Week 20: "Banana"

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery). (http://www.babycenter.com/)

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Mmmm...banana...I actually had one of those today. So sorry, Bebito.

Well, I've officially reached the halfway point -- woohoo! It's quite surreal and will probably feel even more surreal on Thursday when we get to see the little munchkin. Yep, just 2 more days until the big ultrasound. I can barely think about anything else. But I'm trying my best not to get overly excited in the event Bebito doesn't show us what he/she is made of. Teirney is hoping to be able to take Thursday afternoon off work. The ultrasound is at 11:00 a.m., so we'll probably have a celebratory lunch and hopefully do a little shopping for Bebito afterward (can't wait for that). I have to admit though, I'm a little nervous about the ultrasound. It's the 20 weeks scan so they check the baby to make sure it is growing normally and on schedule, as well as make sure there are no signs of abnormalities. We just pray for a healthy baby, but no matter what Bebito will have all of our love!

I've been feeling a little better this week. Although, I did get sick twice this morning...hard to believe that is still happening -- I'm more than ready to be done with that part of the pregnancy. Here is the usual 20 week picture -- one in "uniform" and one in "normal" attire.

I had an appointment with the endocrinologist for my thyroid yesterday. He was very confused with the recent lab results that came back. He said my TSH was normal but there was another thyroid test he did (which I'm not sure the name of) that showed low numbers. He said that could just be normal for me, but there is no way of knowing if it is "normal" or "too low." So he did another round of labs and sent it out to an outside lab this time to see what comes back. Unfortunately, I did not ask what the actual results were, but he said they were in the range that told him I will most likely have problems with an under active thyroid in the future, but it doesn't necessarily mean it is a problem now. He didn't know what to do with me. He said he didn't want to put me on meds because it could be normal for me, but at the same time if it isn't normal for me, it's not healthy for the baby. So that was why he decided to do another round of labs. I'm supposed to call for the results on Thursday. I go back for another appointment on December 8.

Today was my first day of volunteering at City on a Hill. They needed me to work on a project that involved Excel. I do okay on Excel, but this involved lists, charts, and graphs, which I'm not familiar with at all. I felt like it took me forever to do a simple project, but I had to figure out how to do it first. I missed Foley this morning...I used to always be able to just call the Help Desk or Val for a quick lesson, but not today. I had to actually use the "Help" feature on Excel (I was so spoiled at Foley). I finally figured it out, but I don't think I got as much done this morning as they were hoping. I have my own office that I'll be working out of and it's nice and quiet. I'm supposed to attend a staff meeting next week so I can make some edits to a document they'll be discussing. I just hope that I'll be able to be a help to them.

This afternoon I met up with Jen, one of the mommies-to-be who I got together with last week, and we went to the Milwaukee Art Museum. It was my first time there and I loved it! We saw the feature exhibit, Act/React Interactive Art, which was really cool. However, being pregnant, we both got a little dizzy with some of the pieces. It was really incredible though to walk around the maze of hallways thinking about all the amazing artists and how each piece is an actual piece of themselves -- there was so much "time" represented in that place. It is mind boggling to think about the hours upon hours that some of those artists probably spent on one piece and then if you added all those hours together, what astonishing number it would amount to? I'm looking forward to going back sometime. It was a fun day, but I think we were both ready for a nap by the end of it.

I go to the chiropractor for the first time tomorrow morning. I've never been to a chiropractor so I'm a little nervous about it. I'm sure it will go fine.

Dear Bebito, please cooperate for us on Thursday, okay? Mommy wants to decorate your cute nursery and buy you some cute clothes, so we must know if we need to buy blue or pink. We can't wait to see you on Thursday!!! We only wish we had you in our arms, but that will come soon enough. First, you have lots of growing left to do. Did you enjoy daddy reading you to you last night? I know he enjoyed it -- there will be lots of that to come. We're still praying for you everyday -- you're our sweet baby! Love you mucho! xoxo