17 Weeks

I am now 17 weeks pregnant! Time seems to be moving faster and faster now. At Christmas time, I will be halfway there already. I'm still waiting for some milestones, but I am definitely feeling like things are progressing.

First, about baby:
She is now about the size of an onion, at about 5" (or more!) from crown to rump. Her ears are developed now, and she is able to hear. The sounds of my womb and my voice are comforting to her. Her bones are changing from soft cartilage to bone. Fat is starting to accumulate now, so her little form is starting to fill out more. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop. She is in the middle of a growth spurt right now, and judging by my own growth, I definitely believe it!

Now, about me:
I've reached another milestone - I had to go buy maternity jeans yesterday. I went out shopping intending to buy just a shirt, but as the day progressed, I had SUCH trouble keeping my jeans up! They were too tight to button, but when I left the button undone, my butt was too big for my jeans to stay up correctly. So, I bit the bullet, and bought my first pair. The mediums are kind of big on me, but the smalls were too short, though the waist fit correctly. I figure that within a month or so, I'll be fitting in the waist of the mediums, and they'll still be long enough. I'm still in that awkward in-between phase, I guess!

I think I'm to the point now where people can probably tell that I'm pregnant. (In some shirts more so than others!) Most people probably wouldn't say anything yet, just in case, but I think it's pretty apparent. Like Mike pointed out, the belly is very hard, and it's too high to be a beer belly. So far the rest of my body seems to still be retaining it's normal shape, although my poor butt has gotten flabby. Back to the gym for me this week!!! I'm pretty sure my boobs grew some more. They aren't painful anymore, but they are still tender. I've had to start hooking my bra on the next looser notch now, so I'm assuming that means that my ribcage is starting to expand a little bit.

My belly is definitely growing - within this last week, I feel like my belly has noticeably popped out. I feel huge right now! (But I love it!) Mike keeps rubbing my belly all the time, saying "there's a baby in there!" or trying to listen to her by putting his ear on my belly. :)

17 Weeks

I am so anxious to start feeling baby move. I thought MAYBE I felt a little something the other day, but I think it was just some gas bubbles. :( Hopefully soon! I'm looking forward to having that reassurance that she is still in there doing well.

One weird thing I've noticed is that I constantly feel my heart pounding in my ears. Sometimes it's ridiculously loud! I'm guessing that it's because I have so much more blood flowing through my body right now, but it sure is strange. I think I'll mention it to my doctor. I'm still doing quite well, although I have noticed that occasionally I have a hard time getting up from sitting on the floor. My balance is still pretty good, but I can tell that it's slowly shifting! I won't be able to wear my heeled boots much longer without fear of toppling over. LOL (I'm not known for my grace to begin with...) I'm going to have to invest in some flat boots for this rainy season!

My next doctor visit is two weeks from today. I am looking forward to hearing her little heartbeat again, and very curious (but a little scared) to see how much weight I've gained!