Journal

11/11/03 (19w5d): Still no kicks – but the belly is getting big ( see it here )! For the most part, everything is going fine. I’m having some heartburn and occasional nausea. Can’t wait for the next appointment in less than a week. Afterward, we’ll be going to buy the crib and all the trimmings. The next appointment is the big ultrasound. For 45 minutes or so we’ll be watching bean on the monitor! Very exciting.

11/17/03 (20w4d): Had our 20 wk appointment today with Dr. Seigil. Very exciting. He said that we’re right on track (+14lbs, BP 126/82, normal urine) for where I am. The uterus is still right at my belly button. Next month we’ll start measuring “fundal height”. Discussed my asthma and he just wants me to do what I’d normally do if I wasn’t pregnant, so I need to make an appointment with my nurse practitioner. Talks a little but about choosing a pediatrician (he highly recommended one practice), childbirth classes and vitamins (going back to the old ones). Then we listed for bean’s heartbeat (150 bpm). Then on to the ultrasound! I made sure that the tech (Karen) knew that I didn’t want to know bean’s gender. She took many snapshots for keepsakes along with the diagnostic purposes. She showed us the brain, head, heart, spine, bladder, cord, kidneys, arms and legs. The first snapshot is a profile; the second is bean arching his or her back and stretching; the third is bean trying to find a thumb to suck (no surprise there!); and the last isn’t very clear but it’s bean sucking the thumb. In all, it was great to watch bean rolling around and doing baby things. With all the measurements Karen took, she puts the baby at 21w2d – a little more than where I am but that’s good. The doc would rather see the baby bigger than smaller (68th percentile). Also, the placenta is at the top and front of the uterus, which explains why I’m not feeling strong movement or kicks yet. This may save my ribs from sharp pain later in the pregnancy. After my appointment Mom took us to pick up the crib and mattress. Of course when we got home, Chris and I finished rearranging the bedroom to make room and I put the crib together. Here’s a pic. We don’t have the bedding yet but when we do it’ll look great. The small drawer underneath was harder to put together than anything else! I’m so happy it’s done now though ‘cause I don’t think I would’ve been able to do it much later in the pregnancy!

11/20/03 (21w0d): Felt Bean kick tonight for the first time. I was lying on the sofa watching TV after dinner and felt a little punch/kick three times in a row. Pretty cool! I imagine there will be a time when it’s not so great but for now it’s spectacular!

11/24/03 (21w4d): Today is not a good day. Came home last night nauseated after shopping all day. Didn’t want to eat supper. Chris tried to get me to eat some crackers but as soon as I took a bite, I felt worse. Went to bed early. Woke up at 11:30 with violent vomiting. Came back to bed only to get up several more times with diarrhea. This lasted until about 6:30am when I vomited for the second time. Chris called the doctor and she had us make an appointment first thing. Once I got in to see the doc she checked my urine for ketones (negative), weight 192 (-2lbs), BP=110/70 and Bean’s HB (150s). Everything looked normal (no dehydration) so she put me on rest and fluids. Gave me a sample to treat yeast infection (oh joy!).

11/26/03 (21w6d): Went to work today feeling about 90%. Ate solid food fine all day yesterday so I’m guessing it was one of those 24-36hr viruses. Looking forward to Thanksgiving Day meal! Feeling a ton of kicks now, especially while lying down (which I did a lot of in the last few days!). Chris hasn’t been able to feel a really good one yet but I can just make them out on the outside so any day now!