Alyss's First Doctor's Visit at 2.5 Weeks

For Alyss's' first doctor's appointment we went to Dr. Tayler. The visit was pretty short and he said that Alyss is healthy but he had a couple of concerns. First, she only weighed 7.11lb, only 2 oz over her birth weight so Dr. Tayler suggested that I should try pumping more to make more milk or supplement with some formula. I've done more of the pumping and a bit of supplementing and hopefully she's gaining more weight. We'll recheck her weight at 3.5 weeks. Another concern he had was that he felt a click in her left hip so he sent us to the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake to have an ultrasound. The ultrasound did show that her hip bones are shallow and underdeveloped (this is called hip dysplasia and apparently is pretty common) and the doctor said that we might need another ultrasound in a couple of weeks to see how things progresses and we might also need to see a Pediatric Orthopedist who might put Alyss in a sling for a couple of months. Dr. Tayler said that it doesn't look like she needs surgery but he does want her to be seen by an Orthopedist as soon as possible to take care of this problem. The rest of the visit went well but I was pretty shaken up by Alyss's loud cries when the nurse drew blood from her heel for the mandatory test that checks for some genetic diseases.
I've been feeling some weird feelings after this visit. With Jane everything went so well and smooth and she had no health problems. This time, even in the hospital the ear doctor was concerned after the first exam and wanted to recheck her hearing. Fortunately it all turned out ok and she has no problems but it already scared me a little. Now, it seems that Alyss needs to be put in a special sling to keep her hips in the right position so that they develop correctly. It really scares and saddens me and I've been thinking how hard it must be for parents of really sick children to see them suffer. I felt really sad and anxious when the nurse drew her blood or when the ultrasound tech pushed on her hips to get the pictures. Doctors and nurses seem so heartless. They all do their job and had to act as if they don't care that the baby is in pain and scared but I just have such a hard time watching them and not being able to help Alyss in any way, just try my best to comfort her. I really hope that Alyss will turn out healthy and okay and that both her and Jane will grow healthy and happy.

So tiny 

In her bear suit

I'm the big sister

Little sister

My baby and I

My other baby and I

Bebe 2 is a GIRL!!!

Not much has happened since I last wrote. Pretty much me having a great time with Jane and David working hard for us. I had a couple of visits with a midwife in Park City and she told me that bebe is doing well and advised me on better nutrition and hydration. We then had an ultrasound that was a complete 10 minute fiasco and left me in tears and wondering why some people practice medicine. Then, last week we met with Dr. Taylor, a great family doctor at the Heber hospital and he was very encouraging and told me that everything seems just fine and that we could have a complete, head-to-toe ultrasound of the baby. My stats at the last visit, at 23 weeks were: blood pressure: 110/80, good urine, 168lbs and 25cm belly and bebe's heartbeat: 140bpm. He also said that if he gets to perform the C-section he'll make sure that he'll remove as much of the scar tissue as possible and try to give me a nicer looking scar :)
On Nov 1st we had a very nice and detailed ultrasound and the tech seemed happy with what she saw. She gave us a few pics and told us everything she was doing. All organs seemed to be okay, heartbeat 143bpm, two legs and two arms and a cute, active and healthy baby GIRL. We are so excited to give Jane a baby sister and really hope that they'll be best friends. She is very active and I feel her more every day, and night :) Our due date is still February 20th. She measures about 23 weeks at 24, which I'm okay with and gives me a little hope that she'll be smaller than Jane at birth and might allow me to even deliver vaginally. I'm still thinking about it and I'd love not to have to go through major surgery again. We'll do what's necessary, of course but I'm sure I'd recover faster from a vaginal birth and I'd be able to enjoy the postpartum days and weeks even more. Whatever the case, we're VERY happy and excited for our baby girls and can't wait to meet bebita 2 and to have our two girls together in our arms. We love you baby girls A LOT :)!!!

Bebe 2 - Cute Little Face

Baby Johansen (Jane) Tummy - Progress

I'm creating a baby tummy album, so I'll keep adding pictures as the pregnancy progresses. Enjoy these pictures as they keep showing up! Thanks so much for watching!

40 Weeks

39 Weeks

38 Weeks

37 Weeks

36 Weeks

35 Weeks

33 Weeks

30 Weeks26 Weeks

22 Weeks

20 Weeks

17 Weeks

14 Weeks

13 Weeks

6 Weeks

Baby Johansen (Jane) Pregnancy Progress Pictures

Ultrasound 1 - 12 Weeks

Ultrasound 2 - 21 Weeks

Ultrasound 3 - 33 Weeks

Baby and Mommy are well

Blurry picture of Jane's profile

On the 9th of September we had another dr. appointment. Everything went well until the doctor measured me and decided that I was measuring way too high for 33 weeks. The story of this pregnancy! :) He said that measuring 1 or 2 cm more would be ok but according to him I was measuring 5 cm over, which would put me at 37 weeks. So, he recommended that we have another ultrasound to make sure that everything was ok. On the 14 the we had the ultrasound. I was really nervous not knowing what they were going to say. The technician measured a few things in a hurry and gave me a blurry picture after which the doctor showed up and took almost 45 min measuring everything in great detail. It wasn't because he was concerned, but because he thought that the pictures he was able to take were really good and he could use them for his re-certification exam. So, we got the thoroughest exam we will probably ever get. The doctor said that Jane is fine, just measuring a bit bigger than other babies. She is in the 67 percentile weighting approximately 5 lbs 3 oz at 33 weeks (what she would have measured if she were a little over 34 weeks). Her body together with the placenta and the amniotic fluid make for a bigger uterus size for me but nothing of concern. So, baby's well and mom is well and possibly bringing the baby into this world a little earlier than expected.

We're having the cutest baby girl!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it's about time for some updates from the Johansens. Life's been stressful and good all of the same time. Stressful because David is still looking for a job that would provide for us. He still works his two jobs but as more loan payments, doctors appointments and ultrasounds keep piling up, our money keeps disappearing. I know that money tends to do that but in our case it just comes and goes and we don't even get to look at it and feel better about all the long hours David puts into earning this hard worked for money. And I don't know if it's pregnancy or what but I keep thinking that I'd love to be able to buy diapers, a crib, bedding, clothes and bottles for our little baby but there's no money for it. I've been trying to find some work online but wasn't very successful there and it just kills me to bring this baby into our family and not be able to provide for her.

Speaking of HER... Yes, we are now 99% sure that our baby is a little girl! he 20 weeks ultrasound confirmed, more or less the fact and we'd like to believe that it was right. Why aren't we 100 % sure? It seems that our little girl is pretty stubborn. Every time we tried to look at her she would keep her legs really tight. We only got a couple sneak peeks, which was apparently enough for the tech and doctor to declare that they're very positive that this is a girl. We do have a picture to prove it but what do we know? She would not show us a profile either so we got pictures of her bum, feet, legs and back of her head but no cute little face. Shy little thing! LOL Anyway, as far as we could tell she looked great and she seems to be strong and healthy... and moving a lot! She moved all the time, which made us laugh but got the ultrasound tech a bit frustrated. :) So, no reason for me to be worried that baby is not moving, even though I still can't seem to feel her a whole lot. After going to the doctor, a few days before the ultrasound I was still a little concerned. We did hear her heartbeat again but the doctor kept asking me "So, would you say you feel her move three times a day? Or how many?" And I was like "Well, can't really say that I ever felt her move..." And then she finds the heartbeat and the baby moves as we were listening and the doctor was like "Did you feel that?" and I was like "Ummm... noooo?". Anyway, it turns out that all those ticklings, like gas bubbles that I feel sometimes in my tummy are actually the baby and I swear that a couple of times she went all the way at the lowest part of my tummy and was just laying there, cause I felt this heaviness and when I touched it it was like a little bump that moved away after a second or so. So, I know that she's fine even though I only feel her every once in a while and not even every day.

So, now that we got used to the idea that it's a girl and not a boy, as almost everyone I know predicted, including ourselves, we are really excited and talk to her and about her all the time. We just love her so much! We don't have a name picked yet but hopefully that will happen soon.

Here are a few pictures of our little girl, the best that we can come up with as of right now. My most favorite is the one of her foot. :) I really hope that we'll get to see her one more time before she's born and that we'll actually get a clearer view of her gender and of her cute little face just so that there won't be any gender-related surprises. LOL Enjoy!

12 weeks? Not so sure... Let's check it out!

* Enjoy our baby's first picture!

So, everything is been going well since we found out that we were expecting. A month ago we had the first prenatal exam and the doctor said that both the baby and myself are doing great. A couple of weeks ago David's parents came to visit from Japan and we had tons of fun maternity shopping. We even looked for baby car seats and strollers but decided that it's a little too early to buy one now.
David's been working his two jobs and enjoys the Simply Mac position the best because it keeps him connected and updated on everything in the computer world. He also enjoys taking care of us which is great since I haven't really been able to be serious enough about getting another job. I just don't feel up for it right now. I was just thinking this morning how I'd have a very hard time committing to a job because I wouldn't feel strong enough to do it. Most of the days I'm either nauseous or tired and when I feel good I do too much around the house and then I get nauseous again. I know that my nausea is a lot milder than what many of my friends have experienced, especially since I haven't really thrown up once since my pregnancy started, but just the feeling of not really being myself is kind of discouraging when it comes to being serious about a job. So, anyway, David's been really supportive and I love him so much for that.
Yesterday we had our second Doctor's appointment and the doctor said once again that everything looks great and the results of the lab work we did last time were all good. We were also very excited to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday! I wanted to cry when I heard it. We were both amazed that such a tiny baby can have such a strong heartbeat. The doctor confirmed that the heartbeat was good and regular. However, when he checked my uterus he wasn't so sure that I was only 12 weeks along so he ordered an ultrasound which I had right after the appointment. Unfortunately, David couldn't stay for it because he was already late for work but we talked as soon as I was done and I told him about the experience. It was such a miracle to see our little baby moving inside my tummy. It moved its arms a few times and liked to keep them in front of the face while it kept its legs crossed. I could see its knees and little legs! I was so nervous that I was a little shaky, which was also probably because my bladder was really full and I was feeling a little cold. :) So, we don't have twins but our baby is one week older than we thought before.
Seeing the baby and hearing its heartbeat made the whole pregnancy a lot more real. I now know for a fact that there is a little baby growing steadily inside me. I'm starting to feel more like a mom and I'm already imagining what it will be like to have the baby here with us.
We are very happy and excited and can't wait for the 20 weeks ultrasound when we'll hopefully be able to find out if our little baby is a boy or a girl. No matter what it is, we already love our baby with all our hearts and can't wait for it to get here on November 3rd, one week earlier than we first expected!