4 tiny kicks

No mistaking it.  As I'm sitting here at my desk (17w3d), I felt four teeny tiny kicks.  All in a row.  Anything I've felt before now I could easily talk myself into thinking was just regular body rumblings, but that tap-tap tap tap was definitely my little "womb-mate."  Yay!  Hi baby!

17 Weeks

What a week. Thankfully quiet on the pregnancy front, but a lot of things going on in my personal life. I'm just thankful that it's Friday!

I did call the midwives Thursday morning to make sure it wasn't a big deal that I'd had food poisoning the night before. Ugh! It was pretty awful, but no worries about it impacting the baby, so that's good.

And actually, yesterday was probably the first day that I feel confident I was feeling the baby move. Just little flutters- no big thumps or kicks yet. But it's nice to "hear" from him or her and know all is well. Looking forward to more bigger movements soon.

The baby is now about 5 ounces and 5 inches long. Its bones are calcifying and getting nice and strong.

2 weeks now until the big anatomy scan, and just one week more than that until we reach the halfway point. I wouldn't say time is flying by just yet, but it sure is exciting that every day that goes by is one day closer to meeting this little one and growing the C family.

Changing body: video

I mentioned this video last weekend when I was in Houston: http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/you/the-exhibit/your-beginning/make-room-for-baby/interactive/

It is a animation of how a woman's body changes during pregnancy.  It's pretty stunning to see all of the organs get moved and squished.  Incredible.  And then, just as incredibly, it all settles back into place afterward.

Hungry.

Not just a little hungry.  I am starving!  I ate two big breakfasts this morning (at home and at work) and I still have been counting down the minutes until lunch since about 10:15.  Good gracious.  Maybe that growth spurt is hitting early.

16 weeks

Belly shot numero uno.

And you wouldn't believe how difficult it was to take that!  Too dark to take it outside, and Andie's hand kept moving when she hit the shutter button, so we deleted at least 5 blurry shots.  And I cropped out my head in this one because apparently it was impossible to have everything look normal at the same time.  I do still have a face-- no worries.

The dress I'm wearing has a drop waist, so it tightens up right under my belly, helping with the "is she or isn't she?" stage that I'm in right now.  She is.  I looked big yesterday too (confirms Rick-- poor husband needs to tread lightly), so maybe I'll go ahead and call it that I'm starting to show.  Yay!  More fun than just being chubby.

No symptoms to speak of.  I'm in the awkward in-between phase, where the first trimester yuckies have worn off, but I'm still not feeling movement, so I haven't "graduated" to the next stage.  No complaints, though.  It's nice to be able to eat and sleep like a normal person.

Let's see what's going on with the baby... Apparently, in the next few weeks she or he will have a major growth spurt, doubling in weight.  Right now, the baby is about 4.5 inches long head to rump (and with those long legs in the family, I bet a lot longer in total!) and weighs about 3.5 ounces.  That's 100 grams, which I have a pretty good feel of because of weighing food (ahem, I get obsessive about portion sizes when I'm not pregnant), but for reference, that's the weight of 20 nickels.  Or a newborn kitten.  Cuter than nickels.

Also this week, baby's heart is pumping 25 quarts of blood per day-- that's over 6 gallons.

That's all the news that's fit to print.  Good days, not a lot going on.  Three weeks to the big gender reveal!



Irrational needs

This morning, while we were getting ready, I explained to the girls the difference between "rational" and "irrational" (unfortunately, in the context of explaining that I was irrationally annoyed by something-- oh well).  Anyway, on that note, here is my current list of things that I irrationally feel like I need, though clearly, rationally, I don't.

1.  Pregnancy Pillow

I have never understood the appeal of these things (I may have even made fun of them), and yet I suddenly find myself "needing" one.  I think Rick might object to having the equivalent of another person share the bed.

2.  York Peppermint Patties

Not just one, mind you.  I want that whole box.  One would not fill this need.

Wait, maybe that's all.  I thought I had a whole list, but now I'm feeling committed to just two irrational needs.  That makes me feel more like a sane, reasonable person.  How nice.

I'm giving a presentation about gestational surrogacy agreements to a bunch of judges in about an hour.  Hoping that it goes well and brings home how straightforward they are, legally.  I'd love to see our county doing more of them, for families statewide.

Lazy Labor Day afternoon

On a whim, the girls and I drove down to Houston yesterday for a quick visit with the baby-family. Somehow, our impromptu visit turned into an all-out Sunday barbecue with way too much food (typical). We are keeping it lower key today, all lined up watching "The Adventures of Tintin."

Rick missed out because of work. Bummer.