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!