. If he isn't moving for a while I can drink something cold and that usually works to get him rolling around, or I can walk my fingers across my belly and that wakes him up.
Crazy dreams: None really






Wednesday, August 18, 2010

18 weeks

I have made it to 18 weeks and I am getting closer and closer to half baked as the days go on. I can't believe that my baby is almost halfway to being born. The first half of my pregnancy has gone pretty quickly, I'm sure the rest is going to drag.





This past week I got to experience a very joyful part of pregnancy. I have felt the first movements of the baby. Some movements are stronger than others and if I am patient enough to try to feel them from the outside, once in a while the baby punches or kicks me hard enough that I can feel it with my hand. Dan has tried a few times but I think the baby is playing games with him and he hasn't been able to feel it yet.





I had my 18 week appt today and I didn't get the greatest news. There was a lot of sugar in my urine. This can be an indication of Gestational Diabetes, and with Diabetes being so common in my family it really has me worried. So I have to go do the dreaded one hour glucose test sometime this week. I am having this test done about 10 weeks before they normally do it. I am sure I am going to have to do it again at 28 weeks. Please keep me in your thoughts that everything is okay! I am hoping that the sugar in my urine is from the french toast and syrup I ate about an hour before my appt. Other than that everything looked good. My blood pressure was normal and the Dr. said my belly is measuring right where it is supposed to be. It took him a while to find the heartbeat on the doppler, which had me freaking out, but then he found it at 154 bpm. The Dr. said the baby was moving all over the place and had to chase him/her around to get the heartbeat. Silly baby.





We are now less than a week away from our anatomy scan to make sure all of the organs are there and we get to find out the gender (if our baby cooperates of course). We didn't get to go to our elected ultrasound because I ended up getting a migraine on that morning and was very sick. I was and still am very sad that I didn't get to experience that special time with my family, but I guess there is nothing I can do about it. Please pray that we have a healthy baby in there, this is a very serious and nerve wracking ultrasound.











Here is my 17w4d picture:

















Here I am at 16w:






Feeling: My stomach has been feeling good, but I am now suffering from headaches almost every day and exhaustion is making a return.



Energy: Gone



Cravings: Orange juice, grapefruit and popcorn



Baby planning: Still working on moving things out of the baby room and have started buying our stash of cloth diapers. I will do a blog post complete dedicated to cloth diapers for anyone who is interested in them.

Movement: I am now finally feeling movement and I am feeling it a lot. The baby really starts tumbling around after I eat or drink and it is an amazing feeling.

Crazy dreams: Nothing I can remember right now.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

15 weeks

I have been horrible at updating this blog, so I have a lot of information from the past few weeks.

So I am officially at 15 weeks, which means I am now in my second trimester. I am so happy to have left the first trimester behind me but it's horrible symptoms have lingered on. Week 14 was filled with nausea which I was hoping would be gone at 12 weeks. No such luck. I am feeling better this week and actually had the motivation to make dinners and catch up on some baking. I hope Dan is craving some sweets because I definitely had a good time baking. In the past 4 days alone I have made lemon bars, brownies, peach cobbler and chocolate chip cookies.



Before I go any further here is my 15 week picture. There is something there but I still feel like I am in an awkward in between stage.





At 13w1day we had our NT scan. I met Dan in Buffalo for the scan. I had to get my finger pricked to get a blood sample to be sent out. Then it was time for the ultrasound. At first the baby was all over the place, kicking and waving it's arms around. The baby was in a head stand though and it's neck was bent so the u/s tech couldn't get the measurements that she needed for the NT scan. She tried having me lay flat, making me cough, having me lay on my side, and pressing down on my belly to try to make the baby move. The baby was not having it and eventually fell asleep, and it looked like it was sucking on it's thumb. So cute, but we had to reschedule the scan for a week later and hope the baby would be in a different position.



The next week at 14w1d we were back to try the scan over again. The baby was still on it's head but she got a better picture. She was able to measure the nuchal fold and it looked perfect. She was also looking for a nasal bone for this scan and it was easily visible. We were able to get our results at the end of this appt because my blood work had come back. We have a 1 in over 10,000 chance for both trisomy 13 and 18 or Downs Syndrome, which means we have a healthy baby and everything looked great! I couldn't be happier!



Here is a picture of our little alien at the 2nd NT scan. a frontal view. You can see the facial bones. I asked the u/s tech if she could guess at the sex but she wouldn't even try. :(








Here is a picture from the first NT scan, a side view of the baby with it's hand up to it's mouth. This is the point where he/she had fallen asleep.



I didn't update last week so here is my 14w bump picture.








Our big ultrasound where we find out the sex is on Aug. 24th and it can't come soon enough! I will be 19w1d and my Dr. said I could have my scan at 18w so that extra week is going to KILL me. I am so anxious. My prediction right now is a girl. Dan is feeling the same way. I guess we will find out in a little less than 4 weeks!!

15 weeks:

Feeling: Good. The nausea seems to have subsided (hopefully for good).

Energy: pretty good but I am feeling like a headache could be coming. These 2nd tri headaches are killer.

Cravings: The other night I had to have orange juice, but it was 1:30am and Dan being the wonderful husband that he is went out to get me some.

Baby planning: We have started to clear out the baby room closet and emptying the baby room.

Movement: None yet, I thought I felt something the other day but nothing since so maybe I was imagining it. I can't wait until I know for sure that that is what I am feeling.

Crazy dreams: I had a dream that I had the baby, but it was really early so we didn't have any baby supplies yet. By the way it ended up being a girl, I wonder if my intuition is right??

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

12 weeks

Which means the first trimester is coming to a close!!! Whoohoo!!!



I would have to say I am feeling a lot better. I do start to feel sick if there is something not in my stomach though. Other than that I have gotten most of my energy back and the food aversions are not as bad. Still no hamburgers though, yuck!! It is a hard aversion to have with it being summer time though. It seems that is all that people want to make, that or hot dogs, another yuck!



Next week is our big NT scan, which checks with Trisomy 13 & 18, or Downs syndrome. I am nervous for this scan but also excited to be able to see the baby again. I am looking forward to seeing more than a dot.

The heat this week has been horrible. It has been in the 90's and the humidity is terrible. Our central air is still not hooked up from when we put in the new furnace and then remodeled everything. It is supposed to be hooked up again this week but it can't come soon enough. Even with all of the windows closed my house has reached 90 degrees, which is unbearable for me right now. So when I am home I have been spending my time in the bedroom with the ac. The rest of my days have been spent floating around in my mom's pool.

This week:

Feeling: Pretty good, have had waves of nausea when I need to eat.

Energy: Good, feeling almost normal!

Cravings: Steak, apple cider, and squash. (I am so ready for fall!!!)

Baby planning: Still none.

Crazy dreams: I decided to add this one because I have been having crazy pregnancy dreams. I always thought they were just a myth but they are definitely not. My most recent was last night. My mom and I were pregnant at the same time, and she ended up having her baby but it had been in there for 47 years so it was already an adult when it came out. Weird??




Here is my 12 week bump:














Monday, June 28, 2010

11 weeks!

Today I am 11 weeks! I am almost out of 1st trimester, and I can't wait! I didn't update last week with a picture because I felt like I just looked the same. I am not seeing much of a difference this week either, but I want to be able to look back at these days and remember.

I went to the Dr. on 06/18 for my first real prenatal appt. We were there for over three hours!! I am glad that no other appt. is supposed to be that long. First we met with the OB nurse and went over all of our family history and what testing would need to be done in the next few months to come. I also found out that I had lost 10 pounds from not being able to eat much for about 4 straight weeks. Then we had to go back in the waiting room and wait for at least another hour to see my Dr. He did an exam on me and then we got to hear the little heartbeat. He was able to find it right away, which was reassuring because many Dr.'s aren't able to find it through a doppler that early. The heartbeat was beating at a wonderful 170 bpm. I have been hearing that a heart rate that high means a girl and below 150 is a boy. I am sure this is just a myth. I would love to have a girl, but would be just as happy with a boy. After my previous miscarriage I would be happy with a healthy baby which sounds cliche but it is true.

I am contemplating on whether or not to buy a home doppler so we can listen to the heartbeat whenever we want to. I feel like it would help a worry wort like me to reassure me that the baby is still doing okay, but then again I am terrified I wouldn't be able to find it because the doppler isn't as advanced as the Dr.'s and then I would freak out even more.

I went to the hospital on Friday to get my bloodwork done that my Dr. ordered. They ended up taking 7 viles of blood!! They just kept going and going. I am glad I am not squeamish about getting my blood taken like Dan. He probably would have passed out. He's such a baby ;) Our next Dr. appt isn't until 07/19, and I can't wait to hear that heartbeat again!

This week:
Feeling: Okay. I can eat!
Energy: Getting better. I have been able to peel myself off of the couch.
Cravings: Roast beef sub, popcorn and Pizza Hut (I am so mad that they closed all of the Pizza Huts around me!!)
Baby planning: Not much yet, still waiting for the big u/s to find out what we are having.


My 11 week picture:

Monday, June 14, 2010

9 weeks today!

9 weeks bump/bloat picture:





Today I am at the 9 week milestone!! Whoohoo closer to the end of the dreaded 1st trimester. Up until today I have been having a hard time with morning sickness. Whoever named it morning sickness should be shot though. Try all day sickness. I definitely wasn't ready for that. I am the type of person who just can't function when I am feeling sick, so I have spent way too much of these past few weeks on the couch or in bed.




I am such a lucky girl to have the husband that I do though. He has picked up my slack because I can't get myself in the kitchen to cook, he has been doing laundry and taking care of the animals. My mom has been great too, by helping me clean and do the dishes. Without them I would be in pretty bad shape.




I am very happy to report that I got to eat last night. It was the first time in a week that I actually felt like eating and I didn't have to choke down a couple of bites just to get something in my stomache. So the food that worked last night was pizza logs, haha. Not the healthiest of choices but being able to eat was a serious milestone for me.




I woke up today and am actually feeling like a human, so I am up to leaving the house today. I am hoping to be leaving morning sickness behind and that feeling good is more of a permanent thing. I also woke up to a very definite bump. I don't think it is normal to have one so early so it probably just bloat. I am going to update every week with a bump picture.

We now have less than a week until our next appt!! I will update after our appt. Keep us in your prayers still that our baby is still growing and doing well.






Wednesday, June 9, 2010

New to Blogging


I am very new to blogging but I want to be able to look back at these days and be able to remember what was happening.


Dan and I have entered into a very new chapter in our lives, but a very exciting one. I am pregnant!! Our little one is due to be entering this world on January 17th, 2011. I can't wait until we tell everyone our exciting news, keeping it bottled up inside is really hard for me.


This has been quite an experience so far. I am now a little over 8 weeks along, but in the beginning I was very anxious that this pregnancy was not going to end well. I experienced a miscarriage when I was 5 weeks pregnant in March 2010, and it was devestating. Everything about this pregnancy seems to be different than the first one, so that is reassuring.


When I first found out I was pregnant, I voiced my concerns with my OB and he ordered my HCG levels and my progesterone to be checked. (For those that don't know, HCG levels need to double every 48 hours in early pregnancy to show a healthy pregnancy.)


HCG Test #1 @ 05/11/10 (13 DPO)- 81

HCG Test #2 @ 05/13/10 (15 DPO)- 209.5

HCG Test #3 @ 05/17/10 (19 DPO)- 1074.1

Progesterone Test 1 @ 05/17/10- 10.1

Progesterone Test 2 @ 05/25/10- 11.9


My OB told me that once my HCG levels got to be over 2000 then I get to have my first ultrasound. My first ultrasound was on 05/28/10. Dan came with me and we got to see our little bean on the screen with the most beautiful little fluttering heartbeat.


Our next appointment in on June 18th. We are told it is going to be a very long appointment where we go over our family history and get to hear our little one's heartbeat on the doppler. I pray that the heartbeat is still there and everything is okay.