Third OB Appointment

I’m starting to feel abnormally huge. We went to check out a daycare on Monday and the lady first said to me, “Oh, you look so small,” which made me happy. I told her I was in the middle of my 4th month and she exclaimed, “Oh my! Then you’re big! I thought you were further along.” It doesn’t help that at 20 weeks, normal weight for the baby is 9-10 oz and the doctor on Monday said he is 12 oz.

Today I had another appointment with another OB in the practice. I’m not sure what the point of today’s appointment was. We waited for about 30 minutes to see her. I was weighed (man, I passed a weight threshold I thought I’d never pass), gave a urine sample, and waited for the doctor. She was actually very nice. She told me that a lot of people have a weight spurt up to 20 weeks and then it levels off. (Sigh of relief.) I mentioned that I think the baby is bigger than average. She measured my belly and said that I should be at my belly button (I didn’t understand what she meant), and said I’m 1 cm over, but it’s okay. She just said we should watch the baby’s weight at the next sonogram. We got to hear the baby’s heartbeat again, which was 164 bpm. Normal range is 124-170 bpm. She said the baby was moving a lot! Ack, an active child! Then I gave a blood sample and that was it.

Twenty Weeks

Today we found out the sex of the baby: boy. It’s a boy. I’m surprised — I had a feeling it would be a girl. The Chinese Gender Calendar was wrong. My acupuncturist was right. I thought the strong heartbeat meant likelihood of girl. Almost everyone we know has a boy, so it would have been nice to have a girl. But now our little boy will have lots of friends, so it works out.

I also started to feel the baby move. The first few times, I thought it might be ligament pain, but it felt more like a poke or bubble bursting inside. Then I thought it was gas, but the feeling was close to my pelvis, so that didn’t add up. My friend, who’s a month ahead, told me she felt the same thing and realized it was the baby. Last night, I felt a strong movement that it made me yelp. It was a little surprising. Then I woke up around 4 AM for my nightly pee and felt successive kicks. This time, I put my hand against my belly and felt it. I poked the hub, but he was snoring and the feeling had passed. Later, when I told the hub, he was really disappointed that I didn’t wake him.

Nineteen Weeks

I’ve nearly reached the end of my “Girlfriend’s Guide” book. I’m not sure I should have read it this early. All I remember from the labor chapter is “blood, lots of blood, more blood.”

I keep telling myself all these women have done it… surely I can as well? My mom told me that they knocked her unconscious once I (and my sis and bro) started to emerge, so she doesn’t really know what it’s like after that. She said it was standard in those days. I think I really like that method better.

I’ve noticed that my hunger hasn’t been as demanding as the first trimester. It has definitely leveled off. I still get hungry frequently, but it’s not as constant and not as urgent. Just as my hunger has waned, my impatience has increased. I had been fairly proud of keeping my emotions in relative check since I’ve gotten pregnant, but I’ve noticed that recently, I can’t deal with the small stupidities that I used to just ignore. (I have snapped at several coworkers recently… and I don’t care!)

More Symptoms

The acupuncturist told me today that my back pain is the baby, not my chair or how I sit. It’s the extra weight and sitting immobile for several hours — which I do every day — isn’t good. He said whenever possible, I should walk around and stretch.

I’ve also been getting “restless leg syndrome,” which I read does happen during pregnancy. It really isn’t made up! It usually happens in the evening when I’m trying to just relax, but my legs get this creepy, crawly feeling and I have to move them. The acupuncturist suggested that I take a walk after dinner and get the hub to massage my legs.

I’ve also been getting this stale taste in my mouth — usually at the end of the day. Sometimes it’s right after I eat something and it feels like I have hunger breath. It’s rather disgusting. I’ll brush my teeth but that doesn’t always do it. Then I wonder if I have bad breath, so now I constantly carry and chew gum.

Eighteen Weeks

There really isn’t much to report this week other than I definitely look pregnant. Some people at work are now brave enough to ask me if I’m pregnant. Or more like, “You are pregnant, aren’t you?”

We saw a friend on Saturday who exclaimed about 3-4 times, “Wow! You really look pregnant!” I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I still fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans, which I leave unbuttoned and hold up with a Bella Band and most of my sweaters. I now only fit comfortably into two of my bras. The midwife told me to wait until my fifth month to get new bras because that’s when the breasts generally stop growing (to the dismay of my husband). The baby bump fluctuates throughout the day. In the morning, it’s pretty small, but as the day progresses, it gets bigger and rounder. Some days I’m gigantic, which I think depends on what I ate and if I’m bloated. My wedding ring also gets tighter as the day progresses. And although the hub says I don’t have cankles, I don’t even want to talk about knee socks. They get embedded in my legs by the end of the day.

My Story is Better Than Yours

Why do older sisters have to be know-it-alls?

Just sayin’.

Precious Cargo

Since I’ve been pregnant, the mother-in-law treats me like an invalid.

We went over on Friday and were going down the basement stairs.

“Hold on the the handrail!!! Be careful!” she said.

Then we went out to dinner with my in-laws on Sunday. I got out of the car and she held my arm to “assist” me the 10 steps to the restaurant door. I opened the door to the restaurant for myself. She told me not to open it too “forcefully.” After dinner, we walked to the car and she told me to “watch my step.”

I want to tell her that I’m not frail like she is. What would she think about me going to my cardio kickboxing class?

She also pertains to my baby and stomach as “ours.”

I see problems ahead.

Taking It Easy

Today I called in sick to work. I used to be able to function without a good night’s sleep, but this morning, I found that it’s not the same when you’re pregnant.

I had a very full day yesterday and probably should have taken it easy in the evening, but I got preoccupied with getting the laundry done since I have a very small selection of pregnancy clothes and needed them for the coming week. (And the hub is not allowed to do laundry because … he is just not allowed. I think most women understand.)

Since I haven’t been sleeping well since I got pregnant, with the combination of having a full day and not resting enough, I woke up this morning dog tired and with a headache. I thought I might make it into work and just come home afterwards and go to bed right away, but I couldn’t even physically get up. I’m trying not to take any time off from work because I’m saving it all for my “maternity leave,” but I decided to stay home today and just rest. I thought to myself, “When will I ever get to do this again? Next time I call in sick, it’ll probably be because the kid is sick.”

Seventeen Weeks

I have realized a few things since becoming pregnant.

1. Men no longer “check you out.” (Although I did notice a guy appreciate my facial beauty — until he saw my belly and that changed everything.)
2. Your husband will find you “cute” in an innocent almost virginal way, but not sexy. (Unless all he does is concentrate on your growing breasts.)
3. You will attract a lot of female attention — probably opposite of what your husband fantasizes about. Every woman will think you’re adorable and gush about how “cute” you look. (There’s that word again.)
4. The above “cuteness” gushings will soon be transferred to the baby.

On another note, I have noticed that my wristwatch is now tighter. As long as I have been alive, I have never had a problem with tight wristwatches or bracelets. In fact, I usually can’t find wristwatches or bracelets that fit. So, this little development has me a little depressed because it can only mean my delicate wrists are now delicate fatter wrists.

Sixteen Weeks

I just realized that I closed the last three posts with “I’m waiting.”

Well, I kinda still am. Unless this is what everyone’s talking about when they say you feel so much better in the second trimester. If that’s the case, I think it’s grossly exaggerated. People should tell you that you feel slightly better, but by the way people described it to me, you’d think your energy would be 10 times better than when you actually weren’t pregnant.

I just have to say although there’s some improvement over my energy and nausea, I’m nowhere near “feeling way better,” or “back to normal.” My energy is unpredictable — pretty good one day where I stay up past 10 p.m. and then wanes the next time where I’m in bed by 8 p.m. The nausea has definitely decreased in frequency, but isn’t completely gone.