20 Week Belly Shot

Cashina is growing and I can tell my belly has expanded as well since week 16. This is a self portrait and think we may need to invest in a tripod so I don't have to set up a stack of books the next time Chris is away. At least I figured out how to use the timer on the camera!!

20 Weeks

16 Weeks (for comparison)

Pregnancy Progress: Week 20

Today, I am 20 weeks pregnant!! I have reached the mid-point of pregnancy and couldn’t be happier about the milestone. In 20 weeks (+ or -) I will officially become a mama and Chris will become a papa!! I can’t believe how quickly the first half flew by and I have a feeling that the next half will go by even faster since we have so much to plan for, purchase, decorate, put together (once gear starts arriving), and the list goes on and on. Some days I feel very overwhelmed but I am confident we will be prepared on arrival day thanks to the help of great family and friends…and each other!!

This week Cashina is the size of a Cantaloupe...lengthwise that is. She now has perfectly formed ears and can hear sounds from inside and outside. She will learn to distinguish my voice from other people’s long before her birth which will allow me to sooth her after she arrives (let’s hope!). All of the major structures of her body are formed, from her major organs right down to her fingers, toes and facial features. Her next phase of development will be to fill out and pile on the pounds. She is roughly half the length she’ll be at birth. The next 8 weeks will be her most active time that to having full control of her movements and enough space to move around freely. She’s even developing her own daily routine, with periods of sleep, activity and quiet but alert wakefulness.

I “think” I have been feeling Cashina move more but still not 100% confident. Dang gas!! The other night while I was lying in bed watching last week’s Grey’s, I felt 5 kicks a little to the left in different spots under my belly button. I have never really felt gas like that so I am really hoping it was her giving me some “mama, I’m doing great in here” signals. I even felt them slightly from the outside but it seems too early for that so maybe I was imagining it. Chris was away so I am hoping she does a repeat performance so he can feel her soon too.

A 20 week belly shot is on the way.

First "Big" Purchase

After much hesitation, research, reading parent reviews and feedback on forums, I finally pulled the trigger and made our first “big” purchase…..a car seat for Cashina!! I felt a little strange buying something so soon but got over it when I found the exact model we were looking for at a great price. It certainly pays to scour the internet for deals and not settle for Babies ‘R’ Us.

Of course, our decision didn’t come without many questions. Should we go with Graco (since everyone I know has one) or Chicco (with the highest safety rating)? 22lb, 30lb or 32lb weight limit? Is it really important to be able to put the car set onto the front of a shopping cart or in a high chair at a restaurant? When it came down to it, the most important factor to consider had to be safety and since Chicco received the highest safety rating from Consumer Reports we thought it would be worth it, even with some of the cons, to keep our little one safe.

So what if we can’t put the car seat in the front of a shopping cart or on a high chair? It is most definitely not very safe and I would like to avoid visions of top heavy carts toppling or someone bumping the high chair!! When the car seat gets to heavy to lift it and Cashina, we will just have to pick her up. A part of me believes she won’t mind anyway.

One of the best features of the car seat (other than everything I’ve read about it says it is super easy to install), the fabric. It is fun and graphic and not too girlie so I hope that Cashina likes it too. I also think it will coordinate with both of our car’s black interior perfectly…I know, I know…the things I think about are maddening.

Pregnancy Progress: Week 19

Today, I am 19 weeks pregnant!! This week Cashina will begin to sport a greasy white substance of oil and dead skin cells to protect her skin from the amniotic fluid. We wouldn't want her to enter the world as a big prune would we!? Cashina can most likely recognize my voice now so I have been doing lots of singing in the car to keep her entertained and if it doesn't feel to strange, I will have little conversations with her. I have some books that I would like to start reading to her as well and I'm sure Violet will enjoy them too :-)

Cashina's brain is also developing rapidly this week, growing pockets that will allow her to hear, see, taste, smell, and touch things after delivery. Cashina has also produced millions of eggs in her ovaries which means that Chris and I will hopefully have grandchildren someday too!!

We got to visit with Cashina this week to undergo the "big" fetal survey. We are still waiting for results but are hopeful that all is well with her little organs. All of her measurements are on track for 19 weeks and she seems pretty comfy in my tummy. We don't think she is very much a morning baby since she seemed to be chilling out with the occasional arm, leg or mouth movement. Even so, the ultrasound tech was able to see everything she needed to and we even got to see a cool close-up of her heart pumping. Ultrasounds are amazing!!

Here are a couple of ultrasound photos. In the first one, she is looking toward us with her left arm near her face. The second one is a profile of her lounging back; if you look closely you can even see her ribs!!

Ahhhh...I Love My New Bed

As Chris and I watched Violet pushing the sides of her bed out we thought it was time to upgrade her from a full size to a king size. After getting beyond her intense sniffing session of the new bed, she now loves it. She can play in it, sprall out and just enjoy.

Pregnancy Progress: Week 18

Today, I am 18 weeks pregnant!! When each new week arrives it always seems like it will go by so slowly but then as it comes to an end it feels as if it just flew by. I think back to when I was only 5 weeks pregnant and taking a pregnancy test every morning to make sure it was really true and I can't believe I've made it to 18 weeks (and looking forward to 22 more!!), have a baby about the size of a sweet potato growing away, and it is a girl. It has been and continues to be such a surreal experience.

I "think" I started feeling Cashina move over the past few days. It is tough to know if it is actually her since some of her movements could actually be gas bubbles but I have felt some bubbles and a scratching sensation that actually tickles and causes me to have to scratch back...ha!! I usually feel the scratching in the same area each time and typically when I am sitting watching TV or at my desk at work. I can't wait to actually KNOW it is her instead of just speculating.

So, this week, Cashina will start to produce feces and store them in the colon....we better start saving for all of those diapers we will need!! Cashina will also start to hear better this week and will start to here my heartbeat and blood moving through the umbilical cord. Most importantly, Cashina will be busy this week building a strong heart and muscles...GO CASHINA!!

We will be going in for our fetal survey this week which is an ultrasound where they will check all of Cashina's organs to make sure they are growing as they should. So far so good so we are keeping our fingers crossed for more great results.

A Ciano Baby Girl!!

Chris and I had the pleasure of having an elective ultrasound yesterday thanks to my most fabulous Mom and Cash flashed the goods to reveal that she's a GIRL!! We are going to have a daughter!! It still doesn't feel real to me that we can actually say "she" and "her" when we speak about her but I don't think there is any mistaking that we saw girl parts. No part of what we saw looked like a hot dog to me :-)

Cashina (as Chris has been calling her) was extremely active and quite the squirmer so it was hard to get still pictures of her. I think it may have had something to do with the 20oz Sprite I drank on the way to the appointment that got her going. Perhaps I will avoid all of that sugar the next time.

We caught her sucking her thumb, opening and closing her mouth, snuggling up next to the placenta, putting her hands in front of her face and we even got to see her full bladder which I am sure was getting ready to burst like mine almost was.

I think this has been one of the most exciting moments of the pregnancy (other than seeing and hearing the heartbeat for the first time) and I am glad my Mom could be there to share it with us.

2D Profile

3D of Face; left hand in front of face, the mass on the right is the placenta

3D of face; sucking thumb of right hand, left hand in front of face, placenta on right

You Look Great!!

Over the past few weeks as we have been making the announcement about our impending addition to friends and family, the first questions asked are, “How far along are you?”, “When are you due?” and “How are you feeling, any morning sickness?” Standard questions which I am always happy to answer. The strangest thing is that most people will say, “…well, you look great!!”. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am flattered that they think I look great but do they expect that I am supposed to look horrible (sick, tired, huge and swollen)? I am 17 weeks pregnant, not 42 weeks and ready to issue Cash an eviction notice. I think I should look good at this rate!! Maybe it is just a natural thing for some people to say or maybe some women don’t look great at 17 weeks? I just don’t know but as long as I look great and Cash continues to grow and thrive I will be a happy mom-to-be.

Are you going to find out the gender?

The two original gender symbols are derived from astronomical symbols; male being the symbol for Mars and Female for Venus (I never knew this!!). Hence, men are from Mars and women are from Venus (I knew this!!). The symbols were first used to denote the effective gender of plants by Carolus Linnaeus in 1751.

If baby Cash cooperates this Tuesday, we will hopefully find out his or her gender!! Originally I was leaning toward not finding out until delivery day but as Chris and I started talking about baby names during one afternoon car trip I thought it would be so much easier to only have to pick a name for one gender instead of two. Chris didn’t mind either way but my family was hoping we would find out so they could shop for colors other than yellow and green…even though I have made it clear that we don’t want just pink or blue things either!!

Everyone seems to want to know if we would prefer a certain gender over the other and honestly we don’t have our heart set on either gender. We are just hoping that the little one is healthy and strong and no matter what the gender, we can’t wait to meet him or her on delivery day. Even though we will know the gender, the surprise of meeting the baby we created together will be the biggest moment and surprise of our lives. Hey, and there’s always a chance that the gender determination was incorrect, right?

I have had a feeling since the beginning that it is a girl, not sure why I have the feeling but I do none the less. But the other night, I had my first dream about gender and it was a boy. So the mystery is just waiting to be solved…let’s hope Cash isn’t too modest!!

Pregnancy Progress: Week 17

Today, I am 17 weeks pregnant!! Cash is about the size of an onion (or the size of my hand wide open) but it sure doesn’t look like it when I look at my baby bump which seems to look the same as it did 4 weeks ago. Cash’s skeleton is hardening and changing from rubbery cartilage to bone (I better start drinking more milk!!) and s/he is even accumulating a little fat which is important for the body’s heat production and metabolism. Bambino Ciano now has one of a kind prints on all of his/her fingers and toes!! Did you know that the prints were created by Cash moving around in the amniotic fluid? Pretty cool!!

I haven't felt Cash move just yet but I am keeping my feelers out. At my 16 week prenatal appointment this past week, Cash's heartbeat was strong and we could hear him or her kicking around and hiccupping. I am looking forward to feeling these movements myself and it will be even more exciting when Chris can start feeling Cash move from the outside, which won't be for awhile but still something to look forward too.

This week we are anticipating our 3D ultrasound on Tuesday. We can't wait to see Cash again (hoping s/he is growing healthy) and I am excited my mom will be there as well!!

Nickname

We couldn’t let the first months of pregnancy go by without coming up with a nickname for the little one. It makes it so much easier to talk about him or her without saying “it” each time. “It” just doesn’t seem right since he or she does have a gender…we just don’t know it yet!! We got to catch a glimpse of the tadpole a couple of times around 7 and 9 weeks and we saw a flickering heartbeat in what looked like a cashew. Being one of my favorite nuts and in the same family as one of Violet’s nicknames, Peanut, I thought Cashew would be a cute nickname for the baby. Of course, as soon as we told Auntie K she immediately shortened the name to “Cash” which has continued to stick (even though s/he looks nothing like a Cashew now!!). So if you hear me talking about little “Cash”, you will know who I am referring too and that it has nothing to do with the stroller I love or the amount of money we will end up spending on the nursery!!

Bambino Ciano Progression

We've had the opportunity to visit with Baby Ciano a few times, the last time being during my 12th week. The first two ultrasounds we could see a little blob and a heartbeat flickering away. Our most recent ultrasound at 12 weeks 6 days was the coolest!! Seeing the little one moving around, stretching, waving, bending its knees, was just so neat...and strange to think it was all going on inside and I couldn't feel a thing!!

Next up, 3D ultrasound on January 12th to see if we can confirm the gender of the little one.

6 weeks 6 days

8 Weeks 5 Days (Baby upside down, head left, body right)12 Weeks 6 Days

Pregnancy Progress: Week 16

Due to popular demand I have begun to document the growing baby bump. It doesn't look like much and is most likely just bloating (since I don't think I have gained any weight yet) but it is enough to make buttoning my pants uncomfortable and requires me to wear a Bellaband most days. The days I don't wear it I am mostly home in my stretchy pj pants or drawstring sweatpants.....aahhh...so nice. After work I can't wait to get home and change out of my work clothes and into something comfortable since as the day goes on my bloating seems to increase....or maybe I just ate too much during the day :-) Being the planner that I am, and hoping I don't jinx myself, I bought some maternity clothes even though I really don't need them yet. My fear is that I will need winter clothes but by the time I go shopping for them only spring tops, capris and dresses will be available since we know most stores can't wait to change over their merchandise.

So, I am officially in my 16th week (pic 15 weeks, 6 days), how time flies!! It sure doesn't feel or look like the baby is about the size of an avocado (yum!!). So, this week Baby Ciano should start being able to pick up the sound of my voice which could be scary. Hopefully he or she doesn't get irritated with my incessant coughing and perhaps now is the time I should start "cleaning up" my language. I may also potentially start feeling the little one fluttering around which would be very exciting (and reassuring)!!

I have my next prenatal appointment on Tuesday so crossing fingers that the heartbeat is strong and that I have at least gained a couple of pounds.