MADE WITH LOVE!

Dear Gracyn,

I want to take this moment to write about the night we found out you were a girl.  I never want to forget the sweet details! 

From earlier blogs, you can tell that Mommy and Daddy had names picked out pretty early on.  Mommy was quietly rooting for team pink, while Daddy was confident that he could only make baby boys.  I thought you were a girl from the start due to the high heartbeat theory.  

The ultrasound was scheduled on your Grandpa Baker's 50th birthday!  What a great birthday gift you were that day!  We (G & G Dason, G & G Baker, G & G Thompson, Aunt Courtney, Uncle Mike, Jordyn, Nevaeh , Great G & G Richards, Great G. Martin.....and of course Mommy and Daddy) all went to Ultrasona, which is an elective 3d/4d ultrasound place for the entire family.  Technology is WONDERFUL....to be able to tell your gender as early as 14 weeks gestation is UNBELIEVABLE!

The appointment was at 6pm.....It was extremely long day at work....waiting until the ultrasound......As soon as the tech put the probe on Mommy's belly, Mommy knew your gender right away!  Mommy's tears started flowing.......I remember looking at her and thinking that if she knew that quickly then you surely had to be a boy, because Mommy must see the little pee pee poking out.  I looked and looked at the screen....searching for the penis........finding none.......then it dawned on me......Mommy knew immediately because she didn't see a little pee pee!  I squealed....."I know what the baby is, too".......and I remember your Daddy saying......."Don't tell me yet!"  He wanted to try and figure it out himself.......but then the tech typed the words "I'm a Girl" on the screen and we all burst out with excitement!  When we asked the tech how sure she was on your gender.....her response was, "Well, if it is a boy, he is missing a penis!"  I think Mommy cried the whole time and I know for a fact that at that very moment, Daddy fell deeply in love with his little girl!

Today while shopping at Hobby Lobby, Mommy found herself in the crafting isle with a onsie and some iron on letters and bows......then she found herself crying while shopping.......yes crying........ She can't believe that God has blessed her with you.......Her beautiful baby girl that she has been dreaming of.   The above picture is the cute little outfit that your Mommy made for you!  Pretty talented lady, isn't she!?  You are one lucky little girl!   Sooooo Very Loved!

One day, I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy writing about you!
Love, Grandma Dason

14w4d- BABY BUMP UPDATE!

14w4d Baby Bump!  The belly is growing again after slowing weaning off of progesterone.... 35.5" round!  Mommy has felt you moving (maybe even flipping over) a couple times this week .....just like we saw you do during the ultrasound.  One day, she may feel you flutter a couple of times....then nothing for a day or two .....then more flutters.....nothing consistent yet.  I'm sure it won't be long!  Hearing your heartbeat daily and watching the belly growing keeps us all smiling!  WE LOVE YOU BABY GRACYN!

CUTE

Nevaeh did this each time she heard Aunt Caitlin's baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound.....toooo cute!

14w1d ULTRASOUND

14w1d- MEET GRACYN OLIVIA!

Our little Miss is PERFECT! Growing right on track....still two days ahead! Measuring 3.5 inches long and weighing in at a whopping 3 oz. with a strong heartbeat of 158!!!!!

14w1d- COUNTING DOWN!

OMG! In exactly 12 hours we will be watching you on the ultrasound! Can't wait to find out if you are a little guy or a little gal! ......Then let the planning begin!

14 WEEKS PREGNANT!!!!!

Dear Baby Thompson,

Grandma and Grandpa Dason are counting down HOURS until we see you on the 3D/4D ultrasound (14w1d) tomorrow! I have been surfing the 4D ultrasounds online to get an idea of what you will look like. You will be able to squint, frown, grimace, and possibly suck your thumb! You should be measuring about 3 1/2 to 4 inches and weigh around 1 1/2 ounces!

You are starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over your body. Your liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and your spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though Mommy can't feel your tiny strong punches and kicks yet, your little  hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active so she is feeling you flutter around like a butterfly.

Tomorrow when I post, I will actually stop calling you baby bean, or baby Thompson and will call you by name!  Can't wait!!!!

Love, Grandma Dason

13w6d- ANOTHER MILESTONE!

3 WHOLE WEEKS WITH NO SPOTTING!  YAY!  Caitlin went back on a full 81mg. low dose aspirin (rather than 1/2 pill), for her blood disorder (MTHFR).....hopefully she doesn't spot this week and we can celebrate the next milestone of one whole month with no blood from the partial previa!  Fingers crossed!

NEW BABY MOBILE!

Mommy and Daddy purchased their first vehicle together!  It's a baby mobile!  Honda CRV-EXL  :-)  Poor Daddy had to trade in his Mustang.  Sorry Daddy, but it's time to make room for baby!

13w5d-FIRST NOTICABLE MOVEMENTS

Caitlin told me that she felt something odd this morning.....almost like a little fish swimming in her belly!  It was quick and lasted a few short seconds.....then nothing, so she started second guessing herself.....but......later in the day, she felt the same strange feeling again.  This time, the odd feeling made her jump because it was a definite "swimming fish feeling" which caught her attention!  YEA!

3 more days until we get to see the little swimmer!  CAN'T WAIT!

13w4d- BABY BUMP!

Now that Caitlin is weaning off of progesterone, the belly bloat is going down. The belly is measuring 1/4 inch less than last week at 35 inches round. The baby has a strong heartbeat and still no spotting!!!!! Sunday will mark 3 weeks with no blood! 4 more days until we find out if the baby is a Little Miss or Little Mr. !!!!!

13w2d- HEARTBEAT

Mommy just called and shared your beautiful heartbeat through the Doppler....A sweet 160 beats per minute. I also heard you kick the probe a few times! I'M IN LOVE!

iPhone App!

This made Mommy smile this morning!....Hello second trimester!

13 WEEKS- SECOND TRIMESTER!

Dear Baby Bean,

SECOND TRIMESTER!!!!  According to BabyCenter.com, your fingerprints have formed on your tiny fingertips, your veins and organs are clearly visible through your thin skin, and your body is starting to catch up with your head — which makes up just a third of your body size now. If you are a girl, you now have more than 2 million eggs in your ovaries.  Just think....one of those eggs will make my great grandchild one day (if you are a girl)!  Pretty neat thing to think about!  You are also almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weigh nearly an ounce!  We get to see you in one more week with a 3d/4d ultrasound......Then we can start calling you by name....Will your name be Gracyn Olivia or Cooper Joseph????


We love you!
Grandma Dason

12w6d- ANOTHER MILESTONE!

ANOTHER MILESTONE--TWO WHOLE WEEKS WITH NO SPOTTING! :-)

12w4d- BABY BUMP!

The baby bump grew another 1/2 inch this week......Caitlin's belly is now measuring 35 1/4 round! She is suppose to stop the progesterone on Sunday but rather than quitting cold turkey, she is going to wean herself off of them....I wonder if the belly will stay the same or even go down a little once the progesterone bloat goes away....time will tell.  If it does....nothing to be worried about....I've heard of this happening.  Good news is that she hasn't spotted now for almost 2 weeks.  Sunday will mark the 2nd week!  This is a great sign that the placenta is migrating away from her cervix. Fingers crossed!  She has even started adding in some light house work to see how things go with the spotting issues.  Hopefully she can get back to a normal work schedule at home and then at work by the time her next OB visit rolls around in April.  Prayers Needed!

COUSINS

Baby Bean,

Your cousin Nevaeh met her brand new cousin, Kailin Amora! She was real gentle patting her head, rubbing her face and holding her hand. She kept saying...."That's a baby!....Awe baby!". Your Mommy was there also.....When Nevaeh was asked where Aunt Caitlin's baby was, she touched your Mommy's belly. This time she asked Aunt Caitlin, "Why is the baby hiding from me?". LOL. I look forward to the day Nevaeh meets you for the first time!

Love Grandma Dason

12w1d- HEARTBEAT VIDEO :-)

The Doppler is finally recording the bpm!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6jShyp9a2M&sns=em

Caitlin felt the rolling bubbles feeling again when the baby kicked the Doppler and moved way from the probe! Pretty cool! I look forward to the day she feels the wave of bubbles from the baby's movement when not listening through the doppler!

Sent from my iPad

HAPPY 1st ANNIVERSARY MOMMY & DADDY!

12 WEEKS PREGNANT!!!!

Dear Baby Bean,

According to BabyCenter.com....the most dramatic development this week are reflexes. Your fingers will soon begin to open and close, your toes will curl, eye muscles will clench, and your mouth will make sucking movements! In fact, when Mommy prods her abdomen, you squirm away in response, although she won't be able to feel it. (One time she felt rolling bubbles when prodding with the doppler...She thinks it was you moving away!) Your intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into your abdominal cavity about now, and your kidneys will begin excreting urine into your bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and  your  brain, synapses are forming furiously. Your face looks unquestionably human: Your eyes have moved from the sides to the front of your head, and your ears are right where they should be! (We saw your beautiful profile last week during the ultrasound!) From crown to rump, you are about 2 1/2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weigh half an ounce.  Your sex organs are developed and distinguishable, however, most ultrasound places like to wait until you grow a little bigger before making a 100% guarantee on whether or not you are a boy or a girl!

Mommy's uterus has grown to the point where her OB can now feel the top of it (the fundus) low in her abdomen, just above the pubic bone (about the size of a softball!).   Actually, the nurse was able to find your heartbeat by a doppler within seconds of placing it on Mommy's belly. (Around the 170 range).  Mommy is already wearing maternity clothes so she can breathe!  All of her pants have been unbuttoned for a few weeks now!

Many internet sites show 12 weeks as a milestone!  The risk for miscarriage drops to 3% !!!  By the end of this week, we can comfortably say that Mommy is in her second trimester!

We only have two more weeks until we find out if you are a boy or a girl....either way, we will be happy!  Love you baby bean!

Love, Grandma Dason

11w6d- MILESTONE!

Caitlin has experienced spotting on and off since 4w4d with a big previa bleed at 8w4d.  Finally, she can say that she did go one whole week with NO spotting!  YAY!!!!   As her uterus grows and the placenta migrates up and away from the cervix, we hope she can experience a normal pregnancy with NO scares!  Prayers continued!

2nd TRIMESTER ????

I am just as confused as Caitlin is when it comes to determining the end of the first trimester....(I don't remember this confusion when I was pregnant...but then again, pregnancy was not counted until conception....now there's an additional two weeks before conception....how confusing!)

This is what I found on the internet:

One way is to look at development. This way, 2nd trimester starts at 12 weeks and 3rd starts at 27 weeks.

Another is by gestation - this simply divides the 40 weeks of pregnancy into three equal stages, which gives 2nd trimester starting at 13 weeks and 3 days. 3rd trimester starts at 26 weeks and 5 days this way.

The third is by conception - take the 38 weeks of pregnancy that occur after conception and divide that into three equal stages. This way gives 2nd trimester starting at 14 weeks and 5 days, while 3rd trimester starts at 27 weeks and 3 days.

The third trimester dates all seem to fall pretty close together at around 27 weeks, which is why I guess the conflict doesn't seem to arise there, but there are vastly different dates for second trimester. Averaging them out gives something around 13 weeks, but information will vary as to which method was actually used to calculate them.

I think we will go with 13 weeks as the start of Caitlin's 2nd trimester, which will be on March 19 2012.....I keep saying extra prayers for little baby Thompson !

11w5d- PREGNANCY GLOW

11w4d BELLY PICS

The belly is getting bigger! Grew 3/4 of an inch this week..... Measuring 34 3/4" round! One thing Caitlin noticed this past week are the blue prominent veins in her breasts showing through. Just as I posted last time that the puking had stopped... It started up again! :-(. One thing we are smiling about right now..... If Caitlin goes one more day without spotting, she's hit a milestone of a week with no blood from the prévia .... Fingers crossed! Oh yea.... Caitlin just called .... The Doppler is now recording BPM ..... Before we heard the sweet sound .... Now we see it .... 171bpm!

11w2d- OB APPOINTMENT

The appointment went well. The nurse warned Caitlin that since she has a tilted uterus she may not be able to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler. (Caitlin smiled knowing she just heard it at home about an hour before the appointment)....Sure enough, she found the heartbeat within seconds of placing the Doppler on the belly! Such a sweet sound! The OB opted not to do a vaginal check this time since the MFM notes were faxed over from yesterday's appointment. She didn't want to irritate the cervix and cause more spotting. Since Caitlin continues to spot on and off, the OB is keeping her on modified bed rest until the next monthly visit. Thank goodness for the short term disability that she has through work, or they would be hurting a bit financially since they just bought a new home. .....But then again baby bean is worth it!

11w1d- HIGH RISK MFM VISIT/ULTRASOUND!

Our little bean actually looks like a little baby!  He/She is growing right on track at 2" long (even measured two days ahead!!), with a nice strong heartbeat of 176!  Caitlin has gained one pound so far over her pre-pregnancy weight, which is great.  Look at that cute little bump!  She sure does have the pregnancy glow (especially since she isn't puking anymore!) Today before the visit, Caitlin listened to the baby through the doppler, as the heartbeat faded from the range of the doppler, she actually felt little rolling bubbles at the same time from the baby moving away from the probe!  How cool!

We got to see the baby move a few times, but not a lot. The Tech didn't keep one position long enough on the screen for us to see movement, so we only caught glimpses of it here and there.   The ultrasound tech assured us that the baby looked perfect at this stage in the pregnancy with a strong healthy heartbeat! She pointed out the placenta and stated that although it is early in the pregnancy for placenta previa, she does see a partial previa.  Actually I can't remember if she said partial or marginal (which equals the degree of the placenta on the cervix) but I do remember her saying that most likely it will migrate up and out of the way!  She doesn't see any signs of a clot or bleed in the uterus that would be causing the spotting that Caitlin is experiencing.  The MFM OB congratulated Caitlin on a healthy pregnancy.  She stated that it is not uncommon for women to bleed during pregnancy and Caitlin may or may not be bleeding (spotting) due to the previa.  The OB said she bled throughout all 4 of her pregnancies for no reason and ended up with healthy babies!

Caitlin goes back to this OB when she is 18 weeks (April 24)  for the level II ultrasound for all the detailed measurements of vital organs.  Luckily we will already know the sex of the baby by then.  If we had to wait another 7 weeks....this grandma would go stir crazy!  Our next elective 3D/4D ultrasound is on March 27th.  By the heartbeat, I am guessing a girl.....we'll know for sure in 3 weeks!

Caitlin sees her regular OB tomorrow to review the records this OB sends.  Not sure if he will release her to go back to work since she is still spotting here and there.  Will post again tomorrow.

11w0d- Doppler

Mommy called today to share your heartbeat caught on the doppler, but I missed her call!  :-(  However, she did make me smile when she told me she heard you kicking at the doppler with little thumping sounds!  Can't wait to see you on the ultrasound tomorrow!

11 WEEKS PREGNANT!!

Dear Baby Bean,

You are just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a lime and are almost fully formed. Your hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under your gums, and some of your bones are beginning to harden.

You are already busy kicking and stretching, and your tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as your body grows and becomes more developed and functional. Mommy won't feel your acrobatics for another month or two — nor will she notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that your diaphragm is forming. But she definitely knows you are active because you constantly move away from Doppler every time she catches your heartbeat!

We get to see you tomorrow on an ultrasound....can't wait!

Love,
Grandma Dason

10w3d BELLY PICS!

The belly has grown an inch this week! 35" round. One difference is a night measurement vs early morning. I wonder if she will measure 35 " tomorrow morning? This week Caitlin has kept more food down! YAY! Still spotting on and off, but the baby seems to be active with strong heartbeat!

UPDATE: The morning belly measures 34" round.....about the same as last week....pretty normal to feel and measure bigger in evenings on a belly full of food! :-)