22 Weeks!

You ever have those days where putting on fleece lined leggings and a sweatshirt is all the energy you can muster?  Well today was that day for me.  Lucky for you I changed out of my oversized red sweatshirt that makes me resemble a barn.  Unlucky for you, that's all you get- no makeup, no effort, and to be fully honest, I can't really remember what day I last washed my hair.  I partly blame this on pregnancy brain, but it's also partly because it's probably been one day too many.  Se la vie!  So this week I'm letting Bella in her bump shine.  Just keep focusing on her or the board and all will be well : )

 

 

How Big is Baby? The size of a papaya!

Weight Gain: +1 this week, +11 total

Workouts: Two eliptical sessions, light resistance band training (high reps with low resistance so I'm not putting pressure in my abdomen per MD orders), and one prenatal yoga video.

Maternity Clothes: Since I'm working evenings/nights til 1am or so this week, I'm either wearing scrubs to work, or I'm in stretch pants with sweatshirts at home.  No need for maternity just yet although on the rare occasion I put jeans on, those are maternity (I can still put on and button my pre-pregnancy jeans since they ride below the bump, it's just not comfortable for more than an hour or so). 

Belly Button: In

Sleep: I'm mostly sleeping well, but working til 1am has thrown me off a bit.  I also don't fall right back asleep once I get up to pee (usually around 2 or 3am), so that's annoying.

Cravings: No cravings still, just trying to remember to eat this week! Ugh so weird that I could care less about eating because that is SO not me!

Aversions: Chicken, meat, ground turkey, and sweets/chocolate still.

What I Missed: Wine at an Italian dinner with family over the weekend, although it wasn't a true longing...just a "oh, that would pair really nice."
 
Symptoms: Feeling great these days overall with the exception of some pressure and shooting pain in the pelvic region which is worse when I stand for extended periods of time, and I think is also Isabella kicking on the placenta that's sitting right on top of my cervix. Not fun!

Movement: Undoubtedly yes! She is moving around like a mad woman these days with her punches and kicks getting stronger and stronger. I absolutely LOVE it! Nighttime seems to be her most active (only a shy second from around 9 or 10 am) and that really gets my belly dancing which is fun to watch.  She also got hiccups Sunday night which felt so weird but also so cool!

Gender: It's a GIRL!

Best Moment of the Week: Having a modified work schedule the last two weeks (essentially working only 16 hours each week!) has really helped me relax more, get in some good prenatal workouts, and catch up on things I wouldn't otherwise be able to at home.  After vacation, it's back to full time hours, but at least they will all be daytime. 

Worst Moment of the Week: Heaven welcomed another PICU angel this week, and this one was my all time favorite little boy who I have cared for over the last 4 years.  Makes you grateful for your little ones, and wanting to get in some extra snuggles (even if they are just via my belly at this point!).

What I'm Looking Forward to: Going on our Babymoon at the end of the week!!! 9 days of total relaxation and bliss...can't wait!!

21 Weeks!

How Big is Baby? The size of a pomegranate!

Weight Gain? 0 lbs this week, so +10 total

Workouts this Week: One 45 min eliptical session, one upper body resistance band and corse session (this was before I knew that I couldn't do resistance or weight training anymore), and one prenatal yoga session.

Maternity Clothes?  I got a new pair of fleece lined stretch pants this week that have rocked my world...I've worn them to work and at home with sweatshirts. I'm pretty sure these are pregnant lady's best friend, and I may be defying the amount of times appropriate to wear the same pants before washing them but I don't care!

Belly Button (in or out)? In

Sleep:  Aboslutely in love with my cloud (AKA: leechco pregnancy pillow)...I sleep so well with it! 
 

Cravings: Still not much of an appetite...this is so unlike me!  I have to remind myself on days off especially to eat!  So when I do I try to get in high protein foods like protein shakes with greens in the morning, cottage cheese with tomatoes as a snack, greek yogurt or tuna.  And of course rice noodles are still a staple around here.
 

Aversions: Some ole things- if it's not on a vegetarian menu, I'm aversed to it!  And still not wating a thing to do with sweets or chocolate.

What I Missed: I really wanted sushi and wine this weekend, and Jon and I watched the Taste where they had to create dishes to pair with beer, so pretty much all day couldn't stop thinking about ice cold cereveza.

 

Symptoms: Crazy pregnancy congestion, having to pee ALL the time, a few leg cramps that have jolted me out of bed at night, and round ligament pain that came with a vengence! this week.
 

Movement: Isabella is kicking and punching up a storm these days.  It has definitely gotten more frequent this week, and stronger. So much so that Jon has been able to feel her a couple times as well! This is seriously the BEST part of pregnancy!!
 

Gender: It's a GIRL!!!!

 

Best Moment of the Week: Getting the anatomy scan US to see each and every perfect body part of our little one! It was awesome seeing her move and wiggle all around.  She definitely did not want to sit still for one moment...just like her Mama : )

 

Worst Moment of the Week: Early on in the week, I initially wrote "dropping off my prescription for the lovenox I've been taking for about the last year, and finding out that with my new insurance the price has gone from $15 per month, to $598 (and no, that's not a typo...as in five hundred!)."

Then, the very next day I found out that I have complete placenta previa, so while that means I no longer have to take the $600 lovenox, it also puts me at much higher risk for hemorrhage, pre-term labor, and is a definite c-section for me.  So that trumps $600 medications this week.
 

What I'm Looking Forward To: Counting down the days until our Babymoon...just 10 more to go!!!

20 Week Anatomy Scan

On Thursday we had our much anticipated anatomy scan.  I have to say, it was awesome being able to see Isabella for so long on the screen.  She was quite the squirmy little thing, and the tech commented several times on how she just wouldn't sit still to which Jon said "Yup, sounds just like her mama!"

So here are her stats from the scan:

HR: 156
Weight: approximately 13 oz

Positioning: breech

Amniotic Fluid: sufficient amount

Organs: all organs are accounted for and in proper positioning : )

 

Cute little foot...she was totally backing away from the probe and hiding here, but her little foot kept poking forward!

Sorry for this poor quality- camera phone picture of a picture- but just in case there was any doubt that the genetic screening got the gender wrong...it's still a girl!  The arrow is pointing to her lady parts.

After they did the anatomy scan, we got to switch over to a 3D US to see her for a bit. I have to say it was a bit more underwhelming than I was expecting. Mostly because fetuses at 20 weeks gestation still are a bit scary looking to me. 

I'm not sure why NOBODY told me about this! I certainly can't be the first Mama out there who has taken one look at their 3D 20 week old fetus and thought "Oh boy, I'm certainly glad there's 20 weeks left to work on all that!" But I kept my mouth shut in the moment.

It wasn't until afterwards when we were waiting to meet with our OB that I brought it up to Jon, and he said "Oh I'm glad you said that! I thought she looked crazy and lumpy! That gets normal eventually right!?"

Good thing we were on the same page : )  So with that warning, here they are.

I will say, despite the lumpiness of her, it is so amazing that you can see something so little in such detail.  Medicine and technology are just amazing...not that I'm biased or anything : )

Despite all the fun, towards the beginning of the US, the tech asked me "Has Dr. Alexander talked to you about your placenta before?"  Umm...nope!  And of course when I asked if there was something abnormal, she said that she couldn't talk about it.  Nice.

Then at one point towards the end, she said, "This is her head..and no, that's not a lot of hair, that's just the placenta overlying the top of her head."  So of course my brain goes straight to "OMG I'm going to have a baby with a placenta burried into her head and face...can that even happen!?

As we were waiting for the doctor, I told Jon that I was going to put my phone away so I couldn't google "Baby with Placenta Face." *Yes, all nurse practitioner training and rational thinking flies out the window when something is threatening to be wrong with your baby...I am very aware of this!*

It's a good thing I didn't google that, partly because that's not actually a thing, but more importantly because that is not the case here at all.

However, I do have Complete Placenta Previa.  I remembered learning about this back in undergrad but that was a long time ago.  So all I could remember was that there were about 4 things that could happen with the placenta, and previa was not one of the better ones of the bad options. 

I will do a separate post on the topic, but in very brief it's where the placenta is lying completely on top of the cervix. 

What does this mean for me?? 1.) Complete pelvic rest (AKA: no sex at all for the remainder of the
                                                       pregnancy)
                                                 2.) Scheduled (hopefully not sooner and emergent) c-section sometime
                                                       between 37 and 39 weeks generally
                                                 3.) Taking it easy- I can still do the eliptical lightly or swim, but  no                                                        running, lifting weights, straining, heavy cleaning, etc.
                                                 4.) And best of all...no more extended shifts/night shifts!! Woo hoo...
                                                      won't complain about that one at all!

It also means that I'm at high risk for bleeding which will mean bedrest most likely at some point (hopefully much later on).  And it means that with the risk of bleeding, I have to/get to stop taking my lovenox shot every day!  So it's a little tricky balancing out the risks of the Placenta Previa with my clotting disorders, but the risk of massive hemorrhage are greater than clots at this point, so no lovenox for me. Yay!

While this was a lot of information to take in during one visit, we are excited about how well Isabella is doing.  And the new diagnosis means we get to see her at least every month from here on out.  I've never been one to turn down another ultrasound : ) 

And to make sure I leave this post on a positive note, what better way than a few more pics of our Little Lerma!


Look at that cute little arm and hand rubbing her eye!

A very brief moment of chillin' on her back!

Name Reveal!

Naming a baby is a serious feat!  I mean you are taking on the task of giving another person something that will stick with them for the rest of their life! 

And aside from the whole "What if they hate it!?" fear, comes the "What if I hate it in a year fear!?"

That being said, naming our little girl was pretty painless and easy. 

We started talking baby names about the day after we got engaged.  OK, while that may be a bit of an exaggeration, it certainly feels like we've been talking about it forever.

Early on, we decided on a girl and boy name.  And surprisingly, over the last 9 years or so, we've stuck to those names. 

So when it came time to actually making the final decision on baby girl, it was a relatively easy process.  We went through a few other names that we liked, and ultimately decided that we were sticking with our original. 

Aubrey

 

Sofia

 

Isabella

Over the last 4 years as we have been trying to get pregnant, every time we talked about having a little girl we called her Isabella.  When I start to get feisty with Jon, he just laughs and says "Oh I can't wait until Isabella is fiesty to you this way!"  And when he talked about having a little girl, he would always get a look in his eye, to which I would say "Oh man, Isabella already has you wrapped around her dainty little finger!"

So when talking about other names, it just didn't seem right.  She's been our Isabella for at least the last four years.  And we are so excited that she will be our Isabella for the rest of our lives!

With all that being said, the first name was almost a no brainer for us.  The middle name, however, has us a bit stuck.  For now, we are leaning towards Rae but still haven't made the official decision. I also like Dae/Day because that's what my family and a lot of friends call me, so it just fit, but Jon doesn't like it.

So feel free to leave a comment if you have any other suggestions...they will be gladly welcomed!  Our one caveat is that it doesn't start with an "L" because 1.) can you imagine a 3 year old having to say Isabella Lynn Lerma (or insert any other L name!); and 2.) having the initials ILL would suck. Being an APN I feel even more strongly about this. 

But that's it!  Get creative...be original...I don't care. Just let me know!   And while you're at it, leave a comment with your vote of Rae, Dae, or Day.

Until then, we will keep smiling with absolute joy each and every time we think about our little Isabella-middle name TBD-Lerma!

Halfway There...20 Week Bumpdate : )

Holy moly.  Am I seriously already halfway through this pregnancy!?!? 

That doesn't even seem possible.

It's amazing how much change has been going on with my body in the last few weeks, and certainly that reflects how much change Little Miss Lerma is going through as well. 

I got a sneak peak at her yesterday during a last minute appointment to measure my cervical length since I have been having some cramping and pressure. The 3 seconds I got to see baby girl were awesome...and she certainly looked a lot bigger than at our last US. So I can't wait til our longer US on Thursday!


Does it make me a bad mama that this one freaks me out a bit? She looks like an alien ready to eat her prey with that mouth open!

I say we stick to the cute profile from now on!

 

 Enough about all of that...onto the Pregnancy Update for Week 20!

How Big is Baby? The size of a banana

Weight Gain? +0.5 this week, so +10 total

Workouts this Week: One lower body and cardio combo session, one 30 minute prenatal yoga session, and one full body resistance bands workout.

Maternity Clothes?  I finally busted out the bag of maternity clothes that friends have given me, mostly so I could sort through the jeans and dress pants.  The ones that have the over the belly bands are still too big and just don't look right with my bump, but I folded the band down over my hips and just pretended that it was the bottom of a long fitted tank with one of the pairs of jeans that were cute. Otherwise I'm still sticking to my comfy winter regular clothes.
 

Belly Button (in or out)? In

Sleep: Sleeping well through the night with the exception of waking up once or twice to pee, and multiple times when my hips/thighs fall asleep and I need to turn to the other side. 
 

Cravings: Still not really craving anything, but loving Indian food, huge dill pickles, green veggie juice, and my rice noodles with a bit of aged white cheddar. And I'm making sure to drink a fruit and greens smoothie at least 3-4 times a week to balance out the carbs that really have overtaken my diet of late (it may be gluten free, but it's carbs nonetheless!).
 

Aversions: 20 weeks in a row- chicken breast, red meat, ground turkey, sweets/chocolate... pretty much anything that's not bland or carbs. 

What I Missed: Sushi and wine
 

Symptoms: My body just feels pregnant this week, more than ever.  I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that between the 3 workouts and crazy long shifts at work, I just overdid it a bit.  Moving around  or turning side to side is not as easy as before, and I'm definitely sore in areas that have never been sore before after a long day...namely the pelvic region. Lovely.  Aside from that, the lack of appetite, waking up to pee, constipation, and pregnancy brain are still here, and probably here to stay.
 

Movement: Oh, I seriously LOVE feeling her kick!  Not a ton more frequent or stronger than last week, but it's still the most amazing feeling.  And during the very brief US yesterday, the tech said twice how "squirmy" she was.  Definitely a difference from the last US where she didn't want to move much at all!
 

Gender: It's a GIRL!!!! Her HR at yesterday's appointment was 129.
 

Best Moment of the Week:  Having the entire weekend off with Jon!  This hasn't happened in what feels like forever because one of us has had to work at least one of the days, so this was AMAZING! Lots of time to catch up on DVR and lots of cuddles...the best!

 

Worst Moment of the Week: Hurting my groin (technically my adductor muscle) during a treadmill session at the beginning of last week and feeling it ever since (as if that area needed any more discomfort!).  It didn't bother me while I was on the treadmill, but the next day I was definitely feeling it.  Gotta remember that my tendons and joints are much looser than normal, on top of carrying around some extra weight. 
 

What I'm Looking Forward To: Our 20 week ultrasound is Thursday and I just can't wait!!!

 

And a Little Lerma love for Valentine's this week : )

 

PS: I didn't forget about the name reveal promise...I created the post and totally forgot to post it!  It will come this week...double promise!

19 Weeks!

No bump picture this week.  Mostly because I had to work yesterday afternoon and overnight, and just wasn't feeling it.  And as scary as pre-call pics may be, post-call pics (especially after my 2 hour drive home in snowmageddon this morning!) should only be viewed in horror videos : ) So just a pic of how big Little Lerma is : ) 

How Big is Baby? The size of a mango (YUM!!)

Weight Gain? +9.5 total

Workouts this Week: One upper body and core weight training session, one 30 minute treadmill walk/run (only a total of 8 minutes running), 45 minute treadmill walk/run (16 minutes running in 10 min/4 min/2 min increments).  While I was hoping for 4 workout sessions this week, I have to consider this a success seeing as it's the most working out in one week this body has seen in long (longggggg!!) time!

Maternity Clothes?  I feel like a broken record the last 19 weeks- leggings and dresses are still my BFFs.

Belly Button (in or out)? In

Sleep: Loving my "Cloud" more and more every day b/c it truly does help my sleep (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, I mentioned it here).

Cravings: homemade macaroni and cheese (AKA rice noodles with a bit of extra sharp white cheddar), pickles. It's weird b/c I don't really have "cravings" as much as "Meh, I guess this sounds good compared to everything else."

Aversions: Same ole things- chicken breast, red meat, ground turkey, sweets/chocolate, and now a serious aversion to mushrooms (which I used to LOVE!) and avacado  this week which is disappointing: (

What I Missed: Getting the FREE $600 value bonus package of unlimited drinks package on our upcoming vacation...I've never seen that in all our cruises! We got other awesome deals and incentives though so not complaining!

Symptoms: Still not much of an appetite, dry eyes, some headaches, nasal congestion (the cold has been gone for about two weeks, but some crazy congestion has stuck around and the MD says it's probably there to stay). 

Also work has been crazy this week so I'm trying to differentiate between the different feelings of round ligament pain and braxton hicks contractions...just feeling like the uterus gets really tight at times, and then other times sharp pains that gets better once I just sit down. 

And finally (and ironically enough), I've had some CRAZY pregnancy brain  and yet keep forgetting to post about it...go figure! Words just don't come to me when I need them to.  Then there were the 3 times this week I've gotten my huge glass of water to go upstairs and then subsequently bent over to pick something up off the stairs before I go up, only to dump a majority of the water all over the stairs.  And the other night, I got my lunch ready for work the next day (as I always do the night before), and when I woke up the next morning it was all already placed in my bag...nice, greek yogurt that's been out all night long!

Movement:  Feeling kicks and punches in a more obvious way almost every day this week...and a few have been strong enough Jon could feel them! What!?!? 
 

 

Gender: It's a GIRL!!!! Name reveal next week...stay tuned : )

Best Moment of the Week:  My custom made Lill diaper bag came in!!! Thanks to a 50% off sale and a gift card from a friend, this baby was essentially free! And it was so much fun to design.  I love the way that it turned out...feminine with the lace, but not overly girly. The picture doesn't really do the color combination and fabric justice b/c they look a bit random here, but in real life it's awesome!  And the amount of compartments, pockets, and space inside is amazing!

Worst Moment of the Week: Night shift is totally throwing me off my game...just when I was getting my energy back it knocks me off my feet.  HATE them!

 

What I'm Looking Forward To: Can't wait for our 20 week ultrasound next week!!!

Baby's First Valentine's!

Since it's February 1st, I can officially prepare for Valentine's Day for the Little One!!

I am well aware that Little Lerma is still cookin' and not going to externally enjoy this Valentine's Day. 

That being said, now that I know that our Little Lerma is Little Miss Lerma, I can't help but get excited to think how cute she will look on her very first Valentine's next year!! 

Peplum onsie and red hat- babygap.com; Red skirt and sweater- oldnavy.com; leggings; jammies- carters.com;
bib- target.com; headband- etsy.com

Whether it be a cute peplum onsie with festive leggings, or a flouncy skirt with a cozy sweater, she is going to be adorable.  And that hat...oh my, so cute!  of course who could forget super cozy footie jammies, still in theme! 

Yes, I know...holidays are never going to be the same with our baby girl.  And I can't wait!!