Kicker!!

I felt Trey's first little kicks this morning!! It felt like someone was lightly flicking me in the stomach! I felt it right after I woke up this morning when I was still laying in bed!! I'm so excited to feel him move in there and knowing that he seems to be fine!! :)

I am 23 weeks along now, and next week I have my anatomy scan to make sure everything is ok in there as far as his organs and things are concerned. My checkup is next week too, and they will do my diabetes test that day too. Lets pray that turns out ok!

I'll let everyone know how those scans/tests go next week!

Month 5

So our little guy is a papaya now...well kind of. The site that I use to get the weekly updates now just jumps to tell you about what is going on from month to month now. So Trey will be a papaya until after week 25! Thats just a few more weeks though!

I still haven't noticed any movements from him, and it makes me a little nervous since I'm over 22 weeks, but the doctor told me that it was normal, so I'm fine with it. This past weekend we had a little bit of a scare. I woke up on Friday morning to some cramping that was accompanied with some pressure, and it really scared me. My sister went into preterm labor when she was 4-5 months pregnant with my niece, so I wanted to make sure that the same thing wasn't happening to me. I called my doctor and she told me to come in and they put me on a fetal monitor. I was on that for about 15 minutes and nothing happened while I was hooked up of course. The PA told me that she thinks the cramps were caused from me being dehydrated since my work didn't have any A/C for 6 days. She put me on bedrest for the rest of the day and told me that if I could stay calm and be relaxed during the UK/UL football game that I could go. I was on full bed rest for all of Friday, and then we went to the game on Saturday and I did behave myself. I sat down almost the entire time, and I never got super excited. I certainly didn't want anything else to happen. The rest of the weekend I was resting too and really focusing on drinking lots of water.

Things are fine now (no cramps since Friday) but my allergies have been out of control since Saturday too, so now I'm sick with those. I have so much sinus pressure going on, it makes it hard for me to concentrate and to work. I was able to take a sick day today and leave halfway through my work day. Hopefully after resting the rest of today and then tomorrow morning before heading to work in the afternoon, I will start feeling better. That's what I'm hoping for at least! I just don't want to have anymore scares with Trey! Brian and I were really worried there for a bit!

Here is some info I got from another site about week 22: Hair today, gone tomorrow? Your baby develops two kinds of hair in utero--the soft, downy body hair called lanugo, which generally falls off before or shortly after birth, and the hair on her head. Many parents are surprised (to say the least) to see their baby's hair at birth--blond couples often have black-haired offspring, dark ones are just as likely to deliver a little blond or redhead, and parents who have tight, wiry curls often produce babies with soft, loose ones. The bottom line seems to be that birth hair--or lack thereof--bears little resemblance to your child's "real" hair. The birth hair generally falls out by the time the baby is 6 months old, to be replaced by a more logical set of tresses.

Here's what's going on with Trey this month: Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

Another week down!

Well I'm sure that everyone saw on the blog from this week that we are having a little boy! Brian and I both are really excited about it, and we can't wait to meet our little guy!! I have been doing well this week, but I'm still fighting these allergies. My mom got to see how I get firsthand when she was here on Thursday night, and it gets to the point where I'm constantly sneezing and my eyes are watering and itching so bad, tears are just running down my face and I can hardly see what I'm looking at. So annoying!

At my doctors appointment this week, they measured me for the first time and I measured exactly what I should. They said that they want my measurements to be within 2 inches of how many weeks along I am, and I measured 20 inches at 20 weeks!! We were glad that those measurements were on track! My next appointment, they will do another ultrasound to measure Trey and check out all his organs to make sure that everything is looking they way that it should! He did have a good strong heartbeat (146 BPM) during the gender scan, so we were glad to see that!

Lots of shopping has begun, and we are just loving everything that we have seen so far! My mom has bought us several things for Trey and some more clothes for me, because, well, I only had a few things that I could still wear, so it was time for some more new stuff! Tina, Brian's mom, has been doing lots of shopping for the baby, and he is definitely going to be very well dressed! I'm still in the process of trying to decide on what crib I want, and all that good stuff, so here soon, I plan to get all of our guest room furniture moved out of our house and start working on the nursery!! Hopefully by then I will have been able to decide on a crib!!

Here's what's going on with Trey this week: Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you want your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.

Trey's new clothes

So I wanted to put pictures on here of the 2 things that Trey has to wear! The brown striped outfit is from one of my assistant managers at work, and the other outift is from Todd and Tina!! I did close ups of the boots because they are the cutest things ever!!

Aren't they adorable!?

Trey is on the way!!!!

So after our big appointment this morning, Brian and I are officially having a little boy!! Todd Brian Howard III "Trey"!!!! Yes, that's right, a little Brian loose in the world starting in January!!!! We are both really excited about it. I will post a new belly pic up sometime this week, and as soon as I can get the ultrasound pics scanned onto the computer, then I will post those! We have the normal ultrasound pictures and some really awesome 4D pictures too!

Todd and Tina bought Trey his first outfit today and its adorable!!! I will be taking pictures of it when I get some new batteries for the camera (tomorrow!) and post them too! It's a pair of jeans, a thermal onesie, socks, and the cutest boots I have ever seen. They look like Timberland boots, but teeny tiny size!! Precious!!!

Halfway there!!

So we have finally hit the midway point!! I feel like it has taken a long time to get here, but I feel that after Wednesday, it will start to pass by a lot quicker! I have still been feeling fine as far as the pregnancy goes, but my allergies are just killing me. Every night when I go to sleep I pray that I will wake up with either no allergies or a really hard frost, but every morning I wake up, I feel the same....terrible!!! I maybe get about 1-2 hours of good health during any given day, and it is just really trying on me to feel horrible all day long every day. There's nothing like not being able to breathe through your nose....ever! So annoying!!

So Wednesday is the big appointment! I really hope our little one cooperates and will allow us to be able to find out the gender! I just can't wait to know what we are having!!! I took the following day off work so that I can go shopping, and my mom is going to come in town for it too, so that will be a lot of fun!!! Brian and I are really excited and anxious to find out what we are having!!! Don't worry, we will post what we are having on here as soon as I can! It might be that night though depending on how long my appointment runs because I have to work the 1-close shift on Wednesday at work, so if I can't post it before I go to work, then I will CERTAINLY post it that night when I get home from work!!

Here's what's going on with our little one this week: Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!