I am now in my 23rd week, and I'm feeling great (still). Only minute little side effects of pregnancy bother me right now....aching tendons, fatigue, sore back, heartburn. But for the most part, I feel wonderful. I am actually sleeping really well at night now, and sleeping 9 hours a night at that!
I have been feeling lots more movement from our baby recently. I even felt him hiccup last week. It was unmistakable....rhythmic little pulses that lasted about 5 minutes. I felt sorry for him....I know that frustrates anyone to have hiccups. :-)
The baby is now about 8-1/2 inches long from head to tush and will reach a full pound in weight in the next week. I have been watching my belly grow in size exponentially the past 2 or 3 weeks! This is when the real growth starts.
We have a second ultrasound this Wednesday morning....stay tuned for an update afterwards!
Our baby got another aunt in his family yesterday....Ken's brother Jason married his soulmate, K...
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Ken and I just celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary yesterday! Wow, I can't believe how time has flown by! It has been the best 4 years, though....we spent much of yesterday in Greenville just reminiscing our dating and early married years. I once again saw how a day spent entirely goofing off with my best friend is one of the greatest types of days one can have. :-)
We ran into a couple of stores, namely consignment, while we were out and about. The ladies in one particular store were so ecstatic and excited when we told them we'd just found out it was a boy. We spent over an hour in there, the ladies oohing and aahing when I came out of the dressing room with various tops I was trying on....Ken giving them advice on internet service providers....advice on buying clothes on sale that will fit the baby next spring and summer....etc. and so on. Ken and I were pleased at how pleasant and helpful they were! It really makes shopping a pleasure when you have experienc...
Another doctor's visit yesterday confirmed that baby is growing and doing just fine, despite a horrible bug I was plagued with last weekend! His heartbeat is still strong, and my belly measured the perfect amount of centimeters for my week. 21 weeks today....19 more to go!
A wonderful friend of mine, Pam, gave me a beautiful Jenny Lind changing table this week. I plan to paint it shiny white and add storage baskets to the shelves underneath to hold all of his little hats, blankets, and bibs. She also gave me her Diaper Genie and a couple of other storage essentials for the nursery....so generous! As I washed all of his little things in Ivory Snow for the first time yesterday and gently folded it, I really realized that in just a few short months he will be wearing them.
We have started moving things around in the nursery, as well as looking through patterns of beddings... Ken and I agree on 90% of them, which is great. As soon as we pick out our bedding, we'll ...
And here's a post that a Daddy can be proud of:
The results from little Oliver's (working title) first photo shoot since he grew a head and limbs (and something else... you'll have to look through the photos for that). After a lengthy belly-massage, we were finally able to get him (yes, I said HIM) to turn over and reveal his true identity. The first Wilson child will be a son.
Here's the full profile:
There's no mistaking what HE is here:
And another profile:
And (yet) another profile:
You know how parents can get with a camera:
Seeing blue! Seeing blue!
We found out yesterday that little Olive is really little Oliver....that's right, it's gonna be a boy!! We are so excited, and shocked, and tickled all at once. :-) Just knowing that it's a "he" has put a whole new perspective on how we anticipate his arrival. It made it ten times more real! And now we can shop for a crib and clothes and all that fun stuff with DIRECTION! :-)
Everyone we've told so far expected that it'd be a boy.....only myself and Grandma, I believe, were wrong in our guesses! But I really couldn't be happier....what a new experience!
The ultrasound tech was incredibly funny and personable; it made the whole experience that much more enjoyable and memorable. After 30 minutes of prodding and poking, and me rolling from one side to the other, we finally got the little man to turn over so we could see! And the video keepsake is amazing....he has a little button nose, and he yawns twice......
I know I just posted, but another update is in order.... The baby is now at 18-1/2 weeks. It measures about 6 inches long! He/she can now hear sounds outside and can even throw its hands over its ears if it hears a sudden, loud noise! The eyes/retinas are developing now, and I read that it can detect light if you hold a flashlight up to your belly! The finger pads are forming, which means soon he/she will have fingerprints.
Yesterday I "woke the baby up" by placing Ken's alarm clock radio on my abdomen and turning it to a rowdy radio station! Within seconds the baby was doing the tango, the samba, or the electric slide....at least, that's what it felt like! It was so cool. Hope he or she has more rhythm than Ken or I do!! :-) heh, heh, heh....
meg
Ken was able to feel the baby move with his hand on my belly! We'd tried it before with no luck (I think the kicks were too weak), but this time we sat absolutely still. I had just had a milkshake (sugar does it again!) and the baby was very active. The first time it moved, Ken jumped back. I don't think he was expecting to feel it so clearly! This was last Wednesday night....ever since then, he has been asking me over and over when the baby is moving so he can feel it again. I am so glad he was able to experience it in his own way! I still wish he knew what it felt like for it to be happening INSIDE, but that's the gift that God gave us women alone. I hope to never complain about the agony of giving birth.....there are plenty of other wonderful, amazing things we can experience, such as kicks and punches of our tiny little ones! :0)
We will soon find out whether Olive is a girl or a boy, and we are so ready! I am itching to know what to shop for and to start s...
Another doctor's visit today revealed that I am still having a "textbook pregnancy!" (using Ken's terminology) We were able to hear the heartbeat this morning...."strong and healthy," she said. We weren't expecting to hear the heartbeat again so soon, so we were delighted! If only we'd brought the video camera this time! All of the bloodwork results from last Friday came back normal.....no diseases or presence of any proteins or abnormal sugars.
She gave us a referral form so we can to go Greenville Tech for our big ultrasound (thanks to the Nixons for giving us that tip!). 18-20 weeks is the optimal time for determining gender, so that means we'll pick a date between now and May 7th.... We were excited. We weren't expecting to do this for another month or more. Even if they determine what it is, I will still be a little cautious about pulling tags off of anything....just in case! There are often cases where there is a big surp...
I am pretty sure I felt the baby move today! He/she has been pretty active all afternoon, if that is indeed what I'm experiencing. I had just drank a large mug of decaf coffee and eaten a piece or two of my Easter candy.... I was typing something at my laptop when all of a sudden I felt a swimmy, tickly, fluttery feeling below my belly button, on either side, and also right in the middle! I sat back, aghast, wondering if I was really feeling what I thought I was feeling.
I sat back and placed my hands on my tummy and even felt it from the oustide a little! Wow! I really hope that this is it. Considering I've never felt it before, I have nothing to compare it to...except from what friends have told me and what I've read.
The best way to describe it? You know that feeling you get when you're nervous about an event, and right before you get onstage, or in front of people, or before you get on a ride at an amusement park....you get that flip-flop feeling in ...
I had my bloodwork done this morning....and did not pass out! I had a really understanding nurse who did it as quickly as possible, and I had adequate time to just sit and relax afterwards to let my blood pressure get back to normal. Ken was so proud of me; he took me for a treat at the Corner Bagel Shop after we were finished. :-) I just hope that the test results get to my doctor in the next 7 days before my appointment....I really don't want to have to do that again! I don't know what all they checked for this time around, but I know it included a CBC, an antibody test, and a test for other diseases. The glucose testing will happen in June. Unforseeing any other problems, those are the only two times I'll have to have blood taken until I'm in the hospital in September!
I am 16 weeks today. The baby can start hearing my voice and other outside voices and sounds, including Ken's voice and loud music. This is when I can really make an effort to talk to t...
First maternity clothing bought! Mom went shopping with me in Greenville on Monday and I was able to find 4 pairs of pants and three tops. I am still needing more, though; I noticed as I tried all of them on together. I need some more neutral-colored pants, some shorts, and a sundress or two. And I can always use more tops. I plan to go this coming weekend to some maternity consignment stores to look for shirts. Basic knits that I can wear around the house don't have to cost a fortune.
I was disappointed to find that most of the pants out there are panel front, meaning they are uncomfortable to me since I'm used to wearing my pants and jeans very low on my waist! The newest "below the belly" styles are hard to find and usually exclusively priced. I don't plan to give up yet. I still have the Old Navy to shop in Columbia or Charlotte, two of their few stores that carry maternity wear. And there are always catalogs if I get that desperate.
We'v...
How exciting. My wife is starting to feel a little better. She... cooked... last... night. She made two different kinds of cookies (shortbread, mmmm, shortbread) and cooked supper, too. I'm so glad she's starting to get her appetite back. Maybe I'll be able to coax her into another pizza in a week or so.
Also, I'm told that she and a group of girls are going shopping for maternity clothes this weekend. I don't know what to expect, but she's really psyched, so I'm really psyched, too. I wonder if Dads get maternity clothes. Maybe I could get a maternity Xbox. Or maternity surround sound. Hmm... there's a thought.
Anyway, I'm excited that she's going to find some cute clothes to be pregnant in. I'll give a full report when she models them for me.
Ken
At our 2nd OB appointment today, we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time! It was strong and fast! What an amazing thing to be able to hear that. I really want to rent one of those doppler devices so I can hear it more often! :-)
I have gained 1-1/2 lbs. since my last visit, which is not bad, but not what they'd like me to gain, either. She wants me to try and gain up to 10 lbs. by my appointment in May; in other words, 4 pounds in April and 4 pounds in May. Sounds incredibly hard to do. I really don't want to compromise my baby's healthy birth weight by not weighing enough myself, but it sure is going to be hard to focus on gaining that much weight in 2 months' time! I know most of the weight will be baby weight, so that makes it easier.
By the way, the baby is now 12 weeks old and is about 2 to 2.5 inches long, and weighs about half an ounce. The baby's fingers and toes have separated, and its hair is starting to grow. The...
March winds are blowing, and I can't believe spring is almost here. I am three days away from hitting 12 weeks, which means only 10 days away from the official start of my 2nd trimester. What a relief! I am looking forward to the calm that I've heard that portion of pregnancy brings....
We have our 2nd OB appointment this Friday morning, and we were told that we can hear the heartbeat with a Doppler for the first time. We are excited, but nervous, just like last time. I have only gained 1 lb. since I became pregnant, and so I hope I won't get a talking-to. I am just now getting a decent appetite back, though, so it should get better from this point on.
I am still having a tough time worrying whether I will be able to find cute, trendy clothes to wear this spring and summer! Most maternity clothes are so huge... We looked at some in Commerce last weekend with our friends Karna and Brendan, and the shirts looked like tents; the pants and shorts, parachutes. T...
Techie input. To all of you avid babywilson.blogspot.com readers, I've added a new feature for your enjoyment. Now, you can add your own comments to the postings. Look at the bottom of each post, and you'll see a "Comment (0)" link. Click on this, and you can add comments about Meg's postings. Enjoy!
Ken
Oh, and for a funny little side note... we've decided to refer to the baby as "Olive or Olivia" for the time being. The reference: when Meg's fully pregnant and growing, she's going to look like a toothpick with an olive on it. (Quote by Jason Richbourg of Columbia, SC)
After having just read Ken's last post, I'm still sitting here laughing, yet nodding because the pancake infatuation is true. Bisquick, Cracker Barrel, IHOP, Mom's homemade buttermilk, or even shrink-wrapped-frozen varieties....all pancakes are welcome at my house all the time. Baby like pancakes.
I did hit the 10 week mark on Friday, and I have noticed my morning sickness lifting its nasty fog a bit. My appetite still waxes and wanes.... Ken was accurate in his story about my huge birthday lunch splurge, but he neglected to share that all I could force into my belly that night were 3 or 4 honey-wheat pretzel rods. I basically get to have one good meal a day.... The rest of the day all I want to do is graze on carbohydrates, the thought of a full meal and getting actually "full" making my stomach turn. But I have comfort knowing that what I'm not getting food-wise I am making up for through my prenatal vitamins. Hold on, broccoli and cauliflower, ...
Something miraculous has occurred. As of Saturday, my wife is actually feelining better. She's not totally out of the woods with her morning sickness, but yesterday I watched her eat an entire hot dog (from Healthy Choise, no less), Salt and Vinegar chips, AND baked beans. AND birthday cake. Yeah! What a present, the ability to enjoy your birthday meal without feeling sick.
Of course, if she does pick up the morning sickness thing again, then she'll probably just default back to her main craving. She said it like this: "If I could sum it up [what I crave] in two words... Breakfast Food." Yes, the pancake still holds a special place in Meg's ... um... stomach. That's been her one constant (aside from her darling husband) throughout. It's early, about 6:30, and all this talk about pancakes is making ME hungry. Maybe this is a sympathy craving? Maybe not. Maybe I just love pancakes. Regardless, at least we know I can suggest that at any time...
I'm glad to say that I finally had my first "baby dream," although it was a strange one at that. In my little dream world, I delivered twin girls who were extremely premature. The nurses came up to Ken and I and said that since the girls would have to stay in NICU for 1 or 2 months, they would just send a couple of "loaners" home with us. This way, they said, we wouldn't have to go home empty-handed. "Oh, okay," we said, it all making perfectly good sense to us, of course, in this la-la land. So we toted the twin girls home, the loaners, in hopes that we could soon go back to get our "real" children in a few weeks. Weird!
We're expecting snow here in the upstate tonight and tomorrow, and so alas, the trip Ken planned for my birthday had to be postponed. He was excited about taking me to Asheville for a couple of days, but it looks as if we might move it to next weekend.... I know he is so disappointed. He has had so much t...