I've made it through week 23 day 4 of this pregnancy... after about week 16 it got much better and I've started to really enjoy the process! Whoohoo! No more constant nausea and vomiting :-) A few weeks ago I started feeling her move, and it's the best thing ever!! I can't get enough of her little thumps and kicks. Greg has been able to feel her move also, almost as early as I could! She is most active in the early morning and I love having days off so I can lay in bed and feel her dance around. I feel like she squishes herself down into the 'corners' of my uterus (which isn't too comfortable for me!) and I am hoping that means she will be a little cuddle bug. :-) We'll see! Being pregnant has been such an interesting experience! I'm constantly surprised by how many people seem to think that it takes a village to grow a baby... commenting on my size, how I'm eating, how much weight I've gained, etc.! I'm sure every woman who has been pregnant has had that experience. It's a little odd, I have to say! I'm not used to talking about my personal life with my patients, but they consistently mention the fact that I'm expecting and ask when I'm due and what I'm having, etc. And then there's my amazing husband who has catered to me and taken care of me throughout this whole process. As I have looked forward to this experience of having a baby throughout my life, I don't think it ever occurred to me that the baby wouldn't be mine alone. Greg and I were going somewhere a few weeks ago and he looked over and adjusted my seatbelt so it was under my belly. And it hit me, I'm taking care of the baby and myself not just for the two of us, but for Greg as well. He's trusting me to eat right, get enough rest, and do what's best for HIS child that I'm carrying. He can't really help take care of her until she's born (except by taking care of me, which he is!). This morning she kicked pretty hard and I told him to come feel my belly because "YOUR daughter is kicking me!" which made him laugh. We are just so thrilled to be awaiting our little girl and to get to share her with each other.
I'm a little late posting these photos... we had our 18 week sono in early December and were blessed to have my dad and Greg's parents accompany us! I came right from work, of course - note my Parkland scrubs :-)
Here she is! Our little sweet pea at 18 weeks 1 day along... she weighs about 10 oz at this point. This isn't the best photo, but you can see her little profile and her hand by her face.
And this is Greg and I looking at the sono pictures of our daughter. The doctor printed off a whole bunch for us! We think he must have been bored (we were the last appointment of the day on a Friday) because he drew a santa hat on one of the photos, and put a speech bubble with "Merry Christmas" coming out of her mouth on another! We weren't complaining about the extra time to watch her move around on the sonogram! :-)
And here is a little video... you will see her profile first, and watch her kick her little legs. Then comes Greg's favorite part - she gets the hiccups!
And now there's only about 16 weeks until we get to meet her! Hoping the time goes by quickly!
