Update

Unfortunately, there hasn't been much to update since last week's doctor's appointment. My belly is growing slowly but steadily, and I keep meaning to take a picture to post. I'll try to do that soon. I haven't fel the baby move, and I'm sure that what I felt two weeks ago was not the baby, just something else. Mj and I are now just counting down until our vacation to San Diego on April 4th.

Baby's Growth

Your pregnancy: 18 weeks

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Doctor's Appointment

I had my montly doctor's appointment this afternoon. Everything is very much on track, and it was neat because he showed me how I can lay down and feel the baby inside me. I feel kind of bad poking at the baby like that, but it's pretty amazing. I can't wait until MJ can feel the baby too!! The other good thing about this appointment is that I got to schedule my next ultrasound. We go back on April 16th, and that will be my next appointment and the ultrasound. Patsy and MJ will come with me, and the baby will actually look like baby rather than a little shrimp!! So, that will be pretty neat to see. The bummer is that it is the last ultrasound the doctor does. That means that we would have to go the remaining 20 weeks without seeing the baby anymore. I think that around 30 weeks we'll be going to an ultrasound clinic in Toledo where you can get additional ultrasounds done, but insurance won't pay for it. We're okay with that, it's only $75, and that's totally worth it for us to be able to see our baby again. Besides, at 30 weeks we'll be able to see every facial feature. But, that's still a long ways off. The next 4 weeks will go slowly enough while we wait for our ultrasound, I can't wait!!

Your pregnancy: 17 weeks
Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

Baby's Growth

Your pregnancy: 16 weeks

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

P.S. I have now gained 3 lbs. and am starting to have my belly stick out a little more. I'll try to post some pictures next week.

Felt Baby?

Yesterday around 6:30 pm we were in the car, and I think I may have felt the baby. I'm not sure because I've heard it described as popcorn popping or a goldfish swimming around in there, but that often it's just gas, not the baby. Well, I don't know which it was for sure, but it sure felt like popcorn popping or being poked from the inside. Our scientific way of determining whether it was the baby or gas was whether or not I passed gas within 10 minutes. I didn't, so, we're going ahead with our belief that it was the baby!! I'll be paying more attention in the next few days, because apparantely you're supposed to feel it regularly and around the same time each day. I still don't really look any different, but I'm starting to see teeny tiny changes, so I'm thinking that in the next few weeks things will start to look a little different.

Mj is leaving today for his business trip in New Orleans, so I'll be home alone until Friday night.

Baby's Heartbeat

We rented a fetal doppler, just like the one they use at the doctor's office, so that we can listen to the baby's heartbeat anytime we want. It's amazing how available technology is. You can rent these from medical equipment companies and from the internet for only about $30 a month. So, yesterday we finally had success with it after a few days of hunting for the baby. On Monday, when it arrived, we were so excited to find a strong heartbeat almost immediately, but when I did the math it was 100 beats per minute, so that was me. A baby's heartbeat is much faster. But, last night we finally got it! It was 152 beats per minute. The cool thing about this machine is that it records the hearbeat, so we have uploaded it here for everyone to hear!! Click on the link to hear.
http://www.box.net/shared/m86gcv4qym