Last week was Thanksgiving, and I took the whole week off work. I figured with all that free time I’d actually be on time for once with my weekly updates, and instead I ended up missing the update altogether. Why is it that when I do have “free time” I end up being more busy than usual? How on earth am I ever going to fit a kid into my schedule?! Granted, we did host Thanksgiving for the first time, so much of my time off last week was spent grocery shopping, cleaning and getting the house ready. I also had all kinds of aspirations to finish our kitchen cabinet painting project, but ran out of time for that too.
So this post is going to be a combined 16 & 17 week update. Without further ado…
Baby was about 4.5 inches last week (about the size of an avocado), and this week is now a little over 5 inches long — about the size of an onion. Last week it started growing hair, lashes and eyebrows, and can hear our voices. In fact, one of my baby books said the baby will have learned to recognize mine and D’s voices by the time it’s born, which makes for some familiarity once on the outside, and helps it to bond to us easier (on a side note, I’m getting really tired of referring to our baby as “it” – not much longer and I’ll actually be able to start using he/she!). This week’s major development is fattening up, growing harder bones and growing a harder, thicker umbilical cord. Still not really feeling much movement. There have been a few times where I thought I might have felt something, but I honestly couldn’t tell you if it was baby or gas bubbles — and God knows there have been plenty of those throughout this pregnancy!
Mama is definitely feeling much better. At my last update, I mentioned that I thought I might be starting to feel better, and I can now say with confidence that I definitely am. I do still tend to still have a strong gag reflex, and occasionally need to pause while brushing my teeth because I’m feeling a little gaggy, but the gagging episodes are definitely diminishing. I’m showing some, but still not as much as I thought I would by now, and I’ve still only gained a couple pounds.
To be honest, I do worry often that maybe the reason I’m not growing much because baby isn’t growing as much as it should. I know there are reasonable explanations for my lack of belly (such as strong abdominals) and lack of weight gain (high metabolism, eating well, etc.), and that everyone shows at a different pace. I also know I should probably be thankful I’m not totally ballooning up, but I think worrying just comes with the territory when you’ve had a loss.
We have our next doctor appointment tomorrow, and I will ask my doctor if she thinks my weight gain and belly size are within the normal range. Thankfully, after tomorrow’s appointment we should be able to schedule our anatomy scan for as soon as next week! My doctor said I can go any time between 18 and 20 weeks, so I’m really hoping I can get in closer to 18 weeks. I’m dying to know whether we’re having a boy or a girl, but more importantly, I need to know that baby is healthy and growing appropriately. I know the anatomy scan is VERY thorough – they check the heart, lungs, brain, spine, measure the major bones for growth, and check the skull and facial features for abnormalities. Especially since we opted out of the first trimester screening (which looks for disorders like Downs and Spina Bifida), I just really need to know that everything is developing as it should.
In other news, D and I made the trek back to our alma mater on Friday for the Apple Cup, our state’s annual college football rivalry. What an AMAZING game. The Cougs were the underdogs but ended up coming back in the 4th quarter to tie the game and then won it in overtime. The next day before heading home, we spent some time walking around the campus, which was fun, since I hadn’t been back in about 9 years. I also bought a cute board book for our baby about the Apple Cup to commemorate the occasion. Such a great memory of our little one’s first trip to Pullman.
Keeping up with the Hoffmans 