Week #17

I am nearly 100% sure that I can feel the baby move, but it usually only happens at night when I'm trying to get comfortable to sleep.  It feels like my heart is racing when it happens, so I don't know if the baby's movements are speeding my heart (is that possible?!) or if my racing heart is making me think that I'm feeling the baby move.  Another good visual is a muscle spasm: you know that twitch when a muscle is spasming out of control?  It's like that, but on the inside.  Kevin isn't able to feel it yet, but I googled time frames and it is usually between 20-30 weeks that someone else can feel movement.  Some have felt it as early as 17-19 weeks, so I'm hoping he'll be able to feel it sooner rather than later. 

We don't really have a nickname for our baby (e.g., spud, peanut, viper, etc) but whether our baby is a boy or a girl, the name is going to start with "K" so I may just start referring to it as Baby K instead of just baby or it.

This week Baby K is 13 cm from crown to rump and about 140 grams (nearly 5 oz), which is double what it was 2 weeks ago.  My uterus is about 2 inches below my belly button and is definitely visible.  I'm still not in maternity clothes, but my jeans are snugger and it's just more comfortable to wear stretchy pants.  I did try on a maternity shirt on Sunday, but it made me look twice as big as I am, so I'm going to put that away until my belly is bigger.  Plus, air was blowing up my shirt and making my belly cold (which it usually is, btw).  I haven't gained the 5-10 lbs that my website has hypothesized, but I've definitely gained at least 3 lbs (I weighed myself a couple days ago - and I've been tracking my weight and measurements out of curiousity).

Baby K keeps looking more and more human and its weight will increase 6 fold over the next several month.  Fat deposits (AKA adipose tissue) will become more evident, which is great since fat tissue helps aid metabolism and heat production.

One of the major symptoms of this stage in my pregnancy is fatigue - but it should improve over the next few weeks.  Thank goodness.  Moderate exercise should help, but due to sore joints I've missed my classes this week and will probably only do drop-in dance, starting December.  That's going to suck, but it'll be cheaper since I'm usually missing one class per week anyway.

How am I feeling?  Mainly tired, but this past week I've also been feeling sore.  My right hip socket (along the bikini line) has been feeling tender, so I googled it and it is most likely round ligament pain.  And my lower abdomen has been a little sore too, but that's normal as well.  Between the two ailments I feel uncomfortable sitting for too long and walking can be painful.  Twisting side-to-side is definitely out of the question.  All in all, I feel like an invalid and am so thankful that I'm not working right now. 

Any weird food cravings?  No, but I wouldn't mind going to Than Vu or out for butter chicken. :-)

Mood swings?  If I had written this last night, I could've said "no".  But, I think the problem is that I'm home all day and don't get out as much as I used to.  Plus, I didn't dance at all this week, so I didn't get my talking fix in then, which led to me feeling super isolated and alone.  And fighting with Kevin about it.  So, to solve this problem, I need to get out more or at least do more at home (not just watching tv!).

Any baby purchases?  ... no?  But we're going to West Edmonton mall tomorrow so that may change.

What about the nursery?  No change.  My mother-in-law offered to buy us a crib with an attached change table (instead of the one posted last week) but we declined.  We weren't going to buy a change table anyway and most people just use their floor (with a change mat, of course) out of fear of the baby falling off.  One of these days we'll have to get that nursery started though - preferably before I'm 8 months along.