Karen, Erik and Jack

Hi everyone! Here’s the weekly update.

This week, Kraken weighs about a pound, and will be 1.25 lbs by the end of the week. He’s about 11 inches from head to toe! His sweat glands have developed, and his skin is becoming more opaque. His hearing has almost completely developed, and he can probably hear the difference between my voice, Erik’s voice, and everyone else’s voice. Inside, his pancreas is developing steadily and his eyes are fully formed (although the irises won’t develop pigment for a while). He’s still got a lot of growing to do – but he’s starting a growth spurt and will double in weight in the next few weeks! His kicks, which used to be soft and only felt a few times a day, are getting stronger and constant. I can feel him throughout the day kicking away, although he definitely has distinct rest cycles.

As for me, I’m doing ok and getting bigger by the day. Erik had a work trip out of town this week and is coming back tonight – I think my belly has noticeably grown in the couple of days he has been away! I’m still getting exhausted – I don’t think I’ll be getting that “second trimester burst of energy” that the books tell me I should have experienced by now. Of course, they also said my nausea/vomiting would stop in the first trimester, so what do they know? This weekend, Erik will be doing a lot of work on the nursery. The fabric I ordered for curtains and nursery accessories has arrived, and I can’t wait to see them in the nursery. We’re just 4 months away from my due date, and there’s so much to do!

I’ve attached a picture of me that Erik took when I was about 19 weeks. It’s my favorite maternity picture so far – Stanley’s in it!

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Hey everyone – sorry this is late!

This week, Kraken is 7 inches from head to butt (10.5 from head to toe) and will be 8 inches from head to butt (11 inches head to toe) by the end of the week. He almost weighs a full pound now! Kraken is continuing to get bigger and develop his systems more, and he now has eyebrows and fully formed eyelids (which are still closed).  He’s definitely kicking hard enough for me to feel from the outside, but not enough for Erik to feel yet.

As for me, I’m still battling nausea and vomiting, and am exhausted. In fact, tonight when I got home from work, I had to take a nap to get the energy to make dinner and write this. This week I have been sitting at a different desk temporarily and the chair has been bothering me a lot. Since I’ve been sitting there, I am incredibly sore by the end of the day – like I’ve walked 10 miles. I look forward to getting in my regular, comfy chair by next Tuesday. Hopefully, that will help the aches and pains. Today at work, someone visiting for a meeting said I looked like I was about 8 months along, and was quite surprised when I told her I was only 5 months along. After that, I went into the bathroom and cried for 30 seconds, and called her some names in my head and got over it.

Hope you’re all doing well and have a great week!

Love,
Karen, Erik and Kraken

Hi everyone! We’re at week 20 – HALFWAY THERE!!

This week, Kraken is 6.5 inches from head to butt, and 10 inches from head to toes. By the end of the week, he’ll be 7 inches from head to butt, or 10.5 inches from head to toe. I’ve heard various food comparisons about his size for this week – a butternut squash, the length of a banana or a carrot, or the size of a cantaloupe. Take your pick, I suppose! Kraken also weighs about 10.5 ounces now and will be about 12 ounces by the end of the week. He’s also working on his digestive system by swallowing and hiccuping. He still has a great deal of room in the womb, so he has plenty of space for twisting, turning and flipping around. Between gymnastics, he’s sleeping about 12-14 hours of the day. I can occasionally feel his movements from the outside, but we’re still a ways off before Erik can feel the baby.

As for me, I am thrilled to have survived to the halfway point of the pregnancy! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel – and by that, I mean I can start to see the bottom of my belly button rising up. I normally have a pretty deep navel, and it’s now about 1/3 of an inch deep. Erik doesn’t think I’ll actually get an “outie”, but I do. I also have the “dark” line running down from my belly button. It showed up around 14 weeks and has not become much darker so far. As for the morning sickness, it’s unfortunately still here – I spent my “almost” Mother’s Day throwing up for the first half of the day. I spent the rest of it cleaning, because I think the “nesting” is kicking in. Erik worked on the nursery this weekend, and it’s really starting to come along!

Hope you have a great week!

Love, Karen, Erik, and Kraken

Hi everyone,
Can you believe we’re almost halfway through the pregnancy? In some ways, it feels like we were just sharing the news with you all yesterday.

This week, Kraken (sorry Dad and Nana, Erik wants to go back to that nickname in the emails) is about 6 1/2 inches long from the top of his head to his butt. Soon, standard measurements for Kraken will be bigger because they will be from crown to feet, as fetuses this size aren’t curled up as much and average measurements are easier to ascertain. By the end of this week, he will be about 7 inches from crown to butt (about the length of a banana) and 10 inches from crown to toes. Kraken is working on his sensory development this week – the brain is designating specialized areas for smell, sound, touch, taste, hearing and vision (hopefully, Erik’s 20/15 vision instead of my 20/400 vision). He is able to hear voices now (not just bass sounds and loud noises from outside of the womb), so he’s listening to his mommy and daddy. His arms and legs are now in the correct proportion to the rest of his body. Kidneys continue to produce urine, and the scalp is starting to produce hair. His skin is covered with a waxy substance called vernix caseosa, to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid (and we all know how much I hate pickles).

As for me, I continue to feel his kicks and movements. What was a flurry of soft tickles now feels like there’s a pinball machine in my abdomen. Sometimes, I can feel the movement from the outside if I have my hand on my belly (especially around 5:00 pm, when he starts to get really active) but Erik has not been able to feel them yet. Hopefully soon the kicks will be strong enough for him to feel. My nausea continues – I have not had much of an appetite in the past few days but am eating anyway – and I’m still tired. While I’ve had weird dreams during my entire pregnancy, this week has had some real winners. For example, I dreamt that Tiger Woods was breaking into my hotel room (not to attack me, just… because) and I had to join a “Tiger Woods Violated My Personal Space And The Law” support group.  So I hope Tiger Woods stays out of my dreams and my hotel room from now on.

Also new, we have done our baby registry! We registered this past weekend at Buy Buy Baby (www.buybuybaby.com) and tried not to let ourselves be completely overwhelmed. I’m sure we’ll make adjustments and edits to the registry, but it is now up if you’re interested in looking at it. My closest girl friends are throwing a shower for me at the end of June, and I can’t wait!

Have a wonderful week everyone,
Love,
Karen, Erik and Kraken

Hi everyone! Sorry this is a day late – I got very busy yesterday!

This week, Baby Boy Garrett is just about 6 inches from the top of his head to his butt, and weighs about 7-8 ounces. He’s about the size of a large mango and will be the size of a large heirloom tomato by the end of the week (seriously, the fruit/veggie comparisons just get more ridiculous from here on out) He’s moving like crazy by now, and I can usually feel it every day (and it TICKLES!). Blood vessels are visible through the skin, and the ears are now in their final position, although they stick out quite a bit from the rest of his head. A protective coating of myelin is developing around his nerves (this process will continue even after birth). He can also get the hiccups now, although I haven’t felt them yet.

As for me, I’m getting bigger every day. The nausea/vomiting has been better, but I refuse to say “it’s over” for fear of jinxing it back. Our baby is definitely growing – every day, it feels like there is a balloon in my stomach that is inflating a little more every day, and I can feel my skin and muscles stretching to accommodate it. Two days ago, I visited my friend Kat whose baby Jackson is now 10 weeks old (his delivery is the one I attended when I was 8 weeks along). Jackson and our baby are going to be great buddies, and Kat has been a wonderful source of information and advice for me! Kat took a picture of me while I was there, and I’ve attached it to this email so you can see how big I am already. If I keep growing at this rate, I’ll be the size of the Titanic by the time I deliver. Erik has been taking pictures of my growth as well, but we have not uploaded them yet.

We hope you’re all doing well and have a wonderful week!
Love, Karen, Erik and Baby Boy Garrett

Hi everyone, I wanted to give an update from this week.

We just got back from the appointment. First, we met with a genetic counselor who explained the NT test results, and went though our medical history to identify any other possible conditions they need to test for. She also explained that an ultrasound COULD show evidence of Down’s Syndrome, but that 50% of DS cases do not show up in ultrasound. So all the ultrasound could do would be to lower our risk, but could not say definitively whether the baby has DS or not. Only an amnio could do that. We opted out of doing an amniocentesis, because no matter what we would still have this baby, and my need to prepare as much as possible with information did not trump the possibility of a miscarriage with the amniocentesis.

Then we had the ultrasound, and the very first thing was saw was the baby’s sex (more on that in a minute) – this baby was ready to show off! Everything else checked out great – healthy heart, healthy bones, 10 fingers and toes. We saw the baby waving its arms and legs, smiling, swallowing amniotic fluid, and moving all around. The doctor said that there was nothing in the ultrasound that gave suspicion of DS, but again stressed that this does not mean the baby does not have it. But our risk was lowered from 1:125 to 1:250.

As for the sex…. lock up your daughters, we’re having a boy!

Hi everyone, hope you’re doing well. Here’s the weekly Baby Garrett update…

Kraken is a bit over 5 inches now and weighs about 5 ounces. By the end of the week, S/he will be just under 6 inches and weigh as much as 7 ounces. In a few weeks, the baby’s weight will have doubled.  Sweat glands are beginning to develop, and all joints can now move. The startle reflex has also developed, so when Stanley randomly barks at a falling leaf or Fred knocks something off the counter, Kraken is likely jumping at the sound. Starting now, Kraken will begin to develop brown fat deposits which help regulate temperature and give the skin a less transparent look. Kraken is also beginning to develop its sleep cycles (hopefully as long as possible through the night) and improved muscle control allows him/her to grasp things with its hands.

Today was a big day – Kraken must have known that we would be sending an update to you all today! First, I got my very first Braxton-Hicks contraction. These are “practice” contractions which get the uterus ready for labor. Typically they begin around 6 weeks but are not felt until about halfway through the pregnancy. Then about a half hour later, it felt like I was being tickled from the inside – it was the baby moving! It was such an odd but amazing sensation.

As I mentioned in previous weekly updates, I had a Nuchal Translucency test (ultrasound to measure the back of the neck, and a blood test – the results are combined to determine the Kraken’s risk ratio for having chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down’s Syndrome). During last week’s appointment, I had the second part of the test done, and the results came back today. Typically, the risk ratio for a woman of my age is 1:500 risk of chromosomal abnormalities. My risk came back as 1:125. My ob stressed that this is still a good number, but it is a “positive” result for increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities. He is recommending that I have a level II ultrasound, which is a more detailed ultrasound that will look for specific anatomical abnormalities that come with chromosomal disease. This ultrasound should take place this week (he called me after 5 pm, after his staff had left, so they will call me first thing tomorrow morning to schedule it). At the ultrasound, they will also counsel about amniocentesis, to see if that is a test we want to pursue. That test carries a small risk of miscarriage, as it is an invasive procedure.

We’ll keep you updated about the tests. Hopefully we’ll be able to send an update later this week, if the ultrasound really can be scheduled for this week.

Have a good week,
Love, Karen, Erik & Baby Garrett

Hi everyone! So sorry for sending this late. Pregnancy brain is a killer!

This week, the baby is about 4.5 – 5 inches long and the size of an avocado. By the end of the week, the baby will be about the size of a turnip (seriously, that’s what Babycenter says. I don’t even remember the last time I saw a turnip. But the baby will be a little over 5 inches long from crown to butt.) More development is happening this week – the Kraken’s legs are now longer than its arms, its head is more erect, and toenails are growing. The scalp pattern is developing, but there’s no hair yet. As of this week, Kraken’s heart is pumping 25 quarts of blood each day – and this amount will continue to grow as the Kraken does. Bones continue to form out of the soft cartilage, and the baby can definitely start to hear. So, any music suggestions for the car are welcomed – I like to play music that the Kraken would like, or at least should get to know.

As for me, we had an “exciting” weekend. All last week, I was still throwing up all of the time. On Saturday afternoon, I begun to get a migraine. By Sunday morning, the pain was excruciating. More alarming, I started to throw up every 20 minutes or so – even on an empty stomach – and could not keep anything down. My ob’s office advised that we go to the ER, where they gave me IV fluids and some strong medicine for the pain and vomiting. Luckily, Kraken was totally fine during all of this (checked the heartbeat at the ER and the ob’s office on the following day – a healthy low 150’s)!! Unfortunately, the headache came back and did not subside until late Monday evening. The good news is that since then, I have felt great – no headache, no vomiting, very little nausea, and my appetite is back. Hopefully this is a sign of good health that is here to stay during the second trimester!

Our ob has scheduled our “big” ultrasound for May 6th – just over three weeks from now. Everyone asks what I think it is, what I “feel” like it is, and I honestly have no idea. I have periods where I am sure it’s a boy, then become convinced it’s a girl, then flip-flop right back. We just hope for a healthy baby, and so far we have been very blessed with one!

Thanks for all of your support, and your emails – we love you and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Karen, Erik and Kraken

Hi everyone! Another week, another update. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that we are already 15 weeks along!

This week, the baby is about 4 inches long (the size of an apple) and will be the height of an avocado by the end of the week. Kraken is moving amniotic fluid through his/her lungs which helps the air sacs in the lungs develop. The legs have grown longer than the arms now, and Kraken can move all of his/her joints. Taste buds are developing – even though the baby is only tasting amniotic fluid now, the fluid’s taste is affected by whatever I eat. So today, the baby tasted a granola bar, juice, soup, tortilla chips, chicken, broccoli and rice. Kraken can also sense light now, according to everything I have read – it says that if I shine a flashlight on my belly, the baby will move from the light (even though its eyelids are still fused shut). We have not tried this yet but I have a feeling we will soon. Soon, the tiny bones in Kraken’s ears will develop and the baby will be able to hear what’s going on outside the womb. I’m making careful selections in the music I play for songs that I think Kraken would enjoy.

As for me, I’m still getting morning sickness. Seriously, I’m ready for that to stop ANY day now… I’m also 100% definitely showing, and Erik has said that I constantly have my hands on my belly now. I caught a cold over the weekend but thankfully it is nearly gone now. This weekend, Erik did some work on the nursery (after slaving away in our yard and replacing all of our bushes) but was also side-lined with the same cold.

Next week, we have another doctor’s appointment but it’s just a blood test and check-up. The BIG ultrasound is in about 3 weeks.

Have a great week everyone!

Hi everyone! We hope you’re doing well. Here’s the latest on Baby Garrett/The Kraken.

This week, the Kraken is the size of a lemon and will be the size of a large naval orange or apple by the end of the week. S/he can now squint, frown, grimace, pee and suck their thumb (hopefully not all at once). S/he can also grasp things now (like the umbilical cord) and is growing like crazy – currently about 3.5 inches from top of the head to butt. By the end of this week, the arms will have grown into a size proportionate to the rest of his/her body, and soon the legs will catch up too. Kraken is developing a fine coating of hair called lanugo all over – it’s to help keep her/him warm until body fat develops. The liver has started to make bile and the spleen has started to produce red blood cells. Kraken is probably kicking and punching me (with hands and feet that are about 1/2 inch big) but I can’t feel it yet, and probably won’t for another month.

As for me, all the books and advice and etc. tell me that I should be feeling much better by now! Which was true on Saturday morning – felt great and did tons of errands. But  spent all morning today throwing up (including in a church parking lot, my bad) so all of those books and that advice can go shove it. I’ve had people tell me that I have a “glow” but I think it’s just the excess oil my skin is producing – I haven’t had face breakouts like this since… ever! The good news is, I discovered that Frosties from Wendy’s can pretty much cure any sick stomach. Unfortunately, they don’t open until 10 am.

Have a good week everyone!

Love,
Karen, Erik & Kraken