20 week ultrasound!

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound. Until about two weeks ago, I was not going to find out the sex of the baby. But as the time drew closer, I started thinking that I might want to know. Mainly because I was convinced I was having a girl for some reason. I am not sure why I thought this, other than, that was the feeling that I was getting. However, according to the wives tales about the lack of sickness, the increased hunger during first trimester, wanting spicy food, not sweets, and chinese calendar, I was having a boy.

So, today we went in and I had decided we would find out what we were having. Pedro has always wanted to know, but oddly hadn't pressured me to find out, until he knew I was considering it, then he was really excited!

Our first view on our ultrasound was of the baby's butt. Yes, my baby decided to make things difficult today. The baby was face down and head down for the ultrasound. The best view I got of the baby's face was a side view, and even then the baby was crossing it's arms over it's face, as seen here:


We started by checking to see if we can figure out the sex. Hmmm...no such luck, not only was the baby upside down and butt up, but they had their legs crossed!! I started thinking it was a sign to not know. So, we continued on with our measurements. Our baby's foot measured about 1.5 inches, they said this wasn't long, but I imagine some long toes on the kid, sorry kid, we both have fingers for toes! We had a nice view of the spine, thanks to the backside up! Then went back to check and try to wiggle the kid around. Nope, crossed the legs even more, but this time, the tech thought MAYBE they had an idea. We measured femur bones, arm bones, counted finger bones, measured the head, the neck, just about everything on the baby. Then we went back again to check. Still couldn't tell for sure. So, I went on my side....then the other side...then back to the middle, more shaking (no, shake a baby!)...the tech zoomed in a few times and decided that they were pretty sure...

Then she showed me that the placenta is anterior. This means that the reason I haven't really felt the baby is because there is an extra inch of padding (not my new fat) between the baby and my nerves, because the placenta is on the front of my stomach instead of near my back. There is no problem with this, the baby doesn't care if it is in the front or in the back. Just makes early movements harder to feel. However, I have thought I have felt some movements this week. And on Sunday I actually SAW the baby move on the outside of my stomach. But when I googled it, it said that this tends to lead to more back pain and longer painful deliveries and delivering a baby "sunny side up". Ok, well definitely shouldn't google things! Not something I want to hear!

The baby is measuring about 10 inches long and everything is right on track size wise for the due date. The baby also had a heart rate of 161 today. However, because it was not a 3D ultrasound and our baby was not very cooperative, I think we will pay for a 3D ultrasound in a month or so :)


Everything is looking good and normal for our baby GIRL!

They said they were 90% sure, but nothing is for sure, until you actually deliver the baby.

Now off to Florida for a nice little vacation (as some call it, a babymoon)! I'll post pictures of my growing belly next week when we return! Can't believe we are at the halfway point!!


Interesting facts for week 20:
Baby size: Baby measurements are now head to toe, not crown to rump. Baby is size of large banana, 10 inches, 11 oz
Days till due date: 141
Days pregnant: 139
Bloody nose this week: 4
Cravings: none
Other symptoms: I have been very tired this last week
Miles run: 16 (4 days)
Worse part about running lately: TIRED LEGS, closely followed by needing to pee every 1.5 miles
Strange things: the roll you get on top of your big stomach, that for me sits, right under my sports bra...annoying/gross!
Happy strange thing: I don't look fat, there is no question that I am pregnant
Weird thing: Other girl that is a triathlete that had a baby and ran/worked out throughout pregnancy had gained 15lbs at this point, odd, that we have both worked out and have eaten healthy (with no junk food cravings) and still gained that amount at this point.
Appreciates: That the hurricane was nice and is going to miss Florida, so we can go on vacation :)

19 weeks...

I had my 19 week check up this week at the doctors. Everything is going fine. I gained 3 lbs this last month and so, even though I haven't been that hungry, I have clearly managed to still gain weight. I have to see a new doctor each time I go in, so each time you have to go through the whole story about what I do and how I look like I workout. Funny, because I am pretty sure I don't "look" like I workout! However, my heart rate was 65, which is really quite awesome considering your heart rate generally goes up when you are pregnant! This is probably up for me, from when I am in actual training, but still low for most people at any time.

This doctor said that she doesn't actually measure until you are quite a bit above the bellybutton. But at 20 weeks (I'm at 19) you are suppose to be at about your bellybutton. I am just barely above now, so that means that I am measuring a little big right now, going by that idea. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, and still each time I hear it, I am quite surprised that there is a baby in there! Even though I have (obviously) gotten bigger and I still get bloody noses, the only other real symptom is that my running is getting slower by the week. I run aerobically, so I just base it on feel and today's run of 3 miles was one of my slowest yet! I brought Stella with me because I figured she wouldn't get tired because it was cloudy and we were going so slow and not far, but she had to stop 3 times on the way home. However, I wasn't complaining!

Again, for those of you that think I shouldn't be working out, I verify with each new doctor that I see, that I am still doing good with what I am doing. This doctor was so excited that I workout and run. She said that as long as I am gaining weight (obviously) and not measuring small (and we are big) that I must be doing good. There must be a lot of sedentary people because each time someone asks if I workout they are so excited and surprised that I workout while pregnant. Then you have the group that thinks that I shouldn't be doing anything. This week I actually had a couple days that didn't feel great while working out. Not feeling great means that I was more tired than normal. My legs were more fatigued and my level of perceived effort (which I keep easy to slightly moderate), was much higher than other days. I made adjustments to the workouts and came home and took a nap :) I assume there will be more and more days like that and I will just go with it. It's probably all of the extra weight I have put on! It's like carrying around a weight (baby) vest! I have needed a few more naps this week as I have been pretty tired.

The exciting part of the doctors appointment was I scheduled my 20 week ultrasound! It is next Weds (5 days from today!). We are still HIGHLY considering finding out the sex....we will see very soon!

19 weeks, looking bigger than last week I think:


Not sure why this is blurry, it's not your eyes it is the picture :)

Interesting facts:
Days left till due date: 147
Days since pregnant: 133
Size of baby: Large Mango, 6-8 inches and 1/2 lb or slightly more
Kicks felt: None?
Random info: Arms and legs are now in proportion
Days till ultrasound: 5
Days till next doctors appt: 25 days
Days till our VACATION: 6!! (Florida for a few days)

18 weeks....

4.5 months. If you were actually pregnant for 9 months, this would be the halfway point. However, since you are actually pregnant for 10 months, 2 more weeks will be our halfway point.

Week to week there hasn't been many changes physically. I feel good, my SI pain has been good (knock on wood) and everything has been going fine. If my stomach wasn't growing, I really wouldn't believe I am pregnant. Sometimes, when I am at the gym and I look in the mirror, I am surprised by my stomach. I know I think it is big now, I can't even imagine it being bigger! I already have a hard time trying to grab something on the floor of the car when I am in the passenger seat, bending over like that is just weird, it is like there is a big roll stopping me from doing it. However, I can still do it, I know at some point I probably won't be able to do things like this.

I must be looking pregnant (vs. looking fat) now because at the gym, I have people come up to me and say "Oh it is so good to see you working out while you are pregnant!!" What?? Am I suppose to just sit at home and eat? I don't know what people think being pregnant is...I think a lot of people must want to use it as a reason to not be healthy. Even though the studies show that working out makes for a healthier pregnancy and baby. No, I am not overdoing it. In my first trimester, during the big developmental time period, where the baby goes from the size of a pin head to an actual baby (albeit small), I was very careful not to overdo it. I did not workout in the heat. My runs and cardio were all 30 minutes long and all at a low aerobic intensity. Now that I am in the second trimester, the doctor gave me the go ahead to do whatever I am comfortable with, that is aerobic and doesn't leave me exhausted. My stairmaster time is about 40-50 minutes, but instead of a pre-pregnancy level of 9/10, I now do level 4 (which is probably just as hard to me now!). Or I do 15 or 20 minutes of a stairmaster or elliptical and then lift and then go back and do another set of cardio. I don't lift heavy weights, but I do lift more times than I did before I was pregnant, mainly because now my cardio time is less. I took a spin class this week, just to change things up a bit.

I also ran track again this week. The one thing about running is that I can go to the bathroom right before I start running, but about 1-2 miles in, or about 20 minutes, I have to go again! This makes for a lot of stops! This week I ran an 800, 400,800,400,800,400, and a 400 (3x800,4x 400). The 400's were good breaks from the 800's.

Another funny thing is how when you are pregnant people think that this is like a sickness. Even my mother, that claims when she was pregnant she was hauling a ton of rock around the yard (or some story like that), worries that I am working out. Or when I say that we might be going on a short trip, she is worried about "my condition". Totally cracks me up. What is "my condition"???? She always said that I hope when you are pregnant you don't complain and be all wimpy about it, but now that I am pregnant she thinks I am a little too un-wimpy? As long as the pregnancy is going well, according to the doctor, then I will continue on until I feel uncomfortable to do something, or it is not good for the baby. Obviously, I am aware that I am renting out space for a short amount of time and that the decisions I make, I am making for someone else. And of course the other person takes priority. I am not thinking that working out or doing whatever I do, is making me in better shape, or trying to make me look good. There is absolutely no vanity in pregnancy. I can workout and still be getting a bigger stomach by the day!

The weird things I have been experiencing with pregnancy are the vivid dreams. Apparently, this is something that happens a lot when you are pregnant. I am traditionally a person that remembers my dreams on a lot of nights, but now it is crazy! The dreams are so real and last nights I think I was even crying in my sleep! I had dreamt that Roscoe (the dog) was with me in an elevator and wouldn't come with me out of the elevator and he jumped through the grates before I could grab him and fell SMACK on the concrete floor. I didn't even want to look! I have had other dreams about Pedro and other one's about me, that I would swear were real (although, thankfully for the most part they are not!) I also had a dream that I had a 7lb 3 oz girl...so if that happens it will be crazy! I have also been having a hard time sleeping. Not falling asleep, but I wake up very early and I am wide awake. I lay there and eventually fall back asleep, but it makes me tired for the rest of the day, because we don't usually go to bed until pretty late. I have been needing a nap in the afternoon. The last thing is that the last week or so, I have not been very hungry. I have had to make sure that I am eating, because I am just not as hungry as I was. My scale at home has not changed in the past two weeks, but I am pretty sure I could put on a 1-2 pounds in a short period of time and since I don't weigh myself too frequently, the next time I get on it could be up. They say during the second trimester you should gain about 1lb a week. Maybe I am making up for my earlier gain?!?

Our ultrasound is coming up (I will schedule it at my next appt). I am now CONSIDERING finding out if it is a boy or a girl. One of the reasons is that I am so convinced it is a girl, that we don't really have a boys name or any real ideas. I think I would be shocked and it would take some "accepting" time for me if it was a boy, only because I would SWEAR it is a girl. I don't mean accepting, as in that I don't want a boy. I just mean that when you think it is one thing and then it is another, I think that might be a bit shocking?? It would also help with some of the stuff we are looking at buying. There is not a lot of gender neutral stuff, so the shopping makes you want to know, just so you can buy something! I am not sure we will, I still have some time to decide. But I went from not wanting to know, to possibly wanting to know.

This is also our 1st anniversary weekend, so we might have some pictures of us from this weekend too.

18 weeks pregnant pictures (not sure I am any bigger this week than last):




Random info:
Day's into pregnancy: 126
Day's left until due date:154 days
Size of baby: Sweet Potato, 5-6 inches and 6.5-7.5oz
Purchases this week: 1 (a dresser that was on sale for 50% off!)
Cravings: none
Food aversions: none
Desserts eaten: snickerdoodles (I made batter, minus the egg, ate some of it, added the egg then made the cookies)
Baby fact this week: Baby now has fingerprints
Movements felt: still none
Days till next doctors appt: 6

17 weeks...

Not a lot of changes from week to week the last few weeks. I haven't been as hungry and most times when I eat, I get full a little quicker. I am not sleeping great, not sure why that is since I no longer have to get up and go pee 10x a night.

This week after my "long run" I was quite tired the next day. I realized that I had actually done even more than I thought that day. I had lifted and done 25 minutes on the elliptical earlier in the day because I was thinking it was going to be too hot to run outside for run club. So the next day I took a 3 hour nap after we had practice in the morning. My body was kind of tired, which is so weird. So, I just biked for 40 minutes instead of going to the gym. The next day I ran 2 miles during the track workout by doing 8x400 each in about 2:05 min. Yesterday, I lifted and did 30 minutes on the stairmaster.

Nothing else is really new or exciting this week. I did not feel any kicks or anything this week, so I am not sure if what I felt before was really anything.

Alright here is the picture for the week:
17 weeks pregnant


Here I was at 12 weeks:


Random facts:
Size of baby: Onion, a little more than 5 inches
Weight of baby: 5-6oz
Days left till due date: 161
Days till next appt: 12
Baby purchases/gifts this week: one for the room, a few items of clothing
Items assembled for baby: NONE

Fastest and longest...

Ok, so I haven't been running very fast. Saturday I ran with run club for my usual 4 mile run and ran about a 10:10 pace. Then I followed that with 5 games (or maybe it was 6) with the last game starting at 9:45pm. Then a shorter, but early, day on Sunday for my games and so I got in lifting and about 40 minutes of stairmaster.

But today, I went to run club with the intent on running 4-5 miles, because it was cloudy out I thought I could do a bit longer than usual run. Then I got there and for the first time since I have been the run club coach (almost 3 years), my boss decided that she was going to run with us. UGH! This meant that I had to run the full run today and not at a slow leisure pace. Yes, she knows that I am pregnant (either that or I have just eaten too much the past few months). Anyway, we start our 6 mile run and BAM! the sun comes out. Of course. So, now I am running a whopping, get this...are you ready...a 9:00 minute pace (overall average was 9:15)! I reminded her I was pregnant and that I was running a bit slower now. I could carry a conversation the whole time, so I know I was still aerobic, but probably right at the edge with the heat. The first three miles were all sun, hot and uphill. Horrible. Then the last three were not so bad. Debbie, told me that she had powerade back at the gym, so I could have that when we got back. I was quite thirsty. When we got back after my fastest and longest run in quite some time, I downed 1 bottle of powerade and then filled it up and drank 2 bottles of water. Just to make sure I was rehydrated.

I felt fine after and for the most part during. But I am hoping that I don't have to do that again!

This week I purchased my first few packs of diapers. Yes, we bought diapers already. I guess you can never have enough for something that can require 10+ diaper changes a day!?! We also picked up our glider that we got, which is so amazing we would like 5 of them downstairs for everyday use as our sitting area. Definitely couldn't afford it, but it would be great!

No pregnancy symptoms other than I have now started getting nosebleeds. I have an app on my phone that gives me "tips" each day and the day I had my first nosebleed, I got a tip saying that you may be getting nosebleeds now because of increased blood flow, and dialated veins in your nose because of hormones or something. We were eating mexican food on Saturday and I thought my nose was just running because it was spicy, then it started gushing! I think, maybe the increase in my blood pressure while coaching, maybe helped make that one a good one. Who knows...but I never knew there was such a pregnancy symptom!

165 days left in the pregnancy!