This photo was technically taken at 16 weeks, but I'll be 17 weeks tomorrow and so far Baby A is growing by what feels like leaps and bounds. I'm pretty sure I'm bigger now than even in the above picture from a week ago. I don't think I'm going to make it too many more weeks before I have to make the jump to official maternity pants. I'm sure my waste will thank me for finally giving up on the effort to squeeze into my regular plants. My sweet mother-in-law mailed me a belly sock, so it's probably about time I gave it a whirl.
My last OB appointment was at 15 weeks. I was able to hear Baby A's heartbeat with the doppler. It was quite fast, but I'm not sure what that indicates (per old wives tales) as far as boy or girl. At 15 weeks, I had only gained 5 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight, so I think I'm on track though I certainly feel as though I've gained - or at least grown - more since then. The doc in my prenatal class tonight said that you can expect to gain about 5 pounds in the first trimester and another 10 each in the second to third trimesters. I've heard other guidelines also though, one being that at about 12 weeks you start gaining a pound week.
At 17 weeks, Baby A weighs about 5 ounces and is around 5 to 6 inches long from head to bottom - roughly the size of either a turnip or onion depending on which baby website you check and it's specific fruit/vegetable guide. S/he can move its joints, its skeleton is changing from rubbery cartilage to hardened bone, sweat glands are forming, sense of hearing is developing, and apparently though the eyelids are still sealed, Baby A is now sensative to light. If I shined a flashlight on my belly it might shift away from the light; though I can't quite feel its movements yet, that too is coming in the upcoming weeks. And we have unique fingerprints this week also!
We are scheduled for our anatomy ultrasound on February 7 and will shortly thereafter announce the gender of Baby A. I'm looking forward to this ultrasound which will provide us with lots of details on the growth and development of baby.
Baby and I are still enjoying our hour-long Saturday morning spin (indoor cycling) classes and I'm trying to also put in some time on the ellyptical and/or treadmill a few other times during the week. I'm also trying to really increase my water consumption to stay hydrated, which means I'm running to the bathroom even more than normal for pregnancy. This has also made it a little harder to sleep at night, along with crazy pregnancy dreams which wake me up at wierd hours. I hear that's all just part and parcel for the course. Overall we are feeling great, and I really have no complaints.
Saturday we braved Buy Buy Baby with my sweet parents, who kindly offered to come along and help us navigate the bazillion models of carseats and strollers you can choose from. I was proud of myself for not hyperventilating in the store. We focused just on looking at the carseats and strollers and trying to find the models we liked (aka, I could lift, collapse, etc. on my own) which Robert knew had been rated highly on Consumer Reports.
Two hours later, after we pretty much had narrowed down the carseats to two to three models I liked best and made zero progress on the strollers, we collapsed, exhausted, in the recliner section. In about 20 minutes we had identified the nursery rocker/ottoman set we want, so in a way that felt like victory. As you can see, Dad took his job of trying out the rockers pretty seriously while mom and I looked over the upholstry options. I think at that point Robert was dilerious.
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