It's a..........Baby!

The Shipp baby is a modest baby! Yesterday we had our 20 week ultrasound and everything is looking good. However, baby Shipp must have been taking a nap and didn't want to cooperate. We had 147bpm which was good! We were able to measure many things: two legs, two feet, two arms, two hands, kidney's, head and backbone. While looking we also measured my cervix, placenta and amniotic fluid. Everything is right on track. From the measurements we did take there are no precursors for Down's Syndrome and the baby probably weighs 10oz.

Since the baby was sleeping and in the breech position it just kept its back to us the whole time. We were unable to look at the face or the heart and no sex determination. That means that at my next appointment right before Thanksgiving we will be having our 3rd ultrasound appointment. The technician was funny because she was using the ultrasound wand to move my stomach hoping the baby would flip over. When the waves would start coming the baby would move its legs and try to curl up more facing my spine. It was cute and frustrating at the same time. So the pictures are of our baby's beautiful spine. We are very happy!

Its still in there

I still love my midwife! I had my 18ish week appointment yesterday and I was pleased with Erin yet again. We discussed many things that I had wondered about and just had a pleasant time. We listened to the baby's heart and it sounds great! I still haven't felt the baby kick but I'm hoping in the next few weeks that will happen. The schedule this office likes to keep is different from the last office I was in. My last office wasn't going to do our 2nd ultrasound until 22 weeks but Erin wants it done at 20 weeks. However next week I will be gone all week to a poultry conference in Georgia so we are scrambling to schedule the appointment for tomorrow. So Robb and I have a big decision to make before tomorrow: to know the sex or not know the sex? Its a big question.

19 weeks

We are already at 19 weeks! The books had several different food references this week. The baby is possibly 6in long which is the size of a piece of watermelon. Then the baby could weigh up to 8oz which is about the size of an apple. So this week is like a fruit salad.

This past weekend Robb and I went to my parents to help with the last Saturday of Thee Red Barn. It was a beautiful day but not many people showed up. There were a lot of other things going on in the area. This was Robb first time working the event in the 3 years it has been open. I think he did rather well. While I was sitting for most of the day I was still very tired after it was over. I learned my lesson from the last time I worked. After the event I took a nap that lasted longer than I had planned. Also on Sunday I didn't plan anything and I spent the day resting and getting ready for the week.

This week is very busy with appointments and such. Tomorrow I go for my first official appointment with midwife Erin. I think this appointment is suppose to be about an hour long. Then on Wednesday I go to the dentist. All the baby books and what not say dental care is very important during pregnancy. Also my insurance has a program that if I do a few things throughout my pregnancy (and going to the dentist is one of them) they will wave the hospital co-pay at the time of delivery. So we are trying to make that happen.

I have noticed during the last week that I have been more hungry than I was earlier in the 2nd trimester. My favorite baby book says that the baby is going through a growth spurt so that is normal. Robb and I went to our favorite Italian restaurant while we were in Roanoke and usually I only eat half of the food that I get but I told Robb I was really hungry and I cleaned the whole plate.

My body is changing daily and it is exciting to see how this process is developing. So far I haven't had any real problems. Now that I am sleeping on my side exclusively my hips are a little sore but I'm sure my body will get use to this new sleeping position and everything will be fine.

Midwifery 101

Yesterday Robb and I met with a midwife to discuss changing medical facilities. Lynchburg has 4 midwives working in a practice and we interviewed with the newest member of the midwifery team. We loved Erin! She was fun and exciting and laid back. She said many of the things that we have been thinking. Pregnancy and birth are natural processes that in most cases only need supervision and guidance and not medical intervention. So we have decided to switch our prenatal care to this new practice and have a go with a midwife. I have already started the process of having our medical records transferred.

Erin made me feel very comfortable. I showed her the preliminary draft of our birth plan and she said our birth plan was the regular plan they normally do. That made me feel wonderful! I also felt she was open and honest with us about the possibility of medical intervention. We are hoping for a perfect normal birth but she did give us a few scenarios where we might need to change our plans, and really that is what we are looking for. We want someone who thinks everything is going to be fine and then plans for the possibility of something not working out vs. planning on things going wrong and having to be looking for them constantly.

Having an understanding midwife that we trust makes me relax about the whole birth process. I feel now that what we want will happen so I can focus on just birthing the baby!

18 weeks here we are!

Wow already 18 weeks! It seems like the time is flying. It has been a month since I've been to the doctor. This month between visits went so much faster than the first month. As the baby gets larger and larger, most books give the size in measurements now but one book did say the baby is as long as a large baking potato. Every thing I read says any day now I should feel the baby for the first time. There are some tricks that you can do to try to feel the baby and I might start trying those.

Robb and I had a nice calm weekend. He isn't feeling well and so is being extra cautious around me. I am glad he is worried about not letting me get sick but at the same time its not a lot of fun only hugging your husband.

We are going to meet a midwife tomorrow. A friend at church is an OB nurse and runs a clinic that has 4 midwives. After my last appointment I started looking for different options because I wasn't 100% happy with my doctor. So tomorrow we are going to tour this new facility and meet one of the midwives to see if we want to make a switch. I will have more on that later!

The calm before the storm

I feel like we are in pregnancy hiatus. I know I am pregnant. I can see that things are changing but we are at a point in time where the excitement of knowing we're pregnant is wearing off. And we haven't reached the point of being able to feel and really see the baby. That's right at 17 weeks I haven't not yet felt the baby move. Everything I read tells me not to be anxious or worry because first time moms might not feel anything until 20 weeks. However, I feel like I am in this pregnancy no mans land. I want to feel the baby and have another ultrasound. I also don't want to wish away the pregnancy experience. So I will wait with anticipation for that miraculous day something moves that I have never felt before.

Also we are currently doing research on cord blood banking. Who knew there were so many choices when having a baby? And choices you have to make before the baby is here. We like the idea of saving cord blood but at the same time also think donating it is a good idea. Who knows!

YAY for Holidays!

Today is Columbus Day and that means as a state employee I don't have to work today! Really this is a great day for a holiday because we had a semi-busy weekend. Friday night Altavista played Dan River in football. The marching band was wonderful even with several members out for H1N1. Saturday was the bands second competition and I went to cheer them on. They improved their scores from the week before and the colorguard placed 2nd in their division. On Sunday I had a church board meeting and I played the piano for worship. Having late nights on Friday and Saturday I took a nap during the Redskins game again. Maybe if I could stay awake they would win.

We are now at 17 weeks and every book says the baby is the size of an out stretched hand! This past week has been a little difficult in the sleeping area. 16 weeks was the end of sleeping on my back. While I have always been a side sleeper I didn't realize how much I also sleep on my back. Several nights I have woken up and I'm laying on my back and then I seem to get craps in my legs. I'm thinking I might have to invest in a body pillow so that I don't roll over in my sleep.

Robb and I had a discussion about the H1N1 vaccine. Many of his student are coming down with the virus. Also both he and my mother have been reading a lot about the % of pregnant women that die once they get the virus. So we are reconsidering getting vaccinated.

I am looking more and more pregnant every day. I am still wearing some regular shirts but soon I will have to upgrade full time to maternity wear. Maternity jeans are still wonderful!

Pregnancy wisdom

In the land of pregnancy, I have had an easy go of it. Many of the people I know who are also pregnant and delivering in the spring have had terrible morning sickness and headaches and all kinds of other things. I feel very lucky to have mostly escaped those unpleasant happenings. However, I am finding there are a lot of changes that come with being pregnant. Yesterday Robb and I were walking through a parking lot. Now this parking lot had an incline just so everyone knows that we were walking up hill. As we were walking, I was telling an animated story and as we walked it seemed like Robb was getting faster and faster (he was very excited to be inside the building). As we were about to get to the top of the parking lot I realized I was getting winded. I asked him if we could slow our pace just a little. At this request he laughed at me and said we weren't going fast at all. Well the pregnant lady felt like we were almost in a jog.

The next thing that reminded me that I was pregnant and life was different was we went to the movies. We usually get a drink to enjoy during the 2 hours that we are sitting watching the movie. As we got to the middle of the 2 1/2 hour movie I realized that I had to pee but I didn't want to get up in the middle of the movie (I also thought the movie was going to end soon). It didn't end soon and I sat needing to go to the restroom for probably half of the movie. After the movie I did visit the restroom and it was amazing! We happened to be seeing a second movie later in the day so I made sure to go to the restroom before the movie start and not get a drink. Well I still have to go after the movie was over. So now I realize that I can't sit for 2+ hours and not go to the restroom. It just isn't in the cards anymore.

This two happenings remind me that my body is changing, and that change makes me happy because at this time I can't feel the baby. I look different but I can't feel anything so getting winded and having to pee makes me confided that our baby is growing well and doing fine!

16 week belly

Robb took some pictures of me last night. Enjoy!

Thee Red Barns opening weekend

This past weekend I spent time in Franklin county helping my parents with the first weekend of their agritourism business called Thee Red Barn. You can check out their website. It was a long but good day. This is the 3rd year for this event and it is growing each year. I worked the first year but was unable to help last year. I spent most of the day selling tickets for the corn maze and hay ride. Being pregnant is interesting. I worked all day and felt a little tired. However, Sunday I was completely worn out! I can't work like I did pre-pregnancy and not take a day off to rest.

So you think I would have spent Sunday recovering from my adventure on Saturday. Not this time! Sunday was world communion Sunday and the Lynchburg CoB was holding Love Feast. Since I am the head of church nurture it was my responsibility to prepare for this special service. So Saturday night when I got home from my parents I made communion bread. Sunday morning I arrived at church early and prepared the middle eastern meal that we were planning on having: dates, apricots, apples, almonds, lentil soup, olives, and chick pea salad. I did have help from others. So by the time I got home at 2 on Sunday afternoon I was completely worn out and fell asleep watching the Redskins game.

My weekend was full and Robb's was just as full but going in the other direction. Saturday was Robb's first band competition since he has been a band director. He took the Altavista Marching Band to a competition in Bedford. He was very proud of how they performed and thought it was a great experience for the first ever competition. He has another competition this coming Saturday. So you can see last week and this coming week are very busy times for him.

As we were laying in bed last night Robb was trying to wrap his head around our stage of pregnancy. He asked what week 15 would be like and I said kind of like it was last week since we are going into week 16. That is right we are heading into 16 weeks of this crazy experiment. That is 14 weeks of fetal age. The baby is suppose to be 4 1/3 to 4 2/3 inches long. Robb told me one day last week that I look pregnant. So we will try and get a new picture up very soon!