The Week 19 Recap

So, I guess we've already reached the point where pictures of the baby take priority over pictures of me! :) Below are some of our favorites from this week's ultrasound.



(Baby Akin arching his back and showing off his spine!)



(Here he is practicing the FSU war chant.)



(Baby Akin already has long legs!)

Weight gained to date: 10 pounds
Baby's size: About the length of a banana.
Interesting baby fact: The baby now has taste buds and according to studies, after birth, babies respond to tastes they've already tasted via the amniotic fluid. I'm trying to eat a variety of healthy foods (with the occasional, or okay, regular, bowl of ice cream).
Baby's heart rate: 162
Overall health: Feeling really great!
Best part of week 19: Clearly our ultrasound and finding out that Peanut is a boy! And a very healthy boy at that. :) We really could have sat there all day watching the ultrasound...he was such a show-off! From touching his toes to arching his back and from sticking out his tongue to kicking his legs, he was not at all bashful and knew he was being watched. (Does it sound like an Akin?? :)

He is measuring at 21 weeks right now, which is a week ahead of our due date. No one seemed concerned, saying babies grow at different paces during different periods of the pregnancy. Our ultrasound tech was great, taking lots of pictures. Hope you enjoy looking at a few more.

The 18 Week Recap

Not only did last week mark 18 weeks, but it also brought spring with it to Houston (until the cold front that moved through this weekend, that is).

Weight gained to date: ? pounds
Baby's size: About the length of a bell pepper, which is 5 1/2 inches long. This week peanut weighs almost 7 ounces.
Interesting baby fact: Peanut is becoming more mobile; and spends his/her time yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, and swallowing.
Baby's heart rate: ?
Overall health: The hip pain from week 17 was significantly less this week, although I do feel it occasionally. Overall I continue to feel really great, aside from a stomach bug that hit me during the middle of Wednesday night. Thankfully, it was a 24-hour bug and I was back to normal on Friday, although a bit hungry. :)
Best part of week 18: Enjoying daylight savings time and the beautiful spring weather with walks at Memorial Park. Since I haven't been able to run since week 8, walking on the treadmill is even more boring than running on a treadmill. Which makes it pretty darn boring. Thankfully, with it staying light later and with beautiful 70 degree weather, I can walk the 3 miles at Memorial and stay entertained by watching all those around me. Even if I do occasionally want to start running just to show all those around me that I can run too. :)

The 17 Week Recap

Sorry for the delay in posts; one of our "pre-baby tasks" is transforming our office/man room into an office/guest room (just don't tell Taylor...it's still "his" room!). As part of that, we purchased a new wall desk to replace our L-shaped desk and ultimately take up less space. Our main computer was down for the week, so I couldn't access the photos.

Okay, enough explaining...onto week 17!

Weight gained to date: ? pounds (Our scale broke right around the time I became pregnant. Conveneint, right? I've decided not to purchase a new one until post-baby, so I only get weight updates after seeing the doctor.)
Baby's size: About a turnip. This was hard to envision for me, so it was easier to go by the stats: 5 inches and 5 ounces.
Interesting baby fact: Peanut can now move his/her joints.
Baby's heart rate: ? (Again, will need to wait until the next dr. appt.)
Overall health: Week 17 will be remembered as the week Peanut became a pain in the neck hips. As if on cue, as I began week 17, my hips began hurting, especially in the evening when sleeping on my sides because all pregnancy books tell you if you sleep any other way your baby will come out as an alien. Okay, so they are not that extreme, but it's close. The great news is that I tried just about every Internet solution and it seems that a heating pad before bed does the trick. The pain greatly subsided by the end of week 17, so hopefully I can cross that off the list.

Best part of week 17: Feeling the baby move! After thinking a few times during the week prior that I could feel Peanut, this was definitely confirmed during week 17. It's such a strange sensation...at first it was just like a piece of popcorn popping. It is a bit stronger now and I love each time I feel the little movements.

Our ultrasound to determine if the baby is a girl Peanut or a boy Peanut has been postponed to March 25. As excited as I was to potentially know a week earlier, Taylor's schedule didn't cooperate. But, it will be an incredibly memorable 4th wedding anniversary for us!