Pea Pod is a Boy!!

This is my tummy at 18weeks and 5 days (April 27th)Here I am getting ready for the 20 week ultrasound. In this picture, I am 19 weeks and 3 days along, so technically I am at 20 weeks.
Another shot waiting for the ultrasound to begin.
First picture on the screen!!! (NO KIDDING!) He's not shy!


Here's Pea Pod "waving" to the camera. I told you he wasn't shy! He's definitely my child! LOL
Speaking of which, Pea Pod loves to suck his thumb! Throughout the ultrasound, he was trying over and over again to get his thumb to his mouth. At one point, he sorta turned his head and tried to reach for his thumb with his mouth. It was so cute! In these 3D pictures, it looks like he doesn't have hands, but he does. They're in a fist. We saw his little hands and feet in 2D to see the bone structure.


This is what we've all waited for... the 20 week ultrasound to see how the baby is developing.
According to the doctor, the baby is healthy and doing well. Development is great! On the ultrasound we were able to see all four chambers of the heart had developed well and are properly functioning; blood flow looked great; the stomach was full, so we know he can swallow; the kidneys looked great; the brain looked great; the bone structure (ribs, spine, arms, legs, hands, and feet) all looked good and strong; the measurements of the head, arms, legs, and trunk are all growing at the same rate, which is good; the heartbeat is 146, nice and strong; everything is great!!!



The doctor said that the first half of the pregnancy is over - WOW time flies!! He said the first half is about development & everything looks good. The second half is about nutrition and genetics. So, based upon the growth rate, he couldn't tell if the baby was on target to be a 5 pound baby or a 10 pound baby. The only thing he could say is that based upon the growth rate in comparison to statistics, the baby is in the 44th percentile, which means growth is at a normal rate.



In five weeks (June 6th) , I go back to do the glucose testing to check for gestational diabetes. It's a one hour test where I have to drink a pure sugar drink to see how my pancreas reacts and if my body is producing enough insulin for two. If I fail the test, I have to go back on another day and do a three hour test. If I fail one of the three hour tests, then they'll diagnose me with gestational diabetes. If I don't fail any test, we're good!

I questioned some cramping that I've been having when I have to crawl in crawl spaces for work. The doctor told me that since they were horizontal cramps, they were uterine contractions, which as long as they last less than a minute or so, are fine. (That's what's going on with mine.) When and if they ever last longer than 15-30 minutes, I need to go in and have things checked out. He said normal vertical cramping along the sides of the abdomen, which I also get, is round ligament pain. That's the ligament pulling as the belly grows. The horizontal cramping is uterine cramping. Sometimes the baby will get into a position that causes cramping, too, but it doesn't last long.

I have no idea when my next ultrasound will be to see the baby again, but I'll be sure to post pictures.

As for me, I've been sick for the last week. I think it's a bad case of allergies so my OB doctor prescribed some antibiotics for me. I'm feeling somewhat better today, so I'm on my way to recovery. I'm sure Pea Pod will be glad so he can breathe! I've been so congested! Me feeling better means I have a week's worth of laundry and house cleaning waiting on me! This place is a mess. I can't wait to get it under control.

As for Daddy, well, need I say anything about a man finding out he's having a son? I couldn't have slapped the smile off his face yesterday if I tried! He is thrilled. Joe said that he would have been happy with either gender as long as the baby is healthy. I understand and agree to that, but there's no denying it, he was ecstatic when he found out he was having a son! When we walked out of the waiting room into the doctor's office, he had his chest all puffed out. It was a proud time for him, for sure!

Grandma Sue & Grandpa Jerome were able to attend the ultrasound yesterday, too. They took us out for dinner after the appointment. We had a nice time. They're both very excited as this will be their first grandson. They have four granddaughters and one great-grandson. Now the Carr name will be carried on for another generation! I'm glad they could be there to see it.

While we were eating, Joe talked about scouts, football, baseball, etc. He's so excited. It shocked me that he didn't run right over to Target to buy GI Joe's. ha ha ha While waiting for the doctor to come into the room, Joe said something to fact that, "Now we can shop for cool things (meaning toys) and not dumb girl stuff." hee hee hee I guess I have to get used to going down the boy's toy aisle.. UGHHH.. I hate boy toys. They're dumb.

Grandma Dana insisted the ultrasound machine was broken when she found out we are having a boy. I think by the picture above, there's not denying it.. ha ha ha She seemed shocked, I guess, since she was so sure I was going to have a little girl. She said, "Oh I really liked the name, Jenna." I know she's happy anyway.

Grandpa Randy just wanted to make sure that the baby was doing good. He didn't seem too thrilled one way or the other about the fact that we're having a boy.

Grandma Amy said, "Well, I was wrong." She thought I was having a girl, too.

From what I'm told, Aunt Machael cried (hopefully tears of joy).. ha ha ha I know they were.

Aunt Jodi & Uncle Eric (I hope I can say that...) ;) seemed excited.

Great-cousin Kelsey was disappointed because now she doesn't know what to do with all the pink stuff she bought. ha ha ha



Well, Joe just woke up (10:00 AM) and we're both hungry. So I'll go fix some breakfast and mess up the kitchen some more before it gets all spotless.

See you all later!

Late Night Movements

Well last night the "POD" decided to become quite active around 10:30. He must have been turning because it made me a little nauseous. Instead of feeling the movements on the right side of my tummy, I felt them on the left side. He stayed active all night. I think I finally got to sleep around 2:00 this morning after three trips to the bathroom.... I certainly hope this is no indication of his behavior to come! I'm in big trouble if it is! Not only do I feel bad for being sick, but now I'm dragging butt from being tired.... I believe motherhood will be an eye-opening experience.

Growing a Baby & Fighting an Infection

This past weekend was pretty nice. Friday night we went out for dinner with Sue & Jerome, then we felt our first movement from Pea Pod. Saturday Joe mowed the grass and I did laundry. We felt movement again from Pea Pod. Sunday Joe & I went to church and then down to his sister's house. I shot the 9mm gun a few times.. well... exactly two times. It was enough to scare me to death. I found that when I pull the trigger I close my eyes. I guess I have a lot of work to do on that, huh? Other than that, we went to Hardees for lunch where I had fish and chips. When I ordered the girl and mgr in the back informed me that I really wasn't getting chips, they were french fries. Boy am I glad they cleared that up! Do I look that stupid?? I guess so. Anyway, so we ate, but the more fish I ate, the colder it was getting. Turns out it was still frozen in the middle. Joe took it back and got me some fresh, hot fish. He brought it back, but I had eatten so many fries, I couldn't eat much more than one patty of hot fish. We went to Wal-Mart got some more ammo and went back to Machael's. Joe continued to shoot while I went into the motorhome Machael & John bought. Machael and Sue planned a camping trip in the motorhome. I mostly listened but ended up providing a few suggestions. I excused myself to go get a drink and noticed my throat started feeling funny. By the time we left, I told Joe my throat started feeling sore. We went to Wal-Mart in Lenoir City, picked up a few things, and headed home. I had a DanActive (the first in two weeks), then laid down to watch TV. I went to bed shortly thereafter. All night I tossed and turned. The longer I laid there, the more I turned, the more sore my throat got, and the further congested my nose became. When I finally got up for work this morning, I couldn't hardly move I was so tired and feeling so lousy. I was blowing green gook out my nose. I worked all day today, came home, ate a preservative ful dinner, and took some children's Sudafed for decongestant. Then I fell asleep. When I woke up, I started feeling congested again. My throat is dry, but not as sore. I've been gargling with salt water the best I can with a congested nose. Having a sinus infection is not much fun when you're growing a baby! I haven't felt Pea Pod move all day. They say when Momma doesn't feel good, baby doesn't either. He must be sleeping. Soiunds like a good idea to me. I'm off to gargle some more salt water, blow my nose, take some more medicine and go back to bed. Good night!