19 weeks, 3 days

there is no hiding it now... i am very definitely looking pregnant. my biggest proof is that every day the tales i've heard for years about new yorkers not giving up their subway seats for pregnant ladies are being proven false! i don't know if i'm taking different trains than others who've shared their woes about this or if people are just getting nicer, but for the past week almost any time i don't have a seat on the subway one is offered to me. i don't always feel like i need the seat, and i don't always take it, especially if i'm only on the train for a few stops. but it is really nice to feel surrounded by considerate people. and while a lot of them are women, a whole bunch of them are men, of all ages! that was the biggest shocker, given the stories i've heard people tell. so yay new yorkers!

i went to the perinatologist yesterday and everything is great with me and the baby. the baby is growing so quickly (as is my belly). it weighs 10 ounces, still about a week ahead of schedule, and has all of its parts. the doctor measured everything yesterday as best he could, given that the little bean still is quite stubborn about ultrasounds. however, it's getting a lot less roomy in there so the baby can't move around with the same acrobatics it used to, so eventually the doc was able to measure all of the arms and legs and count the fingers and toes and check out all the internal organs. everything seems to be perfect!

other good news includes the fact that my placenta previa is definitely totally gone, AND so is that pesky blood vessel! so we're cleared to finally have sex again (we'll see how much the hubby even wants to with my gigantic belly all up in his business) and i don't have to worry so much about bleeding and whatnot. that is a huge relief. my bloodwork has all been coming back normal, my vitamin D deficiency is gone thanks to supplements, and basically it looks like everything is progressing exactly as it should be. they cleared me to fly this weekend and gave me an official note allowing me to take my injectable meds on the plane.

i've also been feeling really great. the only thing that has been bothering me the past couple of weeks is the round ligament pain, which is totally normal at this point given the massive expansion of my uterus that's happening (and will continue to happen over the next few weeks). i'd been taking it easy and being even less active than i was before because it seemed like the more i did the more sore it was. but over the weekend i made an interesting discovery. the hubby and i went to an all-day concert on the beach and i danced and danced and danced... and felt better than i have in weeks! the pain actually went away almost immediately! the following day, since i wasn't sore, i was able to do way more at my prenatal yoga class than i have in the past, which must have also helped, because now -- three days later -- i am still nearly pain-free. i've had a couple of twinges here and there, but nothing like what i had before. so now i know i need to be MORE active rather than less, and with the blood vessel worries over i can do this totally happily and without anxiety.

my appetite feels back to normal; i still have weird cravings and aversions, but i'm not eating quite as much or often as i was for awhile... which is good for the weight gain. the regular OB (when i went last week) said i am exactly on track in terms of weight and to continue whatever i'm doing. mostly that's been eating red grapes, so i wasn't really sure what to tell her i'd been "doing." i know that this is around the time when the baby starts swallowing amniotic fluid and can taste what i'm eating, so i'm going to focus on that... i really want the kid to love veggies and hopefully to not be such a sweet-freak as i am, so i'm going to make a conscious effort to watch what i'm eating for both of those reasons.

otherwise, i am kind of a walking textbook of pregnancy symptoms, but none of them are awful. i'm actually really glad for the "textbook" lists because it has let me know what to expect so that nothing surprises or scares me when it happens. right now i'm definitely feeling the dizziness and lack of balance that comes from my expanding uterus, along with lower back pain, forgetfulness, bleeding gums when i brush my teeth, and -- brand new last night -- leg cramps. but i know all of this is normal and none of it is really impacting my life so i consider myself quite lucky. i feel mostly really good. i am loving this second trimester thing... and hoping the smooth sailing continues!

17 Weeks!

Wow, I am really feeling pregnant. And looking pregnant. I think I'm finally starting to feel okay about that. I'm also still feeling really good. Nothing really new since my last report on the physical front... I've gained 8 or 9 pounds, my boobs are definitely bigger, and I'm hungry all the time. Luckily my biggest craving is not french fries or cupcakes... it's red grapes. I've eaten about a pound every two or three days. Weird. My acupuncturist says it's because I still need more hydration. I feel like I'm drinking enough water to fill a swimming pool, but I guess it's never too much. I've also started getting really forgetful and losing my center of gravity. It's kind of like feeling drunk or high a lot of the time. Sigh.

This is another week of double duty doctor visits. I saw the perinatologist today and I will see the regular OB on Friday. All went well at the visit today. Highlights:

1) The placenta has moved away from the cervix! Yay! No more placenta previa for me... but that errant blood vessel is still a concern. Still no sex, heavy lifting, strenuous activity, etc.

2). Baby weighs 7oz (a little ahead for this stage) and looks perfect. We counted fingers and toes today... when it would stay still. Which doesn't happen all that often.

3) The second round of our genetic testing came back normal. So chances are we're good. Yay!

4) They told me my next visit will be slightly longer than normal due to some measurements they will want to do, and my next one (at 21 weeks) will be my full anatomy scan. Which takes a long time.

5) They tentatively cleared me for both of my upcoming travel-by-plane trips (at 19 and 24 weeks) but said that depends on how things look when we get closer. They also said I'll need a letter from the doctor that allows me to bring my injectible medication on the plane, which I hadn't even thought of.

That's about it! Feeling positive and excited and really looking forward to being able to FEEL this jumping bean jumping around in there. Soon, I hope!