I can’t believe 16.5 weeks has gone by… and I can’t believe I have 23.5 more to go. At the same time, I can’t believe I only have 23.5 weeks to go. How on earth am I going to be ready?? I have a panic attack every time I think about how we’re going to get out of the house in the morning when we have two kids. I am already consistently 10 minutes late for work as it is. Good thing everyone else in my office is consistently an hour late. Oops, did I write that?
Anyway, I have finally gotten (mostly) rid of the nausea and vomitting fun of the first trimester. It’s crazy how much better I feel. However, at my doctor’s appointment yesterday I found out that the reduction of vomitting and increase in appetite has lead to a five pound weight gain this month. Yes, you read that right, folks. Five pounds in one month. Let’s hope that doesn’t set the pace for the rest of the pregnancy. That would just not be pretty. Right now my biggest compliant is heartburn… it’s pretty awful. I’ve been taking Pepcid and Tums, but neither are really cutting it.
According to WebMD, the baby some pretty cool things are happening with the baby. Here’s what it says about week 16:
Your baby now measures about 4.3 to 4.6 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 2.8 ounces (damn, I was hoping to blame the five pounds on the baby). Fingernails are well-formed and the fine hair, lanugo, may be growing on the head (let’s just hope it’s not growing on the ears, back and shoulders, as it may have with a certain other baby who shall remain nameless). Arms and legs are moving. The nervous system is functioning and muscles are responding to stimulation from your baby’s brain. You may be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat in the doctor’s office (it was 155 yesterday – does that mean boy or girl? I can never remember).
Your uterus has grown significantly by now and weighs about 8.75 ounces (Ok let’s see… 2.8 oz for the baby plus 8.75 oz for the uterus… doesn’t equal five pounds). Within the next few weeks you may start to feel your baby move, called “quickening.” It’s often like a gas bubble or subtle fluttering movement. As it happens more regularly, you’ll know it’s your baby. There are other physiological changes happening in your body. Increased blood volume to support your growing fetus may produce nosebleeds, and leg veins may become more apparent (wow, that’s something to look forward to). Your uterus is shifting so you may not have to urinate so much.
So that’s what going on with me and the baby that’s cookin’. Thanks for indulging me and I promise not to do this every week for the next 23 weeks 🙂
