Week: 18, and as of Friday, officially 4 months along (if you go by the due date). This means I got to flip to month 5 in What to Expect When You're Expecting. Progress!
Baby Size: 5-5.5 inches. It's about the size of a baked potato (or a chicken cutlet) and weighs in at about 5.25 ounces. That's actually quite a jump from last week.
Gender: Really, come on and end already, September! I did have a friend tell me she had a dream that I had a boy (via C-section, and I was up and walking around right afterwards like nothing had happened--I wish they worked that way!). Combine that with mine and Brian's dreams (on the same night) in the beginning that we had a boy, and maybe we're on to something here. Or maybe it's just a huge coincidence and we'll see a little girl in 2 weeks!
Maternity Clothes?: I still have my one pair of shorts, but yeah, forget the pants. I have definitely grown out of those! I've never been more thankful for the influx of maternity gear from my friend. The B-Band works really well, but it gets awfully hot under there, and it's so much more comfortable to just wear pants that fit!
Sleep: No complaints this week, even though my allergies have been bad. At least they let me sleep through the night.
Diet and Exercise: I managed 4 days on the treadmill this week--go me! I varied my run/walking on each day to keep things interesting, but managed at least a mile run everyday. Not too bad on the diet, I guess. We went out for my birthday on Saturday night and I ate a ton of sushi. It tasted so good, and made me so happy! Then we had a pumpkin cheesecake from Freeport Bakery for dessert. Heaven! I was very full afterwards, but I loved every minute of both the eating and the hanging out with my friends.
Movement: Yep, I'm definitely feeling it! Some flutters and taps all week, and then on Friday morning I was lying on my back in bed, and all of a sudden felt a lump on the left side that definitely wasn't mirrored on the right. I pushed on it a bit, and it moved away. Then on Sunday morning, I felt a lump on the other side that again moved away when I pressed on it. Brian was asleep, and I didn't want to wake him up so he didn't get to feel it. When he woke up, I pressed around again trying to see if the baby was bunched up somewhere (it wasn't), and when I stopped pressing I felt a very distinct thump! I still had my hand on my abdomen, and definitely felt it from the outside (my whole abdomen actually moved). I'm just sorry Brian didn't get to feel it! I'm sure later on I'll wish the kid would just be still already, but right now, it feels so neat!
What I Miss: I got my sushi craving satisfied, I had Chipotle, I had chocolate ice cream...I'm good!
What I'm Looking Forward to: Definitely finding out the sex. I really want to start decorating the nursery, but am making myself wait until we know for sure what it is. It's going to be a long 2 weeks!
Best Moment this Week: All the movement, and the sushi last night!
Pregnancy Body-New and Exciting!..maybe: I had my first Braxton-Hicks contractions this weekend. Basically, my entire uterus went really hard for a few seconds and then relaxed. They can be felt early in pregnancy, but definitely get more frequent later on (and more intense, since the uterus is much larger). It wasn't painful at all, but a little uncomfortable. I've also noticed that my hips are sore now, which is to be expected, since they have some spreading to do to make way for baby. My back has been OK, except when I'm on my feet teaching for a while. Then it really starts to hurt. I've tried to be more aware of how long I'm up, and sit down when I feel like it's been a while. I plan on getting a prenatal yoga DVD, which will hopefully help to stretch things out a bit and make me more comfortable.
Baby Milestones: Baby is continuing to grow very rapidly, as you can see by the differences in measurement from last week to this week. It's starting to look more human, and less generic primate. The heart is fully developed and under the control of the brain. It can now yawn and hiccup and has individual fingerprints on its fingers and toes.
Food Cravings: Bring on the berries this week! Brian bought me some raspberries from Costco, and they were awesome. I've already mentioned how amazing the sushi was, and chocolate ice cream has become a must-have on Friday nights.
How's Dad?: Still doing really well. The bathroom remodel is coming along very nicely. He got the subfloor in last weekend, and is leveling it out, as well as sanding and staining the cabinets this weekend. We're still waiting on the vinyl we ordered to come in, which will hopefully be this week. He planned my birthday dinner, made the reservations, and bought me a cake, which was awesome. We were talking about how Christmas next year will be at my parents' house in IL, and how we'll have a 10 month old baby with us then, which I think made him realize how quickly the time with baby being a baby is going to go. I can't wait for him to be able to feel the baby move!
Tid Bits: The doctor's appointment went really well. My abdomen is measuring at 19cm (right on target, and the first time they've measured it), I've gained 5.5 pounds since getting pregnant (and 1.5 since my last appointment), the baby's heart rate was around 150, and the little bugger kept squirming around as the doctor was trying to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler. I'm pretty sure it just didn't like all that noise happening right on top of it! The doctor said all is well, and I should keep up what I've been doing.
I talked to the doctor about how much longer I can realistically jog for exercise. She told me that around 24-25 weeks, the fetus will undergo a growth spurt and the size of the baby plus the uterus makes running at that point pretty much impossible--it just puts too much strain on the round ligaments that hold the uterus in place. She said I can try a support band, but that really, my jogging days are very much numbered. I've been jogging for exercise since college, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do without it! It's to the point where I really don't feel like I've had a good workout unless running was involved at some point. I certainly don't want to do any damage in there, so I'll stop when everything tells me to, but I am really going to miss it!
On a happier note, teaching at the University of Phoenix has been way easier than I thought. They put you through this very intense training program that is supposed to simulate what you will be doing in class, but I've found so far that the training was harder than the teaching! I have a very diverse group of students, and I think it's going to be a fun 5 weeks with them. My other classes are going really well, too. I love my students this semester, and have none that really annoy me, or act like idiots. Both community college classes have their first tests this week, so I guess we'll see how effective I've been at teaching them so far!
Overall, things are going really well, and I hope they continue to do so for the next 5 months!
Isn't wearing maternity pants so comfy? I've known some women who continue to wear their regular pants with the belly band (I don't know why or how.) throughout the entire pregnancy. Really?! It's really the only time you can get away with wearing an elastic waistband as an adult. I couldn't stand wearing the band and always having to pull up my pants.
ReplyDeleteYou must be soooo excited for the 30th! You are having similar cravings to mine, so I'm going to say girl. Although, every time I've made a prediction it was the opposite; so, it's probably a boy. :)
If you need any help with sewing things for the nursery, let me know!