19, almost 20 Weeks!

Jack can now hear his family's voice, feel his umbilical chord, and even taste amniotic fluid! His body, including his limbs and all, are in the right proportions now, and he is growing hair on his head! I wonder if he will have crazy hair like his big brother, so cute! Jack weighs 8oz and is 6 inches long head to bottom, 10 inches from head to heal!

How far along? 19 and a half weeks!

Total Weight Gain: Will know at next doctor's appointment.

Symptoms: Fatigue is starting to come back! It's especially bad mid-day and in the evening after dinner. Yikes.

Stretch Marks: None yet.

Sleep: Great! Harrison is sleeping very well and so am I.

Highlight This Week: Dixie's 8th birthday party, Harrison eating from a spoon all by himself, and daddy's first baseball game!

Movement: Yep! I feel Jack a little more every day. His kicks are still so soft but they are getting stronger. When I do feel him kick or poke around, I am lying on my side or rocking Harrison to sleep. When I am rocking Harrison to sleep and I feel my other son kick from within, it is the most WONDERFUL and peaceful feeling in the world. I hope I remember it forever!

Cravings: Food in general. Ice cream, too. My hubby and I have made quite a few trips to Dairy Queen the past couple of months.  :D

What I Miss: ALL of my clothes. Waa! All of my regular pants are too tight or are about to become too tight, even with one of those button extenders (aka, hair tie looped through my buttonhole) and I'm not quite big enough for my maternity pants. I have only a few pairs of maternity pants that I even like so hopefully this week I can go out and find some cute ones! 

What am I looking forward to: Harry's 1st birthday! I am SOOOO excited!! We are having a book party this year where everyone brings their favorite book and message inside! We are having it at Peter Piper Pizza and we are so blessed that so many friends and family will be coming. My sweet little, born-yesterday-son is not ONLY turning one, not ONLY is he going to have an awesome collection of treasured books, but he will be tasting chocolate cake and MILK for the very first time!!!! I have been soooo tempted to let him have some milk early but I have resisted because I just think it will be so neat for him to have it on his 1st birthday. Not only will he love it, he will be enjoying it with chocolate cake! Talk about delicious :) I will be making cupcakes for the adults and kids, and a personal cake for Harrison to dig into with his bare hands. I better bring a towel or some sort of floor mat so we don't leave a giant chocolate slick behind

Milestones: Teaching Harrison to use spoon successfully! It has been quite the messy ride. When I first gave Harrison the spoon a while back, I already had it loaded up for him and he was learning to coordinate the spoon-to-mouth maneuver. Eventually, after a few days, he figured it out but boy was that messy! Eventually, after getting better and better about putting the food in his mouth and not on his cheek or his nose or turning the spoon upside down on the way to his mouth, we gave him the spoon and a bowl full of food and let him do the rest. It really did not take long, I'd say a day and a half, and he already had it down pat! His first time successfully eating with a spoon was last night with a bowl of applesauce. He had so much fun and loved the applesauce so much he had thirds! Harry also is learning to drink from a regular cup! He can do it all by himself but he still occasionally drowns himself in the end and launches his water-filled (whew) cup across the room! He is doing so good though. Here are a few pics of this amazing little boy eating and drinking like a gentleman.

Scooping up the applesauce...

eating the applesauce....

all gone! 

Harry was too excited to use his real cup to wait until we got home to start practicing!

How is Daddy? He is JUST awesome. He just tried out for an adult baseball team and although the tryouts were for the summer league, they wanted him immediately for the spring league! He was so proud and so were we. His parents, my parents, his two little sisters, my cousin and her daughter, and Harrison and I (and little Jack) all attended his very first game and it was so much fun. Harry even made a 1-year old friend!

How is Harry? Fantastic and just SO smart, hee hee. He is walking better and better each day and learning more and more big boy things like eating from a spoon and drinking from a regular cup. He blows our minds!

18 Weeks and CPC

18 Weeks Down!

Jack is beginning to form myelin around his little nerves, and his ears have migrated to their final position on his little head! Jack weighs 8oz and is 6 inches long!

How far along? 18 weeks down, on to the 19th!

Total Weight Gain: Finally, I had my doctor's appointment today! I have officially gained 10 pounds so far during this pregnancy. (Was 137, now 147). 

Symptoms: No symptoms other than slight cramping.

Stretch Marks: None

Sleep: So-so. Harry is sprouting about four teeth at once right now on top and bottom and is having a hard time sleeping. This makes our sleep interrupted but it is still good sleep. Not complaining considering I am not the one cutting a handful of teeth!

Highlight This Week: Jack's anatomy scan! Daddy and Harry were there, too. It was great to see Jack!

We were given great news and a bit of scary news. Great news is that Jack is structurally "perfect" from his brain to his toes, and he is growing right on target so far. The scary news was that the sonographer found a choroid plexus cyst (CPC) in his brain. It went a little something like this...

Doctor: "Anymore questions for me?"

Us: "No, I think we are good."

Doctor: "Okay, then there is one more thing to address. We did find an abnormality in the scan..."

Us: petrified and silent

Doctor: "Now, this is something very minor and does not affect the health or overall well being of your baby, and my colleague and I even disagree if something like this should even be brought up to the parents..."

Us: Still petrified. Still silent. Feeling a little bit more calm after that statement but still FREAKING OUT. Heart POUNDING. Just get to it already, doc!

Doctor: "Jack has a little cyst in his brain called a choroid plexus cyst, or CPC. Now, it really is no cause for concern because Jack is structurally "perfect", even his brain."

Us: Still silent. Feeling more freaked out now that the words "cyst" and "brain" were just spoken by our baby's doctor.

The doctor continued on, explaining CPC. Instead of trying to reiterate a mouthful of medical terms, here is the definition straight from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choroid_plexus_cyst)

"Choroid plexus cysts (CPCs) are cysts that occur within choroid plexus of the brain. The brain contains pockets or spaces called ventricles with a spongy layer of cells and blood vessels called the choroid plexus. This is in the middle of the fetal brain. The choroid plexus has the important function of producing a fluid called cerebrospinal fluid. The fluid produced by the cells of the choroid plexus fills the ventricles and then flows around the brain and the spinal cord to provide a cushion of fluid around these structures.

CPCs can form within this structure and come from fluid trapped within this spongy layer of cells, much like a soap bubble or a blister. CPCs are often called "soft signs" or fetal ultrasound "markers" because some studies have found a weak association between CPCs and fetal chromosome abnormalities.

It is believed that many adults have one or more tiny CPCs.^[1] CPCs have no impact on an individual's health or development or learning. The fetal brain may create these cysts as a normal part of development. They are temporary and usually are gone by the 32nd week of pregnancy."

From Contemporary OB/GYN (http://contemporaryobgyn.modernmedicine.com/Isolated-fetal-choroid-plexus-cysts)

"Choroid plexus cysts are present in 30% to 50% of fetuses with trisomy 18. Trisomy 18 is characterized by major structural abnormalities and abnormal sonographic findings.³ When a fetus is affected by trisomy 18, multiple structural anomalies are almost always evident, including structural heart defects, clenched hands, talipes deformity of the feet, growth restriction, and polyhydramnios."

"In the absence of associated sonographic abnormalities, the likelihood of trisomy 18 is extremely low in otherwise low-risk pregnancies. Studies from the 1990s reported that the risk of trisomy 18 with isolated choroid plexus cysts was approximately 1 in 200 to 1 in 400."

So, there you have it. It really is nothing to worry about. The doctor said that because CPC WAS detected, he feels it is his duty to bring it up to us instead of letting it go unmentioned like many doctors today. Today, most sonographers and hospitals don't even mention when a CPC is found with no other markers present. He then went on to offer us a referral to a high risk OB, if we were uncomfortable or wanted reassurance, but he said the sonographer checked all other structural features of Jack, including his hands, feet, nose bone, brain ventricles, heart, bowels, arm and leg bones, arteries, and back of neck, and found no other markers. This is why he recommended we just wait to see if the cyst dissolves at our 28 week scan instead of seeing a high risk OB. After talking with him we decided it really was not a cause for concern, and will just wait to see his brain again at our 28 week scan!

Here are a few photos of our sweet baby Jack!

In other GREAT news, Harrison started walking! Hurray! It was so incredibly exciting and I was able to capture some of his very first footsteps on video so I am SO thrilled. He practices more and more each day and soon we are going to forget how hard it was for him. :)

Here is the video that we will cherish forever!

Movement: Yes! I still feel him every now and then when I'm rocking Harry to sleep but I don't notice any movement any other time. I'm kind of bummed considering my doctor said that because of the position of Jack's placenta I should feel him much earlier than Harry but so far it's about the same as Harry. But as long as I feel something here and there I'm not complaining!

Cravings: No cravings but still not digging broccoli. 

What I Miss: My calves! They are already starting to get bigger which is insane considering I'm not even half way there yet! I will have to do some research on how to keep swelling down. I walk over a mile every day with Harrison but I guess that is not enough!

What am I looking forward to: I was really looking forward to my appointment today, that was the biggest thing. Woo! I am also looking forward to raising our cabinets and adding shelves so I can start painting them! Well, I will paint the doors outside away from fumes and hubby will stay inside and paint the frames and the shelves. I decided on pure white for the wall cabinets and shelves. Hope it looks good!

Milestones: Keeping up with exercising! I am not one to exercise, but I should. The only time I exercise is when I am pregnant because of all of the health benefits for baby and me, and even then it's not every day. THIS time, however, I am walking over a mile, sometimes two, every day in the morning with Harrison. I'm determined to keep up with it and hopefully make it habitual and something that is just necessary, like eating, and not a chore. Walking in the morning with my sweet baby Harry kind of feels like cheating, though, because it is so enjoyable and relaxing. Love it!

How is Daddy? He is great. He has helped out so much (his family too!) with my cousin it's really awesome. He just same old easy going, fun-loving Marcus!

How is Harry? Adorable, a riot, and the light of my life (next to daddy). Harrison recently learned how to blow raspberries on my tummy and shrieks with excitement! Although I end up covered in drool it is too darn cute. I wonder what Jack is thinking? He can hear now, and I just wonder what he thinks of his brothers raspberries and high-pitched squeals. I can't wait for them to meet!!

17 Weeks!

Jack is developing finger pads and fingerprints! Next up, endochondral ossification! (bone replacing cartilage!)

How far along? 17 weeks

Total Weight Gain: Still don't know because we don't own a scale. I will know in a week at my doctor's appointment!

Symptoms: Still more cramping but it's very sporadic, infrequent, and painless. I still have not experienced the labor-calliber cramps I experienced with Harrison and I am SO thankful! I think I experienced those very early on with Harry but I will have to go back and check Harry's blog.

Stretch Marks: Still none but my skin still has a long way to go!

Sleep: Still great although sleeping on my belly is no longer an option!

Highlight This Week: Our kitchen ceiling is finally finished!! After vaulting our ceiling, my husband has had to fill, tape, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand, fill sand.......ugh! It was never ending. This weekend I stayed at my parents while my dad stayed at our house to help Marcus and they not only finished and textured our ceiling but they finished and textured the kitchen wall! They also took down our cabinets! This means next weekend we can raise them and add shelving underneath the cabinets. SO excited!!!!! I have dreamed all my adult life of coffee cups hanging from hooks in open shelving in my kitchen and it's getting closer and closer to becoming a reality! So excited! Now we can look forward to rehanging the cabinets, adding shelves and priming and painting the ceiling and walls. Woo!

Movement: Yes! I usually feel him when I'm rocking and singing Harry to sleep because it's so quiet and so calm, any little movement is very noticeable. I don't know if he likes my singing or if he's trying to kick Harry! Hee hee. Anyway, the movement is little and it's still so soft and gentle, like quick fluttering, but he's there. I can feel him. I can't wait until it's a daily, unmistakable thing!

Cravings: No cravings but still having a hard time with broccoli. We had some last night with our pasta and....still ate it. Still hate it. :( I also am having a hard time with meat which, right along with broccoli, is probably one of the best things to eat while your pregnant but I am having to force it down my own throat. I am loving dairy, espcially Kefir, and even the sourness of the plain variation! So thick and creamy mmmmmmmmm! I could drink it all day long if it wasn't 140 calories a glass.

What I Miss: Sleeping on my back. I read last week that I should now begin sleeping on my side and not my belly or back so as to not squish baby or put pressure on my heart. I still sleep great but I love love love sleeping flat on my back and I can't anymore! But that just means baby is growing and we are closer to seeing his tiny little face. 

What am I looking forward to: Adding shelving to our kitchen and moving my cousin Brittany into her new place! I am also REALLY looking forward to going to IKEA with my mom and cousin to get stuff for her new place. My husband and I are HUGE IKEA fans, we could just spend all day there like Disney Land.

Milestones: I have been tutoring my sweet little sister-in-law and just recently we began working on counting coins. Today she officially can say she can count coins! It was so wonderful. I kept piling coins in front of her and she kept counting them perfectly. We were so happy and excited we laughed and giggled the whole time. It was really awesome. I miss teaching more and more every time I tutor her. Ah, the joy of teaching. :D

How is Daddy? Feeling better about the kitchen now that the major construction is over. Also, as usual, he is loving my belly. He sure knows how to make a pregnant girl feel sexy ;)

How is Harry? Great as usual, and I think he knows Jack is in my belly! Recently at night he comes up to me and lays his head on my belly and looks at me with his sweet, inquisitive little face and just waits. Waits for what I don't know but it really seems like he knows something is up! Well he has definitely noticed my belly. I know this because he likes to pat my belly or rub it when I'm laying down like 'hey, what's this?' Ha. Anyway, here is a pick of sweet Harry and Jack.