Week # 13

Today begins week # 13 and the final week of our first trimester. I'm so exhausted that I can't possibly type anything coherent, but I wanted to post our latest ultra-sound photos. During the appointment today, the baby was an active little thing... bouncy, moving it's arms & legs, and sucking it's thumb like CRAZY.

In the top photo, you can see fingers & toes. The next photo shows the baby sucking on it's thumb. And lastly, you can very clearly see facial features. Apparently, we won't know the gender until week # 20.
... sigh...

Week # 11

Welcome to Week # 11…

As I write this, Rachel is lounging in a shwanky hotel in Houston, Texas, lying in a king-sized bed, watching television, enjoying room service, and definitely fulfilling those wacky food cravings! I, on the other hand, am working my tail feathers off (working 40+ hrs. in 4 days), pulling the house back together from Riley’s independent evening alone in the house from 7:45pm – 11:20pm (she flexed her Great Dane power by refusing to go back into her crate following play time with my mom), packing my belongings and prepping our house for the wonderful dog-care savior, Julia. I’ll fly out of Bradley at 7:15am on Friday (10.17.2008) to meet Rachel in Dallas, Texas. We’ll spend a night in Dallas visiting one of my best friends from high school, Heather (Breshers) O’Connor, and then we’ll drive over to Austin for the remainder of our visit (until Thursday) to spend time with Cruce, Rachel, and their baby dinosaur (Crucie). I’ve never been to Texas and I haven’t seen Heather since graduation day in 1994, and spending time with Cruce & Rachel is always a BLAST! This is going to be a wonderful and well-deserved break from the monotony of our daily routines here in the spastic weather of New England. My only concern while I’m away is being able to follow my New England sports teams- the Red Sox and their lousy, unenthusiastic quest for the World Series, and the dying dynasty of the New England Patriots… ughhh… maybe I need a break from both of them, too. Regardless, I am in desperate need of a vacation!

We’ve entered week # 11 of Rachel’s pregnancy. I’m not sure if she’ll kill me for sharing her wacky food craving story or not, but she’s in Texas, and a delayed death is the best way to go! Hee hee hee! Last Saturday, we were hanging out at the house with my niece and nephew. The weather was beautiful, it was the most perfect autumn day in Greenfield, and we had plans to go apple picking followed by a fund raiser at Landmark College called “Empty Bowls.” Originally, we planned to take the kids for just one evening (Friday to Saturday), but we always have this mushy-gushy feeling when we wake up the morning that we’re supposed to return them; we call their parents and arrange to keep them for an additional night. Generally, we regret this phone call towards nap time that afternoon or by the end of the weekend when we’re absolutely exhausted, accomplished nothing all weekend, and realize that we have to return to work in a few short hours. Anyways… back to my story… Rachel had been “craving” cinnamon rolls and decided that she wanted to try her hand at making them from scratch. She left me with the kids and took a road-trip to our favorite "mom and pops" operated grocery store, Foster’s, for the missing ingredients. She came home with one bag. I looked into the back and saw the ingredients which made perfect sense to her craving and the necessity for cooking. However, she then says to me “What you don’t see is my impulse buy.” Now, if I was Grace (our puppy), I would’ve looked at her with a cocked-to-the-side head and ears perked, and a huge imaginary question mark in a bubble above my head. She then said “I love you.” And of course, I became more suspicious. Rachel then launched into a story about how the seafood department manager at Foster’s told her that he hadn’t seen lobster prices so inexpensive in the fourteen years that he had worked there, and thus, Rachel purchased two one & ½ pound lobsters for $5.99/ lb. The seafood department would have our “afternoon snack” steamed and ready for pick-up at 3pm. Being a HUGE lobster connoisseur, I feel that I “lucked out” in the wake of Rachel’s “wacky” food craving and I didn’t have much room for complaining. Needless to say, the cinnamon buns were not created on that day, but Rachel prepped the dough for the 24 hour “rising” period and proceeded to make delicious cinnamon buns on Sunday morning.

Now, onto the facts and figures that I have learned this week regarding our little piece of fruit in Rachel’s belly. Wait, has anybody else out there noticed that every time a resource describes the size of the fetus, they compare it to a fruit, nut, or vegetable? Anyways… I’ve been scouring two websites daily to keep me apprised of necessary knowledge, facts & trivia: http://www.visembryo.com/ and http://www.whattoexpect.com/. The visible embryo website self describes as visual guide through fetal development from fertilization through pregnancy to birth. In my opinion, it is much more factual-based and scientific, rather than “What to expect” and their educational approach to both pregnancy and parenting.

According to the visible embryo, the fetus length, from crown-to-rump, is about 1.25 to 1.68 inches (31 to 42mm). The major areas of growth include: head and neck, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, limbs, and skin. One of the most exciting facts that I found is that the face has developed a human appearance. Apparently, sockets for all twenty teeth are formed in the gum lines, the nasolacrimal groove forms on the upper lip, separate folds of the mouth fuse together to form the palate, and early facial hair follicles begin to develop. Our fetus is becoming a little person! Previously, we noted that there is a possibility that we would be able to recognize a gender during our next ultrasound on Monday October 27th, 2008. The information notes that genitalia begin to show female characteristics (labium minus, urogenital groove, labium majoris) and male characteristics (glans penis, urethral groove, scrotum). However, neither male nor female genitalia are fully formed. I think the ultrasound will be “We have a good suspicion that your baby will be a ______ (fill-in the blank with a gender). For some odd reason, both Rachel and Stephen believe that we’re having a girl. Jeremy and I are more skeptical of their rationale since they formed their opinions prior to insemination!

“What to Expect” makes the fetus more human-like, rather than a science experiment and/ or an alien that has implanted itself inside Rachel’s uterus. They say that Rachel will continue to feel tired and they explain the cause nicely. It’s a relief to read about the woman’s experience because it allows for both of our anxieties to rest, especially to note that what Rachel is experiencing IS, in fact, normal. Here’s what they say:

Are your two favorite positions these days sitting and lying down? Pregnancy fatique is normal, especially at this stage. That's because you're running a baby-making factory that's in business 24/7 (and since you're the only employee, you're on the clock around the clock), causing your pregnant body to work harder at rest than your nonpregnant body did on the run. And for the next few weeks, a baby's not the only thing in production — so is the placenta, the magnificently complex mission control that will serve as your baby's life support system until delivery. The result? You feel tired and overworked, even when you're not doing a darn thing. Your energy should pick up once the placenta's up and running and your system adjusts (as best as it can) to the hormonal changes of pregnancy — probably early in the second trimester. In the meantime, keep your blood sugar level up with frequent snacks of complex carbs. and protein (cheese and crackers; nuts and dried fruit), try a little exercise (which can actually give you an energy boost), and most of all — listen to your body. When it calls for a break, take one.

Not only does this website speak to the emotional aspect of the changes (i.e. exhaustion), but they also speak to the bodily changes, and the fetus development (similar to the visible embryo). They note that it is common during this time for the woman’s lower abdomen starting to protrude now. The woman’s body begins to produce the hormone progesterone which can cause an increase in bloating, burping, and passing gas. For us “gastric girls” these are actually common occurrences because our digestive tracts have been surgically altered. During pregnancy (according to "What to Expect"),

the production of progesterone relaxes smooth muscle tissue in your body — including the gastrointestinal tract — slowing down digestion to allow more time for the nutrients from food to be absorbed into the bloodstream and passed to your baby. But what's good for baby isn't always good for mom. The uncomfortable fullness you feel in your abdomen, especially after eating, might only get worse for some women. As your uterus grows, it'll crowd the stomach and intestines, putting more pressure on the digestive tract, and causing you to feel even more bloated during pregnancy. But here's some consolation: your baby won't feel your pain. In fact, your baby is oblivious to all your intestinal distress, and may even be soothed by the gurgling of your gastric symphony.

This concludes my educational information section regarding our baby’s development. What are some fun things to talk about and to begin conversations? Some open-ended questions for people to ponder: How do we accommodate two large families and many, many friends for a fun-filled baby shower –or- do we have more than one? What have others done? Also, we’re always in search of the “BEST” products on the market for the baby – we’ve begun to register for items, but I don’t know much about this stuff. Does anybody out there have experiences with the video baby monitors? What are the items that we may forget to register for, but should be “must-haves?” Has anybody out there (besides Kim & Rachel + Cruce- we’ve already picked their brains) used cloth diapers? If so, what brands and what was your experience? Are there any tips or tricks that people have used to combat mood swings, cravings, or gas?


We will definitely post information following our phase II ultrasound on October 27th, 2008, but until then, I will (most likely) have sporadic e-mail access because we’ll be road-tripping through Texas. Oh wait… anybody have suggestions about places I MUST visit while in Dallas, Austin, or San Antonio? Since I've shared intimate details of Rachel's pregnancy, I will share a guilty fact about myself... While in Austin, I really want to check-out the "Coyote Ugly Saloon." Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know… no need for comments… I’m still young & crazy after all these years of pretending to be an adult!

Pets...

**Photo Credits = Tee Crawford **
Right now, our dogs & cats are our "babies." They have NO idea what they are in for once May hits... Here's a photo of our innocent and unsuspecting dogs. Riley is the white Great Dane & Grace is the golden Labradoodle.

Week # 11 updates coming soon!

Week # 10

Whew... it's been a LONG week! Our appointment(s) went very well. Because Rachel is so tall, they had difficulties locating the fetus, so today we went in for our first ultrasound. It was so exciting! We saw the heart beat 176 times per minute (it looked similar to a butterfly flapping it's wings), there's four limbs, a head, and the very beginning formation of a spine. Our baby is happy, healthy, and PERFECT!



"What to Expect" says this about Week # 10:

Your baby's growth is fast and furious now. He or she is nearly an inch and a half long and the size of a prune, but not nearly as shriveled (even with all the time it spends in water). In fact, your baby is really taking a human shape now. Bones and cartilage are forming, and small indentations on the legs are developing into knees and ankles. The arms (complete with elbows) can flex already, but don't run to the store for a baseball bat just yet. Though your baby's arms are taking shape and getting stronger, each one is only about the size of this number 1. The tooth bud fairy is making her appearance this week, heralding the arrival of your baby's little choppers, which are forming under the gums. (Those pearly whites won't break through the gums until your baby is close to six months old). Other systems are go, too. Your baby's stomach is producing digestive juices, the kidneys are producing larger quantities of urine, and, if your baby's a boy, he's already producing testosterone (yikes!).

Rachel continues to have no signs of morning sickness or any nightmare pregnancy symptoms. YIPPEEEE! We're hoping to post a blog entry in the next week or so about the donor (Stephen) and his spouse (Jeremy). They are wonderful men who we adore and greatly look forward to introducing you to them soon!

Week # 9

Week 9 means that our embryo is officially a fetus! WOO HOO! Our baby is approximately one inch long and has develop a heart beat which could be heard with a Doppler (a handheld ultrasound device that amplifies the lub-dub sound the heart makes). It's exciting to know that this week, some of the organs begin to form (the liver, spleen, and gallbladder) and minuscule muscles. We are extremely excited to have our first visit to the midwife, Maggie, on Tuesday October 7th, 2008.

Rachel has been quite lucky thus far. No morning sickness, but she has been quite tired. This morning, we stayed in bed until almost 7:15am- normally, she is awake and running out the door to the YMCA around 5am. But, according to "What to Expect" (http://www.whattoexpect.com/) Rachel is experiencing "pregnancy fatigue." They say that "extreme fatigue during pregnancy is a common symptom, especially in the first trimester. And for good reason. Making a baby is hard work — make that very hard work. Consider this: During these first weeks and months of pregnancy, your body is manufacturing the placenta — your baby's life-support system. What's more, your body's metabolism and hormone levels have increased significantly while your blood sugar and blood pressure tend to be lower. Add it all up, and it's no wonder you feel as if you're competing in a triathlon each day." Alas, I have the third trimester to look forward to, because they say "The good news: You'll recover a lot of the get up and go that has gotten up and left once your body has adjusted to being pregnant and your baby's placenta is finished developing — somewhere around month four. The not-so-good news: Pregnancy fatigue is likely to reappear during the last trimester as the demands of toting around a larger fetus increase."

But don't worry folks, not only is she experiencing pregnancy fatigue right now, she's also in the midst of what they refer to as "swing time." No, this isn't a fun afternoon in the park... this is "amazing: One minute you're getting a medal for being the best spouse in the history of the world, the next you're being berated by a sobbing woman. Don't fight these mood swings, it's the hormones talking…and they'll be doing a whole lot of talking in the months to come. A hug, if you can get close enough, will do wonders. And keep a tissue box handy for those insipid TV commercials that will reduce her to tears." I've already threatened to move out of our house & into the Jeep Commander with the dogs!

Needless to say, it's Friday night and I'm sitting here on the computer because it seems to be the "safest" room in the house... only seven more months of hiding in the computer room! (Unless she bans me from the computer after reading this post!)

Welcome!

Today, Rachel and I decided it would be appropriate to begin blogging about our experiences with pregnancy and motherhood. We hope that you read the blog often, that you offer feedback & comments, and that you continue to offer your love and support through this amazing journey.