16 Weeks

Hey! 16 weeks this week, almost half way there!! I had a doctors appointment this afternoon. The doc said I haven't lost anymore weight but I haven't gained any either. I'm thinking that that means I'm going to start gaining soon. :( Oh well, it's good for the baby. The nurse checked the baby's heartbeat, nice and strong at 141 bpm-normal. :) She also measured my fundal height and said I was measuring just a couple of days larger than I should be (which is okay). For those who don't know, the Fundal height is: "a measure of the size of the uterus used to assess fetal growth and development. It is measured from the top of the mother's uterus to the top of the mother's pubic bone in centimeters. It should match the fetus' gestational age in weeks within 1 to 3 cm, e.g., a pregnant woman's uterus at 26 weeks should measure 23 to 29 cm."

So I've been trying to feel the top of my uterus and can't find it so I asked the nurse to show me. I found it! Yay! When I push on my belly it is fairly hard and as I move my hand up I can feel it curve away, that's the top of my uterus. Right now mine is at my belly button. It's fun to be able to feel it myself, I'm not sure why, but it is. :)  The doc also said that the hormones should be starting to level out within the next few weeks and I'll have more energy and my appetite will come back. He also said that my breakouts should start to go away! Yay! After I saw the nurse and doc they sent me over to the lab to do some blood work for genetic screening, for things like Downs Syndrome. At my first prenatal appointment the phlebotomist took like six vials of blood so I was kinda expecting something similar... nope, one vial, that's it. :) Nice and easy. And the girl was so good! It didn't hurt at all!! I should have the results back by the end of next week.
So I've been sick the past week. :( It sucked so bad. It was mostly sinuses and headaches... and no sleep! Last night was the first night that I slept well in a while. I am still stuffy but it's getting better.

Okay so here is another belly photo. I think it's really starting to show up now. Drum roll please...............

There it is! Still sorta funny shaped but oh well, everyone is unique right? To me it looks so much bigger in the picture than I think it really is but Andrew said it was right so.. it must be. :) We find out the baby's sex on October 7th. Just 23 more days to go! It'll be nice to be able to say he or she instead of it. It seems so impersonal and fake.
Still no movements yet, the doc said I should start feeling them in the next four weeks. I'm very excited for that. No swelling yet, thank god. My hip is hurting again. *rolley eyes* and I'm trying to think of what else happened this past week but I'm drawing a blank...... I guess that's it for now. :)

Week 17 of Pregnancy

Your baby is practicing sucking and swallowing as she gets ready for the real thing: a breast or bottle! As for Mom, you may be warding off some unwanted belly touching.

Your Baby in Week 17 of Pregnancy
My how your baby has grown! She's about the size of your palm, weighs about five ounces, and is developing some body fat (join the club, baby!). Her heart is now regulated by her brain (no more random beats) to beat 140 to 150 times per minute — about twice as fast as yours! What else is up? She’s practicing the survival skills she’ll need at birth — like sucking and swallowing.

Baby's Body Fat

Your baby is about five inches long and more than three and a half ounces — the size of your open hand. Baby's body fat is beginning to form and will continue to accumulate through the end of your pregnancy.

How big is your baby at 17 weeks pregnant? About five inches long and more than three and a half ounces  — the size of your open hand. (Open the other one too and imagine your baby cradled in both your arms right after delivery!)  Body fat (baby's, that is) is beginning to form and will continue to accumulate through the end of your pregnancy.  By the time your baby is born, body fat will make up about two-thirds of his or her weight (and will make all those chubby parts especially yummy). 
 
Your baby is almost certainly listening up by now. In fact, loud noises — the dog barking, the doorbell ringing — will actually startle your baby (and also get him or her used to such noises; for instance, fetuses who regularly hear a dog barking will become babies who sleep right through Fido's outbursts).  Your baby's eyes (which have fortunately finished their migration  to the front of his or her head) are making small side-to-side movements and can even perceive some light, though the eyelids are still sealed.  And since practice makes perfect, your baby is sharpening his or her sucking and swallowing skills in preparation for that first (and second…and third) suckle at your breast or bottle. In fact, most of the survival reflexes that your baby will have at birth are being perfected in utero right now.

And here's some proof that your baby is truly one of a kind (as if you needed any!). Within the next week or so, the pads on your baby's fingertips and toes will become adorned with completely individual swirls and creases (aka fingerprints).
Your Body in Week 17 of Pregnancy
Now that you're starting to show, chances are that friends, coworkers, and even strangers may feel the urge to reach out and touch your belly. If you don't mind, that's fine. But if you do, speak up kindly but firmly. More new developments with your body: a slight vaginal discharge (leukorrhea) and a greater sensitivity to allergens these days — both are totally normal — and the appetite of a truck driver now that the queasy feeling is (probably) gone.

15 Weeks.

Okay so I suck again. I missed another week. :( Oh well. So I'm 15 weeks 2 days today, yay!! I have another doctors appointment next Tuesday and then on October 7 we find out the sex of the baby! I am so excited, I can't wait. Let the count down begin!! So what's been going on? Well, my nose is super stuffy still! It's getting even worse and it's so annoying. I'm sneezing every 5 minutes I swear. No one ever told me about this. Lol. Ummm.... my belly is the same size as when I last posted so no new picture today. I still have to pee like crazy, and I've been craving water constantly. My appetite is back, mostly. It's so nice to like food again. I weighed myself this morning and according to my scale I've lost nine pounds since I got pregnant. And I am totally fine with that. Although it would be nice for my belly to pop so that I finally look pregnant and not just like I've been eating too many donuts.
I've been having problems with my right hip. I've never had issues with it before but it's been really sore and my muscle in my thigh has been so sore too. I have to physically pick up my leg to cross it over the other one. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the Relaxin that my body is producing, but it's a pain in the butt. It was finally feeling better today and then I went to get out of bed and I tweaked it again. Last time I was at the doctors I asked about it (my shoulder and knee were hurting then) and he said that due to the relaxin (a horomone your body produces when you're pregnant to help spread your hips) it's a lot easier to twist and pull things, especially while you're sleeping. Lame.
I got a new pair of pants today! They are so cute! I went to Ross to look for a pair of work pants and I found a pair of jeans instead. They are so comfy and they are more of a straight leg, which I've never worn but I've always wanted too, and I love them! I love that they are long enough for me to wear high heels with them. :) That's the hardest thing for me, finding long enough pants. All of the work pants that I've tried on have been way too short. :( So I am excited for Friday when I can wear jeans to work.
Everything I've read says that I should be able to feel my uterus now, about three inches below my belly button, but so far no such luck. They also say it's still pretty early for me to feel the baby move since I'm a first time mom and I haven't definately felt the baby yet but the past two days I keep feeling this little twinge on the left hand side of my belly a couple of inches below my belly button. It feels like a little muscle twitch and it only lasts for a second so I don't know if it is just my muscles but I would like to think it's the baby.
I had another baby dream again last night. <3 I dreamed that we had a little boy. He was a tiny new born and I was holding him to my chest and wrapping him in those cute little baby cocoons. Which, by the way, I plan on finding a pattern so I can knit some. But anyway, he was the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. He was so tiny and soft. It was so hard for me to wake up because I could literally feel him on my chest and I knew when I woke up I wouldn't feel him anymore. So we'll have to see if my dreams are right and we have a little boy, or if they're wrong and we get a little girl.
What To Expect When You're Expecting says that by then end of the week the baby will be able to hear me talking. :) Isn't it so weird. To think that there is a person inside of my belly that can hear me talk and sing in the car is a little freaky.
I still don't like chocolate. :(
Anyway, I think that's pretty much it for today.

P.S. I think I'm getting a cold and I am NOT happy about it!!

Week 16 of Pregnancy

Your baby's eyesight (and eyelashes!) is developing rapidly, but all you might be seeing in the mirror these days is a body that looks depressingly bulky.

Your Baby in Week 16 of Pregnancy
Your baby now weighs in at a whopping three to five ounces, and he's four to five inches in length. The bones that are now in place in his ears means he can probably hear your voice as you talk to your partner and pals and sing in the car. While he’s getting used to your voice, the tiny muscles in his body, especially the ones in his back, are gaining strength, so he can straighten out a little more. And thanks to his developing facial muscles, your baby is capable of making a few expressive frowns and squints, even at this early stage. (Don’t worry, those frowns have nothing to do with the sound of your voice!) And his eyes are finally working, making small side-to-side movements and perceiving light (although the eyelids are still sealed). Peekaboo! 

Baby's Hearing Develops

This little one's a looker — with a face that has both eyebrows and eyelashes — but a skinny looker since there's no baby fat yet. Baby's crown-to-rump measurement is between four and five inches, and weight is around three ounces.

Listen up: Tiny bones in your fetus's ears are in place this week, making it likely that the baby can hear your voice when you're speaking (or singing in the shower)at 16 weeks pregnant. In fact, studies have found that babies who are sung to while they're in the womb recognize the same tune when it's sung to them after they are born (so choose your baby Muzak with that in mind…). 
 
And baby's busily boning up in other ways. For one, the backbone (along with the back muscles) is stronger now — strong enough, in fact, to enable your baby to work on straightening his or her head and neck even more. Baby's crown-to-rump measurement is between four and five inches in length, and weight is hovering around three ounces.
This little one's a looker — with a face that has both eyebrows and eyelashes — but a skinny looker since there's no baby fat yet. And here's the skinny on baby skin: It's practically translucent now, so if you took a peek inside your uterus, you'd be able to see your baby's blood vessels under that thin skin.