It’s a boy!

Week 20

I haven’t had any more leg cramps. The bananas and milk must be helping. I’m also stretching my calves every day. I have had some round ligament pain. This is the stretching that takes place in the abdomen to make room for baby. It seems to occur primarily after I’ve eaten. There just isn’t room for food and baby. I’ve been able to feel kicks more regularly, at least once a day. Heartburn has also become a more frequent occurrence, although it is tolerable. Spider veins are common at this point in pregnancy. I haven’t seen any yet. I was reassured that if they do appear, they usually go away after childbirth.

At the end of the fifth month the baby is seven inches long and weighs almost a pound. At this point in time baby has only about one percent body fat. Much of baby’s skeleton is turning into bone. The baby’s brain is growing rapidly. The rate of growth continues until the child is five years old. No wonder kids learn so fast!

It is important that expectant mothers get enough iron or anemia may develop. If you feel very weak, tired, out of breath, or faint, you may not have the red blood cells (and therefore the oxygen) that would otherwise be circulated. Protein is essential. It is the only substance that builds tissue. Both mother and child need this growth.

Tuesday was a difficult day. A 13-year-old girl and her 16-year-old brother were in a tragic car accident. The girl died on the scene and the boy was taken by helicopter, unconscious. I am not directly related, but we have relatives in common. If the boy makes it, he will have permanent brain damage. Family is remaining hopeful as he is breathing on his own and has made movements.

Emotionally this week has been a roller coaster. It was hard to see my family suffer with the tragedy that had taken place. Yet, on Friday Andrew and I could hardly contain our excitement. We had been looking forward to our ultrasound appointment all week. Andrew explained to the child that we wanted to find out his/her gender. Our baby listened to its father and was not shy. Just about the first image of the sonogram, the baby had its legs up and spread. It was unmistakable. The sonographer asked Andrew, “What do you think it is?”

Without hesitation Andrew replied, “It’s a boy!” We were so excited. I shed tears throughout a good portion of the appointment.

It’s a good thing my sister’s graduation ceremony was that day because we wanted to go shopping! I know I would have made emotional purchases and spent too much. Andrew still found a way to sneak to the store in between and buy two toy cars and an animated movie.

At our appointment we learned so much. The ultrasound technician isn’t allowed to tell if things look healthy or not, but he did tell us what we were looking at. We saw the heart beating and even saw all four chambers. We saw the brain, kidneys, bladder, spine, hands, feet, and everything else. The only thing we didn’t get a clear view of, unfortunately, was his face. The baby must’ve fallen asleep halfway through. He was face down and would not move.

The baby measured a little small. There is an eight-day margin of error when estimating dates based on size. Due to the measurements taken of our baby during the ultrasound, I could be only 18 weeks along. This didn’t surprise me. I have very irregular cycles. My initial due date calculation (based on when I thought conception took place) was November 2. Based on my last period I was given a date of October 20. Either way, I’m sure our baby boy will get here when he’s ready. In order not to complicate things, I won’t be changing the “weeks” on this blog.

Please view my other blogs:

• Communicating with your big belly
• Keepin’ it all straight
• Terra’s Announcement
• Terra’s Trip to the Midwest
• My Little Secret
• Terra’s First Few Weeks

Please view my profile on Mommy.com here .