Time feels like it's flying by. I am past the theoretical halfway point of this pregnancy, and it's beginning to feel quite real. I've started collecting some hand-me-downs from friends, so there's even some baby stuff in the house now. Friends are organizing baby showers, I'm talking with folks at work about plans for my maternity leave next school year... it sorts feels like full speed ahead at this point.
Not that that means I've stopped worrying about something going wrong. I guess that may never stop. I'm now in the time of my pregnancy where my friend from work went into premature labor and lost her baby in January, so that weighs on my mind. And this past Sunday the hubby and I were in a car accident, which really put me into a tizzy. I went to the ER as a precaution (all the cops and EMTs on the scene thought it was a good idea, and I agreed) and after a terrifying hour or so we learned that everything was fine. We were very lucky the accident wasn't worse than it had been and that we were all relatively un-hurt. I think the hubby and I had our first foray into the all-new worries of being a parent. It wasn't a lot of fun.
This week I had my Level 2 sonogram, generally known as the anatomy scan. This is a big event for people who aren't seeing a high risk doc and getting ultrasounds every two weeks, but for us it wasn't super exciting. We ended up doing it in two parts, because my appointment with the doc was today, but I went in yesterday as a cautionary measure after the car accident and the ultrasound tech did most of the measurements then. Today the doctor looked over all of those photos and did a couple more that the tech wasn't able to get: head shots, since this baby doesn't like to show his face. But the doc got him to shift a bit by adjusting the table so that I was practically standing on my head!
Yesterday we noticed that the baby was head down for the first time, and his head was really low and pressing on my cervix. This isn't a bad thing, but it was uncomfortable and when I felt it yesterday after the accident I got nervous that something was wrong. He seems to have moved a little as of this morning... he's still head down, but I don't feel the pressure anymore.
The doctor said everything looked great and both the baby and I are doing just fine. The baby weighs about 15oz now, which is the 51st percentile at this stage. He has all of his parts, and all seem to be doing what they're supposed to be doing. I wish we could see his face a little more often, but he really doesn't seem to like the ultrasounds. Now that I can feel him kicking, I definitely know when he's all worked up about something! (But I love feeling him move. It is my favorite thing so far. It's changed now from feeling like little bubbles to feeling like someone flicking my insides with their fingers. They say over the next few weeks it'll feel more and more like actual kicks and punches. Fun!)
I've been holding steady at about 10-12 pounds gained. I'm still feeling really good. Occasionally I still get nauseated, and occasionally REALLY nauseated, but I think it's all related to how often and how much I eat. As long as I eat small amounts of food every couple hours, I'm fine. I still eat about five pounds of red grapes a week. It's sick but I figure there are worse cravings to have. Otherwise I feel pretty normal, other than having this alien being in my belly. The congestion isn't bad most of the time, the round ligament pain is sporadic now, I'm sleeping great (as long as I have my belly wedge pillow!), pooping mostly normally, and haven't noticed any more weird side effects.
And I really look pregnant now. It's still mostly in my belly, and I'm still carrying pretty much all in front, but the rest of me is changing, too. It's definitely a whole body experience now. I've outgrown my "new" bra so i gotta get another one of those. Every day is an adventure.
But summer vacation is a mere two weeks away! I'm really looking forward to getting the house ready for this baby and to a lot of relaxing time for me and the hubby before the insanity sets in. Fingers crossed that the relative and ease of the past few weeks (car accident excepted) continues for awhile. :)
In this post, you went from "it" to "he," so ... I guess you are having a boy-type baby? :) I'm curious how the decision to know/not know played out if you feel like sharing. I guess you know everything else about him, so to keep the gender a secret doesn't make sense? Sometimes I think I would not tell people if it were me, so that people wouldn't buy too many trucks/princesses. ;)
ReplyDeleteI found your blog through a friend and we are both currently TTC. I just wanted to wish you a happy and healthy next few months of pregnancy! I have a 9 month old and had many complications after her delivery so our fertility future is pretty unknown at this point. Can't wait to hear how the rest of your pregnancy goes. :)
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