Picture timeline

Forgot to post a picture.  Here's our ultrasounds so far.

Very 1st, approx 5-6 weeks, just starting to form:

2nd, detecting heartbeat and seeing baby!  They estimated 7 and half weeks here:

And now, 19 weeks.  It's a girl!  And you can see the mid kick action because she hates the ultrasound and dopplers!  The part I find funny is the placenta looks like one of those speech bubble things.  If I was being creative, I could write something in there, but I'm too lazy.   Maybe I'll do that for the baby book....

Trying to decide....

I came across this 3/4D Ultrasound place locally.  For a 35-45 minute deal, it's $155+ tax, and you get 6 printed pictures, cd with 30-50, and DVD of the entire scan.  They recommend between 28-32 weeks for the best quality.  I'm really tempted to do it.  And $155 is way less than what I've been paying for my ultrasounds!  Since this was really unexpected, and probably will be the last time I experience it, I'd really love to get a few of those shots.  We had one scan the day before Kristopher was born, while I was in L&D for monitoring, but they did not give us a picture.  It is truly amazing how much features they show.  So, I'm trying to decide if I should take the plunge and do it.  What's one more scan after the 7 or so I've already had! 

I'm 21 weeks tomorrow.  Miss Keira is quite the active little creature most days, but I noticed yesterday afternoon that I wasn't feeling much movement.  Bedtime came, and I still did not feel anything, and usually that's the most active time.  When we lay down in bed, and we're talking, she starts bouncing off the walls in there.  So, I got back up and we had ice cream.  Some more talking from her daddy, and I felt 2 different kicks/pokes.  Not the usual strong stuff.  I started to worry, and did not sleep much.  Same thing was going on this morning.  I had a dr appt for one of the foster kids, so I figured by the time that was over, if I was still feeling the same way, I'd call and get in for a heart beat check and end my worries.  While sitting in M's appt, (over top the a/c vent of all places) the baby woke up and went wild.  Movement has been pretty frequent when i sit down today, so I feel much better.  I think the problem was that she moved.  She seems to be sideways, and pushing up high in the uterus.  The bottom of my belly now looks a little wiggly and gross, but the top is really popping out more and feels really firm.  Movement is also higher.  And, it's kind of harder to breathe as easily in certain positions. I'm hoping position changes again, and we can get out of the breech category!  I don't want a c-section....

A highlight of my week has been feeling movement when Kristopher is nearby and talking a lot.  She seems to respond to his voice!  I can't wait till the movement is strong enough that others can feel.  He is going to be so excited to see her responding that way!  As I've been buying things here and there, he's been along for most of it.  He tells me multiple times a day that he can't wait for his baby sister to be here.  I think they are going to have a very special bond! 

I last blogged about changes in placement with our foster kids....(I think?!) and our 9 yr old is going to be moved elsewhere.  Her needs are way more than we are able to provide, and they want her in a home that she is the youngest, or only child and can get more therapeutic services.  She's been really acting out more and more, and shows a lot of hatred and resentment towards anything baby related.  She's also becoming aggressive and rude towards the boys, and just seems miserable no matter what we do to help.  She isolates with any family activity we try to do.  Her brother however, has really made a turn around with bonding, and has said he never wants to move, and "never wants another family."  Because of his progress, the caseworkers have decided it was in the best interest of both to split the kids.  If things continue to go so well with him, they will talk more in September/October to see how we're feeling on the adoption scale, and it's very possible that he could be adopted by the end of the year, or shortly after the new year!  I said in the beginning of the year that there would be huge changes, and I never imagined that we would go from 1 kid to 3, and one of those be a brand new baby of our own!!  Aside from the stress and drama that the 9 yr old makes, I feel pretty satisfied with where I am in life now.

And apparently the computer chair is the perfect place to get movement to happen more.  Reclined back, and I think she's having a dance party.  I love that I get to experience this!!

It's a......

We had the ultrasound on Monday!  It's a baby....GIRL!  She's very stubborn, and did not cooperate very well with the ultrasound.  We got most of the measurements, but they were unable to get her to turn and do the spine & kidney stuff.  She also did not cooperate to get enough for the heart either, although the doctor came in and said not to worry, what she did see looked great, we just need to get more measurements and details.  So, I go back in 2 weeks for another scan.  I think that makes ultrasound number 7 or 8 for this pregnancy.  I have lost count.  I was so sore after between the pushing of the tech, and the pushing back of the baby.  I even had some bruising the day after. 

Kristopher was beyond thrilled to get to go to this and see his little sister.  He is very excited to have the role as a big brother to a baby sister, and says he's going to protect her from all the bad things in the world, and help her learn new things when she's big enough for him to teach her stuff.  I think he's secretly excited because he thinks baby girls are easier than boys, given the last 3 he's been around on a regular basis between fostering and babysitting have been colicy boys.  The last baby girl he's been around ended up being his little shadow as she got older, and they still have such a special bond.  I'm excited to have her here, and see how they bond. 

It's amazing how much ultrasounds have changed in the 9 years since we've experienced this.  We were able to see so much!  And, they do not give print out pictures anymore.  We were given a cd with many pictures, plus 4 short video clips.  I have one of the kicking, one of the baby swallowing, and then a few of just hanging out and you can see the heart beating.  It's so amazing.  :)

After the ultrasound, I had my ob appt. Everything was good there, and I gained "almost 2 pounds" so they didn't yell at me this time.  BP was good, but after explaining how I've been getting headaches and describing them, I was told to try really hard to lower my stress and relax more.  She even recommended checking my bp when I get the headaches that cause the throbbing, but as of the visit things were great so no concerns.  The biggest stresser right now is our 9 yr old foster daughter, and due to the amount of issues, she will be moving to a different home before the next school year starts.  That was a really hard decision to make, but it's pretty clear to everyone that we are not the appropriate match for her.  She needs more of a therapy trained home, or somewhere with a lot less children/older children only/or only child home.  Her brother is staying though because he's bonded really well, and starting to become open to the idea of adoption.  He definitely wants to stay here, expresses that wish to his therapists and caseworkers, and recent evaluation for him shows that it would be damaging to remove him as well.  For her, in almost 6 months they do not show any real bonding or attachment, and she's expressed not wanting to stay.  But anyway, there's a partial look into my stress, and I'm trying really hard to give myself time and space when things get hard and not let it get so bad.  In the past week, I've been able to control the headache enough that I don't have to take anything, and it goes away once I give myself a break.  So that's a good sign. 

When I update next, I'll post a picture from the ultrasound, but for now I need to edit a little to block out some personal info since this is public. 

Oh, and baby's name is going to be Keira. 

Bought some baby stuff!

Well, the updates are not as frequent as I'd like... Here's the latest:

I'm almost 18 weeks.  We have the ultrasound scheduled for July 1st and we are definitely hoping that this little wild one will cooperate and let us see boy or girl.  We're taking Kristopher along because the last scan looked really good, and I would assume if there was any concerns they would have brought it up right away.  The fosters won't be going along, which some feel is wrong but 1 will be at extended school year class, and the other is too immature to sit through the scan without distraction and drama.  I do feel a little bad about that and will probably add drama to some issues we're having around here of late, but Kristopher is mature enough to to this and really wants to be included.  As he's said, he's waited "forever" to have a sibling and it's a once in a lifetime chance.  So, he's going.  And he's saying he doesn't care if he has a brother or sister, he just wants everything to be ok with the baby, and we're going to do a little baby shopping after to get it something gender specific.  (Hopefully!)

I've felt movement for a few weeks now, and it's getting to be a consistent thing in the past week or so.  I've discovered if I try to sit up too fast from laying down, or twist odd while sitting up, I get a horrible little jab which feels amazingly hard for how little it should be.  It's enough that I have to grab that area and stop moving for a second to recover.  It was doing what felt like flips one day last week, and I pushed my husband's hand against that spot and he actually felt a little push back.  We're really loving this experience!  I can't wait till he can feel it consistently, and I think I'll be even open to allowing others to feel occasionally as well.  Belly was off limits before, but this time around I just want to enjoy everything and share the experience with those who are excited for us.  It's weird how much has changed. 

My  nausea seems to be going away, unless I end up really stressed and then I end up dry heaving till I can stop.  I've been lucky to avoid the vomit, but dry heaving is pretty bad as well. 

I am able to eat more of a variety and feel like I eat a lot.  The scale says I'm down another pound, which is concerning because I really can't eat much more without actually being sick.  I am sure that the baby is growing though and the belly is very noticeable.  I've outgrown all normal clothes. 

Today a foster friend posted on facebook that they were having a yard sale, and selling off all their baby gear.  I saw they had the swing we liked from babysitting kids, and the last foster baby and went out and got it for an amazing deal.  She also gave me a floor gym that lights up, pack of newborn diapers and few other random baby things.  So I guess it's safe to say I've officially gotten the baby something.  Not brand new, but hey, it won't use either of these things long anyway. 

One issue I've been getting lately has been headaches.  I'm not sure if it's baby related, or if it's stress related.  The kids are out of school, and we're having a lot of regression with our 9 yr old foster daughter.  There's not much support from the system at the moment, so it's been hard to cope with.  These headaches start at the base of my neck, and work their way up and by the time it's fully covering my head, I'm down and can't function.  I've tried different pillows, and sleeping positions to see if it's that, but I can't pinpoint exactly what it is.  I'm going to bring it up at the next appt and see if I can get a referral to a chiropractor to see if that would help.

So, my guess for ultrasound day is that this is a girl.  There's a lot of differences between this pregnancy and Kristopher's, and I'm not sure if it's age and difference in my lifestyle now, or gender difference.  It's definitely way more active than he ever was this early!  Either way, I don't have a preference to gender.  I just really want to know so I can feel like I can prepare a little better.  It drives me crazy to know that I have to wait another week and half even though if they'd do it today, they'd probably be able to see.  I want to know!!

15 week appt

I've made it to 15 weeks!  It's still amazing to me that I am actually pregnant amd walking in for the appts seems like I'm dreaming.
Saturday I was having issues peeing and after talking to the on call nurse, it was determined best to go to the ER.  I had weird pressure when I had to pee, pretty constant urge and after going I still felt like it wasnt empty.   So, I go to ER in a panic since the kidneystone ordeal had been a lot of testing and waiting.  Turns out, they did the urine test which came back totally fine, did an ultrasound and determined that my bladder was able to empty and the baby is just positioned in a way that it is using my bladder as a trampoline.  It was crazy active.   And it looks like a baby finally!   We waited around to hear from an OB on if they wanted any other tests, which was decided no to, and we were sent on our way.
Since the trip and now knowing its positioning, I make myself wait before going.   Its still a weird feeling though.

Today I had my regular scheduled appt and was told the urine is still negative for anything. Appt news is we heard the heartbeat by doppler, which took some time because it kept moving and kicking when she pushed it against me.  I could feel it again which was also really cool.  I have lost another 2lb and was reminded to eat every few hours even if I dont feel hungry.  I already feel like I eat a lot, and the nausea is getting less frequent so I know I am eating a lot more.  I am a little concerned by losing weight,  but they didnt seem to be yet.

Next appt is scheduled for July 1st and the big ultrasound is going to be right before my appt.  I am pretty excited for that.  We do want to know the sex, and I'm thinking of taking kristopher along too.  The other 2 wont settle and behave long enough for back to back appts like that.