21 Weeks Today
We're 21 weeks pregnant today. Every week is another hurdle crossed.Here's an update on how Riley is doing:
Today is day number 149.Riley's age since conception is 135 days or 19 weeks.There are 133 days until Riley's due date.Lenght is now measured crown to heel. She measures about 10.51 inches and weighs nearly 12.7 ounces.Our beautiful little miracle-gro baby will be putting on a full ounce and a half this week (up to 16.5 oz), but that's just the beginning! Within the next five weeks, she'll really be packin' it on!This week brings the addition of rapid eye movement (REM), a key component to any baby's healthy sleep schedule.In the dermatology department her thin soft skin is very red, fairly translucent, and a bit wrinkled. Not to worry, it's not a premature aging disease. It's just her clever little body setting her up with extra space that will smooth out once she starts packing on the baby-fat. That won't be for a few more weeks though. So for the time being, our munchkin is still a lean mean growing machine.The beginnings of what is commonly called "brown fat" is just starting to fill in to help Riley retain some body heat, which is crucial as she's not yet capable of regulating her own body temperature.Riley's tongue is fully formed. If we were able to peek we might catch her practicing giving us a rasberry!She swallows more this week. After she takes in amniotic fluid her body absorbs the water in the liquid and moves the rest in the large bowel. This is good practice for her digestive system.Wake and sleep periods become more consistent. Some research sugggests that she sets her internal clock to match the outside world's even before birth! Shelly's eating and sleeping habits, as well as levels of light and noise serve as her signals.
Our Conception Story
After eight years together we were pretty sure we'd spend our life with our four legged kids, doing lots of camping, and traveling the world. On August 12, 2004 that all changed with the birth of our God Daughter Tate. We immediately fell completely in love with her and soon began to re-think our decision of not having kids.
In October 2005 we began the process of trying to conceive. As soon as we started trying Shelly began having very erratic cycles which made the process that more complicated. After four tries over six months we decided to schedule a consultation with the a Reproductive Specialist. We were desperate to conceive and on a limited time frame since Shelly had just turned 41. Dee was 35 at the time but not able to conceive due to a medical procedure.
Our first appointment with the Repro Man was May 2006. He suggested we try IVF using Dee's eggs and Shelly as the gestational mother. He felt this scenario would give us the highest chance for success of a healthy pregnancy. We spent a short amount of time weighing our options and decided this was the best choice. We began our first IVF cycle in August. They did the Egg Retrieval and Fertilization on 8/31. Three days later, 9/3, they transferred three embryos into Shelly. Then the wait began.
Shelly promised not to begin the home pregnancy test too soon. Dee had to travel out of state for business a week after the transfer and asked Shelly to please wait to test. BUT, the wait was too much for her and she started testing after a week. At first there was no line. But after a couple of days testing a faint line started to appear. When Dee came home from her trip Shelly told her, "I know I'm pregnant." Dee didn't believe her and insisted the line wasn't dark enough so she tested herself to compare. There was absolutely no line. She began to believe Shelly was pregnant but still had doubt. Dee went to the store and bought another brand of testing strips. After five home tests, we were convinced we we're pregnant due to all positive results. A blood test at two weeks confirmed it; we were going to have a baby!
3 comments:
Isn't it all so amazing!!Over half way there!
Congratulations on reaching 21 weeks! You're getting there--over the halfway mark! :)
Wow! Time flies!
Congrats on the 21 week milestone!
Merr's right - you're over halfway home!
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