18 Weeks and counting!

Its amazing how fast things are going!! Im getting a nice bump (its crazy how fast your belly sticks out when you're on your 4th pregnancy!!!). Some days I just feel fat, other days I feel pregnant lol. I feel the baby move more and more and often try to remind him/her that he/she needs to stop kicking my bladder! Im really looking forward to being able to feel the baby move from the outside so that A and D can feel it themselves.  
We had our midwife appointment last week and heard the heartbeat again which I know A really enjoys hearing. After, we enjoyed a nice dinner out, the 4 of us...the first time Miles has been able to hang out with D since first meeting them way back in October!


So...this week the baby is approximately 5.5inches/ 14.2 centimetres long from crown to rump (about the size of a bell pepper) and she weighs about 7 ounces/ 190 grams. Her chest moves up and down to mimic breathing but she's not taking in air, only amniotic fluid. Around this time, the baby becomes more sensitive to the outside world and shows her presence through powerful kicks and prods. The bones through which sound is passed to the inner ear have hardened and the parts of the brain that receives and processes nerve signals from the ears are developing. This means that the baby can hear now. She will get used to familiar sounds, such as your heart beating, familiar voices, blood rushing through the umbilical cord and other daily routine sounds and will become startled if she hears a loud sound. The fingernails are formed, taste buds are present and the gender is evident!

So next week we have the "big" ultrasound!!! Very excited!!! They want to know the gender and thats super exciting!! I think its a girl and apparently so does everyone else....which then make A think it must be a boy lol.  Funny though, over the weekend, my mom, kids and I went to RenFest and mom saw a psychic who said somthing about "Maybe this will be a boy...or a very fierce girl!" So...we will see I guess on the 10th!!!

Still...nothing new lol

But its been weeks since I last posted so I thought it was time. 16 weeks now...CRAZY!! I am still feeling baby move, but just flutters still, and not all that often. I wish that I had more of an indication that Im pregnant, but apart from being tired and the round ligament pains (which sucks by the way), there is nothing to indicate Im pregnant so for the piece of mind, I with I could feel more lol But, at least Im feeling it and it is getting more and more by the day (a couple of times Ive felt a pretty good thump).

I had the most hilarious and weird dream the other night. Of all the weird happenings in the dream, I'll just take away from it, that perhaps it was telling me the gender of the baby lol. Ok, so I end up at the hospital (by myself by the way, and for who knows what reason) and end up having a c section (no one knew I was at the hospital). RIGHT after having the baby (and I mean, right after....the baby was still in the warmer in the delivery room) I was dressed and ready to drive my friend somewhere. So, I drive her to where shes going and quickly said that I had to get back to the hospital so I could be with the baby until the IPs got there, who by the way, didnt even know their baby was born. On the way back, Im walking past a coffee shop and see my IM outside and I stop and inform her that she had a baby girl and that I was headed back to the hospital, to which she replied "thats unfortunate" (and I dont think she meant its unfortunate shes a mom, but that she wasnt there) and asked me to call the IF (weird since I would have thought she would have wanted to tell him lol). Then says she will see me at the hospital. So I get back and see baby...and baby is asian LOL I should mention, my IPs are NOT asian and neither is their egg donor LOL. Yah...a f-d up dream thats for sure!

We have a midwife appointment coming up on the 25th and an ultrasound on Aug 8. Very excited because we are hoping to find out the sex of the baby.  Perhaps with it not being my husbands, I am pregnant with a boy lol Although, the weird dream says otherwise lol
I will be taking a picture of me sometime this week...I have a small bump now (which is bigger then it would otherwise be at this point, since I still have lots of chub from 3 pregnancies)..

Ok...I took the pic today lol here it is! (Sorry for the shadow around me)

12 weeks!!!

Thats right! We are already 12 weeks along! Crazy!!! It seems to be going fast, but slow at the same time lol.
We had a midwife appointment today and A came along. After having a chat about the triple marker test (I know it has a different name now, but thats what it will always be called to me since thats what it was called when I had all three of my babies) and other stuff, I finally whispered to the midwife "will she get to hear the heartbeat today??" lol to which she replied "Of course! Well...we will try anyway!". So the time finally came...I lay down and she feels my soft flabby belly to see if she can feel the fundus and sure enough...she can feel it JUST above my pubic bone. GOOD SIGN!!! She puts the doppler on me...and we hear the blood flowing through the placenta and just behind that, we hear a quiet little heart beat. She moves it around some more and there it is! Nice and loud!!! Heart beat at around 160 and we even heard some kicks! It was so great! No matter how many times Ive heard it, I still find hearing the heartbeat just amazing!!! A recorded it on her iPhone so that D could hear it later (I text them later and she said he thought it was cool and she had listened to it a few times lol)
So...where is the baby at right now:

• The baby is now about 2.5 inches (6cm) length and weighs about 0.7 ounce (20 g). About the size of a small plum
• The feet are almost half an inch (1cm) long.
• The fetus starts moving spontaneously.
• The face is beginning to look like a baby's face.
• The pancreas is functioning and producing insulin.
• Fingernails and toenails appear.
• The baby can suck his thumb, and get hiccups.
• vocal chords are complete and baby may even cry silently
• the kidneys are developed and start to secrete urine

How cool eh?! Ive been feeling flutters here and there but not all the time. I have to be very still and its always late at night. 

Anyhow...thats it for now!

Well hello there!

Im feeling flutters! Yep..thats right! 11 weeks and feeling flutters! Its so great! I love the feeling of a babys first movement....so awesome!
Next week is midwife appointment! Yay!
That is all!

quick post!

OH MY GOSH. I cannot TELL you how excited I am that I dont have to take any more meds!!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
My husband even jokes now that he can start smacking my ass again! lol  It was so awesome to wake up on tuesday, and not have to worry about taking an injection. Felt so good! I looked at the remaining needles and vial of PIO and said see ya later sucka! lol

In two weeks today, A and I will be going to the midwife again....hopeing that we will hear a heartbeat on the doppler since Ill be 12 weeks by that point, I think we should! So exciting.

Oh and quick update on my thyroid. So remember when I was freaking out about my thyroid being out of wack? Well, it totally wasnt explained to me very well and I thought I had a hypothyroidism. Well, I dont. I have high antibodies, which is fine, but in pregnancy that can throw me into a hypothyroidism. I really wish that would have been explained to me before because I was freaking out about being on top of my numbers, upping my meds as I thought they were supposed to. So, after FINALLY talking to the NC at the clinic in seattle, and getting my midwife to order my thyroid testing (which I might add, she didnt understand what test I was asking for and only sent me for the TSH testing when it was the antibody I needed tested as well...had to get her to re write it and have them re test argh), I found out that my TSH levels are still within normal range (yay) and that Im to get it tested every 90 days to keep an eye on it. So its probably likely that after the pregnancy, I wont have to continue the thyroid meds...they are preventative right now! Whew!!!

Anyhow...quick post turned into not so quick of a post...but anyone who knows me knows that thats not too surprising lol

Sorry I havent written in a long time...Ive really got nothing new to report lol Nothing interesting to say!! But Im still around. Still feeling good....no sickness or anything thank goodness. Just tired a lot of the time. This baby is sucking the energy out of me lol  I had my thyroid re tested and my anti bodies are still high, but all my other levels are fine so Ive not been thrown into a thyroidism just yet.

Yesturday my friend of about 23 years got married and I was a bridesmaid. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining so we had great weather for outdoor pictures at the warf. Later in the evening, I took my husband up to the stadium to meet up with my mom as her and Madison were volunteering at the Relay for Life....which is near and dear to my heart and while Im so happy to have been a part of the wedding, Im also sad that I missed it (especially cause it was the 20th year and I was on the steering committee). We went up and participated in the silent lap and I had my "moment" as I call it each year, where I just thought about my friend Juli a took a minute to miss her...walk in her honour. It was nice to see my fellow committee peeps while I was there (I was definitly the best dressed relayer lol)

Heres a couple shots I took from the wedding....Love you Kym and Ben! Thanks for letting me be a part of it!!

Miles and I...the only picture of us lol

Kym Shmym and I

The beautiful couple

Hopefully Il try to remember to update more...its just hard when theres nothing to update! lol Ive got a little chub now, but its mostly just my own sticking out more LOL On tuesday though, it will be a wonderful day...why you ask? Because on tuesday, I get to STOP MY MEDS!!!!! WOOOHOO!!!!! It will be an epic day indeed!!!!

Ok...so I havent written since my ultrasound, but thats only because I was trying to get around to scanning the picture on my PC and since thats not happened yet, I figured I better just write something LOL

We had our first ultrasound on wednesday...and not only did we see a beautiful heartbeat, but we HEARD it too!!! A and D were amazed that they could see it, but were even more so when they heard it. It was so awesome to see their faces as they saw their babys heart beating away. Since they have no idea whats on an ultrasound, the doctor was so great and showed them what everything was so they could totally understand what they were seeing. So baby was measuring at 7wks 2 days (so RIGHT on target) and was about 11.83mm in size. So amazing that something thats under a centimeter small, can have a heart beat...crazy.

After our appointment, A and I went for lunch and then headed out to where I live and had a gelato and then went to the midwife. I had not met the midwife we saw (the practice has 3 midwives and this one wasnt there when I had my last kid) but she was really nice and helped put us both at ease about what to do about the hospital (can A and D stay there...should I go home right away and let them have my room as they probably wont be able to accomodate 2 rooms....do we have to sign something so that they have the right to make medical decisions on their baby, even though technically, they see the baby as mine biologically) So many questions...but the midwife said not to worry about it, that she would find out everything, contact the hospital, do what she needed to do to figure it all out.  We have an appointment booked for about a month from now and hopefully by then we will be able to hear the heartbeat on the doppler!!! So exciting!!!

Anyhow...soon I will get around to posting the pic I promise!!! Its not much but a blob but its still a picture!!!

Tomorrows the day!!!

Tomorrow, we get to see this little bean on an ultrasound!!!! I am sooooo excited!!! I cant wait to see the little heartbeat and the look on A and D's faces as they see their baby for the first time.

I will be bussing down town and meeting up with them, going to the appointment. Then A and I will be going for lunch and then in the afternoon, we have a midwife appointment!!! A will get to meet the wonderful lady who will help deliver her baby! I am super stoked for tomorrow and I just want to see that everything is good and there is a baby growing in my uterus!!!

Ill post a pic if they give me one!!!

I have the best parents

Tonight my hubby the kids and I went to my parents for dinner...its my birthday on Saturday and Madison and I are going camping with Girl Guides so we will not be around so we did my birthday dinner tonight. Mom make my favorite...Mac and Cheese...with probably 2 lbs of cheese and 2 lbs of bacon (that was split between two dishes and we polished off one lol). It was sooooooo good!!! Then we had deep fried ice cream for desert! Yum yum yum.

What was nicest of all...they gave me the sweetest gift...my dad picked it out. Aparently as soon as he saw it, he knew he wanted to get it for me because of what Im doing and the journey I am on. Its an earring and necklace set...the Celtic Cradle of Life....totally fitting and anyone who knows me knows how much I love everything Celtic. I think it looks like a womb with an embryo in it. He also chose my card...which had the following printed on it:

Like leaves upon a summer breeze,
Hearts are stirred by memories-
Those happy to remember things,
like childhood friends
and old porch swings,
Fmily storied told for ages
Daydreams tucked
between lifes pages
Teardrops spent
and laughter shared
Questions asked
adventrued dared
Memories stir the heart because
Theres joy found in "the way it was"

As you celelbrate today and dream of all thats yet to be
Take the time to think about a favorite memory
Think about beginnings and where your journey started
Look how far youve brought yourself
on paths that were uncharted

And know your in the memories
of other people too
People who are grateful
for the gift of knowing you.

I just thought it was the perfect gift and card for whats going on in my life right now and wanted to share. Here are a couple pictures of my new jewellery!

Dont mind my hair lol

Nothing new!

Just thought I would say hi though! lol Nothing much. Feeling great!!! No morning sickness (probably one of the reasons I dont mind being pregnant! lol) A little more tired then normal and DEFINITELY more hungry!!! I could eat all day long...except then I get heartburn from eating so much lol So I cant do that, plus, I need to stay healthy and not be a pig.

I posted on a local used clothes and toys group on FB the need for some maternity clothes and I got a whole bunch of responses and I totally lucked out and got some great maternity clothes!!! Ill get a couple new things, but for the most part, I dont think I need anything....oh except a new bra perhaps lol. My boobs are getting sensitive (which wasnt really an issue for me while being pregnant) and I think they are filling out a bit more (another thing that wasnt an issue for me). Oh well!!!

One thing I have been noticing is those nasty side uterine stretch cramps...you know, the kind that are like a side stitch that just creeps up on you? Oh...I totally forgot about those...and totally didnt miss them lol But its a reminder that there is a baby slowing stretching my uterus and reminds me to take it a bit easier. So as much as I dont like them, they serve a purpose I guess!!!

Anyone has any idea what I should call this little babe? I havent figured out something cute to refer to it as...and I dont like refering to a baby as "it" lol

Anyhoo...like I said, not much to update. I have my first midwife and ultrasound appointment on May 18 (two seperate appointments..just happens to be the same day...so will make sure all is well and that babe is growing as he/she should and A will get to meet the midwife so Im super excited about that!!!