23 Weeks!!!!!

Yay!  We've reached 23 weeks pregnant!  A week from today I will be 6 months pregnant and we will be going to our 6th month OB appointment!  Next week McKenzie will be taking her first plane trip to Disney World (in utero) to celebrate her Mom and Dad's first anniversary!

23 Weeks Pregnant

At eight inches and slightly over a pound, your baby is the size and shape of a small doll when you are 23 weeks pregnant. (But then, you already knew that you were carrying a living doll, didn't you?) This week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain. Your baby's weight in the next four weeks alone should double (and you may feel as though yours is too).

You have probably heard your developing baby's heartbeat through a Doppler a number of times already (though you never get tired of hearing it), but by now you can also hear it through a standard stethoscope. What a heart throb!
Your baby's skin is reddish in color now because of the developing blood vessels underneath (remember, the skin is very thin still). It also hangs loosely from his or her little body at this point. That's because the skin grows faster than the fat develops during fetal growth. But don't worry. By the time your baby is born, he or she will be pleasantly plump and filled out — from chubby cheeks to chubby toes.

17 weeks until we meet our baby!!!!!!!!

Name Announcement & Nursery Tour

The not so secret choice of our baby girl's name is

McKenzie Ann Clough

Here's some pictures of the nursery and the newly finished and hung letters we painted for her name. I think i must of cut and tied tons of ribbons before deciding we should just use picture hangers instead to hang the letters. Much easier.. Came out pretty good hanging on sight.. 

Let the photo tour begin..

The letters finally on the wall! The crib assembled as well.

The letters close up.

Crib, and changing table/dresser

Our closet which is not full at the moment but soon will be!

Winnie the Pooh and our ultrasound frame and some Disney stuff

And finally Tigger and his stuffed animal friends and our Winnie the Pooh growth chart

22 weeks!!

We have reached 22 weeks pregnant!!  In the next post we will officially announce Baby Clough's name!

Guess what? At 22 weeks pregnant, your baby has finally broken the one-pound mark. How heavy is that? Hold a one-pound box of sugar in your hand the next time you're in the grocery story (and expect people to ask you why you're grinning from ear to ear). Is the box eight inches long? That's about the length your baby is too!


This week, your sweetie is making more sense of the world as he or she develops the sense of touch. In fact, your little one's grip is quite developed by now — and since there's nothing else to grab in utero, he or she may sometimes hold on tight to that umbilical cord (don't worry — it's tough enough to handle it). The sense of sight is also getting more developed. Your fetus can now perceive light and dark much better than before (even with those fused eyelids). But remember — unless you're shining a flashlight over your belly (which you can do, by the way), it'll be mostly dark for your baby inside that cozy womb of yours.



Moving up from the eyes, the eyelashes and eyebrows are well formed now — and even more hair is sprouting atop that cute little head. You'd be quite surprised, though, if you could see your little one up close and in color. Hair at this stage of fetal development has no pigment, so it's bright white.

21 weeks!

21 weeks pregnant!

Week 21 of Pregnancy: Baby's Taste Buds Develop

At about seven inches in length and almost 11 ounces in weight, your baby is about the size of a large banana. There's still a great deal of room in your womb — though your tenant will soon begin to feel cramped, so be prepared!

At about seven inches in length and almost 11 ounces in weight, your baby is about the size of a large banana.

By 21 weeks pregnant, your baby swallows at least several ounces of amniotic fluid each day — not only for hydration and nutrition, but also to practice swallowing and digesting — skills your baby will need as soon as he or she arrives in your arms. And keep this in mind: The taste of the amniotic fluid differs from day to day depending on what you've eaten (spicy enchilada one day, sweet carrots another). And that smorgasbord of tastes won't be lost on your baby. That's because your little one has very developed taste buds already. In fact, researchers have noted that babies who were exposed to certain tastes in utero via the amniotic fluid were more eager to eat foods with that same taste after birth. Want your baby to eat his or her broccoli later? Eat yours now!
Your developing baby still has a great deal of room in your womb — though like anyone who lives in one space for a long time, this tenant will soon begin to feel cramped. Until those uterine walls start closing in, however, there's plenty of space for twisting, turning, and even an occasional somersault (so that's what you were feeling last night!).
With all that belly dancing going on, it's hard to believe your baby gets any sleep at all. But believe it or not, your fetus sleeps as much as a newborn, perhaps 12 to 14 hours per day! (Now if only you could get some sleep!)

20 weeks!!! Half Way There!

Today marks the official half way point in my pregnancy!

Week 20 of Pregnancy: Boy or Girl?

You've got a heavyweight in your belly now (well, in baby terms, anyway). Your little champ weighs about ten ounces and has a height, crown to rump, of about six and a half inches. Think of your developing baby as the size of a small cantaloupe (and probably as sweet too). Boy or Girl? You'll also be able to see your baby's gender in the ultrasound by now!

Is it a boy cantaloupe or a girl cantaloupe? You'll be able to find out your baby's gender via the ultrasound by this point. If you're carrying a girl fetus, her uterus is fully formed this week and her vaginal canal is starting its development (which means that in about twenty-five or thirty-some-odd years, she could be just where you're at, Grandma!). She also has primitive eggs in her tiny little ovaries now, seven million of them — though by the time she's born, that number will be down to two million (still more than she could ever hope to use). And interestingly, your baby girl will be born with all the eggs she'll ever have.

Have you got male? If your fetus is a boy, his testicles have begun their descent this week, though they're still located in the abdomen, waiting for the scrotum to finish growing so they'll have a place to drop into in a few weeks.

Though the external genitals in both male and female fetuses still have a way to grow, you should be able to find out the sex of your baby (if you want to) during an ultrasound exam.

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!

We went for an elective 3D/4D ultrasound in Boston on Saturday and had a great experience!!  The technician said baby is definitely a GIRL!  She also says Baby Clough has big thighs (sorry girl!) and she predicts Baby will be 8 LBS at birth (I sure hope not!!!!!!!!).  She also said Baby has hair!We got a DVD of our visit to take home and we'd like to share it with all of you!  It is somewhat long, but the best part is the end in 4D real time...you will get to see Baby Clough smile :-)

*FYI When she points the cursor to three dots on the left side of the screen, those are her "girly parts"!

Baby's First Gifts!

Baby Clough is so lucky to have so many people who already love her!  Take a look at some gifts she has already recieved!

From Uncle Ben

From Kara

From Em

From My Mom

From Aunt Tracy

From Chris' Mom and Dad

From Aunt Sandy

Thank you so much to everyone!!!!!!!!!!

19 weeks!!!!!!!!!

We have a lot to update at this 19 week mark!!

First...

Chris and I went back to Diagnostic Ultrasound to try and get baby to show us that nose!!!! AND..........BABY HAS A NASAL BONE!!! I've never been so happy to see a nose! The doctor said he definitely saw the bone, and he was writing in the report. This means that our risk for Down Syndrome has been reduced to 1 in 10,000 chance. We are ecstatic!

Second...

Our willpower vanished at our second ultrasound and we asked the doctor for the sex of the baby. Well...we were very disappointed with the doctor's attitude, as she said she forgot to look and it was too early and blah blah blah. She decided to take a another quick peek and said she thinks it's a GIRL. So we walked away believing it's a girl...but we are unsatisfied. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO we are going to Golden View Ultrasound in Boston to get:

Ultimate Gender Determination Ultrasound Session
This Session is ideal if you would like to come in for gender determination or gender confirmation or to visualize fetal movement. Leave with a DVD of your session set to lullaby music for a great memory of when you learned the gender of your baby! Get a quick peek of your baby in 4D. Available from 16 weeks to 21 weeks*

•10 minute elective ultrasound session in 2D
•4 black and white thermal 2D prints
•DVD recording of your session set to lullaby music
•Gender determination**
•Listen to your baby's heartbeat upon request
•Includes a quick peek of your baby in 4D
•Internet streaming of your session available
•Return visits during the same pregnancy to see your baby in 3D/4D - 10% off any Session
*Gender determination is included in all of our 3d/4d sessions which are available beginning at 22 weeks

** If we are unable to see the gender due to positioning of your baby, you can come back on a weekday for a "quick peek" at no additional charge.

WE ARE SO PSYCHED AND HOPE WE CAN CONFIRM BABY IS A GIRL!

July 1, 2010 was another OB appt for us!  My blood pressure went down a little bit, which I was happy about (114/62).  Baby's heartbeat was 140 bpm.  I only lost .4 lbs this time!  Maybe I'll start gaining some weight soon...haha!

I FINALLY FELT BABY KICKING THIS MORNING!  It was some strong kicks!

19 Weeks Pregnant

Six inches long this week and about eight ounces in weight, your baby is the size of a large mango and is now covered in a protective substance called vernix. Arms and legs are finally in proportion, neurons are now connected between the brain and muscles, and cartilage throughout the body is turning to bone.

Six inches long this week and about eight ounces in weight, your baby is the size of a large mango.



Your little action figure is able to choreograph Matrix-like moves at 19 weeks pregnant. Arms and legs are finally in proportion, neurons are now connected between the brain and muscles, and cartilage throughout the body is turning to bone. All these upgrades combine to give your baby more control over limb movements. Which explains all that kicking, stretching, and bodysurfing (or rather bellysurfing) you've possibly started feeling by now.



Something else going on this week: Your baby is getting a cheesy varnish. Say what? Yup — a protective substance called vernix caseosa (vernix is the Latin word for varnish; caseosa is cheese) now covers your baby's skin. It's greasy and white and is made up of lanugo (that downy hair), oil from your baby's glands, and dead skin cells. This waxy "cheese" may not sound too appetizing or attractive, but it's there for good reason: Vernix protects your baby's sensitive skin from the surrounding amniotic fluid. Without it, your baby would look very wrinkled at birth (sort of what you'd look like if you soaked in a bath for nine months). Some babies — especially those born early — will still be covered with vernix at the delivery, so you might get a look at your baby's first anti-wrinkle cream.