26 Weeks/Reese Update

I still have no news regarding my biopsy results, I hope they call me soon! Today I had my glucose tolerance test...lets hope I pass!!

 26 Weeks: Emma

26 Weeks: Reese

26 Weeks:

By this week, your baby's crown-to-rump length is approximately 9.2 inches. Remember, that is only from the top of his head to his bottom and does not include his leg measurements! Your baby weighs almost 2 pounds and is beginning to put on weight. Your uterus is about 2.5 inches above your bellybutton and you will continue to grow approximately 1 cm each week. If you have been eating a well-balanced diet, you probably have gained about 16-22 pounds so far.

After a month of having his eyelids sealed shut, your baby begins to open his eyes again this week. Your baby's eyes are almost completely developed. Your baby's eyes are blue in the womb and may change colors later in life. This is true for all races because the pupils do not have their final color until a few months after birth. However, some babies are born with darker or lighter shades of blue. Your growing baby will continue to put on layers of fat until he is born. He is still lean at this point of the pregnancy though. By the time your baby is born, he will assume the typical newborn's plumpness. Your baby's skin will still be wrinkled and red, but the fat continues to fill the skin out.

Finger and toe nails continue to grow.

Blood vessels start to develop in the lungs to prepare the baby for life outside the uterus.

Your baby's blood circulation is completely functional. The umbilical cord system continues to grow and thicken as blood travels with considerable force through the body to nurture the baby. The placenta is now almost equal in size to the baby.

Even though it is still way too soon for your baby to be born yet, the chance of survival without severe abnormalities is now 70% provided it is born in a hospital.

Reese:
Reese has been sick unfortunately since Friday. When I picked her up from school I noticed some redness by her left ear. By dinner time she had streaking going up the side of her face. I took her to an after hours children's clinic and they said it was possible cellulitis (a skin infection) and sent her home with antibiotics for the next 10 days.

The next morning her face looked 10x better. However, after she woke from her nap she had a fever and had a rash on her stomach and legs. I took her back to the clinic and they ruled out the possibility of a reaction to the antibiotic (even though she has had this medicine as an infant). They said it looked like a viral rash and would probably get worse! The rest of the day her rash seemed to fade as her body cooled off. I controlled her temperature with Motrin and we gave her a 1/2 dose of benadryl (as suggested) before bed. She slept HORRIBLE! I could tell she was hurting b/c she would cry and moan in her sleep practically all night. She woke up with a fever and a more prominent rash on Sunday morning. It was now all over her back, up her neck and on her arms and face. Again as I got her body to cool down, the rash would fade. I decided not to go back to the weekend clinic and would call my own pediatrician on Monday morning.

On Monday morning, we woke Reese up at 10am for an appointment with her own pediatrician. She was completely stumped when I showed her the picture of the red streaks on Reese's face. Said to continue the antibiotic in case it is what made it get better. She said Reese has an enterovirus (not sure which one b/c there are SO many) and that this needs to run its course. She did say Reese's throat was bright red and that is probably why she isn't eating for me. She did clear Reese to go back to school as long as she stayed afebrile for 24 hours. She said this rash can last weeks....bummer!

Enterovirus with papular rash:

Back

Face

Stomach

On a healthier note....

Reese is now saying: bird, turtle, eye and is trying to make dog noises :) She also thinks she is saying "yes" & "balloon" but it sounds nothing like it, but at least she is consistent with her babel ;)

Trying to fill daddy's shoes....

Her favorite stepstool....

Artwork from school:

A Special Delivery :)

Thank you Meme & Granddad!

Biopsy

On Wednesday I got a call from my endocrinologist office stating they received my thyroid sono results and that I needed a biopsy! I was caught off guard since my appointment with him on Monday had gone so smoothly. So yesterday morning Cody took me for a biopsy of my left thyroid nodule (50mm). They wouldn't let Cody go into the procedure room with me, which threw both of us off guard. 

My nodule was right next to my artery, so the radiologist said he had to go in from a very specific angle to make sure not to hit my artery. JUST GREAT! He numbed the area with Lidocaine and that stung a bit. Then he said he needed to numb it more deeper down, that's when I lost my composer. It hurt SO bad! I couldn't see and could barely breathe b/c the sterile drape covered my face. I also couldn't move a muscle b/c it was so close to my artery. He had to take 3 separate biopsies from the one nodule to make sure he got cells from different areas of the nodule. The last biopsy he did I felt completely. I never want to have to do that again and would rather go through childbirth than go through that! I never get faint or weak after giving blood and am not a squeamish person at all...but this bothered me big time! Something about putting needles in my neck got to me pretty good. I kinda felt embarrassed for crying during the procedure but the burning/pressure/pinching was very intense.

Praying for good results!!

25 Weeks/Pics & Videos!

Another week has flown by! I feel great! I met with an endocrinologist yesterday, who will now be managing my thyroid. He felt on my thyroid and felt a nodule (which I knew I had) and also sent me for bloodwork to check my TSH levels. I was thrilled to find out I only gained 1# in the last 3 weeks, I have been worried about my weight since I have surpassed Reese's pregnancy weight gain (gained 27# with Reese and have already gained 21# with Emma so far). I am scheduled for my routine glucose tolerance test next week to make sure I am not a gestational diabetic.

Yesterday was also a big day for both Cody & I. Cody started his 1st official shift at work as a PHARMACIST! He was so excited and I am so incredibly proud of his accomplishments!! I also started graduate school! I am officially a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner student!! I am excited but very nervous. I start with Biostatistics for Healthcare and Advanced Physiology. These course last till Sept 2nd. I will register for my 2nd quarter of courses right before Emma's arrival...I hope I can handle all this!!

Emma @ 25 weeks:

Reese @ 25 weeks in same shirt:

25 Weeks (Emma is size of an eggplant):

Your baby's crown-to-rump length is about 8.8 inches. Weight has increased to around 1.5 pounds and fat is still being deposited at a high rate. Babies come in all shapes and sizes, so your baby could vary slightly from these `average` measurements. Your uterus has grown quite a bit bigger this week. The top of your uterus is between your bellybutton and your sternum. Your uterus is about the size of a soccer ball now! 

If your baby is delivered at this time, it would have a good chance of surviving. 

Your baby is able to do more with their fingers now and can move his fingers to make a complete fist. As your baby becomes more dexterous, he will be able to touch and hold his feet. Babies also begin to prefer their left hand or right hand at this time. Because babies settle into routines of sleep and activity, you might begin to notice these patterns as well. Some women experience the most fetal movements while they are trying to rest. 

Girly Updates:

Emma's bed is officially a crib again :)

We have a crib sheet!

Her 1st bow!

Reese's dress up corner :)

Reese is doing a lot of talking lately....

Happy Father's Day Cody!!

Cody- Happy Father's Day to the best father in the world!!

Cody,

Reese (& Emma) & I love you more than you could possibly know! I am so blessed to have you as the father of our children!

We love you,

Tonya, Reese & Emma

p.s. this picture was taken at Reese's school as her Father's Day present to her daddy :)

Emma's Bedding!!

Here it is...the reveal of Emma's bedding!! I am absolutely THRILLED with it!!! I need a crib sheet still and we need to make the toddler bed back to a crib and raise the mattress up for a newborn :)

24 Weeks & Visit from Friends!

VIABILITY!! 

I am so relieved to have reached 24 weeks (aka: viability). Emma is doing great that we know of :) She kicks me all the time now!!

24 Weeks:
This week your baby's crown-to-rump length is around 8.4 inches and your baby will weigh approximately 1.2 pounds. Although it weighs a little over a pound at this point, your growing baby is still tiny.

Your baby's face is basically complete now. The fetus's eyes are close together on the front of his face and they are still shut. Your baby's ears have moved into their final position on the sides of his head. Where they are now is where they will be when your baby is born! Hair will continue to grow on his scalp and his eyelashes are well developed. Most of your baby's features look the same as they will at birth. Because your growing baby is getting plumper, he no longer has room in your tummy to do cartwheels and somersaults.

The child practices breathing by inhaling (up to a liter/day) amniotic fluid into developing lungs.

Emma's Room: Sneak Peek! (Her bedding gets delivered today...stay tuned for more pictures)

Reese:
Reese now says "Bible" and "Hippo" and tries to say "ball" and "hat". We are still working on duck, but she knows what it is if I have her point to it. She also knows what a cow says: "moo" and of course she says it all dramatic :) Yesterday, Reese said "Nana" for the 1st time after a quick visit from Nana :)

Her skills continue to grow on a daily basis! Newest skill...spinning in circles until dizzy!

Sunday I am made Reese a hair-bow holder for her room and I love how it turned out!! It was super easy and I plan on making Emma one as well.

This weekend we were blessed to have our dear friends, Shara & Dave, come visit and show off their 2.5mo old daughter, Andi!! Reese did pretty well with having a baby in the house! Andi gave Reese a new book and Reese loved reading it to her :)

Reese liked to point out all of Andi's body parts :) Of course we had to keep a close eye on her since she'd point to her eyes and nose. Reese didn't mind sharing her toys with Andi either! We did notice she would try and mock her though...whine when Andi whined, layed in our lap with Andi layed in Dave's lap. Overall, this visit has made Cody and I realize that having 2 girls under 2 may actually be "do-able" with minimal regression with Reese. Reese was definitely more clingy to her security blanket with our guest here though.

Another trip to the zoo...

We took our friends to the community pool and had a blast!

23 Weeks/16 Months!

Only 1 more week until viability!! I have begun painting Emma's room so stay tuned for photos!

Emma sure is growing, I am way bigger this time than with Reese :)

Check out the difference at 23 Weeks: Emma vs Reese!

23 Weeks:

This week your baby's length, from crown-to-rump, is approximately 8 inches! Your growing baby has finally reached one pound. Your baby is about the size of a small baby doll and looks very human. The baby's face and body look similar to that of a newborn at this time. Your uterus can be found about 1.5 inches above your navel. Your total weight gain should be approximately 15 pounds at this time (I've gained 20...oops!)

Fat is still being deposited at a rapid rate, but your baby still looks red and wrinkled. Skin is being produced at a higher rate than the fat is, so the skin hangs loosely. Your baby looks red because the skin is losing its transparency and pigment is beginning to form. You should be feeling your baby moving quite a bit throughout the day as she will kick and punch the uterus walls. Babies also run their hands along the umbilical cord and touch their body parts while they are in the womb.

Your baby now can suck her thumb for real, where she was just sticking it in her mouth. Your baby will continue to swallow amniotic fluid and recycle it as urine.

New gear! We sold Reese's single stroller and got a new stroller that can either be a single or a double for when Emma comes!

Set up as a single- Reese loves it so much she didn't want to get out!

New Splish Splash Pool:

Happy 16 Months to Reese!!

She loves to try and dress herself...

The big news for the week....Reese has successfully transitioned to her big girl bed! Her 1st nap in her new bed was 3 hours!