HELP!!!!!!!

Well, Berry and I went to our doctor's appointment yesterday. It went well. I gained four pounds since my last appointment! Yay. That is right on track. I am supposed to gain one pound per week now. So all together I have gained a whopping ..... five pounds. I started at 122. Then I lost a pound. Then I went up to 123. Now I am at 127. I know I'm still tiny but I am getting bigger now! The doctor measured my belly and it is the appropriate size for my gestational stage. He listened to the baby's heart and it sounded good. I can't tell what is good and what's not. It just sounds like a fast "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh." But I am glad that all is well so far. I set up my appointment for my ultrasound which will be a comprehensive diagnostic of the baby's development and when I will find out the sex, hopefully, if Berry cooperates. The appointment is on the 9th. That's about a week and a half away. So we only have a little more time to wait. I am also planning on getting a 3D ultrasound in late Dec. or early Jan. That one will be very cool. Friends and family are allowed to come and watch it. The package I want is a 30 minute ultrasound which is projected onto a movie theater for my family and friends to see, and I can pick either to get a copy of the 30 minute video of the ultrasound or a CD with 15 still shots and some prints that they give me like an 8x10, some 4x6, etc. I think I will pick the second option. Its easier to share the pics that way.

In other news, Sunday will begin week 20!!! That is the halfway point! So here are Berry's stats for week 20.

Berry weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom, known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe.)

• While much development remains, the rapid growth rate of the baby is going to slow down just a little near this time.
• To aid in muscle development, the amniotic fluid is supporting the baby's movements.
• Berry is quite the little gymnast and is getting busy with twists, turns and forward somersaults!
• The baby's eyebrows are now forming.
• Berry is sleeping and waking much like a newborn at this time.
• Permanent hair is now growing on the scalp, but even this hair will fall out the second week after birth and will be replaced by thicker hair.
• She is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system.
• She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid.

Finally, I am really getting frustrated that Berry doesn't have a name. I have been obsessing over it for the last few days. I think I may have chosen a girl's name and probably a boy's name, but I wont divulge it yet. I need everyone's help. Please give me your name suggestions just so I can be sure that I am sure. The name books are driving me crazy.

Travelling Berry

Berry had her first plane trip this weekend. We went to Detroit for my cousin's wedding. It was a nice time. One of my cousins just had a baby girl who was three weeks old. I got to "practice" with her. My cousin took full advantage of the fact that she thought I needed the practice so she would just say, "ok Bri go ahead and practice changing the baby and getting her ready for bed and then you can give her her bottle!" I didn't mind of course because I love the little ones. That baby was very small. She was only 6 1/2 lbs when she was born and I would guess that she was about 7 1/2 when I saw her. I bet Strawberry will be little (and yellow) like that little one is. :)

While we were at the wedding no one knew I was pregnant. It was kind of funny because none of them could tell. (I guess the black shirt was slimming!) Even some of my cousins who hadn't heard about Berry yet couldn't tell. I guess I'm not certifiable yet. Oh well. I know I'll be big enough soon!

Well this week is week 19! We are almost to the halfway point. I guess I'll give you Berry's stats this week. She is really getting big and I can tell because I can feel her on both sides at the same time or within a very small time frame. That tells me that she is getting long enough to stretch across and there is less room for her to move!

Berry's Size (head to rump) this week: About 5.25 to 6 inches
Weight: Approximately 7 ounces
Right now Strawberry is about the size of a small banana.

• Strawberry's ears now stand out from the head.
• The placenta will continue to grow from this point on but only in diameter, not thickness.
• Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now.
• Her kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on her scalp is sprouting.
• This is a crucial time for sensory development: Berry's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch.
• If Berry is, in fact, a girl, she has an astonishing six million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

That's all for now I guess. All is well! Byeeeeee! :)

Ticklish!

Well Berry and I are doing quite well. She is growing quickly. I can tell because her little pokes are a lot stronger and they tickle A LOT. I find myself sitting in my seat doing work and squirming all around because Berry's little feet are tickling my sides! There's nothing I can do to stop her either. Any other time I'd move away from the person tickling me, but clearly I can't get away from little Berry. It's kind of funny. I think you can feel some of her kicks from the outside now if you catch her at a particularly active moment. i think that most of her movements are still undetectable by the outside world, but occasionally she will kick pretty hard and if your hand happens to be in the right spot, you are likely to feel it. But the funny thing about it is that I think Strawberry knows when someone is trying to feel her move because a couple of my frineds have put their hands on my belly right in the spot that I have been feeling her move and as soon as they do, she stops! Once they move their hand, she starts moving again! So the key is to place your hand very lightly on my belly so she doesnt know you are there. :)

Well this is the beginning of week 18 so I guess I will give Berry's stats:

Berry's Size (head to rump) this week: About 5 to 5.5 inches.
Berry's Weight: Approximately 5.5 ounces
Right now Berry is about the size of a can of soda.

Other info about Berry's development:

• Pads are forming on Berry's fingers and toes that will develop into characteristics of fingerprints and footprints.
• Fine hair is growing and covering Berry's head and body.
• Her legs are now longer than her arms, and she's busy flexing her arms and legs.
• Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head.
• Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born.

I guess that is it for now. I am finally starting to look pregnant. My belly seemed to "pop" last week, Tuesday to be precise. Now I have a little bump. I promise I'll take pictures soon. I've just been really busy.

17 Weeks!!!!

Strawberry's stats this week:

Berry's Size (head to rump) this week: About 4.5 to 4.75 inches
Weight: Approximately 3.5 ounces
Right now Berry is about the size of a stick of butter.

Here is a little about her development this week:

Berry can move her joints, and her skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. Her sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, her lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker. A full supply of blood is traveling through the umbilical cord, causing tension (like a water-filled hose). This, combined with the Berry's movements, keeps the cord from knotting. Strawberry has her own circulation of blood and a heart that is beating strongly. Her heart is circulating about 25 quarts of blood a day.

We are still doing well. She's really enjoying her yoga sessions. Maybe I need to do some yoga with her! Auntie Stink is in charge of the yoga lessons for me.

Popcorn

Well I went to the doctor and gave more blood. I guess I will get the result s from that test at my next appointment on Oct. 28 when I will be 19 weeks. I'm still not looking much bigger. I have gained about 3.5 pounds to date. I've always had trouble gaining weight so I guess that is translating to pregnancy too. But of course I will inevitably gain a bit more. :) I do have a little bitty belly, although you could miss it if you looked too quickly! I still haven't taken any pictures but I will get the camera out and take some soon, ok?

In other news, I am starting to feel the baby a lot. I felt her move first a little more than a week ago. But now she is moving around all the time. It feels like I have a little popcorn popper in my belly. I feel little thumps every once in a while and they tend to be in rapid succession. I find that she moves most in the evening. She has even made me wake up in the middle of the night! I guess that my movement during the day rocks her to sleep and that when I am still in the evening she is wide awake. It's cool, though. I like feeling my little Strawberry doing her yoga. It's cute. It may not be so cute though once she is bigger and I have a foot in my rib!

Well that's all for now. I will begin week 17 on Monday 10/10. I'll post Berry's latest stats then.

16 weeks

I am doing pretty well. I have a lot of work to do at school, but other than that life is good. Because I am so busy I have a hard time keeping track of my eating habits, which have traditionally been awful, as anyone who knows me well can attest to. I have found a pregnancy nutrition site that has proven to be helpful. It allows you to input your food that you have eaten and calculates the nutritional value so you can be sure that you are eating enough of the right things. Its cool. I like it a lot. It also gives you sample meal plans for the week, not that I have time to follow them. And it gives you and exercise plan. It really is great for me since I never pay attention to any of those things. Anyway, I have nothing more to share about my and Strawberry's progress. I have to get some blood work done at some point this week so they can check the alpha fetal proteins for birth defects. So all is well. I'll update more soon and I will upload pictures of me so that those of you who dont see me regularly can see my little belly. Really I just look like a skinny girl who needs to work on her stomach. But if I lift my shirt a bit, it is more obvious. :)

Ok talk to you all later!

B

Thanks Azizah for suggesting that I start this baby blog. This will serve as a forum for me to let all my friends and family see how Strawberry is growing. (For those of you who don't know I call the baby Strawberry Shortcake Serenade after my favorite Coldstone ice cream flavor so that I don't have to refer to the baby as "it" or "the baby". I also refer to Berry as a girl so that I can avoid saying "he or she" so much. Hopefully if Berry is in fact a boy he won't have a complex!) I will update this blog at least weekly and will tell you how Berry and I are doing. Everyone can feel free to comment and say whatever they wish. It should be fun! Feel free to suggest names and offer any other suggestions! I'm open to hearing them. :)

Strawberry's due date is March 19, 2006. I will begin week 16 on Monday Oct 3. Berry's stats are:

Size (head to rump) this week: About 4.3 to 4.7 inches
Weight: Approximately 2.75 ounces
Right now, Berry would fill the size of an open palm and fingers

In the next three weeks, Berry will go through a tremendous growth spurt, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Berry's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times.

Strawberry is doing great so far. We just went to the doctor last week and everything is progressing well. I will go back for a second ultrasound in about a month so hopefully we can determine what Berry's sex really is! :)

This is Strawberry's first photo shoot on September 2, 2005. She was at that time 11 weeks and 4 days. (If you can't tell what's what, her head is on the right of the picture and she is on her

back.) The doctor had to wake her up to get these shots and she was quite small because it was taken at such an early age. I am sure she is a lot bigger now. I can't wait for her next ultrasound!

I guess that's it for today's entry. Thanks for visiting the site. I hope you will come back and keep up with what is going on "As Berry Grows!"