Belly Picture Friday - 28 weeks 1 day

Ticker Change Thursday - 28 Weeks

Joaquin is 28 weeks today and still about the size of a large eggplant. He's busy adding new skills such as blinking to an already impressive repertoire of tricks like coughing, sucking, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths. His sleep now includes the REM (rapid eye movement) phase — and that means he could be dreaming already. Though his lungs are nearly fully mature, he still has plenty of growing to do.

How far along? 28 weeks
Weight gain/loss: I might just stick with 27 pounds from here on out.
Sleep? I'd love a little more.
Best moment this week? Seeing our little guy this morning was amazing. I was so happy to see he is healthy and growing. The pictures are just too cute for words.
Movement: Now I know that what I keep feeling is Joaquin rotating his butt from side to side throughout the day. I could not tell if it was his head or butt before.
Food cravings: Mango.
Belly button in or out? Out.
What I miss? A margarita sounds amazing!
What I am looking forward to? Baby shower #2 on Saturday will be fun and relaxing!
Milestones: Joaquin is already head down - this is a great sign!
What I'm nervous about:Getting work done before we leave for Spain.

28 Week Ultrasound Results!! :-)

Jay and I just finished up with our growth ultrasound to check on baby Joaquin's progress. It was fabulous. Joaquin is measuring ahead in growth! He is 2 pounds 15 ounces and measuring at 29 weeks and 2 days! He is head down already too!

We hope you enjoy these awesome pictures of our little man. I have some black and whites that I will scan later too. We are so in love.

Baby Shower #1!

Our first baby shower was absolutely wonderful. Hosted by Joaquin's very generous and talented future grandmother, Dayle, and future aunties, Kate and Mia, it was held at The Cannery on Lido on August 15, 2010. Kate did so much work making every detail of the shower perfect and it really showed! It was gorgeous and everyone had a fabulous time.

Lots Going on This Week!

We have a jam-packed week of baby-related events coming up!

Tuesday Evening: We are going to our last Prepared Childbirth class at Hoag. I have been instructed not to sit in the front of the class this time as Jay does not want to be so close to the movie screen when they show diagrams of episiotomies. haha.

Thursday Morning: Our growth ultrasound!!!!! I've been waiting for this for what seems like forever. We haven't seen our little guy in about 8 weeks and I am starting to go through ultrasound withdrawals. We are going back to the high risk center and should hopefully get another great 3D shot of Joaquin to share with you all. Mostly importantly though, we are going to check to make sure his growth is on track.

Thursday Evening: We are meeting with a potential doula. Most of you probably just said to yourselves "What is a doula?" I didn't know about doulas until after I was pregnant, so don't feel bad. Essentially, a doula is a trained birth assistant. They are not doctors, but usually have attended hundreds of births (the one we are interviewing has attended over 300) and they are hired to come to your home when labor begins to help you labor as long as you need at home, then come with you to the hospital to assist once you are there. They generally help you find comfortable positions, help you remember to breath properly, give you massages, help advocate for you at the hospital, and also provide lactation assistance. Doulas also help dads a lot - they tell them what to do and make sure they don't feel clueless or helpless during the process. Jay also thinks I'm much less likely to yell at a doula when she tells me to do something during labor than I would be to yell at him. I think he has a fair point.

If you want to read a little more about doulas, click here for the Wikipedia entry (scientific, I know).

Friday: I have a dental appointment. Hopefully no pregnancy gingivitis for me!

Saturday: Baby shower #2!

Belly Picture Friday - 27w1d

Personal V-Day!

As I mentioned in my previous V-Day post 3 weeks ago, I consider 27 weeks my personal "V-Day" because if Joaquin were to be born anytime now he'd have greater than a 90% chance of survival (with lots of medical help, of course). We hope he stays cooking for at least another 10 weeks, but it is a relief that we have gotten this far without any major issues or pre-term labor scares. Here's hoping the good luck continues!

Ticker Change Thursday - 27 Weeks

Joaquin is 27 weeks today and about the size of an eggplant (yep, we're stuck with the same fruit for a few weeks again). He is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, Joaquin's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Baby hiccups may be common from now on.

How far along? 27 weeks
Weight gain/loss: Um, well, I'm debating whether I should still answer this question. (whispers: 27 pounds).
Sleep? The last week has been difficult. My abdominal muscles are literally ripping off of my rib cage at the top of my stomach and I can feel it and it really hurts. So, when I try to sleep it can be somewhat difficult. I'm hoping the pain starts to go away soon.
Best moment this week? My first baby shower was amazing! It was absolutely gorgeous, the food was great and the company was even better. It was absolutely perfect.
Movement:Jay FINALLY felt Joaquin move. That was really exciting!
Food cravings: Spicy chocolate still. I wish I could find some with a bigger kick.
Belly button in or out? Out.
What I miss? Being able to buckle my own shoes with ease.
What I am looking forward to? Jay and I have no concrete plans this weekend, which is a big change. I'm excited at all of the possibilities (including naps!).
Milestones: I'm in my third trimester! 2 months and 30 days left!
What I'm nervous about:The flight to Spain in a couple weeks.

I passed!

I passed my glucose tolerance test, which means no gestational diabetes for me. Yay! Failing means taking a 3 hour version of the test (i.e., drinking that nasty drink again and sitting in the lab for 3 hours, without being able to leave, before they draw blood). Failure of the 3 hour test would mean a trip to a nutrionist and some serious changes to my diet for the rest of the pregnancy. I'm so relieved I can skip all of that!

Do you know what today is?!?!

The first day of my 3rd trimester!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay!!! Slowly but surely, we are getting closer to meeting our little man. Come on November - get here soon!

Belly Picture Friday - 26 weeks 1 day

Ticker Change Thursday - 26 Weeks

Joaquin is 26 weeks along and about the size of an eggplant. He now weighs a full two pounds and measures nine-plus inches. And this week, his eyes, which until now were developing under fused eyelids, start to open. Of course, there's not much to see in there, but if he spots a bright light (or hears a loud noise) near your belly, he might start moving around because his brain is getting more fully developed and sophisticated.

How far along? 26 weeks
Weight gain/loss: 22 pounds last time I checked.
Sleep? This is getting harder and harder. I'm just not very comfortable anymore.
Best moment this week? It's been a boring week.
Movement: I'm starting to track the movements now with a kick-counting app on my iPhone. It's sort of fun!
Food cravings: Spicy chocolate.
Belly button in or out? Out.
What I miss? Sleeping on my stomach.
What I am looking forward to? My first baby shower on Sunday!
Milestones: Less than 100 days left!!!
What I'm nervous about: Maintaining my energy. I have nothing left at the end of my work day.

Yuck!

I just finished my 1 hour glucose tolerance test. This is a standard test given to women around the beginning of the third trimester that is used to determine whether the mother has developed gestational diabetes. Basically, you got to a lab, they give you a bottle of liquid that tastes like super-sweet flat sprite, you have to drink it in 5 minutes or less and then you wait for one hour before they take your blood to see how your body processed all of the sugar in the drink.

The drink itself was not as bad as I anticipated. But, the waiting for one hour was awful! The sugary drink made me so tired I could barely sit up in the tiny waiting room chairs.

I am glad I got it over with though!

My next accomplishment will be staying awake throughout this work day despite being in desparate need of a sugar crash nap.

99 Days to Go!

I hope they fly by. We can't wait to meet Joaquin in November!

Back to School!

Well, sort of. Tonight, Jay and I have our first "Prepared Childbirth" class at Hoag Hospital. According to their website, the class with cover "is designed to prepare expectant parents for the joys and challenges of labor and birth."
Topics include:
Stages of labor and birth
Signs and symptoms of preterm labor and fetal kick counts
Pain management strategies, both non-pharmacological and pharmacological
Cesarean birth (indications, what to expect and how to recover)
Hospital admission process
PowerPoint presentation of all maternal units (LDR, MBU, NICU)

The class is 2.5 hours, once a week for three weeks. Normally I would not start the class for a few more weeks but we will be out of town in Spain for a while and I wanted to make sure we were prepared before the trip, just in case.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 5 year anniversary!! It's funny how time flies when you are in love.

Belly Picture Friday - 25 Weeks 1 Day

Happy Birthday Jay!!!

Today is Jay's 33rd birthday. It's going to be a great year! Happy birthday honey!

Mayo Got into the BBQ Ashes

Ticker Change Thursday - 25 Weeks

Joaquin is 25 weeks old today and still about the size of a papaya. He is now gaining approximately 6 ounces per week! The structures of his spine are starting to form, including 33 vertebrae (rings of bone), 150 joints, and 1,000 ligaments. These structures will eventually support his body weight. Joaquin's capillaries are also forming this week. By the end of week 25, air sacs and blood vessels in Joaquin's lungs will develop, getting him ready for his first breath. So far, Joaquin's nostrils have been plugged up, but they are now beginning to open up. With the advances in technology, if Joaquin was to be born this week, he has up to an 82% chance of survival with aggressive ICU treatment.

How far along? 24 weeks
Weight gain/loss: 22 pounds last time I checked.
Sleep? I am starting to get too big for the bed.
Best moment this week? Jay and I celebrated our anniversary a little early and went out for a very romantic french dinner at Basilic on Balboa Island. It was absolutely lovely.
Movement: Now we have lots of movement. On Sunday morning, Joaquin changed positions and I could actually see it from the outside and feel where either his head or butt was (I couldn't tell which one it was). It was sooo cool.
Food cravings: Chocolate.
Belly button in or out? Out, and now visible even with a loose shirt.
What I miss? Being agile.
What I am looking forward to? We are celebrating Jay's birthday tonight!
Milestones: We have officially completed everything we planned to do for the nursery decorations, as of last night!
What I'm nervous about: How much bigger I am going to get. I hope I can still reach my keyboard in a few weeks!