21 Weeks

THIS WEEK
I'm 21 weeks and still am amazed every week that I am so blessed to be pregnant with this beautiful little girl and in (at least) eighteen weeks we'll be holding her in our arms. This week was really busy; we had a second anatomy ultrasound to finish up what the other tech couldn't the week before since our beautiful little girl is just as stubborn as her momma (I wouldn't have moved for that lady either, ugh) this ultrasound was lovely and because it was after my ob appointment we were feeling much more relaxed, it also helps that the tech was super sweet and seemed sincerely excited to see our baby. I also had an appointment with my obstetrician and I was both looking forward to the appointment and feeling very anxious because I hadn't heard his thoughts on what was found on our anatomy ultrasound - by then I knew since I got the results during my er visit last week but I needed his opinion on it. The anatomy ultrasound found we have a low lying placenta (which can still move up before delivery but if not means a c-section, and in the meantime I am on pelvic rest along with reduced activity) and our baby girl has a single artery umbilical cord (although this could be an indicator for defects or abnormalities, our ultrasounds show a healthy little girl and my ob isn't worried). He did schedule us for an echo ultrasound so they could get a good look at baby girl's heart, which is standard procedure for baby's with a single artery umbilical cord but reassured us that he has seen many baby's with single artery cords and none of them had problems (aside from being smaller than average). It was such a relief to have his reassurance.

BABY UPDATE

Baby girl is as long as a carrot, 10.5 inches, oh my goodness!

Our baby girl is busy sucking her thumb, yawning (which we saw her do multiple times during our ultrasound this week, so cute!) and kicking about. Hair is growing on baby's head and her facial features are formed, she is now able to blink and her beautiful eye lashes and eyebrows are formed as well. Her bone marrow is making blood cells now, a job previously done only by her liver and spleen. Even her intestines are absorbing small amounts of sugar from ingesting amniotic fluid.

MOMMA UPDATE

I'm feeling worlds more confident in this pregnancy, while I am still very anxious and there is always that little voice reminding me of our past losses, between my obstetrician's reassurance and baby girl's more frequent movement it is a little easier for me to tell myself (and believe it) that everything is going to be okay - we're going to be bringing home this baby girl (and I can't wait to loose sleep just to hold her). As for symptoms this week I've been having heart burn daily now, or nightly I guess, and my nose is still super stuffed/runny every morning. I'm still having a lot of pain, mostly in my hips but round ligament pain is still hanging around, and sleeping is still uncomfortable but like I've said repeatedly it is all worth it. My cravings this week were vegetables with ranch dressing (YUM, enjoyed that for a few days), mashed potatoes with gravy (which I got but my goodness I cannot wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas for homemade mashed potatoes with gravy YUM!) and I finally got nachos with spicy cheese after my ob appointment and it was everything I hoped for haha. My food aversions have been mild for a few weeks now but I had a run in with a mint chocolate cookie that my sweet little nephew was eating (I've had a problem with anything mint, and especially anything mint chocolate for years now but usually it isn't that bad) and even though I couldn't smell it I was completely repulsed and the waves of nausea and near-throwing up came quickly - I also, still cannot think about mushroom soup without wanting to throw up. I mentioned earlier but our little girl is getting so strong now and I am feeling her move and kick more frequently throughout the day, although she is still most active in the evening before bed (and she seems to love kicking at or pushing against Daddy's hand - so cute) I could literally (and I have!) sit there and feel her move around, I just love her so much.

Belly is measuring 41 inches!

DADDY MOMENTS

Daddy works very hard to help me stay off my feet, I'm not very good at just slowing down and relaxing, but he is so good at making sure I take it easy during this pregnancy. Daddy has also been working hard to get ready for preparing baby girl's nursery, we're mid a big renovation but in a few weeks we should be ready for paint.

Also feeling baby girl ball up against Daddy's hand when she's moving around is adorable, it almost feels like she already can't wait to be held by Daddy. 

FAVORITE PART OF THE WEEK

Being reassured not to worry about the two things on the ultrasound and having the second half of our anatomy scan be as enjoyable and relaxed as the first half should have been.

LOOKING FORWARD TO

Definitely looking forward to starting her nursery in the coming weeks.

xo, Anne.