Eighteen!

A full 18 weeks and starting week 19, Peanut!  This week you will grow to a half-pound, and six inches long--about the size of a large mango.  You are growing a white, greasy covering called vernix that will protect you from the amniotic fluid you're living in.  If you're a girl, your uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in the right place.  If you're a boy, your genitals are now noticeable.  I really hope you make it clear what you are at our next ultrasound!  We love you very much.

I got sick twice this morning--I got sick last Thursday, too.  It's still happening once every 7-10 days, and I'm still tired of it!  I have some aches in my abdomen and I get headaches.  It takes more effort to get out of a low car or to walk quickly.  My balance is off, too. 

We had a monthly appointment this week, and Peanut's heartbeat was between 120 and 130 beats a minute.  The midwife said Peanut was "bouncing around", which is also good.

Jared and I started asking for guesses on Peanut's gender today.  About 80% of people seem to think they are a girl.  Most of the little "old wives' tales" and "predictor tests" would claim I'm having a boy.  I hope we'll find out at the ultrasound and not have to continue waiting.  

Monthly Appointment

I went to the Birth Center today for a monthly check-up.  The midwife I was supposed to see was on call and helping someone deliver their baby, so I had a long wait and eventually saw someone else.  A few questions from me, a few questions from her, the dopplar reading, and out the door again!  The midwife had Peanut's heartbeat as soon as she put the wand on my belly.  She said it was somewhere between 120 and 130 a minute, and that they were "bouncing around".  That's a relief, as I was nervous for this appointment.

Recently I've been finding that June and July are popular months this year to give birth.  There are so many people who've been announcing their expectancy.  But I know Peanut won't get lost in it all--they are very precious already.

18th Week!

Seventeen full weeks and starting week eighteen, Peanut!  You are 5-5 1/2 inches long, and 5-5 1/4 ounces heavy.  You are practicing more reflexes and movements, like yawning, hiccups, stretching, swallowing, and frowning.  Your taste buds are developing and can distinguish sweet from bitter.  Also, your skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone.  Your sweat glands are developing and you have unique fingerprints on your fingers and toes.  We love you very much.

I am getting sick once every 7-10 days, it seems.  It's still annoying.  I feel okay--just tired, and I can lose my temper or patience a lot easier than I used to.  I'm not really having symptoms, it feels like.  I see a little belly, but I'm not feeling movement that couldn't possibly be gas, hunger or digestion.  It's a little disconcerting, and then I get sick again, and hope that that means everything is okay.

The next regular appointment is 5 days away, and our next ultrasound is some time in the next month.  Before the next gestation week starts, we'll start asking for guesses so we can record what everyone thinks Peanut is.  I really hope Peanut will make it clear--it's very possible that they'll be feeling shy and we won't have a clue.   

Week 17 Starting Now

Peanut, you are sixteen full weeks along, and this is the start of the last week of the fourth month.  By the end of this week, you will weigh about five ounces and be about 5 inches long.  That's about the length of the palm of my hand.  Your nails and hair are growing.  Your heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day.  Body fat is starting to form on you, and your skin is fairly translucent.  Your heartbeat is now regulated by your brain, and at the ultrasound yesterday, it measured at 160 beats per minute.  We love you very much.

I haven't been sick since Saturday, but that doesn't mean it can't start up again.  I'm still kind of moody and easily irritated.  I'm not going to the bathroom as much, but I'm still pretty tired.  I think I'm hungrier, too.

I've been putting together a lot of preliminary plans about Peanut.  Stuff like a rudimentary registry list, information about maternity leave and forms I'll need to fill out, ideas for working after birth, health insurance for me and Peanut, a new and official will, etc.  It's a lot to take in and if I work on it for too long, I start to get anxious.

Another week and a half until my next monthly Birth Center appointment, and _____weeks until our anatomy scan....there's no fun in waiting!  

Ultrasound Today

This afternoon, Jared and I went to Gateway Center for a free ultrasound.  They had a new ultrasound technician and were trying to teach her how to use the machines with "ultrasound models", so I scheduled an appointment with hopes of finding out Peanut's gender some weeks earlier than scheduled.  I ate some hard candy and drank some orange juice beforehand, to try and get Peanut moving.  But I must have timed it wrong, because Peanut was all curled up the whole time, either snoozing on their side or on their stomach.  The heartbeat was 160, which is excellent for 16 weeks.  The tech who was doing the teaching measured Peanut at 16 weeks and 3 days, the same four extra days as my last ultrasound tech did.  But no one's willing to change my due date.  I know it's not nice to carry past your due date, but a week after June 27th is July 4th, which would be a pretty cool birthday.

It was nice to be able to see Peanut again, and especially for free, and I know I was helping out a good cause.  But it was still a little disappointing to not get any good pictures, that Peanut wasn't moving around, and that we couldn't tell the gender.  I hope all of that happens at our next ultrasound appointment!  

Week Sixteen starts now

Peanut, you are fifteen full weeks along now!  You could be anywhere from 4-5 inches long, and weigh anywhere from 3-5 ounces--maybe the size of an avocado.  You sure are bigger than a peanut now!  You can perceive and are sensitive to light and touch--you might squirm if I shine a flashlight on you, or if I poke my belly, although I can't feel it.  I do remember you responding to the ultrasound technician's pokes and jiggles, though, and that was over a week ago.  Your eyelids are still sealed, but your eyes can move side to side.  Your ears and eyes are in the right spots now, and your eyes have eyelashes and eyebrows.  Your muscles get stronger each week, and I understand that I should be able to feel you moving in a few weeks.  We love you very much.

I am still throwing up some--I got sick yesterday and the day before, and one other day this past week.  It has lost all its initial charm.  I can tell a slight increase in energy, but I also get headaches and my gums are sensitive.  I have a few pieces of maternity wear, but I also have been buying some "women" sized clothing--they look fine, have room to grow into, and are much less expensive.

Going back to work hasn't been so bad.  Out of the two "worst offenders" in our class, one hasn't come back to school yet, and the other has been impressively well behaved.  I am kind of waiting for the honeymoon period to end, though.  We do get a new student on Monday, which will bring us back to 22 five and six year olds.  I feel lucky that, as a child, I was never in a class of more than 16.

My next regular birth center appointment is still almost three weeks away, and of course the gender screening is even farther out than that--I am starting to feel some impatience--like I am in an in-between state.  My regular clothes don't fit, but I just look fat, not pregnant.  I'm not vomiting daily and nausea is rare, but I won't feel Peanut move for maybe five more weeks.  I like to be in one spot or the other--not in-between.