First of all, I'm feeling MOVEMENT! The other night I was laying in bed, on my back, and I kept feeling random pokes and jabs that I just COULDN'T blame on "digestion" or "hunger" anymore. I casually mentioned to Casey that I felt something moving around in there and he instantly put his hand on my stomach. Within 5 seconds he looked at me with huge eyes and said "Holy shit! Is it doing somersaults in there!?" It was so funny that to me it felt normal and to him--on the outside, it felt so prominent! That leads me to believe that I have felt movement over the last couple weeks, I just hadn't convinced myself that it was actually movement. That was a big moment--both of us feeling the first official karate chops from Baby H :)
Yesterday was a busy, but great day! Our 20 week ultrasound wasn't scheduled until 2:30pm, and it was my Friday off, so I decided to make the most of my day and started off by getting my brows waxed, my hair cut (about 7 inches taken off!) and getting a pedicure! Then I met Casey at the Doctors office and we got checked in for our appointment. I'll start off with a couple pictures--one of me and Baby H at 20.5 weeks, and one of me with my new haircut!
(The bump is getting more pronounced!)
(I will miss my long hair, but even this morning waking up with it 7 inches shorter felt SO GOOD!)
As I was waiting for Casey in the parking lot of the Doctors office, a woman and her husband walked out to their car to leave. The woman looked like maybe she was about 7 months along--and she was BAWLING her eyes out. Her husband was trying to console her, but all she wanted to do was get in the car and sob. My heart immediately sank and I felt so awful, and so concerned. I didn't want to stare, but I couldn't help but glance over a few times since they were parked right next to me. Had she gotten unfavorable test results? Had her ultrasound gone badly? I will never know, but I will always remember how I felt when I saw her crying. And I can tell you one thing, the last thing I wanted to do was get out of my car and go IN to the building that she just came out crying from.
After we got checked in, they brought me to get weighed. UH-OH. The part I dread the most. I thought for sure in the last 4 weeks I had gained more than the "suggested" 4 pounds. I thought I had gained more along the lines of 5 or 6 (or maybe 7!). Much to my surprise, the scale said I had only gained 3! I love that scale! That makes my total gain 9 pounds at 20 weeks. I've been consistent with 3 pounds at each appointment (3 pounds at 12 weeks, another 3 at 16, and another 3 at 20). Looks like 3 is my lucky number. I quickly did the math in my head and figured if I gain 3 pounds at each of the next appointments--that would be another 15 pounds, plus the 9 I've gained would bring me to 24 pounds total for this pregnancy. Then I laughed hysterically because I know for a fact that's not realistic and I'm destined to gain a lot more than that! Time will tell.
My blood pressure, as usual, was sky high. 144/88. BUT, I brought my typed list of blood pressure readings from home to prove that my blood pressure is just peachy when I take it in the comfort of my own home. Before I left for the appointment, I took it and it was only 107/60! They didn't give me any grief--they just laughed and said as long as it's low or normal at home--they will chalk it up to nerves at the doctors office. Whew...
The doctor came in the room after a few minutes--one we hadn't met before--and she was really nice. She had a med student with her who was also very nice and just stood to the side during the entire appointment. The doctor asked if I had a preference for room temperature ultrasound gel or warmed up ultrasound gel. I literally laughed out loud because I thought she was joking. Apparently she wasn't--and I said I had no preference. She used room temperature and it felt just fine...I'm guessing some women have complained about the temperature of the gel and I'd like to meet those women because they obviously have way too much time on their hands if that's the type of thing they complain about...
As soon as she put the ultrasound "wand" on my stomach we could see Baby H, clear as day! It was incredible how much bigger he or she was than at 12 weeks! I reached my left arm over to hold Casey's hand as I was craning my neck to the right to see the screen. Those damn rooms are set up so awkward--it felt like Casey was practically behind me the whole time rather than right next to me.
The appointment lasted about 20 or 25 minutes, with the doctor pointing out all the organs and vital parts of the baby. The brain, the stomach, the heart, the bladder, kidneys, legs, arms, hands, feet! It was so exciting to see everything, and Baby H was kicking up a storm!
OH--flashback to last week--a conversation I had with Casey:
Me: "I've been doing some research and I bet I have an anterior placenta--where the placenta is in the front rather than behind or on the side...and that's probably why I haven't felt much for movement"
Casey: "Huh. That sounds gross."
(Yeah, that conversation didn't go very far).
Flash forward to the ultrasound, the doctor pointed out my placenta on the screen and announced that it was in the front. I said "OH! Isn't that considered an anterior placenta!?" She said yes and my suspicions were confirmed. Damn--I should be a doctor!
She said I should start feeling more and more movement now that baby is getting bigger. It makes me kind of sad that I will feel less movement than a pregnancy with the placenta in a more "normal" position, but an anterior placenta doesn't have any affect on the baby's health or my health, and doesn't cause any additional complications--and that's all that really matters to me!
The remainder of the appointment was basically big blobs on the screen with the doctor pointing out scientific terms and me nodding my head and saying "oh, ok" the whole time. I had no clue what any of the terms meant but after pointing each one out she would say "this looks great, it's perfectly normal", so that's a good sign.
Every time she got down toward the leg area I would get a little squirmy because I was SO NERVOUS I was going to see something that would give away the gender. She knew we didn't want to know, so she casually said "I took a quick look at the gender and everything looks great and I won't tell you what it is!" I told Casey after the appointment that I thought I saw something that made me think boy, and he laughed and said he thought he saw something that made him think girl. Haha...so, we still don't know and we are so excited! I still think girl deep down in my heart, but I honestly have no clue whatsoever. And it's not driving me nuts either--I love the suspense!
Here are some pictures of perfectly healthy Baby H. We couldn't get any good face pictures because he or she always had a hand covering the face (camera shy and stubborn!) but as long as I know he or she is happy, healthy, and kicking around in there--I'm thrilled! I will say that it was extremely odd to see the legs and arms flailing around, and I couldn't feel it at all inside me. Creeeeepy!
(Arm!)
(Face down, showing off spine)
(the cutest little foot I've ever seen!)
(Apparently in this one you can see an arm/hand, which I can see, but, the the doctor said face is in there somewhere, partially covered...I just don't see it...I think I do and then I don't)
That was our appointment in a nutshell. Everything looks good, Baby H is active and stubborn (uh-oh!) and the gender is still a surprise. Success!
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