Pregnancy Post: Week 18

Today, I am either 18 weeks (LMP) or 18 weeks, 6 days (early ultrasound) OR 18 weeks, 2 days (most recent ultrasound). Whew!

So, as most of you know, I had a bit of a pregnancy scare the other day. This resulted in an additional doctor's appointment, and ultrasound. This time, the baby's heart rate was about 168, which is higher than we've seen before, but still within normal limits. We didn't really get any good ultrasound pictures (dangit!), but we did get to see the entire spinal cord this time, which is definitely interesting. I had actually lost two pounds from my appointment on the 4th, which is absolutely incredible after the food-filled weekend I had, which included more Dairy Queen ice-cream cake than anyone should consume in a month. Any weight that I DO gain, seems to go more to my love handles than anything else, but oh well!

I also learned at the appointment that I have an anterior placenta, which means that rather than being back towards my back, the placenta is actually between the baby and my stomach. This explains why I haven't been feeling any movement, even though the u/s tech said we have a very active little baby. They said it could be more like 20-24 weeks before I'm feeling movement opposed to the usual 16-20. Whew...at least I don't need to worry.

This week, the baby is about the size of a large sweet potato, or about 5-6 inches and 6-7 oz (though, I think the u/s tech said that our little guy or gal is already about 8oz). If this baby is in fact a girl, she will have developed a uterus and other female anatomy by the end of the week!

I really have NO nursery plans as of yet--I think I'm sort of waiting for the ultrasound on Sept. 1st. Not only will we know the baby's gender, but we'll also know the baby's NAME (we pretty quickly had it narrowed down to one name for each gender), which for me, makes picking things out for him or her more real. I'm still working on knitting the dang baby blanket.

I'm trying to be good and take it easy, but I'm having a hard time of it. I need to do laundry, and go grocery shopping, and do all the other million things you usually do when you get back from a vacation, but I'm trying to take it easy and listen to my body (how earth-mothery) about how much I can handle, and when I can start exerting more energy again.

And my big pillow is here! Here's to hoping that I have a fantastic week of sleep!