Thursday, June 28, 2007

Age of Viability Reached...

I am now 24 weeks (6 months!!!) pregnant. Actually, according to my doctor, I was 24 weeks pregnant a couple days ago. We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and she reviewed the stats from our 22 week ultrasound. She said the baby was measuring 2 days ahead (already a little over-achiever, like his parents!) However, unless the baby is measuring a week behind or ahead, the official estimated due date is not changed.

24 weeks is the standard "age of viability," which is the earliest a baby can survive if born early. Some babies have survived after being born as early as 21-22 weeks, but 24 weeks is when more than 50% of babies born at this time will survive (with intensive neonatal care). At 25 weeks, approximately 70% will survive and at 26 weeks, this figure jumps to 90%. Almost all babies born at 30 weeks will survive (once again, with specialized hospital care).

I should mention there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to think I will go into labor this early and it is not something I worry about (honestly!!!) I just find it incredible that babies who weigh merely a pound can survive - aren't we lucky to live in this day and age with our outstanding medical technology? I might be interested in going into neonatal nursing so I am trying to use this pregnancy as an excuse to further educate myself on all things fetal.

However, before I become a nurse I need to ace Microbiology so back to studying...

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Thursday, June 21, 2007

A Letter to Dorian

Dear Dorian,

Why won't you let your mother sleep? You are going to have 18 years to torture her and give her sleepless nights. Don't you know she needs her sleep now while she is trying to incubate you and give you the best possible start in life? Are you aware she has a Microbiology exam today and 2 long workdays ahead of her? Would you please get off her bladder?! She is very frustrated at having to pee no less than 8-10 times each night. When she finally gets to sleep (when her bladder is completely empty and she is so thirsty she dreams of beverages), you wake her up at 6am with your acrobats inside her. She has not had a good night's sleep in over a week. You won't even let her nap when she has the time. Please, will you lay off the sleepless nights until you're born? Your mother loves you very much and hopes you will comply.

Thank you for your assistance, Little Man.

Sincerely,

Your Landlord

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Ultrasound Pictures (22 weeks)

Unfortunately, they are not actually all that clear. I was expecting to see a lot more because the baby is so much bigger than he was at the 13 week ultrasound. Plus, you see all these incredibly clear ultrasounds on the internet, but a lot of those are the 3-D and color ones. Having said that, we could see a lot more on the screen than you can in the pictures - it was pretty incredible to see the various parts of his brain and the 4 separate chambers of his heart, especially since I just completed my Anatomy course. I also found it very cool that Dorian is so big now, the tech couldn't fit him all on one screen - she had to move the wand across my abdomen a lot more. She did prod me a lot like last time (to try to get him to move). Luckily, James held my hands down so I wouldn't hit her. After she had looked at Dorian, a doctor came in to do a second check. He was much more gentle (probably more used to lawsuits from worried moms-to-be). He told us Dorian was very healthy and judging by the size of his cerebellum, he has an IQ of 200! Just like his parents.


Top left and right pictures - Dorian's face (looking straight at you)
Bottom left - Dorian's active foot
Bottom right - Dorian's man package (see the little arrow pointing down on it)


All four pictures - Dorian's profile (see the Brandli & Crocker features?)

Thursday, June 14, 2007

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now repeat after me, "Kelly is always right." Thank you. A mother's intuition never fails - good to know mine is already spot on! We had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound today at 22 weeks. Our baby is 100% healthy - strong heartbeat at 152 bpm, no obvious defects in heart, brain, spine, kidneys, bladder, etc. A very obvious scrotum. James' big brain. My delicate facial features. Lots of hiccups. Waving arms. Butt pressed right against my bladder (this explains a lot!) Tiny toes on his feet. CrockBaby is now approximately 6.5 inches long and 1 pound, 2 ounces. He is just the right size for 22 weeks. Funny to me that I have put on nearly 14 pounds and yet he is only 1 pound!!! (I know, I know, it's all amniotic fluid, placenta, maternal fat stores, etc, etc.) All is well in Dorian Roy Crocker's world. We chose the name ages ago - Dorian for James' favorite musical mode. I love the name - it is such a unique, beautiful name. Dorian means "Of the Sea" in Greek, which is quite fitting considering he will be born near the Pacific Ocean. Also, not only was I born here as well, but James was born in Plymouth, England. Plymouth is a seafaring town on the English Channel - you know, it's the town the Mayflower set sail from way back in the day. Dorian's middle name will be Roy because James, his father and his grandfather (and perhaps further back?) have all had this middle name. Dorian's last name will be Crocker for the obvious reasons. We will post the ultrasound pictures tonight or tomorrow - James had to rush off to work after phoning everyone. I still don't know how to crop or compress photos!

In other news, Dorian has been moving A LOT the last week. James even felt him move on Saturday! I love the feeling - usually I feel like something is treading water inside me. It feels like the tension that builds up when your leg goes against the flow of water and you get that pulling movement. Then occasionally, I'll have a more distinct knocking against the wall of my abdomen. And of course, I pee all the time and have trouble holding it for long periods of time so I was laughing when I saw his little butt pressed right up against my bladder.

I started Microbiology class this week and am relieved to find my class interesting and not quite as challenging as I had feared. I study and run errands during the day and am in class from 5-9:30pm Monday-Thursday. I am still unsure of my work schedule for the summer. I work tomorrow (in Half Moon Bay) and will hopefully be speaking with my boss about my future with the company. With the office move last week, there was no time to meet with her. I also started hypnotherapy this week as I am determined to have a natural childbirth. I never would have considered hypnotherapy in the past, but I will try anything that can help me reach my goal. I have heard really great things about hypnobirthing and I figure, anything that can help me relax (you all know how high-strung I am), can't be a bad thing. Surprisingly, I actually conked out during hypnotherapy and even saw an extremely bright light at one point (when she was cleansing me with light). Very surreal. Expect another blog or two on this experience and my hypnotherapist as I complete more sessions and read the books I am supposed to read for self-hypnosis.

James finishes the spring semester at the Community School in Mountain View next week and will resume teaching there in September. Over the next few months, he will continue to teach private lessons from home, but Tempest has a lot more gigs during the summer so he needed to keep the days/evenings more open. James is also going to be assisting my dad with our flat renovations this summer. A contractor will be moving the washer and dryer from the laundry room into one of the bathrooms. This isn't quite as easy as it sounds, as a boiler has to be moved, a bathtub relocated and a wall put up. My dad and James will then repaint our whole flat this summer and of course, we'll prepare the nursery (formerly the laundry room). In addition, James will move his recording studio from the dining room into our bedroom and our bedroom will move into the room that was the study. It's hard to explain - everyone will just have to come visit!

I better complete my Microbiology lab write-up so I will say adios for now. I'll leave you with this thought: Kelly was right!!!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

I've been singing...

Much to Kelly's annoyance I've been singing this song around the house a lot lately. Don't worry, the video is NOT me singing!

Sunday, June 3, 2007

It's alive!!!

We have movement, people! Finally, the baby has moved strongly enough that I can be sure it is him/her and not gas. After a gourmet lunch of grilled cheese sandwich and baby carrots, followed by watermelon slices and a cup of hot milk with chocolate syrup, the baby moved! I felt a very distinct couple of movements that can only be described as something gently punching/kicking me from the inside of my belly. Then I felt lots of the similar fluttering I have been feeling for awhile (similar to gas!) followed by a few more inner-beating feelings. Yippee! I can feel my baby. At last! Perhaps he was trying to wish his mommy and daddy a happy 2 year wedding anniversary. Somehow I think it's more likely he just gets as much of a kick (pun intended) out of hot chocolate as his mama does!

This will be my last post until next week-end as I am going to be spending the week in Half Moon Bay, helping the accounting firm move in to their new office. Still no word as to what my future will be with the company but I will post something as soon as I know. The commute to Half Moon Bay without a car is brutal (2.5 hours on public transport with 3 transfers each way). Luckily, this week I will be staying in a B&B, courtesy of my employers. I am quite excited to be staying in an English style seaside B&B for several days, even if I do have to work each day for my keep. James is going to try and join baby and I for a night or two.

We took pictures of my belly yesterday but they have not been compressed yet, so I will try to convince James to post them tomorrow. The bump still seems to be growing rapidly each day. If I continue at this rate of weight gain and belly growth, I am going to be over 200 pounds and immobile by October 19th! I am sure it will slow down a bit at some point.

Anyway, I need to go and do laundry and all that fun stuff so bye for now. See you all next week-end!