21 Weeks

Not too much is new this week. I didn't have any bad pregnancy symptoms and feel great. I can feel the baby moving a lot at night usually. I gained another pound this week which puts me at 11 lbs over my pre pregnancy weight. I worked really hard to eat more this week since not eating enough for a couple of days the last week left me sick for the rest of that week.


Mr. Lucky Bud bought me a Doppler Fetal Monitor online today, so I should have it in a few days. It will be comforting to be able to hear our baby when ever we want to instead of waiting for my appointments with my midwife.


 Our donors canceled our meeting last weekend due to snow, and we have rescheduled for Feb. 11th.

21 Weeks

(21 week check in) It's a ...

credit: http://a-wings-tale.blogspot.com/2011/06/its-boy.html

Boy!!!  We had out Anatomy scan at 20 weeks last week, and were very excited to find out that we are having a cute little boy.  All of the first-borns on Mr. Teacher Bud's side of the family have been boys, so I was not surprised.  The little guy was not shy about showing us that he was a boy.  We had a good view. 

We've ordered our crib which should come in the next few weeks, and we're buying a dresser off of a friend for next to nothing.  I've also been buying cloth diapers on daily deal sites like crazy.  Some of Mr. Teacher Bud's co-workers have a 3 month old that they have been cloth diapering, so we are going to have dinner and talk to them about it as well. 

Summer school started today, so the past week has just been a blur of lesson planning.  and I'm sure the next few will be as well.  I'm sorry that I've been a little lax about updating.  I'll try to be better. 

21 week update! 
Belly Measurement/Weight: Still the same at my last appt.  1lb below my pre-pregnancy weight.  My midwife told me to eat more, and specifically to eat more protein.  I'm trying. 
Physical Progress: At 21 weeks, my uterus was measuring 23 weeks.  But duing the anatomy scan, the baby was right on track, so I'm not concerned.  Mr. Teacher Bud and I were both pretty little (of course he was a premie!) so hopefully Baby TB will be around 6lbs too.
 How I am feeling about my body: Today the way I feel can pretty much be summed up as "oh come on!"  My stretch marks just keep growing, I had to get up twice in the middle of the night to pee, and when I went to put on dress shoes today - none of them fit anymore.  It doesn't help that I think we are going to get rain, so my JRA is acting up and making my joints all swollen and achey.  Ce La vie. 
Energy Level: We'll see!  Today is the first day of summer school and so far so good.  I'll check in again after I've done a week of this! 
Baby Movement: Oh my goodness he's a little wiggle worm!  I feel him all the time now which is awesome! Little rolls, flutters, and lots of kicks.  I wish Mr. Teacher Bud could feel him.  I can't wait for that. 

Quick 21 Week Update

(Image credit: Me!)

Hey Everybody!

Just wanted to check in while I have a few minutes. We're back from our trip! Now the fun of moving to a new apartment begins! The trip went well. It was H-O-T though. 90's each and every day. The photo above was taken in Arkansas. Gorgeous view of the lake. Our drive included a quick stop in Joplin, MO...which was eye opening. We weren't able to see the devastation, but I can tell you firsthand that the people there are still needing things as basic as food, water and clothing. There were dump trucks leaving one right after the other with debris and the National Guard was being escorted into town as we were leaving.

Pregnancy wise the trip was ok. I struggled with the trip there. Both my flights had seats that didn't recline, and my back didn't like that much. Then when we were in the home stretch of the drive to our destination, the roads got really curvy which my stomach and inner ears didn't appreciate. The heat and humidity was another challenge, but there was AC and a pool available, so I made the best of it. I did have to retire my wedding ring to a necklace though. I think it would do alright on my finger here where its more arid, but it wasn't happening there. The travels back were much better. Reclining seats really do go a long way.

I felt my first movement from the outside right around the time we left (June 3/4). Felt it again yesterday. Its really strange being able to tell which body part is whacking you. Yesterday, for example, it was a distinct baby fist punching me. The Mr hasn't felt the movement yet, I suppose that will come with time.

I'm starting to get some of the not-so-fun symptoms of pregnancy, too. Things like swelling (especially in that heat) and lightning crotch and varicose veins. Don't get me wrong, I'll deal with them 1,000 times over if it means a healthy baby in the end...they just aren't on my highlight reel of fun times.

Overall things are going well. He's moving each and every single day, which I love.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Made it Halfway & other baby things

This Wednesday I will be 22 weeks!

Baby Sassy Bud is the size of a banana this week.

Photo Credit

I have been feeling movement regularly for a while now. I think I can feel it from the outside but Mr. Sassy Bud hasn't gotten his hand there in time to feel it yet. Her kicks are definitely getting stronger now.

We have also made some baby purchases over the past few weeks. We got our nursery set. It's the Nursery Smart Chelsea collection:

Photo Credit

We got a great deal on it from cribs.com. I have also started my cloth diaper stash. I'll save that for another later post but I got a ton of hand me downs along with some great sales on a few different CD sites.

Things have been crazy lately due to my law school semester ending (finals!!) and tax season but I'm sure I'll have lots of fun stuff to share in the near future. Stay tuned!

We hired a doula!

I'm determined for a different (read: better) birthing experience this time around. My labor/delivery with Little Sunflower Bud was less than desirable. I was induced (failed Cervadil induction twice) and dialed up to the highest dosage the hospital would allow of Pitocin, had my epidural by 3cm and didn't start pushing until after 18 hours of being hooked up to Pitocin. After 2 hours of pushing, she got stuck and wouldn't budge. Her heartrate slowed and my blood pressure rose, so off to an emergency c-section we went! Recovery was pretty bad.

After watching my best friend get out of bed easily 6 hours after giving birth, I've been bound and determined for a vaginal birth this time. My doctor says I'm an excellent candidate for a VBAC and so that is my goal.

I've done a lot of research and reading and made a lot of decisions. The first was finding and hiring a doula. Amy is amazing. We clicked immediately and I feel completely comfortable with her. She is very much on board with everything that I'm looking to get out of this experience and very much willing to do whatever she can to get us there.

We'll meet a few times before my due date and then she'll also be there for the entire duration of labor and delivery and 2-3 hours afterward to help with latch and breastfeeding.

Our plan so far is to do as much laboring at home as possible. Since we have a large garden tub, we'll be able to use that for a lot of the labor. I don't want a home birth so when it gets close or too much to take at home, we'll move on to the hospital (thankfully, it's only 10 minutes away). I really want to avoid Pitocin and an epidural, if at all possible, since they have been shown to sometimes stall labor. We'll be using a birthing ball and a number of positions to make sure baby is moving into the position that we need him in. Another reason to avoid the epidural as long as possible, so that I'm free to move around.

She was thrilled with the specific chiropractor that I've been seeing and said she is definitely one of the best in the area for helping with pregnancy. Dr. K will start to work with me towards the end to do things to help open and loosen up my pelvis.

I'm very excited about everything. While I know that I'm not guaranteed the outcome that I want, I like knowing that I'm doing everything I possibly can to get there.

~Sunflower Bud~

I'm a Bad Bud

I had planned to hop on and write about my appointment on Friday but instead, I was snowed in with no Internet access. Isn't that fun!? NOT!

I am 22 weeks and 1 day today, and I finally have a noticeable bump that everyone has been admiring lately. I had to go Saturday to invest in maternity pants for work. At the doctor's on Friday, I had gained 6 pounds in 4 weeks! Granted, I hadn't gained anything last month, so I guess that I'm due. Little BrainyBud is behind my belly button, but I didn't need Dr. K to tell me that.... LO has been kicking the back of my belly button and it is so strange!

We went consignment shopping on Friday where LO got 2 pair of jeans, 1 pair of railroad OshGosh overalls, a Tommy coat for winter, a sleeper, a turtleneck, and an Atlanta Braves onsie in honor of my mom! LOL! She'll make him into a baseball player, I just know it! I also got 1 dress, 2 2pc outfits, and 4 shirts from Motherhood at the consignment shop for $60 so that wasn't bad.

I haven't had the best Valentine's yesterday because I was layed up in bed with my heart beating out of my chest. I thought I'd have to call the doctor, but it quit after about 3 hours. Oh well, that's all for now.

Faith, Love and Baby Flutters (behind the belly button),
Mrs. BrainyBud

More info on Placenta Previa

Last week in my post I was so excited to announce that Baby Hopeful Bud is a girl that I kind of glossed over the fact that the ultra sound tech said that my placenta is lying too close and slightly over my cervix. Which is why I get to have another u/s at 28 weeks to monitor it's placement then. So I thought I would give you a little more information on what Placenta Previa is.

According to Babycenter.com, placenta previa means that your placenta is lying unusually low in your uterus, next to or covering your cervix. The placenta is the pancake-shaped organ — normally located near the top of the uterus — that supplies your baby with nutrients through the umbilical cord. Placenta previa is not usually a problem early in pregnancy. But if it persists into later pregnancy, it can cause bleeding, which may require you to deliver early and can lead to other complications. If you have placenta previa when it's time to deliver your baby, you'll need to have a c-section.If the placenta covers the cervix completely, it's called a complete or total previa. If it's right on the border of the cervix, it's called a marginal previa. (You may also hear the term "partial previa," which refers to a placenta that covers part of the cervical opening once the cervix starts to dilate.) If the edge of the placenta is within 2 centimeters of the cervix but not bordering it, it's called a low-lying placenta.

Here are some pictures to illustrate the above description.

Photo Credit

From what the tech could tell, my placenta wasn't lying completely over my cervix, just too close to it. Our doctor told us that in 9 out of 10 cases the placenta moves out of the way on it's own. In the case where it doesn't, a C-Section is performed. Our doctor also told us that bleeding is often a symptom of placenta previa, so if I do start spotting at all to call the doctor's office and immediately tell them I have a low lying placenta. Luckily, I haven't experienced any spotting. We are praying that no spotting continues and that the placenta moves out of the way.


That's about it. I don't know what I'll update you on next. My next appt. isn't for another three weeks, so there isn't much to report. We have started looking for bedding and cribs, which is an adventure.


Take care and stay hopeful!!

What a week

So lets just say this week (plus a couple of days)has had some serious ups and downs.

It all started last Thursday night when I went over to my moms and we started our yearly marathon baking session. we had 22 different things on our list to make and we were giving ourselves 3 1/2 days to make it and get the cookies separated and packaged up for delivery to friends, family and coworkers. Well Thursday night we started by mixing up the 6 recipes that had to chill and chopping dried fruits and nuts for some of the other recipes, fairly easy and relaxing.


Friday morning we got up and started baking our little hearts out. About 1 pm we discovered that one of moms pairs of oven mitts had a hole in the thumb, this led to a huge blister that covers about a 1/3rd of the side of my thumb. I however did not drop the pan of cookies or cry (yay me), but if little Daffodil Bud could hear the words coming out of Mommy's mouth then she heard somethings she probably shouldn't have.


Saturday and Sunday went pretty much the same way lots of work but we got all of our baking done, mom and I are both sore and tired but we accomplished a lot and even made baklava for the 1st time.

And while I am at my moms busy baking our new operating system for our computer came in and Mr. Daffodil Bud got us all fixed up!

So then Monday starts off, pretty good day in all actuality, I changed my hours at work to do a 3pm-11pm shift for the day instead of my 11am-7pm so I could do laundry and get some extra rest before work. I get to work and have to go to the bathroom so I set my stuff down at my desk and go toward the bathroom. I got to an intersection in one of the hallways and just have to hug the corner as I got really really dizzy. 2 of the CSR's see this and drag me to an office and make me sit down, the one even went to get me water. My face was all warm and very red. Finally after 10 minutes or so I feel like I can at least make it to the bathroom and then back to my desk, one of the CSR's escorted me back and then told my co-workers to keep an eye on me. I felt warm and my face was red for about 2 hours after all of this but I stayed in my chair until I had to go to the bathroom again.



Well about 9pm my face starts to feel all warm again, no dizziness but just that warm flushed face again. So I decided to go and take my blood pressure with the portable monitor we have at work, 141/80 not terrible but a bit on the high side for me. I post to one of my favorite message boards about being a bit worried, one of the girls, a nurse talks some sense into me about at least calling my doctors after hours number to see what they say and at 11pm I am off to the hospital. My BP when we get there is 151/70. They take me up to L&D and I have to pee in a cup and get hooked up to a monitor. Baby is fine my BP goes down to a better place 135/65 , nothing showing any reason for it to be elevated at all. I think I just way overdid it on those cookies and baby and my body said hey there lady hold up a sec and rest.



Tuesday after I got my car picked up from work and went home I just took it easy and relaxed.

Wednesday morning my fingers and ankles were a bit swollen so I called the doctors office about being concerned and was there anything they wanted me to do before my appointment on Thursday. Well apparently the message system was broken or at least that is what they told me Thursday morning when I went in and I got a call about 6 hours after my appointment on Thursday.



At my appointment my urine was +1 for protein, my favorite(at the doctors office Gen) nurse told me they start testing for pre-e at a +3. My Bp was great 120/64, I have only gained 3lbs so far and was told I need to start gaining a lb a week and little Daffodil Bud's heartbeat was 142 and I am measuring right where I should be for 21 1/2 weeks. So I am fine, baby is fine and all is well. Lets hope and pray it stays that way!



Well Ladies (and any gentlemen that may read) this was a long long post. If you have made it this far thanks for reading. Here is this weeks bump picture at 21 weeks 1 day.