Week 16

Week: 16
 
Baby Size: 4.3-4.6 inches. It's about the size of an avocado and weighing in at about 2.75 ounces.

Gender: This is going to be the slowest month on record. 

Maternity Clothes?: Maternity clothes or a B-Band are a necessity for anything that is not a skirt.  I have 1 pair of dress pants that are cut a bit higher and they just barely fit me this week.  I think I'll be down to 0 B-Band-less pants next week.  I love these skirts though, and will probably wear them as long as the weather holds out.  I also noticed this week a need for longer shirts.  For some reason, I didn't translate my increasing girth with my shirts also appearing shorter.  I understand maternity shirts now, and will have to purchase more!

Sleep: No complaints about quantity or quality, although I could do without the nightmares.  Really--strangest things ever.  And so random.

Diet and Exercise:  I managed 3 days on the treadmill this week, and would have done 4, but I had a really bad allergy attack one morning and ended up sleeping in instead of getting up and working out.  2 of those days I ran 2.5 miles and walked another mile, and the third I walked 2.5 miles on a really steep incline.  We also did a lot of walking yesterday (Ethan Allen, the mall) so I feel pretty good, despite eating my body weight on Saturday night.  Other than Saturday, I did pretty well eating healthy this week.

Movement: I'm 75% sure I'm feeling movement.  It's only when I'm sitting or lying in bed quietly, and it's only been 3 times over the past week, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't gas.  The first time was a very distinct thump in the uterine region of my abdomen in the car on the way to dinner.  The second time, I was in bed and my stomach let off a really loud gurgle.  In response, I felt 2 thumps in the vicinity of my uterus (kind of like a  "what the hell was that noise?!" response).  The third time was last night while watching TV and it felt like little crackles or popcorn in my abdomen.  Like I said, it could still be gas, but it's happened often enough now (and feels different enough from what gas normally feels like for me--even pregnancy gas) that I'm getting more confident that it's the baby.  I know it's a bit early (the first time was 15 weeks, 3 days), but I have read that skinny people feel movement before larger ones.  I guess we'll see.

What I Miss: We were over at our friends' house last night with a large group of people, and everyone was drinking lots of wine and having a great time.  I had lemonade.  It was really good lemonade (it had club soda in it), but I really missed being able to just enjoy tastes of every wine open on the table without watching exactly how much I was drinking.  I did have 1 glass, and it was fantastic :)  Tonight another group of friends are going to a really good beer place, and Brian and I are just skipping it.  I'm a little sad, since I love a good beer!

What I'm Looking Forward to: September 30!!!  And actually seeing Brian for 3 days this weekend.  I love holidays. 

Best Moment this Week: Definitely the movement (if that is what it was--really, jury's still out).  Second is my in-laws actually renting a condo.

Pregnancy Body-New and Exciting!..maybe:  Not only the nightmares, but also some really bad allergies.  As I mentioned above, I had an allergy attack early Friday morning that kept me up for about an hour blowing my nose.  I've noticed they're much worse, much earlier than they were last season.  I am taking Zyrtec, and I'd hate to know how I'd feel without it!


Today I was mentioning to Brian that this is the first week I've really felt like something different is going on in my abdomen.  Before, the uterus was still small enough that it was all contained in there behind my pelvis; now it's starting to pop out a bit.  I noticed on Monday that I'm no longer able to comfortably lean across to the passenger side of the car.  I also definitely know my belly is there when I bend over or twist around to grab something.  I've just become very much more aware that things are changing.  I get pains in my abdomen more often, and it really feels like my intestines are shifting around.  And they really don't like it!  All of this is completely normal, I just didn't really expect to feel it for another couple of weeks.


On the plus side, my skin is really clearing up.  Second trimester is when the placenta starts doing the lion's share of the pregnancy maintenance, so the hormones that I've been producing in my hypothalamus, anterior pituitary, and ovaries are winding down some.  That clears up the raging acne I've had! 


Baby Milestones: Baby is continuing to grow very rapidly.  It is still covered in fine hair (lanugo), but is now growing itself some fingernails.  The umbilical cord has moved down the abdomen some, and is now attached roughly where the belly button will eventually be.  The legs are finally longer than the arms and are moving like crazy.  Which I guess is what I'm (maybe) feeling.  That and the little one flopping around.


Food Cravings: I've been thinking about Chipotle since I wrote the last blog post.  I'm going to have to get some this week.

How's Dad?: Amazing.  We were shopping for one of his coworkers (who is due this month) in the baby section at Macy's, and he found the cutest little dinosaur outfit.  He's also currently sanding and painting all of the drawers in his bathroom because he wants to get that bathroom done before the baby gets here and knows if he doesn't do it now, it won't get done.  He won't let me anywhere near anything that he's doing for fear of me inhaling dangerous chemicals.  I'm really glad he doesn't come to work with me now, since he really doesn't want to know what I handle there! 

Tid Bits: Classes are starting to work themselves out a little better.  The good and bad students are really starting to separate themselves out, and it's always interesting to see if my hunches from the first days of class are correct.  I did start the University of Phoenix training, and it's taking less time than I thought.  The actual class starts on the 13th, and I'm sure it's going to be a bear fitting in all of the prep work for 3 courses.  It'll be fun, though, and fill up my days nicely.