16 Weeks 3 Days - Bump Pic

Hello everyone, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post so I thought I'd give a little status update.  I think I'm officially entering the "honeymoon" period of this pregnancy.  Feeling much better overall - almost normal energy level, nausea has completely disappeared.  Still hungry all the time and eating a lot, but I don't get that sick feeling when my stomach is empty anymore.  

I've done a fair amount of shopping for maternity clothes in the last couple of weeks.  I find it so relaxing compared to normal shopping.  The customer service is great - free bottles of water, restrooms, attentive staff.  And I like only having a limited selection - you just pick what fits and buy it, with none of the usual anxieties about whether there might be something better at another store, or if you should wait for things to go on sale.  So simple!

I got a couple of requests on my last post for a bump picture, so I finally got around to taking some (see below).  And for the rest of this update I think I'll shamelessly steal from a bunch of other ladies in terms of format.  I'm off for my last vacation starting this Friday - will be spending a week in California (SF, Napa, and Yosemite), cannot wait.  Will post again when I'm back!

How far along: 16 Weeks 3 days

Weight Gain: 11 - 12 pounds – yikes!  I've kinda stopped weighing myself because it's too alarming to see the weight piling on, and I don't think I'm going to change anything in terms of my behavior.  This isn't the time to start dieting, so it will be what it will be.  And what it will be is huge!!

Baby: According to BabyCenter, the little ones are now 4.5 inches, or around the size of an avocado.  So I have 9 inches of baby inside me right now!

Symptoms: Can feel my stomach and the extra weight when I walk now.  My legs are definitely more tired than normal when I've been on my feet for a while.  I can only imagine how it's going to feel later on!  Nipples have gotten swollen and very tender in the last couple of weeks.  Hair is thicker, and I've noticed that it doesn't get greasy anymore, even after a couple days of not washing it.  I have also developed Linea Niagara (a dark line down the center of my belly) - my husband finds it fascinating.

Sleep: Sleeping pretty well except I have to get up to pee all of the time.  No matter what I do I always seem to be dehydrated in the middle of the night.  So then I drink water all night, which leads me to pee all night.  But I'm able to go back to sleep each time no problem.  I know this because I've been having the craziest, most vivid dreams every night.

Movement: I think I might have felt my first kicks this morning!  I woke up to 3 or 4 sharp little popping sensations on my right side, accompanied by slight pain with each one.  I can't be sure that's what it was, but I really think it might have been the baby kicking!

Best Moment of the Week: My husband's face when I told him I felt the baby kick this morning - pure bliss.

What I’m Looking Forward To: My vacation in California starting this Friday.  And when we get back I'm really looking forward to our 19/20 week anatomy scan.

Gender: No clue, can't wait to find out!

Bumpdate: Okay, first pics are below.  I am wearing a non-maternity dress because it's more fitted and makes me look a lot smaller (except for my boobs, which look huge no matter what!)  When I wear looser maternity clothes I look way more pregnant.  I am going to start taking more pictures now that the belly is definitely here.  This is going to be a (hopefully) once in a lifetime experience, so I should document it!

14 Weeks

Today I am 14 weeks - can't believe how fast things are going.  My belly is definitely protruding now, and many people have asked me if I am pregnant in the last couple of weeks.  We did decide to go public with the news last week, and it's been both scary and fun telling people.  I do have some lingering worries about "jinxing" the pregnancy by telling people, but I'm trying not to stress too much.

We got our results from the NT Scan, and we came back fairly low risk.  We could have been lower, but the results were in a range that we felt comfortable saying we wouldn't do an amnio.  There are two other blood tests for Down's that I will do next week, one of which is fairly new.  Apparently between all three tests (NT, plus these two blood tests) your certainty rating goes up to 99%, so that's the option we are going to go with.  I just don't want to risk miscarriage with the amnio.

I saw my OB a few days ago for a monthly checkup.  She did a very quick ultrasound and we saw both hearts beating nice and strong.  Her eyebrows went up a little when she saw my weight gain (6 pounds since the last appointment!)  She said I was still fine but I should aim for more like 1/2 lb to 1lb weight gain per week (not >1lb!)

Luckily I think my appetite is starting to diminish a little bit, so I'm hoping I won't need to shovel food in my mouth nonstop in order to avoid feeling sick anymore.  I'm not feeling a whole lot more energetic - still pretty darn tired most of the time - so exercise is still a challenge.  I asked my doctor to check if I had anemia, as I've been feeling unusually tired the last couple of weeks.

Other than that, it's been a pleasant week.  We've had a couple of guests in town and lots of social activities, which has been a nice change of pace from my relative isolation in the first trimester.  I've also just finished planning our last vacation until the babies come - we're going to San Francisco to see my brother, then Yountville for a day to visit some friends and eat at a Thomas Keller restaurant, then Yosemite for a few days.  I'm excited, it's been a while since I've left New York.  I want to see trees and mountains and sky...

I hope everyone is doing well.  A couple of you are due any minute now and I'm eagerly awaiting your first baby pictures!