19 Weeks

This is what I know about the baby's development this week.... s/he is now the size of a "large heirloom tomato". WHAT is an heirloom tomato??? Translated into non-vegetable terms, that's 6 inches, I guess, and 8.5 ounces. Sensory systems are developing big time right now, and I am taking Omega-3 supplements to help that process optimize! With two children already experiencing "under-reactive" systems, I don't need a third :). Ultrasound a week from tomorrow, and I am beside myself with anticipation. Not being able to see this baby all the time like I did the boys makes this whole pregnancy thing seem "less real" than the last. I've yet to see a picture of more than a blob, and I can't WAIT to actually get to SEE our baby!!

18 week Prenatal visit

Prenatal visits are so much less.... dramatic.... than they were with the last pregnancy :). There's no rushing upstairs to have an emergent fetal stress test, no grave warnings to stay in bed, no concerned looks, no prescriptions or IV's. Just "yup, everything's fine, see you in 4 weeks!" and 10 minutes later, I'm outta there! The heart is beating (I have no idea the rate, as she didn't tell me, but it sounded faster than mine, which I take is a good thing), and the baby IS moving, even though I can't feel it. With the doppler, I can HEAR it, and it is reassuring. Quinn was with me, as he "won" the argument as to who would go with mom to the hospital. I'm guessing he was re-thinking the merits of that win... hang out with mom for 45 minutes in a doctor's waiting room, and then watch her give blood at the lab, OR stay home with grandma, eating cookies and watching cartoons. HMMMMMM. C-Section tenatively scheduled for November 17th, 18th, or 19th, depending on availability of the doctor and OR. That is, unless the baby decides to come early, but, given that there's one instead of two, that shouldn't be such an issue. I asked the dr. about my weight gain, and she assured me I was "right on track" given her official records -- only gained 7 pounds according to her. I said "Yeah, but you weren't keeping track those first 7 weeks, and MAN! Were they DOOZEYS!" At least the past 11 weeks the rate of weight gain has slowed down as compared to the first several.

18 Weeks

A definite growth spurt this week -- I have gained 3 pounds, and my belly now sticks out farther than ALL the rest of me. I met up with an old coworker this past week who is 31 weeks pregnant, and I am bigger than her (of course, she said she never "shows" much with any of her pregnancies). The baby is now the size of a bell pepper. It makes me laugh how the "experts" always compare the baby's size to fruits and vegetables... s/he went from a raisin to a kumquat to a plum to an avacado to a bell pepper! My next prenatal visit is Tuesday, and I am anxious to schedule another ultrasound. I don't feel the baby moving hardly at all, and I need some reassurance!

Fatigue

I think the baby is going through a growth spurt. I suddenly look VERY big. The prize for first person to recognize I was pregnant and not just chubby goes to... Fr. Larry! "Are you expecting?" He'd better hope I said yes!! Tonight, at 7:00, the boys and I curled up on the couch to watch 101 Dalmations as a Saturday night treat. I fell asleep, and didn't wake up until 9:30. The boys, on their second run-through of the movie, were wide awake, and were kind enough to say "go back to sleep, Mommy". Uh, yeah.

17 Weeks and Counting

I am now at the half way point to when Quinn and Colby were born... 34 weeks. The baby now is approximately 5 inches long, and weighs about as much as a turnip (how do "experts" know such things?) Reportedly, the baby's sweat glands are developing this week as well. Not that we need them here. It's so cold, we've got a fire in the woodstove. I'm beginning to look pregnant, and not just "over-indulged", and have broken out the maternity clothes in earnest. Life is much more comfortable now! Now that my baby-bump is starting to show, Rob and I feel more comfortable trying to discuss baby names. No luck just yet, but we discussed LOTS of names we agreed we didn't like. That's got to be worth something!

Stretching?

I was physically woken up in the middle of last night by my belly itching. I thought, in my slumber-induced stupor, "Wow! The baby must really be growing, and my skin is stretching so much it's itching!" I walked, with eyes closed, to the bathroom, where I put on some lotion to ease the itch, and went back to sleep. This morning I woke up to itching again. I looked at my belly, and it's FULL of bug-bites. Over 30, at least. Oh. So nothing to do with baby-growth, and everything to do with spring in the Upper Peninsula. The bites are ONLY on my belly. Obviously, some bug went to the most prominent, easily-accessible place to eat his dinner.

16 weeks

It's close enough to 4 months that I'm calling it that, because it makes me feel justified in having as big a belly as I already do :)

Pregnancy Brain

Pregnancy brain has hit with a vengeance. At work on Monday, I was in the middle of a meeting when I found I had to get something out of my car. I was looking in my purse for my car keys while walking towards the door. I saw "outside" out of the corner of my eye, assumed the door was open, and walked right through. Right through a window. OOOOWWWW. After seeing stars for close to a minute, checking my nose in the bathroom mirror for blood, and making light of the situation to the rest of the meeting go-ers (yes, of course it was witnessed), I walked THROUGH THE DOOR out to my car. I now have a swollen, bruised nose. So the next day, I was picking up a screaming 3 year old to put him in bed for a nap, when he decides, for the first time EVER, to hit me. In the nose. OOOOOOWWWWW again. There was harsh punishment, I assure you. This, if you remember, is on top of a cold. So now, every 30 seconds when I blow my nose, I get mini "ow ow ow ow"s. STUPID. Unable to take anything for the excessive snot production, and now not able to take anything for swelling and pain. At first, the nose injury was threatening to give me two black eyes, but thankfully that didn't spread as much as I feared it would. I'm looking and feeling LOVELY at the moment.

15 Weeks

When you count by weeks, this pregnancy thing seems to go by fast! My weight's been steady, the cold is letting up, I've had some miscellaneous aches and pains which are remnants of loose ligaments from the LAST pregnancy, but, overall, things are going remarkably well. I still don't look "pregnant" yet (at least not with clothes on), just very "puffy"... I imagine how many people must be saying "wow, that Monica Aho has REALLY let herself go!". Not yet wearing maternity clothes, but I have gone up a pant size, and can no longer wear any form-fitting top without looking ridiculously over-ripe. Haven't felt the baby move much at all the last week, so I don't know if it was just in a really good position when I felt it before, or if the "feeling" was something else. Still early, so not worried about that yet... I understand that the baby now has adult taste buds, and can savor the same meals that I eat. Interesting!