June 27, 2009

We had a great doctor's appointment today! They went ahead and did my glucose screening test today, so that we wouldn't have to go back on Monday. He also seemed really surprised that the female doctor didn't take a urine sample when I went in earlier this week. He said it sounded like I had a bladder/kidney infection which is exactly what I told the other doctor. But, I LOVE my doctor, seriously. This is only the second time I've met him since he's only worked there a month, but he is great.

He walked me through every part of the examination, asked me if I had any questions, actually felt my stomach to feel where my uterus was (other doctor NEVER did that), he felt my back to feel my kidneys for pain, he checked my legs for swelling, and he just made me feel really good. He told me not to hesitate coming in WHENEVER I thought I needed to, and gave me his cell phone number to call him anytime for any reason.

Anyway, my white blood cell count was slightly elevated but still normal for my urinalysis, which he said probably meant I had a small infection but it's gone now. He just said to drink lots of water to make sure I'm flushing out my urinary tract and all that. My glucose test was totally normal, and he said there's absolutely no sign of gestational diabetes... YAY!!

We get to tour the labor/delivery/recovery areas when we go to our next appointment in 2 weeks. I can't wait!! :)

She's measuring about a week ahead in all of her measurements, and her heartrate was 132 - about 10 beats lower than it has been, but he still it was very strong and steady, so no worries. :)

Here's a picture! :)

6.1.09

I am 24 weeks, 1 day pregnant today. We had our Level II ultrasound and it was incredible. They checked her liver, kidneys, brain, the chambers of her heart, the vessels leaving her heart, her stomach, and the measurements of her arms, legs, body, and head. She is measuring PERFECTLY. Her arms and legs are measuring slightly ahead, but that just means she's got long arms and legs. There were no abnormalities and she is perfect. I could not only see her moving during the ultrasound, but I could feel her too, which was awesome. She weighs about a pound and a half now, and is starting to put on her baby fat. :)

Jesse can feel her on a regular basis now, and when she's super active, we can even see her movements in my stomach. It's bizarre, but incredibly amazing.

During the Level II ultrasound, the technician flipped it to 3D for a minute, and she managed to catch a great picture of her beautiful little face. I didn't realize just how much she would resemble a newborn at this stage in the pregnancy. I can't stop staring at the picture, and we are both so in love with little Miss Cori.

4-29-09

We had an excellent vacation at home, and are just looking forward to our next appointment and seeing little Cori Aletta now. I called the hospital on our first day home, and got the blood results for the Quad 4 testing, which tests for genetic disorders. Everything is totally normal, and I am told there is absolutely nothing to worry about. :)

In other news, we bought an adorable crib yesterday. We weren't going to, seeing as we have a perfectly good crib for when we move back to the states, but I could see how much it bothered Jesse that we weren't going to have a nursery. So, we caved and bought one. :) We also ended up buying a recliner because we have NO comfortable seats in the house where I would be able to nurse once the baby is here.

We also bought our crib bedding last night online. It's probably going to take like 3-4 weeks to get here, but that's okay. :) We got this one. I think it's perfect for either a girl or a boy, and Jesse couldn't stop smiling over it, so we knew it was the one.

April 4, 2009

Well, today was such a fantastic day. We had our regular appointment first. I've gained two pounds of weight (finally some weight gain - yay!), my blood pressure was perfect, and I had my blood test for the quad screening. Then, I had my 2D ultrasound which was longer than normal, and he said that he was pretty sure it was a girl (see more about this later!). The baby was measuring right on target though, and looked perfect.

After that appointment was over, we had our 3D/4D ultrasound. It was simply amazing. She confirmed that it was in fact a girl, and we both just fell even deeper in love. It was sooo incredibly amazing.

She was seriously moving all over the place, dancing around, shaking her arms and legs back and forth. At one point, she actually turned her head and looked at us and it was SO cool. We got like 12 pictures, and a 20 minute video for like $40... seriously like the greatest day ever. :):):)

Her heartbeat was a steady 143 BPM, and she's the perfect length and weight for her size. It was just the greatest 30 minutes of our lives.

Our beautiful little girl will be named Cori Aletta Swinyer, and we can't wait to meet her. :)

Our next appointment is on May 9th, and our Level II ultrasound is scheduled for June 1st. I can't believe how fast the pregnancy is moving along, and it's such a fantastic feeling. Jesse has just had his hand on my belly all day, holding his little girl as best he can.

Click here for our pictures from today!

March 19, 2009

Things are developing nicely, but quite painfully. I experienced round ligament pain for the first time today. I just thought it was normal cramping from the uterus expanding, but when I googled it tonight, round ligament pain was the first thing to come up, and wow - it was word for word, exactly what I was experiencing. It makes me feel better about it though, and it's nice to know it's not abnormal.

We're both going crazy, counting down until we find out the gender of our little one. Lots of people keep asking us why we're not just letting it be a surprise, but to be honest, we are just way too curious for that. We're having a hard enough time just waiting the few more weeks until April 4th! :)

I'm having a hard time realizing that I'm in my 4th month of pregnancy, and yet - I still have 6 whole months (and 1 day!) until my due date. I'm very sure that the time will just fly by, and by the time September 20th rolls around, I'll be amazed by how fast the time went, but for now... it just seems to be dragging by.

I'm showing much faster than I expected to. I'm already sick of people asking me if I'm having twins - no, I most certainly am not. I'm sure I'll get a lot throughout the pregnancy, if my bump keeps progressing as it has so far.

Jesse is being an amazing daddy already. He rubs my belly everyday, and holds it while we're sleeping. He tells me what a beautiful pregnant woman I am, and although I don't always believe him, it's still beyond nice to hear. Nothing makes me happier than when he kisses my belly, and talks to our little Peanut. :)

March 7, 2009

Our appointment today went well. My weight has dropped about 3 kilograms, but my blood pressure is normal. The doctor had a hard time finding the heartbeat at first and questioned why it was so faint, but I think the baby was just in a tough position. He ended up telling us it was steady at 140bpm after a few minutes. That's about all that happened at our appointment today. Hopefully we will be able to find out the sex at the next appointment on April 4th.

February 23, 2009

What a delay! I am so sorry for the hold-up, everyone. I've had a solid month of just feeling so down in the dumps. From nausea to headaches and dizziness to just overall aches and pains, it has been a rough month. However, I am on my third day now of just feeling back to normal, so I hope it sticks around!

We had our last appointment on February 7. We had our second ultrasound, which I will post pictures of at the bottom. He said the baby is developing well and he or she looks totally healthy. We heard the heartbeat for the first time, and it was just so magical. I wish I could have gotten a picture of Jesse's face the moment he heard the heartbeat. He was standing behind the doctor, and his whole face just lit up when he looked at me and mouthed, "thats... that's the baby?" I didn't realize we'd be able to hear it so soon, so it took us both by surprise. We weren't told what the BPM was, but I am definitely going to ask and find out at our next appointment.

I actually ended up losing 10 lbs from the start of the pregnancy until about a week ago, since I had almost no appetite and have been so sick. My doctor said it was normal though, and that I will likely start gaining weight in the next few weeks. As a matter of fact, just in the last week that I've gotten my appetite back, I've gained about 3 of those lbs back. I think most of the weight that was lost was in my hips because although I feel my stomach is getting a bit rounder, my jeans have been fitting looser. Hopefully, I can hold off on the maternity clothes until at least 16 weeks!

Our next appointment is on March 7, and I will be about 12 weeks along. I'm not sure what will happen at that appointment, but I do know that my doctor said we will very, very likely be able to find out the sex of our little one at the next appointment after that. That will be my 16 week appointment which will fall on April 4th. We really cannot wait!!

In other semi-baby related news, Jesse has submitted a leave request from April 8th to April 22nd for us to make a trip home. I will be about 16.5 weeks when we get home, and about 18 weeks when we leave, so we will know the sex by the time we come home.

We haven't started registering anywhere for baby things yet because that's something we don't want to have to do via a website. We will likely go to Babies 'R Us and register the first day or two that we are back home. We can't wait!

As for preferences on baby gender, we really don't have any. I was calling the baby "she" for awhile, but now I switch back and forth pretty regularly between "he" and "she". Jesse wants a girl one day, but the next day he wants a boy just as badly, so we will be 100% happy either way. All we want is a healthy, happy little baby. :)

Now that I'm feeling back to normal, I can finally get back into exercising. I've done a lot of research and found that as long as my body temperature doesn't get too high and my heart rate doesn't get too elevated, I am fine with doing cardiovascular workouts. I am pretty excited about that because lately I have just wanted to get up and moving. I know not to overexert myself and all that, and I am being very careful about my health, so no worries about that!

As long as all of the sickness continues to stay away, I will definitely be trying to update this so much more regularly. My next update should be around March 7, after our next appointment. Thank you to everyone who reads this... we really appreciate the support!

Now for ultrasound pictures!



The second half of this picture is the heartbeat of the little one