30 weeks = head of cabbage

How your baby's growing:
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)


HOLY COW! I cannot believe that we are 2/3 of the way through this pregnancy! Only 10 weeks and 70 days to go!! It is so exciting! Before I know it, I'll be in the hospital in labor and we'll be welcoming Sweet Pea into this world.

Everything baby related is on schedule too. The nursery has all the chair rail molding up, it just has to be painted to match the baseboards. The furniture should be coming in in the next week and a half. The baby showers are May 16th and 30th. Then after those we can figure out what necessities still need to be bought before Sweet Pea's arrival! Ahhh...it's all coming together quite nicely! And I just have to say I'm so very grateful for my fantastic husband and wonderful parents' help on painting/assembling the nursery. We seriously could not have done it without them. I have the BEST family a gal could ask for!! =)

You seriously get what you pay for...

The ultrasound school experience did not go as I planned exactly. I was thinking it would be a really nice way to get some pictures (although I have tons already and don't really need more) and some video clips (which was what I really hoping to get) of Sweet Pea moving. Boy was I wrong!

The students that scanned me didn't have a clue of what they were doing! At all! Apparently, the students were only in their 4th week of school and had just started OB yesterday. So they didn't even know how to move the wand around or what they were looking at on the screen! The only pictures we got were when the instructor popped in for a second and she ended up taking them. Needless to say, I didn't get any video clips.

Oh well, nothing I can do about it. My mom suggested I go back in a few weeks when the students are a little more experienced and try and get some video clips then. But I don't know if I want to chance that going awry too! So the title for tonight's post is absolutely true! I (or insurance) didn't pay a dime for the ultrasound, so therefore it turned out bad! Poor Sweet Pea was tired of all the poking and prodding because by the end, s/he was moving all around and his/her little heart was beating so fast!

One incredibly cute picture we got of Sweet Pea was of hair!!! There is a lot of shadowing in the shot, but his/her head is to the right of the screen and the porcupine looking stuff coming out is hair! It looks like a bunch!! Jeremiah thinks s/he will have a natural mohawk like he did as a baby! Fine with me! It was super cute! =)

BOY or GIRL?

I took a couple of online quizzes about the sex of the baby and this is what they all think. So the boy guesses outnumber the girl guesses, but no one knows for sure. My motherly intuition says "I have no stinkin' idea!!" Does this make me a bad mother already? I've had a dream that Sweet Pea is a girl and Jeremiah has dreamed boy. So we are evenly divided in that! I think most of the family says boy, just because we've said "HE" in reference for so long. So I guess everyone will just have to wait about 10 more weeks until we find out for sure!


Tvoy Baby: Boy

Sexratio.com: Girl

Babyman: Boy

Bump.com: Boy

Just Mommies: Girl

Labor of Love: Boy

Tomorrow...you're only a day away!

Tomorrow we go to the ultrasound school and get to see Sweet Pea! They will be able to take little video clips of the ultrasound. Hopefully I'll be able to post them tomorrow night. I just love seeing him/her! I've kind of missed seeing Sweet Pea each week by ultrasound at the high risk OB office. Okay I admit, I've more than "kind of" missed it, I've REALLY missed it! It was very comforting to be able to see inside my belly and KNOW that everything was okay in there. Granted I can feel him/her move 10 times more now, I still would love to be able to peek in and just make sure.

Recently I've had this great fear about not being able to tell that Sweet Pea is in distress and missing it and s/he dying. I know it's a morbid thought and every mother-to-be probably feels that way, but I would just feel so incredibly guilty if something happened inside of my own body and I couldn't pick up on the warning signals. I even had a dream last night so vivid I woke up swearing it was true. I sat straight up in bed at 3 am, crying hysterically. Of course Jeremiah woke up too! In my dream I was also crying hysterically that my baby was dead and it was completely my fault that I didn't feel it and people around me were like "yeah, your baby is dead and it's okay". It was and is most certainly not okay!

Again I'll say that I never thought I could love someone so much and I haven't even met them yet. And the thought of our sweet baby dying before s/he has a chance at life is almost more than I can bear. But nothing is in my control and whatever God's will is, He has my best interest in mind. Whatever that may be. So...

I'll take just one day at a time and deal with what comes with HIS help.

Sorry to be so gloomy at the end! It's just what's been on my mind lately.

Updates

We went to the OB yesterday and everything is still going well! I had the gestational diabetes test and we should get the results of that soon. I gained 3 more lbs this month, so my total weight gain up until 29 weeks is 18 lbs. Not bad considering "normal" weight gain is 25-35 lbs but majority of women gain way more than that.

We also had another ultrasound that showed Sweet Pea is weighing in at about 3 lbs and 1 oz. We saw s/he opening its little mouth and sticking a tongue out at us! It was precious...my heart just melted! The ultrasound tech said that the baby had hair and I asked how she could tell. She pointed out the tiny little lines coming off of the head and said that's the hair! Ha ha! So Sweet Pea will not be bald after all! Thank goodness! I think babies are so much cuter with a mop of hair on top.

I can't wait to meet this precious child! I feel like we are so close to seeing him/her but yet still so far away! 11 weeks seems like too long to wait. Granted I desperately want Sweet Pea to be healthy and NOT premature, I just really want to meet Mr or Ms Petty tomorrow! I never thought I could love someone so much that I haven't even met yet!

Here is a picture of us on Easter Sunday. My big belly kind of resembles an Easter egg, no?!

29 weeks = butternut squash

from babycenter.com- How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

The Beginnings of a Nursery...after

These are the "after" pics where we painted. The top color is not the same beige, I promise! We are going to put up chair rail molding in the middle, between the two colors. This can kind-of be seen in the top picture. Hopefully we will finish the rest of the molding on Saturday. I think it looks awesome and will look even better when we're done and there is furniture in it.

The Beginnings of a Nursery...before

These are the "before" pictures of the nursery yesterday. The color of the walls were just the ugly beige that the builders painted whole house in.

Dancing Queen...or King!

This was Sweet Pea at 4 am this morning! S/he woke me out of a dead sleep! It was quite hilarious...at first. I laughed out loud at one point in the beginning, and then I was eventually pleading with Sweet Pea to please stop dancing and go to sleep! Poor thing, I'm sure s/he is very confused...sometimes we are up at night working and sometimes we are at home sleeping. This poor child already has days and nights mixed up! This shenanigan lasted until at least 5:30 when I was able to ignore it and finally go back to sleep. I'm sure it's just mother nature trying to prepare me for what is coming ahead in July! Except then I won't be able to ignore a crying infant!

Getting ready for baby!

Well, I'm officially in panic mode! We are now scheduled for birthing classes and a breastfeeding class. Why then am I panicked, if I am well on my way to being a prepared mother? Because I'm closer to becoming a MOTHER, period. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited and beyond blessed, but still panicked! I guess it's because I've never, ever done this before. I know how to take care of newborns, but generally I leave them with someone else after my 12 hour shift is done. I have never taken one home to be with me for 24/7!!! This really does scare me! Hopefully that great motherly instinct will come on over and kick in when Sweet Pea arrives!

So, with that being said, I still need to schedule an appointment with the pediatrician we want to interview. Hopefully, that will go good and she will be the best choice.

In nursery news, we are painting this upcoming weekend!! I'm so ready for this to be done and for the furniture to come in! I haven't heard anything from the furniture company, so I'm assuming that it's on schedule to come in on time. I really hope it comes in early...that would be such a treat!

28 weeks = Chinese cabbage

from babycenter.com- How your baby's growing:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Some of the joys of pregnancy!

Ha ha! This is EXACTLY how I feel some days! Anything can make me cry.

This also is very true! Sometimes Sweet Pea gets going good in there and I swear s/he looks like an alien trying to escape!! Maybe I'm growing a kickboxer in there! Although this hasn't happened to Jeremiah yet, I'm sure it would if he put his face on my stomach!

27 weeks = head of cauliflower

Here is the info for 27 weeks. I guess I feel the need to see how Sweet Pea measures up each week compared with various fruits and veggies!

From babycenter.com- How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

The best nursery furniture EVER!

This is Sweet Pea's furniture! Aren't the pieces just gorgeous! We absolutely LOVE them! The color is espresso, which is almost like a dark chocolate. We ordered the crib and the dresser to the left and it will have a hutch that goes on top of the dresser. We ordered them from a local baby store in Pensacola and the delivery time is 6-8 weeks after ordering. It's been 3 weeks since then, so....hopefully we will get them in 3-5 more weeks. We will be painting the nursery most likely the weekend after Easter and after that, just waiting on furniture to get here and add the final touches! I really wanted to be completely done with decorating before I got too close to the end and got so uncomfortable, so maybe that can still happen!

3rd Trimester!!

Yay! We made it to the homestretch....just a measly 13 weeks to go! The first trimester seemed to drag on, but the 2nd...ha! It flew by. I'm not really sure why either. Maybe it's because you are so worried that a miscarriage will occur before the first 13 weeks is over.

Anyway, it's strange to think that Sweet Pea now is only 7 days younger than my niece Kole was when she was born. I can remember how tiny she was at 2 lbs 5 oz and it's so crazy that my baby is about that size now! It's very comforting to know that if preterm labor were to occur now, the baby has a very good survival chance. And it's possible that s/he could have little side effects from being born premature...just look at Kole, unless you knew, you could never tell she was a preemie!

Here is a picture from today, at 27 weeks. I'm looking more like a pregnant mama-to-be! Just look at that round face! Not my best look...but if it goes with the territory of having a baby, bring it on!! Ha ha!

The snuggling chair

This is the rocker and ottoman for the nursery. Please ignore the box that's also hogging the picture! We have several empty boxes that are calling the nursery home right now! The chair is the first big item we have in Sweet Pea's future home. It's slipcovered in a beige microfiber fabric and it is comfy! It is so amazing to think that in 14 short weeks, I'll be rocking my sweet baby boy or girl in this very chair! =)

26 weeks = english cucumber

Oh my goodness! I can't believe Sweet Pea is already this big! Although sometimes it does feel like it when s/he is kicking around in there! Just this morning s/he was kicking me right below ribs on my right side and it was unreal. It doesn't seem like Sweet Pea should be able to reach all the way up there already!! But I'm almost to my 3rd trimester (just 2 more days!) so I guess it's time for s/he to be getting bigger! =)

From babycenter.com: How your baby's growing-

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.