18 Weeks/5 Months!

Today I am 18 weeks, which marks the beginning of the fifth month!  It feels big.

This week the baby is probably about 5 1/2 inches from head to rump.  He or she is also busy flexing his/her arms and legs ... which I have yet to feel.  Today I thought I felt something that resembled the flutter people have described, but it's hard to be sure.  We were at the emergency vet's office with our beloved dog, Cleo, and I was very agitated, when all of a sudden I felt a little something.  I can't be sure if I was imagining it or not, but Jeremy said the baby could tell I was mad and was kicking me to tell me to snap out of it.  This baby is definitely taking after, bossy baby!


If the baby is a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place.  If it is a boy, his genitals will finally be noticeable by ultrasound, even though we will not have our big ultrasound for another two weeks.  


HOWEVER, there is BIG news on the gender front.  Brace yourselves.  Last night, Jeremy said he had decided that it was most important that *I* be happy, and if that meant finding out the gender, he was on board.  I am still a bit confused.  He claims he is sincere, but I think there might be a chance he is using some sort of Jedi mind trick on me and is just trying to get me to change MY mind and want to wait.  Oh well, because it is only SLIGHTLY working.  I feel bad, but have not a SINGLE doubt in my mind that I want, nay NEED, to know the sex of the baby and that knowing will put my mind at ease and allow me to plan the way I would like.  More updates on that as they happen.


As far as me, I am doing well.  I am struggling with insomnia and being unable to breathe or get into a comfortable position in bed, but I knew that was coming and know it will just get worse.  It's no fun, but I know it could be worse.  During the day, I generally feel great.  Unless I go too long without eating.  Jeremy discovered that yesterday on a short road trip we took.  Not pretty.  I will just have to get better about packing food.  


Overall, all is well, I am really excited to be 5 months pregnant, and I can't wait for the ultrasound!!

16 Weeks and Lots of Updates

I don't know why, but sixteen weeks seems "big" to me, like a substantial marker in the land of pregnancy.  I have no facts to back up why I feel this way, but that's true for a lot of things in life.

This week the baby is probably about 5 inches long and weighs around three ounces.  The fun things growing this week are on the theme of "tiny":  toenails (!!), eyebrows and eyelashes (!!!), and all of the tiny bones in the ears -- so the baby can hear and recognize my lovely voice.  I'll have to remember to talk and sing to him/her more often.  Actually, last night Jeremy had a little conversation with the baby.  I have been having some sharp pains that come and go (the doctor says I am fine), and I got one while I was talking to Jeremy.  He asked, "baby?" and I nodded, so he got real close to my belly and said "Hey, baby, can you please stop hurting your mom?  She is working really hard to grow you, so stop that nonsense in there."  Then he kissed my belly and I melted into a tiny pool on the floor.  What a guy!


Overall, however, I am doing MUCH better than those first three dramatic months.  I don't feel "amazing," but I feel solidly "good," almost normal, and that is leaps and bounds away from all the feelings of death I was feeling only a few short weeks ago.  I guess I understand now how women say you will forget all the bad parts really quickly and get pregnant again, even if pregnancy is horrible.  So, there IS a chance this baby won't be an only child! 


In other breaking news, the "to know or not to know" debate is really gaining steam.  For those of you who don't already know, I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to know what we are having.  I want to plan and shop and decorate the nursery, and I want the baby to have SOME clothes that are not green or yellow.  Jeremy wants it to be a surprise, even though he knows surprises are at the top of my hate list.  At any rate, we both realize that the other has good reasons for feeling the way he/she does.  So ... I guess it is not really heating up so much as it is at a standstill.  Oh well.


One thing that we do seem to be in agreement with is keeping the baby's name a secret until he/she is born.  Or, rather, it is really important to me and Jeremy is willing to play along.  


AND we have a boy's name that we both really like and we are 99% sure we will use if the baby is a boy, which is VERY exciting for us, since this is the first name we have agreed on in the six years we have been discussing baby names!  Victory!  We have a name that we both like for a girl, but I have one small hang-up with it.  Jeremy's homework is to make that go away, and I will be on board for the girl's name too.  So, even if we don't learn the sex, at least I will know that the names are all ready to go and I won't have to panic when I go into labor! 


Well, that was a long post, but fun for me.  I keep trying to post more so I can use this to look back on in years to come and remember all these little things.