[Belita]

There are tons of space things that do not have aliens if you look at teacher stores. There are even window clings, but I'm not sure if those also work on walls. Worth a shot to check out!

I'm going to have an awful time coming up with a nursery theme that doesn't remind me of work!

[junie22]

Originally Posted by Belita

I'm going to have an awful time coming up with a nursery theme that doesn't remind me of work!

I bet!

[junie22]

20 weeks & 2 days

There's not much going on today, except work and now continuing to shop around for nursery ideas. I think I'm getting closer. We've definitely decided on the crib, furniture, and general color scheme, so at least that's something. We're going to register at Babies 'R' Us this weekend. And we also have to hit Lowe's so that we can buy gravel, planters, and spring plants for our backyard. While we're there, I guess we'll get some paint swatches for the nursery. Neither of us are very crafty or handy people, so this whole nursery thing should be quite the adventure!

[Belita]

Just remember it doesn't have to be perfect because your little boy will tear it up when he's old enough anyways! can't wait to see what you end up with!

[dri2011]

Originally Posted by Belita

Just remember it doesn't have to be perfect because your little boy will tear it up when he's old enough anyways! can't wait to see what you end up with!

[junie22]

20 weeks & 3 days

I have a monthly OB appointment tomorrow, and I have a lot to discuss with her. It should be a bit more eventful than usual.

William likes both of the nursery themes I've put together, so now we just have to spend the next couple of days deciding which one we like the best. It's going to be a tough call.

In honor of the start of the baseball season, I bought these for Jack. Poor kid never had a chance. He's destined to be a Phillies fan.

[DaniM0820]

Phillies is the way to go!

LOL I'm not a big baseball fan but I have to support my teams! I'm sure my kid will have several Eagles shirts, onesies, and sweats to wear, courtesy of my dad.

[junie22]

Dani, I already have my eye on a couple of long-sleeved Eagles onesies, but I figured I'd wait to buy those until after he's born.

[Belita]

When I told DH about my first pregnancy I gave him Red Sox pacifiers and Red Sox onsies. I already have my eyes on a Red Sox diaper bag for when DH brings the baby out!

I have family in Philly that would highly approve of your choices.

[junie22]

20 weeks & 4 days

I had my monthly OB appointment this morning. We talked about my ER visit and the constipation issues. She said that for the time being, I just need to really bombard it with as many remedies as possible. She suggested stool softeners every day combined with Miralax and lots of fruit and fiber. I haven't tried Miralax yet because I'd tried the Metamucil and stool softeners to no avail. I've heard a lot of women say that Metamucil didn't work but Miralax did. So I'm just going to hit this problem from all angles and hope that I find a regimen that works.

We also discussed Jack's little problem. She actually said that the fluid build-up is around the ureters at this point and that the measurement is pretty small, a lot smaller than many other cases she's seen. So she said it may be completely gone at the next scan, or it could still be there but clear up later on. She said that if the obstruction in his ureter becomes too big, that would lead to decreased amount of urine to replenish the amniotic fluid. That, in turn, could lead to lung problems in the baby. That's why she wants to monitor with periodic ultrasounds until she sees the problem resolved or up until he's born. She was sure to let me know, though, that it was only a small dilation at this point, which is a very good thing. So I won't get the u/s until my next visit, on 4/30.

She also went over my blood work from the second round of sequential blood testing (from a few weeks ago) and said that everything was normal. And she said that the top of my uterus is right where it should be at 20 weeks, even with my belly button. Jack's heartbeat was so precious as always.

I also came to the realization last night that I'm getting Braxton Hicks contractions. For the past week or so, several times every day, my uterus really tenses up and gets super-hard. The pain is really more discomfort (not at all like menstrual cramping but not pleasant either), and it lasts for 15-20 seconds. It almost always happens when I have to urinate (though sometimes it's random). I was reading in my pregnancy book about Braxton Hicks contractions, and I thought, "That's EXACTLY what I'm feeling." I just didn't think women got them until their third trimester, so it didn't even cross my mind that's what these were.

I told my doctor about them this morning, and she said they definitely sound like Braxton Hicks, that not all women feel them but that they are totally normal, even at this stage of pregnancy. As long as I don't get more than four in an hour, I should be fine. It's just the body's way of getting ready for birth. Very interesting.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I saw Jackson kick me for the first time! I was sitting in a boring meeting. I was wearing a dress that really hugged my bump. As I was literally twiddling my thumbs during one of the agenda items, Jack was really moving around. And I saw my belly elevate just a little bit in the spot where he kicked me. It only happened once, but it was so cool! There will be much more of that to come, but I wanted to write it here so I don't forget exactly when I saw movement for the first time.

[dri2011]

It's so awesome you got to see Jack kick!!! I'm so excited! I hope the Miralax works for you, I can't imagine being constipated all the time. I don't remember having Braxton Hicks with DD, then again my contractions felt like my stomach was growling every 4 to 6 minutes so I'm the wrong person to ask about that

[Belita]

I hope the Miralax works!

That's wonderful you could see Jack move from the outside today! I think the pictures I've seen of women's bellies with a full foot being shown are amazing.

[junie22]

20 weeks & 5 days

So I looked a little bit more into Jackson's condition, which my OB told me not to do. Actually, she said that she knows patients go onto the Internet and start searching away. So she wanted to give me as much information yesterday as possible. And she also said to call anytime if I have any follow-up questions. I didn't mention in yesterday's post that when urinary tract issues are identified on u/s (which happens in at least 2.0% of all fetuses), it can be a soft marker for Downs Syndrome (which only occurs in 0.1% of all fetuses). She said that she didn't even want to mention it, but she wanted to just tell me because I might go searching for more information and come across that tidbit.

Soft markers are not good indicators of Downs Syndrome, though, when the hard markers come back normal, especially when only one soft marker is identified. Both my first trimester and second trimester blood screening came back normal, as did the NT scan. I kind of wanted to smack her because soft markers really don't mean a **** thing unless combined with abnormalities in the more in-depth screening. And since all of that was normal, I wish she hadn't even mentioned it. This is why Dr. Google is such an evil thing. My OB felt compelled to head off what I might find on the Internet.

Yesterday, she called Jack's condition pyelectasis. It's not full-blown hydronephrosis. She had stated that the dilatation of the ureter was only 2-3mm, which is on the very low end. In fact, pyelectasis is usually not defined unless the dilatation reaches 4mm. So I think that her even telling me is just her way of being proactive and fully disclosing. In cases where the dilatation is less than 10mm, more than 90% improve by themselves. Since Jack's was so minimal, I'm crossing fingers that his ureters will look perfect at the next u/s on 4/30.

Additionally, urinary tract issues are the most common identified problem among fetuses and newborns. Pyelectasis in particular is often a genetically passed along trait. I find this very interesting because both my mother and I have had urinary tract issues our whole lives. I wonder if I have/had this condition as well? Back when my mother was pregnant, ultrasounds didn't look for such things. So who knows?

I mentioned that I saw Jack kick me from the outside on Wednesday. Well, this morning, when I woke up, I decided to throw off the covers, roll onto my back, and just watch my stomach for a few minutes to see if he would start kicking. Sure enough, thump, thump, thump. I could see every single kick. I imagine that if I would have been looking for them, I would have been able to see the movement a while back. It's pretty weird watching my stomach bubble up like that. And I imagine it's going to become even weirder as he grows and grows.

Such a miracle this little life is.

[kbpeanut]

Just checking in on you. I'm glad your OB put your mind at ease with her assessment of the situation. You are smart to research a little to educate yourself, but keeping a level head about the reality of the situation. I'm sure everything will resolve on it's own.

That's awesome that you saw a kick...well, several! A JM friend of mine took video of her belly as from her point of view (so holding the camera/video camera, and pointing downward at her belly), and captured her son kicking from the outside. It's pretty darn neat. You should do that

Just wanted to pop in and say hi!

[Belita]

Jack is a little miracle and his uterers are going to be perfect at your next ultrasound. I just know it.

[junie22]

20 weeks & 6 days

We have definitely decided on our theme for the nursery! It's going to be outer space, but we don't want everything to be too matchy-matchy. We're going to use a light shade of gray on the walls. We'll have white furniture. And we'll add pops of aqua and orange throughout the room.

Last night, I bought the bedding from The Land of Nod. I've included a pic below. We only bought the sheet and crib skirt, rather than the full set (especially since it's construction themed and not outer space). I don't want to use bumpers in the crib, and I'm thinking about asking my sister or mom to make a quilt that complements our colors/theme. I also bought a couple of floor storage bins (like for toys or dirty clothes or other things) that match the colors of the bedding.



We decided a while back that we were going to buy an Ikea crib and mattress because they are both economical and have higher safety standards than most American-made products. We figured that the money we save on the furniture will certainly be put to good use on other things. So this morning, we headed to Ikea and bought the crib, crib mattress, and a dresser. We still have to assemble them, but the floor models looked quite sturdy.

We're heading to Lowe's tomorrow morning to buy three different shades of light gray paint, and then we'll see which one we like the best in the room. We'll probably paint next weekend and then assemble the furniture that we've bought so far.

I also have a board on Pinterest that has a number of other products I want to buy to complete the room. I wanted to get the basics in there first, though, before I go overboard with buying things. I'm very excited to finally be moving forward with the decorating!

We were going to go to Babies 'R' Us to register this afternoon, but the place was so busy. We just decided that we'll go tomorrow, when most families will probably be involved with Easter festivities.

When we got home this afternoon, we laid down for a few minutes. Jack started kicking up a storm, so I pulled up my shirt for William to watch. Sure enough, he could see every kick. So much fun!

[Belita]

The theme sounds cute! Can't wait to see how it comes together!

[junie22]

Originally Posted by Belita

Can't wait to see how it comes together!

Me too!

[DaniM0820]

So exciting that the nursery is coming together! We plan to go to BRU today too to start our registry!

[junie22]

21 weeks

I added my weekly pics to the first post.

We went to Babies 'R' Us today to register. We made a very good decision, waiting until Easter Sunday instead of going Saturday. The place was totally dead! I parked in an "expectant mothers" parking space just because I could.

Upon registering, we received some samples, goodies, and other coupons, which was nice. We also signed up for the V.I.B. program. It's different than the rewards card. It enables us to load $ onto the card, which can then be used like a debit card for essentials (diapers, wipes, baby food, and formula). If we use the card, they give us 10%. On our registry, we can give people the option of adding cash to the V.I.B. card, instead of buying diapers and wipes for us. We get the 10% back, and we also don't get overloaded with too many diapers of one size or brands we don't like.

The bummer part about registering is that there were a variety of products online that they didn't have in store. And while some people might buy online, the majority will want to buy in person. I'm going to keep store and online items on the registry anyway. It just kind of stinks that they don't carry a lot of popular and top-rated items in store.

We've also decided to register on Amazon.com because Babies 'R' Us has a more limited selection of things like crib sheets, boppy covers, changing pad covers, and other items where we're looking for specific colors. We plan on wearing our baby as much as possible, and most Babies 'R' Us locations don't stock Ergo brand, which is the one we know we want to buy. Since so many of our friends and family live out of state anyway, they'll be buying gifts online as it is. So hopefully it will work out. We honestly figure that we'll buy most things on our own anyway, which is just fine.

We almost got through the whole store when I started getting shooting pains in my lower abdomen. I figured it was the constipation issue again. I sat down, and it felt better. After a few minutes, I got up to finish the registry, and the pain came back. So we ended up leaving. The pain passed after I got in the car and leaned the seat back. Quite annoying, but I'll get the registry finished sometime this week, and I'll add some things from online as well.