Christmas and 21 weeks

Baby AJ is doing well and lots more moving/kicking these days! Frank was able to feel two on Christmas day, which was really exciting. Yesterday, 12/28, I went to see Dr. O'Connor (Lizzy Bizzy came with me to the appt!) as a follow-up to our level II CPCyst scans that we did last Tuesday in Boston. He said that everything is looking great. We don't have to go back, the cysts look like they are already shrinking and that the baby will be healthy and fine. Very happy and relieving news!

As for the baby's growth and development, we are moving along into 21 weeks today and the baby now has eyebrows and eyelids. From being a banana size, baby AJ has proudly grown into a carrot. As I had mentioned earlier, I can certainly feel him a lot more and he's always flipping around. Just this morning I woke up to him kicking and/or punching. Babycenter.com said "You may soon feel like he's practicing martial arts and internal flutter movements turn into full-fledge kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to his activity as you get to know him better." This could not be true enough.

I also LOVE 2nd trimester, as I think most women do. Being pregnant is finally settling in and I love having my baby bump! I'm def more comfortable at night and have been sleeping a lot better too. I have been attending some prenatal yoga classes and still keeping up with my walking and/or elliptical routine. I'm officially in maturity clothes now and love the clothes, everything is super comfortable and fits really well. My body overall does feel wider than usual, but I think this is all par for the course. I'm just so excited that we have a healthy baby son on the way and can feel him moving around, it's been a special Christmas because of baby AJ!

Thanks for everyone's merry and supportive wishes for our level II ultrasound appt. It truly meant a lot to us. Happy 2010!

And the gender is. . . (drum roll please)

A BOY!! His name is going to be Adrian Joseph Penney ("AJ") after my Dad. We can't wait to meet our son in May!!

Merry Christmas!!

Half way mark!

Half way there at 20 weeks! Here is a 3D ultrasound picture of baby penney, covering his/her face with hands.

The BIG news to come tomorrow!

Happy Holidays everyone!

19 weeks

Gender time! We have the Christmas card in hand with the gender noted inside it, but we are holding off until Christmas Eve to finally reveal what we are having. The suspense is dreadful, sorry guys!

We just got back from our 3rd ultrasound appt and, so far, the baby weight and heights measures out perfectly. Heartbeat was 136 bpm, slowing down from last time at 140 bpm. "Your baby equals a large heirloom tomato in size and weighs 8 1/2 ounces. (length: 6 inches, head to bottom)" It's feeling that big too, between its light kicking and pressure on the bladder. Oh man, this little one can really push when it needs to. The kicks come every other day, so not often but they are there. And just walking makes me feel like I have to go the bathroom 24/7 --- its insane! But, seeing the ultrasound confirms why I'm feeling everything more so. The baby is smooshed in there like a sardine, the baby was in an almost full circle position (very cute). First picture the baby is holding onto his/her feet with hands --- Frank said our baby is stretching for a run! --- and likes to flip-flop positions every second. I felt at least 2-3 kicks during the ultrasound, and the technician said "I can't believe how quickly he/she can move positions!" Must have gotten Frank's reflexes :)

In other news, the technician discovered two Choroid Plexus Cysts (CPC) in the brain (one on each side), which made us feel very nervous and scared. Our doctor reassured us that everything will be okay, and this happens to a lot of babies. Most of the time, the cysts go away naturally on their own within 24-28 weeks or the third trimester. We have to scheduled a Level II ultrasound (Tues. Dec 22nd at 9am in Boston) to have an actual doctor perform the ultrasound and look more closely at the cysts. Right now the technician didn't find any other indicators of any other problems related to the cysts, which was a good sign. It was a roller coaster ride of an appointment, one minute feeling happy seeing the baby move, looking at its little hands and feet, then hearing that there are these cysts. It's something you could never expect. We're certainly feeling a bit anxious because all we can do is wait, but we are going to remain as hopeful and positive as we can. Fingers crossed that everything will be just fine.

First Baby Kick!

Dec. 7th at 7am (I believe) I felt the first baby kick! The past few days I've been feeling bubble-popping/gas-like-movements in my stomach, but this morning it was much different. I was laying on my back, relaxed and felt a little "poke!" and then some more followed. You couldn't feel it if you pressed your hand on my stomach, but I could internally.

Baby was saying good morning to Momma!