Update on 19 Weeks

No incidents to report! All is well to date. I got a fetal Doppler, bought it off Amazon after Stacey told me about her getting one and it working for her. I can listen to her heart rate whenever I want (takes a bit of looking around sometimes, and can get a bit messy), and it makes it more exciting for me since I can't feel her kick yet. Her heart rate has stayed in the 138 to 142 range for the most part, but I have seen it jump up to 152. Roger is going to see how we can get a recording on the computer, and maybe upload it.

Anywho, on to the update!

Babycenter.com: "Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid."


Thebump.com: "Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil, and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature."

Babiesonline.com: "If you are having a girl, her ovaries now contain primitive egg cells. The placenta continues to grow and offer nourishment for your baby while the permanent teeth buds are forming behind the already formed milk teeth buds. Growth becomes rapid now and your baby begins to store iron for the production of red blood cells. Your baby can even dream (REM sleep)!"

Update on 18 Weeks

Big news happening this week! If you hadn't noticed the color change, we are having a baby girl! :oD We picked Kaylynn Lee Fetterhoff as her name, and we are very happy. She wasn't as super active as last time, but my appointment was a lot later in the day than all of my previous ones, so she was probably sleeping. Also, some other good news, I'm not gaining weight. I stayed the same weight I was about a month and a half ago at least.

So, long story short, using the abdominal ultrasound, she is breach and her legs are crossed so she was being difficult (big surprise, right, lol), and we almost didn't get to see what she was...omg...4 more weeks of waiting!! No way! Dr.S was having to do a little exam on me (due to the bleeding), and since she was down there anyway I asked her if we could try the vaginal ultrasound, to see if we could see anything differently. She said of course, and when she went in, Baby got really wiggly and the mouth really moving. Dr.S said she didn't like being poked in the bottom, hehehe. But! It paid off! We got to see her bottom!

Dr.S said she saw a bit of fluid in my cervix, that it is 4cm, and that the placenta is thickest between baby and my uterus, so I may not be feeling baby kick or move because of that. She didn't see any infection, and didn't see any reason for the random bleeding, so she is going to send me to an Ultrasound Specialist-who is also a high risk pregnancy doctor-and have him look at me and baby. He'll make sure baby is measuring right (size and such), the fluid looks good, baby looks okay, and see if there is any reason he can find for the bleeding. I will keep updated on how that appointment goes. On the plus side of that, the specialist will most likely be able to tell me for certain that baby is a girl and maybe give me a bit better picture (for those out there that didn't quite believe it! ::laughs::).

Now! On to pictures and updates!

This picture looks exactly the same as Week 14's did...I mean exactly...so I didn't color code it, because it'll be the same as Week 14's.

This picture shows the heartbeat (at 148bpm), and her little bottom!

This picture shows her girly bits, color coded. Pink=girly bits, Red=body, Green=legs

Babycenter.com: "How your baby's growing:
Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place."

Thebump.com: "As your growing uterus starts shifting your center of gravity (belly forward, bottom out), hormones are causing your ligaments to relax and joints to loosen. The result? Back pain and soreness. On the bright side, if you want to know baby's gender, this might be your first week for a sneak peek. Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing (and griping about being poked in the butt, hehehe). And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements."

Babiesonline.com: "Your baby is growing rapidly. His bones are continuing to harden and the pads of his fingers and toes are formed. He also is developing his stomach, intestine and colon and the intestines are collecting meconium (the initial stool a baby will pass after birth). The skin is still a bit pink and transparent. The four-chambered heart begins to build up muscle cells and is pumping between 25 and 30 quarts of blood per day."

Update on 17 Weeks

Another week down, and only minimal bleeding to report, nothing nearly as earth-shattering-frightening as before (Thank Goodness!). This will be the last update in green (hopefully)!! Cross your fingers, we want baby to cooperate and let us see what you are! I hope to have a sonogram to post too, with the sex showing, if baby decides to let us see.

Also, my next appointment is when Dr.S is going to have all the big scary tests done. We start with blood work, and hope everything looks normal (no Downs, neural tube defects, etc.). We need to have fingers crossed for that too...we hope everything is normal and baby is healthy.

So, now on to the update!

Babycenter.com: "Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop."


Thebump.com: "Though increased blood flow is good for baby, it might be making you a little...damp. Body secretions (think sweat, mucus, nosebleeds, and vaginal discharge) are in full force. This week might also mark the first time you feel baby move inside you, but don't worry if it's another two months before you notice anything. (Or realize that this time, it's actually not gas.)
Those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints." I can definitely agree with the first part...I won't go into detail, to save you the gross factor. Thankfully it isn't the nosebleeds though.
I haven't felt any movements yet, but for me that is not abnormal. I may not ever feel baby move, and I am prepared for that. It would be cool to feel movements, but I'm not putting my hopes too high.

Babiesonline.com: "Your baby will begin to form fat this week. The fat begins to deposit under his skin and is important in heat production and metabolism. At delivery, fat will account for 2-6 percent of your baby's total body weight. This will help him maintain his body temperature when he is born. Your baby is approximately 5 inches long and weighs in at about 140-145 grams (5 ounces). This means that the baby now weighs more than the placenta.

If you were to get an abdominal x-ray (which isn't recommended and could be dangerous), your baby's skeleton would be visible. His movements are becoming stronger and more frequent now. Reflex movements are fully functional as your baby will regularly suck and swallow and loud noises outside the uterus may actually cause the baby to startle."

Update on 16 Weeks

Well, I've made it to 4 months! I am glad to be here and to have baby still with us. So, for the first time since I started getting updates from the 3 different baby sites, they all actually agree that baby is the size of an avocado, teehee.

So, on to the update!

Babiesonline.com: "Your baby's nails are well formed and some babies are even in need of having their nails trimmed at birth. Your baby is emptying his or her bladder every 40-45 minutes. The limb movements are becoming more coordinated and vigorous. The legs are developed. Both the gender and muscle movements are easily detectable with ultrasound. Your baby is approximately 4 inches long and weighs about 80-85 grams (3 ounces)."

Thebump.com: "Watch what you say...tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean she can now pick up your voice. A few more minuscule changes: Eyebrows, lashes, and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming."

Babycenter.com: "How your baby's growing:
Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop."

Worries

So...turns out that Sunday was not the only bout of blood I was to experience, and it may not be the last. I've been worrying and stressing a bit, feeling lost and at my wit's end with what is happening and why. I feel frustrated too because bleeding in the second trimester is abnormal, but the doctors keep saying everything is fine and it just happens sometimes and just don't worry and relax. That is easier said than done, you know. How can something be normally abnormal? It's frustrating!

So..all the research I've done just comes up with doom and gloom, so I just stopped looking. It wasn't helping my stress level at all. My mom found this forum of several people with almost exact situations. One of them said something that really made me feel better: "I share all of this not to scare you - not to make you totally freaked about trusting the care of doctors...but to encourage you to be mindful that sometimes you won't have an answer for 'why', and it may be best to just RELAX (so important), because too much investigation CAN be harmful. And I guess also, yes - I do think you also have to be careful to not always take doctors opinions as 'right' - you have to do your own research, and trust your own instincts." I guess we don't have to know why, as long as the end result is the outcome we so desperately desire.

The forum if anyone was interested in the other stories. The last comment on the second page is mine. The only thing about that site that wasn't helpful was the updates on those people's stories. If they carried to term, if their babies were born healthy, if they continued to have bleeding...It seems like a lot of them were having bleeding like mine from their 15th week (same as me) to their 20's but nothing updated after that. I will update my story, if for nothing else but to save someone else's piece of mind (if mine ends up positively) when they're in my shoes.