22 weeks

Short of breath. Whew!! Maybe this is the part people are talking about when they say it's going to be a hot summer. I got a little scared last night when I laid down because I couldn't catch my breath. I worked on some relaxation techniques and it seemed to help.

Still working on the baby registry. I'm sure we are forgetting a lot of stuff.

I haven't gotten on the scales in a few days. I don't want to. Baby Girl weighs 1.1# as of 22 weeks. We had our repeat anomaly ultrasound. It went MUCH better this time. She's measuring perfect. She gave us some cute poses and we got several good 3D pics. I can't wait to meet our precious lady.

Happy Easter!!

This time next year we'll have someone hunting eggs. That seems so crazy to say!!

21 weeks

I am loving our baby girl. I am feeling her a little more. Granted I have days that I don't feel much, but it's usually on the weekends or at night when I feel her the most. She enjoyed CPR class this week. She also enjoyed the "This is 40" movie Saturday night. I want my Wife to feel them so much!!

We had our 20 week u/s anomaly scan this week. Our tech was not good, she's new. I called our regular tech back and she's going to scan us this Thursday. We didn't even get a good profile pic for her baby book! I'm so excited for Thursday!! We'll get to see her again.

We bought a few things from a lady on the social media trading post. Quite a few really nices pieces of clothing and also a baby swing. The swing retails for $179 and she's selling it to us for $50.

I am curious what the next few weeks will bring...my weight, baby girl's activity, and the glucose test @ 24 weeks!!!

Anatomy Scan

We had our anatomy scan today. Everything looks great, our OB said "PERFECT". We had a new u/s tech, our regular girl was off. We didn't care for her, even watching the DVD tonight she simply hasn't been trained long enough. She rushed through it and didn't seem to have control over the transducer like our regular girl. Oh well, baby Girl is measuring right where she should be. Her arms are a little long and her femurs were a little short. I'm trying not to think baboon here. Ha! My dad's side of the family is very short, I wonder if that's going to pass down ?

I asked the doc if I should get my iron checked. He said he would check it at my glucose test in 4 weeks. It was normal at 8 weeks so he suspects it'll be fine. I also asked about depression. He said if I wasn't having more BAD days than GOOD days, I was fine. I  told him I've had 3 ROUGH days during the 2nd trimester and he kind of laughed and said "Oh, you're good!!" I asked when I can get my Rx for a breast pump. He said anytime and to just ask the girls up front for the Rx.

I wish I had a cute pic of baby Girl from the scan today but I don't. I'm hoping I can get in touch with our regular u/s tech and maybe run back over for some better pics, esp the 3D ones!

Half Way to meeting SAR

I'm 20 weeks, 3 days. I've been feeling well. I do notice new things daily/weekly. I get short of breath easily. Walking seems to be a bit wobbly at times but I hide it as best I can. Friday night was rough emotionally. My hormones must have been out of whack for a little bit. When I woke up Saturday morning they were gone. I am so glad those feelings and thoughts don't hang around long and I hope to not have another night like that again. Whew!! That's some rough stuff!! I start questioning if I'm depressed but since they go away, I'm gonna say it's just normal. It's on my list to ask the doc about Tuesday. We have our anatomy scan then where they measure the long bones and make sure there are no abnormalities. They'll measure her head/abdomen/heart chambers. I took a peak at work Thursday. She had the hiccups. SO CUTE!!!

We have one more night of hypnobirthing. Also today I read the most beautiful birth story from a girl on the forum where we got our sperm. She used hypnobirthing and stayed relaxed the entire time. She even reached down and pulled her baby up!! Our plan is to stay home until my surges are 2 min apart. I'm hopeful it works out that way.

I got a raise/promotion at work, what timing!! I'll basically be doing what I have been just getting paid more. Also I'll likely being assisting the radiologist more.

I can't believe I'm half way to meeting our baby girl. It seems like all the big stuff has happened now she just cooks for 5 more months and makes her debut!! I hope we get a 3D pic of her Tuesday!!

Hypnobirthing #2

We had our 2nd class. It was great and the two hours flew by! We discussed how to bond with the baby even in the womb. Our instructor hypnotized us. At first I was thinking it was a bunch of hooey then the more I concentrated on what she was doing...the more hypnotized I got. By the end I was completely under it. Freaky!! We practiced scripts with our partners. Our next class is tomorrow, I think we go over birth documents. I'm on the hunt for the perfect essential oil now.

I had a couple of "scary" days this week. Weird thoughts. Thoughts of not wanting this. I'm tempted to not even journal it here. I think it might be because my Wife and I have disagreements and I am protective of the baby and don't want her to hear us. That breaks my heart if she thinks she might come into a world with strife. We're working on things...we're working on being stronger.

We've been working on our registries.

I've had cramping in my legs a few nights. My belly is popping out. I fear my weight is too much. I'm going to try to get back on the healthy eating wagon. It's so hard. We had baked tilapia, okra, and corn tonight. That was a good supper. I'm going to look to see if they make gummy iron supplements. I think I need more, considering how much the experts recommend I get.

I have felt some flutters in my belly. I am "almost" certain it's baby girl. They are in the same spot each time. My belly is sitting on my legs now when I'm seated. It's really hard to gain weight and have no control over it. Tough, tough.

I'm happy I'm pregnant. I'm happy about baby girl. I'm excited to be a mother. I'm happy we're going down this path of natural birth. I love my Wife. I love my baby girl. I love our family.

Hypnobirth Class #1

We took our first hypnobirth class tonight. It lasted about an hour and a half. I'd call it an into to the method. We love our instructor. She's wonderful and has passion for the field. We watched some hypo births. We did some imagery techniques, which closely resembled the meditation I had done when trying to conceive.

We'll go back on Monday & Fridays for 5 weeks.

It gives me hope that this type of birth DOES exist.

Concert, 18 weeks 2 days

My Wife got me Pink concert tickets for my birthday in November. The concert was last night. It had been snowing almost all day with no accumulation. We got up Saturday morning and met a guy about a Toyota Prius. We fell in love with it and have told him we want it. It's the price we can afford and it has ALL the options we want and it's the color we want. SOLD! We shopped at Macy's and Costco then got ready for dinner at Cantina Laredo. We ran by Krispy Kreme before the concert because that's what I wanted for dessert, although Samantha gets blamed for all the bad decisions these days. The concert was unbelievable. When we arrived there were holy rollers out front telling everyone to repent and how they were going to hell, marching with signs, and screaming into megaphones. WOW! At one point during the concert when one of the dancers was writhing around on the stage I told My Wife those preachers might have been right after the thoughts I had after seeing that! WOW!! Pink can put on one heck of a show. She's beautiful and talented. The acrobatics she does are amazing. At the end she even flew across the entire arena on a cable wire. Show stopper!! Glitter in the Air is one of my favorite Pink songs, it always puts a lump in my throat, and it did last night.

I'm feeling good. I still don't feel pregnant some days. I'm 18 weeks 3 days today. We're starting birthing classes tomorrow night (Mon/Fri for 2 weeks, 5 classes). Hypnobirthing. I'm nervous, but shouldn't be. It's the method we've decided to go with. We're still on the fence with a doula. The "free" one hasn't been very good about getting into contact with me so I've almost written her off.

The lady teaching the birth classes also teaches pre-natal massage workshops. She emailed me Saturday asking if I would be available Sunday at 1 to be a guinea pig for her students. So, I'm headed out for a free pre-natal massage today!! Samantha gets her first massage!!

I had a quickie u/s at work this week. Samantha was resting with her hands behind her back. We woke her up and she waved at us. She opened/closed her mouth. She kicked a lot, her feet are down on my bladder (this explains a lot).