Watching the garden grow

I often forget to post these little pictures, so if you hang on the edge of your seat waiting to see how this baby's size compares to your favorite fruit or vegetable...I appologize.

 

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

So all of the literature states that it is possible to hear the baby's heartbeat with an at home doppler at the earliest 10 weeks, but at 12-13 on the average.  I completely gave up at 13 weeks.  I figured that my extra abdominal fluff would inhibit me from hearing it.  After all I spent like forty bucks on the thing off of ebay, I shouldn't have expected miracles.  I totally bagged it when a good friend of mine who is two weeks behind me, and much thinner than myself was also unable to find her own baby's heartbeat. I figured that I would just reside to hearing it at doctor's appointments and Derek would have to wait until ultrasounds.

I was piddling around on one of my pregnancy sites that has message boards and another June mama posted that she found hers this evening for the first time at 17 weeks.  I was reinspired.  I dug out the box and the gel, Derek gave some inspirational words to our baby, and I tried.  And tried.  And tried.  I turned left, I turned right, I scrunched my belly, and I puffed it out as far as I could.  Nothing.  As since the beginning, I was able to find my own heartbeat without a problem, in several places infact.  Then I had a GENIUS idea.  I always feel lots of pressure when I lay on my stomach, so I thought, why not...I haven't heard it in the seven weeks that I've been trying, what's one more position?

Within five minutes, I FOUND IT!!!!!  I yelled for Derek to come quick, and since my doppler has two earphone jacks, Derek was able to hear it too!  A wonderful, steady, 160 beats per minute. It was so amazing and a true blessing!  We are so thankful for this baby.

2010 is going to bring great things!!!

Most importantly our precious baby bean!  First though in order to get through 2009, you gotta get through the holiday season....which thankfully has been very easy so far.  Of course like every other Christmas season the hustle and bustle is like every other year, this year though one great thing was different, well two.  First is the pregnant part and the second part was about 6 inches of beautiful fluffy white snow!!!  We never get snow, especially nothing of any accumulation so to get 6 inches was really impressive.  As much as I loved it, I was sort of glad to see it go.  See here in Virginia we just don't function in snow like other states that are used to it.

Somehow we survived :). 

I did enjoy being with family this Christmas, but more enjoyed that we just kept everything really low key.  I was sorry that we were not able to travel to see all of our family, but we felt that staying close to home and having a relaxing holiday was the best option for this year.  Especially since this is probably our last low key holiday now that the baby will be here for next Christmas.  Don't worry though, because even though the bump was not surrounded by tons of people, the baby still felt VERY loved.  I guess this is the beginning of when the holidays are no longer about a bunch of adults getting together.  The baby is the star now! 

The baby sure did make out too in the gift department.  The Cannon grandparents sent a pack and play, books, toys, onesies, and a blanket lovey.  Papa B gave us and the baby some moohlah so that we can buy this little bundle a nice crib and Derek bought his baby a play mat (ironically the one that I had been looking at online and he didn't even know!), a baby monitor, some bibs, and a toy.  This baby is so loved already.  And our whole family is very blessed.

I've always been told I was sweet.....

Now apparently that means both in personality and literally.  So my saga continues....I was diagnosed this morning with Type II Diabetes.  So what that means in terms of the baby is that as long as we get it under control, the baby should manage just fine.  The problem with Diabetes and pregnancy is the fact that my blood sugars cross the placenta, so the baby's pancreas thinks that the baby has high blood sugar and starts producing more insulin.  This is problematic because insulin in a baby can actually increase growth.  This is why you hear of women with Type II and Gestational Diabetes having larger babies.  After birth however the baby's blood sugar can actually drop and cause some issues.  So I think we should probably avoid all of that! 

I am all set up with a meter, which I will use to jab my finger 4 times a day (for now) and will probably end up on insulin before New Years.  Hopefully though once my blood sugars get to some sort of stable place, then alot of the other issues I have going on will rectify themselves.  My protein issues with my kidneys may be causing my high blood pressure and my diabetes may actually be perpetuating the protein issues.  Hopefully when I get the Diabetes under control, everything else will just fall into place.

My main goal is to make sure this baby bean, whom I love so much, has every opportunity to grow and thrive in a healthy environment, which is me.  For now that means dropping out a huge percentage of carbs out of my diet.  Sad I know, but you do whatever you need to for your children right?  In the meantime please keep me and the bean in your thoughts and prayers, we are going to be going through a lot of changes!

And since I will be eating lots more vegetables from the garden.....here's a peak at my other garden for the last few weeks!

Stubborn Bean...

We had another photo session with Baby Bean today.  This one was much more detailed to make sure that the baby's anatomy was correct, you know, two hands, two feet, heart and stomach on the correct side of the body and a few things that look at risk for Down Syndrome.  So all checked out, two hands, two feet etc, except for when it came to looking at the things needed to figure out the risk for Down Syndrome.  Now don't worry, in the end our risk for Down Syndrome came out to be 1 in > 10,000 but getting there was the chore.

The ultrasound tech needed the baby to be on its back in order to get a good profile shot to measure the neck folds and look for a nasal bone.  Well for a good twenty to thirty minutes or so this baby WOULD NOT turn from being on its side.  No matter what we tried:  nudging with the u/s wand (on top of my very full bladder I might add), putting me upside down, turning on my side and coughing several times, baby Cannon wouldnt move.  Eventually the tech threatened to go get the doctor and left.  We suppose that this stubborn child thought we had given up because when she came back, she tried one more time and the baby had gotten into the right position...for about 30 seconds, then turned back on its side.  It was just long enough to get two neck measurements and see the nasal bone.  Stubborn bean.

So all news was good, there was still some blood behind the placenta which the doc just wants to keep monitoring throughout the pregnancy.  Because it is close to the edge of the placenta, it does put me at greater risk for abruption (separation of the placenta from the uterine wall)  but for now its a watch and wait game. 

Pop goes the weasel....

Well not the weasel, but perhaps my belly!  I have noticed in the last few days my belly has started to poke out a bit :)  It's funny because, clearly I do not have a small belly by any means so I was wondering what this sucker would do when I started showing a bit.  Just getting a little rounder and fuller, mostly at the top.  A few people at work have noticed this week too!  It's definately tougher to find existing shirts in the wardrobe that look ok.  I've always been a little weird about the belly especially since it's not, well, smooth.  I have lots of hills and valleys!!  So since I do not have the beautiful round bump, I am settling for the expansion of my hills and valleys, but I'm not liking the wardrobe right now for sure :( 

Ahhh the joys of being pregnant!

At the end of one chapter, begins another

Time sure flies when you are having fun.  Atleast that's how the saying goes :)  We've got two weeks left in the first trimester, it's amazing to think that just 8 weeks ago we were getting our very first pink line!  All in all I have to say that this part of my pregnancy was nothing what I thought it would be.  Sure I had all the typical worries of those in their first trimester, but not much of the typical symptoms.  I had three days of queeziness when we first found out we were pregnant, and that's it!  No nausea, no running for the toilet, and no stuffing my face with food just to make it go away.  I was no stranger however, to the fatigue.  To my surprise however, I found out the the fatigue is actually related to the growth and development of the placenta not the actual baby.  Maybe since its so full of stuff that's why some cultures eat their children's placentas. Don't worry, that thing is not coming anywhere near my mouth.  I'll take a multivitamin to get what I need.

I am excited to see what else is to come for the next 29 weeks (plus or minus).  Of course I say that now, ask me again when I am complaining of not being able to sleep, heartburn, not being able to bend over to put my socks on and just all in all feeling like a beached whale.  Sounds like a ton of fun!

Here are the comparison pictures for this week and next!

Checking in on the Garden...

I have been so distracted for the past few weeks that I forgot to put up more comparison pictures.  Here they are for weeks 8 and 9.  Hard to believe that Bean has gone from a sweet pea to an olive in just a few short weeks!