16 Weeks

Week 16

How your baby's growing:



Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.


Today marks my 16th successful week into this pregnancy and I'm feelin' good. Actually I had a cold yesterday that took me down pretty hard but besides that, I'm good! I've even started feeling the baby move on a daily basis. I love to see and feel my poochy uterus when I'm laying flat.

My last midwife appointment went very well. I was supposed to have my pelvic exam done but we were too busy talking to get to it! I had not gained any weight yet, probably because I'm eating better and trying to be conscious of the glycemic index of what I eat.

The best thing about the appointment was when she was checking the heartbeat on the doppler. She felt my fudus and then put the doppler on the belly and kept moving it to find her (yes I think it's a girl). I think she kept wiggling away from the doppler and then when she pinned her down, she must have gotten mad and kicked the crap out of the doppler! It felt like a flick and I heard it on the doppler as well. It was great because I hadn't been feeling much movement then and the kick was so strong! I was 14 weeks at the time.

Clothes are beginning to be an issue. All of my jeans feel uncomfortable on the belly but I'm still not quite ready for actual maternity pants yet. I despise going around town in sweats but it's soo comfortable! I need to invest in a new Bella Band because apparently handling the pressure of two giant-bellied pregnancies was too much for the poor thing. I'm also considering a pregnancy pillow this time. I've always gotten by just surrounding myself with pillows (one under the belly, 2-3 behind the head, one between the legs, and one behind the back. Minimum!) but I think I would like more pampering this time since it is my last pregnancy. I'm just stuck on the cost- $65 for the top model, but I think that if I were to do it, I'd go for the good one. I don't know. We'll see how it goes.

I'll post a belly pic as soon as I remember to take one.