It's a GIRL...Maybe!?!

As it turns out we have a stubborn baby. She was nice an cozy in her little corner and didn't want to move around to show us anything. We got a decent view but the doctor was only about 75% sure she was a girl. So now we have to wait. Perhaps until when she's born to know for sure. So we have to hold off on buying anything pink and frilly that can't be returned. Luckily we weren't really planning on going that route anyway.

The actual purpose of the scan was to make sure she's healthy and growing as she should. The good news is that she is. Everything looks perfect. Her spine look perfect. The doctor measured some of her bones and organs and everything looked good. Her stomach and bladder were nice and full so she's eating a lot. Her heart was pumping and the blood was flowing nicely through each ventricle. We could see all four chambers. Her brain is developing nicely. There's no excess fluid. The umbilical cord developed properly with two arteries and one vein. She weighs 12 oz now and her heart was beating at 159 bpm. And of course, she's beautiful.

For those of you who can't read ultrasounds well. Here's a few landmarks for you (click the picture and it will open bigger in a new window).

Halfway there - 20 weeks!

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)

A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)

Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).

How your life's changing: You've made it to the halfway mark — Congratulations! The top of your uterus is at the level of your belly button now, and you've likely gained about 10 pounds. Expect to gain an average of about another pound each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.) Make sure you're getting enough iron, a mineral that's used primarily to make hemoglobin (the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen). During pregnancy, your body needs more iron for your developing baby and the placenta, and to keep up with your expanding blood volume. Iron-rich foods include lean red meat, poultry, fish, lentils and other legumes, spinach, and iron-fortified cereals.

If you haven't already signed up for a childbirth education class, you may want to look into one. Whether you're a first-timer or a pro, you can benefit from a structured class that helps prepare you for the rigors of labor and delivery. Most hospitals and birth centers offer classes, either as weekly meetings or as a single intensive, all-day session. Ask your doctor or midwife for a recommendation. At 37 weeks, you'll be considered full-term, so plan to be done with classes by then.

How I'm doing: Only two more days until the big appointment. We are very anxious to find out the sex of this little baby so we can stop referring to it as an "it". The baby moves around a lot. The movements are only strong enough so I can feel them when I'm still and not distracted by something else. Scott still hasn't been able to feel anything from the outside yet. It might be a couple more weeks. Sleeping is a little interesting already. I'm most comfortable sleeping on my side "bear hugging" a pillow. I think it provides some support for my belly.

We will be signing up for our birthing class shortly. Unless we decide something different based on our appointment on Tuesday with our midwife, we'll be signing up for a Bradley Method birth class at a place called Birth and Beyond in Santa Monica. Our 8-week class will be starting February 7th. This will put the ending date right around 37 weeks. It's pushing it a little bit but I'd rather have all the information fresh in my mind when I go into labor and we're pretty sure I won't go early.

It's Chanukah already. Tuesday night marked the start of the first night of Chanukah. It feels like it's barely fall but the holidays are already here. We are in San Diego this weekend celebrating Chanukah with Debi, Jim, Gary and Cat. We had a nice dinner, opened our gifts and played a couple of games of Scattergories. Other than that, it's just been a nice relaxing weekend. Only two more weeks of work until the long Christmas and New Year break which we're all really looking forward to. We'll be in Redding for about a week and then back to San Diego again to visit Bauby and Grandpa while they're in town from Chicago.

19 weeks - almost halfway

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing 6 million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

How your life's changing: You're just a week shy of the halfway mark. You may notice some achiness in your lower abdomen (perhaps extending to your groin) or even an occasional quick, sharp, stabbing pain on one or both sides, especially when you change position or at the end of an active day. This is round ligament pain, and it's caused by the stretching of the muscles and ligaments that support your growing uterus. It's nothing to be alarmed about, but if the pain is persistent and continues even when you're resting, or is severe or accompanied by cramping, call your practitioner.

You may also have noticed some skin changes lately. Are the palms of your hands red? Nothing to worry about — it's from increased estrogen. Patches of darkened skin are also common during pregnancy. When they show up around your upper lip, upper cheeks and forehead, they're called chloasma, or the "mask of pregnancy." You may see these splotches on your arms or other areas that have been exposed to the sun. Your nipples, freckles, scars, underarms, inner thighs, and vulva may also darken during pregnancy. That darkened line running from your belly button to your pubic bone is called the linea nigra, or "dark line." All of this darkening is caused by a temporary increase in melanin, the substance that colors your hair, skin, and eyes. For most women, these darkened spots will fade shortly after delivery. In the meantime, protect yourself from the sun, which intensifies the pigment changes. Cover up, wear a brimmed hat, and use sunscreen when you're outdoors. And if you're self-conscious about your "mask," a little concealing makeup can work wonders.

How I'm doing I'm doing fine. I'm feeling good. I went to my first prenatal yoga class yesterday at Santa Monica Yoga and I'm very sore today. I'm going to try and go twice a week as much as possible. Classes are on Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings. I think it will really help. Some positions felt really good already and my belly doesn't weigh that much yet.

Friday marks the halfway point. We are very much looking forward to that milestone. But what's even better is that in 1 short week we'll be going into get our 2nd ultrasound and we'll hopefully get to fine out the gender of this little guy. We are going to find out the gender of the baby, but we are going to keep the name a secret until we meet the baby and make sure it fits. We haven't picked a name yet but when we do we are going to keep it a surprise for the baby's birthday.

We have started to register. We started a registry at one of the two stores in LA that carry the crib we want to get. We're not buying any other baby furniture so we picked out a high quality crib that is made out of wood instead of particle board, isn't made in China, and is from a company that has a spotless safety record--all things that are very important to us. The company is called Munire and this crib is from their Urban line (we're getting pine colored, not white).

We created our first registry at USA Baby and it can be found here. We are very excited to find out the gender so we can register for more things and start buying! We've been holding out on buying pretty much anything until we know if the baby is a boy or a girl. The crib takes 8-10 weeks to arrive (and probably longer over the holidays) and other things are not always in stock in the stores so we won't be following typical Jewish tradition and waiting until the baby arrives to buy things.

18 weeks

How your baby's growing: Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

How your life's changing: Bigger, more comfortable clothes are a must now as your appetite and waistline increase. Look for specially designed maternity clothes that can accommodate your expanding belly.

You may have heard that you should avoid lying on your back during your last two trimesters. Here's why: When you lie flat on your back, your uterus can compress a major vein (called the inferior vena cava) that returns blood from the lower half of your body back to your heart. Lying on your side (or even partially tilted to the side), particularly your left side, prevents this compression and improves your blood flow. Try placing a pillow behind you, or under your hip or leg for comfort.

Your cardiovascular system is undergoing dramatic changes, and during your second trimester your blood pressure is probably lower than usual. Don't spring up too fast from a lying or sitting position or you might feel a little dizzy.

If you haven't already, you'll probably have an ultrasound done sometime this trimester (usually between 16 and 20 weeks). This painless procedure helps your practitioner check how your baby's growing, screen for certain birth defects, check the placenta and umbilical cord, determine whether the due date you're working with is accurate, and see how many babies you're carrying. During the exam, you might see your baby moving around or sucking her thumb. Bring your partner along, and be sure to ask for a printout for your baby's first photo album!

How I'm doing: Obviously, we've been really busy with not a lot of time to update here. The weekend before last we were up in Davis. We got to spend some time with my parents, Grant and Anna. We had a really good time. It was nice to spend some time in Davis where we really haven't been since we moved away over 4 years ago. It was good, of course, to spend time with my family. We went to a UC Davis football game at their new green stadium.



Surprisingly, they won the game too. So we had a good time.

Then it was a short week back at work and then off for Thanksgiving break. It won't come as a shock to those of you who know Scott well but he had to work Thanksgiving morning in the lab. Stem cells and hardcore scientists don't recognize Thanksgiving as a day off work. So we got a little bit of a later start than usual but luckily dinner reservation could be pushed back a little bit to accommodate our late arrival. We made in to Palm Springs to Harriet and Kay's for a nice dinner with the Pope's and smaller-than-usual group of family and friends. After dinner, football, and a game of poker we were on our way to San Diego. It was our first time in San Diego since the fires so things looked quite a bit different. We spent the rest of the long weekend in San Diego--Scott and Jim power washed the whole house, we did a little holiday shopping, and helped get a few things in order after the recent post-fire renovations.

The baby is doing well. It's been quite active--especially the past few days. I can definitely tell that its little bones are hardening since it's kicks are getting stronger. It's especially active around the end of my workday--when I'm getting tired, I'm sure that's a sign of things to come. So far Scott hasn't been able to feel anything from the outside. Hopefully that will happen soon. In the past two weeks someone outside of the people I specifically told asked me if I was pregnant. That was an exciting day. Two people in the same day actually. I'm starting to feel more pregnant since I can feel the baby move more frequently and stronger.

Only a little over 2 weeks until we find out if this baby is a boy or a girl!

17 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and he's around 5 inches long. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.

How your life's changing: With more weight up high and out in front of your body, you may feel a bit off-balance as you walk around. Store away your high heels and wear low-heeled shoes to reduce your risk of taking a tumble.You're likely to feel protective of your tummy, and that's good. Trauma to your abdomen could be harmful to your baby and dangerous to you, so be sure to buckle up when you're driving. Keep the lap portion of the seat belt under your belly and very snug across your hips for maximum protection.

How I'm doing: Since I'm behind, I'm just going to do a big update in week 18.

16 weeks

How your baby's growing: At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails.

How your life's changing: Have people been telling you how wonderful you look? The "glow of pregnancy" is real, thanks to increased blood flow to the skin. You may be enjoying yourself more, too, now that your hormones have stabilized and nausea has eased up. You're also probably less anxious about something happening to your baby (the risk of miscarriage drops dramatically after the 14th week) which likely adds to your overall sense of well-being.

Soon you'll experience one of the most wonderful moments of pregnancy — feeling your baby move. While some women notice "quickening" as early as 16 weeks, most don't until about 18 weeks or more. If this is your first baby, don't be too anxious — you may not be aware of your baby's movements until 20 weeks or so. The earliest movements may feel like little flutters, gas bubbles, or even like popcorn popping. Over the following weeks they'll start to feel unmistakably like kicks.

How I'm doing: Things are going very well today. We had another prenatal appointment this morning with a different midwife. We're slowing meeting all of the midwives in the group since whomever happens to be on call when I go into labor will deliver our baby. We got to hear the heart beating again. It's such a wonderful, reassuring sound. It's heart was beating at 153 bpm. This is much faster than our hearts beat. Prenatally babies hearts beat fast and they still beat faster than an adult's even after they are born. Some people think that a faster heart beat throughout pregnancy indicates the baby is a girl. Our baby's heart rate would fall into that "faster" range. We'll see if that holds true pretty soon.

Our next appointment is scheduled for December 11th. This is the BIG DAY. We'll finally find out if this baby is a boy or a girl. It seems like we've been waiting forever to find out.

We had another prenatal screening test done today. This is a blood test (my blood) that looks for chromosomal abnormalities (like Downs syndrome and others). Previously I was screened for other chromosomal abnormalities through a finger stick and measurements taken at my last ultrasound. Those results were completely normal showing that our baby had a 1 in 10,000 chance of developing one of the disorders (this is very low). The doctor that reviewed the ultrasound also said that he could see that the heart was appropriately developed, the limbs all looked normal and that the bladder was filling as it should be. So this baby is a rockstar so far.

In other big news in the Horrocks clan; we all recently found out that my sister, Melody is also pregnant. She's been married to Dusty a year and half longer than Scott and I have been married. She's less than a month behind me. So these cousins will probably be really close in age. It's too bad we live so far apart (Melody and Dusty live in Corvallis, Oregon which is not too far from Portland). She kept it a secret for a long time compared to us.

Tomorrow's my 27th birthday. So I'll be a fairly young mom. It was important to both Scott and I that we started a family while we were still pretty young.

This weekend we're driving up to Davis, CA to see my family and the UC Davis football probably lose to University of San Diego (not UC San Diego or San Diego State). We're looking forward to seeing my family for the first time since I've been pregnant and seeing the new UC Davis stadium.

15 weeks

How your baby's growing:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

How your life's changing:

You've probably gained about 5 pounds by now (a little more or less is fine, too) and are well into the swing of your pregnancy, but you may still be surprised by an unexpected symptom now and then. If your nose is stuffed up, for instance, you can probably chalk it up to the combined effect of hormonal changes and increased blood flow to your mucous membranes. This condition is so common, there's even a name for it: "rhinitis of pregnancy." Some pregnant women also suffer nosebleeds as a result of increased blood volume and blood vessel expansion in the nose. If you're having amniocentesis, it'll most likely happen between now and 18 weeks. This test can identify hundreds of genetic and chromosomal disorders. If you're getting very anxious while waiting for the results, it may help to know that most women who undergo amniocentesis get good news about their babies — bringing welcome relief from their worries. Don't be surprised if you and your partner are feeling a little

stressed out

these days. Many pregnant couples worry about their baby's health and how they'll handle the changes ahead. But with physical discomforts on the wane and energy on the rise, this is also a wonderful trimester for most women.

How I'm doing: I'm feeling great now. Back to my normal self. I still need to make sure I get enough sleep every night but I'm feeling well. I can feel my uterus stretching out now that the baby is growing at a much faster pace. It feels a lot like menstrual cramps. Occasionally I'll get a sharp pain. I think I'm also having braxton-hick contractions already (which is completely normal). The slight cramping will be worse than normal and my lower stomach will feel almost rock hard. This seems to usually happen after I've been walking around a lot or doing a lot.

I think I'm starting to feel the baby move now too. It's a new feeling so it's hard to know for sure; but I've been told if it's a feeling I've never felt before, it's probably the baby moving. Right now it feels kind of like a twitch or sometimes a slight shift of my stomach. It's a neat feeling, like the baby is saying hello, I can't wait until the feelings are more pronounced and Scott can feel them too.

I've only gained about 3 lbs so far. I should start gaining weight a lot faster now that I'm in the 2nd trimester and the baby is growing in size much faster. Our midwife said that I should gain between 25-35 lbs overall. I hope to keep that to the lower end of that but I'm not going to worry too much about it. For now I'm just trying to eat balanced meals and take my vitamins every day. Since my energy has returned, I've been trying to walk more and I hope to start a prenatal yoga class very soon and start swimming. Our next prenatal appointment is on November 13th.