I was G-chatting with my sister-in-law Liz this morning,
when she told me she wished she had kept a journal while pregnant because she
barely remembers a thing. I’ve toyed with the idea before, but it always seemed
like a huge commitment. Each time I attempted to put pen to paper – or fingers
to keyboard – I became overwhelmed with the seemingly monumental task of
chronicling every experience, emotion and sensation for the next 40 weeks. But,
time seems to be flying by and Baby V will be here before you know it! Which is
why today, at 18 weeks, I’m turning a new leaf and joining the tens of millions
of women who call themselves “mommy bloggers.” Bleh. So here goes nothing…
18 Weeks
I had my monthly OBGYN appointment yesterday and all went
well. I've gained 8 pounds since my first pre-natal appointment which was about
10 weeks ago. My total pregnancy weight gain is 13 pounds. As someone who has
been thin and fit my entire life, pregnancy weight gain terrifies me a bit;
maybe more than the thought of experiencing labor. (I’m sure my tune will change
soon enough.) However, I seem to be on target with my weight gain and I can
live with that. Normal pregnancy weight gain for a woman my size is between 25
and 35 pounds. If I can stay within that range, I’m going to treat myself to
something really expensive…followed by something really high-calorie…at the end
of this pregnancy.
Other updates from my latest doctor’s visit: The top of my uterus
(aka: fundal height) is at my belly button. We listened to Baby V’s heartbeat
on the Doppler and the heart rate was in the 140s. My blood pressure was perfect
for the first time since visiting this new doctor. If you don’t know this about
me, I suffer from major white coat hypertension. It stems from anxiety I have
with doctor’s offices in general, but it’s always worse when I’m at a new practice. My
pulse skyrockets as soon as they whip out the blood pressure cuff, and the
nurses always look at me like I’m some unstable, crazy person when they take the
reading. My pulse has been known to skyrocket to 120 bpm. WHAT is wrong with me?
But I digress…
This Monday is the most anticipated moment of my pregnancy
thus far. We have our anatomical survey ultrasound which will reveal the sex of
our Baby V! Vicente and I are beyond excited. The anticipation is killing me. I
used to say I’d wait until the birth of my child to find out the sex, but then realized
I’m way too impatient for that. Let’s not kid ourselves, Amber.
I’ve polled some of our friends and family on what they
think Baby V might be, and a majority of them are saying boy. I had a feeling
it was a boy at the beginning, but now that we’re so close to finding out, I
feel that it could be a girl. I’m 100% honest when I say I have no preference
either way. Here comes the cliché: all I want is a healthy, perfect, happy,
beautiful child with Vicente’s smile and my green eyes. Is that too much to
ask? I’m embarrassed to say I bought one of those silly “gender prediction kits” at Rite
Aid back when I was 10 weeks and it clearly said boy. Too bad there’s nothing
scientific about it.
I started feeling the baby move recently. It’s called “quickening”
but that term icks me out. It reminds me of oatmeal or quicksand or something.
The movement isn’t very pronounced just yet; it’s hard to detect unless I’m
really still and actually thinking about it. But what the books say is true: it
feels like little flutters. Sometimes I get some soft tapping like a leg or
hand is knocking me from the inside. At this stage, the baby changing positions is much more noticeable than the tiny fetal
movements.Yesterday morning at the doctor’s
office, I felt an uncomfortable pressure and a tiny jab of pain in the very
lower left side of my abdomen, close to my hipbone. When they pulled out the Doppler
to listen for the heartbeat, they determined that the baby was right where all
that pressure was. Hunkerin’ down as they say in H-town. I guess it wants to
snuggle up next to my colon. Go figures. This morning when I woke up, I
rolled over on my back and felt my tummy. Baby V was really high and balled up
to one side. Instead of having a nice round belly, I saw an odd protrusion that
looked more like a tumor than a baby bump. Sexy.
Yay, I'm glad you started this blog. Even if you only write on it every now and then - it's better than NOTHING and trying to remember (which you won't.) So excited to find out for sure that baby V is a BOY! :) Love all three of you so much <3
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