The realness is setting in...

At 22wk and 6days (23weeks tomorrow) I still every now and then "forget" I'm pregnant. As if the semi-regular fetal movement, lovely moodswings, cravings and frequent trips to the bathroom at all hours of the night wouldn't be enough to CONSTANTLY remind me! I think the reason is because we talked about "trying" for close to a year before we actually "tried" and I in that time before we started "trying" I was dealing with all the minor medical issues that revolved around us "trying", pregnancy has been on the forefront of my brain for like 18+months now...longest "pregnancy" ever!

So yesterday - we did something that made everything feel super real. We had a 3D ultrasound. It was so amazing. Normally they recommend you do the 3D u/s at 24-32 weeks based on the fact that the baby actually LOOKS more like a baby and has more distuinguishing features (i.e you can look and say "Oh it has your nose!" or "Dang, I hope it grows into that forehead!") but bc of Sean's work up schedule he's going to be in and out a lot until the baby comes so we wanted to get in ASAP. We may try again if he's home long enough in April when the baby is bigger...since it was so awesome! When we first got there apparently I didn't drink enough caffeine beforehand bc the baby was asleep...not only was the baby asleep but it was asleep with it's arm across it's face/head. It took us 10min just to jiggle the baby around to get it stirring so it would move it's arm. Apparently the placenta makes a great pillow bc thru the whole thing it was leaning its head against it trying to go back to sleep. It was so awesome to get to see it moving around and at one point it even was CLEARLY rubbing it's eyes and what looked like licking it's arm...we're not sure what that was about but it looked like a little cat grooming itself lol. At the bottom of the blog i will post a link to the U/S video so anyone who wants can watch it. *WARNING* it is a 20min video...more than half of it is us trying to get the baby to wake up so you HAVE to be patient bc if you try to "fast fwd to the good part" it messes up and will stop playing completely. However - here are some pictures just to give you an idea!

1. Baby sleeping with hands up around it's head.

2. Baby waking up and covering it's face with it's arms

3. Baby trying to go back to sleep (big puffy thing on its laying on is the placenta)

We also have started "collecting" things for the nursery which is super exciting. My good friend Katie who is super artsy and very talented painted us a picture to go in the nursery. I love it bc it has just enough "playfulness" to be baby/toddler appropriate (which means baby won't grow out of it right away) and helps add somemore colors to accent in the room. I think we finally picked out a color grey we liked for the walls at homedepot. Now all we have to do is start cleaning out the room and getting things organized! We also found a cute little elephant stuffed animal at Kohls on sale for $7 yesterday! Awesome find (and we weren't even looking) bc ALL the stuffed animals we've BEEN looking at have been either pink or blue, so we were super excited to get it!

1. Painting courtesy of Mrs. Katie Mitchell 2. "Trunks" the elephant (per Peyton's naming)

Next weeks goals - getting my registery started!

Link to u/s: www.AnticipationBabyView.com/PeekABabyFresnoCA/Baby1201281104.asf

19wks 4days

Happy (Almost) Halfway! Monday officially makes 20 weeks. I can't believe i'm already halfway done! I feel like this pregnancy is going by so fast and things are going to speed up from here on out. This make me nervous because being the planner that I am I don't feel nearly as prepared as I should be. This has been the most eventful month to date!

Right after my last blog, I started noticing "contractions" (nothing painful, just SUPER tight uterus) happening 3-4 times a day and I got concerned. I don't remember getting braxton hicks this early when I was pregnant with P so I made an appt w my OB just to be safe. The Dr. told me that it was normal and nothing "productive" was happening labor wise but that i did the right thing by coming in bc in the event that there WAS cause for concern, pre-term labor can be treated or prevented if caught early. Since then they have gotten more uncomfortable but that probably has to do with the fact that my uterus now takes up the better part of my abdomen.

Total weight gain so far - 15lbs (thanks Thanksgiving and Christmas....). That is based on what my scale at home says. I have my 20week prenatal visit next Wednesday and won't officially log those pounds until then. However - 15lbs in almost 20weeks....not TOO bad. At this point even if I gain 1lbs every week for the last 20weeks of my pregnancy i will still end up under 40lbs (which is better than the 50 I gained w Peyton). Now that I have some more energy I will hopefully become more active and keep the weight gain at bay. The only problem with this plan is I have been having severe..."groin" pain. I remember having similar pain when pregnant with P but it didn't happen until the very end. With this one, I have been uncomfortable since about week 12-14 but it has progressively gotten worse. It is so bad some days that it is too painful to walk....and I waddle already. While doing some prenatal yoga last week, kneeling on all fours we were supposed to stretch out one leg independently and it was far too excruciating to do. I could barely life my leg off the ground at all, much less stretch it out behind me. After doing some research I believe that my pubic bone is misaligned. In this research i learned that the only way it can be "diagnosed" is via ultra sound, it is normally brushed off as "normal pregnancy pain" and is treated with pain killers. Alternative methods of treatment would be chiropractic. So I went to the Chiropractor this week and he told me one of my hips is higher than the other (probably cause for back pain) and while it helped tremendously it only provided a few days of relief. There are certain positions while sitting/squatting etc that can agitate it and make it worse during and after pregnancy, this includes certain labor positions (like having your legs up in stirrups to open up your hips) and once diagnosed with the pubic bone issue some doctors prefer to do elective Csections. So this week at my prenatal visit i plan to ask for an ultrasound to verify and then start talking epidural friendly birthing positions (epidurals are frowned upon with this condition bc it masks the pain that is supposed to signal your body not to be in that position...however i know myself and I know my body and i am not cut out to do it naturally (unless forced) but I absolutely do not want to go the Csection route unless it is the best option for the baby )

Today we had our anatomy scan (aka 20wk ultrasound to measure the baby's legs, head and check all the vital organs and brain stuff). It was very exciting to see BabyToth moving and shaking live on the screen. I have been feeling lots of movement over the past week. Little punches and jabs when i'm sitting still or lying down. Sean was even able to feel a small little punch/kick the other night when it felt like it was playing kung fu fighter with my bellybutton. Everything looked great. The baby is measuring 19wk4days (vs 19wks 3days which is what we originally thought...so basically right on schedule). We didn't get any good profile pictures but tons of face and hand shots. The baby kept it's hands balled up by it's face (ready to punch) through the majority of the ultrasound and even punched the ultrasound wand at one point. We got a nice wave and were able to see all 5 fingers perfectly. There was no big gender reveal and the tech intentionally spent as little time measuring the femur (legs) as possible bc she knew we didn't want to know. I actually asked if she saw any specific part and she said no, that she purposefully didn't look too closely so that she didn't accidentally slip. :-)

Waving at us! Nice face shot (looks like an alien to me...)

In preparation for Sean being gone a lot over the next few months (yay workups!) I decided last week that it was time for us to finally sit down and pick out a nursery theme so that i could start registering and buying things (or at the very least making lists of things we need) in his absence. After a few arguments, some tears and HOURS online googling "gender neutral nursery themes" we decided to go with Elephants. The nursery will be painted a gray/slate color and the bedding set we picked out is simple but classic looking. We will add gender neutral wall decals etc and then when the baby comes we will add more wall decor, stuffed animals and other gender specific colored items. Here is a picture of the bedding set we picked out from Pottery Barn Kids

(don't let the "Henry" embroidered onto the blanket fool you...we still do not know if it's a "Henry" or "Henrietta")

We decided we're going to do a 3D ultrasound - we found a place in Fresno that does them for decently priced so we set up an appointment for the end of the month. I'm super excited to see our precious baby's face on the 3D! We will have to be SUPER careful with that ultrasound as body parts are a lot clearer and it is no longer a "Hamburger" or "Turtle" its....a boy part or a girl part....

16 weeks...aka 4months

Today marks 16 weeks. Officially hit 4months...still nothing TOO exciting to report although i suppose that is a good thing.

I decided to weigh myself to keep a record of sorts and I am hanging in strong at only gaining 11lbs so far and no weight gain since my appointment almost 2 weeks ago....so I would just like to say to the doctor that told me i would gain 50+lbs at the rate i was going.... she can suck it bc every pregnancy is different and I really haven't changed my eating habits THAT drastically (maintaining eating essentially what i want when i want). Apparently I just put on most of my weight up front....which i don't see as strange esp since right before i got pregnant i had been dieting and working out like crazy to get ready for hawaii...So I'd say my body was trying to get back to it's "comfy" weight!

As for cravings...seriously, breakfast. In the early weeks i couldn't get enough of eggs benedict (could have contributed to the 10lbs in 10weeks haha) and now for the past 2 weeks i have craved crepes/blintz's and pancakes! For whatever reason I can cook just about anything but i can't nail down soft, fluffy, sweet pancakes. So today, i gave in. Denny's has their new 2-4-6-8 menu...and for $2 (plus 10% military discount) i got 2 pancakes and then came home and made eggs and sausage...YUMMMM!!!

The other night while Sean and I were laying in bed Sean put his hand on my stomach (initially too high...I had to explain that the baby is in my uterus which has not grown above my bellybutton yet... :-D) and i felt TEENY TINY little kicks....everynow and again I think i feel them and then realize they were just gas - but this time they were clear concise and in the same spot on 2 different times within a few minutes of each other. Not a lot of activity since then but as of now the baby is still only the size of an avacado. I anticipate a lot more of that going on in the next few weeks which is exciting.

Houston...we have a bump...14w4d

Holy belly batman! WHERE did that thing come from??? "Welcome to the 2nd trimester Mrs. Toth...why don't we make you look SUPER preggo right..about...NOW!" you're welcome.

2nd trimester has begun and i am beginning to feel better all the way around. Had my monthly check up today....only up 1lbs from last month so i'll call that a win! I have cut back on the fast food tremendously (still occasionally dreaming of a juicy whopper from burger king...) and have tried to up my fruits, veggies, leaner meats (except bologna...don't think i could live w/o bologna) and fiber....fiber is my friend :-). My BP was good (121/77) and fundal height was approx 2 inches below my bellybutton (which is where it should be). Baby's HB was at 145...a lot slower than last month but according to my research is still within "Girl-Zone" so I think i'm still on the pink train. I also had bloodwork done (i don't understand why they take so much blood from pregnant women...don't i NEED that blood to help grow this baby???) to see if i'm a CF (cystic fibrosis) carrier.
Physically, my energy level is steadily increasing. I do however feel like i'm falling apart. Horrible back pain when I walk or stand too long. I have had to sleep with a pillow between my knees for the past 2 weeks or so. I'm not sure if it's bc i'm older this time around but I feel like when i was pregnant w Peyton i had a lot more pep in my step. As much as i would love to get up and go for long walks, even on a treadmill, after about 30-60min i'm super uncomfortable and I don't want to overdue it. I'm not sure what i'm afraid will happen, but i know i don't want to over medicate so taking Tylenol every time i feel that way is not really an option. So I either have to endure it or sit down and relax.
Emotionally, I am not as shut off as i have been which my husband appreciates. He also says i am nicer and more pleasant to be around and I even offer to snuggle (snuggling has been a thing of the past for sometime. I haven't liked to be touched or loved on, it would actually agitate me...). I feel like the "mean" mood swings have subsided and i have moved into the more emotional ones. I broke down in tears (happy tears for a friend...however, the situation did not warrant tears) in the middle of the grocery store on Wednesday.....toilet paper commercials on TV get me all choked up...christmas songs are the worst! "Mary did you know" and "Breath of Heaven" have me in a pile of snot and tears...
Next appointment is in 4 weeks (right before new years) and they'll give me the referral for the anatomy scan. They will measure the baby and all the bones (legs, arms, spine etc) and make sure there are no physical abnormalities that cause any concerns of possible genetic disorders since they were unable to do the early T3 scan (or w/e it's called). This would also be the ultrasound in which they would reveal the gender of Baby Toth however, Sean and I have decided NOT to find out the gender. So while we haven't decided if we're going to have a 3D ultrasound to be able to see the baby's face and stuff better, we know we do NOT want to know what he/she has going on between it's legs. Taking bets...you got a 50/50 chance! :-)

11w 1d

I realize it has been over a month since i blogged...but based on what i feel to be an "uneventful" pregnancy there really hasn't been a lot to talk about....however over the last few weeks i suppose there are a few updates.

So i had an appointment at 7w1d (October 12) where they did another ultrasound and the doctor had a few concerns bc while they could see one good heartbeat and yolk sac it appeared that there was a second yolk sac after all but the equipment that was being used wasn't able to pick up enough detail. So he gave me a referral to go out in town and have ANOTHER ultrasound (3rd one this pregnancy!) to clarify what couldn't be determined at the OBGYN clinic on base. So, on October 24 at 8w6d the 3rd ultrasound was complete. They were unable to give me the "results" then bc it was just a tech that was doing to procedure and the pictures etc that were taken had to be reviewed by a radiologist.
Got a call from my OB the next morning to let me know that there was in fact two yolk sacs but "Baby A" stopped developing at around 6 weeks. He reassured me that this was very common (apparently 27% of twin pregnancies result in a "vanishing twin") and most people don't even know that this occurred but bc i was being watched so closely so early it was noticed. While we were sad to hear that one of our babies was no longer viable - "Baby B" is looking perfect. Good heartbeat and growing right on schedule. Heart rate was at 170bpm (fast...girl votes based on heart rate anyone?)
So had another appointment today - Heart rate was in the 160's (....still high!!). She gave me some clariten and some saline nasal spray for my allergies. I have had the worst allergies the past week or so. I have these HUGE sneezing fits and it physically hurts my body (causes my shoulders/upper back muscles to HURT from the violent sneezes) and then once everything loosens from the sneezes it makes my ears hurt from the drainage. I don't normally like taking meds - hell i can barely remember to take my prenatal vitamins so adding another pill to my regimen doesn't bode well but i have to do what i have to do to function!
The only concern the doc had was the fact that i have gained 8lbs already. She said i should only gain 25lbs (although from what i've read 25-40 is average and healthy...) so she's concerned that at this rate i could potentially gain 50+....i DO need to revamp how i eat. I have craved JUNK. Fast food greasy grossness. My most recent delicious discovery foodwise has been Hollindaise sauce...oy...a sauce made of egg yolk and butter...can't go wrong! So it's time to step up the health game - I need to think of my baby...and my post baby body :-) Time to start eating more fresh veggies and better cuts of protein. I think its the actual protein that i am craving. When I crave fast food it's always a giant cheese burger etc etc and eggs and i have craved peanut butter...so the only consistency is protein...time to find more creative healthy ways to get protein. I picked up some cottage cheese and greek yogurt today. Hopefully that will help....suggestions welcome! (not a huge fan of lentils or raw nuts...)

5 weeks 3 days First Dr. Appointment

Today was an interesting and exciting day. Started as usual...Panera for breakfast (pregnant or not i LOVE their breakfast souffle's) then headed to base for a nail appointment and our first doctor's appointment.
I was a few minutes early for my nail appointment so I ran into the NEX to pee. On my way out i noticed that they had a small maternity section! Over joyed I started to thumb thru things just to get an idea of how much i'll have to spend when the time comes to need maternity clothes. Since i was pregnant during a different season with Peyton all the maternity clothes I saved are more summer clothes and I'll be needing more winter/spring attire for this pregnancy. There was a 50% off rack so being the thrifty shopper I took a quick peek - I found a nice pair of maternity Khaki's marked down to $7! I couldn't pass them up! I get up to the register and apparently they were actually 75% off the red ticket price (the $7...) so I got them for $1.99!!! I was ELATED! So after my nail appointment I went BACK and got 2 dresses! (side note - Maternity dresses...pretty much just dresses that are a little flowy-er :-D) So for a grand total of $12 I got a pair of pants and 2 CUTE dresses! WIN!

Now onto the doctors appointment! When we first got there it was a little confusing bc they had me scheduled for a GYNO follow up patient not an OB patient and didn't realize I already had all my OB stuff together and ready...actually the nurse that took me back didn't even realize i was pregnant. She thought we were just going over lab work! So I told her I had taken care of everything AND talked to my OBGYN and he said he wanted to do an ultrasound to see if we could see/measure the baby. She talked to the doctor and got the ultrasound machine and in came the doc. They tried doing the ultrasound thru the belly first - couldn't see much very clearly, he decided he wanted to do the ultrasound internally. Jokingly i asked "but there's just one in there right?" his response was "That's what we're going to find out". We all breathed a little sigh of relief (and I think to some degree disappointment) when we saw just the one little gestational sac. We were able to see the yolk sac (what will be the placenta) and where the fetal pole was developing (where the heart beat will be once the baby is a little bigger). I haven't felt very pregnant so it was nice to able to actually SEE the baby and have the doctor tell us this is exactly what a 5w3d baby should look like!
Still haven't decided if we want to find out the gender...Sean and I change our mind every other day. I want to be able to decorate the nursery and have everything done but everything "gender neutral" still looks masculine to me...so i don't know. We still have some time to figure it out. Currently we have been referring to the baby as "Cletus the Fetus" and "The little Beaner" and "Mini Mort".... I have decided on names I LOOOOVE but I'm still letting them sink in for Sean.

Still not "feeling" very pregnant...aside from being EXHAUSTED all the time and seeing my weight shift (not really gaining weight but pants already starting to fit snuggly...). I'll probably regret saying all of this in a month. Currently no morning sickness - occasional nausea but it is normally directly coordinated to hunger or heat.....so until next time!