Saturday, October 10, 2009

the great expansion!!

I've been absent from the blogosphere for awhile and the main reason has been that I've been preoccupied with...........growing our baby!!!!!!! Baby Garrett is due sometime around March 10 and we're so excited to meet him or her!!!

This week we're 18 weeks and 3 days along and doing very well. I was very fortunate to have thwarted off morning sickness in the first trimester and really have felt great so far. I'm now sporting a sweet little baby bump (yeah!!) and started feeling the baby move around week 17. Feeling the baby move is the greatest hi-lite of my life right now. It's amazing to think about there being a little person growing and stretching inside of me. What an amazing, wonderful miracle!

And I LOVE my baby bump! I love to rub my baby-Buddha bump and talk to it. Someone at work stopped me in the hall this week and said, "Oh my gosh, you're pregnant!" I was really excited to confirm her suspicion and to know that the pregnancy is obvious enough now that people can really tell I'm pregnant and not just gaining weight. It really popped into a bump during week 17. Each morning when I wake up I can notice that it's grown a little bigger from the previous morning, no joke! Baby has been undergoing a growth spurt in the last 2 weeks.

During my 16 week check-up I got to hear Baby G's heartbeat and it made me melt! Baby's heartbeat was a strong and healthy 150 bpm. My doctor said everything was perfect and we're right on schedule. During my 12 week appointment I saw the baby on an ultrasound and was amazed to see Baby do a somersault and wiggle his or her right hand and fingers at me!! I was squealing with delight and did not want my doctor to turn the ultrasound off! We go for our big ultrasound on October 30! We can't wait to see our little baby's face, fingers, toes....but we're not going to peek at Baby G's privates. We've decided to NOT find out the baby's sex and wait for the BIG surprise at delivery.

So far I've gained about 8 pounds, which is right on target. My doctor said she likes to see women gain about 10 pounds by Week 20. For a women starting at a normal healthy weight it is recommended she gain around 25-35 pounds total. You know that old saying, "I'm eating for two?" Unfortunately, it's complete crap! Women only need about 300 extra calories a day to support the growing fetus. That's the equivalent of a snack of an apple with a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, or a piece of cheese with a handful of crackers. I set a goal (long before I was ever pregnant) to be as healthy and fit as possible during pregnancy. I really try hard to eat very nutritiously and am maintaining my workout habits. I still walk to work, take my lunch, and workout on my lunch-hour every day. I feel great! My doctor agreed that getting at least 30 minutes of physical exercise on most days supports a healthy pregnancy and delivery. I'm hoping to keep it up all the way to the end.

I've been researching baby gear to the point that it's making me crazy! Learning about baby gear is like taking your first class in a new subject you've never studied and learning the new language. I'm so thankful to have so many friends who are currently pregnant or recently just had a baby. It's very helpful to be able to discuss not only the pregnancy, but all my gear questions with them. Currently I'm obsessed with researching strollers and car seats, two of the most important objects we'll buy for the baby. The dialogue with my friends has changed considerably during the past weeks as my topic of interest has shifted. I call them now and ask things like "so what's your opionion of the Chicco KeyFit 32 compared to the new Britax Chaperone...or tell me what you know about the safety ratings for the Britax and it's side-impact compression features". :-). There are SO MANY options! I'm getting it narrowed down now and today I'm hoping to go to Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby and check out my final contenders more in person. It's so much fun planning for our baby's arrival!

This week Baby G is about the size of a bell pepper. Here's a picture of what Baby G looks like right now and a link to the full article from Baby Center on what Baby G's doing this week:

Credits: photo from Baby Center