Feeling Good

We're now wrapping up 16 weeks, and all are doing well and healthy. I did have an excellent run of not being sick, and only threw up once this last week.  I'm branching back into the world of the carnivores, and while meat as a solo main dish still isn't settling, I have worked up to meatball subs... so long as I split the meat balls in half.

This weekend I've been making sure to take it easy, and spent even most of Saturday in my PJ's watching TV and movies.  A little bit of a different story from the weekend before.

Matt was visiting Mom and Dad Keeter for the past week, enjoying the 4th of July festivities with our large extended family.  I do struggle with nightmares while he is away, but I was doing really well.  I was kind waiting for the shoe to drop, as generally its when he goes for a trip that I usually have some sort of notable event... my worst week of morning sickness while he was in Pensacola, and before that, two years ago I had severe neurological side effects from a medication.  But as of Saturday, I was feeling good and... unbelievably motivated.

I got up, and being freshly out from sickness, I thought I would start getting back into a work out routine, so I picked out my pilates video and did 10 minutes of abs and 10 minutes of flexibility.  I then proceeded to clean the house for a couple of hours, took a little nap, and then headed off to the grocery store.  I got home, and settled in for the night.  Unfortunately - the other shoe began to drop, and I noticed something that concerned me.  I called the nurse line, and they patched me in with Labor and Delivery, who recommended I head in to the ER.  I called Matt to let him know what was going on, and then called my best friend, who drove over.  I also called my other best friend, who is now an MD, and she also recommended I head in, just to get things checked out.

Ashley and I headed to the Scott & White ER.  It was a bit of a traumatic experience, and I had to get fitted with an IV (which has left a bruise that is still visible).  The ER doc had a couple of concerns so they called in a sonographer, who was on call.  She got there 55 minutes later.  She did a great job looking at everything, and by the end of the night I got to see the baby sucking its thumb, and moving around.  It was special, since the last time I saw it, it was 1.5 cm.  Both the ER doc and sonographer made references to the sex of the baby, so that was also fun to learn, sad as I was that Matt wasn't there with me.

At the end of it, I left with a diagnosis of "threatened miscarriage", and saw my doctor two days later who told me to continue to take it easy, but considered it more of a flukey one time thing.

Matt got home midnight Sunday night, and brought home the crib and changing table.  All three were a light for me, especially Matt.  I really missed him, and needless to say, we've both discussed that he's not going on any more solo trips without me.

We're so glad God is watching over me and the baby... can't believe it will just be 23 more weeks (plus or minus) until we get to meet this little one.

Love to all-

Mandy

Dreams of Pregnancy

There are fair warnings that you'll have crazy dreams when you are pregnant, and whenever my husband is away, they seem to take on a whole new level of ridiculous.  For example- in a recent dream apparently the baby had escaped and was traveling internally down my leg.  I could feel it moving while it wiggled down my leg- creepy!  Somehow it then got out, and I looked down and it was the size of one of the baby's in a King Cake at Mardi Gras.  I remember thinking... this is not good.

I think that stemmed from the practice that as I'm laying down on my left side, I think I feel the baby "thumping" me ever so lightly.  So as I go to sleep and as I wake up I'm feeling for this.  The literature all says about by week 16 you may feel the baby... I know that's all of next Tuesday but it would be nice to have something make this feel more like pregnancy rather than months of the flu and my body aching/ ballooning.

It has been funny how on many occasions that I get up from a nap, and after seeing myself in a mirror, my immediate thought is-"you've really let yourself go."  Then I have that light bulb moment that reminds me there's a reason my belly isn't what it was.  But it is comical to me how many times I do forget it, and it is a little bit of a shocker when I catch my reflection.

The baby is supposedly 4 inches long from crown to rump, and the size of a naval orange.  I'm sensing the lack of real estate in my abdomen.  After eating I have to do those side stretches from the 80's music vidoes to feel like everything fits.

I hope to get a picture soon posted.  I keep thinking about it after I'm in pj's and I always swore I'd never be one of those gals who took a picture of myself in the bathroom mirror... (don't know why that matters, but I guess we all pick the things we'll be wierd about).