19 weeks and Level 2 u/s part 2

Far Along: 19 weeks

How Big is The Baby: He is growing like crazy. I forgot to ask them the exact measurement at my ultrasound but he should be about 8 to 9 inches long from rump to head so with his legs I would sad about 11 inches?! Oh my goodness, my baby boy is getting so big, and it shows in my belly size!

Total Weight Gain: I was miraculously not gaining weight from weeks 11 thru 15 but now I it seems that I gained about 6lbs since week 15 =/

Maternity Clothes: Shirts are a MUST because my normal clothes are not long enough. Pants is a mixture but mostly pre-preg pants with no buttoning or zipping and a BE Band. Sarah (my friend and neighbor) let me borrow a bunch of her maternity clothes so now I have a couple sweater and a pair of jeans to wear =)

Sleep: I wake up to pee like twice during the night now and I cant sleep in but sleep is ok at this point.

GENDER: to quote the u/s tech "Its DEFINITELY still a boy and he's proud of that thing". Haha

Movement: This is a sore topic for me. He is making tons of movements but I am not really feeling them or at least not that I know of. I am still so sad that I have this anterior placenta!

Food Cravings: Fruit, sweets/desserts, milk, juice (cran-grape!)

What I Miss: Nothing really. I can honestly say that while it isnt all fun I LOVE being pregnant.

What I'm looking forward to: Feeling Foster move finally!!!!!

Milestones: Part 2 of our level 2 u/s.

Symptoms: REALLY bad acid reflux, HORRIBLE MIGRAINE HEADACHES, frequent urination, much bigger appetite, tired.

Pictures from our ultrasound:

(the bottom of Foster's little feeties =P )

(His precious profile with his mouth open a little bit)

(Another profile pic)

(His looooong legs!)

Everything looked really good at part 2 of our level 2 ultrasound. They said that they did not see any further markers for downs. While this is reassuring we are still on the fence about an amniocentesis because after NT Scan (the one that we got bad results on) 50% of downs babies show no further markers on ultrasounds. So, like I said, its reassuring but doesnt give us any definitive answers.

Foster was being a little stinker and making the ultrasound tech work for her images! He kept moving right when she went to take pictures. It was SO neat to see his heart valves and chambers up close. I was absolutely amazed and once again fell in love with Foster even more.

Overall it was a GREAT week. This was my week off of school in between last quarter and the new quarter that starts tomorrow.

On wednesday we got the bedding that I ordered from Pottery Barn Kids. It looks like this: (You cannot tell in the picture very well but the detail is in light green, there are scallops all around the top and bottom of the bumper and the ties are green. Also- we did not get the quilt.)

Thursday night we hung up the light fixture that we ordered from Pottery Barn Kids for the nursery and also installed a dimmer switch.

Yesterday we went and bought Foster's crib mattress and changing pad.

18 Weeks & Frame Wall!

Far Along: 18 weeks

How Big is The Baby: Not sure! They say that his body should be as big as a sweet potato =) I think without legs, just from head to butt, he should be about 6.5 inches.

Total Weight Gain: Havent been to OB this week so Im not sure.

Maternity Clothes: Be band with pre-preg jeans and maternity shirts still.

Sleep: Not bad, not good. Still waking up to use the bathroom.

GENDER: ITS A BOY!

Movement: Nothing that I feel yet =(

Food Cravings: Fruit, sweets/desserts, milk, juice (cran-grape!)

What I Miss: Nothing, I love being pregnant.

What I'm looking forward to: Feeling Foster finally.

Milestones: No big milestones this week that I can think of.

Symptoms: REALLY bad acid reflux, HORRIBLE MIGRAINE HEADACHES, frequent urination, more of an appetite, tired.

Without further ado, here is the frame wall I have been working VERY hard on and I am sooooo excited!!!

First I had to paint some of the frames because I bought some that were scuffed and marked down on sale. So I painted them in the kitchen =)

Then I laid frames out on the floor to try and figure out how I wanted to arrange them!

And the finished product!!!!!!

The long frame at the bottom is a 12-month frame. It will have a newborn pic in the middle a each of his month photos around it. I am going to put an ultrasound picture in the middle for now when I print one out in the right size.

Directions for DIY Shadowbox!

Since I had so many people ask me how I made the shadowbox I am going to give the directions below! First I want to give credit to Jen @ The World of Dennifer, again, who gave me the idea and how to that I tweaked!

So here is a list of supplies:

1- 12x12 shadowbox (or whatever size you want to make). I got mine at target for $9.98!

1 (or in my case 2)- Paper Punches- I used Martha Stewart paper punches because they word really well.

1- 12x12 (or your size)- white piece of cardstock to stick all the punches onto

Cardstock in patterns that you want to punch out of (paper is too thin and you really need something thicker to use so cardstock works great!)

1- Small package of Glue Dots

1- Ruler

1- Pencil

Steps:

1. Gather materials

2. Use the punch (or punches) to punch out your animals/shapes

3. I marked 1 inch margins around the edge of the cardstock so that I wouldnt cover up any punches and it would be symmetric (because I am obsessive).

4. I then went across the top with a ruler and made a tiny dot at every inch to put the punches on. I only marked the first row.

5. Stick the first row of punches to the paper and then follow each row. (I did an outline of owls then did elephants, which were wider, in the center so my center rows had more space between elephants to accommodate).

6. Use ruler to apply all other rows in straight fashion

7. Place in shadowbox!

Tips:

- Press glue dots down FIRMLY

- Lay out all the punches before you glue any to make sure that you like the pattern and that you dont have any identical pattern punches close together (if you are OCD like me).

- Have fun!

Some more nursery sneak peeks!

Our glider came in for the nursery that my parents for for us. Its a "Best Chair" and it is sooo comfortable. It looks a little yellow in pictures but it is actually light green with light blue piping around the edges.

Justin put some shelves up in one side of Foster's closet. Cant wait to get baskets to put on them for baby socks etc =)

DIY Shadowbox project that I LOVE! I think it turned out PERFECTLY! I got he idea form Jen over at World of Dennifer. I love her blog and her creativity and I am borrowing some of her ideas. Head on over and check it out!

17 weeks (wow!)

Far Along: 17 weeks

How Big is The Baby: from the email that I got it said if you hold your hand out flat that Foster should be as wide as your hand and about 7 inches long. Also should be around 7 ounces.

Total Weight Gain: Havent been to OB this week so Im not sure.

Maternity Clothes: Be band with pre-preg jeans and maternity shirts still.

Sleep: Waking up to pee every night again.

GENDER: ITS A BOY!

Movement: If I had a normal (posterior)placenta I should be feeling it about now but because of my anterior placenta I am not feeling anything yet. I am super anxious to feel him moving.

Food Cravings: Sweets, ice cream, milk.

What I Miss: Nothing really. Sure I wish I could drink when we are out with people drinking but I wouldnt trade this for the world.

What I'm looking forward to: Feeling Foster move and kick!!!

Milestones: No big milestones this week. We got the glider!!!!!!

Symptoms: REALLY bad acid reflux, tummy aches, HEADACHES, frequent urination, more of an appetite.

Level 2 u/s, OB appt & 16 weeks!

Far Along: 16 weeks and can you say "I popped"? I look huge.

How Big is The Baby: An Avacado; about 5 ounces and I think about 6 or 6.5 inches long.

Total Weight Gain: When they weighed me this week I weighed the same as I did at 11 weeks when I started there.

Maternity Clothes: Be band with pre-preg jeans and maternity shirts.

Sleep: Not great but not horrible!

GENDER: ITS A BOY!

Movement: I thought that maybe I felt movement on wednesday but I havent felt that feeling since then so I am not sure.

Food Cravings: Still sweets, fruit and milk. Also rice krispies =)

What I Miss: my facewash that made my face not breakout like it is now.

What I'm looking forward to: Feeling Foster move and kick!!!

Milestones: Naming the baby: Possibly feeling movement

Symptoms: Acid reflux, burps, tiredness, breakouts, mood swings, headaches, dizziness, nausea.

This week we had the first portion of our level 2 ultrasound and everything looks good so far but we have to go back in three weeks to get the rest of the measurements (like the hearts valves etc). It was nice to see Foster in there moving around and stretching out. He is so cute, but Im partial ;) The next day we had a quick OB appointment and all was good. They measured my belly for the first time at 17cm and said I am measuring a little over a cm ahead. We got back there in 4 weeks.

So, ALL IS GOOD!

Fix You

I am not sure if you have heard the song "fix you" by coldplay but if you have then I think you will understand what I am about to say.

I know that everyone has different obstacles to overcome in their lives and that sometimes there are "those songs" that can mean something different to each person that listens to it. Well this is one of those songs for me. I remember the first time that I heard this song. I was in my car and I almost couldnt drive I was crying so hard. The words of this song reached out to me and my (at that point) failing journey through infertility. These words specifically:

"When you try your best, but you dont succeed

When you get what you want, but not what you need

When you feel so tired, but you cant sleep

Stuck in reverse

and tears come streaming down your face

when you lose something that you cannot replace

could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

and I will try to fix you"

When I was painting the last coat of blue in the nursery closet this song came on and I had to stop painting and just listen. The words were the same but they meant something different. I felt like this song was uplifting instead of painful true and sad. I remember being there, I remember feeling lost, I remember how much it hurt to be where I was before..... but now I feel like I see the lights that will guide me home. I didnt even know where to look for those lights before.

Like I have said before, infertility changed me. I cant change back. I will NEVER forget what we went through. It still hurts but I feel so blessed to be where I am now. I am SO unbelievably thankful to have Foster growing inside of me. I wouldnt change this for the world. To be honest I wouldnt change how I got here either. I dont wish the pain that we felt on anyone, not even my worst enemy, but because of all that pain we are different people who will appreciate our miracle baby so much more than the average person. Foster will never question how much he is loved, I know this for certain. I marvel at his ultrasound pictures because he is truly a miracle.

Last night when I was watching One Born Every Minute there was a surrogate mother giving birth to a baby for a couple that had battled infertility and didnt come out on top like we have so far. I cried so hard at this storyline on the show, not because it was sad but because Justin and I had that conversation. We actually thought that was something that we might end up having to pursue. It took me back to that place and it was hard. The surrogate on the show was such a compassionate and caring woman. Her interviews were so heartfelt and it was so interesting to hear from her point of view. She said the no couple comes to surrogacy without a heavy heart that has felt such an immense amount of pain. Noone wakes up one day and thinks "Gee, I think we should have a baby by a surrogate". She was so understanding of the gift of a child and said that she treasures her own children so much that she wants everyone to know that feeling. It made me think how amazing it would be to be a surrogate and give that gift to couples who cant have it any other way.

If you made it this far then thanks for reading my whole long pregnant/emotional/horomonal post =)