2012 is almost over - and what an emotional year it was. To follow tradition, it's time to get busy re-capping, just like in years gone by: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011. That's a whole lot of years blogging!
1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before? Went through IVF; Brought home a Golden Retriever puppy; Went through IVF {again}; Got our first ever BFP; Travelled to Thailand.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I did everything I could to become a mum - and I'm on my way. Next year will be even better, I can tell.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No. Lots of pregnancies though!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I went through several rounds of IVF, and learned to be brave - self injections, pessaries, booster shots, blood draws - I would have done anything to become a mum & I'm so proud that we managed to get through it & get so lucky.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? The parents at my school being more supportive - teaching as a profession is hard work, and teachers are so unappreciated.
Happy New Year, everyone! I'm so looking forward to 2013 - it's going to be amazing!!!! :)
Today's blog post is coming straight from the comfort of my lounge, because I'm so sore and exhausted that I can't physically pry myself upright. It's been a busy few days! Christmas was great - we had an early dinner at our place for the family, and were spoiled with a BBQ for our outdoor area from my parents.
How Far Along: We just hit 23 weeks yesterday - MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU GUYS!
Size of baby: We are back to confusing measurements this week. Isn't a grapefruit smaller than a rockmelon or a papaya, or even a mango? Another website says as long as a bunch of spring onions.
Billions of brain cells will develop in your baby's brain over the next couple of weeks. These will control all of your baby's movements and sensory, and basic life functions like breathing. Also around this time, some major changes are happening with your baby's lungs. Surfactant is being produced, a substance that enables the air sacs to inflate and the lungs to fully expand. Right now he's still breathing amniotic fluid, but when he's born he'll be ready for air.
Sleep: It's been really hot at night, so I'm not really enjoying sleeping unless I have the fan blowing right on me.
Symptoms: More cramping this week, and a very itchy belly.
Cravings: Haven't craved much of anything, to be honest. Just your average holiday goodies.
Gender: IT'S STILL A GIRL!
Movement: I started worrying the other day, because I wasn't getting as much movement from her. She's still giving me the occasional good boot - but still very sporadically.
Maternity Clothes: Even more dresses.
Milestones: I finished work for the year - and for a good year at least! Hubby also felt baby move - twice.
The belly: Lots of comments on it this week, especially from family and friends who hadn't seen me in a while.
\You can catch up on my weekly pregnancy updates {in reverse order} by clicking here. For bump shots - go here!
How Far Along: 22 weeks + 2 days pregnant.
Size of baby: Baby is the length of a zucchini this week, or as heavy as a papaya. Mmmm. Payapa. Yum!
Your baby's previously see-through skin will now become opaque. However, it will remain wrinkly, red, and covered in vernix until more fat helps to fill it out. Also this week, he's fine-tuning his sense of touch (thanks to maturing brain cells and nerve endings). Your baby may experiment with these newfound skills by feeling his face or anything else he can get his hands on. This week, your baby's eyebrows start growing and hair will start sprouting on the scalp, but this varies -- your baby may grow a thick head of dark hair or he may enter the world bald.
Sleep: Glad of it and doing well! Maybe this whole 'training myself to sleep on my side' thing is paying off?
Symptoms: I've been really crampy this week. Nothing painful, just tight. Itchy too. My feet are getting wider.
Cravings: Back on my egg & cheese wholewheat Subway rolls. Yummo.
Gender: IT'S STILL A GIRL!
Movement: She went crazy during the GTT on Monday, but has been mostly quiet since. I'm still waiting for some harder kicks and movement from the outside - mostly inside flutters and flips again this past week.
Maternity Clothes: Dresses, mostly.
Milestones: Surviving the glucose tolerance test - now to cross fingers and wait for the results.
The belly: It feels very hard this week. My boobs also feel massive!
Huzzah for 22 weeks! I still love checking off these weeks, it makes me feel like we're actually getting somewhere.
This morning I went through my first Glucose Tolerance Test - the full one, not the screener. If you're wondering why I did it so early {as opposed to the usual 24-28 weeks} it's because my OB is being extra cautious about me developing Gestational Diabetes. Some, but not all, women with PCOS also have insulin resistance. I don't have it, but I've always been 'borderline' - hence being on Metformin for years & continuing it throughout this pregnancy.
Multiple blood tests have never been my cup of tea, but after IVF, they don't phase me as much anymore. I checked in {with the world's wimpiest urine sample - seriously, I have the most ridiculously shy bladder} and they checked for sugars - none there, so all good. They also took a fasting blood sample, and then explained the test to me.
The glucose drink wasn't too bad - it was clear, mostly tasteless & reminded me of flat lemonade. The nurse told me that it was usual to feel nauseous or sleepy after it, but I felt mostly ok - just bored. A few hours & vials of blood later, and it was all over. Eating after having fasted for 15+ hours was an incredible feeling.
I won't find out the results for a few weeks, due to the Christmas holidays - unless I test positive, in which case I'm assuming I'll hear sooner rather than later. I'm kind of expecting to fail it, but I suppose you never know...
I celebrated getting through the test without puking or keeling over, in the form of baby clothes shopping!
When you're a teacher, the end of the year is the best time of the year. When you're a pregnant teacher, it's even better than normal! I'm completely shattered. My class of Year 1 kidlets have been great to teach, but they are exhausting - as have been some of the parents. I've never been happier to count down the weeks.
The usual Christmas-time gifts for teachers are chocolates, and lots of them. Now that is NEVER a problem (hello, sugary goodness!) but this year, my students & their families have spoiled me in the form of baby goodies.
There is nothing sweeter than watching the joy on their faces as I open their gifts. They're legitimately excited about this baby already, and we're only halfway there. I'll definitely be popping back for a visit so that they can share in our excitement once the baby is here and healthy, all going well.
Gifts are never expected, but they are most definitely appreciated. Today I received a batch of home-made onesies {stock store outfits, with hand sewn decorations} from one parent/child & a huge hamper of newborn goodies from another. It was the most beautiful gesture! One more week to go... I am so, so ready for the holiday break to begin.
Week 21 has been glorious and uneventful and I'm feeling fantastic. We're going to have a look at nursery furniture and prams/car seats soon - something I've put off, since I felt like it was too early. (Also, all those things are for an ACTUAL BABY.. sometimes I forget that that's the final outcome to this pregnancy. BABY. omg.) Wish us luck!
How Far Along: 21 weeks along. :)
Size of baby: Baby is the length of a carrot this week, or as heavy as a pomegranate.
Part of your baby's growth spurt at this point is likely because his stomach is now equipped to start absorbing energy-boosting nutrients from the amniotic fluid he's swallowing in there. Most of your baby's nourishment is still coming directly from the placenta, though.
Sleep: Hubby is home and I'm doing much better in the sleep department. We've had a lot of 'jet lag/baby' naps, and I'm feeling more rested now. I'm so glad to have him back.
Symptoms: Lots of round ligament pain this week.
Cravings: Grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit juice.
Gender: IT'S STILL A GIRL!
Movement: Still very soft, but I feel movement at night and first thing in the morning. I love feeling her move.
Maternity Clothes: Maxi skirts and cardigans. Light ones, since it's hot hot hot.
Milestones: Confirming that baby looks healthy from the morphology scan. Very happy about that!
The belly: Feeling pretty stable in size this week.
Baby's heartbeat was loud and clear, and he's happy that I've started feeling some soft movements - told me it's common not to feel much until this point onwards in first pregnancies. He's also happy with the 3-4kg weight gain since the beginning, and told me I was doing well and looked great. We don't have another appointment until the New Year, when I'll be 25+4 weeks along.
What we DO have to schedule before Christmas though, is an early Gestational Diabetes test. He mentioned early on in the pregnancy that he'd do mine earlier than most of his patients, due to my PCOS, borderline insulin and Metformin usage. I'm going to have to schedule that in my last week of work. The doctor didn't give me much information on it, but since it's the full 75g tolerance test, I'm assuming it's the 2-hour one? I will ring the clinic this week and ask them to confirm some details - whether I have to fast, if I have to book, blah blah blah.
I have always had trouble managing my sugars {hence being overweight for such a long time} and I'm expecting a positive result. I'm trying to research on the condition already, just in case. I guess we'll see what happens.
How Far Along: 20 weeks pregnant!
Size of baby: Baby is a banana this week. Hee. Banana.
Your baby is as happy as a clam in your womb, as his well-developed limbs continue to explore by curling, flexing, and kicking. And as his hair, nails and eyebrows continue to sprout, your fetus is looking remarkably more and more like Mom and Dad every day.
Sleep: I jinxed my good luck: I've had a shocking night's sleep {if any} these last few nights. :(
Symptoms: Stabbing pains in the boobal regions.
Cravings: Not much, actually. I'm thirsty a lot, though.
Gender: IT'S STILL A GIRL!
Movement: I've been playing music to the baby at night, and get lots of rolls and flutters when I do.
Maternity Clothes: Still more dresses!
Milestones: 20 weeks, baby - halfway there. I'm so ridiculously giddy!
The belly: Large and in charge. :)
It's super hot here in the 'burbs of Sydney this weekend {over 40 celcius today} and I am NOT enjoying the heat wave. Fittingly, it's also the first of December, so summer has officially begun. As much as I promised not to complain during this pregnancy... I can't make that promise when it comes to the heat. I run hot at the best of times, and now that I'm pregnant I'm feeling woozy the minute the temperature gets over 25 degrees!
In all honesty though, I really am enjoying being pregnant. I'm sleeping better at night, I'm feeling good and loving the bumpy tummy, and the good news at the ultrasound last week has reassured me that baby is doing well. I needed that. I'm happy. I'm content. I'm also luck in that I've felt good for a while now- other than the tiredness and the heat, I haven't been ill and I've been feeling really well. The folk at work always comment on how pregnancy seems to agree with me, and you know... as cheesy as it is, I kind of feel like it does too. Maybe it's because I've been waiting so long for this, that I'm determined to enjoy it? Or maybe I just have a rockstar baby on the way.
I'm so close to the halfway point that I can reach out and almost touch it. BRING ON TWENTY WEEKS.
Speaking of things that are close, I'm also looking forward to a particularly special date - baby hitting that magical 24-week viability age. Each new week of my pregnancy falls on a Monday, which makes it easy to keep up with my progress. As I was counting ahead over the holiday season, I realised that I hit 24-weeks on the last day of December, the last day of 2012. I can't think of a cooler date to get to that point in this pregnancy and to wrap up the year - the year of heartbreak and infertility and medical treatments, but also the year that brought us our little miracle. I just know that 2013 is going to bring us even more joy - it's the year that we're going to become parents!
How Far Along: 19 weeks + 2 days pregnant.
Size of baby: Baby is a mango - or a six inch sandwich from Subway, if you're so inclined. :)
Vernix caseosa begins to coat the skin. The greasy, cheese-like white coating helps regulate body temperature and protects your baby's skin while it's submerged in amniotic fluid. By the time your baby is born, most of the vernix will be gone. Your baby's heartbeat is growing stronger now and it's about twice as fast as yours.
Sleep: Since Monday's ultrasound, I've slept beautifully. Maybe it was the worrying making me an insomniac.
Symptoms: More stomach pain, and I'm getting hungrier now. Still with the discharge.
Cravings: White chocolate Magnum icecream. Mmmm.
Gender: IT'S STILL A GIRL! (It's nice to be able to say that.)
Movement: Felt a few jabs this week, but still not consistent. So excited about this!
Maternity Clothes: More dresses - our weather has been 38-40o C quite a lot this week, boo summer.
Milestones: Seeing baby girl (still a girl!) at our morphology scan, looking HEALTHY. Best news ever.
The belly: Poppage!!!!
Our 19 week morphology scan went well today - thank you for all of the good wishes. And yes, she is STILL a girl! :)
Baby has all arms, legs, fingers and toes. We even got to see some of them up close today, as she waved at us!
We didn't get a very good profile shot today, as she was upside down most of the time - but it was very cute. This isn't the clearest of pictures, but you can see the face and her little hand next to her nose, awww!
I haven't mentioned a lot about our high risk possibilities since the aftermath of the 12-week NT scan. There are a few reasons behind it, I suppose. I've been determined to enjoy being pregnant, and not let myself ruin the experience by unnecessary worrying. Also? I don't mention it because I'm afraid of something medical going wrong.
The original risk results that I received said that there was a 1:169 chance of abnormalities. If you remember the details, our scan was great - ultrasound looked normal & the nuchal fold was very average, at 1.4mm. The problems flagged up due to the blood screenings, with low hCG & extremely-low PAPP-A.
When I received the referral for the anatomy/morphology scan, there was an extra number thrown in there. Apart from the 1:169 for Down's Syndrome, it also specified that we were 1:100 for T18. Now those numbers are still a 1% chance, meaning there is a 99% chance that baby is fine - but I was very thrown to have seen the higher risk number there without having being told about it.
At the end of the day, it wouldn't have changed our decision not to have an amniocentesis. We wouldn't terminate this pregnancy, and the risks of complications from the testing still frighten me as much/more than the idea of a special needs child. It just would've been nice to prepare for both odds, especially the higher ones.
My 19-week medical scan is coming up early next week. A part of me is scared, yes. I'm worried about finding medical problems that point out one of the above genetic abnormalities, or a completely unique concern with baby's growth or development. I think most pregnant women worry about having a 'healthy baby' but it seems amplified by the fact that this is our miracle baby. However, the other part of me is strangely calm. There is nothing that I, or hubby, could have done differently in this pregnancy - whatever will be is what was decided from the beginning.
I have faith that we're pregnant with this baby, this time around, for a reason.
Since hubby is still away in Germany, I'll be taking my mum along again with me. She held my hand through the NT scan, cried with me at the gender scan, and will be there for me in the upcoming morphology scan, no matter what the results. And in the meantime, I keep listening to baby's heartbeat, waiting to feel her move, and sending every positive thought & prayer I have out into the universe, hoping she is going to be okay.
How Far Along: 18 weeks pregnant! :)
Size of baby: Another ugly veggie - sorry, baby sweet potato. A picture of a capsicum would be much nicer.
Do you and your partner talk to your baby? Well, with the bones and nerves in her ears now developed enough to function, she can hear all sorts of sounds -- including blood coursing through the umbilical cord, your growling tummy, and your heartbeat. In fact, sudden or loud noises may startle her. Go ahead and sing, tell stories or play music for your baby now. Even though your baby doesn't understand what these sounds are now, eventually she'll recognize your voice better than any other.
Sleep: I'm sleeping better, which is good.
Symptoms: So last week's huge boobs? Are now leaking. Isn't that a bit early? Also, I'm having some more intense cramping and pressure in the tummy, and lots of tiredness and soreness all round. Growing pains, I hope.
Cravings: All I want to eat right now is pizza. That craving came seriously out of nowhere.
Gender: IT'S A GIRL! (I love that I can say that now, how incredible.) :) :) :)
Movement: I'm in the 'don't know if that was baby or gas' phase. Nothing concrete that I can identify as baby.
Maternity Clothes: Lots of dresses this week. I'm not liking the feeling of anything touching my tummy.
Milestones: 18 weeks sounds like a milestone in itself. Almost halfway there.
The belly: I think it's fairly safe to say that it's becoming more noticeable as a preggo-belly now.
Random stabby pregnancy moment of the day when watching Breaking Dawn pt1: being jealous when Bella gets to feel her creepy vampire baby move in her belly all of five minutes after getting magically knocked up. We have to wait nearly 2 years to get pregnant & she's barfing up chicken in seconds. Why am I watching this crap?
How Far Along: We're at 17 weeks and counting!
Size of baby: An onion? Isn't that smaller than an avocado? Sometimes these fruits/veggies confuse me.
Finally, your baby's arms, legs, and trunk have caught up to the size of his head. Baby starts plumping up this week, as body fat is deposited under his skin and sweat glands develop. Also worth noting: The placenta is almost as big as your baby. It provides vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and oxygen, along with removing waste and filtering carbon dioxide.
Sleep: I quite enjoy it, yes.
Symptoms: My boobs are feeling HUGE. Also, I keep getting this 'I feel like a bowling ball is going to drop out when I walk' vibe - even though I'm only 17 weeks. Everything feels big and heavy and kind of uncomfortable.
Cravings: Back to dairy. Cheese and yoghurt.
Gender: IT'S A GIRL! (I love that I can say that now, how incredible.) :) :) :)
Movement: Frustratingly, nothing.
Maternity Clothes: Leggings.
Milestones: No big ones this week, really. I'm just powering away & hoping time goes by quickly.
The belly: I'm back to feeling bloated again rather than 'rounded' - my belly feels heavier than last week, for sure. Scary considering that the baby is only the size of an onion, eh? KITTY PHOTO BOMB, ftw.
What a week!
How Far Along: 16 & a bit weeks. :)
Size of baby: Baby is an avocado this week - getting a little heavier again, too. AVO BABY... I love you!
Your baby's delicate skeleton continues to harden from rubbery cartilage to bone. Even so, his bones will remain somewhat flexible for an easier trip through the birth canal. The umbilical cord has fully matured with one vein and two arteries that are protected by Wharton's jelly (a thick substance that makes the cord slippery so it can move freely around your baby). By the way, if you're having a girl, hundreds of thousands of eggs are forming in her ovaries this week -- your future grandchildren!
Sleep: I'm getting a little more sleep now. It's still hard to drift off without hubby there next to me.
Symptoms: Hungry, but also really overheated. I break out into a clammy sweat when I get too hot.
Cravings: Still frozen drinks. I'm not particularly hungry this week.
Gender: IT'S A GIRL! (I love that I can say that now, how incredible.) :) :) :)
Movement: Still nothing. I'm hanging out for the baby to kick!
Maternity Clothes: Elastic waistbands, friends. Elastic waistbands. That's all I'm saying.
Milestones: Our cheeky gender scan, where we {finally} found out that Baby Jag is a SHE. I'm still in shock!
The belly: I'm not feeling particularly big this week - feels about the same as last week. You decide!
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