pregnancy, week-by-week – Page 4 – Keeping up with the Hoffmans

health & body, house, planning, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

26 weeks.

January 27, 2013January 27, 2013 Keeping up with the Hoffmans

This week I made quite a bit of progress on the nursery. I painted a dresser, spray painted two lamps, and started making a mobile for above the crib. Also, somewhat non-baby related, we bought a new mattress set! It will be delivered on Thursday and I am beyond excited. Here’s hoping a nice new mattress helps my achy back. But if nothing else, it will be nice to have more room to spread out (we are upgrading from a queen to a king size), especially since my body pillow takes up quite a bit of space!

Oh, and in other exciting news, I think we may have found our daycare! I mentioned last week that the search was stressing me out, and that we weren’t crazy about the Kindercare we had toured. Well, we went and saw the home daycare I mentioned last week, and we really liked it a lot. We spent a little over an hour talking to the owner/primary caregiver, and we both felt really at ease with her. She seemed very thorough and experienced, and I liked that she talked our ears off while we were there. Made me feel like she’d be very good about communicating what was going on with our son all day while he’s in her care. He’d be the only infant there, which has its pros and cons, but I think is mostly a plus. It’s too bad he won’t have any other little “friends” to play with, but he’ll also get to be held a lot, as she likes to integrate the infants with the older kids whenever possible. So whatever the other kids are doing, she’ll basically be holding him so he’s around them. There is also a secondary caregiver (her husband), so one of them can stay with the baby while he naps, and the other is attending to the other kids. I think a lot of the daycare search is about a gut feeling, and we both just had a good gut feeling about this. I’m going in tomorrow morning to observe what a typical morning looks like (we spoke with her at the end of the day so she could devote her full attention to us). Barring any strange practices or unforeseen circumstances, I think we’ll be ready to make an official decision and put down our deposit. She only has one space left and has another family coming to look later this week, so we’ll probably cancel our other two tours we have set up for next week and call our search done. It’s too bad we have to make a decision so quickly, but like I said, I feel good about this place. The only downside is the location, as it’ll add about a half our to our commutes, but we have our eye on a super conveniently-located preschool that takes kids at 1 year and up, so we’ll probably make the switch after he turns a year anyway.

With that long intro out of the way, here’s what’s happening with baby and me at 26 weeks…

Baby is now about 14 inches long and almost two pounds. Wow! His hearing should be developing more this week, and he’s both inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid in order to prep his lungs for breathing on the outside. It’s such a strange thought that they breathe in fluid but don’t drown. Little things like that make you realize what a miracle this process really is. He’s kicking like crazy, and the other night I got to watch him put on quite a show. My belly was bouncing all around like it had a mind of its own… and I guess technically it does. Funny, one of the blogs/pregnancy calendars I follow notes that the earlier butterfly kicks have been “replaced by something akin to a rabid mongoose flippin’ out inside a burlap sack.” Hahaha… I’m not sure if mine are that bad (maybe thanks to the anterior placenta?) but it’s a funny visual, and some days it does feel like he is in there doing gangnam style or something.

Mama is still dealing with the sciatic pain. It seems to be worse after I’ve been really active during the day (you know, doing things like painting dressers and spray painting lamps??). My mom offered to loan me her exercise ball to sit on at work, and I think I may need to book myself a massage sooner than later. D and I went to a movie last night and I just could not get comfortable, and spent the whole movie squirming and readjusting, trying to alleviate the sciatia. (On a side note, go see Silver Linings Playbook if you haven’t already. Jennifer Lawrence certainly earned her Oscar nomination, and Bradley Cooper is always nice to look at too.) But other than the sciatic pain, I’m feeling pretty good… that is, if you don’t count barfing this morning after I fed the dogs. It’s strange how the morning sickness creeps back in every now and then briefly, even at almost 6 months pregnant. Weight gain this week was .6 lbs. for a total now of 13.2 lbs.

I snapped a picture yesterday just before yoga class and can’t believe how big I’m getting. Crazy to compare the same outfit at 19 weeks and 13 weeks. The funniest part is, at the time I took each of those pictures, I remember thinking how huge I looked then. I find that laughable now, which makes me wonder if I’ll be looking back at this picture in 6-7 weeks thinking about how tiny I looked?? Yikes!

health & body, planning, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

25 weeks.

January 24, 2013 Keeping up with the Hoffmans

Wow, I think pregnancy brain is getting the best of me. I just realized today that I haven’t done my 25 week update yet… and then I thought, wait, or have I? I actually had to check. You’d think I’d remember writing it or not. But then again, I’ve been spacing on a lot of stuff lately. Like on Saturday we were invited to our friends’ baby’s first birthday party, and I swore it started at 2 p.m. I went about my Saturday morning like I usually do, left for yoga class at 10, and told D I’d be home around 12:30. Got out of yoga at noon and looked at my phone only to see I had 4 missed calls and 2 text messages from D letting me know the birthday party started at 11. Whoops. So I rushed home as fast as I could and we rushed off to the party, only to arrive a little after 1. Only two hours late… that’s just fashionable, right? Whoopsies.

So, here’s my 25 week update, 4 days late…

Baby is now about 13.5 inches from head to toe, and weighs about a pound and a half. Big developments this week include packing on the baby fat and growing more hair. Also this week, baby is learning to distinguish right side up from upside down, which seems to make sense, since he moves the most when I go from a standing position to laying down. I think throughout the day he probably gets used to me being upright, but when I lay down to go to bed he gets super squirmy – I picture him readjusting in there to orient himself and get comfortable again.

Mama is feeling pretty good, aside from being a space cadet and still dealing with sciatic pain. I’m finding it a little hard to get comfortable at night, and even just finding a comfortable position on the couch at the end of the day is hard sometimes. Thankfully, sitting at my desk isn’t too bad, though I don’t have the greatest office chair, so even though it doesn’t feel terrible while I’m sitting, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s contributing to my back issues. I think I am definitely going to buy an exercise ball to sit on (I know I’ve said that before…). I have some spa gift certificates that I was going to save for later in the third trimester, but maybe I should use one now. Not sure if a massage would help the sciatic pain, but it might. Otherwise, I’m feeling pretty good. Not too tired yet, and the weight gain seems to be coming along at a slow and reasonable pace. In fact, at my last appointment my doctor even commented on how well I’m doing with my weight this pregnancy. I’m up .4 lbs this week for a total weight gain now of 12.6 lbs. Next doctor appointment is February 15, where I’ll get to take the lovely gestational diabetes test. Not looking forward to that!

Other stuff: I’m still working on the nursery, and I sanded and primed the dresser we want to use as a changing table last weekend. I’ll probably paint it this weekend. Next project is going to be a mobile I’m making for above the crib, and then I need to either buy or DIY some sort of artwork for above the changing table. I’m also thinking about painting the trim work in the room white (it’s currently wood-toned), and I’m on the lookout for a nice reasonably-priced rug to tie the whole room together.

We’re also up to our necks in our daycare search, which is turning out to be a bit stressful, as it seems everywhere we look is either full or only has one opening left. We toured a Kindercare facility on Tuesday and while it was “just okay,” it didn’t really make a great impression on us. It was pretty chaotic in there, and they may or may not even have an opening for us. The director was going to look at their availability and get back to me on that. We’re seeing a home daycare this evening which has potential except for the fact that it’s not super conveniently-located and they have a hard stop at 5 each day. D would most likely have pick-up duty, so we’ll have to talk about whether that will work with his schedule. It’s about $100 cheaper per week than the Kindercare, though, and I liked the daycare provider on the phone a lot when I spoke with her. We’re going to tour two more daycare centers next Tuesday, and I have one other home daycare provider I still need to call. Hopefully we can find something we like and get in before it’s completely full!

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

24 weeks: viability!

January 14, 2013January 14, 2013 Keeping up with the Hoffmans

As of yesterday I reached the point of viability, AKA v-day! Legally, that means doctors would do everything they could to save him if he were born now. Statistically, that means baby would have between a 40-70% chance of survival if he were born now, so obviously we want to keep him in there for much longer! But by 26 weeks that chance goes up to about 80-90%. Full term isn’t considered to be until at least 37 weeks – the point where baby would most likely have no lingering health problems. And 39-40 weeks is considered optimal. So yeah, keep baking little boy!

At 24 weeks…

Baby is about a foot long now, maybe a little longer, and weighs a little over a pound. He is still very skinny, but this week he should be getting more baby fat and his skin should become less translucent, and taking on more of a pinkish tone. His lungs are developing “branches” and cells that produce surfectant, which will help them inflate once he’s on the outside. He’s been kicking like crazy, which is appropriate since my uterus is about the size of a soccer ball now. Earlier this week I got a kick (no pun intended) out of freaking out D. As I’ve mentioned before, he isn’t super sentimental about feeling the baby kick, and has even admitted it kind of freaks him out. Well, the other morning we were laying in bed and he was still asleep. I grabbed his hand and placed it on my stomach since I knew baby was kicking a bunch at the time. He was still half asleep when baby kicked SUPER hard. So hard that it jolted D awake and he jerked his hand away while yelping an expletive I won’t repeat here. I couldn’t stop laughing. I told him that was a small taste of what I’m experiencing (only I absolutely love the kicks and can’t get enough of them). 🙂

Mama is feeling pretty good this week. Aside from some pesky sciatic pain and a little bit of hip pain, that is. I’ve also had a tiny bit of heartburn, but nothing like the fire breathing dragon I felt like last week. All in all, a pretty good week, physically-speaking. Belly is continuing to get bigger and bigger… while my belly button is getting shallower and shallower. I’m up 1.6 lbs. this week for a total weight gain now of 12.2 lbs.

I’m kind of bummed I’m not getting the luscious pregnancy hair other women often get. I read that many women stop shedding hair while pregnant, which results in thick and healthy looking hair. I’m definitely still shedding hair, and my hair looks more dull and frizzy, if anything. I also feel like I’m totally missing out on that whole pregnancy glow. My skin is both dry and breakout prone at the same time. Funny how all the old wives’ tales say that girls steal your beauty but I feel like my little boy is! Maybe that means he’ll be one handsome dude? According to old wives’ tales, with girls you carry all over and with boys you’re all belly out front, but I definitely feel like I’m getting wider. I’ve resisted looking at a rear view of myself, but I have a feeling I am NOT the type of person who only looks pregnant from the front. I pretty much have no waist definition anymore! Oh well… 16 more weeks and mama can start getting her body back!

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

23 weeks.

January 7, 2013January 7, 2013 Keeping up with the Hoffmans

23 weeks pregnant – only one more week until viability! Hard to believe in less than a week, I will have a baby who is potentially capable of surviving on the outside. Not that I want him born anytime soon, but it’s slightly more comforting in my crazy brain to know that if he was born next week, the doctors would do everything they could to save him.

Things are starting to feel a bit more real. We’ve been working away on the nursery (I’ll have to write a separate post just about that!), we’ve got our registry about 99% done, and I now have two baby showers being planned for me – a family shower being thrown by my mom and sister-in-law on February 10 (I’ll be 28 weeks) and one some friends are throwing on March 30 (I’ll be almost 35 weeks). Then we’ll have about a month to finish everything up and get the rest of the items on our registry that we didn’t get as gifts. Yikes – less than 4 months to go now and I’m starting to get nervous we won’t be ready. We are in the process of looking into classes at the hospital – birthing classes, infant safety/CPR, newborn care and breastfeeding. I’m having a hard time convincing D to sign up, though. For one, they’re pricey (about $260 for all of them), and two, some friends of ours told us they left halfway through the birthing class because they thought it was lame. So now D is convinced he wants to ask around to some other friends to find out if it’s really worth it. Grr… Even if it is lame, we don’t know what we’re doing, so I really don’t see any alternative but to take them. Hoping he comes to his senses soon so I can get us signed up while the good time slots are still open.

Anyway, onto my 23 week update…

Baby is now almost a foot long, and the pancreas should be kicking into gear sometime this week. The other big news is that his lungs are getting stronger and stronger – an important factor in viability, as mentioned earlier. He is kicking like crazy now, and in the last couple days has learned a new trick – kicking me square in the bladder!

Mama is feeling pretty good right now, aside from the sciatic pain. It seems to alternate between flaring up on the right side for a couple days, then over to the left. On rare occasions I have felt it on both sides, which makes it really hard to get comfortable. The other thing that cropped up earlier this week was heartburn. Holy moly. I felt like someone had lit a match in the back of my throat, and it lasted for about three days straight. Haven’t had it for about two days though, so hopefully it’s gone now (knock on wood). Oh, and my tailbone hurts too, when I sit for very long. A girl in my yoga class mentioned that her tailbone BROKE during her last pregnancy. Yikes! Okay, so looking back at the paragraph I wrote, maybe I should retract my “feeling pretty good” statement. At least my hips haven’t hurt me for a while, so there’s something. My skin is also super itchy, and the coconut oil I thought was helping, suddenly isn’t anymore. I think I felt the best when I was using a cocoa butter lotion, so I’m going to go back to using that to see if it helps. As far as weight goes, I actually lost 1.4 lbs over the past week, bringing my total weight gain so far this pregnancy down to 10.6 lbs. Not sure I’m really supposed to be losing weight during pregnancy, but given my rapid gain over the holidays, I’m giving myself a pass this week. I’d like to maintain a healthy 1 lb gain per week, which would give me a 27-28 lb gain total (recommended amount is 25-35).

And now, another work bathroom picture, since that’s the only time I ever remember to take my weekly photo. 🙂

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

22 weeks (plus 21 week catch-up).

January 2, 2013January 2, 2013 Keeping up with the Hoffmans

I have been so bad about keeping up with this blog lately! Good thing I don’t have very many readers to disappoint. I’m blaming the holidays. The last time I skipped a week was at Thanksgiving, so that sounds like a plausible story. Yeah…

Anyhoo, I am now 22 weeks along. 22 weeks and 3 days to be exact. Here’s what’s going on with baby and me…

Baby is now about 11 inches long, or the size of a spaghetti squash. Or, as one hilarious pregnancy blog puts it, he’s about 1 inch shorter than your average 12-inch ruler (snicker). I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds these fruit comparisons a little ambiguous. But wow — 11 inches of baby residing in me. That’s a crazy thought. He should weigh about a pound by now too, which sounds like a lot, but what do I blame for the other 11 pounds I’ve gained? (Don’t answer that.) Weight aside, baby has definitely been kicking more lately! And he’s kicking strong enough to feel from the outside, as D got to experience a few days ago, though it wasn’t quite the magical moment I had hoped it would be. D says that it freaks him out. I think he’s seen the movie Alien one too many times.

Mama is feeling large. See weight gain reference above. Yes, I’m now up 12 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. They say 10-15 lbs. is where I should be right now, so I know I’m right on track, but I’ll admit it’s hard to accept these numbers I’ve never seen on the scale before! I’ve gained 4 pounds in two weeks, which again, is totally normal (they say 1-2 lbs. per week is what I should be gaining), but I also know I’ve been eating a lot of junk over the holidays, in addition to simply just eating a lot, period. I’m hoping now that the holidays are over, I can keep my weight gain closer to a pound per week. No sign of stretch marks still, which all the websites and books are saying may have started appearing by now. My stomach does itch a lot, though. I have been putting coconut oil on it which seems to help, and smells good too. My belly button is getting shallower by the day. I think it may disappear altogether in a few weeks, before popping out. Not really looking forward to the whole “belly nipple” look. Better wear my fitted shirts while I still can.

In the aches and pains department, I’ve been having a LOT of sciatic nerve pain lately. Thankfully, the hip pain seems to have decreased, so at least I’m not dealing with both. I think I may try sitting on an exercise ball at work to see if that helps. Even if it doesn’t help my back, it should help keep my core strong.

In other exciting news, we just started putting together the nursery! I’ve already painted the room, we found a great glider on Craigslist, and last night I started making the curtains. Still need to get a crib, and refinish/paint the dresser we’re going to use as a changing table. It’s all starting to feel real!

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

20 weeks: half-baked!

December 16, 2012December 16, 2012 Keeping up with the Hoffmans

Can’t believe I’m halfway done. In many ways, this pregnancy has felt like it’s flown by, but then I look back at the agony and worry I experienced making it to our first ultrasound, past our loss milestone, making it to 12 weeks so we could tell everyone, making it to our anatomy scan, etc., and I realize just how long it’s taken at the same time. What’s that expression about the days going by slowly but the years going fast? I can’t remember the exact phrase, but that’s basically how I’m feeling now.

At 20 weeks…

Baby is about 6.5 inches long now from crown to rump, or 10 inches from head to toe! For the first 20 weeks, measurement is taken from crown to rump, but going forward, standard measurements are from head to toe. I forgot to ask what my exact measurements were during my anatomy scan, but depending on which book or website you’re looking at, baby is about the size of a coconut or butternut squash. New this week, he (yay, I get to use gender-specific pronouns instead of “it!”) is beginning to produce meconium, or basically, black sticky poops. This stuff will just accumulate in his bowels, and will come out after birth (or sometimes just prior to or during). Apparently his heartbeat is now strong enough to be heard with a regular stethoscope, but I haven’t tested this yet. I did just listen to his heartbeat again this morning on my doppler, though, and it still sounds nice and strong, around 140 BPM.

Mama is starting to feel a little more movement, but still not a ton, thanks to my anterior placenta. I am a bit jealous of other women at my same stage of gestation who can feel more – and whose partners are already able to feel it from the outside – but I’m told I’ll appreciate this cushion my placenta provides later in pregnancy when he starts walloping me with those big feet of his!

New this week: my belly button is getting wider and shallower – and it itches from all the stretching! I’m trying to stay well-moisturized to prevent stretch marks – although everything I’ve read says that while moisturizing can help, stretch marks are mostly genetic. I don’t think my mom got any, so hopefully I get that lucky too!

I’m up .2 lbs this week, for a total weight gain of 8 lbs. now. Feeling pretty good about that since most books and websites say around 5-10 lbs is normal, so I seem to be right in the middle. And I haven’t noticed my face or thighs getting noticeably fatter yet, so it seems to be so far mostly belly and boobs. I’m trying not to get too hung up on my body, though. Women gain weight when they get pregnant, period. As long as I eat well (which I have been), my body is going to do what it needs to do. I can always work on losing weight later.

Hips are still killing me at night, and I still get the occasional round ligament pain, but other than that I’m feeling pretty good! I know I tend to write a lot about my aches and pains in this blog, but it’s mostly to be able to look back and remember what I was feeling at the time, and I know many women have/had it much worse – and at the end of the day I’m beyond thankful to still be carrying this baby – so I’m really trying not to complain. Here’s to hoping the second half of my pregnancy goes as well as the first!

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

19 weeks.

December 10, 2012December 10, 2012 Keeping up with the Hoffmans

Well, we are now at 19 weeks, and on the eve of our anatomy scan, which is tomorrow. Truth be told, I’m nervous. I’m excited to hopefully find out if this baby is a boy or girl (for the record, my gut says girl), but most importantly, I’m hoping everything is measuring and functioning normally, and that we have a healthy baby growing in there.

I’ll update the blog after our appointment tomorrow, but in the meantime, here’s what’s going on with baby and me at 19 weeks…

Mama has had a bit of a rough week, physically-speaking! As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been dealing with some aches and pains, and have been suddenly feeling very pregnant. Thankfully, since then, the morning sickness has at least disappeared again (hopefully for good this time!), but the insomnia and the hip and back pain is still going strong. I also notice that I get really winded if I bend over, like my lungs are getting smushed by all my other organs (which is probably true). Hard to believe I’m not even halfway done. I can only imagine what this will feel like as I get closer to 40 weeks… yikes!

Baby is kicking away in there and as of these last few days I’m finally at a point where I’m confident that it’s definitely baby I’m feeling – yay! Baby is now about 6 inches long – about the size of a mango, and is now coated in vernix – a waxy substance that protects its skin from the amniotic fluid – you know, so it doesn’t get all pruney. Not a whole lot else to say about development at this point. Baby is fully assembled and now just needs to fatten up!

Well, that’s about it for now. Not a ton else to report this week! Here’s a picture I took on Saturday, just before yoga class. For comparison’s sake, take a look at me in the same top just before yoga class close to 13 weeks! Big difference!

health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

18 weeks.

December 3, 2012December 3, 2012 Keeping up with the Hoffmans

Today I am 18 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Almost halfway done, which is hard to believe. We had a doctor appointment last Monday, which went really well. I had mentioned previously that I was worried that maybe I wasn’t gaining enough weight, and that I wasn’t showing as much as I should by now. I also haven’t felt anything I can say for sure is movement, though I do still get those was-it-baby-or-was-it-gas flutters. Well, my appointment put all my concerns at ease. First off, I stepped on the scale, and let’s just say it’s apparent the holidays are taking care of the weight gain part! I’m now up about 6 lbs. from my pre-pregnancy weight. My doctor also said my uterus was growing nicely (without me even having to ask) during the exam. We heard a nice strong heartbeat and she said I will probably start feeling the baby move soon. All the baby books and websites say anytime between 16 and 20 weeks is normal to start feeling movement, but it was somehow comforting to hear my doctor say “soon” without just assuming that I had already. Hooray for being normal.

We also got to schedule our anatomy scan for December 11 – just 8 days away now! Originally I thought we’d get to go in for our anatomy scan this week, but my doctor said she would rather I come in around week 19 since the chambers of the heart are more developed by that point, which should give the technician a a more clear picture of whether it’s developing properly. I’m all for more clarity and will happily wait another week if it means less ambiguity. The last thing I’d want would be to come in and be told the heart looks small or underdeveloped, but have them not sure if it’s just because it’s too early to tell or if there is actually something wrong. The less I have to stress about, the better!

With that said, at 18 weeks…

Baby is about 5.5-6 inches long now — about the size of a sweet potato or bell pepper, depending on which website you’re looking at — and is yawning, hiccuping and swallowing away. Baby is also doing a lot of moving and kicking now, which I still have yet to definitively feel. I did feel something last night as I was trying to fall asleep — sort of like a fish flopping around type feeling. I think it might have been baby, but I am looking forward to that first poke or jab where I can say, yep, that was definitely the baby!

Mama is feeling pretty good right now, aside from some persistent sciatic pain. I do notice that I tire more easily, though, and bending over isn’t as easy as it used to be. D and I got our Christmas tree yesterday and I noticed I couldn’t lay on my stomach to get under the tree to tighten the stand. I tried laying on my side, but couldn’t get the right angle and finally had to give up and have D get under there while I held the tree. I felt kind of sick when I woke up this morning, and ended up throwing up when I fed the dogs. It’s strange — I have no nausea 99% of the time, but every now and then it just hits me again out of the blue. Feeling fine now, though.

I do think maybe I’m starting to show more. I snapped a photo in the work bathroom today, and noticed I’m wearing the same outfit as I was in my 15 week update. I think the belly might be poking out a bit more now…

house, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

17 weeks (plus 16 week catch-up).

November 25, 2012November 25, 2012 Keeping up with the Hoffmans

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.

friends & family, health & body, pregnancy, pregnancy, week-by-week

15 weeks.

November 12, 2012November 12, 2012 Keeping up with the Hoffmans

As of yesterday I am now 15 weeks along in my pregnancy. 25 more to go! Time seems to be going by a little bit faster now. I think getting the doppler was a good decision. I’ve used it twice now, but thankfully I’m not as obsessive about it as I was afraid I’d get. At least so far. The nice thing is that it doesn’t make the 4-5 week stretch between doctor appointments feel as long or daunting. Our next appointment is two weeks away, but it’s nice to feel like I don’t have to wait two weeks to find out if our baby is still okay, which is the feeling I was dealing with previously. Now, if I have any doubts, I can easily check its heartbeat any time I want, and that’s both comforting and puts a little less pressure and worry on the appointment days.

At 15 weeks…

Baby is approximately 4 inches long now – about the size of an apple – and is now busy “breathing” amniotic fluid. Legs are finally longer than its arms, which is making baby look more proportionate. Also, baby can now sense light, and can hear. Super cool. In fact, one of the apps I have on my phone told me that if I shine a flashlight at my belly, baby will probably move away from the light. Is it bad that I’m tempted to pester the kid to see if I can feel it? Most people start feeling movement around 16-18 weeks, but some people feel it as early as 14 weeks. I haven’t felt anything yet…

Mama is maybepossiblyknockonwood starting to feel better? I fed the dogs all weekend and this morning without any gag reactions. Still did gag once in the shower this morning, and full on threw up when I was emptying the food compost container yesterday, but I do think the gagging/barfing episodes are getting fewer and farther between. I think I might be going through a growth spurt, because the hunger has cranked up to nuclear level and I’ve had a LOT of round ligament pain these last couple days. I’m definitely starting to show more. I saw D’s sister, step sister and step mom yesterday and they all commented on my belly.

I met up with a friend for lunch on Saturday and she lent me all her maternity clothes, which is awesome! I also bought myself a couple things this weekend, so I finally feel like I have more to wear that fits me appropriately. Some of the stuff I borrowed is still too big or just looks frumpy without a belly to fill it out, but I’m sure I’ll appreciate that stuff when I’m bigger. I’m wearing a couple of the borrowed items today, including maternity jeans, a maternity top, and then my own cardigan over it. Feeling pretty comfortable. I can already see that it may be hard to give up the elastic band pants after I have the baby!