Complete Anticipation

Tomorrow find me 18 weeks along and feeling great!  My current symptom of annoyance is heartburn in the evenings.  It started the beginning of December and comes and goes different days.  My only thought is, if I have this already what am I going to do when I am big pregnant and there is definitely no room for my stomach. =)  No complaints though...I am super grateful to go through every annoyance connected with this pregnancy. =)  The hungry "dry heaves" only lasted for a few weeks, or I have learned to eat right away when I get hungry.  I am not sure which.

It is funny to me how my center of gravity has already started changing, and I find myself off balance quite often.  Being a pretty active girl, I have to watch how quickly I move now.  I have currently gained a net of 6 pounds.  Right on track for healthy weight gain.  Although I had to check a few times thinking I was gaining too fast!  I was 134 when they transferred the snowflakes, then I lost 4 pounds in the 2ww period...possibly from the constant hunger combined with a more sendentary schedule (muscle loss).  Now I am up to 140 pounds...the most I have weighed in my life.  So 10 pounds gross weight gain?  But anyway we are just going by pre-transfer weight.  I am trying to walk and do my pre-natal yoga often to stay fit for labor and keep the aches and pains away due to weak muscles.  I am also paying attention to my diet and eating as much of a well-rounded non-processed diet as I can. 

I am reading a book my mom gave me for Christmas called Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives by Annie Murphy Paul.  It is such a fascinating book...being medically minded I just eat up this kind of stuff.  It pretty much just compiles all the studies, theories, and findings about the shaping of life during the 9 months of pregnancy but written in an easy read.  They are finding more and more everyday how much everything we do, eat, think, expose ourselves to during pregnancy affects the baby and how it will handle life physically and mentally.  Puts alot of responsibility on us pregnant mothers, but also confirms everything we feel subconsciously all along.  We are naturally very protective and paranoid for a reason.  The complexities of life and epigenetics are so fascinating.  We have an amazing God...you can't look at anything medically and not give Him the reverance He deserves.

On December 28th (16 1/2 weeks), I officially believe I felt the baby move.  I think I felt it before that but was not sure.  I notice it a lot while I am eating--so I am bent in half and still and baby likes to eat I guess. =)  To me it feels more like rumblings or hunger pains without the hunger.  Maybe like moving gas, but it continues and does not pass quickly.  I have been feeling it more and more lately...it is so surreal to think there is something alive and moving inside of me.

The last couple midwife appointments have found the baby's heartbeat at 150 bpm.  And my uterus is measuring right on schedule so far.  Our big 20 week u/s is January 21, and I am beyond excited to see the baby again.  Us infertility patients get used to seeing or checking on our baby at 3 week intervals for a while so this 2 month wait has been a long one.  I think I am most excited to find out the gender of the baby...hopefully he/she will cooperate.  I think we will not have another u/s later if everything looks healthy, so...baby, no modesty that day please. =)

I also received two pictures from our donors of the twins at 9 months (they are 2 years old now).  Man, those boys are some cuties!!!  I love looking at them and imagining what our little one will look like.  One has wavy blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and slim.  The other has straight dark brown hair, dark blue eyes, and plumper.  I love communicating with our donors...I don't think I would want it any other way. =)

Alright, well my energy is back in full swing...so I am off to finish cleaning house and doing laundry...