Getting Rest

Wiped out on a Sunday morning at 20 weeks, 5 days!

Week 17 Doctor's Appointment

On September 2nd, I had another Doctor's appointment. You can see our little girl getting bigger in these ultrasound pictures. According to babycenter.com, "our baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Our baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop."

17 Weeks

I returned to work on September 2nd and it was fun to see my coworkers again and show off my changing belly. I also had a doctor's appointment today. I am feeling 100 times better! I am completely over the neasea and feeling great. I cannot say that I have all of my energy, but at least I feel good! Food tastes good again; in fact, I am eating almost every chance I get. I seem to get hungry so easily and I go from satisfied to starving within minutes. So, you will find granola bars, energy bars, bananas, and apples in my car, in my purse, or in my gym bag. I am never without food for fear of a cranky hunger attack!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

On Saturday, August 30th, we went back to "Before the Stork" and had another gender screening. Mom, Dad, Jamin, and I were all there. I had just finished teaching two work out classes, so our little girls was very active and ready for her debut! She was bouncig all around, kicking, twitchig, and showing off her stuff! After about 15 minutes of watching her and a few freeze frames, the technician, 5 months pregnant herself, was ready to tell us the sex. In the background, Celie Dion was singing, "What a Wonderful World" and it was announced, "It's a Girl!!!" Wow, what an emotional moment. We are going to have a little girl!

We celebrated the rest of the day. We all went to the beach, played in the water, and called everyone we could with the news. After the beach, we went to Big Belly Deli and had a fun dinner and headed back in the water for a sunset swim. It was a fantastic day and one I can't wait to tell our daughter all about.

Before the Stork

Before the Stork is a business that takes 2D, 3D, and 4D ultrasounds. My friend Janie told me about some trainings they were having where they needed pregnant women to help train new ultrasound technicians and the mothers-to-be would receive free ultrasounds. I signed up for a 2D gender screening. So at 15 weeks, 4 days, my family went in again to try and find out the sex. The experience was really neat and I am so glad the whole family could enjoy it. You and the family are taken into a larger exam room with a couch for the family and a nice bed for the mother. They are playing soft music in the background, Celine Dion, to be exact. They dim the lights and project the ultrasound onto the wall, so everyone can watch about a 52 inch projection. For an entire half-hour we all got to watch Baby Valdez moving and jerking on the screen. Everyone got to hear the heartbeat as well and the sound still brings me to tears...even when I am prepared to hear it.

Of course, the little knucklehead was still being difficult and was not in the best position to help us see the gender! After a few jumping jacks from me, we tried again, and again, and again. The umbilical cord keeps getting in the way. It is sitting just between the legs and the cord can sometimes look like male genitalia, but what was really cool, was their technology. They were able to turn some kind of heat sensor on and the cord would light up blue and red and you could distinguish between the baby and the cord. The technician, who was the owner of the store, said she caught a few quick glances of the correct area and could say with 90% certainty IT'S A GIRL! Wow, I was not prepared for this. I burst into tears and my mom shrieked in excitement, while the boys' hearts, I think, sank to the ground! We were not expecting a girl! BUT, BUT, BUT we still aren't counting on it, nor announcing for sure it's a girl. The technician said she wants to see us again in two weeks so she can try and get a better picture and be able to freeze the frame and show us the sex. So, we are still waiting, but hopefully we will have some definitive results very soon!

15 weeks, 3 days Belly Pictures

My belly always seems the biggest (or most bloated) in the evening just before bed. These pictures were taken just before bedtime. I am 4 days shy of 4 months in the pictures and I am starting to feel so much better! I am finally over the nausea!!! I am so happy the sickness is OVER!!! However, I can't say I feel fantastic. I am still pretty picky about food and certain food does not sit well with me, but at least I am not continually queasy. My body still tells me when I am overtired and I need to rest, but I have a hard time not letting myself get to that point. Now I can't wait to start feeling the baby move.

Week 14 Doctor's Appointment

Everyone came to this appointment in hopes of finding out the sex of Baby Valdez! My mom, dad, sister, and husband were all at this apointment. The lights dimmed and the baby came into view on the ultrasound screen and my family caught their first glimses of the baby. The doctor said everything looked great and Baby Valdez lookes healthy and strong. Dr. Capobianco continued to look around, BUT, the knucklehead was not in a good position! Dr. Capo said the baby's hands were blocking the view and its hands were down at its crotch, so the doctor jokingly said, "it must be a boy." The baby was pretty active with its kicks, but did not change position at all for us to get a good look! Then, since the baby was so shy, the doctor teased, "it must be a girl." So, the result: INCONCLUSIVE! We all know it's early to tell, but when the doctor says he should be able to tell by this visit, it's hard not to get your hopes up! He will see us again in three weeks, so we will just have to be patient...