4 month Check Up

Today I had my 4 month check up with Dr. Kennedy. Everything was good with my blood pressure, weight, and the baby's heartbeat was very strong! We scheduled our ultrasound today after my doctor's appointment! We will be finding out about our little baby's gender on December 11! We really don't care if we have a girl or a boy, as long as he/she is healthy. We are just beside ourselves right now thinking about how close we are to finding out. I had another exciting thing happen yesterday....I felt the baby move! Our little peanut has been poking me every now and then. It's not very often and it usually happens when I'm really still and not paying attention to my belly...which is not often. I can't take my eyes from my belly for very long. I know that sounds crazy...but I have a teeny tiny baby growing in there and I'm just amazed. Butch and I are so excited and we can't wait to know what we're having. I think it will help us to bond to the baby even more! Well I just wanted to put a little update on here. Thanks for reading...

Week 15

Our nearly four-inch long gymnast is happily mobile inside my belly and if I'm really lucky, I will notice when I'm sneezing, coughing or laughing results in a little kick here or a poke there. Still, many women don't feel anything until the 17th week or later. Although the poking and kicking isn't very charming during sleeping hours, it’s a good sign as it means our baby is actually reacting to outside events. Yay! We’ve got ourself one active healthy baby! Their little elbows and knees are bending more freely this week and their little legs are finally growing longer than their arms and getting pumped up for prenatal Richard Simmons. haha. Many of their major organ systems are increasing in capacity—particularly that amazing tiny heart and complex circulation system, which is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood per day, and will increase to a very impressive 200 quarts per day by the end of the pregnancy. As far as hair goes, we’ve got some new scalp patterns beginning to develop on the head, although actual head hair is not yet present.

My thoughts:

I am highly anticipating the day we find out whether we're having a girl or boy! I have a doctor's appointment this coming Thursday, but it is just a regular check up. After my appointment I will get to schedule the ultrasound to confirm the gender of our little one! It's all I think about these days since we are getting so close to finding out. Since we've stepped over into the second trimester, I have not had morning sickness or as much fatigue. These past couple of weeks have been awesome. I've really enjoyed the pregnancy a lot more since I haven't been as sick and tired. The only thing I hate is the mood swings...and I know Butch is having a hard time with it. He doesn't understand how my moods are so different within seconds, minutes, or hours...and I don't either. It just happens!! The poor guy...he's been a good sport though. He has helped me get through the rough times of the pregnancy so far....and he has rejoiced with me in the happy moments - which are more frequent than ever!

Going on week 14....

14 weeks, 4 days

Growing by leaps and bounds, our baby is leaping and bounding. He or she is on the move almost constantly — and those movements are a far cry from those jerky twitches of last trimester (though I won't feel any of them for weeks to come). They are now ballet-like, smooth and fluid. If you could catch a glimpse of our fetus now, you'd see a baby the size of your clenched fist (a skill, by the way, our little one now has). Our baby also has the coordination, strength, and smarts to wiggle his or her fingers and toes and even suck a thumb (how cute is that?).
It'll be years before we'll start nagging our offspring to stand up straight — but unbelievably, he or she is doing it right now, without any prodding! No slouch anymore, our baby's neck is getting longer and his or her head is getting more erect (giving a more straightened-out appearance). And speaking of that head, our baby could be sprouting some hair (though the final color may not be determined until birth) and the eyebrows are filling in, too.



Hair growth isn't limited to the baby's head, though. He or she is also covered with a downy coating of hair called lanugo, largely there for warmth. As fat accumulates later on in my pregnancy (the baby's fat, not mine — though that will accumulate, too), most of the lanugo will shed — though some babies, especially those born early, still have a fuzzy coating at delivery (it sheds soon afterward).