Belly Picture: 21.5 weeks

Well, it was about this time in my pregnancy with Andrea that I took my first pregnancy picture to show off the belly. So, to be fair, I have to put my insecurities aside and step in front of the camera to get a 5-month belly picture for this baby, too:

I am definitely showing a lot more, a lot earlier in this pregnancy than my first one, but I've heard that's not uncommon. In general, I'm finding my pregnancy is less noticeable to others this time, because I'm not wearing maternity clothes yet (well, except in this picture)--just over-sized clothes. I'm sure when I give in to the maternity clothes in a few weeks, people will realize that I'm not just large, I'm pregnant, too! ;p

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Here's a picture of Andrea posing with my belly and I. I put it in her blog, as well, but I thought it went with the entry here, too.

I think Andrea and her sibling will get a kick out of this picture some day. :))

5 months/20 weeks: Half Way There!

Today is a bit of a milestone in the pregnancy--we're half way there! :))

I went for my 5-month OB visit today, and Dr. P. said everything looks fine. My blood pressure was good; I've only gained 1 pound in the last month; the baby's heart rate was around 160 bpm today.

We will be getting another opportunity to see the baby in a few weeks. Dr. P. said not to worry, that all the info. they got from the last ultrasound said the baby was fine, it's just they weren't able to get all the measurements she wanted, because the baby wouldn't cooperate. So, I get to go for another ultrasound on April 5th.

Dr. Patel thinks the baby is a boy, because it's stubborn and won't cooperate--even when she was trying to measure the heartbeat with the fetal doppler, it kept kicking at the probe, and swimming away, again!

I think it's a girl, because everyone I know who has had a boy says that their boy "let it all hang out" on the ultrasound, and that's so typically male! Plus, I remember Andrea was also an "uncooperative" baby who required about three ultrasounds over a two-week period when I was at the same stage of pregnancy, with her.

Dr. P said she's also still planning on booking the echo-cardiogram with Dr. M. (specialist). I saw Dr. M. a few times when I was pregnant with Andrea, because of our Spina Bifida scare (which, thank goodness, turned out to be nothing). Again, Dr. P. said the baby's heart looked fine on the regular ultrasound, but Dr. M.'s echo-cardiogram is much more specialized and detailed, and that way we will be reassured that the baby has no hidden heart problems.

Oh, and I have definitely felt the baby moving around this week. I think I may have felt movement as early as 14 weeks this time, but this week it's definitely the baby. I usually notice it at night, when I'm relaxing. It's funny, I feel the movement most in the exact same spot I felt it with Andrea--on my lower left-hand side of my belly. These two seem to have a lot in common. :))

It's a . . . BABY!

Well, there you have it. Bud wouldn't cooperate with us today.

I have decided that I am so irritated with Bud, that Bud is now going to be referred to as "it," until such a time as "it" decides to reveal what sex "it" is. I hate calling babies "it," and that's why I want to know the sex, but Bud wouldn't cooperate--so "it," or "the baby," it is!

The good news is that it looks fine. We saw the baby's heart beating. It was also waving its hand, stretching out its legs (although not when we wanted it to!), and opening and closing its mouth. We saw a really clear picture of its footprint. The baby is measuring 18 weeks exactly.

The technician tried, two separate times, to determine the baby's sex--but it kept both legs curled up, right against its bum, even when she tried to jiggle it a bit!

Anyway, here are the ultrasound pictures of the baby:

For a bigger view, click this link: http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4894002 . This picture is labeled, with stuff like: head, hand, spine, shin, thigh, etc.

I'm sorry I sound so bitter just because we didn't find out if it's a boy or a girl. I am TRULY grateful that the baby appears to be healthy and happy in there. :))