It's a GIRL!!

We went for our 19 week scan yesterday and found out we are expecting a girl. I am so excited. We were both so sure we were going to have a boy . These are a few of the 3D pictures that were taken. Jeff thinks she has his nose and my mouth.

It looks like she will be a thumb sucker as she was also sucking her thumb when we had our 12 week scan done. I am now looking forward to buying lots of girly things for her nursery.

19 Weeks...

I started feeling the baby move on Friday and he/she has become super active since then. Usually only in the morning and afternoon. I can only really describe the feeling as having a muscle spasm and once I realised what it was I couldn't stop smiling. It is the weirdest but most wonderful feeling.

Popp Jnr's Development at 19 Weeks... This is a crucial time for the baby's sensory development which takes place in specialised areas of the brain. Bub now measures around 6 inches/ 15 centimetres long from crown to rump and weighs about 9 ounces/ 240 grams. He/She has started to swallow amniotic fluid, and his/her kidneys continue to make urine. Hair on the scalp is sprouting. Sensory development reaches its peak this week. The nerve cells serving each of the senses -- taste, smell, hearing, seeing, and touch -- are now developing in their specialised areas of the brain

In other news... My friend Jessica went for her scan last Saturday and their baby decided to be coy and had its legs firmly closed. So they are still in the dark as to what sex their baby is, although she has a feeling it will be a girl. Our scan is tomorrow so I am really hoping bub cooperates. Only time will tell!

18 Weeks...

...on our almost finished deck...

Popp Jnr's Development at 18 weeks... This week, I officially begin my fifth month of pregnancy. Bub is approximately 6 inches/ 14.2 centimetres long from crown to rump and weighs about 7 ounces/ 190 grams. His/Her chest moves up and down to mimic breathing but he/she's not taking in air, only amniotic fluid. Bub can both feel and hear, however at the moment, all he/she can hear is my heartbeat and the flow of my digestive system but soon he'll/she'll be able to detect noise outside the womb and identify my voice. I guess that means I need to A) stop listening to my music really loud in the car and B) stop singing really badly.

Second Trimester

I am now two weeks into my second trimester and I am no longer feeling sick, but am constantly exhausted. We went for our second OB appointment on Tuesday to see how bub was doing. Our OB said that everything is progressing nicely. Bub gave me a bit of a scare though when we couldn’t find his/her heartbeat. But the OB found it eventually beating away at 140bpm. Phew!! This kid is giving me grey hairs already.

Popp Jnr's Development at 16 weeks... Bub is currently about the size of an avocado (about 5 inches / 11.6 centimetres long from crown to rump and weighing approximately 4 ounces / 100 grams).

I am already starting to ‘show’ and have broken out some of my maternity gear already. Not sure what that means for me later down the track but trying not to think about it. In my first scan I was semi-diagnosed with a posterior placenta which means that it is at the back instead of the front. I have heard that women with posterior placentas often feel the baby move earlier than women with anterior placentas but I haven’t felt anything significant as yet. My OB said that a 12 week scan can’t accurately determine where the placenta is going to be situated but we will have a better idea when we go for our 19 week scan.

We are going for our 19 week scan on the 25th June to find out the sex of the baby. Can’t wait. I’ve heard from a number of people that babies can tend to be a little shy and refuse to show their ‘bits’. Hope this isn’t the case for us. I am generally a pretty patient person but I can’t wait until November to find out what we’re having.

I finally broke the news to my colleagues at work. Since I am on a temporary contract until end of July I was worried that I wouldn’t get anymore temp work which would mean that I wouldn’t be eligible for paid maternity leave (12 weeks full pay or 24 weeks half pay) but they have assured me that they will keep me in a job until I am ready to leave which will probably be 19 October

On other news, two of my Canadian friends Jessica & Kate are both expecting baby #2. Jessica is due on 11th November (a week before me) and Kate is due sometime in the middle of January. Both are finding out the sex of their babies as well.

Well that’s about all my news.

Take care