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!!

New pictures!

We've had an eventful couple of weeks here lately so I thought I'd post some pics of all the goings on! 1st is a picture of us from Kylie's 1st dance recital, then we were off to Catherine's college graduation, and finally a shot from Aaron's lingerie shower we had here at the house!

I felt the baby!

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting on the couch writing out a menu for a shower I'm hosting this week when I felt the baby move for the first time!! It stopped me from doing what I was doing almost immediately. I sat very very still for a few moments and sure enough, I felt it a few more times. It was like a hard flutter or a bubble floating around in my lower belly. It felt like baby was changing position or doing little somersaults!

All my pregnancy books have told me that I should start feeling something anytime now and it was so exciting when it finally happened. I haven't felt anything else since yesterday which they say is normal. Hopefully around 20 weeks the movement will start becoming more frequent. I can't wait to have that constant reminder that there's a little baby growing inside me!

Future Appointment Updates

After my checkup yesterday, they scheduled 2 more upcoming appointments. The first is scheduled for May 29th and that's when I'll get my 18 week AFP blood test to check for more genetic defects. Here's a quick blurb on this test:

"The alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) test is available to women between their 15th and 20th week of pregnancy to screen for fetal abnormalities. This simple blood test measures the level of a protein called alpha-fetoprotein which is secreted by the liver of the fetus and enters the mother's blood stream. Elevated levels of AFP may indicate an increased risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida or anencephaly, while low levels suggest Down Syndrome or other chromosomal defects. "

The 2nd appointment we scheduled was for a 20 week anatomy ultrasound which is going to be on June 11th. I am particularly excited about this one since we'll finally know if baby Harris is a boy or a girl!! I just hope I can make it another 5 weeks without going crazy wanting to know! :)

5/7 Dr. Appointment

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 15 week checkup and everything looks good! Baby Harris's heart is beating at 150bpm which is good and normal. Baby's growing and my tummy is quickly expanding but I've only gained 3 lbs. so far (which I'm very pleased about!). My blood pressure is still good and it's staying consistently in the normal range. Hopefully everything will stay normal throughout the next 25 weeks as well!

Nothing really big to report right now. I'm still pretty congested and my allergies are taking their toll, but the doctor said Benadryl and Claritin are ok for me to take to control symptoms. I also bought a humidifier to try and naturally remedy my symptoms so I'm not consistently popping meds. I know they're supposed to be safe, but pregnant or not, it can't be good for anyone to be taking medicine constantly.

Sleeping is still a big of a chore. I was having a hard time getting comfortable because sleeping on your back is not recommended in the 2nd trimester and that was my most comfortable position. Sleeping on my stomach always made me feel like I had to pee and with all my congestion I was having a hard time breathing that way. Your left side is the optimal side to sleep on when pregnant but I could never fall asleep in that position. We did some research and Ryan ended up buying me a "pregnancy pillow" to help me get some rest. It's a J shaped pillow that kind of hugs your body and helps keep you on your side and stay comfortable. It really has helped me feel more comfortable and sleep better, but unfortunately it doesn't prevent me from waking up at 2, 4, and 6am to use the bathroom!

Here's a picture of my new pillow!