skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Hi everyone! We met with our perinatologist on Friday and we had another ultrasound done to make sure that the baby's heart valves were in tact. Everything looked great! We also had the doctor double check the sex of the baby, and she agrees that it is definitely a girl! She had a heart rate of 142, which is excellent, and she is currently in the 47th percentile in size. Our perinatologist doesn't think that we'll have to go back and see her again, although she is recommending another ultrasound of the baby's anatomy in the 3rd trimester, just to be safe. Sam and I are fine with that - we love seeing her kick and throw punches on the ultrasound screen! Hopefully then we'll also get some great 3D pictures as well!
Lately, I have noticed some patterns in her movement. She tends to kick a lot more at night or when I'm sitting and watching TV or typing on the computer, and she also seems to kick more if I've eaten something spicy or really sweet, like a piece of candy. I'm resisting the urge to eat a lot of those foods just to make her move more, although it's very tempting since I love feeling her kicks and punches!
During the past couple of weeks, my belly has been growing a lot faster. I have noticed my feet are starting to ache if I've spent the day walking or standing, which makes me nervous about the upcoming school year! I am right on track with the weight gain, and have even started picking up the exercise a little bit, with my doctor's permission. Hopefully that helps keep me strong and energetic throughout the next 3 1/2 months!
I have posted a 3D ultrasound of the baby's face. It's somewhat hard to tell, but her face is on the left. I don't really know what's on the right. I've also posted a picture of my belly at 21 weeks. I didn't realize how much I've grown until I looked at the last picture, taken at 17 weeks.
Sam and I have a bit too much time on our hands now that we're both off for the summer! We found a website that you can generate a picture of what your future baby will look like based on current photos of the parents. Yes, we're that nerdy! I've attached the picture below... it actually does resemble both of us, surprisingly!
We also had an appointment last week with our regular OBGYN, Dr. Carney. Although we're not considered a high risk pregnancy anymore, she still recommended us to a perinatologist, whom we will be seeing this week. Dr. Carney said that everything looks great, she just wants me to have a perinatologist since we had such a rough beginning, just in case anything else were to come up. Our new perinatologist is out of Edward Hospital as well, her name is Dr. Moran. We'll be seeing her on Friday, and she will be giving us another ultrasound to get a higher resolution view of the baby's heart. I guess she was laying in an odd position last time and they didn't get a clear view. Dr. Carney assures us that this happens often and is nothing to be concerned about. We will keep you all posted on how that appointment goes this week.
This week has been a lot of fun because I've been able to feel the baby move a lot! Sam hasn't been able to feel her from the outside still, so we're hoping that he will be able to feel her in the next week or so!
Yes, we caved in and found out the sex of the baby! We were so set on not finding out, but once the ultrasound tech said she knew, we started wavering. We ended up having her write it down and put it in a sealed envelope, in case we changed our minds. That stayed in Sam's pocket for all of 15 minutes - we opened it in the waiting room while waiting for our next appointment! We're so glad that we did, too! We are thrilled to be having a little girl, and knowing has made it a lot more real for us!
Aside from finding out the sex of the baby, we had a very detailed ultrasound of each part of the baby's anatomy. It lasted a while - about 45 minutes - and we got to see her little hands, feet, spine, face, and even organs like her kidneys, brain, and bladder. Everything looked completely normal and healthy, and she was throwing little kicks and punches the whole time. The ultrasound tech had a hard time keeping her still for pictures - I hope this isn't a part of her personality that lasts! She is no longer the huge baby that she was at 10 weeks - she's in the 48th percentile of size now, instead of the 98th percentile (quite a relief!). She's measuring around 6 inches long. Right now she is in breech position, but she's got plenty of time to turn around!
I've started to feel her kicks and punches a lot more often in the last couple of days. It happens mostly at night when I'm laying down, or when I'm in the car. I think Sam will be able to feel them from the outside soon, as they're getting stronger and more frequent. He can't wait! We've tried but he hasn't been able to feel anything yet.
Yesterday was the last appointment that I had at the University of Chicago. I have a follow up appointment with Dr. Carney out of Edward Hospital. She will be my new OBGYN throughout the rest of my pregnancy.
By the way, thank you to whoever has been clicking on the ads on our blog! We have already earned $20! All of the money earned on this website will go into our little girl's savings account.
I have posted an ultrasound picture below of her profile.
