23 weeks

It's been a long week again due to the work pressures but lots of "to do's" have been crossed off my list.

Had echo heart scan for Baby Olive that went extremely well. She pretty much behaved herself and allowed us to see her sweet heart. She was flippy but overall she did a great job.  Cervix looked long and my OB joked he was tired of checking it. We talked about fetal movement and my fears of stillbirth. Normally, kick counts start at 28 weeks but he said I can start tracking them now. I downloaded a great app to track them. Each morning and evening, I relax in bed and track how long it takes her to get to 10 kicks. Not long. I think her longest time was 7 mins which is still amazing.
Does help to keep me centered as I do get distracted at work and don't notice her soft movements as much.

What I do notice is the pressure and pain that is pushing on my ribs. It's pretty uncomfortable by late in the day. The space right where my two ribs meet in the middle is sore and its getting difficult to sleep. I have my moments of intense pain. This too shall pass and suck it up has been my mantra this week. Eating lots of small meals and not past 8 pm. I am more comfortable laying down but obviously that doesn't bode well for work!! Neither does going bra-less :)

I was able to refinance my condo after a long frustrating closing. This will help me reduce my mortgage and rent out my condo and find a 2 bedroom townhouse for me and baby. Onto the next items. Originally I wanted to be out of here my March 1st but I think this might not be so realistic. Working with a realtor to find a place and will list my place on Craig's List and around a local hospital for a potential resident.

Talking lots to Baby Olive and she still loves her Bob Marley. So, can't wait to meet her and getting excited to see her sweet face. What will she look like? What will her personality be like? Will she sleep well? Will she breastfeed well? All these questions whizzing by as I try to focus on work.

I also completed my registry last weekend but haven't shared with others. 3rd trimester my next milestone.

I can do this. Think that might be mantra for week 24.

On to my weekend to do list!!

22 weeks

I am finding it harder to post quickly but I really want to stay on track with documenting this process. I believe at some point I will print this blog and make it into a book for my baby to know the journey (when she is much older!)

So, this week we hit 22 weeks!! It's been a busy work week and with my refinancing coming to a close its been a bit chaotic. Perhaps this is preparing me for life as a single mom?

Starting to feel "uncomfortable" but its situational and usually at night. It was hard to sleep several hours in a row. Either Baby Olive is pushing on my bladder or I drank too much close to bed. I have still been dealing with heartburn but realized the hard way I can't eat after 8 pm. When I finish eating prior to 8, I sleep much better. I know this will only get worse as I continue to grow but I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

My fabulous sister gave me my nephews old iPod with all his old lullabies and kids music on it with a mini speaker. We were listening to Lullaby renditions of Bob Marley. She LOVED it especially Jammin and was kicking up a storm. Not such a U2 fan at the moment.

Looking forward to week 23 and seeing baby again on Tuesday for her heart echo and regular u/s scan.

21 weeks

Baby Olive is getting older and closer to 6 months. May seems so far away although looking back 5 months did go pretty quickly. We had another weekly scan and all looks great. She was in her favorite position of head down and her back was facing us. Nice job sweetheart. My cervix was long and closed and baby's heartbeat was at 140

Dr A was happy with where we were at and said it was time to go back to 2 week visits. He knew not to go to monthly...I was okay with 2 weeks. My next visit we will have an echo of her heart. Lets hope she is in the right position unlike normal. She was moving and flipping although I couldn't feel her but watching her in the screen works for me.

At night when I lay down, I can feel her more or if i am laying still. She poked me at work today and it shocked me I jumped!! Oh I love you Baby Olive.

I also decided to do the blood test materni21. It's a relatively new blood test in the past few years and tests for Down syndrome, Trisomy 13/18. It takes about 2 weeks and the results are either positive or negative. I have been working with the genetic counselor at Mercy and decided that this was the best choice for me instead of an amino. I should have the results back by my next OB appt but genetics said she would call me whenever they came back. This is time to have positive thoughts that Baby Olive is healthy. Working on those daily affirmations.

The rest is status quo and I am just doing my week to week mantra.

Off to sing to Baby Olive and get some sleep before its time to get up and pee!!