what a week!

Phew!!! What a week. I went to Chicago for work - no problems there, fine time, great town, and then I came back and it was labor day weekend! That meant a quick 2 night trip to Long Island to see the in-laws and my sister and brother in law and my godson, and it was a busy weekend! Thank god I had Monday off, and yesterday was my 20 week anatomy scan! YAYAYAY! That took place at the hospital I will deliver at, St.Lukes-Roosevelt in Manhattan which provided us with a great opportunity to get our bearings, as thankfully I have never been to a hospital in NYC. It seemed like a nice clean place, and I really only saw the fetal maternity ward or whatever you call it, and not the actual maternity ward. For that I need to schedule a tour (note to self: schedule tour!

Anyway - we filled out a piece of paper, waited in the waiting room (bring a magazine or book if you're going, there were NONE there), and then went into a room with a nice gal who was the ultrasound technician. I pulled my pants and undies to just below my pubic bone and off they went! It was about 25-30 minutes and she looked at pretty much all aspects of the growing baby...the head, arms, legs, feet, hands, heart, spine, you name it! She spent a lot of time on the heart, which I guess because it's important to watch it work and make sure things are working well. We told her we didn't want to know the sex, and she said "ok, I'll let you know when I get to that area and you can look away", but she didn't - or didn't tell us to look away and we were none the wiser, which makes me think it's a girl - because maybe there's nothing to see - at least nothing resembling a penis! Ha! After she was done, she gave us 3 photos and then a doctor came in and reviewed everything super fast and said everything was fine and that they would send results to my doctor. And that was that! Painless and supposedly normal! I'll call the doc on Friday to check in about the results anyway.

PS> I'm 20 weeks!

baby moving?

Sorry - this will be short but sweet since I am going to Chicago in the AM for work...I have to pack and go to bed. So...AM i feeling the baby move? Sometimes I feel some flutters, sometimes I don't. I was told that since my placenta is attached to the front, that it might take me a little longer to feel it, but I thought I did, but then it became lighter. I dunno! Time will tell! We have our 20 week anatomy scan on 9/2, which will be super exciting and maybe the baby will move and I will see it AND feel it move! I'm off to Chicago for a quick trip tomorrow....wish me luck and sleep!

protein

I'm on a protein kick...well, I should have been all along. Truthfully, since I got pregnant I have been trying harder to eat more healthily and be more conscious of what I ingest, BUT I haven't been eating enough protein. My mother has been concerned about that for a while and mentioned it a couple of times, but I assured her I was fine. The other day however, I looked up exactly HOW much protein a pregnant woman is supposed to be eating, and it's 75g per day. That's sort of a lot, and I realized that I probably rarely hit that. So...I'm keeping track, and upping my protein. I just finished a protein shake, which has 30g of protein in it, and yesterday for lunch I had some salmon, which has 45g of protein in it (that's what the photo is...not of my lunch, but of salmon) - Oh, and I found a yogurt with a whopping 17g of protein in it! I hope this manages to make me feel healthier and maybe even less tired! On another note, my ligaments are hurting a bit, which in my mind is good, since it probably means that my belly is getting bigger and soon I will look officially pregnant and not just fat! I have been feeling ok, still need to go to bed earlier, and getting used to sleeping on my side, but I really miss sleeping on my back. Oh, and I'm 19 weeks now!

"cravings"

I don't think I've had "cravings" yet per se, like what IS a craving? In my mind, a pregnancy craving isn't really limited to being pregnant. I think it's just wanting something and having no reason to deny it for yourself. When people ask me if I've had any cravings, I sort of think of some medical deep need for something that is a switch in my brain, not just some random food I feel like eating. The dictionary says craving is "an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing". So, I don't think I've had any of those. I have WANTED (to have or feel need) some foods, but that's no different than prior to me being pregnant! Those things have included the following: bacon, milkshakes, fruit, nutella, spaghetti, tacos, salted chocolate. It's not like I need any of those things immediately, it's just that I've been on a diet for at least 5 years, and now suddenly I am not supposed to be on a diet? What's a girl gonna do? I'm gonna eat what I want! If any actual cravings come up, I'll let you know!

doctor

We went to the doctor yesterday afternoon for an 18 week checkup. We met another doctor in the practice and she was very nice. There are 4 doctors and we're at the point where we start rotating in order to get to know them all, since you never know who will be on when it's time to deliver!

Again, no ultrasound, but we did hear the heartbeat - which is always nice....to know that it's still there and doing well! The rate was 130bpm, which is good. Thing were smooth at the doctor. Not much to report. They took blood for the spina bifida test, since that wasn't included in the CVS testing. Good news about that, is that I didn't pass out. The nurse that took my blood said "I remember you.." in a worried/snarky tone.

I am most looking forward to our 20 week anatomy scan, which is on 9/2. That will be the first time we've seen the baby in about 2 months!

I'm still feeling good, trying to drink a ton of water, since I do have constipation as always. I am showing a bit more, but I haven't "popped" yet. I don't exactly know what that means, but from what I hear I will wake up one morning and magically not be able to do up my pants. People that tell me this swear that they aren't exaggerating, but I don't believe them, so we'll see!

In other news, I THINK I am feeling some movement. It feels like occasional fluttering, and I think that's what it is, but it's so faint that it's hard to tell. The doc said in 2 weeks I will know it for sure...cool!!!

i'm back!

I'm back from 6 days away. It's nice to be back home and in my own bed! I was in Vancouver, where I was born, and Victoria, where I was raised. We had a lovely time in both places and saw lots of friends and family.

People were very excited to see me and my slowly growing belly, and it seemed that babies were the hot topic everywhere, much to the chagrin of my husband. He did well though. We spent a lot of time with a lovely 5 year old, and he got some good practice in!

My cousin gave me a lovely gift of a maternity shirt and sweater, which I am psyched about. It's a white shirt, which I have been looking for, and the sweater ties in the front, which will be perfect! Being that I will be super pregnant in the winter, sweaters are key. I also got 2 pairs of maternity pants thanks for my friend Tracy. She helped me find some good stuff. We also stayed at her place in Victoria and hung out with her 5 year old - Thanks Tracy!

My trip was bittersweet though. My parents recently moved from Victoria to Saskatchewan, so I wasn't able to see them, so it was weird being in my hometown and them not being there, and me not being able to go to our house. It was sad! I also don't know when I will get back to the w.coast. I hope it's soon since I have so many lovely friends and family there that I want to see them all again soon!

on vacation!

Sorry for the slight delay. I'm on vacation in Vancouver and Victoria, the place of my birth and where I grew up, respectively. I will put an official new post up soon!