Sixteen weeks

I'm almost halfway there!

Lately I've been experiencing something I never thought would happen... I am beginning to really hate eating. It's such a chore! I am constantly hungry and I have a hard time finding anything I want to eat more than once. It makes grocery shopping terrible. I'm hoping it won't stay like this and that I will find some healthy foods that both taste and sound good to me more than one time per week. We'll see!

As of right now:

• How far along? 16 weeks!
• Weight - down 7 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight
• Current cravings & aversions - nothing in particular - NO tomatoes!
• Symptoms - head aches - lower back pain - round ligament pains - bursts of energy!
• I'm looking forward to - finding out baby's gender - getting a "baby bump"
• Milestones - I felt our little one's movement last week! The "quickening" I felt was baby bouncing around like crazy. It felt like butterflies or like our baby was doing somersaults and back flips! I loved it!
• Gender - we find out in 3 weeks!!!
• About Baby - about 4.5 inches from head to rump - about 3.5 ounces - in the next few weeks, Baby will almost double in size! - heart rate was 149 bpm at Dr. appointment yesterday and measuring perfectly on schedule! - Baby's ears are almost completely developed and should be able to hear sounds made by Mom or Dad (hey, that's us!) - eyebrows, lashes, and hair are starting to fill in and taste buds are forming.

It's been so amazing to learn about our little one. There are times when I have an overwhelming feeling of gratitude to God for sending this little one our way. Every little step in the baby-developing process is beautiful and fascinating to me and I can't wait to meet our sweet baby.

OH! I had appointment yesterday and got to hear our baby's heart beat again. This time it was much clearer and very strong. 149 beats per minute! Any interference that came through while we listened was our little tumbler practicing gymnastics.

After the appointment, Drew and I couldn't stop smiling and talked a lot about how real it's becoming. Still so surreal though. We, Drew and Carissa, are going to be "Daddy and Mommy" in less than 5 months.

2nd Trimester!

Pregnancy is one of the strangest things I have ever experienced. I don't know my body anymore, and when I think I'm starting to understand it again, something completely out of the blue happens and I'm confused all over again. I'm growing a living being inside, and I can't help but be grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with this opportunity to care for and harbor His little one. I am more in love with and more grateful for Drew than ever before. He has been the perfect support for a cranky, moody, crying-out-of-nowhere pregnant wife.

Overall, I think pregnancy agrees with me. I haven't been very sick; I only threw up once, and I don't think the "morning sickness" will be coming back since it seems to have subsided almost entirely. That was what I was the most terrified about because I hate getting sick. (Does anyone truly like it? I didn't think so.)

As of today:

• How far along? 14 weeks - 2nd trimester!

• Weight - down 4 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight

• Current cravings - ice cold water, bagels with jalapeno cream cheese, cheeseburgers, watermelon, white grape juice, egg salad sandwiches, Wegman's subs, wings, vinegar, dill pickles, hummus, activity!

• Food aversions - tomatoes, anything too acidic, the smell of garlic

• Symptoms - back aches, major fatigue, head aches, constant hunger, hourly (or even more) trips to empty my smushed bladder

• I miss - being fine with whatever I eat; not needing to eat every hour or so

• I'm looking forward to - others being able to tell that I'm prego; feeling Baby move; finding out if our baby is a girl or a boy!

• Gender - unknown, but we find out in 6 weeks or less! Not-so-secretly hoping our baby is a boy.

• Baby - is able to suck its thumb and wiggle its fingers and toes! Baby is starting to develop the ability to move its eyes (even if it won't open them for another 3 months). Baby's liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop while lanugo (thin, downy hair) grows all over Baby's body for warmth.

 

Wow, it's so amazing that I'm growing such a wonderful little baby!

We've got another doctor appointment scheduled for the 28th (week 16), so we'll hopefully hear our little one's heart beat again!