23 week baby belly

This week marks 23 weeks of pregnancy.  According to the pregnancy books Pebble is about the size of a small baby doll now, and weighing about one pound.  

Sorry for the blurry images below.  I guess there was a smudge on my lens last night.

Here I am belly to belly with my friend Caitlyn who is 31 weeks pregnant.

and back to back with Caitlyn.

I have been trying to stay as active as possible despite my growing belly.  Steamboat had record breaking snowfall this past week with 27 inches falling on the mountain in 24 hours last Monday.  Tim got to take advantage of the powder day (oh the pleasures of owning your own business), but I had to work all day.  By Wednesday there was 4 feet of new snow total and I went up for what might have been my last powder day before baby.  The snow was heavy and thick that day and I really struggled, especially when trying to get up from falling in the deep stuff.  My back hurt terribly for the rest of the day and it totally exhausted me for the next couple days.  

Tim got to feel Pebble moving for the first time this week.  The movements are often quite subtle and he was having a hard time feeling anything with his hands.  He squished his face into my belly and Pebble responded with a swift kick right to Tim's eye.  Since then he has been able to feel some of the movements with his hands as well.  Pebble is especially active in the mornings and evening, or maybe that is just when I'm sitting or laying quietly and I notice the movements more.  

The baby also seems to respond to the purring of a warm kitty on my stomach.  When one of the cats curls up on my belly the kicks seems to get more frequent and more intense.  Not sure if the baby likes the purring or is trying to kick the cat off my belly.

Pebble's Ultrasound Progression: 9 weeks to 20 weeks

After falling off the blog wagon for the past 2 months, I was trying to decide how to catch up on what has happened since I last posted.  Obviously our little one, who we have nicknamed Pebble (as in little Stone), has been doing a lot of growing.  So I decided to post the progression of ultrasound photos.

Little Pebble is 9 weeks in this image and is upside down.  You can see his/her little foot at the top.  I also think it is amazing how you can see the amniotic membrane (the faint white line) within the chorionic sac (the dark fluid filled cavity where the baby grows).

 The next couple of ultrasound images were taken because the hospital where I work needed a test subject for determining the capabilities of the ultrasound machine we have on Labor and Delivery.  These were at 13 weeks gestation.

On the left of the photo is the placenta, which I think looks like a pregnant abdomen.  You can also see Pebble's arm bones and fist in this image.

A 13 week silhouette of Pebble.  You can also see some loops of umbilical cord near the top of the frame.

 The next series of photos are from our 20 week full anatomy scan.  At this doctor's appointment a comprehensive anatomical survey is done to look for any problems or defects.  Most people (80% according to some recent reading I've been doing) find out the sex of the baby at this appointment.  Tim and I have chosen to allow Pebble's sex to remain a surprise until the birthday.

3D image of Pebble's face cradled in his/her hand.  You can see that the latest in utero fashion is to wear the umbilical cord like a scarf.  My sister Camille thinks Pebble looks like Tim in this photo.

Another 3D image of Pebble

and another....

Pebble's legs and feet, crossed at the ankles.

Hopefully Pebble inherits Tim's legs, rather than the Gaufankles (Gaume fat ankles) from my side of the family.

The 20 week ultrasound is typically the last scheduled ultrasound in uncomplicated pregnancies.  We will actually have at least one more ultrasound around 26 weeks to follow up on a potential problem with one of Pebble's kidneys.  Sounds like it is a minor concern that only needs watching and hopefully will resolve in utero.

And here are some belly shots...

19 weeks pregnant with Pebble

21 week baby belly

Tim did some studio shots of my baby belly today.  I will try to post some soon.  I'm currently 22 weeks pregnant and hoping to take weekly photos of my growing belly to post to the blog.

We are growing another Stone! Part IV in the Series: What are the Stones Growing this Winter

What? What's that you say?  How does one grow a Stone?  

In Alethea's belly!  That's how!

Flower pot filled with soil and a little pebble.
Flags are the labeled with the typical growing conditions needed for growing a Stone.
This is how I told Tim we are having a baby Stone.

The above "harvest" date is a little off, so don't mark your calendars based on that.  The baby should be sufficiently grown for extra-uterine life somewhere near the end of June or possibly even early July.  It's up to the baby, we are just along for the ride.

Series Part III: What Are the Stones Growing this Winter in the Clarktic Circle?

"The mistress" is growing!

In case you have not been to our house, my loving nickname for Tim's salt water reef aquarium is "the mistress."  She acquired this name because she takes up so much of Tim's time and attention and our money.  But she is a beautiful addition to our house, and she satisfies Tim's ever present need to grow things during the winter months in our Clarktic Circle abode.  So I'm not complaining.

Our indoor winter garden.

The mistress recently grew from being a 112 gallon acrylic aquarium to a 200 gallon glass aquarium.  These upgrades came after a very drastic and painful tank crash that happened when we were diving in Indonesia this spring.  We lost about 80% of the live corral and 95% of the fish.  It was pretty heartbreaking but after hours of dedication and work by Tim the tank is well on her way to a beautiful recovery.

A behind the scenes look at the mechanical room and all the mayhem that is involved in controlling the complicated systems of a salt water reef tank.

The aqua controller is a computer that helps Tim monitor multiple water parameters and even sends him emails when the parameters are off.

Tim has made some on line reef keeping friends who have sent fragments of coral to begin growing again, and he has purchased some larger coral and fish to repopulate the new aquarium.  Tim took all the of these photos yesterday.

The Lawnmower blenny likes to taco himself in the folds of the Giant Tridacna Clam.
Trigger fish in the background

Duncanosamnia  (whisker coral) survived the crash

A valuable colony of acanthastrea lordowensis that has been in the system from the beginning

Some random purple sponge that got started.

purple goniopora

red ORA goniopora

dendrophylia

Again, some random LPS coral that came in on some live rock but Tim likes it and has been giving it  meaty treats.. He thinks it is not photosynthetic like the rest of the coral.

A new frag of poccilopora damicornis

purple montipora capricornis

purple stylophora

montipora spongodes

A new frag of seriatopora (birdsnest)

A new frag of green fuzzy staghorn acropora  This stuff does very well in Tim's system.

yellow palythoa

ricordia florida

ricordia florida

green branching psamocora  (cat's paw) also survived the crash and its color has returned

Bubble coral

This is a close up of new sell margin on the monster tridacnid clam.  You can see in in the left corner of the tank in the first photo of this post.

Fungia (plate coral) who also survived the crash and whose color has also returned.

capnella

Naso tang

Squamosa clam and some encrusting gorgonian to the right

Lyretail Anthias (These guys are EVERYWHERE on the reefs on Fiji.  The females are orange and the males are purple.  They are hemaphroditic and the the dominant female in the tank will turn into a male...  this is happening now.)

Blue throat trigger fish (one of the only triggers that won't pick at the clams)

Pajama cardinal fish (one of two fish to survive the crash)

Juvenile Unicorn Tang.  When he grows up he will have horn on his forehead

Bengai cardinal fish and the big clam whose color is returning

Lawnmower blenny and a new frag of green stylophora to his left.  He was one of only two surviving fish from the massive tank crash.   The other was the pajama cardinal.

A new blonde Naso Tang

Schooling  Green Chromis fish

Schooling chromis fish

Bubble  coral