Evan, Aidan, Bella & Sophia » July 2008 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

< > July 2008

Thu, Jul 31, 2008 8:19 AM
3rd TRIMESTER! 27 WEEKS!

Your baby weighs about 2.5 lbs (1.1kg) and is about 10 inches (25cm) from crown to rump and 15 inches (38 cm) long from head to toe.

At this time, the baby has tastebuds which allow it to distinguish between sweet, sour and bitter tastes.

Brain tissue and brain development increases at this time as your baby grows the folds and grooves needed for a developed brain. Your baby's brain is very active now.

Eyebrows and eyelashes are probably present and the hair on your baby's head is growing longer.

Your baby's body is filling out, getting a bit fatter as fat deposition continues, but it is still somewhat red and wrinkled.

Your baby is big enough for his presentation to be determined. That is, your caregiver can probably tell how your baby is oriented in your uterus. She may be breech (bottom down) or head first. If your baby is in a breech position now, there is no need to worry as there is still plenty of room and time for your baby to change positions.

Your baby can feel pain and respond to it in the same way as a full term baby.

Your baby is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers.

While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

(PS. Sophie has the hiccups CONSTANTLY - at least 6 times a day. This child never stops hiccuping!)

How your life's changing:
You are in the third trimester now, and as your body gears up for the final lap, you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all, and your expanding uterus is putting pressure on the veins that return blood from your legs to your heart as well as on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs. Unfortunately, the cramps may get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. When a cramp strikes, stretching the calf muscle should give you some relief. Straighten your leg and then gently flex your toes back toward your shin. Walking for a few minutes or massaging your calf sometimes helps, too.

(PS. I have the worst leg & toe cramps of my LIFE!)

Most women have gained between 17 and 24 lbs (7.7 to 10.8 kg) by this time.

Your breasts may start to leak colostrum, the sticky, watery substance which comes before milk. This will be your baby's first food before your milk comes in a day or two after delivery.

You will probably visit your caregiver every two weeks from this point on. Your caregiver may perform a glucose tolerance test this week. If your early blood work revealed that you are Rh negative, your doctor may want to do an antibody test to determine if you have made antibodies to your baby's blood type to see if there is a risk of you having an immune reaction to your baby's blood. If this situation applies to you, ask your doctor for more information.

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Tue, Jul 29, 2008 7:18 PM
Bella had a near drowning incident last night.

I am a total basket case. I haven't stopped bawling my eyes out since it happened. I am a mess. My eyes are so swollen, I almost called in sick today. Last night was the worst night of my life.

Bella's guardian angel was watching over her last night. She could have easily drown.

Last night I was babysitting my nephews until Melissa would get back around 7 pm. Slawek and I were there, all the kids were swimming w/ their life jackets on. Slawek was swimming with them and I was watching from the deck. (I am about to learn just how far the deck actually is from the pool.)

Melissa arrived shortly thereafter with dinner for the 2 of us (everyone else had been fed). After 1 hour of swimming, Bella and Carson were done. The 3 boys (Evan, Aidan and Richie) were still swimming with Slawek. So the younger 2 were playing outside of the pool.

Melissa and I were eating dinner on the deck, watching the 3 kids swim while Bella and Carson played on the deck with us. I was talking to Melissa talk and we were both eating dinner. The pool was on my left, so I wasn't facing it, but Melissa was directly facing the pool. Slawek got out of the pool and said he had to go to the bathroom. He walked away and asked that we keep an eye on the 3 kids left swimming.

Suddenly, Melissa screams, "Oh my God! Christine, Bella is on the top step IN the pool." (She has no life jacket on because she had gotten out and had been changed).

I look up. All I see is Bella's head and the rest of her body was underwater on the top step. I scream, "BELLA! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and took off running from the deck to get to the pool as quickly as I can.

I never looked up again. My mission was to get to Bella asap and if I paused to look up and take in the situation, it would have taken longer, so I was running as fast as I could without killing myself.

I hear Melissa yell, "She's going under. She's under, Christine, she's under the water!"

I almost fall down the steps off our deck to the grass. I throw myself into the pool, shoes, everything. And the vivid image I will never erase from my mind for as long as I live (in addition to never forgetting the words "She's under, she's under the water")...

.......I see Bella completely under the water with her huge blue eyes staring up in a fierce panic.

The image of my Bella like that - I am finding it hard to move past it.

I grabbed her as fast as I could, threw her up over my shoulder and proceeded to hit her on the back. She coughed water out for at least 5 minutes or so and puked all over my back. Melissa, standing on the edge behind me, was trying to console her. I actually wanted her to cough and cry. I wanted her to get the water out of her lungs that she had inhaled as much as possible. I was hysterical. I was crying hysterically right along with her.

I have been an emotional wreck ever since. I haven't stopped crying. I can't seem to shake the idea that if Melissa had not seen Bella's head for that 1 split second before she went under, that my Belle would not be here today. She could have drown right under Evan, Aidan and Richie and none of us would have noticed. OMG, OMG.

I have been on my knees last night and this morning - thanking God for sparing my beautiful daughter. Thanking God for sending a guardian angel to protect her from this near tragedy. Thanking God that Melissa noticed and screamed something so we could save her.

What would I do if something had happened to my Belle, or Evan or Aidan? I swear, I would not be able to live. I just wouldn't.

I slept all night with Bella in my arms, her head against my chest.

I am so freaked out by all this. I came into work this morning and tried to tell a friend/coworker of mine about it and just burst down in tears. My mom walked in the door this morning and asked how I was doing and I starting crying. I am just a total basket case right now.

How do I move past this?

Thank you God for sparing my beautiful Bella. And please forgive me for being so careless with the life you entrusted to me. I am so undeserving.

Comments:
Lucille: Bella's guardian angel were surely with her. I will tell you about my endeavor over last weekend. My daughter had twins on May 5, 2008. (Invitro)Girl, Cameron and boy, Sean. So as you know twins are a handful. I thought I would help her out and take Cameron and Sean back to my house for a few hours so she can get some sleep. Few days before this we had lost a very dear friend. 52 years old suddenly. so my brain was a little shot. On my way home with them I was so exhausted my eyes closed as I was 30 seconds from my house and hit a telephone pole. Air bag and all went off. Well back to the Guradian Angels, my daughter has a pin of the angels on each car seat. Low and behold the babies slept through this whole ordeal and I walked away with just bruises. We are all fine but I just keep blocking out of mind what could have been and just so grateful to God that he has spared us of a tragedy. So Christine just think that Bella is ok and try to take care of yourself. Yes there is a God!

Jodi: You do. My Sean feel in the pool last year and just sunk like a rock to the bottom of the deep end. All he was trying to do was sit on the edge like the other kids. I was inside getting dinner, but luckily his father was in the pool area and jumped in after him.

I think I was lucky in that I didn't see it happen, I only had to deal with the screams of the other party guests, but I do know the look on my husband's face.

God gives us guardian angels for a reason. Bella's is very special.

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Tue, Jul 29, 2008 10:00 AM
27 Week Cervical Scan (LAST one!)

WOO HOO! Today was my VERY last weekly cervical scan. My cervical length was a whopping 4.8 cm long - which is just absolutely EXCELLENT! My Peri doesn't do cervical scans past 27 weeks because the survival rate for a baby born at this point is the same as as full term baby - so we are DONE!

Immediately following my cervical scan, I had my Drs. appt. with Dr. Brady.

I am 27 weeks (on Thursday) which means I am in my 3rd Trimester now!!!!!!!!! My fundal height is 31 weeks]! That means I am measuring 4 weeks ahead! Seriously, here we go again with another chunky monkey. I measured 43 weeks when I delivered Bella at 37 1/2 weeks (5-6 weeks ahead in measurement). Sophie is following exactly in her sister's footsteps!

Sophie looked great. She was kicking the crap out of the sonographer and even the sonographer, Donna (Lori was on vacation) commented about how strong she was with her kicking. I have said this and I will say it before - this baby is going to give us a run for our money. She kicks much stronger and more wildly than any of my other kids ~ and I thought Evan was a wildman in utero! Sophie never stops. Her feet kick the crap out of my ribs now - she is head down. You can literally feel her feet on top of my left bottom rib! Sophie's heartrate was 151 BPM.

I was supposed to start seeing my Perinatologist weekly at this point, but he said since I am doing so good, he will have me come in every 2 weeks for the next month and just see how it goes.

Oh, and due to my 31 week fundal height, I have a level 2 scan in 2 weeks. woot!

Blood Pressure: 92/56
Weight Gain to date: 22 lbs.

PS. We will schedule my c/section at my next appt. He said the October calendar wasn't out yet, but would be by 2 weeks. He also said that we would schedule it just like we did last time, around 37 1/2 weeks with an amnio the day before. I'm going to push him to wait until 38 weeks and skip the amnio. We'll see! I am predicting he will schedule it on October 15!

Comments:
Kimber: Shoot for October 19th! ;) That's Kelsey's birthday! Hee Hee!

So glad everything is looking so good! I can't believe you are already in the 3rd trimester! Time flies!!!

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Thu, Jul 24, 2008 8:18 AM
26 Weeks!

Your baby weighs more than 2 lbs (1000g), measures 9.6 inches from crown to rump (24cm) and its total length is about 15.3 inches (34cm). If your baby were born now, she would have about an 85% chance of surviving. Nonetheless, your baby still needs another 13 weeks of in utero development to be considered full term.

Your baby's eyes, no longer fused shut, are now open.

Your baby's skin still has a very wrinkled appearance, but it is protected and nourished by the covering of vernix, a waxy coating that keeps the skin supple.

Your baby looks almost like a full term baby, but is still much thinner and smaller than she will be at birth.

Your baby is inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air.

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Tue, Jul 22, 2008 10:00 AM
Today was my 26 week cervical scan with Lori. Next week is my last cervical scan!

Everything looks great. My cervix is REALLY holding out this time. I have a good 4-5 cm of length still, which is amazing!

Sophia is head down this week. The girl can't make up her mind. She loves to face my back and right side. She is the most ACTIVE, kicking baby ever. :)

All is well.

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Thu, Jul 17, 2008 8:17 AM
25 weeks!!!

Your baby weighs just under 2 pounds (850g) and could survive if delivered now. Your baby measures approximately 9.2 inches (23cm) from crown to rump.

He is growing fast and gaining weight now. His skin is less transparent and is becoming opaque as fat builds up.

Your baby's heart is beating 120 to 160 beats per minute, as you have already heard at several doctor or midwife visits.

Until now, your baby's eyes have been sealed shut, but he reopens them this week. The eyes are almost fully formed and the retinas contain all the layers they will have when your baby is born. Your baby's eyes are blue right now, no matter the ethnic origin or eye-color of you and your partner since eyes do not acquire their final color until months after birth.

Your baby is lean right now, but is getting fatter all the time as fat is being deposited. Your baby's skin is getting thicker and paler and is becoming less red and wrinkled as more fat is deposited.

Your baby has eyebrows, eyelashes and fingernails, though all are short and need to grow more.

How your life's changing
Your baby's not the only one with more hair — your locks may look more full and lustrous than ever. It's not that you're growing more hair, but thanks to hormonal changes, the hair that you'd normally shed is sticking around longer than usual. Enjoy the fullness while you can — the extra hair will fall out after you give birth.

You may also notice that you can't move around as gracefully as before. Your increasing size may cause increasing discomfort. You might be experiencing back pain, leg cramps, headaches and pressure around your pelvic area.

When you have your glucose-screening test at 24 to 28 weeks, a second tube of blood may be taken at the same time to check for anemia. If blood tests show that you have iron-deficiency anemia (the most common type of anemia), your caregiver will probably recommend that you take an iron supplement.

You feel definite movement now as your baby does gymnastic routines in your uterus. This may even cause you some pain under your ribs and in your lower abdomen as your baby now has some force. Lying on your side may help to alleviate this kind of pain.

You may have fluid retention, particularly in the facial area.

The top of your uterus is now between your bellybutton and your ribcage.

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Tue, Jul 15, 2008 9:00 AM
25 week cervical ultrasound

Everything looks perfect! My cervix is still between 4 cm - 5 cm (excellent) in length and there is no sign of internal funneling. Yayyy! Sophie looks cute as can be.

Everything looks great. 2 more weekly cervical ultrasounds and I'm done. (My Peri doesn't do cervical scans once you reach the 3rd trimester, as survivability for the baby is the same as a full term baby by that point). Almost there!

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Tue, Jul 8, 2008 10:00 AM
24 week Peri appt & ultrasound:

I just got back from my 24 week Peri appt. And....... my cervix was 5 cm long today! WOO HOOOOOOOOO! That means no bedrest right now (this is the week I went out on bedrest with Bella!!!!!) So far, so good. (knock on wood).

I still continue weekly cervical ultrasounds until 27 weeks and I go back to see the Peri again at 26 weeks. At that point, I start weekly Peri visits and weekly Non-stress tests and bio-physical profiles.

Sophia is head down right now (has been breech up until today).

My blood pressure was a stellar 92/55.

I have gained a total of 17 lbs now. :(

Fundal height = 24 cm/24 weeks.

Onto the 3rd trimester!

(I wanted to add that I checked my journal for 24 weeks during Bella's pregnancy, and by this time I had already gained 21 lbs. and my belly/fundal height measured 26 weeks/26 centiments! So I'm doing better this time than last pregnancy! WOO HOO! My blood pressure is also better this time).

Comments:
Carrie: That's great news!!!

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Thu, Jul 3, 2008 9:10 AM
23 WEEKS!

How your baby's growing:
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about 1.2 pounds or 530g), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Your baby's face and body now look more like a full-term baby. She now looks close to how she will look at birth.

The eyes, though they are still closed, are now close together on the front of the face and the ears are in their final position. Eyelashes are fairly well-developed and hair is growing on your baby's head.

Your baby's movements are becoming more restricted now as she fills up the uterus more. Cartwheels and somersaults inside the amniotic sac are no longer possible, but she can still hold the umbilical cord and touch and feel around her. Though your baby is already living in tight quarters in the amniotic sac, she will soon have even less room to move around.

Her vital organs are now quite mature. However, since the lungs are not yet fully formed, your baby would have breathing problems if born prematurely at this stage.

Your baby is becoming increasingly conscious of the world outside and may feel startled when you are startled.

Your baby may alternate between having very active and very calm periods.

Your baby may have facial expressions such as frowning, squinting and pursing of the lips.

How your life's changing:
You may notice that your ankles and feet start to swell a bit in the coming weeks or months, especially at the end of the day or during the heat of summer. Sluggish circulation in your legs — coupled with changes in your blood chemistry that may cause some water retention — may result in swelling, also known as edema. Your body will get rid of the extra fluid after you have your baby, which is why you'll pee frequently and sweat a lot for a few days after delivery. In the meantime, lie on your left side or put your feet up when you can, stretch out your legs when you sit, and avoid sitting — or standing — in one place for long periods. Also, try to exercise regularly to increase circulation, and wear support stockings (put them on first thing in the morning) and roomy, comfortable shoes. You may be tempted to skimp on liquids to combat swelling, but you need to drink plenty of water because staying hydrated actually helps prevent fluid retention. While a certain amount of edema in your lower extremities is normal during pregnancy, excessive swelling may be a sign of a serious condition called preeclampsia. Be sure to call your midwife or doctor if you have severe or sudden swelling of your feet or ankles, more than slight swelling of your hands, swelling in your face, or puffiness around your eyes.

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Wed, Jul 2, 2008 1:00 PM
Today was my 23 week cervical ultrasound with Lori. My cervix looked different this week. Lori noticed it right away. She pulled up my last week's scan images (saved in her Ultrasound machine) and did a comparison. I am shorter this week, down from 4.4 to about 3.5 cm in length. She said 3.5 is still considered good, but obviously my cervix has changed. Hopefully it doesn't continue to shorten.

Sophie looked great. She is breech and in a jack-knifed position still. Her feet are over her head (her knees are her nose). It looks SUPER uncomfortable, but I guess it's her preferred position since she is in that position every single week.

Onto next week - the big milestone - 24 weeks (viability).

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates