Major catch up post and 26w update!

I’ve been such a bad blogger lately. Things have started to pick up around the Ramey household so I just haven’t been as diligent with my updates as I would have liked. Last weekend was my first baby shower and it was wonderful and overwhelming all at the same time. It was awesome to get to see a bunch of family and family friends that I haven’t seen in quite some time. We had a great turn out and I feel very blessed to have so many loving people around us. We got loads of blankets, burp rags and clothes. I also got some of my bigger items- stroller, swing/bouncer and the play mat. The stuff is all piled into Gavin’s room at the moment as we have no place to really put anything away. It was just nice to get out of DFW for a few days and go back to my hometown. I really enjoy doing that and don’t do it as often as I’d like to.

We have another shower next weekend and I’m really excited about this one too. The attendees for this one are more Jason and I’s friends so it will be a different crowd. We do have some family coming in for this shower that we are really excited about too. Our family friend, Alecia, will be traveling to Dallas with my mom and Jason’s mom and sister are both coming in from St. Louis for the shower. It is so sweet of them to take time away from their families to make the trip. It will be great to see them and great to have them be a part of this.

Because of the influx of family coming in next weekend Jason and I have been on a mad dash to get our upstairs living room finished. Ill post pictures after this weekend, when the couch arrives. We finally sold the pool table so we were able to now turn this room into a useable space. It’s going to be awesome and I’m so excited to have it finished. It just means that when our house is full of family and kids that there is now an overflow space for people to hang out in to watch tv, rest, etc. Also means that Ally and Gavin will have more space to spread out with all their stuff over the coming years!

I can’t believe how far along I am already in this pregnancy. I know that things will start to move even more quickly now that the holidays are approaching. Im so excited that in just over 12 weeks we will be getting to meet our little boy.

How Far Along? 26w4d
Size of baby: 14 1/2 inches and 1 2/3lb- size of an eggplant!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 13 lbs- really pleased with this, because even if I gain 1lb every week until the end of my pregnancy I will still come in significantly under the average 30lbs gained. Very happy with this!
Maternity Clothes: I’m finding now that my non-maternity tops that I’ve been able to wear up to this point no longer cover my belly! LOL!
Gender: BOY- Gavin Tyler
Movement: I definitely am feeling him every day, but the feelings have started to change. I used to feel intermittent jabs and punches, now I can actually feel him rolling around in there.
What I miss: Having all the energy I’m used to having- I wear out a lot more quickly
Sleep: Really can’t complain, I’m still sleeping very well, but the accidental rolling back onto my back causes me morning-time discomfort
Symptoms: Heartburn!!!!, very vivid dreams

Stretch marks: Nope, still none
What I am looking forward to: 2^nd baby shower next weekend and drs appt Tuesday
Belly button (in or out): Very much half way out!!  
Milestones: First baby shower!  

Baby Ramey’s Progress
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

 How your life's changing:

If your lower back seems a little achy lately, you can thank both your growing uterus — which shifts your center of gravity, stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, and may be pressing on a nerve — as well as hormonal changes that loosen your joints and ligaments. Plus, the extra weight you're carrying means more work for your muscles and increased stress on your joints, which is why you may feel worse at the end of the day. Walking, standing, or sitting for long periods, as well as bending and lifting can all put a strain on your back. A warm bath or hot compress might bring relief. (Some women, though, find cool compresses more comforting.) Try to maintain good posture during the day, avoid activities that require bending and twisting at the same time, take frequent breaks when sitting or standing, and sleep on your side with one or both knees bent with a pillow between your legs, using another pillow (or wedge) to support your abdomen.

Movement!

I am so incredibly swamped today- seriously meetings from 9am- 4pm with 2, 30 minute breaks. It’s ridiculous really (!!!!!!!!), but anyway, I had to take a couple of minutes quickly before my day became chaotic to share something that happened last night. I was lying in bed and started feeling Gavin moving around, but it was more consistent than anything Ive felt before and it went on for several minutes. I started paying more attention so I turned down the TV and put both my hands on my belly and at least TWICE I could actually feel my belly move from the outside. It was awesome!! It was very light; however my belly definitely bubbled up several times as he was moving around in there. He was even moving around this morning too and I’m pretty sure they were strong enough that I would have been able to feel the movement again. I cant wait for a few more weeks when Jason and Ally can feel it as well. Very cool moment for me!

Update!

This week has been a rough week and I am glad to see it coming to a close. This whole span of time for me right now is rather bittersweet. One year ago on Monday, August 29^th, 2010, we lost our sweet baby Ethan. I don’t want to dwell too much on this and bemoan about how hard it all is. I think everyone can appreciate how hard it was/has been/is for us, even without me detailing out every feeling I experienced leading up to that day, that day and every day since. Regardless of whether we were able to bring Ethan home with us the fact is still that I became a mommy that day and Jason became the daddy of his second child. We will never forget him and always love him.

Moving on, today is September 1^st. For me it marks the beginning of Fall- my MOST favorite time of the year. In fact, this marks the beginning of my most favorite and second favorite time of the year. I love fall and winter. I love everything that fall brings- cooler temperatures, football!!!!!!!!, and family holidays. I love cold weather. I prefer it over hot weather ANY DAY and the last several years we have had great winters with very uncharacteristically winter like weather here in North Texas. I hope the trend continues this year! Our new house has this really awesome hill that would be perfect for sledding should we get any snow!!! 

 I also wanted to post my 17 week belly shot too, which was actually last Sunday, but better late than never. I’m also posting probably my last weekly belly comparison. It was at 18 weeks exactly that we found out Ethan had Dandy Walker. Although I carried him for another 3 ½ weeks the joy of pregnancy was pretty much sapped out of me after that so I didn’t continue the weekly tradition. Now all the belly pictures will be just of me and this baby.

15"ish" weeks comparison picture

Doctor's Appointment Update!

My appointment yesterday couldn’t have gone better!!!! The brain checked out perfect and he also checked the heart, feet, toes, bladder, stomach, diaphragm, legs, arms and everything checked out perfectly. It was amazing!!!!!!!! He is perfect! In fact, the specialist has released me back to my regular Ob and I no longer have to see him at all! It is an amazing feeling to know that everything with our baby boy is just fine. We also got definitive confirmation that baby Ramey is definitely a BOY. See pictures below!

Appt got moved!

The BIG ultrasound got moved from Tuesday at 3pm to Monday at 2pm. I've been a bundle of nerves for 4 weeks. Monday it will be over, one way or another. Ill update when I return from the appointment. Thoughts and prayers are appreciated!

The countdown begins!

2 weeks from today- AUGUST 16^th. The single most important day in our lives in a very long time! We will find out if this baby is healthy and without Dandy Walker. It is hopefully my last appointment with the perinatologist. If the baby’s brain looks good, then I will no longer be high-risk and there is no reason to see him further. I can resume my normal drs appts with Dr. Seligman without further need to have a specialist oversee my care. It means I will finally be able to breathe a little easier. It means that I will finally feel like this is real. It means that I will finally feel like I can dream of the day when we get to take this baby home with us.
 
I’m confident. I have to be. I’ve done all the research. I know the reoccurrence rate is very low- less than 5%. My head understands all that, but my heart won’t be completely at ease until that doctor looks at our baby’s brain and says that everything looks perfect. I know what it feels like to be the “lucky” (read: sucky!) winner of some incredibly crazy ass odds. We’ve been on the losing end of the  3 out of 10,000 type of odds. Is it too much to ask that we are spared this time around??? I hope not!

The countdown begins. 14 days…… tick, tock, tick tock….

Belly photos!

My doctor warned me early on, plus I always suspected, that with this baby I would *show* sooner than I did with Ethan. I was over 21 weeks with Ethan when we lost him and I was definitely showing at that point. That was less than a year ago! Unfortunately, I have no pictures after 18 weeks because after the diagnosis I lost my desire to document my growth any further. However, I’ll do comparisons each week between now and 18 weeks so that everyone can see the difference. Now I have to throw a disclaimer out there right away- at this point (12weeks) in both pregnancies I have gained no weight, not a single pound. But LOOK at the difference in my belly size. Holy wowzers!!!! LOL!

Eating my way through this pregnancy!

I have always been a pretty healthy eater. I’m not a big meat eater at all, never have been drawn to sweets and I love almost all vegetables. However, early in my pregnancy I didn’t have much of an appetite and was experiencing evening nausea, not morning nausea so at night, nothing sounded good. I knew that I had to eat at night, but the only thing that appealed to me was CHEESE. I ate mac and cheese, grilled cheese and baked potatoes with cheese. Sensing a trend here- all cheese laden carbs! Some of my favorite things also started to turn my stomach at the thought of eating them. For example, every morning I made egg substitute with spinach, onions and bell peppers and I would put it in a whole wheat tortilla. All of a sudden I couldn’t STAND eggs- still can’t hardly stand to look at them! YUCK! Breakfast is mandatory for me, even when not pregnant, so I had to find an alternative. The only thing that sounded good, buttered toast or waffles with syrup. My point is that in general I didn’t eat very healthy my first trimester. I allowed myself that because I was doing what I could to feel ok.

 Now that I am in my second trimester and have rid myself of my evening nausea and most of my food aversions (eggs still qualify) I am back to trying to eat much more healthy. I’ve switched out my egg substitute and tortilla breakfast for a Jimmy Dean’s D’light breakfast sandwich which consists of a wheat English muffin, egg white, turkey sausage and RF cheese. It’s doing the trick and apparently the egg sits ok with me because its sandwiched between the turkey sausage and cheese. I’m also trying to pack both my lunch and my dinners with vegetables. I’ve made sure that with every dinner I’m having a salad that covers at least half my plate. I usually eat lunch at work, bring a lean cuisine or get a sandwich. I’m really not even making these changes as a way to prevent the pregnancy pounds, it’s really just the way I prefer to eat. Im not perfect all the time, but I am trying! Hopefully it means this baby is getting all the nutrients from his momma that he needs!

Catching you up on Baby Ramey!

I am so far behind with this pregnancy as to blog updates. When I was pregnant last summer, I had already been posting baby updates for 6-7 weeks by this point in my pregnancy! Have no fear, Ill get us all caught up with a quick recap via the timeline below. From here on out Ill go back to posting my weekly updates with belly pictures!

May 30, 2011- took the first pregnancy test. We’re pregnant!!!

June 13, 2011- 6w1d- first ultrasound- 6w1d, see but don’t hear the heartbeat

June 20, 2011- 7w1d- first appointment with Dr. Seligman, BORING appointment

July 7, 2011- 9w4d- heard heartbeat for the first time with my Doppler at home, its fast 165-174bpm

July 18, 2011- 11w1d- second ultrasound with Dr. Seligman, everything looks great! Excited about my NT Test the next day with the perinatologist-,Dr. Trimmer.

July 19, 2011- 11w2d- third ultrasound- NT Test! Everything looked great, the dr looked at the baby’s brain for the first time and so far, so GOOD! Both the ultrasound tech and the dr think it is definitely a BOY! Received results of NT Test on Friday, July 21^st and its all excellent news. 1:7,800 chance that our baby has Down Syndrome and 1:10,000 that he could have Trisomy 13.

July 20 2011- 11w3d- start telling everybody the news at work!

July 24, 2011- 12 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Into my first trimester!

Update!

I’m baaaaaacccckkkk! I haven’t blogged in so long, it’s a bit overwhelming to think of all the updates I need to write about. I’ve been meaning to update for quite a few weeks, but as you can see I had a blog design update in progress. Once that got started, I decided I didn’t want to update the blog until it was complete. Thanks Leah!

Pretty much 2 of the biggest life events you can experience has happened to us in the last several months. In late May, we finally got our house sold! Hallelujah! In early June we closed on the sale of our house and the purchase of our new house! It was such a relief to finally get our old house sold. Since we have moved our commute is almost cut in half! It makes a huge difference for Jason and I in our day to day lives. We also gained a significant amount of room. We now have a 4^th bedroom and an additional living area upstairs. We love our new house and plan to be there for at least the next 7-10 years. Ill post some pictures in a more detailed update in a future post.

We also found out in late May, on Memorial Day in fact, that we are expecting a winter baby! We are due in early February. As of today I am just over 12 weeks and over the scary first trimester, although we are certainly not out of the woods completely. I’ll do another post soon and break down all the details on my pregnancy, but I just wanted to get a quick update out there.

I hope you guys like the new design!