Week 19

Weight: 115 lbs. (+ 1.5 lbs.)

Yikes...we're almost half way there...yikes!!! Many highlights this week - our sonogram on Tuesday and then many family visits Wednesday through Sunday.

Our sonogram went very well, saw almost everything from the brain to the heart chambers to the liver and kidneys to the spine, arms, and legs. Everything is measuring normal for where I am in the pregnancy which apparently confirms an April 21st due date.

So with all the family visits the question of the week has been if we have come up with names yet. So for Bill's sake - Henry Rassman, for Gram's sake - Tiffany Rassman, for Breanne's sake - Emma Rassman, for Gary Server's sake - Rex Rassman, otherwise it's going to be Dapper Tan Rassman - named after the Sherwin Williams paint on our walls, or maybe we'll just change it to Dapper Dan Rassman!!!

Other than that I have been feeling well, I have a good amount of energy, and have been maybe feeling some movement too.

Have a great week!!!


Baby's Development (from Pregnancy.org)

• Your baby has the same awake and sleep patterns of a newborn. He has a favorite position for sleep and recognizable active and rest periods.
  
• Throughout baby's body, nerves are being coated with a fatty substance called myelin, which insulates the nerves so that impulses can flow smoothly.
  
• Scalp hair becomes apparent this week. It has sprouted and continues to grow.
  
• The milk teeth buds have already developed and over the next few days the buds for the permanent teeth will begin to form behind the milk teeth.
  
• If baby is female the uterus starts to develop. If you're having a girl, the vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes are in place.
  
• If it's a boy, the genitals are distinct and recognizable.
  
• Your baby is swallowing amniotic fluid and his or her kidneys are making urine.
  
• Your little one's size is around 6.02 inches (15.3cm) and 8.47 ounces (240gm).
  

(pictures from Pregnancy.org)

Week 18

If the Bills win against the Patriots, we will have twins too. Hmmm...is there any liklihood of either of those happening??? We'll leave the twins up to Deej and April!

Anyway, Todd says the pregnancy is official now because I am starting to get a more noticable belly (not because we've heard the heartbeat twice). A few girls at school have noticed my growing belly as well and wanted to know when I will tell the parents. My principal has suggested that I wait to share the news until we know who will take my place. I know who I would like to sub in my place, now we just have to be sure she will be available. We'll see what comes first, me knowing my sub or a belly that will no longer be able to hide!!

On Saturday, Todd and I went with our friend, Michelle Thorpe, to see a documentary at the Market Arcade theatre entitled "The Business of Being Born." Our other friend, Michelle Parks, recommended we see it as she was quite disappointed with her birthing experience at a buffalo hospital. Below is a synopsis of the movie (taken from http://thebusinessofbeingborn.com/about.htm):

"Birth: it’s a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies. The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal. Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?"

To say the least, it was absolutely eye-opening to the options a woman with a low-risk pregnancy (that's the key word) really does have - that is never discussed at the Ob/Gyn's office nor in many birthing books. If you want to know more, as either of us!!

Even before seeing the movie and after hearing many birth stories from friends and family at how disconnected the doctor was when dealing with a low-risk pregnancy, Todd and I were considering having a doula accompany us during the birth. However, after seeing this movie, we are going to explore (that's the key word right now) the option of the possibility of a home birth. Since you all know us so well, can you believe either Todd or I would even think of this option?? In fact, I have to admit that it was Todd that brought up the possibility after seeing the movie!! If anything I do have to say that a home birth looks a heck of a lot more 'comfortable'. So either this week or next I will start contacting both doulas and midwives to explore our options!!

In other news, we received the delivery of our new familyroom furniture this past week and are getting ready for a Rassman Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad Rassman and Aunt Donna (Mom R's sister) will be staying overnight Wednesday (and possibly Thursday) so we can celebrate Thanksgiving in its true all-day fashion. Kim and Jeff will join us on Thanksgiving as will Dad and Heather.

Since we won't be spending Thanksgiving with Montantes, Roba, and Lavins in Colden, we will go Friday to spend the day in Colden to visit with the Aunt Gigi, Uncle Bill, Bill, Erin, Rose, Natalie, Michael, and Heather.

Get ready to watch the sonogram movie...

Baby's Development (from Pregnancy.org)

• Vernix (a white cheese-like protective material) forms on baby's skin with the lanugo (soft, lightly pigmented hair covering the body and limbs); both serving to protect your baby's skin during the months in water.
  


• Your placenta continues to grow and nourish the baby. Don't forget those prenatal vitamins!
  


• Tiny air sacs called alveoli begin to form in lungs. He'll be putting these lungs to good use in just a few months!
  


• Her vocal chords are formed. She goes through the motions of crying but without air she doesn't make a sound.
  


• Features of your baby's heart, including ventricles and chambers, should be visible during an ultrasound.
  


• Your baby measures about 5.59 inches (14.2cm) this week and weighs about 6.7 ounces (190gm).

(pictures from Pregnancy.org)

Week 17

Alrighty...back to the updates. On Friday, I received results from my last blood tests (Fifth's Disease and Maternal Serum). I am immune to Fifth's Disease (yoo-hoo...especially since it shows up in the classroom at least once a year) and the Maternal Serum results came back normal. "Normal results of the screening, which is the case over 90 percent of the time, should be reassuring. This typically means that no further testing for Down syndrome or spina bifida will be necessary. Unfortunately, screening tests for Down syndrome and spina bifida do not always identify an affected fetus. It should be comforting to know, however, that maternal serum screening detects over 85 percent of fetuses with spina bifida, and multiple marker screening identifies 60-75 percent of fetuses with Down syndrome."

My appetite seems back to about normal along with my energy levels. Although I am quickly losing the ability to button up my pants. Instead of running out and buying maternity pants, I am going to try ordering a Bella Band - http://www.ingridandisabel.com/bellaband0708/how-to-wear.html. At this stage, I would wear it as an extra layer to disguise the fact that my pants are unbuttoned. We'll see how it works. Apparently, at this point I may start feeling the baby move. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to determine if it is movement or something else. I have had little 'sharp' pains (not painful) that I can pinpoint to a specific spot here and there, but I have no idea if that is the baby or not???

In the meantime, we're getting ready for Thanksgiving, delivery of our new family room furniture, and our first sonogram next Tuesday.


Baby's Development (from Pregnancy.org)

• By week 17, your baby weighs about 4.97 ounces (140gm) and is 5.12 inches (13cm) long.
  
• He or she has a much more normal "human" appearance now. She holds her head more erect and her body and limbs are longer in proportion to her head.
  
• Pads are forming on his tiny fingertips and toes. Soon those individual swirls and whorls will be apparent.
  
• Her eyes are looking forward now, but they are still firmly closed.
  
• Meconium (composed of products of cell loss, digestive secretion and swallowed amniotic fluid), is accumulating in the bowel. This black gooey substance will become your baby's first poop!
  
• The umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger and continues to rush blood and nutrients to your growing baby.
  
• If your child is male the prostate begins to develop.
  
• Her skeleton is tranforming from cartilage to bone. The bones remain flexible to make the journey through the birth canal easier.

(pictures from Pregnancy.org)

Week 16

Baby's Development (from Pregnancy.org)

• Fat begins to form underneath skin, providing your baby with insulation for the coming months.
  
• Did you know that both baby and placenta are now about the same size?
  
• Your little one has reached 4.57 inches (11.6cm) and approximately 3.53 ounces (100gm).
  
• His head and neck are held straighter now.
  
• This is a week of "mights!" You might hear the tiny thumps of his heartbeat with an external monitor now. The genitals are developed sufficiently that an experienced sonographer might be able to determine if your baby is a boy or a girl.
  
• Her heart is pumping as much as 6 gallons of blood a day and beats at a rate about double your heartrate.
  
• If you could take a peek inside, you would witness your child's reflexes in action! (Sucking, swallowing and blinking are now evident.) She is probably even hiccuping even though you don't feel it yet!
  
• Your baby has learned to breathe! This is apparent from the regular movements of his chest. Isn't it amazing that he is able to breathe "underwater," inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid? These actions help the lungs to develop and grow.
  
  
  
  (pictures from Pregnancy.org)