Appointment - 5/23

I had my 17 (almost 18!) week checkup yesterday and things are moving along great! My blood pressure is still normal and baby's heart rate was 145 bpm. The heart rate is consistently going down and Dr. Keith explained that since baby is getting bigger, his/her little heart doesn't need to pump quite as fast to keep everything going smoothly.

The always exciting portion of the visit where I get weighed made me a little nervous this time around though, because Ryan and I have both noticed that my belly is quickly expanding! In fact, I've gained 4lbs. in the past 4 weeks for a total so far of 7 lbs. Now, to anyone who has ever been concerned about their weight, seeing that kind of jump can make you feel a bit queasy! However, I expressed my concerns with my doctor and she actually applauded me for doing such a good job and said that the 7 lb. gain should be nothing but baby! She even said that by halfway through your pregnancy (20 weeks), the average person should have gained about 10 lbs. and also mentioned that her average patient gains nearly 20 lbs. by the halfway point! I've only got 2 weeks until I'm halfway there and unless my voracious appetite gets the better of me, I should be right on schedule.

At the end of my visit I had some blood work done to check for neural tube defects in baby. It's called the AFP test and I should have my results back on Tuesday. I have been taking my prenatal vitamins and folic acid (which helps prevent neural tube defects) consistently, so hopefully everything will be ok.

Well, it's now 7:30 a.m. and time for my morning nap! :) We're headed to Columbia later today for Ryan's nephew's Eagle Scout ceremony and then to a neighborhood cookout honoring one of the neighbor's sons who is getting married next month. We're also looking forward to spending Sunday in Simpsonville at Freedom Weekend Aloft and watching all the hot air balloons take flight! I'll post pictures soon!!