Oct. 28th - Dr. Appt

I went to the Dr. today for my first official OB visit and got to see the baby again. I was shocked to see how much bigger it looked and most of all how much it was moving! He or She kept rolling onto it's side then back onto it's back. I even got to see it put it's hand in it's mouth! The Dr. was even having a hard time measuring it because it was a "moving target" as the Dr. called it. I am in serious trouble if this one is as active as Johnny. Watch out world, Costello #2 is a MOVER! Here are some pics from the ultrasound. The baby kept giving us the cold shoulder and turning away so these pictures are of the baby's back again. The head is to the right and it's little rear end is on the left. Imagine the baby is laying on it's right side. That little blob you see above the baby is it's hand!

Big Brother!

Johnny is getting more excited about the baby everyday. I know he's too little to really grasp the concept of what is going on and what is to come, but he pats my belly now and loves to give the baby kisses. I cant wait until he can feel his brother or sister kicking! Here are a few pics of the proud big brother in his new shirt!

Oct. 27th - 11 Weeks Pregnant!

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

Blooming Belly

I realized I hadn't been sharing any of my belly pics and part of that is because I've been so lazy about taking them this time around! I've promised myself that I will start taking one closer to every week if I can remember :) For now here are a few that I've taken and it's amazing to see the progression already! Whats even more amazing is how much faster you "pop" out with a second baby!

6 weeks...

8 Weeks...

10 Weeks...

Oct 20th - 10 weeks pregnant!

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

"I'm a big brother!"

Today Johnny got a very special gift from our dear friends the Leideckers. He got his first "big brother" book! Johnny is very into reading books these days and I was so excited when we received this book as a gift. Thank you Brad, Lauri and Ethan. He loves it!

Monday Oct. 11 - Dr Appt

So this past weekend I actually started spotting a little bit. I wasn't too concerned because the same thing had happened to me when i was pregnant with Johnny. But just to be on the safe side I made an appt. to see a Dr. to get the green light that everything looked ok with the baby. They did another ultrasound to check the baby and verify a heartbeat and everything looked great! We are thrilled and it was very fun to get to see our little green olive again (that's about the size of the baby right now...approx. 1" long!) The coolest part of the visit and ultrasound was when the Dr. went back to let us just see the baby for a bit and the baby was actually moving! S/He was moving around and wiggling these small little jerky movements. We never saw Johnny moving on an ultrasound until 20wks so this was awe inspiring to know that at just 9wks along our little guy or gal is already a wiggler! The photo of the ultrasound we got was also very different than any picture we got with Johnny. It's actually of the baby from a position of looking at it's back! The bottom right side of the baby is the back of its head and the top left side is it's little rear end! If you look very closely you can see a small section towards the head of the baby that is more white than the rest of the baby, that's it's heart! We like to call this picture our little bean!
So far my due date has been switched from May 18th to the 14th to the 16th so as of now I'm not 100% sure how far along I am or when I'm actually due. All I know is I'm somewhere between 8-9 weeks and I'm due mid May and for now that's enough for me! We have another Dr appt on the 28th so we may know more then!

Oct. 9th - 9 Weeks Pregnant!

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.