22 Weeks

22 Weeks in-- that's 5 and a half months.  :)

This pregnancy is flying by!  We're at the end of April-- only four more months until we reach the end of August and meet Little Baby P.!

Everyday, Little Michael is getting stronger and is practicing his kicking, punching, and flipping skills. :)

Most of you won't read this post until Friday or Saturday, but I am actually writing this post a few days early-- on April 25th, my birthday!  Tomorrow morning, Little Baby P. and I will be on our way to visit Grandma Gallahair!  My coworkers have told me to "play the pregnancy card" in the airport and make sure that people are nice to me! :)

This Week:
-Little Baby P.'s hands are getting bigger and stronger.
-The nerve endings in the fingers have developed Little Michael's sense of touch.  He is practicing with this new sense by touching his face and grabbing on the umbilical cord (which I am convinced he was doing this morning!)
-Little Baby P.'s brain is rapidly developing this week and will continue to do so until he is 5 years old!  As I've stated numerous times, we're gonna have one smart kid!
-Little Michael's hair is a bright white.  This is normal since all babies in the womb at this age lack pigment in the hair.
-Taste buds are forming and Little Baby P. is tasting the amniotic fluid.  This inspires me to load up on more fruit rather than spicy foods!
-Little Baby P. weighs almost a pound! :) 
-Until this point, Little Baby P.'s length was measured from his head to his hiney.  From now on, Little Baby P.'s length will be measured from his head to his heel.  Therefore, this week, Little Baby P. is nearly 11 inches long! WOW!  That's about as long as a package of Oreos:

(Photo credit: usedwigs.com)

Little Baby P. is surely a sweet boy.

My Craves:

-I am still under the impression that root beer from a glass bottle is so much more refreshing than a can or a plastic bottle.

-Chocolate.  After all, it is my birthday and chocolate and I have been friends for a long time.  There's no reason to kick him to the curb just yet.  (Side note for all the health conscious: I do watch how much chocolate I consume. Fortunately, my pantry is void of this crave. I satisfy the craving through a piece of birthday cake).

Thank-you for your continued prayers.  I am enjoying this pregnancy so much and can't wait to hold my sweet little boy!  Until then, I am satisfied with feeling the kicks, punches, and flips. :)  Our next doctor appointment will be next Thursday.  Hopefully, we will get to hear Little Baby P.'s heartbeat with a stethoscope. :)  And maybe they'll measure my growing belly.  :) Until next week's post,  Much Love _Reba

21 Weeks

We are at 21 weeks and that means we're over halfway!!! Woo-hoo! We're over the hump and it's all down hill from here!

We do have some exciting news.... We have officially picked out a name for Little Baby P.  His name will be Michael William Petersen.   He will be named after Aaron's dad (Michael) and my dad (William).  We think this is a good strong name and we are beginning to use it frequently when we talk to Little Baby P. 

Side note:  Though we've picked out a name, Michael will remain Little Baby P. to me, and I will most likely continue to use these names interchangeably on the blog. :)

Little Baby P. and I get to go on a vacation next week and we are very excited!  (I'm sure he's excited even if he doesn't know it) :)  We will be venturing up to Maryland to visit my Grandma Gallahair.   Aaron won't be able to join us because he will be using his vacation time in July to be the best man in his best friend's wedding.   Little Baby P. and I are disappointed that we can't join him, but we will both be a little too big to safely travel on a plane at that time.

Little Baby P.'s "big brother" Akuna has been Mr. Clingy lately.  Although he has a doggie bed at the foot of our bed, he chooses to sleep on the floor right next to my side of the bed.  If I wake up in the middle of the night, I have to check for his white fur before I step out of bed.

Little Baby P. is certainly growing and I have the growing belly to prove it! :)  Instead of random people venturing to ask if I'm pregnant, they now assume that I am and ask instead what my due date is. 

Little Baby P. is developing his own quirks.  Around the 7:30pm time frame, he takes a little nap where he scrunches his body against the right or left side of the womb.  Last night, I thought his foot was about to poke through my side.  :)

We have found that he LOVES to be read to and sung to!  He loves all books, and kicks during our reading time.  I sing to him whenever I'm in the car, and I sing/hum to him while I'm at my desk.  The song choices come from "Kids Sing Praise," which I listened to as a little kiddle.  His favorite song so far is "Jesus Loves the Little Children."  I get the biggest kick response out of that one. :)

This Week:
-Little Baby P.'s facial features are set and hair is growing on his head!
-He can suck his thumb (which we saw him doing on the ultrasound screen) and yawn.
-His heartbeat gets stronger everyday, and now it can be heard with a stethoscope! :)  I'm hoping to test this out at Mom's house since her nursing profession means she has a stethoscope handy.
-Little Baby P.'s fetal bone marrow starts making blood cells-- This was previously done by the liver and the spleen.
-Little Baby P. continues to "snack" on the amniotic fluid.  The intestines are able to absorb small amounts of sugar from it.
-Little Baby P. weighs over 11 ounces and is about 7 inches long, which is the size of a bottle of root beer:

(Photo credit: drpeppersnapplegroup.com)

I sure LOVE root beer!

My Craves:

- Still really like to snack on grapes.  They make a great morning snack at work.

-Any kind of grilled meat.  I am sure blessed that I married such a grill master!  Aaron can work wonders with seasonings. :)

-Root beer in a glass bottle. (Somehow it just tastes so much better out of the glass bottle).

I have slipped back into the low energy mode.  I struggle to make it past 8:00 for a bedtime.  :( 

I have discovered the I am anti-onion at the moment.  I am requesting dishes without the onion addition, and am modifying dishes to exclude onions.  Hopefully this won't last long, because I do like onions.... just not right now.

Aaron and I have started a registry at Target.  We will add things to this list as we think about them, and hear reviews from our friends with children.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers!  We are so excited to continue in this journey! Love, Reba

20 Weeks

We are 20 Weeks Along!  That means we are halfway through!!!

(Photo credit: blogspot.com)

This has been a very exciting week for us.  We have REALLY begun to feel Little Baby P. kick!   On Monday while I was sitting in my Mom's kitchen and leaning forward towards the kitchen counter, I felt these little bump-bumps.  I realized it was Little Baby P. kicking! :)  I was very excited and tried to let my Mom feel, but Little Baby P. decided he exerted himself enough for the time being. :) 

That evening, Aaron read a bedtime story to our little boy and he LOVED it! He kicked the whole time.  After the story was over, I stayed very still and brought Aaron's hand to where Little Baby P. was kicking.  He kicked a good hard kick and Aaron felt it!  It was really cool to see the huge smile spread across his face as he felt our son kick. :)

Everyday since, Little Baby P. has kicked consistently and with more power everyday.  I'm trying to distinguish the kicks from the punches.  Sometimes I think a lighter kick might actually be a punch.  Whatever the case may be, Little Baby P. is eagerly exploring his warm little home.

Sometimes, he presses his little body against the sides of the uterus, and I can hold my hand just below my bellybutton and feel him resting there. :)

This Week:

-Little Baby P. actually has a sleep cycle similar to that of a newborn!  Based on his kicking habits, I think he is a night owl moreso than an early bird.  Even he thinks that 4:45 is too early to wake up everyday! 

-He might have a favorite sleeping position already.

-Little Baby P. is going to devote more energy to gaining weight from here on out.  I keep reminding him everyday that all he has to do is grow and play.  So far, he's a first time obeyer. :)

-This week, Little Baby P. weighs about 10 and a half ounces, and is roughly 6 and a half inches long.  That's about the size of a can of Red Bull:

(Photo credit: infobarrel.com)

My Cravings:

-Purple or red grapes (preferably chilled).  This is the ideal morning snack.

-Apples (preferably red or gala).

-Root Beer (the uncaffeinated kind, sorry Barq's.  Choice brands are Mug and IBC.

Thank-you for keeping us in your prayers!  We are excited for the things to come!  Love, Reba





19 Weeks

We have made it to 19 weeks and are so thrilled to be almost halfway through the pregnancy!  :) 

Yesterday we had a doctor's appointment to include an ultrasound in which we found out whether Little Baby P. was a boy or a girl. 

So, without further ado, we proudly announce that Little Baby P. is .............................................................. (drum roll please)...................................................... .........................



A little boy! 

(Photo credit: 123rf.com)

This mommy-to-be was hoping for a little boy and I was very excited to see Little Baby P. is just that! :)

The ultrasound was so fun! 

To start, Little Baby P. was scrunched in the left side of the uterus and standing on his head with his knees tucked into his chest.  He would swing out his legs to kick, and quickly bring them back to the tucked starting position.  It was so cool to see him moving around!  He made us laugh because he has all this space to move around and stretch out and he chose to tuck himself into one little ball in the corner. :)

The ultrasound technician (who is fabulous and so friendly) had to work a little bit to get Little Baby P. to flip over so that she could get some better measurements of his head, femur (thigh bone), etc. 

It was within the first five minutes of the ultrasound that we found out Little Baby P. is a boy.  It was fun to complete the rest of the ultrasound knowing we have a son moving around in there! :)

We could see all four chambers of Little Baby P.'s sweet heart.  It took a few tries to be able to listen to the heartbeat since he was so active and kept moving around.  He's quite a busy little bee in there.  His heartbeat was a steady 151.  He's an active lil guy!

Once he rolled over, he brought his right hand up to his mouth.  Aaron said he was picking his nose, but I think he was sucking his thumb. :)  Towards the end of the ultrasound time, he started moving his hand away from his mouth and back towards it again. It was so cool to watch him play and move!

When we started the ultrasound, the ultrasound technician could see that Little Baby P.'s bladder was getting full.  By the end of the ultrasound, he had relieved himself. :)  There's a good amount of amniotic fluid for Little Baby P. to swim around in, and this is a good thing.  It means his kidneys are functioning well.

We could see Little Baby P.'s legs and tiny feet, and arms and little hands.  He sure looks like he'll be a sweet cuddle bug.  :) 

There are no problems that were seen on the ultrasound.  Little Baby P. is measuring at an appropriate length and cranium size for a 19-week old baby in the womb.   He weighs 10 ounces.  We are so thrilled that he is healthy!

Little Baby P. is around 6 inches long.  And if you're like me, you hear "6 inch" and think of a Subway sandwich!

(Photo credit: freesamplefreak.com)

He seems to have plenty of room to grow and play, which are his only responsibilities right now and I remind him of this each morning. :)

Little Baby P. has a very sweet profile and we can't wait to meet him in just a few short months!  Here's a sneak peek of our sweet little boy:

Little Baby P. is lying face up and looking toward the left.  See his little nose and lips? :)

The darker blotch in the chest cavity is his little sweet heart.  :)

This Week:

-Little Baby P. acquires more fat to keep him warm after he is born.

-Vernix, a white milky substance (kind of like yogurt) coats his skin to keep him protected from the amniotic fluid.

-Lanugo, which is a fuzzy hair substance, covers his skin underneath the vernix.  This keeps him warm while in the womb.

My Cravings:

-Salad.  Salad salad salad.  Has to have tomatoes! And preferably with honey mustard dressing. :)

-Grapes and apples are the fruit choices this week.

-Sweets :(  I'm trying to limit this category and I'm sure it's being heightened by the surplus of cooking to do around this Easter holiday.  Since I'm a self-proclaimed "not a very good cook" I bake desserts to take to all these functions, which in turn means that I have a lot of sweets at the house. 

We are so excited to share the news with you that we're going to have a sweet baby boy!  Thank-you for keeping us in your prayers! Love, Reba