a peek inside

All seems to be going well with the little (or not so little now) bean. A week ago I had my ultrasound in the midst of jet-lag and work crunch, so I’m just getting to the post now. We had opted to skip the blood tests for various markers, knowing that we would not terminate the pregnancy. We’ll just take it as it comes. So, it was nice when they did the scan to know that everything is measuring right on schedule, in fact, it seems that we have a bit of an overachiever who is two days ahead. I know, a whole two days- not earth shattering in the grand scheme of things. So, ultrasound pins me at a due date of May 28, LMP pins me at May 30, and transfer pins me at May 29. At least they can all agree.

We opted to ignore the sex bits, so when May rolls around we’ll all get to know what it is then. I have always wanted to have the moment of someone saying “it’s a…” in the delivery room, and since this will most likely be my only pregnancy, I’m going to get as many perks as possible. A. wanted to know the sex- “to be prepared.” For what? The nursery will be the same regardless (I’ll tell you all about it in a future post) and I prefer gender-neutral clothing at first. Especially given that we plan to have other kids (adopted), and they’ll need to have something to wear, too. (In case you’re wondering, our agency places newborns, so the clothing would actually get another use.)

I was definitely expecting a nice, calm baby in there, because I hadn’t yet felt any movement. Boy, was I ever wrong. It was entirely weird to see the baby moving all over the ultrasound screen, know that it was moving inside of me, and not be able to feel a darn thing. The doctor laughed and said that we had better get a bunch of baby gates for such an active child. However, this past Wednesday, I am pretty sure that I felt the little one move (on a side note, I’m trying to come up with a better reference to the little one). I was sitting at work, writing some e-mail and all of a sudden there was a very distinct flutter about three inches below my navel. It stopped me dead. I sat there for a second to see if another flutter would happen, but no such luck. I felt a couple of things later that evening, and have had the “gas bubbles” sensation a few times each day since. I look forward to every little tickle, bubble, flutter, and twinge. The whole process is simply amazing.

Today was my next check-up, and I was nervous because at the last visit I was given a stern lecture about my weight gain. I’m only allowed to gain two pounds each month and I had gained six. Oops. I made a conscious effort to make sure that I was eating better, not indulging in desserts so often (I am NOT giving them up entirely- I am not made of stone!), and walking more regularly. Well, this time I was actually down a pound. Then, of course, I worried that I had harmed the baby by losing weight. No, everything is fine, especially since I gained too much last time. Pfffhew!

The heartbeat today was cool because it sounded less muffled and more like a mature heart. BA-DUM, BA-DUM, BA-DUM, BA-DUM…

I must go and have lunch. Baby wants stuffed hot peppers!