Happy News

So, Alan and I are expecting our first little baby on September 9th. We are so excited!! I am 18 weeks along (that just shows how bad I am about updating my blog :p), and I just started getting a baby bump at around 16 weeks. The baby bump is really exciting to me, because during my first trimester it felt like nothing was happening... I wasn't very sick, I didn't have a Midwife appointment until week 11, and my stomach was stubbornly staying flat. So now, it finally feels like I am making some pregnancy progress! (I know that is silly).

I think I am starting to feel the baby move everyday, but it's not a strong, definite kick sensation yet. It is more like little popcorn kernels popping or something. I feel it in distinct spots every time... all in the area the baby should be right now... so I'm pretty sure it's the baby. In the next few weeks I'm hoping to start feeling those movements a little stronger.

Next Monday is our big ultrasound appointment, and we definitely want to find out the gender. I can't wait to find out!! I also want to be reassured that everything is growing properly & that the baby is healthy. I worry a lot my pregnancy, and I think it is because I work in the NICU, so I never see normal pregnancies... only the ones that go wrong. After we find out the gender, we are going to start getting our nursery set up, which I am really excited about!! Alan is going to paint the walls & we are going to start picking out our nursery furniture & setting up our baby registry. I think it's going to start seeming very real after that :)

Exercising has not been going as well as I would have hoped. I try to get in some good exercise a few times a week, but the fatigue in the first trimester really threw my schedule off. I also don't feel very comfortable jogging anymore because I feel like the baby is being jostled too much (see I'm a worrier), so I've been doing some weights & pregnancy yoga kind of things.

My appetite has been increasing over the past few weeks too. I was getting tired of all the jokes about being a hungry pregnant woman before, because I didn't feel any different (except for the food aversions), but now I am definitely a hungry pregnant woman :)

I've gained about 6 or 7 pounds so far, net. I did lose 5.5 pounds due to getting some kind of stomach bug in the first trimester, but I have gained that back, plus 6 or 7 additional pounds. That is right on track with what I've been reading is a normal weight gain for 18 weeks.

And I've gotten to hear the little baby's heartbeat twice so far! The #1 best moment of this pregnancy was hearing the little heartbeat for the first time. There is something very special & humbling about having that proof that there is a little life inside of you. You can read about it & hear about it, but having a life actually inside YOU is just amazing. The heartbeat was 164 the first time (11 weeks) and in the 140's the second time (15 weeks).

The other best moment of this pregnancy was the moment I saw the plus sign on the pregnancy test :)

So everything seems to be on track so far. Just waiting for our ultrasound on Monday!