6 months (24 weeks)

Alistair Charles in 4D

 Snuggled up against my placenta

 Trying to eat his foot. Left arm is crossing over his face.

 Foot is still up, but his mouth is closed

 Hand is covering his face

His arm resting on his knee. The deep thinker.

When we were in Seattle we had a 4D ultrasound done so my parents could see their grandchild for the first time. It was such an incredible experience. He looks so much like Alex! I have lots to blog about, so stay tuned!

20 week belly photos

20 weeks: The Banana

Alex has felt the baby kicking at this point too. I feel him moving all the time now. He gets excited after I eat and when he hears music. I am now at the halfway point! I can't believe how fast this is going. Halfway through a pregnancy?? The baby is now 6.5 inches long. He is developing a protective coating over the skin, called vernix caseosa. It's greasy and white. He is working on his five senses. Nerve cells for his sense of taste, hearing, sight, and smell are developing in his brain. He has working taste buds and gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid each day. I will take a picture this week of my growing belly!

18 weeks: The Sweet Potato

It's a boy! Oh boy!
We found out on Monday that we will be having a son. I was 100% convinced this whole time I was having a girl. So for a day, I was a little sad that I wouldn't be dressing my daughter up in tutus and bows. But then I saw this outfit:

And I realized that our lives are perfect for a little boy. He is going to worship Alex and follow him around with his own little toolbox. Alex will have a little helper and shop buddy. I can picture Alex wearing him in a baby carrier while he does work with his dingo and excavators. And this boy will learn so much from Alex.

17 weeks: The Orange (or baked potato)

It's so weird to have something living inside me! I can feel little bubbles right where the baby is. S/he is most active after I've eaten. The baby is now 5.12 inches long and weighs almost 5 ounces. Fat is beginning to form and its veins that have been showing through are becoming less obvious. Even though s/he has had taste buds for quite some time, it is only now that different flavor are made. S/he is now the same size as the placenta. The meconium (the baby's first bowel movement) is now forming in the baby's bowel. S/he is big enough to fit in the palm on my hand.
I can't wait till Monday's ultrasound. Stay tuned!

Boy or Girl?

Exactly a week from today, we will find out if we are having a son or a daughter. (Hopefully, if the baby isn't shy or sleeping). I've read to drink apple juice 30 minutes before the appointment to wake the baby up so s/he becomes more active and more likely to display the goods! The ultrasound will also be 4D, so the quality will be the best we could possibly receive.

So I want to take this week to prepare myself mentally for the possibility of a son or a daughter. I think the reason I "prefer" a girl, is because....I am a girl! I've been a little girl. There is still that child inside me. So I feel like I would know more about what I am doing if I was to raise a daughter. I can understand and relate to a girl.
I know nothing about little boys. I've never been a little boy. I was a total girly girl as a child (my little ponys, anything pink or purple, dolls and playing house, you name it), so I don't have the added confidence to raise a boy had I been a tomboy myself.

But I realized today that the point is, we are having a child. And regardless of gender, this little boy or girl will be totally different than any other child I've ever met. We'll soon be greeting a wonderful little soul into this world.

Alex said he would prefer a girl too, but I think it's because he REMEMBERS being a boy (maybe more specifically a teenage boy, and that scares him!) He would also like to raise a handy girl capable of woodworking and building. But Alex is so into nature, machines, and tools. I think he would have more fun raising a boy who would most likely share those same interests. They say gender based toys and ideas are forced upon children, but I don't agree. I think you could TRY to dissuade a girl from playing with dolls or a boy from playing with cars as hard as you could, and they would still gravitate towards those items. It's genetic DNA. That's not to say that a little boy might not enjoy playing with dolls (my brother played house with me all the time and had several boy baby dolls that he loved) or a little girl might not enjoy playing with legos. But I'm sure if you peeked into the play rooms of a little girl vs a little boy, you would find the majority of toys would be gender based. Alex wouldn't relate very much to a pretty pink princess surrounded by dolls. But he would make it his goal to introduce his hobbies and interests to her life.

And what about those sayings "Mama's boy and Daddy's Girl". It would be equally rewarding to raise a wonderful little gentleman or a lovely little lady. And we are so lucky and blessed to have this opportunity.

So next week Monday, we will see what our future entails!

16 weeks: The avocado

Although I don't think that fruit size pertains to the Hawaiian Avocados, which are a good 6 pounds and the size of my head!

Yesterday I'm pretty sure I felt the baby move for the first time! They say it's a sensation like bubbles or flutters. A few days ago I thought maybe it was just digestion. But yesterday it was a very different sensation than digestion! More like a flutter of bubbly activity!

New development for baby: The opposable thumb is now working and can grab hold of things. Bone growth is spiking, yet many of the bones are not yet connected to one another. The umbilical cord is now firmly attached to the baby's abdomen. The baby is able to move its eyes, even with the lids fused together. The baby is as long as a pencil. Its heart is now pumping approx 25 quarts of blood every day. And the baby can now hear outside noises (like 50 hours of piano playing a week perhaps?)

15 Weeks: The Pear

Somehow I missed last week. Week 13 was the Kiwi. Week 14 was the Peach. And week 15 is the Pear. Latest craving: Grape juice! Still can't get enough cheese and fruit. My stomach officially popped and now everybody can tell I'm pregnant. This week's fetal changes: ossification (bone hardening) begins. The baby is blinking, swallowing, yawning, and batting eyelashes that are now present. The baby may even be smiling! 

13 weeks: The Peach

We are moving up into some much bigger fruit now! Amazing that something as small as an orange seed just a few weeks ago is now the size of a peach!! Baby is almost 3 inches long. The head is 1/3 the size of the body (used to be half the size!) This week: forming vocal cords and teeth. Has tiny fingerprints. And the intestines are moving from the umbilical cord to the tummy.
I announced my pregnancy to my students this week via e-mail and everyone is very excited. I said I would be planning to teach up until the birth (end of March) and take maternity leave from the end of March to the end of June/July. When school starts (late August) I will most likely teach from 2-6pm Monday-Friday (fitting 40 private students) when Alex can be home typing from morning inspections. I may have students go every other week (fitting 80 private students) so that I don't have to drop anyone. Of course, this is all way down the line. But I like to try to be organized!

Cravings

Cravings so far have consisted of peanut butter by the spoonful, watermelon, pineapple, and cheese.
I have signed up for a Centering class that meets once a month (more towards the end of the pregnancy) where I can meet other women due in March. Our first meeting is Sept 24th. And now that I am in my second trimester (going on week 13) I have officially announced my pregnancy to my students. I will announce on facebook at week 20. (well, maybe before! It's hard to keep it in!)

12 Weeks: The Plum

 You can see 5 little fingers resting on the head

 Beautiful profile shot!

A little foot sticks up!

I couldn't wait until tomorrow's Doppler heart beat appointment and needed to see my baby via ultrasound, so I went with my mother in law Cathy to the free clinic The Pregnancy Center in Kona on Monday. It was such a fun experience and Cathy was floating the rest of the day after seeing her grandchild on screen. The baby was so active!! Unlike last ultrasound (where the grumpy Dr. barely let me see anything and the screen was turned the opposite direction from me), this ultrasound was projected onto the wall in front of me so I could see everything.
This week: Baby is moving the hands and feet. As seen in the ultrasound! We have a hyperactive baby! The baby is also responding to sensations in and around me and may even flinch. The eyes have moved to the front of the head and the ears are in place. The thyroid gland, pancreas, and gallbladder begin to work this week. The baby can smile, frown, squint, fold the lips, and wrinkle its forehead. The placenta is taking over and the baby receives nutrients and oxygen from me.

Tomorrow Alex and I will go in for our almost 13 week appointment and hear the heartbeat! I'm so excited!

11 week Belly

Gender Prediction

Gendermaker: a urine test that can detect testosterone or lack thereof. Although it's not 100% accurate. But unless our baby isn't producing enough testosterone for detection, according to Gendermaker we are having a girl! 7 or 8 more weeks until we find out for sure. I won't buy pink just yet!

11 week fetus update: The baby has a 1:1 head to body ratio going on this week. The head is equal to the size of the body! Full of brains! I can't feel it, but baby is moving fluidly and gracefully in there. The skin is see through and blood vessels can be seen pumping blood through the body. The hands will soon open and close into fists. Hiccups may be happening now that the diaphragm is forming. The placenta begins to function. Structurally and internally the baby has all the ingredients for a perfect baby.

Cravings this week: Pineapple and peanut butter cookies!

Week 11: The Lime

A few nights ago, Alex and I took the dogs on a walk and we started talking about baby names. We thought it would be so fun to have two little girls one day and name them
Mary Catherine and Mona Lisa. But when we mentioned these names to our parents, they thumbed them down big time. So on the walk, I told Alex that I would love to name a baby girl Elouise, with combines both the names of my beloved Grandma Ellie and my Uncle Lou. Alex wanted Lola, which I said should be a nickname for Elouise. So it works out perfectly. She would be a fifth generation Isobel as well! As for a boy name, I really liked Brennan, but Alex knew a snobby Brennan in high school. I want an Irish name for a son, and we both agreed on Sullivan. But Alex isn't 100% sure about the nickname Sully. Luckily, we have some time before a final name has to be picked. But it sure is fun thinking of names!

Week 10: The Prune

Highlights this week: Baby has arm joints, and the cartilage and bones are forming. Small indentations on the legs are developing into knees and ankles. But the arms are about the size of this:1
Vital organs are fully developed and starting to function.
Fingernails and hair are starting to appear.
The baby's swallowing and kicking in there.
The tooth bud fairy is making her appearance this week, forming under the gums.
The baby's stomach is producing digestive juices, the kidneys are producing larger quantities of urine, and if the baby's a boy, he's already producing testosterone!

To save time in the morning figuring out what to wear (and to spare me from accidentally teaching in uncomfortable clothes), I went through my closet today and put away all my skinny clothes. My friend who just had a baby girl is shipping me a box of her maternity clothes to borrow until she is ready for baby No. 2. I've gained 10 pounds so far!! I'm hoping this won't be a pound a week thing; there are 40 weeks in a pregnancy! I am ravenous all the time. Craving watermelon and grapes. I love protein. Splurged on scrambled eggs and bacon twice this week. But all from the farmers market and oh so yummy.
Next week the baby fruit size starts to get into much bigger fruits. Up next: the lime!!

Week 9: The Olive

At nine weeks, me and Baby Woody have made two big accomplishments: I've made it to month three, and she's no longer an embryo: now she's a fetus. She's developing more distinct facial features and the essential body parts are accounted for. The heart finished dividing into four chambers and the valves start to form, as do the teeth! The embryonic tail is completely gone. The external sex organs are there. The eyes are fully formed, but the eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes. My uterus is now the size of a grapefruit!

As for me, my hormones have been totally stable this week (So far this pregnancy, I've had 2 hysterical melt downs). I've been able to continue running and or speed walking 2-3 miles a day. My pants are on the verge of not fitting anymore and I'm starting to freak out. This weekend I'm going to take out all clothes not suitable for maternity so it doesn't take me forever to get dressed in the morning. Isn't it too soon for maternity clothes??

August 17th 8 week ultrasound

Here's Baby Woodbilly!

Estimated due date: March 30, 2013

Age: 8 weeks 4 days

Size: 1.52 cm (about the size of a raspberry)

When the doctor saw our conception/ovulation date, she said "Oh! Well then we will have to see about it being a girl!". This little one was conceived with a 0-4% chance because she lived 6-7 days before ovulation! 

You can see the little arm buds in the picture. 

So very exciting! It was so cool seeing the little heart fluttering like crazy. Next appointment (no ultrasound, just lab result reviews) September 14.

Chinese Gender Calender

Quick poll: How many of you found the Chinese Gender Calendar to be accurate? According to my numbers, we are having a girl. Click HERE to try it yourselves!

Week 8: The Raspberry

New this week:
Baby's growing taste buds. The fingers and toes are now only slightly webbed, and the tail is gone. Eyelids now cover the eyes, breathing tubes extend from the throat to the branches of the developing lungs. In the brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another. My uterus is now the size of a small orange. The baby weighs less than a paper clip. The ears are developing quickly and will be the first sensory organ to work inside the womb. Eye formation is in high gear. The tip of the nose becomes visible this week. This week, the baby's primary reproductive organs will either become testes of ovaries. Even though the gender was determined at conception, the gonads took until now to become one or the other. The baby's face now has an upper lip. A tiny tongue is even growing inside the mouth.

This week Friday is our first ultrasound at 2:30. I have never looked forward to something more than getting our first glimpse of our baby!! My mom the astrologer told me a month ago that my chart shows twins. So everyone is anxious to find out! My appetite is great. No food aversions. Certain smells are over bearing. Fatigue has been awful. I feel like a zombie all day long and swear I could sleep the entire day away. I'm still able to run (but certain body parts have been making it almost too painful to go more than a mile). If I can't run, I power walk 2-3 miles a day. The dogs love this "try to be fit while pregnant" kick!

Week 7: The Blueberry

While in upstate NY, my cousin and I hand picked about 15 pounds of blueberries. The craziest part about this picture? I was totally pregnant and had no idea! This week, the baby is the size of a blueberry (10,000 times bigger than it was at conception a month ago!) Major developments this week include: The head (new brain cells are being generated at the rate of 100 cells per minute). The arm and leg bugs begin to sprout and grow longer and stronger, dividing into hand, arm, and shoulder segments. Leg, knee, and foot segments look more like paddles than hands and feet at this stage. Also forming this week are the baby's mouth and tongue. S/he has already gone through three sets of kidneys. The ones in place now are the permanent set and are poised to begin their important work of waste management. In a week, my baby will start producing urine. Much of that urine will be excreted into the amniotic fluid, swallowed again by the baby, and then excreted again in a continuous cycle. Yummy. I guess it's too late to teach my baby "Don't eat yellow snow...or....water....."

Week 6: The sweet pea

Today I taught my 8-8:30am lesson, ate breakfast, then went back to bed until 10am. I am so incredibly tired. I could seriously sleep the entire day away and still not be tired. I don't have any nausea though. I am enjoying several different pregnancy apps to keep me updated on the baby's developments. This week 6, blood will begin circulating through a much more sophisticated circulatory system. Baby is about to get cuter too, because this week s/he's starting to sprout a nose, mouth, eyes, ears, chin, and cheeks. According to one site: If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long

My Wife went on vacation and all I got was a...BABY?

My cousins wedding: The day I ovulated, 5000 miles away from Alex. But little did I know, his best swimmers were still swimming away 6 days later.....


Alex and I had our....ahem....."goodbye".....Sunday July 1st. Which was technically our 7 year wedding anniversary since we got married the FIRST sunday of July (back in 2005 that date happened to be the 3rd, not the 1st). I left that afternoon for Seattle, beginning my cross country journey to our cousins wedding. I was in Seattle for 3 days enjoying great food, running, practicing music with my dad, watching an incredible fireworks show right above my parents roof, and shopping. I brought my fertility charts with me and recorded my waking temps. We left on the 5th for NY. I was so happy to see my cousin Ryan and Grandparents at the airport. Getting to hug PopPop after he just had triple bypass open heart surgery felt like the worlds greatest gift. They look fantastic and have so much energy. PopPop even came along with my dad and brother to 6 Flags! We also went to Saratoga; explored Howes Caverns with Ryan (one of the best experiences in NY ever!); and had lots of family time playing Pinoccle. Little did I know, between July 7-8, I ovulated. The odds of sperm surviving more than 5 days are 0-4%. Let alone 6-7 days! But knowing us, of course we were part of the 0-4%!
I didn't notice anything different. I left NY for LA on July 15th to visit my BFF Jenna before the long flight back to HI. Jenna and I went to Disneyland and did some shopping. Again, nothing felt askew. I arrived in HI July 17 at noon. Alex picked me up, we grabbed coffee, went to his parents house where I taught 2 of my Kona students piano lessons, had a B-day dinner for my mother in law Cathy. Even had a glass of champagne to celebrate her birthday. All the while feeling totally normal. We headed back to Waimea that evening and arrived at 8pm. Alex went to his computer in the office and I walked upstairs and turned on the lights in our dark living room. The moment the lights lit the familiar room of my house, I thought to myself "Oh My God, I'm pregnant!!!" I felt different being in my house. I paused and paid close attention to my body. My breasts hurt so badly! I was nauseous. I ran upstairs and took a pregnancy test and saw a faint double pink line. Could it be?? What were the odds?! I sat on the bed staring at nothing and Alex asked what was wrong. I said "Nothing, I'm just sort of freaking out. My cycle is MUCH longer this month than last month". We went to bed. He left early for work. I took another pregnancy test and this time the double lines were neon pink. I took another one. Same thing. I knew I was pregnant. I wanted Alex to be the first person I told so I waited till he came home from work. I taught lessons all day in a slightly freaked out state (but undetected by my students). He came home in a rotten mood from being overworked and stressed. Great! I was about to tell him "Sorry you don't have any time, btw, we are having a baby!". But I couldn't wait any longer. I realized there would probably never be "the perfect time". So I made my ground lamb stuffed pumpkin meal that he loves and put it in the oven. I wore my apron with a sign taped to the front that read "Dinner's in the Oven. And while I'm not 100% sure, I think I discovered something else in our oven. Our 0-4% chance conceiving 7 days before ovulation BUN. Most likely a girl. Not quite what I pictured bringing back as your present...."
He smiled as he read the note and his eyes watered. I started crying as well. I didn't expect it to happen so fast and soon. This means our baby is due the end of March! I had Alex take a pregnancy test too just to see if it was just the pee itself highlighting the pink line. But no, Alex is not pregnant. The following day I made an appointment for August 17 which will be our first ultrasound. I'm still in total shock! Here I thought my pants didn't fit on my trip because of all the amazing Italian food from Grandma!

Yesterday (July 23) Alex wrapped our pregnancy test up in a gift box and gave it to his mom for her belated birthday present. My inlaws (just like my parents) are soooooo happy. Obviously I won't post anything on facebook until I'm in the clear (3 months I've heard) But I don't want to forget any part of this amazing journey, and would love healthy thoughts and prayers from my family and closest friends.