My Pregnancy: Week 7

Baby's now the size of a blueberry!

Baby's brain--both hemisheres!--is growing fast, generating about one hundred new cells every minute.  Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place.

This week we got to go to the doctor's office (finally) and begin all of the necessary paperwork and bloodwork.  They informed me that my actual due date is more like October 13, so I was getting 2 days ahead of myself on everything.  Even though I didn't actually visit with a doctor, it felt good to get that ball rolling.  I was even able to do the bloodwork without a single problem!  I was worried about that because of a blood test gone wrong years ago.  Three more weeks and we go back to hear your heartbeat!

We also got the following reply from the email we sent to Aunt Darlene (who is currently on a mission):

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WONDERFUL ZIEBARTH COUPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I AM WAY EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M GOING TO BE AN RM AUNTY!!!!! Hahaha

That seriously is great to hear, and congrats liwat. Ha. I cant wait to hear whether it is a girl or a boy. So what do you guys want? Yes, i know. Just as long as she or he is healthy, but im just going to put it out there and be the first to guess that it is going to be a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! Ha.

Thats awesome how i will be home in time for the birth. I love and miss you guys so much. Tell the little one, i said that his coolest aunt says Kumusta! I know she or he isnt even born yet, but why wait. Ha. (Side note- I just laughed way hard at my stupid joke)

That would be way awesome to have you guys at the Homecoming but if circumstances don't allow, i totally understand. Shoot, the little one comes first as well as mommy Kaysie!!!

Jason and Kaysie, guess what?

5 1/2 Months left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha (No i'm not trunky)

Love Sister Ziebarth aka Darlene aka Probably the happiest person in the Philippines right about now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   YEAHHHHH!

P.S. Sorry if the english is way bad. Ha

Your dad and I also took a page out of Granny D's book and wondered around the mall for a bit last weekend and ended up in the maternity store.  I am nowhere close to needing maternity clothes yet, and was a bit embarrassed to be there--mostly because we haven't told many people yet.  Not too long now though.  It is already getting uncomfortable to sit with my jeans buttoned for long periods of time and I haven't gained any weight yet!

My Pregnancy: Week 6

Baby's now the size of a sweet pea!

Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks, and chin.  Those little hands and feet--still webbed like paddles--might wiggle by week's end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate.

It has been another good week for us baby.  My pregnancy symptoms keep shifting, which I'm not sure I like.  The only really constant one is how tired I always am.  I even slept 12 hours straight one night.  I would rather be tired than vomiting all of the time though.  I get nauseous every now and then, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it--unless I let myself get too hungry.  Seems healthier this way in my mind.  The extreme thirst I was feeling last week has mostly subsided.  I still drink way more liquids than I used to, but I am actually able to quench it now.

Not much else to report this week.  Your Granny D took Aunt Annie to the mall and Aunt Annie convinced her to go look around the maternity store, just for kicks.  She (well both of them actually) are so super excited to  meet you!

I looked into a Gender Calculator posted on thebump.com that is supposed to be 90% accurate in predicting a baby's gender.  Apparently it was discovered on some Chinese tomb and uses the mother's age and the month of conception in its calculations.  According to that, you're a boy, but we'll just have to wait and see for sure!

You are certainly loved already, little one.  Especially by your mommy. =D

Tracy Aviary

One of our goals since moving back to Utah has been to 1) do our best to get out of our house more and 2) to be more social while doing this. For Christmas, I bought Jason one of those Utah Entertainment coupon books. I spent a good long while going through it and seeing what we could actually use to springboard some ideas. Now we have a list, we just have to follow through.

Thankfully we were off to a good start when we went to the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake last Saturday. We even fulfilled both aspects of our goal by inviting our friends Jeff and Cadence along. I had never even heard of this aviary, so I had no idea what to expect. The weather was nicer than it had been in awhile (although it did start snowing on us by the time we left), so we were all more than ready for a little outdoorsy time.

The aviary was a lot nicer than expected. They had all sorts of different birds in various habitats and we watched them all.


This fellow watched Jeff intently the entire time we were in his exhibit.



Lots of brightly colored birds as the aviary was promoting its South American exhibits.

 

These birds were busy building a nest right over our heads.

TONS of ducks and Cadence was kind enough to fill us in on their not-too-pleasant mating rituals.

It certainly made for an entertaining afternoon out of the house. The only downside? We left our coupon at home! Better luck next time.

Yes, I also failed to get a decent group shot.

My Pregnancy: Week 5

Baby's now the size of an appleseed!

Your embryo (looking kind of like a tadpole) is starting to form major organs (heart, kidney, liver, stomach) and systems (nervous, circulatory, digestive).  Baby's presence in your uterus triggers production of hCG (the hormone detected by pregnancy tests)...which triggers production of other hormones like estrogen and progesterone...which trigger all those great symptoms you've probably been noticing!

It has only been a week since I took that test and confirmed that you are coming.  Crazy.  I'm beginning to get a sense of just how long these next 30 weeks are going to be.  The biggest highlight this week was that we decided to tell your grandparents, aunts, and uncles about you.  For my family, I made them all Valentine's Day cards with name tags inside that said, "Hi, my name is Aunt Annie."  For Dad's side, a simple phone call was more than enough to send them through the roof.  We weren't going to tell anyone for a while yet, but we had some insurance issues, and it was Valentine's Day, and I needed to be able to talk to someone before I exploded with joy.  No one else will know about you for quite a while though, if your grandmas can keep their mouths shut that long.

I don't kow if it was just because I knew I was pregnant, but I definitely started noticing a lot more pregnancy symptoms this week.  The biggest one was the total and complete exhaustion that set in a few days ago.  My mom (your Granny D) always told me how that was her main pregnancy symptom and it seems I inherited that.  I'd always suspected I would, but I was shocked at how hard and fast it set it.  I can easily sleep for 10 hours at night, lay around most of the morning, and still be tired in the afternoon.  If I didn't have to work, I'd be sleeping a whole lot more!

The second biggest symptom I've noticed this week is how much thirstier I am on a regular basis.  I was never a huge water drinker, but now I can't seem to get enough!  I have at least doubled (if not tripled) my liquid intake over the last week.  The downside is that also means two to three times as many trips to the bathroom; usually including at least one in the early morning hours.  Guess it is something to get used to since I've heard that will only increase as time goes by as well.

Love you Baby!

My Pregnancy: Week 4

Baby's now the size of a poppyseed!

Now safe in your womb, the ball of cells (blastocyst) is splitting into the embryo (your future child) and placenta.  Outside this microscopic spcik (the amniotic sac and fluid are forming into protective cushioning.

Your tiny little baby is busily settling into her new home (your uterus) though it may just feel like PMS to you.  So in addition to the miracle of life, you can also welcome these beautiful first gifts of motherhood: bloating, cramping, and manaiacal mood swings.

This past week I was feeling pretty crappy--bloated, nauseous, slightly crampy, etc.  Since this was supposed to be the week of my period, I dismissed these symptoms as PMS, disappointed that we had failed to conceive.

But as the days went by and still no period, I started to notice small but significant differences in how I was feeling compared to how I normally feel during this time of the month.

So, I took a pregnancy test and was rewarded with a positive result!  Suddenly, knowing why I was feeling sick made it not seem so bad. :)

It's Positive!

Dearest Baby Ziebarth,

Wow.  I love seeing that written out.  Baby Ziebarth.  My baby Ziebarth.  Your dad and I have been waiting for you for months now.  Our lives were turned upside down shortly after we decided we were ready for a baby. Months went by and we felt displaced and more dependent on others that we would have liked.  Fortunately, with the beginning of the new year, our lives finally stabilized and you were once again a top priority in our thoughts.

A couple of weeks ago, I was an emotional wreck for no apparent reason.  Whenever this happens, I know that special time of the month is coming.  Disappointed, I told your dad that I didn't think we were pregnant.  He comforted me and we agreed that we wouldn't give up hope.

This lask week, I started feeling pretty crappy, emotional, and downright drained.  As time went by, I realized that this was different.  I took a pregnancy test, hoping that the sickness I was feeling was my body's way of telling me that you were there.  I was rewarded with a positive result and was ecstatic, to say the least.  I rushed upstairs and showed your dad the test.  His face immediately lit up with a huge smile.  He kept asking, "Really?  Really?" as he picked me up and twirled me around.  Yes, we are going to be parents!

Since then, I have had little else but baby on the brain.  I spent hours reading, researching, and planning--to the point where I couldn't get my brain to shut off and go to sleep even though I was exhausted.  I figure I'm only about 4 weeks along, which puts you with an estimated due date of 10/11/11.  I am keeping this record of your growth so that someday, when you ask me what it was like, I'll be able to show you with more details than I may recall later.

Baby, I want you to know that your daddy and I love you so very much already and can't wait to watch as you grow and develop to the point where we can finally meet you. 

Love,

Mommy