18 Week Appointment "A Week Late"

Last week I went for my 18 week appointment, and yes I am just now posting about it.

Baby Girl is about the length of a bell pepper

How Far Along: 18 weeks
Weight Gain: 13 lbs (I feel like such a fatty but Dr. says this is perfect. I am just thinking I have a long way to go and not many pounds left in my goal)
Maternity Clothes: Yes I have given in. I can still wear my regular cloths with the bella band but why would I do that? I mean have you priced a pair of maternity dress pants? I am going to get my money's worth...;)
Stretch Marks: Not yet but I am still lathering up with Mother's Friend

Morning Sickness: It's easing up but I still have to eat breakfast as soon as my feet hit the floor to keep from being sick.

Sleep: Still having to pee once a night and I am sleeping with tons of pillows behind my head to help combat sinus drainage.
Baby Movement: Yes. However it's not as often as I would have thought. I am not sure if she is just really laid back or if I can only feel her at certain times/positions, etc.
Food Cravings: Salty and unhealthy. I have always despised McDonald's McNuggets and have never ate them. However I am finding myself craving them....weird.
What I Miss: My relatively flat waistline, being able to move at the pace I used to and not feeling uncomfortable when I bend over.

Looking Forward To: Deciding on her name, painting her nursery, ordering her bedding and getting to all of those crafts on my list.....oh so many crafts.

Milestones: Baby girl's uterus, fallopian tubes and other girlie parts are formed and in place. When we go for our 20 week sonogram we should really be able to verify she is still a she :)

As I mention I had my 18 week appointment last week. I knew they said they would run some tests but I was not prepared when they asked me if I wanted to test the baby for chromosomal abnormalities. Justin and I thought this test was performed via amniocentesis. We decided we would defiantly not have this done due to the slight risks to the baby. However this was a blood test  so I wasn't sure if this was the same test. I decided to let them take my blood.

Turns out it kind of was the same test (all you moms probably know this). They draw blood and test for certain chromosomes (downs syndrome, etc.) If it comes back positive they would send me to UAB in Birmingham to have in depth testing done. This is where the amniocentesis would come in.

If the results did come back positive (note false positives are possible), I would not have had the follow up amniocentesis done. In my mind what was the point? I mean if it came back positive and I didn't get the follow up testing then all that will have done is make me worry the rest of my pregnancy.  (I am a worrier) So having thought about that I called the Dr. and asked her not to send the blood sample to be tested.

There are ALOT of things out there that can not be tested for to worry about so what's adding one more thing to the unknown. God will take care of us no matter what.

To each their own but that was my thinking on the subject anyhow. I just pray daily everything turns out to be okay.



Until Next time....

   Brandi

Overdue Congrats....

I am sorry this is late but Congrats to my good friend Bethany on the birth of her 2nd born.......

Caroline Isabella Waters

Caroline was born shorthly after 1:00 August 24, 2012.

Gender Reveal

The final results of the gender poll showed 55% in favor of girl. If you were part of the majority congratulations you were right! We are having a GIRL!!!!! I must say I didn't realize how much I thought it was a boy until it wasn't. I totally had to switch gears but once the initial shock went away the excitement began to kick in.

Our doctor's appointment was at 9:00am we got to see our sweet girl about 5 or 10 minutes later. She was shy at first she would hold her hands over her eyes to hide her face...soooo cute!!!!

 

 

The next video you will see two legs and nothing in between......

We planned to have a gender reveal party to tell the family the gender Friday night. After our appointment we went and made copies of the sonogram. We made 5 copies, one for the parents and each set of grandparents. We had 15 pink balloons filled and placed them in the nursery. We taped the sonogram pics to the strings and locked the nursery door.

We decided to have a scavenger hunt leading everyone to the nursery for the reveal. Here are the clues I came up with......


1) The answer you should find, only if you're able is under the kitchen _______. (this led the family to the table were the next clue was taped underneath.

2) Little boys will spray their clothes when they use the water _______. (this led to the water hose located in the garage)

3) Girls will get some lovin' when there's something cooking in the ______. (this clue led to the oven)

4) Boys don't squat they use the _______. (this one led to the "pot"/ toilet)

5) A girl will always laugh when she's in the bubble______. (this one led to the bathtub)

6) In the living space little boys will set fire to something in the_______. (this one led to the fireplace)

7) Boys and girls alike love play with a balloon, here's a key to  the baby's ______. (this one led to the family to take the key and unlock the baby's room filled with pink balloons with sonogram pics that read "It's a girl".

Saturday Justin, Momma, JoNell and I went to Birmingham to do a little shopping. Mom surprised me with a few dresses she saved from when I was a baby. JoNell started from scratch by buying baby girl some new ones. Justin and I ordered her furniture...

We ordered everything seen here except the hutch. We thought it would just be too big in her room.

I have picked out her bedding. However, since we are having it made we are going to wait until 20 weeks before we order it (just to make sure she stays a she).....

I am thinking we will paint 3 walls a khakish-pewter color and maybe paint the wall behind the crib a shade of yellow. Although this makes me nervous because yellow is just a hard color to get just right so we will see.

Well that's that.....

Until Next Time..........

 

Brandi