week 24.

Baby BOY DeSalvo - Week 24

How Far Along: 24 weeks today! 

Total Weight Gain: About the same as last week, but I feel like my belly looks bigger. 

Maternity Clothes: Absolutely! Leggings and dresses are my favorite right now...I'm looking forward to wearing lots of long dresses come Spring. 

Favorite Moment This Week: As mentioned in my last post, Joe and I spent a lot of time inside this week due to the major snow storm that hit last Wednesday evening and on into Thursday. I was out of school on Thursday and Friday, Joe was home all day Thursday, but went into work on Friday afternoon. It was so nice to have an excuse to do nothing but relax. I spent a lot of time watching various shows on Net Flix and feeling baby boy move around like crazy! 

Gender: BOY!

Movement: Someone at school told me that if the baby is moving a lot that means snow is coming...in that case, button down the hatches people! Baby DeSalvo has been kung fu fighting all day! 

Food Cravings: Dark Chocolate, Yogurt, Bananas with Peanut Butter, French Fries, ICE water

What I miss: I don't miss much right now, I am loving pregnancy! 

Sleep: I have still been sleeping pretty well, just getting up 2-3 times to use the restroom or to nudge Joe to stop snoring :)

What I am looking forward to: We have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday afternoon...weather permitting. I always look forward to hearing baby's heartbeat and asking the latest questions on my mind. 

Symptoms: I'm starting to have a bit of pain in my tailbone and in between my shoulders. However, that's not even terrible...

23 in a photo. or two.

most of week 23 was spent looking at this white heaven. the kc area hasn't seen this much snow in a long while and i have to admit that i kind of love it. all 8+ inches of it. amazingly, there's more to come over the next 48 hours. 

due to all of the snow, joe and i haven't left the house very often since last wednesday evening. it's been pretty phenomenal to just relax and have an excuse to do nothing. so, this is why you won't see my face this week. mama was looking pretty shabby the day this photo was taken.

this is the last time i'll be wearing this sweatshirt for a while. not just because they lost last night, but because it barely stretches over my ever growing bump.

twenty three.

Baby BOY DeSalvo - Week 23

How Far Along: 23 weeks today! 

Total Weight Gain: Brace yourself...20+ pounds. I go to the doctor in a week and a half and then I'll know a more official number. Although, as we learned in birthing class, it's not about the weight you gain, but what you're putting in your body that is adding that weight on. I have to admit that for the most part, I am eating very healthy. However, usually, whatever baby craves, baby gets.

Maternity Clothes: YES! I've found that full panel pants are more comfortable than the demi-band. Baby boy is still hanging out pretty low, so anything that puts pressure there is SO uncomfortable.

Favorite Moment This Week: I have a favorite moment daily, but this week's favorite moment was today. Baby boy was moving more than I've felt in one time period. Joe got to feel several distinct kicks and I'm pretty sure that we even saw baby boy flip even though I had a blanket over me. 

Gender: BOY! 

Movement: Lots of movement in the morning, at lunch, afternoon and after dinner. I'm beginning to be able to determine when he is sleeping and when he's awake. I pushed on my belly this week when I was pretty sure that he was asleep and I got a kick in response telling me to leave him be! 

Food Cravings: Green apples, Key Lime water, ICE water, yogurt, Nutella

What I miss: I miss being able to go up the stairs without feeling like I just ran seven miles. In part, this is because we're still trying to get my asthma under control, but I also know it's partly baby. People think I'm crazy for loving pregnancy so much, but I really don't have any complaints! 

Sleep: I've had a cold for about a week now, but since we've been putting eucalyptus essential oil on my pillow at night and in the humidifier, I'm beginning to sleep a lot better. I purchased a Boppy body pillow a few months ago and that has helped tremendously! 

What I am looking forward to: Meeting baby boy, of course, but I am also looking forward to getting baby boy's room finally ready in the next few weeks and taking advantage of this nesting phase and energy! 

Symptoms: Now that I have finally found something to help with the dry, itchy skin, I once again have NO complaints! I am loving the second trimester and energy as well as an excuse to relax whenever I can!  

bows or bow ties?

yesterday was THE big day. almost like a birthday, but we will call it "gender day." 

the ultra sound was phenomenal. it's amazing how much joy you can feel in your heart about looking at kidneys, the four chambers of the heart, femur bones, tiny fingers and tiny toes. let's just say, this little baby is loved so much already...is it possible to love him more?? here HE is...baby BOY desalvo (name to be determined.)

he had his hands over his face most of the time as if to say, leave me alone, i'm trying to sleep in here. he was tucked all together and looked awfully cozy. there were also several yawns and i had a feeling we were interrupting his nap time. this little boy is SO loved and i can't wait to meet him in just four and a half months!

well originally, we had planned to find out and then enjoy the little secret to ourselves for a few days. however, as soon as we laid eyes on our precious baby...we knew, there was no way we would be able to contain our joy and excitement for three whole days. after we got the big news, the tech left for a minute and joe said, "are we really going to keep this a secret" to which i replied, "yeah, i think we can do it." to that, joe up and admitted that he didn't think he would be able to wait. 

after leaving the imaging place, we called our families and asked them to come over later in the evening. we were planning to go out to dinner to celebrate and do some little boy shopping. they would join us later at our house. 

when every one arrived, we had them guess both the gender and what they thought the baby weighed RIGHT now. we had guesses anywhere between 12 ounces (the winner!) and 8 pounds. the gender guesses were three for girl and 6 for boy. i should also add that my class voted at school yesterday and 2/3 of the class said girl and 1/3 said boy. 

then, we passed out an envelope to everyone. at the same time, the envelopes were opened and it was revealed...baby desalvo is a BOY!

 revealing envelopes...

it's a boy!

it was so precious and memorable to see everyone's reactions and i am thankful for technology allowing us to catch that on film. once it was revealed that baby desalvo is a boy, i pulled out our clothing purchases from earlier in the evening for everyone to ooh and ah over. 

it's pretty difficult not to think that these are some of the cutest things on earth. i mean...look at the yellow jeans for pete's sake! 

needless to say, yesterday was one of the best. days. ever. we can't wait to meet our little guy, but i am enjoying every moment of pregnancy and the anticipation of meeting him and imagining what he will look like.

love.

-caitlin

milestone 20.

monday, i will be 20 weeks pregnant. twenty weeks. where has time gone? it seems like just yesterday that i was only 4.5 weeks along!

i have tried to savor every tiny moment of this experience. every little movement i feel. every emotion that comes over me. every day. every hour. every minute.

this picture is from last monday. 19 weeks.

baby cj sure is growing quickly. wednesday, january 30th we go in for our 20 week ultra sound and doctor's appointment. of course, this is the momentous ultra sound where we will find out if baby cj is a boy or a girl. joe and i can't wait. however, you will have to wait until saturday. we've decided to keep a little secret for a few days. a way to savor a bit more time before we reveal it to the world.

next saturday. groundhog day. will phil see his shadow? will phil see a boy or will phil see a girl? only time will tell.

joy.

i've been absent for a few months. A LOT has happened in these few months and i am so happy i finally get to share them with the world.

october 5. friends were coming over for chili. the weather was dreadful, and i felt pretty awful. once again, my body was telling me something. i took a test, negative. joe and i had a great evening with great friends.

october 6. still feeling pretty lousy, joe and i went out to find some fall clothing bargains. when we got home i felt that there was no way that test could be negative. sure enough, there was the faintest second line. we were in the process of rushing out the door to meet my family for dinner. dinner was delicious and afterwards, we went to target to pick up some more reliable tests. we came home, i took nearly all of the tests and there they all revealed...baby desalvo is on the way!

this was a busy day for us. after finding out the best news, we were off again, this time to joe's parents house. we hung out there for a bit, containing how thrilled we were about this news.

after everything that we went through last spring, joe and i decided that our families needed to know sooner rather than later. we ran home to grab the "grandparent" gift i had reserved for my parents for this occasion. i wrapped it up and we headed to their house. the artwork, that was once my own grandparents' said, "just when parents think their work is finished, they become grandparents."

joe's parents would find out the following wednesday.

when i got back to school on monday, i shared the news with h, j, and j. the moment becomes even more joyous once others are in our your sweet secret.

the first few weeks of my pregnancy were a bit tumultuous. we went to the doctor for the "confirmation" appointment. then, i went for routine blood work for my first OB appointment that would be happening in the next few days. a couple of days later, i got the call.

"after looking over your blood work, your progesterone levels are low. this is a bit concerning and we would like you to have an ultrasound today."

were we headed down the same path as we went down in april?

the ultra sound revealed that i was not 8.5 weeks, but only a mere 4.5. this is the exact pattern that we went through in april.

"the only thing we can do is wait."

two weeks later, we went in for ultra sound #2. baby was growing! saw the heart. saw the heart beat. relief. joy.

"come back in another two weeks for another to make sure things are still growing."

another two weeks of waiting, praying.

ultra sound #3 = sweetest thing i have ever seen. heard the heartbeat. peace. gummy bear. "limb buds"

God's timing is always right. that's what everyone always told me. this is the best, sweetest gift i've ever been given. i'm going to be a mom. joe is going to be a dad.

peace has taken over my heart and i am joyous.

thirteen weeks on monday = second trimester.

-caitlin

wound.

while clearing out the "piles" around the house of miscellaneous mail, junk mail, bills, receipts, etc. i came across something that opened a healing wound.

this wound has been in the process of healing since april 23. last weekend, it was as if the band aid was ripped off, with no caution.

i came across the beautiful ultrasound photo i received mere hours before my mc. this little, tiny, photo holds so much within its pixels.

hope. grief. joy. peace. comfort. love. life. loss.

i remember those moments in the ultrasound room like it was yesterday. after the terribly scary weekend that preceded this photo, there joe and i were. at imaging for women. after being in the waiting room for what seemed like hours, they called my name.

it's amazing to think of the range of emotions that can take place in an 8 by 10 foot room. joe and i couldn't wait to see our little blip of love on that screen. we couldn't wait to have someone confirm that everything was fine.

"so, you're here to hear baby's heartbeat for the first time?"

"yeah, we are."

"it's a beautiful thing."

the images appeared on the screen and there was silence. i studied that poor woman's face more than i have ever studied anyone. every wrinkle, movement, furrowed brow.

"well, i'm just not seeing anything. let me try a different angle."

[insert worst fears here.]

this is what i had hoped would never happen. but then, a smile. she found our little blip, or the beginnings of it. she and the radiologist explained to us that i must just not be as far along as they first thought.

"your doctor will look at these and let you know for sure, but that's what i'm thinking."

two days later, we knew for sure.

throughout this whole experience i have prayed for many things. peace. comfort. understanding. i've prayed that sharing my story will allow others to share theirs. to know we're not alone.

today, one of my prayers was answered. it's amazing how He can put someone in your life to share something with you at the EXACT time that you know you need to hear it. words from a dear colleague.

"i just wanted you to know i stumbled across your blog a while ago. just know that i've been praying for you and your husband. i had a miscarriage too and it all works out."

thank you, lord for always knowing what i need and when i need it.


-caitlin