New Pics

Our baby is not modest.
We did some ultrasounding today with Kris & Nicole at the clinic, and Mark had to use some skillful maneuvering to avoid finding out the baby's sex. A lot has happened since the last time we got to see it - there's a very recognisable spine with individual little vertebrae and ribs attached to them, and the arms and legs have clear bones that we could see ... its head is looking a little less alien-like now, and we could see some of the major blood vessels leading off of the heart. Which is still beating nicely :)

This one's pretty self-explanatory ... and cute! The baby's kind of hiding behind placenta, but you can see its head and arm, and then there's a leg over on the left side poking out above the placenta.








I liked this one too ... it's curled on its left side, so
you can see the head on the right side of the picture with a little hand pulled up next to the head, and the legs are curled up and kind of crossed on the other side of the picture. You're looking down on the top
of the head, so the face is looking up towards the top left of the picture and you can see a bird's eye view of the nose, eye sockets and cheeks.



So I've been getting the weekly emails from BabyCenter.com that tell me about how the baby is growing and what things have developed during the last week ... this week it's gone from the size of an avocado to a 5-oz turnip (what an endearing visual...!):


I'm at the end of week 16, and I'm starting to feel some of the second trimester symptoms; none of my trousers button up any more, my ability to concentrate is fading, I'm getting spacey and forgetful (I was at Walmart the other day and walked from one end of the store to the other about 7 times because I kept forgeting things and losing track of what I was looking for ... and I had a list!!), and I wake up in the middle of the night to pee pretty much every night. On the plus side, I've been able to work out quasi-regularly and I'm not nearly as tired as I have been for the last several weeks. I'm supposed to be gaining a pound a week from now on, which I'm about on track for.
In other news ... we got our Christmas decorations out this week! It always takes me about a week to get everything out and looking the way I want it, but I think I'm happy now :) I'm (supposed to be) getting ready for finals week, which is rapidly approaching and seems to be preceeded by a week of pre-finals exams (??), so the next couple of weeks will probably be pretty busy. I'm just holding on for Christmas break ... I am so ready for it!!

Busting out

... of my trousers! I've spent the last couple of weeks convincing myself that all the trousers I own are low-rise enough to fit under my big belly without cutting off any vital blood vessels ... but my stubborn-ness (not to mention my over-worked buttons) might not be able to hold out much longer. Here is how fat I am now:I had gained 3lbs at my OB appointment this past week (I am now heavier than I have ever been in my life, a feeling I should probably get used to...!), and my BabyCenter email for week 16 said I have a growth spurt to look forward to over the next couple of weeks. So perhaps I should begin investing in some larger clothes. *sigh*
On the plus side, I think I felt the baby move! I was sitting in class dreaming about Papa John's heavenly pizza (which, yes, I ended up ordering for lunch), and felt a little 'pop' a few inches below my belly button. It was very different from my normal hungry-grumbly feeling, and it was light enough that if I'd been walking around I don't think I would've noticed it. Since then I've felt a couple things that could be 'fluttering', which I'm told is the correct nomenclature for those first little wiggles ... I asked my wonderful OB Dave if I should actually be able to feel anything this early and he said it's possible - so I'm going with it :) I've actually felt energetic enough to go running this weekend - made it a grand total of about 1.2 miles, but that's better than the zero miles I've totaled so far since I got pregnant...!
Mark and I had a great trip last weekend to South Carolina for an interview at a residency program he's interested in ... I have some gorgeous pics of pretty South Carolina autumn to put up here, but for now the more pressing issue is my Acute & Chronic exam tomorrow, the content of which I have barely glanced over once. Wish me luck!

Pregnant bride

I realised this is probably going to be the last time in my life that I'll ever be able to fit into my wedding dress again, so I finally got some bridal portraits done! Since I loved all our wedding photos that Tiffany took, I asked her to do my bridal ones too...
We went to Gilcrease, a museum and park just outside of Tulsa, and spent a couple hours taking pictures and chuckling that I was pregnant for my bridal protraits! Here are a few of my favourites.... Thanks Tiff!

My baby bounces

Almost at the end of the infamous first trimester ... and I'm emerging feeling relatively unscathed! No nausea to write home about, I haven't gained any weight yet (though my kind friends have started informing me that I definitely have a baby pooch; I'm not convinced!), no midnight cravings for pickles or watermelons ... Other than being able to eat, sleep and pee for England, being pregnant hasn't felt remarkably different - till today. I had my first OB appointment and official ultrasound, and (if you squint and the light hits it just right) my baby actually looks like a baby! It has a head with a profile and a nose, and a little round belly, and arms and legs that stick out and a beating heart in the anatomical shape of a tiny, real heart ... and it was bouncing around while we looked at it! It looked like it was laying on the inside of a balloon and someone was flicking on the outside of the balloon right underneath where it was laying so it bounced up into the air now and then :) I still won't be able to feel it moving for another few weeks, but seeing it move around and look like a real baby changed something. Knowing that it's bouncing around in there while I go about my day is kind of weird, but pretty cool. It's gotten so much bigger since my first ultrasound that I can hardly believe this is going to take 7 more months...! I guess it's only 5cm long, though, so even though it's comparatively a lot bigger than my first scan, it's still pretty teeny.

Disclaimer

This blog is an attempt to keep you, my far-flung friends and family, updated on the progress of my half-inch-long 'bun in the oven'. However, as you can see, there is somewhat of a time lag between creation of baby and blog. I am blaming this on the baby, since my biggest pregnancy symptom so far (other than three positive tests and an ultrasound, I mean) is total exhaustion and not nearly enough time left in my day after napping to get done what I need to! However, I will do my best to keep you at least reasonably in touch with things.