Levi's Six-Month Check-Up and Birth Announcement

Age of Baby: 6 months

Size of Baby:

• Weight: 17 lbs 14 oz (down to the 56th percentile), + 11 oz from last month
• Length: 27 inches (up to the 64th percentile), + 1 inch from last month
• Head circumference: 17 inches (down to the 50th percentile), +0.5 inches from his 4-month check-up

Levi is wearing a size 3 diaper. He was mostly wearing 3-6 month clothes this past month, but 6-9 month clothes fit a bit better! ;)

Immunizations:

• DTaP (diptheria, tetanus, pertussis)
• Hib
• Hepatitis B
• PCV13
• Polio
• Rotavirus

Doctor's Visit Summary:

Levi's visit went very well today. He is still right on par, or even a bit ahead, developmentally. His fine motor and gross motor skills are great and he's starting to vocalize (quite loudly, in fact), too. His weight gain has started to slow a bit, but that is probably thanks to his newfound love of moving! His eczema is definitely starting to clear up now. I've pretty much eliminated all dairy except cheese and the occasional yogurt from my diet though. I've also been using the lotion religiously on him. Another round of vaccines, but now he's done for awhile. #vaccinessavebro We'll go back in three months for his 9-month check-up!

Picture of Baby:

Here is Levi's 6-month picture in the 12-month onesie. His eyes are still quite blue in better lighting (I think they will be sticking!) and his hair is getting longer on top of his head! :) He didn't want to straighten out for me this month as he loves playing with those piggies any chance he can get! He refuses to keep socks on, always removing the right one and often the left, too. Chewing on those is one of his favorite things to do. Eww.

And here is a comparison of all four of the boys at six months, just for fun. Levi continues to take the prize for heaviest of the four, and is now tied for 2nd for height. Ethan was 27.75 inches long and weighed 16 lbs 6 oz. Noah was 27 inches long and weighed 17 lbs 1 oz. And tiny little Amos was 26.75 inches long and weighed just 14 lbs 13 oz. Levi definitely continues to have his own look, but I still think he favors Noah (and Mommy) the most.

Accomplishments this Month:

• Rolling over...and over...and over
• Inching around as much as he can
• Solid food!
• First preschool story time at the library for big brother's field trip
• Puts in paci himself
• Starting to vocalize - maybe a "dada"??

Literally the day after he turned five months old, he finally rolled from his tummy to his back. That was quickly followed by rolling from his back to his tummy. Now I can't get him to stay on his back at all! He loves sleeping on his belly and when I put him in his crib, he instantly rolls to his belly to sleep.

He's also started to want to get to things that are out of his reach, so he's moving his body as much as he can on his belly (without actually crawling). If you put him in one spot, you are guaranteed he will be in a completely different one moments later. Yikes! Time to baby-proof this house that we've never had to baby-proof until now!

We decided to try some solid food when he turned 5 months, to see if that would help in the sleep department. We went ahead with rice cereal since it is easy to thin down with breastmilk. He did great with it for several days before deciding he wasn't a fan anymore. Sigh. So, I decided to give veggies a try. I steamed and pureed some sweet peas and he was gobbling those down as fast as we could spoon them to him (and even grabbing the spoon to shovel them in by himself!). Then after a few days, he decided he wasn't a fan. Ugh. So I moved on to green beans. Those were a no go from the start. Then I tried carrots. Not really a fan of those either. So, I thought maybe texture was an issue. I couldn't blame him if it was since it affects me, too! Pureeing the frozen, then steamed, veggies still gave it more texture than baby food from a jar, so I bought a few jars of pumpkin to give that a try. He's been eating that for several days now pretty well, so hopefully that's the trick! I am still going to continue to try pushing my homemade purees on him because they're so much cheaper (!!), but we'll have the jars for backup if needed. Next up, tonight, will be roasted butternut squash. We're having it for dinner, so he's going to try it, too! The solid food is coming only at dinner time for now, but once I introduce fruits, we'll probably do that in the mornings or at lunchtime.

We made it to our first preschool story time at the local library (#thirdandfourthchildproblems) thanks to a field trip with Amos's preschool. They both seemed to enjoy it so we may have to find our way there again soon! Levi does really love it when big brother Noah "reads" him books at home, but then he loves everything Noah does with him. ;) They are the sweetest together.

Another rough month in the sleep department. Halfway through he had some nice 8-hour stretch nights, but then he got in the habit of waking again around 12:30 and 4:30 at night for a couple weeks; sometimes more, sometimes less. He goes to bed between 8 and 9 pm and sleeps until 8 or 9 am, sometimes later on the days we don't need to be anywhere. I often run errands in the mornings, so he still normally gets a bit of a cat nap in his carseat while I'm out, but he's also taking an afternoon nap of about 2-3 hours in his crib. Yay!! Sometimes he'll take a little cat nap before dinner, too. I've continued to nurse him every 2-3 hours during the daytime for 15-25 minutes. He eats about 6-8 times in a 24-hr period.

Levi has finally figured out how to get his paci back in his mouth by himself, but he'd actually prefer to chew on his fingers or the leg of one of the WubbaNub animals instead. Sigh. I have a feeling his bottom two teeth will be making an appearance before next month's update. They're looking pretty close now! Given the amount of drool this boy has been producing, I sure hope so.

Instead of just crying and cooing, Levi has started to vocalize now! We swear we've heard him say "dada" several times now, both in response to our prompting and when he sees him, but perhaps it's just luck. We'll see if he keeps it up. Not that I'm jealous that he isn't saying "mama," too!

So I've found that taking care of 4 kids + a PTA position (producing the monthly newsletter and designing + keeping the PTA website updated) + my graphic design business has kept me all kinds of busy this past 6 months. Granted I designed Levi's birth announcement and had prints made before Christmas (a Christmas miracle, I'm sure), I still hadn't managed to actually mail them out...until the day he turned six months old. Ha! So, without further adieu...here is his birth announcement. :) Better late than never, right?!? ;) Still working on those thank you notes to all the wonderful friends and family who sent gifts or brought us meals in the fall. Everything was greatly appreciated!!

 Until next month!! Look at me actually writing this in a timely manner this month! Ha!

Levi is Four Months Old

Age of Baby: 4 months (given he's actually 5 months old today, I figured I better post this now...)

Size of Baby:

• Weight: 15 lbs 11 oz (down to the 56th percentile), +1 lb 2 oz from last month
• Length: 25.5 inches (up to the 66th percentile), +2 inches from last month
• Head circumference: 16.5 inches (up to the 59th percentile), +1 inch from his 2-month appt

Levi has been wearing a size 2 diaper most of the last month. He is wearing 3-6 month clothes and a size 2 shoe.

Immunizations:

• DTaP
• Hib
• PCV13
• Polio
• Rotavirus

Doctor's Visit Summary:

Levi's visit went very well. He is ahead developmentally, with the exception of rolling over. He's so close, but hasn't quite made it over yet. His weight has dropped just a bit in percentage, but he's still a hefty little guy. ;) Since his last visit, I had started taking pancreatic enzymes at the suggestion of the lactation consultant. Levi still has some cradle cap and a pretty significant amount of eczema all over his body, so she was thinking dairy in my diet was the culprit. We started by me eliminating all dairy for a week and starting the enzymes. I gradually added back in cheese and yogurt, but have continued to avoid milk and ice cream. It seems to be doing the trick fairly well, but he still occasionally has flare ups. We're going to try moisturizing multiple times a day to see if that helps. I'm sure the winter and the dry gas heat in the house haven't helped either though. Overall, the doctor was very happy with his progress, and we'll be back in 2 months for another check-up.

Picture of Baby:

Here is Levi's 4-month picture in the 12-month onesie. His eyes are still looking blue so far and it looks like he is trying to grow back some of the hair he's lost on the top of his head!

And here is a comparison of all four of the boys at four months, just for fun. Levi just squeezes past Noah to win the prize for heaviest of the four, but comes in 3rd for height. Ethan was 26.5 inches long and weighed 14 lbs 8.5 oz. Noah was 25.75 inches long and weighed 15 lbs 8 oz. And tiny little Amos was just 13 lbs 8 oz and 25.25 inches long. I still see a lot of Noah in Levi at this point. His head isn't quite as round/full, but he has his nose and fuller lips, I think.

Accomplishments this Month:

• Grasping objects
• His first antibiotic
• Playing in activity center
• Sitting up in the bumbo seat

Levi is really interacting well with us and his surroundings now. He can't keep his eyes off his brothers if they are in the room with him. Watching them is one of the easiest ways to keep him entertained! He loves "talking" to us, too. He has also started to play with the toys that are attached to his bouncer and his carseat. He'll bat at them and grasp them to hold them now, normally trying to pull them to his mouth. ;)

As you can see in the video, he really loves hanging out in his new activity center (thanks Grandpa and Grandma Seeley!) and being right up in the mix of things, sitting in his bumbo seat. He's quite the little supervisor while Mommy tries to get things accomplished. ;) We also got the high chair out for him. Though he hasn't started eating yet, he likes sitting at the table with the rest of us as we eat. He does sit there and drool and make eating motions as he watches us, so it may be time sooner than later to let him start! Haha!

Sadly, Levi has taken his first round of antibiotics already. All 3 of the other boys have been sick on and off with colds, ear infections and strep throat this winter, and it seems like Levi caught something. We didn't test him for strep, but he had been running a low-grade fever for awhile and was just super sleepy and out of it during the day, so we tried a round of antibiotics to see if that made a difference. It did seem to perk him up pretty quickly, despite the fact that he hated the super yummy pink medicine!

I wish I could report that Levi was sleeping through the night, but he's still not consistently. He'll sleep anywhere from 2.5 to 11.5 hours straight though! He did hit a new record of 11.5 hours near the end of January. I wish he could have kept that up, but it was short-lived! Sigh. I've continued to nurse him every 2-3 hours during the day for 15-20 minutes, and that almost always puts him to sleep, so that's when he naps!

Life is a bit slower now that we're through the holidays and Ethan's birthday, so maybe I'll actually get his 5-month update done at a reasonable time?!?

Levi is Two Months Old!

Age of Baby: 2 months...Seeing as how he'll be 3 months old on Saturday, I figured it was time to post this! Oops! December was crazy between the holidays, traveling and sick kids. Sigh.

Size of Baby:

• Weight: 13 lbs 11 oz (down to the 75th percentile), +2 lbs 11 oz from last month
• Length: 22.5 inches (up to the 25th percentile), +1.5 inches from last month
• Head circumference: 15.5 inches (down to the 57th percentile), +0.75 inches from last month

Levi is wearing a size 1 diaper and 0-3 month clothes. He wears a size 1 shoe.

Immunizations:

• DTap
• Hib
• Hepatitis B
• PCV13
• Polio
• Rotavirus

Doctor's Visit Summary:

We went to his doctor's appointment for his well-check, but he hadn't been feeling great (super sleepy, running a low-grade fever), so we decided to wait on his immunizations for a week. With two of his big brothers sick, we were afraid maybe he had also come down with whatever they had. When we went back the following week, he still wasn't doing well, so still no shots, and we started him on a round of the yummy pink medicine (aka amoxicillin), just in case. That seemed to help, as he did perk up after starting that, so we finally did his immunizations a week and a half ago!

Picture of Baby:

Here is Levi's 2-month picture in the 12-month onesie. Though it's hard to tell here, his eyes are still blue and he still has most of his hair as well!

And here is a comparison of all four at two months, just for fun. I still think he's favoring Noah or Amos most. He definitely has Noah's size! Haha! I think it's funny that again he is the heaviest of the four at 2 months, and also tied with Amos for the shortest. ;) Those cheeks though. He's storing some extra there!! Haha!

Accomplishments this month:

• Sleeping through the night
• First babysitter
• Cooing and smiling
• Meeting some of his cousins

Levi has continued to be a pretty great baby. He is getting better at entertaining himself instead of needing constant attention, or being held 24/7. He even managed to sleep through the night for the first time! Woo hoo! First he hit almost 7.5 hours straight, then a couple days later he had an almost 9 hour stretch! His record stands at 9.5 hours, but he hasn't been able to keep up with it consistently. I'm hoping we'll get there sooner than later. ;)

Levi is setting all kinds of records as the 4th child. He had his first ever babysitter at just 8 weeks old. It just so happened to be the first babysitter (other than family) for all 4 boys. Ha! We had Amos's assistant preschool teacher watch them while we attended a neighborhood holiday hop. So yes, we were literally right next door all night, but resisted the urge to check in hourly! ;) They loved her and did great for her, so it's something we'll have to do more often! :)

I love when they're coming out of that newborn stage and start to actually interact with you a bit. Levi adores big brother Noah (probably since he's the only brother that pays much attention to him) and started smiling and cooing at him when Noah talks to him. Swoon.

Levi was able to meet five of his eight (at that time) cousins for Thanksgiving when the Corbett crew came to visit! It was madness as always (um, hello nine children age 10 and below under one roof), but they sure enjoyed loving on a new baby and trying to convince their mama to have another. ;)

Hopefully I'll get back on track and post his 3-month update in a more timely manner!

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Levi's Birth Story

It's time for a final birth story. Our little family is now complete. It's been four weeks today since the birth, so I want to try to get all the details down in print before they are fading memories! For a look back at the others, you can find Ethan's story here, Noah's here, and Amos's here. This will be pretty detailed, so read on at your own risk!! ;)

As I posted in my last bump update, at 36 weeks, things were getting crazy, as we discovered that I had extra amniotic fluid and would require weekly ultrasounds and non-stress tests to monitor the baby. I was spending a lot of my time at the doctor's office! Then, just before 38 weeks, the ultrasound revealed that baby had turned and was now positioned frank breech, instead of head down. Ugh, not good. To avoid scheduling a C-section, we set up an appointment to go to the hospital the morning I was 38 weeks to try an external cephalic version, or ECV. They like to do those by 38 weeks at the latest, so that was going to be my one chance to get baby turned back around. Since baby was frank breech instead of completely breech, and given the extra fluid I had, it should have had a better likelihood of being successful. In we went at 6 am to wait for the doctor to arrive. We discussed everything, then he started the ultrasound to check baby's position that day. Wouldn't you know that stubborn little booger had turned again and was head down again?!? So yeah, that was quick - we got to go home without needing to do anything after all. Sigh of relief. At that point, I needed to try to do what I could to keep baby head down, which meant a lot of sitting on my big exercise ball, and trying to bind my belly with a maternity support binder. That was not fun.

At my next appointment the following Tuesday, at 38.5 weeks, we discussed induction. As much as I wanted baby to come on its own, I was absolutely miserable, in pain, and with the extra fluid, ok'd for an early delivery. So, we set up the induction for 39 weeks, on Friday the 13th. Yes, Friday the 13th. I wasn't thrilled about the date, but my midwife was on call that day. I had reached the point where I just wanted baby out, and I didn't care what day it was going to be anymore!! So there we were, one week later at the hospital, checking in again to head to labor & delivery.

I gowned up and we started the party. Pitocin was started at 7:30 am, at which time I was dilated only 3 cm. I was having fairly regular contractions, but they weren't really getting closer or more intense. My midwife broke my water at 11:45 am, at which time I was dilated just 4 cm. That was fun thanks to the extra fluid!! No, no it was not. I just kept leaking and leaking and leaking, which made things interesting for trying to get up and walk around when I was tired of sitting.

Things were still moving super slowly, so I got an epidural at 1:45 pm. I was hoping to relax my body and speed things along a bit! Like the epidural I had with Amos, it took pretty well, with no feeling on the left side, but enough feeling on the right side to experience some of the pain of the contractions. It also caused my blood pressure to drop super low, but we were able to get it evened back out within the hour. By 2:30 pm, I was dilated 6 cm and by 5 pm, I was still dilated just 7 cm. Sigh. I was starting to think this baby may not be born on the 13th after all!! And then things started moving really fast. My epidural was wearing off and I had called to get more medicine, but they were really busy on the floor by that point, and I never did get any, so by the time they came in to check me again, it was go time and I was feeling everything! Yikes! Fortunately, it only took about 5 minutes of pushing and baby had arrived...

Born at 6:12 pm was our FOURTH BOY!!! I kind of thought maybe Josh was joking when he told me it was another boy, haha! I was seriously convinced this one was a girl after how different everything was with this pregnancy, but alas, I was wrong. At 8 pounds, 4.1 ounces, 20 inches long, with a 14-inch head circumference, he was our second biggest baby. Born earlier than the rest though, he would've been the biggest had he cooked another 2.5 weeks like Ethan did! ;)

He was perfect!!

Sadly, Josh and I had actually agreed on a girl's name that day as we hung out all day at the hospital, but we were still struggling with a boy's name. It's hard when you're on number four! We had narrowed it down to two choices and decided to put it to a family vote once the boys arrived to meet their little brother. :) After a 3-2 decision, Levi Frank received his name. Frank is my maiden name, and had been the plan for the middle name all along, so that part was easy! We require many things when picking a name for our children though (must be a two syllable first name and a one syllable middle name, can't start with the same letter as a sibling, and must be biblical; I also love that they all have different ending sounds, so when I'm yelling their names, they can better hear which one I'm yelling - haha!), so it was rough finding one that fit the bill! Also, the name had to fit into our scrabble board (preferably in order of arrival), which was harder than I thought it'd be! Ha!

I got to snuggle the little guy for awhile and feed him before they took him away to get him all cleaned up. It was nice that at this hospital, I was able to stay in the same room from beginning to end, instead of needing to move rooms after delivering. That was a first!

Check out that dark hair! We'll see if it stays that way, or falls out and comes back blond like the other three. Another strong Seeley boy to join the bunch though! Like big brothers, he was holding his head up on his own a mere hour after being born! Our boys seriously have freakishly strong neck muscles. Levi is all-around strong though. He sucks so "ferociously" (words of the lactation consultant that first week) that he can hold up a bottle without his hands, just by sucking. It's quite impressive. Hopefully it will help him hold his own in a couple years when he has to defend himself from his big brothers! ;)

Once we were all settled back in, my mom brought the boys to the hospital to meet their new sibling! Unfortunately, their reaction to the gender reveal (I had them open packets with blue confetti) wasn't as exciting as I had anticipated. Ha! They were happy, though, to meet their new little brother. I was unsure how Amos would react to having a little brother. He's been the baby for 4 years! I couldn't have been more happy about how excited he was to have a new little brother though. He absolutely adored him from day one!

That evening, and then again the next day, on Saturday morning, Levi was checked out by the on-call pediatrician from our peds office. He looked great and was given the go ahead to head home after his bloodwork was checked at 24 hours. We had to wait around until nearly 7 pm for that, but then we were finally able to pack up and head home around 8 pm that evening. It's always nice to be back at home and the boys were super excited to have us all back there.

The Monday after coming home, we were scheduled to visit our pediatrician's office to be sure that he still looked good, with no signs of jaundice. He looked great, but they wanted to see him again in a couple days to be sure he was gaining enough weight. He was discharged from the hospital at 7 lbs, 12 oz, and had dropped again to 7 lbs, 7 oz at the Monday appointment. My milk hadn't come in yet, so he had lost almost a pound since delivery. So, we supplemented with some formula that day while I pumped, and my milk came in by the end of the day. That Wednesday, he was up to 7 lbs, 15 oz, so we were headed in the right direction. By his 2-week appointment, he was up to a whopping 9 lbs 4 oz! They like to see them gain an ounce a day, so putting on 21 ounces in just 12 days was amazing! The boy likes to eat!

We're now adjusting to life as a family of six. It is definitely an adjustment! I think the hardest part is having two of them in school now. When Amos was born, Ethan and Noah were still just in preschool. When you roll into the parking lot late there, it's no big deal. Getting the big two on the bus daily, on time, and keeping up with homework and activities makes things a lot harder now! We'll manage, and I'm sure it will get easier, but it's definitely a team effort. Super thankful for the school cafeteria and their "grab 'n go" options, which my boys will eat daily if they need to! Ha! Fortunately, the boys have been great with helping out and mostly understanding when I need to tend to Levi first.

Welcome to the family, Levi! You complete us.

Me and my very own "five guys!" ;)

Like the "four seasons," I have my four "See(ley) sons." ;)

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Baby Bump Update: Week 36

Week of Pregnancy: 36 weeks, 4 days

Baby size: Baby is about the size of a head of romaine lettuce this week!

Baby is now around 18 1/2 inches long from head to heel and weighs almost 6 pounds! In the funnier, Dad-to-Be Edition of How Big is Baby? that I discovered, our little one is as long as a ukulele this week!

A fun website, babysizer.com, also states that the baby is the size of a footlong sub, a 2L bottle of pop, or a power drill!

Fun times getting a NST this morning!

Appointment Notes: So I went for a check-up last Tuesday, at 35.5 weeks. Since they needed to do a Group B strep test, my midwife went ahead and checked for dilation and I was 2 cm dilated, but just at the opening. Sigh. Baby's heartbeat sounded good in the 130s, but my midwife was afraid that baby was lying transverse, instead of head down, so she wanted to do an ultrasound to check. Fortunately, the ultrasound revealed that baby was indeed head down, but the tech discovered that I had a lot of extra amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios), which can become problematic. The doctor decided he wanted me to have weekly biophysical profile checks, which means ultrasounds and non-stress tests (NST). So, I went back today and the ultrasound looked good, in that the fluid had remained stable, instead of increasing, but we'll continue to check it for changes. If it gets worse, they will want to induce at 39 weeks, but if all stays ok, I won't have to unless I want to. Also today, I had what should be a 20 minute non-stress tests (NST) to check baby's movements and heart rate to make sure things look good there, too. The test today ended up being more like 45 minutes since baby decided to take a nap halfway through, but they decided everything looked ok with that, too. Whew! What a high maintenance baby! I guess that's what I get for having a baby in my elderly state and all. ;) So, back I go this Friday for another NST and check, and again 2 times next week for a NST, ultrasound and check! Hopefully all remains ok and this little one hangs in there a bit longer. I definitely want to make it until October, but the idea of inducing at 39 weeks (which would be around the 14th) this time is quite enticing. I was measuring at about 37 weeks at the 35.5 week appt and ultrasound was measuring baby at around 6.5 pounds already, so maybe he or she will be early regardless!

Before and after!

Symptoms: Back and hip pain have actually not been too terrible lately. Weekly chiropractic adjustments have probably helped with that! Trying to turn from side to side at night brings much pain though. Mainly my belly is just so big at this point that it's hard to do much of anything. :( Fortunately, we have finally resolved my heartburn!! I'm now taking Nexium 24 hr, twice a day, and I haven't had a single issue since starting. What a relief! I've had some Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing too terrible, or concerning, yet. The nurses at my appointment today said I had a few during the NST, but I didn't realize it! Ha! I did experience some really bad swelling last week - something new to me. My poor feet looked like sausages and bending my ankles to go up and down stairs actually hurt a bit. I was just overdoing it though. After some much-needed rest and elevation this weekend, they are looking much better again! :)

Food cravings: Food? Ugh. Back to nothing sounding good because there's no room left for food!

Food aversions: I finally enjoy hot coffee again! Woohoo! I don't want it every day, but definitely drinking it on a fairly regular basis again.

What I'm excited about: The end is in sight!! Also, a couple of weeks ago, I toured the hospital I will be giving birth at this time. It looks fantastic. Unfortunately, I couldn't go there when I delivered Amos due to insurance company issues, but those have since been resolved, and this hospital is back on our plan again. Yay! I love that everything is done in one room (labor, delivery and recovery) and they are really big on getting as much skin to skin contact as possible at the beginning. They don't whisk baby away after birth like other hospitals, but instead do as much as possible bedside, in the room.

What I've done to prepare for baby: Yeah...I have bought some newborn clothes, but haven't gone through the boxes of old clothes yet, nor have I washed anything up. :/ I also need to think about things like diapers, a swing, bouncer, etc. On the plus side, we did purchase a car seat, so we can at least get baby home from the hospital! ;) I'm hoping to accomplish a lot next week while the boys are on fall break. The nursery hasn't been painted, but I think at this point, Josh will be doing it after the baby has arrived and he is off work for a couple weeks.

Funny moment: Though he was sure baby was a boy before, Amos has been referring to the baby as "her" for several weeks now. Does he know something we don't?!? Also, a big surprise we discovered during my ultrasound last week...this baby has hair!!! All 3 of my boys were born bald and remained that way for their first year, like I did as a child. I was informed by both the tech last week and this week that the fuzzy white stuff you see in the photo below is indeed hair. I can't wait to see it!! I also got a look at baby's face in 3D today. So sweet!!

So here I am at 36 weeks with each of my pregnancies. Definitely bigger each time! Haha! I do think I am carrying different this time though, and much lower already. I'm wearing the same top for the last 2 pics and it is definitely getting too small to adequately cover my belly this time!

It's been an interesting couple of weeks, but hopefully things will calm a bit before the storm. I feel like I am ready to meet this little one, but I know it will be quite the adjustment for all of us having a newborn again!

Baby Bump Update: Week 28

Week of Pregnancy: 28 weeks, 4 days

Baby size: Baby is about the size of a large eggplant this week!

Baby is almost 15 inches long from head to heel and weighs around 2 1/4 pounds. In the funnier, Dad-to-Be Edition of How Big is Baby?, baby is as big as a kid's lunchbox this week! Wow!

A fun website, babysizer.com, also states that the baby is the size of a 1 pound basket of wings, a Nintendo, or a baseball cap!




Appointment Notes: Everything looked/sounded great at my OB appointment on Friday. Baby's heartbeat was strong at 148 and I was measuring right on target for 28 weeks. Now it's time to start bi-monthly appointments. It's starting to get real!

Symptoms: Back and hip pain are still probably my biggest complaints. Trying to turn from side to side at night brings much pain. My back is also getting worse again, with sciatica kicking in - pain shooting down my left leg (funny that looking back, it was my right with Amos!), and making it difficult to walk at times. Ugh. Also a big complaint, heartburn. I'm taking maximum strength famotodine twice a day right now, and that sometimes isn't enough. :( One of the midwives at the OB office suggested her home remedy of a shot of 1 part baking soda to 2 parts water. I've tried it once. Whew! It was rough, but is now my back-up plan if the OTC meds can't keep up. I guess it's comforting to know that I was experiencing these same things at this point in my pregnancy with Amos, nearly 4 years ago. So, I may be "elderly" now, but apparently not any worse than I was at that point. ;)

Food cravings: I have been wanting fruit and salads! Say what?? Yep, I often find myself reaching for a bowl of cherries when I'm hungry now. I've also been wanting salad more as a dinner option. As my belly expands, my desire for dinner decreases. How much longer now??

Food aversions: I can't believe that I still don't want hot coffee in the mornings, but I guess it's probably better that way. When I do get my caffeine fix with an iced drink, it unfortunately doesn't help to keep me awake during the day...just at night, when I'm trying to sleep!!

What I'm excited about: The boys heading back to school this week, so hopefully I'll manage to start tackling some baby projects around the house!

What I've done to prepare for baby: Still nothing, but I think I've finally decided on a color for the nursery walls. Yay! And, I think I'm going to risk it and use a beautiful fabric that I have to make the curtains, bedding, etc. for the room. It's a girly print/colors, so I guess my backup plan will be to purchase an alternative set if it's a boy, and sell the girly items!

Funny moment: The other day, Amos noticed my belly button sticking out under my shirt and he pushed it and called it my baby button! He wanted to push it to make the baby come out. Oh how I wish! He also informed me today that the baby is a boy. Because "Ethan is a boy, Noah is a boy, I am a boy....the baby is a boy." We shall see!!!

Baby Bump Update: Week 24

Week of Pregnancy: 24 weeks, 3 days

Baby size: Baby is the length of an ear of corn this week!

Baby is about a foot long from head to heel and weighs around 1 1/4 pounds.

A fun website, babysizer.com, also states that the baby is the size of a package of Oreos, Mr. Burns' teddy bear, Bobo (the Simpsons), or a Philly cheesesteak. Yuuummm.




Appointment Notes: Everything looked/sounded great at my OB appointment this morning. Baby's heartbeat was strong at 142 and he/she was actually weighing in at 1 lb 12 oz by U/S, so a "healthy" 76th percentile. ;) They were able to view the heart vessels this time and all looks good there as well. I also had my glucose testing this morning and managed to just squeak through that one! Whew!

Symptoms: Hip/pelvic/low back pain is my biggest complaint right now. It's hard to get comfortable most nights and trying to get up from sitting on the floor is probably quite amusing for others to watch. Sigh. Heartburn is still mostly under control now with OTC meds. Hoping it stays that way!

Food cravings: Still cereal!

Food aversions: Still coffee. Sigh. I'm fine with the iced stuff, but still zero interest in hot coffee!

What I'm excited about: Passing my glucose test! I was so worried about failing it this time that I'd even had dreams about it this past week. I needed to stay below 130 mg/dL, and I slid in at 121. Probably means I should be a bit more careful about my diet now though.

What I've done to prepare for baby: I think we may have names picked out?!? Pretty solid on a girl's name, but boy's name may still be up for debate...I'm still trying to get maternity workouts in as much as I can handle. I've been seriously exhausted this past month though. Lab results today also showed I have some pregnancy anemia, so that may be the culprit! I think I've found a cute gender neutral bedding set that I like at Target. Surprise! With an aqua, green, yellow and gray patchwork design, it will be cute for either a boy or a girl. Part of me still wonders if I want to wait until after baby is born to pick, so I can go super girly if that's the case! ;)

Funny moment: Looking back at my pregnancy with Amos, Ethan had wanted a little sister and was sad when we found out it was going to be another boy. This time, all three boys are wanting yet another brother!!

Here's a fun look back at each of my pregnancies at 24 weeks! Definitely bigger with each baby, except maybe a tie between the last two?? My weight is actually quite a bit more than it was at this point with Amos though. :( I'm just going to say it's due to the increased muscle I had built up before this pregnancy. ;) Right?!? I guess it's the added four years (you know, in my elderly pregnancy state now, haha) that are making this one even rougher than the previous pregnancies on my body. It's going to be a long 16 weeks!

Happy 4th tomorrow!