20 Weeks

Half way there! It's amazing. Time is flying swiftly, and there's so much that needs to be done. We haven't signed up for childbirth classes yet. The future nursery must be cleaned out. We should get a registry started at Babies R Us. We haven't even begun to discuss names. I know we'll get to all that, but only if I keep it towards the front of my mind.

In the meantime, I went to this website called MorphThing that lets you morph two facial images together. They have a lot of celebrity head shots, so you can play around with that, but they also have a feature that allows you to upload pictures of yourself and your partner to see what your child might look like. Here's what it came up with for us:Pretty cute, huh? Now, I in no way expect this to be accurate. There are far too many genetic variables between my husband and myself. I'm blonde, his hair is black. My eyes are blue, his are this weird combination of clearly delineated green and brown caused by a genetic mutation called sectoral heterochromia. My nose is a little long and thin, his is flatter and rounder. I have virtually no upper lip, his lips are very plump. We're both white, but between our two families (factoring in only parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins), you will find every hair color, eye color, and skin tone possible within our race. It's a bit like trying to predict the outcome of throwing 23 dice. That makes it all the more exciting to me.

19 Weeks

I had my 20-week ultrasound this morning, but I'm still in the 19th week. I'm 19 weeks, 5 days today. Just wanted to make that clear so you know I really am doing the 19 weeks entry at the right time. ;)

Anyway, I was really looking forward to this ultrasound because I've been waiting with bated breath for any signs of movement from Baby and haven't felt anything. But there was definite movement on the ultrasound! My husband came with me, and he was so happy he did. We saw Baby's face, hands, feet, arms, legs, brain, spine, heart...unfortunately, Baby was covering up certain key parts and refused to cooperate no matter how I turned or wiggled or how the ultrasound tech tried to jostle it, so I need to go back next week for another one. The ultrasound tech wasn't able to get a good enough view of the heart, diaphram, and sacrum to make sure they're normal. She said to drink a pop or eat some candy before my next one so baby will move more. Isn't it odd that you can give your fetus a sugar rush?

Baby is around 10 ounces right now, which the ultrasound tech says is normal. It's heartbeat was about 153 beats per minute, which my doctor said was good. She also said my weight gain (about 11 pounds) is just right. Hooray for all that!

The ultrasound tech also said my placenta is in such a spot that it may make it more difficult for me to feel movement. So I may not feel it yet for quite a while. Now that I've tried to find out what that might mean, I'm a little concerned that I might have Placenta Praevia, which might make delivery a little more dangerous. I'll have to ask my doctor the next time I see her.

But all in all, lots of good news there!

18 Weeks

I've almost allowed week 18 to go by without an entry, but not quite.

Did I mention that my dad took me shopping for maternity clothes? I don't recall. But I must say, maternity pants are the most comfortable thing ever. I bought several pairs with tops that are roughly 3 inches of elastic. It basically feels like I'm wearing pajama pants.

The pregnancy heating phenomenon is beginning to kick in. I can now get by with wearing slightly lighter clothing than I normally would. So on a day when I would have worn a heavy sweater, I only need a light one. On a day when I would have worn a long-sleeved shirt, I can get by with 3/4 sleeves. It's pretty nice. I still don't trust it entirely, though, so sometimes I still dress on the warm side.

I know there was something else I wanted to write, but I have no idea what it was. So I guess I'll sign off for now.

17 Weeks and Counting

I had another OB appointment last week. We listened to Baby's heartbeat (142 beats per minute). My OB said that's a normal speed, and my uterus is a normal size for being this far along.

I've gained 10 pounds so far. My husband has relaxed a bit about feeding me to bursting. It's pretty clear I'm gaining weight like I should.

My jeans are officially too tight. I'm using a hair tie to fasten them and wearing long tops to cover it up. I just wore a maternity top for the first time today. A friend of mine gave me about a dozen tops and three dresses, which was just amazingly generous.

The morning sickness is almost completely gone! Very exciting! I still have the bad taste sometimes, but I think it might be acid reflux.

Everyone I talk to at work knows I'm pregnant now. It makes for some interesting conversations. Some people are a bit too free with advice, but then I knew that would happen. One guy, who has a bad habit of telling me I should do things I don't want to anyway, keeps saying I'm going to have to cut my hair. Uh, no. I think I'll manage.

I'll try to update more regularly. I know I'll want a good account of all this somewhere down the line.

The Announcement Has Been Made

Well, by this time, most everyone and their dog knows that I'm pregnant. I told my parents and stepdaughter when they came over for dinner at Thanksgiving, and then I made a general announcement on Facebook and at my other blog. I know my mom's been spreading the news, but I can't be sure that my dad has. It's in his family's nature not to share news.

Tomorrow, I have to make sure to tell my superiors at work and possibly talk to the HR person. I need to make it clear that I intend to return to work after all this is over.

Anyway, my morning sickness hasn't eased up any. It's kind of frustrating that I have to eat all the time just so I don't feel like throwing up. Peppermints help somewhat. It's a good thing Christmas is coming up so I can find it readily and in abundant quantities. And I've been experiencing a metallic taste in my mouth, too. I looked it up, and apparently a lot of pregnant women get that. It's supposed to go away when the morning sickness goes away. Which is supposed to be any day now. I hope.

At least the sensitivity in my breasts has died down a bit.

My stomach is definitely growing. My lower back has begun itching, I think because the skin is beginning to stretch. I've also been having some bad headaches. My lower back is starting to hurt, too. Thankfully, Tylenol takes care of those.

Right now, the baby is about the size of a peach. It seems kind of big, but it also seems pretty small. I've successfully passed the 1st trimester, so I'm 1/3 of the way there!

It's Official! Kind of.

Well, it's as official as it can be, so I'm going to take that as a good thing. I had my first OB appointment this morning. The doctor said my ultrasound looked great. She felt my uterus and said it feels like it's the right size.

Between now and my next appointment, I have to go get blood taken to make sure everything looks ok. I'll try to do that sooner rather than later.

That's partly because I'd really like to be able to announce my pregnancy to the potential sister and grandparents on Thanksgiving. I'd like to know if there's anything wrong before then, for obvious reasons. I'll announce it then whether I get my labs back by then or not. Should be fun!

Good News at Last!

I had an ultrasound on Thursday, and the baby looks great! This is the first time I've ever gotten this far with a pregnancy!

We were able to see the baby's heartbeat and record it; it's beating at about 182 beats per minute, which is a healthy rate at this stage. The nurse measured the baby, and she estimated it was 9 weeks, 6 days old. That matches up pretty closely to the actual 10 weeks, 2 days, especially when you take into consideration the fact that I ovulate around day 21 when most women ovulate around day 14.

The baby even moved while we watched. It moved quite a lot, actually, and the nurse said that as well. It even turned over. It's so nice to be able to see that when I've been so unsure.

I was supposed to have my first OB exam that day as well, but my doctor was called away for an emergency C-section. We re-scheduled for tomorrow, so we'll soon see how that goes.