Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween

I've decided to revive an old costume. This year, I am pregnant WonderWoman. I tried on the costume last night to be sure that Baby Garrett could fit, and we have a winner. If only I could get Andrew to dress up as Batman....


Here is a picture of some of our friends' children. Samantha was Eeyore, Eleanora was Batgirl, Andrew was the Blue PowerRanger, Finn was a politician (complete with $100 bills with his face on it), and Lilly was a flower. (It was difficult getting everyone to look in my direction given I was not a parent of any of them.)

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Almost 18 Weeks

New this week is that I think I'm beginning to feel movement. As I was relishing one of my last Saturday morning sleep-ins, I noticed a feeling in my abdomen like my heart was beating two or three times really fast and then stopped. It was kind of a like butterflies were stuck in my uterus and flapping their wings. I noticed it a few more times this morning too. Other than that, there hasn't been a big difference from last week. I'm still feeling pretty good for the most part with maybe an hour a day where I feel a little sick to my stomach. We've been running through some more names, but don't have a name pegged just yet. Thanks to all of those with suggestions. Keep them coming.

Today's weight = 126 lbs.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) Test

Last week I had blood drawn for an AFP test that gives us an idea as to whether the baby might be at risk for spina bifida or Down syndrome. At first I didn't think I would do it, but the doctor said it might give us something to look for during the ultrasound if the test gave ambiguous results. I guess it doesn't matter though because the nurse just called and said my blood work looks great and the baby doesn't appear to be at risk for either one. Yay!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Almost 17 Weeks

Not much new this past week. At the beginning, I wasn't sleeping well because I was constantly concerned about doing something wrong for myself or the baby. Several books say that once you get in your 4th month you shouldn't sleep on your back because the extra weight puts too much pressure on your spinal cord. They also say that you should try to avoid sleeping on your right side because it doesn't allow as much blood flow to the placenta. I normally will start off on my left side, but I love to change positions when I wake up in the middle of the night, so that I can fall back asleep. Staying on my left side has left me very sore and tired in the morning. After talking to several other mothers and mothers-to-be (one a biologist), I've decided to try my best and sleep on the left side, but allow myself a little time on the right side, so that I can get a full night's sleep.

Yesterday, Andrew and I spent about an hour at Barnes and Noble looking at baby name books. We both took a book to the lounge chairs and made a list of names we liked without sharing them with each other. We didn't include family names, just names we've heard and liked. After we got home, we shared our lists with each other. Of our lists, we had one girl's name and one boy's name in common. For a boy we both liked Owen and for a girl we both liked Leah. That doesn't mean those are the winners, just in the running. We're still looking for suggestions.

Today's weight = 124.5 lbs.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Baby Names

Andrew and I are thinking of names and would welcome any suggestions that you might have. Please feel free to include some in a comment to this post. Thanks!