Week 18

This week I had an abbreviated appointment with my doctor. It wasn't supposed to be, but midway through (a question, no less) he got paged and he ran out so fast he practically flew saying, "Sorry, but I gotta go deliver a baby!!!" Just another sign that we picked the right doctor. I hope we are just as lucky to find such a dedicated pediatrician. Anyway, before he left he did an ultrasound and I was able to watch Mr. Zachary wiggle and then I saw and heard his perfect heart beat. We got the results from the AFP blood test and it came back normal which means there is no indication of any abnormalities in little Zachary. Just another reassurance our little baby is just perfect! The doctor also told me that my placenta had moved so that it is no longer completely blocking my cervix, it's only partially blocking it. This was great news! This means it's likely to keep moving and lower the risk of more bleeding and, more importantly, this lowers the likeliness of the dreaded bedrest. I have only regained two of the fifteen pounds that I lost during the first trimester and he said that is fine. He sent me for some blood work to see how my thyroid is doing. I was really happy to get the main things done before he had to leave, it was only the Q & A portion that was skipped.

Well, here's what Zachary has been up to this past week (from BabyCenter.com).

How your baby's growing:Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. His blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and his ears are now in position and stand out from his head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and a happy New Year! Love to all!

Photos of Zachary

As promised, here are a bunch of ultrasound pictures of Zachary.

<--- From Dec. 21st (his face)

From Dec. 21st. (his face) --->

<--- From December 21st (he's facing us and his left hand is up in between his abdomen and his face)

From Dec. 2nd (profile with his leg up) --->

<---From Dec. 2nd (his profile with his leg up)

From Dec. 2nd (here's part of his hand) --->

We hope you enjoy these as much as we do! Love to all!

Kim, Stephen & Zachary

Our Perfect Son

Ahh, the sigh of relief and the ecstasy of the joy in learning that our son is perfect! He is developing exactly as he should be, his head is perfect, his face is too, he doesn't have a cleft lip or cleft palate, his heart is good, spine is good, his body is good, hands, legs, and everything! They couldn't see his heart really well, just enough to see the four chambers, but not the ventricles or anything because he was hiding behind some scar tissue of mine from previous surgeries. Apparently you can't see through scar tissue with an ultrasound. Hmmm...you learn something new every day! The doctor isn't worried about his heart, but we will repeat the ultrasound in four weeks, just to look at his heart again. Oh bother...another ultrasound, what a hardship. Hehe!

Anyway, we are on cloud nine. He was moving around during the ultrasound and of course, turned to face the ultrasound wand so we have more pictures of his face. He's just amazing!

Today is the last day of Week 17 and the fourth month. Here's what Baby Z's been doing this week (from BabyCenter.com)...

Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and he's around 5 inches long. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now, rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden into bone. Some of it will remain cartilage for years after he's born. A newborn's skeleton has 300 parts (a combination of bone and cartilage). As your child grows, some of these parts harden and fuse together. By the time your baby reaches adulthood, he'll have just 206 bones.

Love to all and remember we are thinking about all of you and want you to be safe, healthy and happy!

Love,
Kim, Stephen & Zachary

P.S. We have new pictures of Zachary from today's ultrasound and will try to post them later this weekend.

All decked out...

Due to popular demand (and against my better judgment), here's a picture of what I currently look like, all decked out in maternity clothes. I have to admit, I did my best to suck in my tummy because it's second nature to do that in photos! (Whoops!!) Anyway, it's a current picture, it was taken today. (Photo credit goes to Mandi).

Hope everyone is having a great week! Love to all!

My belly is wiggiling inside!

This morning I wanted eggs. This is odd because I haven't wanted eggs since August, before I got pregnant, but anyway...that's not the story. So Stephen and I bundled up and went to Denny's. I had two cups of hot chocolate and some eggs and french toast that had those comstock cherries on top. I think I might have O.D.'d on the sugar a little bit because when we got home, my belly felt funny. Not a morning sickness kind of funny, but like it was wiggling. I was kind of puzzled at first (okay, I know that sounds weird), but then I realized exactly what it was! Little Zachary was enjoying his sugar high! I have felt little Zachary move a little bit before and it kind of felt like bubbles in my tummy. This was something completely different. It was just so amazing and I just wanted to share.


As promised, here's a picture of Zachary taken when we went to the doctor on Thursday.

Edited...

and unedited...

Isn't he just so cute!! Look at that belly! We want to tickle him already! We can hardly wait to meet him!!

Love to all!

A trip to the doctor (Week 16)

We had another doctor appointment today. Dr. Pinell tried to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler, but couldn't get a good reading, so (gosh darn it!) we just HAD to get another ultrasound. He's gotten noticeably bigger in the past two weeks! Sweet Zachary had turned around so his head was on the other side of me than where it was at our last appointment. We got to see and hear the heartbeat and watch him for a few moments. He was just so cute! He was kicking a little bit but mostly was playing with his hands. He turned his head towards the ultrasound wand and we got another full frontal face shot. Plus, Dr. Pinell also pointed out what was "not a leg." I also had some blood work done today. Our next appointment is next Friday when we get the "big" ultrasound. At that ultrasound the doctor will analysis little Zachary's anatomy and bone structure and make sure everything is as it should be. We get the results of today's blood work in two weeks.

In the meantime, here's what little Zachary is doing this week (from BabyCenter.com).


At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, he'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, doubling his weight and adding inches to his length. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, his eyes are moving (slowly), and he's even started growing toenails. His fingernails and toenails will continue to grow, so don't be surprised if he needs them trimmed soon after birth.

We hope that life is treating all of you well and you are having a wonderful holiday season.

Love to all!

Kim, Stephen & Baby Z

P.S. We will really try to post some of the ultrasound pictures this weekend.

Week 15

Here's what little Zachary is doing this week (from BabyCenter.com)

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). He's busy moving amniotic fluid through his nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in his lungs begin to develop. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all of his joints and limbs. Although his eyelids are still fused shut, he can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, he's likely to move away from the beam.

Kim is doing better. Today is her first day back at work and off of bedrest (or "grounding" as she called it). She's taking it easy but is extremely glad to be back at work and enjoying talking to her friends.

Love to all and we'll try to post the pictures from last weekends ultrasound soon!

"That's a leg, that's a leg...and that's not a leg"

And with those sweet words we found out that we are having a baby boy!

It was a weekend full of ups and downs. We started out at Kim's office holiday party at Morton's Steak House (their prime rib rocks y'all!). We had a great time and Kim was good and spent the majority of the evening sitting and chatting with a couple of the attorneys she works with (and their spouses). We both had a great time.

Then we got home and Kim noticed she was bleeding. We called the doctor on call and she told us to go to the hospital. We were both stressing the whole 40 minute trip, but we got to Women's hospital and the treatment room (their version of an ER) was packed so there was no place for us. Finally someone was discharged and Kim got into a room and had her history taken and blood drawn. Then Dr. Farril came in and said the ultrasound tech was here and before she examined us, she wanted us to go see our baby and see what was going on. We were so scared that we were going to lose our baby.

The ultrasound tech, Jennifer, was really sweet, especially since she got called into work at 1:30 early Sunday morning and she rapidly did the ultrasound so we could see our baby. Stephen was able to be in the room and the first image we saw just made us tear up in relief...our baby was wiggling around, just like the previous ultrasound. Jennifer let us hear the heart beat and told us our baby seemed fine. Then she asked if we wanted to find out the sex of our baby. We were so excited!! Then she pointed out parts on the screen "that's a leg, that's a leg and that's not a leg." She said she was 95% sure it was a boy and that she'd go out and buy blue stuff if it was her. Whoo hoo! We started referring to little Baby B by his name from that point on...Zachary.

Anyway, it turns out that Kim has a common (but not normal) condition called Complete Placenta Previa. Leaving out the clinical terms, the condition is where the placenta is lower than it should be and that caused the bleeding. If we are very lucky, the placenta will move to where it is supposed to be in the next few weeks or months. Kim stayed in the hospital for a few days and is now home on bed rest for a day or two before CAREFULLY going back to work. She sees the doctor again on the 13th of December.

So, to make a long story short, Kim and our son Zachary are doing well and are getting some rest.