Thank goodness the Olympics are over. I finally get to go to bed at my decent hour. Craig and I were able to enjoy a movie out Sunday evening (we saw Shutter Island) and then grabbed subs at Potbellies afterward. I didn't want anything too heavy since it was already 8 at night. Then we went out to dinner Friday night at Timbuktu. Originally, we were going to go to the movies after dinner, but decided to buy a movie and watch it at home instead. We ended up buying the movie 2012. We figured it was the same price anyway and we get to keep the movie. I wish date night happened more often. Hopefully it won't be nonexistent once the little one comes along. That's what grandparents that live close by are for, right?
I had an ultrasound on Thursday, March 4th in order for the doctors to have a closer look at the baby's heart since one of my brothers was born with Transposition of the Great Vessels. According to more recent studies, if a sibling has this type of heart defect, it will increase my chance of passing it on to my children, but the chance is still very small. The doctors are just taking precautions. Based on the previous U/S, everything was pointing toward a positive outlook, but they wanted a more indepth look and needed to wait until the baby's heart got a little bigger. Everything checked out great and they do not see any sign of any major heart defect. The baby was in breech position. Last time they were head down. But that doesn't mean anything at this stage anyway. The baby is on target for growth and they estimated the weight to be 1 pound and 4 oz. They said it falls in the 39th percentile for growth. The baby had hiccups too! You can see the 3-D picture that we were given down below of the baby's face. The little stinker wouldn't move its hands from its face, but all in all, the picture turned out pretty good.
Craig was finally able to feel the baby kick. I had his hand on my stomach this past Sunday and told him he will have to do this each night until he feels a kick. At first he would say he felt it so he can just go to sleep but I knew better. And shortly thereafter, I felt a huge thump and said "o.k., did you feel that?? That was a really good one!" and sure enough he did. He said it felt like my belly just bounced...LOL. After that, I had a hard time falling asleep because the little one would not stop moving around. But I was enjoying it none the less! As the doctor says, "an active baby is a healthy baby". I don't go a day now without feeling some good movements. And to top off my excitement, I was able to just lay in bed and watch my belly have a party inside! Seeing it from the outside adds a whole new dimension to this baby miracle thing. I just love being pregnant!!! Someone ask me in 3 more months if I'm feeling the same way!!
Some random tidbits - I do find that I have a hard time catching my breath when going up 2 or 3 flights of stairs. Also, tying my shoes is becoming a chore, so I'm glad I am having a June baby so I can start wearing slip on flats and flip flops soon. I do notice that there is more of me taking up more space. For instance when opening a door, I have to step back just slightly more than I'm used to or the door brushes against my stomach. I lay on my stomach still to play with my cat, but I find I have to have a huge pillow under my chest to balance the bump out. My back started hurting this past Wednesday; although it's been a lot more tolerable now. And I cheated on my lenten promise...I had some chocolate chip peanut butter cookie batter when making Craig cookies to bring to work. But I'm saving my craving to try the cookies on Sunday. Other than that, I've done really well!
Our baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him/her at just over a pound. Since the baby is almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he/she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but the body is filling out proportionally and will soon start to plump up. The brain is also growing quickly now, and the taste buds are continuing to develop. The lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help the baby's air sacs inflate once he/she hits the outside world. The skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. My uterus is now the size of a soccer ball!
Below are pictures of both the sonogram from Thursday and me at 24 weeks.
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