21 weeks: A Carrot & Some Thoughts

I missed week 20's fruit photo (banana).  I know you are all so distraught about that, ha.  Now baby is about the length of a carrot.  I will be honest and admit that I think that these "fruit (/veggie) photos" are pretty cheesy, but I will also admit that it's fun to think about the size of the baby each week in comparison to these everyday items.  Not sure how long I'll continue doing it....by those last weeks, the foods become pretty large and heavy!

Anyway, I am officially over the halfway mark - 21 weeks as of this past Thursday.  I had my 20-week ultrasound 2 Fridays ago (20 weeks, 1 day), and my latest OB appt. on Thursday (21 weeks exactly).  

Our latest ultrasound showed the baby to be developing healthily and normally, although she (yes, it's still a girl) was in a position that made it difficult to really get a good look at everything.  She was asleep the entire time (despite the sugar I consumed that morning in the hopes that she'd be active).  She stayed curled up in a ball throughout the duration of the ultrasound.  Stubborn?  Maybe.  Cute?  Definitely.  Her heart rate at that ultrasound was 139...which was very much a "resting" heartbeat, as she was not active at all.  Her estimated weight at this point was 12 ounces.

You can see baby's profile, and her leg (yes, that's her leg) all the way up over her head.   This is how she was positioned throughout the ultrasound.

While the tech was able to see everything she wanted to (10 fingers, 10 toes, organs developing appropriately, 4 chambered-heart, no facial deformities, placenta and fluids normal, etc.) she did order an additional ultrasound in September just to take a closer look.  Hopefully baby will be a bit more active that day. 

I have been having constant pressure in my, ahem, lower regions.  In all my other pregnancies, I had this type of intense pressure during the very last weeks as I knew my body was preparing for delivery...but never this early on!  It has actually been causing me some concern. No momma only halfway through her pregnancy wants to feel like her baby is going to just burst out of her any moment.  Through 3 prior pregnancies, I have had all sorts of pullings and tuggings and pains in my lower abdomen, but never down there .......until the very end.  Both the ultrasound last week and my OB appointment yesterday confirmed that the baby is really really low.  In fact, they couldn't even find her at first, until moving their ultrasound/heartbeat wands much lower than their initial placements.  That explains a lot of the pressure.  My OB told me that the pressure could be a signal of potential preterm labor, but since I have no other risk factors for that (no preterm history, no bleeding, no contractions) he is not too concerned at this point.  He attributes it to having multiple pregnancies in a fairly short amount of time as well as the baby's low position.  Geesh, I can't imagine how Mrs. Duggar did it!

I have gained a LOT of weight.  Like, way too much.  My OB is not at all concerned, but I am.  With my other babies, I always gained more than the "recommended" amount but didn't have any difficulty losing it after babies were born; however I am on track to gain even more than that.  I blame it on the 3 weeks of bed rest at the beginning where all I did was lay around and eat.  Oh, and the pop that I have been drinking.  I normally am not a pop drinker, but Coke was a huge craving I had for weeks....thankfully that craving has passed.  Somewhat!

 

This pregnancy is definitely the hardest one yet.  From the rough start we had to this intense pressure/pain I constantly feel to my eczema that is the worst its been to my overall "fat" feeling to the itchy rash (something other than eczema) I have developed on my tummy, it hasn't been the easiest few months.  Generally, I enjoy pregnancy.  These days, I just feel like a fat and itchy and much-older-than-32-years-old lady!

I really hate complaining, especially considering the scary first few weeks that we had and the way that God miraculously protected this precious baby.  I really am thankful that the baby is healthy and growing.  And I promise I am excited for her arrival.  I just can't help feeling like maybe my body was not supposed to carry another one.  Then I feel guilty for even thinking that way. Many mommas have it much worse, I know.

On a more positive note, I've been feeling her move on a much more consistent basis now.  A couple of weeks ago, Kris was able to feel her kick and this past week, Caleb was able to feel her kick 3 times which he was absolutely giddy about.  It was seriously cute.  Whenever I am sitting/laying down, he asks me, "Is the baby moving?" because he wants to feel her again.  Such graces definitely remind me of the exciting reality that a baby is coming.  She is loved and cherished, regardless of anything else.

I have bought some new clothes for her (since we had given all of our baby clothes away) and have gotten out the baby girl blankets that we still had (thankfully we saved those!).  We've gotten her a bassinet and a changing table (also something we had given away).  Each day it becomes more of a reality that we will soon have another baby to love on.  Shane likes to get on his tippy toes to peek over the edge of the bassinet and say "baby?"

These next months are sure to bring lots of changes.....a kindergartener, a preschooler, a toddler and a newborn; a home school adventure, hope of selling our house and moving by next summer.  I am taking one day at a time, and trying my best to enjoy each present moment that the Lord gives me.