6 months! Thats half a year people!

Yesterday, I hit the 24th week mark in my pregnancy.
That's six whole months!!!

I remember when I hit my 3 month mark, my Dad said to me "geeze, you still have half a year to go!"

Well, it's been half a year and I'm down to the final 3 months! (well, technically it's more like 3 1/2 months, since they count the first couple weeks before you're actually pregnant, rounding full term out to 40 weeks. I know, it's weird.)

(24 weeks! Please ignore the bags and dark circles under my eyes, they are due to the fact that I'm either getting up twice a night to use the bathroom, I toss and turn because of sore hips, or a certain wiggly girl gets up at 4:30am)

So we went to the doctors on Wednesday and it was a really short visit. We were supposed to get blood work done for a glucose test, but the nurse forgot to give me this drink thing I have to drink an hour before, and we were supposed to get another ultrasound since little Stokes was facing my spine, so they couldn't check for a cleft pallet, but the doctor left without saying anything and when I asked the nurse on our way out, she said to remind them next time.

But other than those two little things, we were able to learn that everything is going great! My blood pressure is perfect, my weight gain is perfect (but it sure feels like a lot when that scale keeps climbing and climbing) and my little girls heartbeat is exactly where it should be and she is growing right on track!

The doctor had to keep following her around my stomach with the doppler to get her heartbeat because she was movin' and a groovin' all over the place! He said he was happy to see that she was really active (Me too! But this makes me a little worried for when she's about 2 years old. I can already tells she's going to be a hand full)

So here are just a few things my baby girl can do and how's she's progressed:

--She's between 8-9 inches from head to bum

--She weighs roughly 1.7 pounds, or, the weight of an eggplant. (no body fat yet, she's literally skin and bones. Her fat will start to tack on here in a couple of weeks)

--Her blood vessles are starting to develop in her lungs, which means they are getting closer to maturity!

--Her nostrils are opening up, allowing her to practice breathing through them, even though she's just breathing amniotic fluid for now.

--Her hair color and texture is developing (she has a really good chance of being a red head!)

--She's become A LOT more active! I love feeling her move and roll and flip around, even at 4:30 in the morning, which is her favorite time to get a good stretch in...

As for me:

--I'm feeling a lot more confident that everything is going to go well with the rest of this pregnancy. I think those first few months are the hardest because I would get so worried about miscarrying or something being wrong developmentally with her, but every time I go to the doctors, they always comment on how incredibly healthy both her and I am. It makes me feel so much more relaxed.

--I have been so lucky to have such an easy pregnancy, but I can definitely tell how it's affecting my body. I wake up with charlie horses in my calves, I can't sit in a chair or on the couch for too long or my back hurts, and I've got some growing pains from my quickly expanding belly (but surprisingly, I haven't had any signs of stretch marks... yet)

-My hands have begun to swell. They are the worst first thing in the morning, I can't even get my wedding ring on. I'm thinking of making Bryant buy me a cheap fake one for the last 3 months. The last thing I need is one of the crazy old customers at work giving me a lecture about being pregnant without a ring on my finger (I'm not kidding, I get chewed out by customers for the weirdest things, I had one guy tell me I was a sinner and not a true Mormon because I had never read Jesus the Christ... And then a week later I had one lady hug me, crying, saying that she was going to pray for my soul since I was a Mormon. Crazy people I tell ya! )

--I'm still dealing with mood swings, and I hate it. And poor Bryant is usually in my line of fire when I get grumpy. Thankfully, he understands and is a good sport about it, making sure I'm doing Okay and have anything I need or want rather than getting mad back. He's way too good to me.

--Oh yeah, and I have a head cold. Lame.

As far as preparing for baby:

--We have most of the major things all set, just not set up. We have a stroller, given to us by my cousin (it's got winnie the pooh. I'm such a sucker for winnie the pooh!)

--My aunt is letting us borrow her crib, Score!

--We are planning on going to a car seat class offered by the county health and justice department. It's 25 bucks, you learn how to properly install a car seat and how to properly and safely put your baby in one, then you get a car seat for going! Score again!

--We have a diaper pail! Woo! Graciously given to us by our neighbor. (And my mom has been stocking up on diapers! Thanks mom!)

--I have bought three SF 49ers onesies... We are lacking in the clothes department, but I'm waiting until the baby shower to buy clothes or toys or anything like that.

--We are going to start taking birthing and parenting classes in January I think. I keep telling Bryant it will be good for him, but really, I think I'm the one who really needs it. Even after taking care of and babysitting many, many kids, they were never mine to completely care, protect and provide for. Plus, it's been roughly 10-11 years since I've had to make a bottle...

So, yeah. That's quite a big update, but I figured my mom, mother-in-law and grandma would at least like to know how everything's going!

Baby Stokes Is A.....

Today was our long awaited ultrasound!
I was so excited that I was going crazy all morning!
I even woke up early when I didn't need too!

So we show up at the doctors and they usher us in a really nice room with a GIANT TV in there, ready to go. The doctor walks in and the first thing he says is "before I even turn the machine on, just tell me, do you want to find out? I don't want to spill the beans if you don't"

Of course we do!

So we got down to business.

Everything looked amazing and perfectly healthy with our little bundle of joy. He measured the head, belly and leg and the computer said the baby was growing right on track.


(baby Stoke's Arm and hand)

The brain looked great and was developing perfectly, all 4 chambers of the heart were intact with no holes and pumping at a perfect pace! And the spine was fully formed and stationary.
(The spine, bum and leg!)

The feet were adorable and baby was kicking like crazy! I think I have a soccer player on my hands...

(The legs and a foot! The baby was kicking and it looked like it was running in place!)

The only thing we didn't get to see was a profile because the baby's head was low by my right hip and facing my spine, the doctor tried pushing my stomach to try to get it to roll over and it just wouldn't budge! Bryant said that it was definitely his kid if it was already being a stinker :-)

I was ok with it though because they said they will do another quick ultrasound next time so we can get a good profile shot and check for a cleft pallet.

They recorded the whole thing for us on a DVD, which was really fun to come home and show my parents. I wish I was going to Mt. Shasta for Thanksgiving to show my in-laws too!

Finally, after everything was checked and OK'ed, we were able to find out what it is!

Baby Stokes is a....

(drum roll please)

GIRL!!!

I am SO EXCITED to have a baby girl!!!
And I've decided that it is perfect because:

1. The last few babies on my dads side have been boys
2. My cousin on my mom's side is having a boy just before I'm due,
3. My Great-Grandma told my mom she made 2 girl blankets because there are too many boys in the family
4. My little sister probably would have thrown a fit if it was a boy
5. My niece Jayden will have a girl cousin to play with!
And
6. My heavenly father has decided to bless Bryant and I with this baby Girl

Bryant is so excited too. During the entire ultrasound he was grinning from ear to ear and I could hear him whisper "wow" over and over again.
Man-o-man do I love him.

I am dying to start planning a nursery and buying cute girl cloths and all sorts of stuff!
And of course, picking out the perfect name. I already have a couple in mind, but it's going to be a lot of fun coming up with more!

I am so incredibly grateful to become a mother of a wonderful Daughter. I'm already so completely in love with her!

Also, just a side note, this is my 100th post!!!
Woooohooooooo! (I specifically waited until I knew what the baby would be, just for this momentous occasion! My goal for the next 12 months: 200 more posts!)

3 down, 6 to go!

Well, here we are at 12 weeks along!
The home stretch of the first trimester!
Three months down, 6 more to go!

I thought I'd just share a bit how baby Stokes has progressed this last week:

This week, my uterus is about the size of this grapefruit (I know, you were all dying to know how big my uterus was... kidding!)


And the Baby is roughly the size of a large lime


Or a small peach


These were picked just this afternoon from my mom's peach tree. Do I smell some peach cobbler in the near future? Yum!

Also, I think it's kind of cute to refer to the baby as "the peach" hahaha!

And my belly is really starting to get big (well, bigger than it was)








This was taken last week when I was 11 weeks.
No bump really showing.














And this was taken just a few minutes ago. You can really tell the difference when I don't have a sweater covering the bump up, but I've got some gross stretch marks and ugly blue veins on my stomach that I'm not really wanting to post onto the world wide web. Sorry guys.

I couldn't really believe that I was "showing" so soon, but when I was picking peaches and passing the grapefruit at the grocery store, I realized that those are big fruits to pack into my previously tiny figure.

And it's not even really a cute bump yet. Everything is still low by my pelvis and slowly making it's way upward (oh, hello heartburn) so it's really just this funny looking "pouch" underneath my belly button.

Things that "the peach" has accomplished this week:

It's intestines are settling into their permanent position
It's vocal cords are developing
It can now squint, flex, grimace, curl its toes, suck, kick, and punch (you know, vital skills it will need for throwing tantrums during the terrible 2's)

Most of it's major organs are now developed and functioning and eyes and ears have moved into their permanent place as well so from here on out it's mostly just growing.
It's 3 inches now, within 4 more weeks it will be between 7 and 8!

As for me this week:

I only got up to pee ONCE last night (and it was only a half hour before I had to actually get up. Woo!)
My hips hurt all the time
I'm tired all the time and I take way too long of naps
The morning sickness is getting worse and I spent 20 minutes of American History in the bathroom losing my breakfast (and, by the way UVU, you should really think about sticking more womens bathrooms in those way far away and hidden classroom areas.)
I eat way too often. Never big meals, I fill up fast, but an hour later and I feel like I haven't eaten in days!
I cried watching a car commercial the other day, meaning my hormones are still out of whack.

I DID finally get approved for baby your baby (a free state insurance program) which means I really need to get into a doctor now. (Yeah, 12 weeks and I still haven't seen a doctor, talk about procrastination... well, not really cause I had to get approved for baby your baby, but still...)

It was good, I brought my mom along and they had me go through some paperwork, give my medical history and watch a video on brushing your teeth and making sure your baby have healthy teeth too. After that I met with a nurse who gave me TONS of packets and fliers full of info on everything from car seats to parenting classes to morning sickness remedies (she said mine should clear up withing the next couple weeks, I'm crossing my fingers!) and answered all the questions I had.

I can't wait to get into a doctor so I can finally know that everything is going ok (I'm pretty sure it is because I've been feeling pretty normal, as far as pregnancy goes but it's always nice to hear it from a doctor you know?) and hopefully get a chance to hear the baby's heartbeat!!!


Well, that was just a bit of an update. Hopefully I'll be able to get into a doctor before my 13th week update!