Nothing Special about Today

I'm now at sixteen weeks, 4 days (in the 4th month now). No movement yet, although I have eaten spicy food and sugar in the past few days just to see if that has any effect. Other than making me gassy and hyper, nothing. But, I'm a first-timer, and my recognition of movement may suck too!

I am SHOWING now, however, which makes me pretty excited.



I guess any real concerns I had about whether or not something was wrong have vanished. I feel good. I can relax. Maybe my last week at work was just a little too stressful. My ultrasound will be at nineteen weeks, 1 day. My baby will have a backbone I can see, more developed skull bones, and tooth buds for the PERMANENT teeth (the baby teeth buds are already there).

Next time I go to see the midwife for a checkup, I'll be halfway through the pregnancy. Wow.

Still Kicking

Even though I can't yet feel it, the baby is still in there, moving around, keeping a healthy 160+ bpm heart rate. I breathed a little sigh of relief as I crossed the 4 month threshhold, the sacred place where rate of miscarriage drops to below 3%.

However relieved I might be, tragedy fell on one of my Soldiers this week, as his wife miscarried after 3 months, 2 days. She'll have a D&C on Monday to remove her fetus, placenta, and excess tissue. I cannot imagine her pain (physical and emotional), trying to explain to her other two children why they won't be welcoming a sibling this winter, or carrying her dead child within her for nearly a full week before the procedure.

I pray for her full recovery, and for her husband's safe return from temporary duty across the country. He will need to be there for her!

15-5 and still alive?

Fifteen weeks, five days. This seems like a really accurate count, but of course it's not really anything more than counting from the last time "Aunt Flo" was in town.

For the first time, I have begun to wonder if my fetus has died. Right now, I have NO indication that anything is happening inside of me. I don't feel nauseous anymore, my breasts are not really tender anymore, and I still haven't gained any weight. My abdomen protrudes only slightly, so it's really hard for onlookers to say definitely, "Yep she's pregnant."

My appointment tomorrow will make me feel reassured. I just have to wait until then.

14 Weeks

So we're now on week 14 of this 40-week journey. I'm starting to feel better, although morning sickness still occurs once in a while. It actually hasn't been too overboard though, averaging once a week. I can live with that.

So far, no kicks or murmurs in the tummy. Although, depending on who you ask, it could be anywhere from 18-24 weeks for this first-timer, and according to AmericanPregnancy.org, the range could be from as little as 13 to as much as 25 weeks. How frustrating! I just want to feel a squirm (that doesn't turn out to be gas). Although many liken it to that feeling of bubble guts, I'm hoping I can tell the difference. Especially if I'm really trying to tune in for it.

The great news is, the second ultrasound is coming up next month. And for anyone who was wondering, NO - we're not going to find out the sex. AND we're not going to tell anyone the baby's name until after it's born. Not even the ones we've narrowed it down to! Exciting times are ahead. For everyone who even remotely cares.

Worst Idea Ever!

So I thought maybe I'd get my education on about labor and delivery. What better way than by checking out The Learning Channel? You learn stuff, and it's pretty well-documented. I'm sure they have great fact-checkers. So I watched "A Baby Story" on TLC, which (if you've never heard of it), is about the last couple of weeks of pregnancy, into labor and delivery, and a couple weeks after the parents are home. It's only a half-hour show. I watched two of them today.

So far, I have determined TWO major facts:

1. Watching "A Baby Story" will make me cry.
2. Watching "A Baby Story" has made me not want to give birth. Like, at all.

Drugs or no drugs, I do not want to force a huge noggin (because if I think about the size of my own head and the size of my husband's head, I have no chance of getting a break here)...out my (let me be polite) girl parts. This is a bad notion at this point, because it's pretty much unavoidable. I can't just remain pregnant, nor will the Army give me a Caesarean unless it's absolutely necessary to save my life. They didn't say if they'd do it if it were necessary to save the doctor's life, though. Maybe if I try to choke out the doctor...

See, if I could give birth, NOW (in the 13th week), my little infant is only 3 inches long from crown to rump (a little longer with the legs and all). I can manage that. Unfortunately, baby can't manage the outside world yet. By the time he or she can handle the outside world, I don't know if I can handle the childbirth!

Please, can't I just be comatose for that part?

12 Weeks, 5 Days

Not much to report these days. I am still not 100% over the "morning" sickness (because I just barfed at 1:30pm today). Overall, I'm starting to feel a little better though. Insomnia has just begun, and I think it's more stress-related than baby-related. I can't feel the little one moving yet but I know it's only a matter of time. Now that I've seen the bouncing baby (literally, bouncing) on the ultrasound, I know it won't be long before he or she is strong enough to say, "Hey, I'm here!!!"

To my chagrin, I am still not quite "pregnant" looking. I have a few maternity items just for the comfort, but I don't exactly require them yet. I can still fit some of my larger clothes, but even the fat jeans can't be buttoned anymore. I'll probably start wearing the maternity uniform this week since I haven't been able to button the pants for quite some time, and now I'm at the end of the belt. You can see below the utter lack of pregnantness. My "beer gut" (as I affectionately call it) will grow pretty soon, but I guess I didn't realize that it took more than three months to really appear pregnant. Here's hoping I don't go too crazy wishing for that "pregnant look" that I unwittingly gain 70 pounds!

So far, I've only lost ten...and gained zero.