Week 28

I'm switchin' it up with my belly updates. This may get boring but I think that it's starting to get a little repetitive (and I was off with my fruit/veggie size and so he is presently the size of an eggplant...according to the experts on the Internet).

 

We had an appointment today which included an ultrasound to check up on our lil' monkey, my glucose screening, and a checkup on mama. So far, all good news (haven't received results for my glucose screening yet).

 

I had many women tell me how terrible the glucose screening was so I was expecting to have to attempt to gag down a mega-syrupy-sugary-flat-orange soda solution, as well as hold it down for an hour, only to get a lot of blood drawn and leave me light-headed. Well, it wasn't a pleasant taste by any means, but it wasn't the worst thing in the world, and they only drew two viles of blood. Needless to say, I survived.

 

The cyst they found on his brain is completely gone! We hadn't stressed about it so much since the last time we met with our doctor, but we are so relieved to hear the news. Thank you for every one's thoughts and prayers. Our perfect little man is measuring perfectly, has a perfect heartbeat, and is a perfect little kicker. Unfortunately the radiologist spent the time just scanning his head and didn't get any profile shots, so we don't have any new pictures of him. We got to see his little face peeking through at one point, with his precious little hands crossed up by his chin...made my heart melt.

 

This is the position he is in as of lately. I have a ligament that stretches vertically alongside my bellybutton and he likes to push his little bum against it ~not so comfy~. His feet and legs go crazy mostly on my right side, sometimes making me twitch. He must be running out of room already because he seems to stretch out a lot, gradually working his way into his jungle-gym that I call my ribs.

As far as how I'm feeling: I still have consistent acid reflux that is only tamed by Ranitidine. It doesn't matter what I have before bed (yogurt, a burger, pizza, soda, water, or nothing), or when I have it, I wake up with what feels like someone burning an acid down my throat and throughout my whole core. My sciatica has temporarily subsided for the most part (I still have my days) but my back is always uncomfortable. I am already SO uncomfortable, and I know ya'll say "Oh, just wait!" but you ask- I tell. I'm aware it will get worse, but I can still be uncomfortable. I'm officially making my way up the scale too. Doctor says my weight gain is right on track, but I am watching the fat gradually build up and it's an odd thing for me. I am losing the tone in my arms and legs and I'm not the healthiest of eaters, so I might need to do something about that. I'm good at pointing out the things I need to do, but not so good at doing them ~imagine that!~

 

Anyway, my updates probably won't all be this long, but Kobe is doing well, and so far, so is his mom. I can't believe we're into our "every 2 weeks" appointments, and I only have 12 weeks until my due date! I'm sure I'll have some moments where I don't feel ready (especially because we have nothing physically ready for him yet), but at this point, we're mentally and emotionally ready for him to be here in our arms...I'd prefer his cute little self to be the one waking me up at night rather than my not-so-cute self.

 

January Bumps

Jannica = 26 weeks with Kobe

Kim = 24 weeks with..."Bubba" no-name-yet Larson

 

Week 26: Lettuce Head

Our baby is the size of a lettuce head!

How many weeks? 26 Weeks

Gender: Boy!
Maternity clothes? Still fit in my jeans but definitely wearing maternity tops. And I basically live in sweats/leggings.

Sleep: I can only sleep on my left side and sometimes on my back. I am just practicing the whole "no sleep" thing. For sure need that body pillow.

Symptoms: I am feeling my stomach grow by the second, it seems like. All those extra hormones are also starting to kick in--I get overly and irrationally angry, frustrated, and sad over stupid little things. I haven't had any explosions yet, but sorry to Lane and everyone else in advance. I'm becoming that grumpy prego lady!! Still the cramping, stretching, back aches, he decides when I pee, gagging, inability to form sentences, morphed tummy, major heartburn/acid reflux, etc. Ranitidine is seriously saving my life.

Best moment this week: Feeling and seeing Kobe move like always.

Movement: There's about 10 hours all together within a 24 hour period where he is not moving. I'm just happy he is letting me know he's alive in there! He is starting to kick up in my ribs, and he likes to kick my right oblique; which makes me twitch and is totally weird.

Food cravings: Just food. I always want spicy food, even though I get heartburn/acid reflux just thinking about it! I avoid it as much as possible.

Belly Button in or out? It's official. I have an outie.

Wedding rings on or off? On. Ironically though, they keep sliding off because I'm always cold.

Names: Kobe ___?___ Larson
Nesting/Preparations? What have you done? I set up a couple registrations but am completely overwhelmed with trying to figure out what we need! There's so much we can do without but how do I decipher? Still haven't cleaned out the nursery closet but I've organized his stuff into a corner. We looked at paint swatches. I just need my mom to be here and tell me how to paint/decorate. I know I still have 3 months but I'm starting to stress about getting everything ready. I think I'll feel better after my shower and my mom comes.

Looking forward to: Next ultrasound and my mommy coming.

 

Week 24: Egg Plant

Our baby is the size of an egg plant!

(I think at this point, people have just made up random fruits/vegetables. He is almost 2lbs and about 12inches long)

 

How many weeks? 24 Weeks

Gender: Boy!
Maternity clothes? Still fit in my jeans but definitely wearing maternity tops. And I basically live in sweats and have converted to leggings; which I never thought I would do.

Sleep: Uncomfortably and congestively (yes, I made up that word). Time for a body pillow.

Symptoms: Cramping, stretching, back aches, he decides when I pee, gagging, inability to form sentences, morphed tummy, major heartburn/acid reflux, etc.

Best moment this week: Feeling and seeing Kobe move.

Movement: Oh he moves like crazy. I can totally tell where his little hands and feet are. It's such a weird thing to watch! ...but I absolutely love it.

Food cravings: Just food.

Belly Button in or out? It's almost out...odd!

Wedding rings on or off? On

Names: Pretty sure it's going to be Kobe. We have everyone calling him Kobe, and his name has been written on a few things; for example, Lane's sister got him a book and wrote "Kobe" in it. It just fits.
Nesting/Preparations? What have you done? His room is cleared out other than some junk that needs to be organized elsewhere, but we have our new glider in there, and we're starting to stock up on clothes, diapers, and wipes. I think we're going with a bright blue and green (not completely set on the tone yet), white wainscoting, brown furniture, and monkeys. That's as far as we've gotten, but my mom's coming in February to help!!

Looking forward to: We get to check up on him January 25th with another ultrasound, and then my mom comes! ...and baby shower time!

 

**We had another appointment and feel a lot better about the cyst after discussing it with the doctor. He explained that it is common to find a cyst in the Choroid Plexus and it almost always it goes away. They just had to make note of it that it was there, since they have the technology to find them. If there was a heart defect or other problem as well (which our baby does not have) then there is potential for a developmental issue or soft marker for Down Syndrome. They are still going to check on it in a month but he expressed that he is not worried about it at all. Everything is measuring perfectly- our weight and growth. I also have my glucose screening at our next appointment...totally not looking forward to that!**



 

Lil' Monkey

I've always wanted to get my babies a bear suit...they're just so stinkin' adorable! We bought one the other day, and Lane picked out this cute monkey beanie. I noticed that he is drawn to the monkey-themed clothing for our little man, so I think we will be referring to little man as "lil' monkey." Lane is going to be such a good daddy. He may not like that I am sharing this but I thought it was cute; When I came home from work the other day he started talking about how much he just wants our lil' monkey to be here and he told me, "This is how lame I am. I picked up his little bear suit thing earlier and started holding it like it was a baby ~while showing me with his arms~" I thought it was hilarious that he admitted it to me because, let's face it, we're all guilty of doing silly things like that when we're home alone...most people just keep it to themselves. I hope our son grows up to be just like his daddy, because I'm quite fond of him.

 

Week 22: Papaya

 Our baby is the size of a papaya!

How many weeks? 22 Weeks

Gender: Boy!
Maternity clothes? I still wear my jeans/bottoms but I need to start shopping for more tops.

Sleep: When I do sleep, I sleep great. However, I am starting to get really uncomfortable already, and I already miss laying on my stomach!

Symptoms: Growing, cramping, back aches, bladder being kicked, gagging, inability to form sentences, movement, constant heartburn/acid reflux, etc.

Best moment this week: Every time I feel little man move; which is all the time! I still just smile and am so amazed by the whole experience. Also, finding out Kim is having...a boy! We all thought she was going to have a girl. It will be fun having a boy cousin (Kim's) and a girl cousin (Britt's) the same age, and another boy cousin only a year and a half older (Erin's).

Movement: We definitely have an active child on his way! I'm obsessed with feeling him kick/punch/jump/throw/squirm/dance, or whatever it is he's doing in there. So much fun! I found out piano music puts him to sleep, but he likes to dance to other music. Around 9pm he starts showing off...which means I will need to train him on when it's ok for "wild time" and when it's not ok when he makes his debut.

Food cravings: Just food.

Belly Button in or out? In but for not much longer!

Wedding rings on or off? On

Names: Kobe. We are 99% sure we're going with Kobe. As far as middle names go, we've talked about Dale. Lane likes the name Jay, but for a first name- I could do Jay for a middle name but not first. Sooo, Kobe Dale Larson?
Nesting/Preparations? What have you done? We cleared out the nursery but we've been throwing stuff in there lately so that's on my list of things to do again. So far we've just looked at nursery ideas online. Colors we've decided on are bright blue & green (Lane says Seahawks colors), and white. I would like a splash of orange. I'm thinking stripes with white wainscoting. My mom is coming in February to help!

Looking forward to: Christmas, my mama coming to help with the nursery, and baby shower!

 

*Side note: The doctors found a Choroid Plexus Cyst on little man's brain in the 20 week ultrasound. He told me not to worry about it (how can I not?) because these cysts usually go away by themselves around 24 to 26 weeks. He said it's about the size of his thumbnail; which he also said is small, and again, not to worry. He just wanted us to be aware of it because they will keep an eye on it. When I got off the phone with him I had to look it up and read more about it of course, because how can I just not worry? After reading about them, I understand they are common and that they usually go away by themselves. They are also found on healthy children and adults. Worst-case scenario, it could be a "soft marker" for Down Syndrome. I'm trying not to stress about it because everything else was perfect in his growth and development, and I love him so much already, no matter what, but I just pray that he will continue to grow healthy and strong. We are getting another ultrasound at the end of the month or beginning of January to check up on him. On the plus side, we get to see him move around again!

 

Make-shift Christmas Card

Since I make my life so public via blogging and Facebook, I did not send out Christmas cards this year. So here's our Christmas card for 2012. Next year I plan on taking at least one secret photo that I can put on our Christmas card for 2013!