Our little boy is the size of a papaya this week and continuing to grow and move like crazy! I'm still in awe every time I feel him move and I just can't wait to meet this little fella in October.
We scheduled our childbirth classes and tours to the two hospitals that my doctor can deliver at. We'll go visit and take classes throughout the month of July. Our classes start on Wednesday, July 11th and last 5 weeks and will hopefully give us a good understanding of what to expect throughout labor and delivery. We also get to tour the maternity suites and meet the staff and then we'll decide which hospital we'll plan to have our little guy at. Thankfully both hospitals are close for us -- one is 3 miles away where my doc has privileges at and the other is 6 miles away and is my doctor's main hospital.
Last weekend, we helped my bro and sister-in-law move into their new house and while we were there we picked up a recliner rocker for Declan's bedroom. I had been looking for chairs online and the one I picked out on Amazon increased in price dramatically over the last few weeks to the point where it was just far too expensive for my tastes. In the meantime, I talked to my bro, who works at a local furniture store and he was able to send me a few ideas of what we could do instead of buying the overly priced chair and ottoman I found online. I fell in love with a slim gray microfiber recliner rocker that matches perfectly and he gifted it to us for Declan's room. Kahla also gave us some of the most adorable clothes that she picked up while out shopping one day. They are so cute and so small and we are so grateful for her generosity! This little boy is so loved by our family! While we were out helping with the move we also got a chance to visit my dad and celebrate Father's Day a week early with him.
This week I finished up the invitations and dropped them in the mail for our baby shower in July. It will be here 4 short weeks from today and we're excited to get to celebrate with our family and friends. I've got a bit more planning to do with my mom but I think we have the menu, some decorations and a couple games figured out. We'll finalize everything in the coming weeks.
Today I had a hair appointment and while I was waiting for my new highlights to set in, I uploaded some pictures to print out to add to Declan's "before birth" baby book. It's a photo album I started when we were on our IVF journey and I've added all of the sonogram pics and various other memories from the pregnancy so far. I picked them up on my way home and worked to get those added to his book this evening.
We're going to try to enjoy the last few weeks of June with very little planned before we head into an extremely busy July and August.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Saturday, June 02, 2018
Baby R -- week 21 update
We've already made it past the end of May and earlier this week I had my anatomy scan and monthly doctor's appointment. Everything is on track and our little dude is now 15 ounces and quite the mover and shaker (or kicker!).
On Thursday D and I went to the hospital and had the anatomy scan with the Maternal and Fetal Medicine team. This was similar to an ultrasound but more in depth in order to check on all aspects of the baby. They looked at his heart, brain, kidneys, stomach and other growing internal organs, as well as all of his bones, including his spine and his all of his external extremities. Let's just say, this little boy was not thrilled with the tech looking at him and he made sure to make her job difficult by moving every 2 seconds so she had a hard time getting a good look at him. Of course, my little guy would have a mind of his own and march to his own beat!
From what we could tell, he's growing perfectly but I do have to go back at the end of the month so they can get a better look at his face because he wouldn't show it at all. He kept putting his hand up to his face or turning his back to us....little stinker. They also want a more in depth look at the chambers of his heart as well just to make sure they've reviewed everything thoroughly.
He's been moving a lot and I've been able to feel his kicks with some force over the last few weeks. We were out a few weeks ago, May 12th, the day before Mother's Day to be exact, and while D was driving, I started feeling flutters in my tummy. At first, I wasn't 100% sure that it was movement, but as it continued I realized it was Declan and not just gas. It was such an exciting and unreal experience and while this pregnancy has felt real since we started IVF, it really took it to another amazing level for me. Since then, he's made sure to let me know what he does and doesn't like from his movement. Today, D and I were talking about a gluten-free diet today (for D, not me) and as we're talking, I could tell Declan was not happy about the possibility of his mom cutting out his "important" carbs and he made it known by continuously kicking until we stopped talking about it. While I don't think Declan knows what a carb is, it was still funny that he was making his position known.
After my anatomy scan on Thursday, I had my regular doctor's appointment. She checked his heartbeat on the doppler and it was 144 bpm. She also measured my belly and told me I was right on track. My belly has popped in the last few weeks and you can definitely tell I'm pregnant now. I still fit into a few of my regular clothes but I have also started wearing maternity clothes because they are much more comfortable. Declan also does not like when my pants are too tight and has made that known to me as well with his kicks.
We also talked to her about creating our birth plan and asked about signing up for birthing classes. She told us we have a choice of 2 hospitals close to us to give birth. The first is the hospital where we had the anatomy scan and her main hospital n the same network, which is 6 miles from our house and the other is a hospital where she has privileges but is affiliated with another network, which is 3 miles from our house. Ultimately she said that we need to pick a hospital where we like the entire staff and feel like they are best suited for us. We're going to visit both and see which one we feel more comfortable with and then make a decision. We ended up booking tours for both hospitals and set up our birthing classes at the closer hospital because they had a better schedule for us and we'll complete everything throughout the months of July and August.
We've settled on dates for our baby showers too and I've been working to create the invitations for the St. Louis shower over the last week. We couldn't get the clubhouse in our neighborhood in August so we chose to have the St. Louis shower in mid-July and then the Lansing shower in mid-August. I created the invitations for St. Louis and with the help of my mom we'll tackle the decorations and food as it gets closer. I'm not quite sure what's going on for the Lansing shower and I don't know if Dustin's family will want my help or not. Luckily we do have a bit more time for that one.
Outside of the pregnancy, we've had quite a bit going on there also! Nicole graduated from college the first weekend in May with her Bachelors in Science in Criminal Justice. She graduated a year early and we're so proud of her! That same weekend, Kahla asked me to be a bridesmaid in her and Ryan's wedding next year. D was also asked to be a groomsman for my brother. We're both so excited for them and can't wait for their wedding.
The following weekend D and I went to an event at a local animal rescue and learned about volunteer opportunities that they have. We're looking to reach out and help with the cats that are looking to be adopted. We have our volunteer training in July and then will spend a day or two a month helping out as we can. Mother's Day was also that weekend and we got to spend the day with my mom and step-dad. We went to the riverfront in St. Charles and walked around, browsing the shops and had lunch.
Last weekend was Memorial Day and we needed the extra day off! Saturday we did chores around the house, Sunday I went to brunch with Shell and we got to catch up since her last visit home nearly 3 years ago. After brunch, we picked up D and went to her brother's for a BBQ. We had a great relaxing afternoon just enjoying some time outside of our house. Monday we got ready for the week ahead and spent a few hours at the neighborhood pool. It was a blistering hot weekend and some time at the pool was much needed! It was hard to go back to work on Tuesday but we both seemed to make it through the week albeit we were again ready for the weekend by the time Friday rolled around. Today, we went and signed the papers to have our deck redone and then went to lunch. It's been a pretty low key day again which has been nice. We know these will be few and far between as the month's keep passing and our active baby boy makes his was into the world so we'll enjoy it while we can!
On Thursday D and I went to the hospital and had the anatomy scan with the Maternal and Fetal Medicine team. This was similar to an ultrasound but more in depth in order to check on all aspects of the baby. They looked at his heart, brain, kidneys, stomach and other growing internal organs, as well as all of his bones, including his spine and his all of his external extremities. Let's just say, this little boy was not thrilled with the tech looking at him and he made sure to make her job difficult by moving every 2 seconds so she had a hard time getting a good look at him. Of course, my little guy would have a mind of his own and march to his own beat!
From what we could tell, he's growing perfectly but I do have to go back at the end of the month so they can get a better look at his face because he wouldn't show it at all. He kept putting his hand up to his face or turning his back to us....little stinker. They also want a more in depth look at the chambers of his heart as well just to make sure they've reviewed everything thoroughly.
He's been moving a lot and I've been able to feel his kicks with some force over the last few weeks. We were out a few weeks ago, May 12th, the day before Mother's Day to be exact, and while D was driving, I started feeling flutters in my tummy. At first, I wasn't 100% sure that it was movement, but as it continued I realized it was Declan and not just gas. It was such an exciting and unreal experience and while this pregnancy has felt real since we started IVF, it really took it to another amazing level for me. Since then, he's made sure to let me know what he does and doesn't like from his movement. Today, D and I were talking about a gluten-free diet today (for D, not me) and as we're talking, I could tell Declan was not happy about the possibility of his mom cutting out his "important" carbs and he made it known by continuously kicking until we stopped talking about it. While I don't think Declan knows what a carb is, it was still funny that he was making his position known.
After my anatomy scan on Thursday, I had my regular doctor's appointment. She checked his heartbeat on the doppler and it was 144 bpm. She also measured my belly and told me I was right on track. My belly has popped in the last few weeks and you can definitely tell I'm pregnant now. I still fit into a few of my regular clothes but I have also started wearing maternity clothes because they are much more comfortable. Declan also does not like when my pants are too tight and has made that known to me as well with his kicks.
We also talked to her about creating our birth plan and asked about signing up for birthing classes. She told us we have a choice of 2 hospitals close to us to give birth. The first is the hospital where we had the anatomy scan and her main hospital n the same network, which is 6 miles from our house and the other is a hospital where she has privileges but is affiliated with another network, which is 3 miles from our house. Ultimately she said that we need to pick a hospital where we like the entire staff and feel like they are best suited for us. We're going to visit both and see which one we feel more comfortable with and then make a decision. We ended up booking tours for both hospitals and set up our birthing classes at the closer hospital because they had a better schedule for us and we'll complete everything throughout the months of July and August.
We've settled on dates for our baby showers too and I've been working to create the invitations for the St. Louis shower over the last week. We couldn't get the clubhouse in our neighborhood in August so we chose to have the St. Louis shower in mid-July and then the Lansing shower in mid-August. I created the invitations for St. Louis and with the help of my mom we'll tackle the decorations and food as it gets closer. I'm not quite sure what's going on for the Lansing shower and I don't know if Dustin's family will want my help or not. Luckily we do have a bit more time for that one.
Outside of the pregnancy, we've had quite a bit going on there also! Nicole graduated from college the first weekend in May with her Bachelors in Science in Criminal Justice. She graduated a year early and we're so proud of her! That same weekend, Kahla asked me to be a bridesmaid in her and Ryan's wedding next year. D was also asked to be a groomsman for my brother. We're both so excited for them and can't wait for their wedding.
The following weekend D and I went to an event at a local animal rescue and learned about volunteer opportunities that they have. We're looking to reach out and help with the cats that are looking to be adopted. We have our volunteer training in July and then will spend a day or two a month helping out as we can. Mother's Day was also that weekend and we got to spend the day with my mom and step-dad. We went to the riverfront in St. Charles and walked around, browsing the shops and had lunch.
Last weekend was Memorial Day and we needed the extra day off! Saturday we did chores around the house, Sunday I went to brunch with Shell and we got to catch up since her last visit home nearly 3 years ago. After brunch, we picked up D and went to her brother's for a BBQ. We had a great relaxing afternoon just enjoying some time outside of our house. Monday we got ready for the week ahead and spent a few hours at the neighborhood pool. It was a blistering hot weekend and some time at the pool was much needed! It was hard to go back to work on Tuesday but we both seemed to make it through the week albeit we were again ready for the weekend by the time Friday rolled around. Today, we went and signed the papers to have our deck redone and then went to lunch. It's been a pretty low key day again which has been nice. We know these will be few and far between as the month's keep passing and our active baby boy makes his was into the world so we'll enjoy it while we can!
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