Week 25--a breath of fresh air.

Again--another crazy week. Gah!! So I'm posting this one a little late again...erg. I'll get on top of this....hopefully....I think.....

So anyway--25 weeks! Already!! Time is just zippin' on by!!

This week, Gabriel has reached about 9 inches in length and weighs around 1 1/2 pounds! There's lots of fun stuff happening right now! Capillaries are forming under his skin and by the end of the week, air sacs will have developed in his lungs. Gabe's lungs are also beginning to develop surfactant, which will help them expand after he is born. His nostrils (which, up until now, have been plugged) are starting to open up this week. This enables Gabriel to start taking practice "breaths". Also, his vocal cords are functioning now which will lead to occasional hiccups that I should be able to feel! (crazy!) Another prominent change this week is that kiddo's skin is thickening and becoming less transparent. He still hasn't quite grown into it yet, so it's still wrinkled. And finally (one of the coolest things this week!), his heartbeat may be strong enough now that other people could hear it if they press their ear to my belly!

This past week has been a roller coaster for me! But it's good. I've processed a lot of emotion concerning Ray and my pregnancy. It has been hard to deal with thus far, but I'm starting to take everything in stride. I am realizing that I am stronger than I thought. I know I can do this! It is a relief, actually, to know the truth about all of the things I have wondered about (though it was a little hard to swallow and painful to hear at times). Feeling Gabriel move and grow is the coolest thing I have ever experienced! I feel truly blessed to have this new life inside me waiting to be born. I get more excited every day! I can't wait to meet him and hold him and play with him and watch him grow and learn. He may not have been planned, but I can't imagine him not being here--or being "on the way". I love him more than anything!

At least I know his ears are working...

Hahaha...I went and saw "The Ugly Truth" last night and there was a part where I burst out laughing (it was a funny movie), or maybe it was an "Aaahh!!"--I don't know. Anyway, I'm pretty sure it scared the crap outta little Gabe because I felt him "jump" or whatever in my tummy! LOLOL It was funny. I definitely startled him. Maybe it's only funny to me.....whatever. Hahaha

News

I found out on Monday that Gabriel has a brother and a sister! The way I found out was a little jolting and kind of upsetting, but I'm excited about it.

I guess Ray has two kids that I never knew about with his ex wife. (The upsetting part was that he never told me for whatever reason) She and I have talked (emailed) and she sounds like a great person and an awesome mom from what I can tell. The kids are SO CUTE! And they look so much like Ray--it's crazy! It seems that he has some pretty dominant genes. I'm worried that none of mine will even push through!! LOL It looks like they both got his eyes and his lips, but I would have to get a better look at Racheal to see what all they got from her too. Wouldn't it be awesome if Gabriel got Ray's eyes but with my color? And his skin tone? Oh man--that would be so pretty!

Anyway, it's just some huge news and I felt like I needed to get it out. Gabe has siblings! I hope they will get to meet sometime soon in the next year or so. It would be really cool if they became well-acquainted with each other--enough to at least know that they are connected and eventually understand how. I've even thought about living in a nearby state when we move back from Hawaii so we can all be somewhat close. We'll have to see how things work out.

If Gabriel is half as cute (like there's any question!!) as Ray's other two kids (I haven't mentioned their names because I don't know if it's okay with their mamma if I do...) he's going to be adorable! And, of course, being his mother--I will think that he's the cutest thing on the planet--so I have no doubts!

24 Weeks!!

Okay, so yesterday got a little crammed and busy, so the 24 week update had to wait until today. Oh well!!

Before I get into all that, there are a few items that need to be addressed/announced. First off, my AFP (or "Quad Screen") results came back and everything is normal! Yay!! What a relief! Second, I'm moving to Hawaii with my mom and Mike. They want to help, and the best way they'll be able to do so is if I move to Oahu with them. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to move, but after some thought I realized that this is really the best way. My mom is super excited that I'm coming--and so am I! So I'll be flying out there on September 14th (as long as the pregnancy is still going well and there are no high-risk factors). I'll be 32 weeks along by then--gah!!

Anyway, this week Gabriel is about 1 1/2 pounds and about 8 1/2 inches--about the size of a standard letter. His weekly weight gain is around 6 oz now! That weight is coming from body fat increase and growing organs, muscles, and bones. Gabe's face is almost fully formed--he has a full set of eyelashes and eyebrows and most likely some hair on his head. All of this hair, though, is white since there's no pigment in it yet. He is also starting to produce white blood cells--preparing to fight of the possible infections of the world.

Some interesting developments I've started noticing: he responds to the sound of my voice and even my touch (if I rest my hand or my arm on my belly)! It's awesome. If he's moving around and kicking a lot, I talk to him and he settles down! On the flip side, if I want to feel him move all I have to do (a good portion of the time) is just press my hand to my belly and he kicks to respond! The resources (pregnancy books and websites/articles) say that this is his way of communicating with me. Super neat, right?! He already knows me and I'm totally in love!

P.S. I've uploaded ultrasound and belly pics to their appropriate/corresponding blog posts. If you want to see, they are on May 21 (first ultrasound pic), June 9 (second ultrasound pic), July 4 (first belly pic), July 6 (the AWESOME ultrasound pics), and July 10 (23 week belly).

"What is going on here?...huh?...Oh that's right--I'm losing my mind...."

Not much to update really....Gabriel moves and kicks and punches a LOT. He's a feisty little guy! I'm getting a little forgetful now and then. Sometimes I forget to take my vitamins (which my mom is super adamant about me staying on top of!) and the other day I was making extreme scrambled eggs (seriously, you've GOT to have me make them for you sometime) and one of the eggs I cracked and dumped into the trash instead of the bowl! I didn't realize what I had done until I went to throw the shell in with the other eggs in the mixing bowl....oh my....lol!!

I was talking to a friend who reminded me that I could register on Amazon (!) and that way it won't matter where I decide to be living (whether it's here or Hawaii or San Diego or freaking Africa) and people will be able to access my registry from wherever they are and get it to where ever I am. And most of the items, if you buy them direct from Amazon, ship for free if your order is at least $25!! Even if people don't want to spend much, they can combine orders and get the free shipping. Plus, Amazon has everything--things you can't find in some stores. So I've decided to print off my registries that I've already started other places and combine them into ONE on Amazon. I'm only partly through the whole process so far, but the link to my registry is on the sidebar for anyone who wants to take a look!

23 Weeks!!

23 week belly!

I've decided that every Friday (when I'm "officially" entering a new week of pregnancy), I will post the fun/cool/interesting things that are/will/should be going on in my tummy! It's quite the little factory--and it's starting to make me more and more tired as the weeks go on! I am still amazed at what my body is capable of creating--all with the help of just one little swimmer from Ray! Crazy!!

So this week, Gabe is about 8 inches long (for now, this measurement is "crown to rump", or head to tush) and weighs in at just over a pound! By the end of the month he should double his weight--gah!! That's a good thing though because apparently his skin is a bit loose at this point. That's because the skin grows faster than fat develops. Once he packs on some fat, he'll be less transparent too (right now baby's skin is see-through with a slightly red hue due to developing blood veins and arteries).

I saw him via ultrasound earlier this week, though, so I already know he's as cute as can be!! I can't get over how amazing that ultrasound machine they had was--it was super hi-tech! You could see his face and everything!! He has cute little lips and an adorable nose....can't wait to meet him!!

Quick update

So Ray's mom (Daisy) finally responded to my messages/texts!! I told her (and Ray's dad and sister....and Ray) about my decision to keep my baby. I told her that I hope she and Ray (Ray's dad...man, that's gonna be confusing....they call his dad "Ray" and him "Ray-rey" or something...) will be a part of Gabriel's life and that I want Gabe to know both sides of his family very well. She texted me back the other day and told me they want to be a part of their grandson's life and they want him to know who they are. I am so happy! Not that I had any doubts, but I'm glad to have it confirmed!

Yesterday I was feeling kind of bummed about Ray....I haven't heard from him in a long time. About a month, actually. I mean, we didn't really talk a lot, but there was the occasional phone call to discuss decisions that needed to be made, etc. He no longer has a phone, but the girl he's living with does, and he and I have talked via her phone and mine before. He doesn't answer or call back anymore though. He doesn't write me back when I email him or send him messages on myspace either. The beautiful thing about MySpace, though, is that you can tell whether someone has read/responded to a message you've written them simply by checking your "sent" box. So I can see that he has read my messages, he just doesn't respond to them. That makes me sad. And I never know if he is okay (the people he spends his days with are not the best, most up-standing citizens of our old neighborhood....) or if he's in jail or lying in a ditch somewhere. It worries me. So now I don't know if he has gotten the news that I've decided to keep our baby. It sucks.

So anyway, I was feeling really sad about all of that yesterday (it comes and goes in strong waves every five to ten days or so--damn these pregnancy hormones!!) so I called my mom. I was telling her that I'm most sad about it because I have seen what kind of man he can be. I've seen him play with my niece (Lily) and how cute he is with babies and little kids. I know he could be a great father!! But it just seems to me like he doesn't even care. It's depressing. So my mom came up to my apartment and took me to go look at baby stuff to cheer me up. It worked like a charm!! It's so fun to go look at baby stuff and get all excited about clothes and bottles and booties and strollers!! I decided to start a registry at Target while we were there. Over the next week or so, my mom and I are going to go to WalMart and Babies R Us and do registries there as well. Fun stuff!!

A New Name

I wrote in a post a few months ago that I was naming my son Aiden. I've decided I not to call him that.

His name will be Gabriel Thomas. My little angel Gabriel.

The name means "strong man of God", "hero of God", "God is my strength and courage" and similar and is of both Hebrew and Spanish origin/heritage. In the bible, Gabriel (who Joseph Smith indicated was the Old Testament prophet Noah) is one of the seven archangels. He appeared in both the Old Testament (to Daniel) and in the New Testament (announcing the birth of John to Zacharias and the coming birth of Jesus to Mary). I have always liked the name and now I LOVE it!! So Gabriel it is.

I chose Thomas for his middle name after my father and brother. I think Gabriel Thomas is a good, strong name.

He will most likely be called "Gabe" for short, but I won't mind that.

IT'S A....

BOY!!!

The arrow is pointing at his little boy parts!! We have proof!

I went in today to do the ultrasound and have a visit with Dr. Parker. Their ultrasound room was huge and super hi-tech. It was so awesome!! They stay really up to date with their equipment, so they have the latest and greatest of ultrasound machines (they can even do the 3-D ultrasounds! But insurance doesn't cover those and they cost like $80). Instead of having to watch the ultrasound on the tiny little screen that you usually see on tv and in movies, they had a huge flat screen monitor that came down from the ceiling that we (my mom and Aubrey and "aunt" Lydia came with me) got to watch it on. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life! I wanted to cry. We could see his face (it totally looks like he got Ray's lips and my nose, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see!!) and his heart and his brain and his spine and EVERYTHING. Seriously--so cool. I saw his little weinie and got so excited!! I knew it was going to be a boy!! We got some really great pictures and the ultrasound tech (who, by the way, was amazing--she has a BA in Diagnostic Imaging and she was really great about explaining everything that she was doing and why) even made me a DVD of the whole thing for only $5!!

She misspelled "foot", but you get the idea! (She went back and fixed it, but this picture turned out better)

Shazam!! My baby boy is a freakin rock star!!

He is so cute!! Looks like he's blowing bubbles in this one...

After the ultrasound we visited with Dr. Parker (an awesome, old, grandfatherly guy--super nice). He said everything looks great--the baby looks normal and healthy. Dr. Dewey never did recalculate the AFP, so Dr. Parker had his nurse get ahold of the lab to make sure they do it. I should get a call pretty soon with the new results. He said that it looks like it will come back in the good/normal range with the correct due date though, so we're not too worried about it. Even as it is with incorrect information, it's only a 1 in 100 chance.

Anyway, he is so cute! I'm so excited!!

HUGE news

I've decided to keep the baby! My mom and Mike are going to help me as much as they can, and I'm sure everything will work out. They want me to move to Hawaii with them this fall before the baby is born too. I'm seriously considering it!!

I don't know how Ray's family feels about all of this--or anything at all, really. They never write me back or answer my calls or text messages. Except Jasmin, Ray's sister.

So anyway, my next doctor visit is tomorrow! Gah!! I get to find out if I'm having a boy or a girl!! My prediction is a boy. My mom says she still thinks it's going to be a girl. I guess we'll find out tomorrow!!

Still here

So my computer has been acting up lately, but I just got it fixed! Yay!!!

I got a new doctor (Dr. Parker, who comes highly recommended) and went to the new office, Mt Timpanogos Women's Health Care, on June 22nd for a visit. I saw Dr. Allen (who may or may not be the on-call doctor when I go into labor this fall) when I went and he was awesome. There wasn't much to the visit, though, because they didn't have my records from Dr. Dewey yet. We did the routine stuff and listened to the heartbeat (so neat!). He says he thinks a November due date is more likely than an October one....bummer. I was hoping for October.

Anyway, he had a full anatomy ultrasound scheduled for me as well as another Dr. visit--this time with Dr. Parker. That will be Monday (the day after tomorrow), so that should be neat!! We'll find out for SURE if it's a boy or girl pummeling my insides!! (Yes, I feel it move, punch, kick, etc. all the time now!!)

Other good news: I'm past my halfway mark!! 22 weeks as of yesterday!!

22 Week belly! Gah!