24 weeks

It was an interesting week. Started with my appointment on Monday with the doc after being on BP meds for 2 days and having a low sodium intake. BP was much better - 130/48. It is still high, but I thought that much lower after 2 days was much better. I also lost 2 lbs! With as much as I am going to the bathroom, I really didn't think I was retaining that much water. They said I didn't have to come back for 4 weeks, so that was also a good thing. Not helping with the low sodium intake - I have been craving potato chips and KFC. I have not given in. Popcorn chicken sounds really good though.

Still keeping myself pretty busy. This weekend I am volunteering at the Parkinson Walk. Something I have done for almost 5 years now. I just help write out the forms for the groups getting their photo taken. Nothing strenous. Then I will meet up with Jodi and possibly Erin for the next Munchkin Market sale at Washington County Fairgrounds. In the evening, Jon and I were invited over to Olaf's for game night. Nice to get together with friends, and after a busy day, glad I'm not hosting it.

Jolynn's progress:

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long, she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

23 weeks

It was an interesting week. I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday. It didn't turn out the greatest. Good news is I still haven't gained any weight. I wonder where it is all going. The books say I should have gained about 10-15 lbs by now. If I am losing the weight, I wish it were this easy before I got pregnant.
The bad news is my blood pressure was extremely high. It has been high before, but they would take it again and it would go down; or it was around normal. Apparently even a few points above 120/80 is still hypertension. Wednesdays visit was 158/90. She asked if I wanted to try and control this with a diet or medication. I wanted to try the diet first. I looked back at what I had been eating the last few days before the appointment and it wasn't great. So I thought if I watched what I ate maybe it would go down.
Fridays appointment wasn't much better. BP was 148/92. So she put me on Labetalol. For now it is a low dosage of 100 mg 1 tablet twice a day. I know they wouldn't put me on anything that would hurt Jolynn, so I'm not worried about that. What I am worried about is the increased BP that could hurt Jolynn or require me to go on bedrest early. I'm not prepared for that. I have another appointment on Monday. Hopefully this medicine will make a difference. I can tell you that worrying about your BP is not conducive to lowering it.
Another good for the week-Jolynn moves quite a bit. Can't wait for Jon to feel it on the outside.

Jolynn's progress:
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, 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.

22 weeks

Really the only change this week has been movement. I feel Jolynn much more now. Other than that things have been uneventful pregnancy wise. Since finding out the sex I have accumulated many girlie outfits. I have found that I have a weakness for dresses with matching bloomers. Margaret took me to a fundraiser/sale at Cottage Grove MS yesterday. You could buy an IKEA bag for $1 at the door. I think we could have filled 3. There were sooo many clothes. Everything was priced from .50-6.00. I think the most we spent on anything was $3. I couldn't believe the deals we found on items that in the store brand new would be $30. Brand name clothing, some stuff still had tags on it! We only went through the 0-12 months. There were other rooms with toys and books, but we didn't even get there. Once the IKEA bag was full we had stuff in our arms. I had to say enough was enough. I had to meet some friends at the MN Zoo to see the Farm Babies exibit. Otherwise, we probably would have stayed longer. There were some ladies that told us of some other big sales like this one. A friend also told me about a website Munchkin Markets. If you sign up, they will send you emails with upcoming events.


Also last weekend Margaret, Mike and I went to the Baby Expo. Some vendors decided to leave way before the end of the show which was disappointing. Good for the other vendors because we still ended up buying stuff and taking pamphlets of their advertising materials. They had pony rides, jumpers, and much more. To the right is a display of a baby at 20 weeks. There is a tube of chapstick next to it for size comparison.

My weekends have been very busy. I am trying. I'm getting close to the third trimester. I'm not very good at waiting for things, so if I keep myself busy I'm hoping I won't think about it.

Jolynn's progress:
At 11 inches and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

21 weeks

Busy week. I've been trying though. I figure the more I keep myself occupied, the less I will think about time. This week was the big ultrasound. Once the lady told us what position she was in, I have been feeling her movements more. It makes sense that I feel the kicking so low and the tickling more around my belly button-she is currently breach. We found out it is a girl and she is already pretty stubborn. It took a lot of prodding to get her legs uncrossed. (Note to you boys out there). I thought it funny that another book I have on your week by week progress mentioned the baby this week was the same size as a baby cub when it is born.

Also new this week - Jodi took me shopping at JoAnn's for room decor. We started the theme of the room to be Velveteen Rabbit. That stuff is really hard to find, so we leaned toward bunnies. There is a lot of Easter stuff on sale (40-70% off) right now. The theme has now moved toward a garden theme - still bunnies, but also includes flowers. So we snatched up as much as we could and also used her teacher discount. I haven't finished putting everything up yet, but as soon as I do pictures will be posted.

Jolynn's progress this week:
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

Specialist and Ultrasound

Jon and I met with a genetic counselor today. She basically did a family tree of Jon and I to see where the heart problem may have come from. I had nothing on my side, so the chances of both of us having a gene for this are unlikely. Jon's grandma died of a heart attack and she said it may or may not have been Wolff-Parkinson-White disease. Back then they may not have diagnosed it as such. Then again, Jon could be the first in the line to carry the gene. Only 1% of the population has this disease - way to go Jon! So our baby will have a 50/50 chance of having it too. There was nothing they could do before birth except watch the heart rate at each visit. She said the Pediatrician would be the one that needs to watch it more carefully.
On to the good stuff - the ULTRASOUND!!

Ultrasounds take a lot longer than I thought. They have to measure EVERYTHING. The head, the eye sockets, the skin at the back of the neck, the abdomen, the kidneys, stomach, heart and all its ventricles. There were so many pictures taken. I told her we brought a disk to put the images on, she said they provide one now. There were photos of full face, tongue sticking out, full body, hands, arms, legs crossed, and feet. I was disappointed when we got home and opened the disc to find only two photos on it. She printed 4, one of which is on the disc. I'm hoping if I call they may still have the images and I can go back and get them.

Profile

Hi Mom and Dad!
Anyone want to arm wrestle?
Little baby toes.
The money shot - welcome baby girl!
Chishi no longer. Now Jolynn Rochelle Moritz

20 weeks

WOO HOO!! I really can't believe I'm at the end of 20 weeks. Time is going by so fast. I feel like things are starting to move along now getting organized. My checkoff list is right on track. New Parenting classes-check. Daycare-check. Registered-check. Breast-pump-check. It was my birthday last weekend, I asked for money so I could get the egress window installed downstairs. Now that that is in I can start working on the craft room. Most of the craft supplies are in the guest room, under the steps, and in the garage. It will be nice when they are all in one spot. Then I can get the guest room in order for the moms to stay in if they wish to once the baby is born (hint, hint).

This whole pregnancy I have been thinking I'm having a boy. It doesn't really matter what we have, but lately I've been wondering if it is a girl because so many people (including Jon) would like to have a girl. Next Wednesday is the ultrasound and we will hopefully find out what sex Chishi is.

I'll have to look back at my friends' blogs about their pregnancy at this time and see if I am having the same "symptoms" as they did. Lately it has been so hard for me to find a comfortable position when going to bed. Also, I don't know if it is just really dry or if my blood pressure is up, but I've been getting bloody noses when I blow my nose. Not randomly, only when I blow. This morning I thought my nose was plugged up, I blew my nose and a big snot clot came out. Gross, I know, sorry...TMI.

No new cravings - I actually haven't been eating a whole lot. A little cereal, popcorn, peanut butter sandwiches. We had Chimichangas from Aldi yesterday and I could only eat half of one! I didn't eat for the rest of the night, didn't eat breakfast this morning until almost 10. Just not hungry. Milk and water seem to be the staples at the moment.

Chishi update:
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).