28 and 29 Weeks

How Far Along: 29 weeks!

Size of Baby: Tristan is 15 inches long and weighs almost 2-1/2 pounds.

Picture of Baby:  My doctor could not get a good picture of Tristan's face at my last ultrasound, but got a great shot of his foot! (So this is what has been kicking my ribs!).

29 Weeks: Tristan's muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. During this trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in Tristan's hardening skeleton each day. (Information taken from BabyCenter's website).

Weight Gain: It showed that I gained 4 pounds at my last ultrasound (on September 14th), which means I'm gaining an average of a pound each week now. I've gained a total of 11 pounds.

Belly Pic: I feel like I owe you all a belly pic, but I just showered and didn't feel like making myself look more presentable, so you strictly get belly...and a belly that is! :)

Sleep: Surprisingly, sleep is going really well for me right now. I'm getting up 3 to 4 times each night to pee, but I'm able to fall right back asleep.

Best Moment of the Week: Watching Tristan move around on the screen at my ultrasound, feeling him kick / roll more and more, Ella kissing Tristan goodbye more often than not when dropping her off at school.

Movement: My stomach is constantly rolling. I love it!

Symptoms: Mainly heartburn. And I feel swollen, especially with this ongoing 100-degree heat.

Food Cravings: Nothing in particular. I am trying to eat more protein and less carbs (due to my high sugar levels with my 1-hour glucose test), but it's hard when carbs fall more along the lines of what I'm craving.

What I Miss: Bending down comfortably.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Tomorrow's baby shower!!!

Weekly Wisdom: Water, water, water...

Milestones: This is my last week before reaching the 30s. Then, I'm officially in the home stretch. It feels so close, but yet so far!

Emotions: I'm feeling good...really good.

Can't Stop Smiling

I got to see our baby today! My heart was beating a mile a minute as the image came up on the screen. Not knowing what to expect to see, how much bigger the baby would be, if a flickering heart would be easily visible...scaring myself with every mom-to-be's worst case scenarios...but every worst case scenario quickly dismissed when I saw our baby!

Aaron and I are thrilled beyond words' description with how well he/she is doing!

I'm 9 weeks 3 days pregnant today, and the baby measured at 9 weeks 2 days +/- 3 days, so right on track!

The heart beat came in at a strong, healthy, booming 170 bmp. Our doctor even put the speaker on really loud, so the priceless sound echoed through the entire room. Tears! Goosebumps! I tell ya, the whole works!

I think my all-time favorite, though, was seeing him/her squirm around in there. The hips were moving to and fro, the arms were flailing about. The alien-sized head was bouncing from left to right. The legs were tucked under, so we didn't see any tap dancing today. :)

And, to top it all off, our OB-GYN, Dr. Palitz, is awesome!!! Meeting a brand spankin' new OB-GYN after leaving the comfort of my infertility clinic that knows me through and through was hard, but the second I stepped in and spoke with the receptionist, I knew I was led to the right place. My doctor is amazing! He walked in with jeans and a half-marathon shirt on, completely laid back and easy-going...exactly what this high strung, overly questioning, relentless mama needs.

And, being a sole practitioner for many, many years has given him the opportunity to see and experience all things pregnancy, all things baby, and all things delivery, which is so comforting for me. And, with all that experience comes a knack for guessing a baby's sex early on. So, you can imagine when he blurted out, "I think it's a boy," we were a little taken aback.

"What??? How do you know?"

"I think I can see a little something, but it's hard to see a little something when your baby is so tiny. But, I'm gonna put in your charts boy with a question mark."

Aaron still believes the baby is a girl. Daddy always knows. After all, he was so confident Ella was going to be a girl that he went and bought a pink Baby Gap jumpsuit before finding out Ella was a girl!

Dr. Palitz said everything is just as it should be and the chance of miscarriage is very, very low now. He said he doesn't witness many miscarriages at all after seeing what he saw today. Music to my ears.

We left the office with two big bags filled with baby magazines, pregnancy journals, free samples, and a confidence in our step as we held hands, smiling from ear to ear, soaking in how truly blessed we are.

What A Great Good Friday

Our baby was supposed to double in size this past week, and today's ultrasound revealed just that! He/she grew...a lot! :)

And, to make today's ultrasound even more special, Ella came with us! She had such an observant look on her face the entire time...carefully taking everything in. Dr. Weckstein was really great with her, including her in what was displayed on the screen, asking her if she sees the flickering heart and the baby's head. It was so special sharing this experience with Ella today. I will never forget it.

And, as if seeing the baby wasn't enough while having my "big baby" sitting next to me, we got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time today! It measured at a whopping 133bpm, right on track! Hearing the "ba bum, ba bum, ba bum" was so magical! Dr. Weckstein said generally a heartbeat can't be heard until the baby is further along, but his high tech instrument and our baby made some musical magic. :)

Apparently, at last week's ultrasound, the baby only measured at 5 weeks 4 days. The doctor who performed the ultrasound told us that he/she measured at 6 weeks 0 days, but I guess that measurement was big, after looking back at all the images, and Baby Jelly Bean is a couple days "younger" than we thought.

Today's ultrasound revealed the baby measuring at 6 weeks 4 days, which means he/she grew proportionally one week in size this past week. Just what we want to see! :)

And, I guess I miscalculated my due date. I thought the baby was due December 9th, but it's really December 10th. Oops! :) At least I was only off by a day, and not by an entire month or something.

Because of what was seen and heard at today's ultrasound, we have officially graduated from our RE's office. Leaving RSC Bay Area is bittersweet. The doctors, nurses and staff were all so incredibly heartwarming and sincere in their quest of making our dreams come true, and it's sad to just up and leave. (Although, I can't say I will miss the drive!). The experience there was life-changing, life-creating and I am forever indebted to Dr. Weckstein for bringing us our bundle of joy.

Today was such a blessed Good Friday! I feel so unworthy as I witness God's goodness in my life. Blessed is an understatement when I reflect on my life. He has provided for my family with limitless means, and now with my family growing, despite feeling undeserving of such goodness, He continues to provide and demonstrate His unending love for me.

Introducing Jelly Bean Johnson

As promised, here are our baby's first pictures.

There is very little to see at 6 weeks, but what it does show is that I am pregnant and the baby and I are doing just fine. :)

The pictures consecutively zoom in, with the third picture giving the best view of the fetus. On the third picture are two small x's, where the doctor outlines the head and the rump of the baby, getting a solid measurement of his/her growth.

The baby is pressed up against the side of the gestational sac (I think that's what it's called?) and the yolk sac is attached to him/her, which provides nourishment.

I might suggest double-clicking on the pictures to get a better view, but even then, it's hard to see. (And, if you choose to double-click, you'll be able to see at the bottom left that he/she is measuring right on time. Praise, God!).

I'm excited for my ultrasound on Friday to see how much this little bean grows in one week!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!