More fun updates!

So, y'all already know Stormy is a girl.  But now she has a name, too!

She is Alice Ruthanne.  Ruth has been in every generation in my family since the beginning of time or something.  And Husband just really likes the name Alice. :)

Before we found out she was a girl, I was telling people that if we had a boy, we'd name him Hulk, and if we had a girl, we'd name her Wonder Woman.  So guess who found a Wonder Woman bib/costume thing!  That's right.  Amazon.com FTW! LOL

I had my regular OB appointment yesterday.  Since my doctor wins at life, he does an ultrasound at every appointment.  Yes, Alice is still a girl. LOL  He was trying to show me how my belly translated on screen.  So he tapped on the left side of my belly, by her feet.  She reared back and kicked him.  So he did it again.  So did she.  Feisty little thing anyway. :)

She still has giant, giant legs and will never ever be able to wear pants long enough.  Head to rump, she's about six-ish inches.  She was curled up, so the measurement wasn't super accurate.  Anyway, her legs are another four inches on top of that!  Dude!  Doc kept commenting on how long her legs are.  And how squirmy she is.  I'm in for some trouble it looks like. LOL

Also, I learned that as adorable as she is in my 3D u/s, she still kinda looks like Skeletor in the 2D u/s.  True story.

Since I know you only come here for the pictures, I'll post another one of the 3D pics we got earlier this week. It kinda looks like she's smiling. :D

Ok, so the family knows...

Stormy shall now be known as....





Baby Ruth!  That's right, we're having a little girl!!!  Squeee!!!!  How many camo dresses with ruffle butts can I find? :D  So yeah, I was wrong.  There, I said it.  That's ok though.  I'll be wrong just this once. ;)

We told Husband's family at lunch at the Olive Garden today.  Mother in Law squealed.  Even the waitresses were excited. :)

We told my family with cupcakes.  I've attached the video here so 2 of 4 can enjoy it too.  (since she lives all across the country and such, she couldn't come.)

Mini update

So, my family won't find out if Stormy is a boy or a girl until later this evening, so I'm gonna keep this kinda generic for now.

Stormy is perfectly perfect in every way.  10 little fingers, 10 little toes, good looking heart, kidneys, liver, spine and brain.  And yes, we do know for sure if Stormy is a boy or a girl. :D  But for now, all you need to know is Stormy is perfectly perfect in every way.

And since I know you only come for pictures, here you go!  Stormy's cute little face!  The knot on the side of the head is actually Stormy's fist.  Doc had to edit out the arm so she could get a good face picture. LOL

Half Baked!

I know, it's been a while. But hey, no news is good news, right?  Right.

So things have been really good.  No more pregnancy drama.  Felt some flutters at around 15 weeks!  So exciting!  Then... nothing.  Until a few days ago.  Now I'm feeling a few kicks a day.  It's pretty fun, not gonna lie. :)  1 of 4is annoyed that he doesn't want to play with her.  I can't feel outside kicks yet.  Not for her lack of trying.  I was all manner of poked and prodded today.  I feel so abused. LOL  She did, however, get to feel a...something.  It was a ball of hard that definitely wasn't my fat roll.  She was content with that.  For now.  I feel for my future. LOL

Tomorrow morning, we find out if he's really a he!  I won't be posting until tomorrow night though, because my side of the family won't find out until supper time.  Momma Sue wanted gender-reveal cupcakes, so by golly she gets cupcakes.  (Cupcakes filled with pink or blue icing, then the frosting on the top is a neutral color.)

Anyway, that's all I've got for now.  Since I know y'all loves some pictures, I'll include a belly shot.  Happy Half Baked!!  (20w - halfway there!)

Blissfully boring!

I just wanted to check in quick and say...well, there's nothing TO say. LOL

Everything is progressing right along as far as I can tell.  I still have various bouts of PGAL paranoia, but that's pretty normal.  

I have been feeling flutters for the last couple weeks.  Nothing discernible, just flutters.  Not even every day, but I'm still early-ish, so that should pick up over the next couple weeks.  I still am usually able to find him on the doppler.  Occasionally he'll hide, but I'm usually able to find him after some searching.

Anyway, just wanted to do a quick check in to say all is well!

Yay more updates!

Had my regularly scheduled ultrasound yesterday.  Husband FINALLY got to come to one! LOL  Usually he can't make the appointments because of work.  Silly work.

Anyway, reader's digest version is Stormy is doing great.  He was all squirmy. Doc says "Wow, you have an active child."  Yes.  Yes I do.  Heart rate was 153, which is perfect, and he's measuring at "a little over 4 inches" which is also perfect.  

Ok, seriously, this child has some LEGS.  Even doc mentioned how long this child's legs are.  So head to rump, he's measuring at a little over 4 inches, like I just said.  his legs are another 2 inches on top of that!  And his little feet!  Well, nothing little about his feet, really.  Poor thing has my feet and legs.  It's gonna suck to find jeans and shoes. LOL   We had a PERFECT shot of his gigantor feet at one point.  I mean he kicked the wand kind of perfect shot.  We could see all of his little toes and everything.  Then as soon as doc went to freeze the picture to print it out, Stormy would move.  Punk.  So I have a blurry picture of something that could possibly be feet hanging on my fridge. :)

I asked Doc what the odds were of an educated guess as to whether he is actually a he.  I told Doc that I have been assuming this child is a boy since the very beginning.  No particular reason, just a feeling.  Ever since I found out I was pregnant.  The thought that it could actually, honest to goodness be a girl didn't even occur to me until like 2 weeks ago.  Just as I finished saying this, Doc says, "Well, it's looking more girl than boy today." Um, I'm sorry, what?  LOL  Then from another angle he says, "Well, you know, it looks more boy than girl here..."  So we're at a 50/50 shot. Because, you know, that's super helpful. :)

So my next ultrasound is May 29, and it's the BIG ultrasound.  They'll measure various different parts and pieces and make sure Stormy is growing appropriately.  And they'll make sure his heart and organs and such all look good. And, you know, we'll find out of he's really a he!  If the child cooperates anyway.

So, now the part you *really* read my updates for.  The pictures!! :)

Seriously, check out my kid's legs!  (Thigh is on the left, knee bends towards the top of the picture, feet are at the right.)

And here's an almost full body pic.  (Head is on the left, spine goes across the top, and legs are on the right.  He's cut off at about the knee though, so that's why it looks like it's bent funny. LOL)

I hope everyone has a fabulous day, and may the 4th be with you! :D

Hide & Seek is my new favorite game.

Soooo....  I FINALLY found Stormy on the fetal doppler at home!  The doppler lets me hear Stormy's heartbeat.  It's absolutely the best $50 I have ever spent.  True story.

Anyway.  I haven't been able to get much use out of until last weekend because of my "extra layers" (as the doc so nicely put it) and because I have a cluster of fibroids, one of which is front and center.  Big enough for Stormy to hide behind.  So I'd try every few days, but get disappointed when I couldn't find him.

Then last Friday night, Husband wasn't home.  He doesn't like it when not finding Stormy makes me upset, so I hadn't tried in a couple weeks.  But I went ahead and tried again.  Almost INSTANTLY I found the heartbeat!!  The doppler has a crappy measuring system on it, but it was reading at about 155ish.  I recorded about a 30 second clip, and counted it out, and that was about right. Seriously, best sound ever.

So, every night before I go to bed now, I break out the doppler.  This kid likes to hide from me. LOL  I will find him, then he'll scoot over.  So I'll move the wand, and find him again.  I'll listen for a few seconds, and he'll scoot over again.  Makes me smile.  Seriously, one of the absolute coolest things I have ever experienced is finding Stormy's HB.  It'll be super strong and super loud.  Then it'll get quieter, and quieter, then nothing.  Then scooting the wand over an inch or two, and finding him strong and loud again.  

Now, he does still like to hide behind the fibroids.  But at least he's getting big enough that I can hear an echo of it, even when he is hiding.  I haven't straight up NOT found the heartbeat since I started trying again last week. A couple of times, it's extremely faint, and he won't move for nothing.  But I can always hear at least a shadow of it.  And when I try the next morning, I can usually find him pretty good.  (that's only happened twice.)

In other news, I have had people ask me if 1) I know for sure Stormy is a boy, and 2) if we're actually naming the kid Stormy.  No, I don't know for sure Stormy is a boy.  I have just had a feeling he is since I found out I was pregnant.  I would love to have a little girl.  Or a little boy.  Whatever.  As long as Stormy is healthy, I really don't care what kind of parts s/he has.  And no, we're not naming the child Stormy for real.  Obviously, if  Stormy is a boy, his real name will be Hulk.  And if she's a girl, her name will be Wonder Woman.  Duh.

Yes, I'm kidding.  Stormy is short for Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All.  It's a Doctor Who reference.  We're not actually naming the child Stormy.  Or Stormageddon.  Or Dark Lord of All.  We are kicking around perfectly normal human names, and yes, I will announce which one we've chosen once we've found out if Stormy is a boy or a girl.

Latest update

So I had my appointment Monday.  It was an interesting start to my day. 

The appointment was originally scheduled for 7:30 a.m.  I did this so the husband could come with me.  He doesn't get as much leave time as I do, so he's trying to save up every bit he can so he can stay home with me for as long as possible come October.  So if he has to miss work, he doesn't come to the appointments.  Anyway, Thursday afternoon, the receptionist calls and says Doc got pulled into a surgery for Monday morning, and would I mind pushing the appt back an hour.  Sure, fine.  So I recruit my Momma to come with me instead.

We get there a few minutes early.  I get called back, did the weight, BP, etc.  Then we got showed into the exam room, and told Doc would be with us soon.

About 10 minutes later, the nurse comes in.  They had just called over to the hospital looking for a status update.  They said they'are assuming about 20 more minutes, but they didn't actually check with the doctors.  Ok, that's fine.  Doc's schedule is packed for the rest of the week, so we'll just chill out.

20 minutes later, Nurse comes back.  They DID talk to the docs this time...and it'll be another 30 minutes before he's done with surgery.  Oops.  That's ok.  We'll hang out.

Luckily, doc did come in about 45 minutes later, and he apologized all over himself.  Seriously, sounds like the chick he was working out needed his time at that point more than I did.  Not a huge deal.

So we did the ultrasound.  Heartbeat is sitting at 165.  Stormy was all curled up into a ball, so he was "measuring small."  But Doc also said that if Stormy would straighten out, the measurement would be different.  So I'm not terribly concerned.  At first, Stormy was pretty still.  Then he started kicking his legs.  Then he started twitching his head.  Then we saw his mouth open and closed. I'm convinced he was yelling at us for waking him up. He is my kid after all! LOL

I asked about an early gender guess.  Doc said his machine isn't high-tech enough to even begin to see anything this early.  Plus, Stormy's legs were all closed and parallel.  Then Stormy adjusted, and we got a shot.  Doc froze the picture.  Stormy has.........a dot.  That's right.  His boy or girl parts are just a white dot on an ultrasound screen right now.  So, no such luck.  Oh well.  I knew it was a long shot anyway. 

In my own personal growth, my next appointment isn't for almost three weeks!  Yay!  Look at me grow!  (We've been going back every two weeks because doc knows I'm paranoid about something going wrong.  Plus the whole bleeding/clot issue from a few weeks ago, but mostly because I'm paranoid.)

Now, I was diagnosed with "a bit of placenta previa."  That means the placenta is down too close to the cervix.  Not a huge hairy deal right now, but something to keep an eye on.  Doc said it would probably move on it's own as I get farther along.

In other RIDICULOUSLY exciting news, I only put on one pound over the last two weeks!  (Last time, I had put on like 6.  So yeah, only one makes me happy.)  Also, I was cleared for any low impact cardio, and even some weightlifting using arms only.  So no leg presses, no squats, etc.  He did specifically clear my elliptical and light walking.  Woot.  Now I just have to convince myself it really is ok to do it. LOL

I'm not going to include a picture this time because Stormy wasn't cooperating very well.  We only got some fuzzy ones that look more like a bean than a baby.  He was hiding behind, you know, my guts and stuff. LOL

Oooh!  I almost forgot!  Anatomy scan (where they do an in-depth scan of the entire anatomy and make sure everything is developing correctly) is scheduled!  This is also the BIG ultrasound, where they can tell for sure if Stormy is a girl or a boy.  Well, as long as Stormy doesn't get shy or anything.  Roll on May 29!

I really am terrible about updating!

I'd say "I'll try to do better!" again, but really, who'd believe me at this point? ;)

Pregnancy type things are going well, as far as I know.  You saw my last update, so that's the last medical update I have.  I have started to show a little bit.  Although, if you didn't know any better, it'd be easy just to say "wow, she's really getting fat again!"  But I throw the gut in maternity pants and call it a bump. LOL  Physically, things are still going very well.  Not terribly sick (although nausea is making a comeback recently, and I'm really not terribly impressed) and I'm finally starting to not be completely ravenous all the time.  Woot.

I'm 13 weeks now, which puts me in second trimester.  Finally! LOL  I know just because I made it here does not automatically mean everything is perfect and wonderful, and nothing bad can happen.  But, the chances do drop, a lot.  So that's exciting!  I go back in next Monday for another ultrasound.  I'll be 14 weeks.  Hopefully, if Stormy cooperates, we MIGHT be able to get an early guess on whether it's a girl or a boy!

As promised - the update!

Hey guys! Fair warning, this is gonna be pretty long.  First off though, we are officially "out" on Facebook.  Feel free to share some love over there too.  We're all public and such now. LOL

Before we even got started, Doc asked if I was feeling movement yet. (queue me being confused since I'm only 12w, but whatever.) I told him no, and he said soon I should start watching for it. Doc decided last go round that abdominal u/s would work best because of where Stormy was sitting. So we started with that. He got some pretty good shots of the kid flopping around. He kind of raised an eyebrow and said "Oh this one's active. When you start feeling movement, you're DEFINITELY going to feel it!" Stormy was kicking his little legs and flapping his little arms! His little heart was just a going at 175 bpm, too. (This makes my mom and sister SWEAR Stormy is a girl. I still say he's a boy.)

Then doc measured. Stormy is measuring in at 11w3d. Um, what? No, unacceptable. Try again. 11w3d. Again, wtf? I told Doc I was pretty concerned about that because he's NEVER measured small. Ever. So doc offered an internal u/s. I asked if he would be able to get a good measurement since it's so much lower. He said he could at least see his head, and probably most of his body. Groovy, make it so.

So, moving on to the internal u/s. I'm somewhat concerned by the size of this child's head. Ok, not really, and I do know that it's supposed to be somewhat big at this point, but dude. Kid has a skillet. LOL But once we got past that (got to see his little brain too!! So awesome!) We got a show! He was just a waving and a wiggling! He kept waving and clenching his fists. His little legs are crossed at the ankles. and his little toes!! Anyway, doc got a much better measurement at 12w3d, which is exactly where doc has me according to LMP, so I'm a much happier momma.

I also have a lovely cluster of fibroids. There's seriously like 5 of them, all around. Doc says they shouldn't cause a problem. One of them is 4.3cm though, and towards the front, so that's more than likely why I can't hear Stormy on the doppler yet. (that and my "extra layers" as doc so nicely put it.) My clot, however, is GONE! Woot! This means exercise is a go! And seeing a very ugly number on the scale today makes me very glad for that. ::shudder::

I also did get clearance to go to the range. He told me to use common sense. If the recoil knocks me over, don't shoot that gun. He told me I should probably stay away from the .50 cals though. LOL

I asked him about bacon/hot dogs, and he said make sure they're fully cooked. steaming, truly honestly hot all the way through. And don't eat it every day. But a slice of bacon or a hot dog here and there is fine.

And now, here is Stormy at 12w3d! (see his little fist??)