Today I am 16 weeks pregnant. My little Chap/Chiki is (by averages) nearly 4oz and almost 5″ tall. Complete with all body parts in place, and his/her sole job is to grow bigger and stronger for another 24ish weeks.
Susi came for my second prenatal last week and gave me the A.O.K. for another month. My uterus is growing just as it should, and after reviewing my diet diary she had no recommendations except to keep doing the same.
Susi tried to hear my baby’s heart beat with her fetascope, but not luck yet. She didn’t expect to hear it yet though, as it could be closer to 20 weeks before she can pick it up with the ultrasound doppler. Since everything else is perfect, and I have begun feeling movement, we decided it wasn’t necessary to expose Chap/Chiki to the ultrasound.
A couple days later, I have to admit, I started over thinking the fact that this baby’s movements feel lighter and less consistent than I remember the others at this point, so to reassure myself I used my doppler and found a nice steady heart rate of 150bpm!
I also had my blood drawn for a Complete Blood Count test, to check (among other things) my blood volume, iron level, and white blood cells. I declined the more standard Prenatal Panel testing, partly because of the cost and partly because I already know my blood type and antibody statuses.
Most of my regular clothes have been packed away and I’m sporting maternity wear, woo hoo! People can see that I am pregnant now without my telling them so.
My nausea is basically gone, other than in response to my unusual aversion to brewing coffee, which I normally love the smell of. And while sotries of late miscarriages and very preterm babies seem to be more common among aquaintances lately, I’m feeling more confident about preparing for this unexpected gift, and already feeling very attached.
I’m still nervous about how my left hip is going to hold out this time. I was in constant, intense pain for the second half of Pal’s pregnancy, and even though I know it can be different this time, I’m already feeling aching in my left sitz bone. Please pray for me! This could either be mild discomfort, or a very. very. long. pregnancy.
On a much more pleasant note, I think this baby is a boy. I usually don’t get strong feelings about gender until later in the pregnancy (I’ve been right about all three!), so I might change my mind, but I’m just getting a sense like this will be Chap. We’ll find out in March!
