It's a...

Baby is perfectly healthy, measuring just as it should.

And... It's a BOY!

19 weeks

And the big news for this week: movement like crazy!  Hooray! I'm feeling this little guy/gal kick and squirm at least a few times a day.  There's a little kick fest going on right now.  To which I say: slow your roll, little baby!  Because it's still nearly 3 hours until you get your moment in the spotlight.  It's ultrasound day!  Woohoo!

Wow, a lot of exclamation marks in that sentence.  What can I say?  It's an exciting time.

What else?  Still feeling good, with that lingering and occassional yucky reaction to sugary foods.  Again, not a bad thing, really-- I don't need to be living off of cupcakes.  I'm definitely showing more.  Probably right on the edge of someone being able to assume I was pregnant without potentially putting their foot in their mouth.  I got a "congratulations!" from a coworker I don't see much, who I must not have told, so that's the first time someone has noticed on their own.

I'm not sure it makes much sense to report on theoretical baby when we will see actual baby soon, but let's see what the internet says... The baby is developing all the sensory areas of the brain-- smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch.  I ate the spiciest thing I have ever had in my life last night, so, uh... sorry baby.  Hope you were ready for that!  Baby weighs about half a pound and all of the body parts are now in the correct proportion.  And hair is growing!  Just a miniature person, ready to hang out for another 21 weeks or so.

Let's see... final gender prediction from me is... girl.  No strong feeling one way or the other, though.  Now to wait away 2 hours until Rick comes to get me.  I'm going to have a sugary/caffeine-laden drink about an hour before the appointment, to jumpstart the show.  Should be fun.

Bonus belly shot

18w5d, in the office bathroom this morning. Definitely starting to show.

Prenatal appointment

I had a prenatal appointment with Mary this morning.  All is well.  Baby sounded great-- I made a video, but apparently the sound didn't work, so that's a bust.  My uterus is just under my belly button, which is exactly as it should be right now.  Mary says she feels the most baby down very low, so that's where we listened.  That's where I felt those four little kicks last week too, so that makes sense (still no more kicks though). 

I gained a whopping 7 pounds this month, which is the first weight I've gained-- just came all at once.  Mary said that was normal-- that they expect "off the curve" growth in this month and the next 6 weeks, which is primarily from increased blood volume.  Nonetheless, I think Rick can quit worrying that I'm not eating enough.  7 pounds doesn't materialize from nothing!

I've consistently gained about 35 lbs. with each pregnancy, but this is the first one that I didn't lose some weight on the front end.  So I'm curious to see where I end up at the end.  Not worried at all, regardless of the number.  I know it comes off as easily as it comes on and it's all for a good cause!

I also finally signed all of the consents and financial paperwork at this appointment-- I'd been slacking on that.  So the business side of things should be squared away now.

Next prenatal appointment is 10/25 at 8:00 with Debra.  But of course the next appointment is this Friday at 11:00-- the big anatomy scan!

18 weeks

No more distinct kicks like I felt the other day, but some little squiggles of movement-- right now, actually, I can feel something going on that I think is more than the oatmeal I ate for breakfast.  I do know that in my last pregnancy, it was just after 18 weeks that the movement picked up a lot, so hopefully any day now we start throwing in-utero dance parties.

I suspect the baby is positioned something like this:

...which would send most of the kicks/punches backwards into the placenta, where it's difficult for me to feel.  But baby is getting heftier-- my uterus is the size of a cantaloupe and the baby is 5.5" head-to-rump and weighs 7".  Sometimes it really blows my mind that a WHOLE PERSON that's already so substantial could be living in my body with very few clues that he or she is even there.  Craziness.
Some of the weekly development sites are saying the baby is starting to hear me talk now.  Sadly, baby, that means you also get to spend a lot of time listening to me sing, as living with me is a little like living in a musical comedy.  Why say it when you can sing it?

Some people use Belly Buds to play the baby's family's voices to the baby, so he or she will recognize them at birth.  Or to protect him or her from a crazy, singing surrogate.  Just saying.

That's about it.  I'm feeling fine, sleeping fine (albeit with a million pillows), eating fine.  Certain sugary things don't sit well, but that's no great sacrifice, particularly since chocolate is still safe.  Really, really looking forward to our anatomy scan next week, which is pretty much the last big test to assure everybody that this baby is as healthy as they come.  AND we'll soon know if it's a bambina or a bambino.  I could wait, but I know nobody else can!

Nice day

I had a fantastic massage at lunch from Inge-Lise Weber.  I'd never seen her before, but it was really wonderful.  She didn't talk (my pet peeve during massages is when I'm told "try to relax"-- hello, that's why I'm here!), the pressure was just right, and she even rubbed on my belly (lightly) a bit, so I felt like the baby got a treat too.  Ah, relaxation.

And then, since I was in the neighborhood, I snuck into the midwives' office for a heartbeat check.  Totally unnecessary since I'm going to be there next week, but they indulged me nonetheless and I got to hear the baby.  Heartrate was in the 150s at first, which Monika said was fast, but then it slowed down a bit, which I guess is a good show of neurological development.  She said my uterus is growing nicely too-- right where she would expect it to be at about 18 weeks.

And somebody gave me a cupcake this morning.  Pretty much a trifecta for a perfect day.  No complaints here!

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.