The Advantages of a Late Ultrasound

I've come to terms with the fact that I likely won't get my ultrasound until 22 or 23 weeks. It was really upsetting at first, but I'm getting better. I have my next appointment on Tuesday at 19 weeks and 4 days, and at that time we will schedule my u/s. The problem is that they schedule anywhere from 2-4 weeks out ANYWAY, but we have Veteran's Day on the 11th...followed by a Friday "down day" which means non-emergency offices will not be open. The next week is wide open, but because Hazen's shop's manning has been cut in half the ONLY day he can come with me is that Friday afternoon. The next week is Thanksgiving week. Hazen is available on both the 22 and 24 at any time (Monday and Wednesday) but then Thanksgiving is Thursday and, you guessed it, another "down day" on Friday. So, basically, I have no choice but to be okay with a late ultrasound.

Now, to the advantage part of this--the gender should be VERY obvious by that gestation. So I figure I can be pretty confident in whatever they tell me (and, BTW, I am still convinced they are going to say it's a girl. My "instinct" is really strong regarding this...so I'm probably wrong, lol).

In other news, I took my last Unisom on Monday night. Haven't had one on Tuesday or Wednesday. So far, so good. I don't feel awesome, but I'm not nauseas and I'm not throwing up. This is the fourth time I've tried to stop them, so I'm really hoping it works this time--I REALLY hate taking any kind of medicine unless I absolutely have to. I don't even like to take Tylenol. The downside is that Unisom is now marketed as a sleeping aid, whereas it was originally an anti-nausea medicine (obviously still used that way, but not marketed as such). The last two nights have not been the best sleep-wise. I wake up several times, I can't get comfortable, I have one long stretch where I absolutely cannot get back to sleep. So I am missing the sleep-aid part of it, but don't want to be dependent on sleeping pills either. So I'm going to suck it up and hopefully my body quickly adjusts to not having that help and will let me get a little more sleep.

The 18 week belly

I don't like anything touching my belly, so I roll it over. Definitely starting to look (and feel!!) pregnant this week. The couple of days of serious growth I had were painful. Hopefully soon people notice I'm growing a little person as opposed to just gaining weight. ;)

Feeling Kicks!

Last night, hubby felt the baby kicking. It was so much fun--I really love it when other people can start feeling it, too. It will be a bit longer before I let other people try (uterus is still slightly below my bellybutton...no one needs to be putting their hands there!), but it's really great to be able to share it with my hubby. :)

At the beginning of the week, I was getting a little worried because Baby was being stubborn and really wasn't moving much. I was eating, drinking orange juice, having ice-cream, anything I could to get the stinker to move for me. Not much was happening. Wednesday afternoon the movements started to be more regular again, and then yesterday (Thursday) they were pretty strong. On top of that, the sides of my belly were really hurting, especially if I coughed or laughed (those round ligaments are no joke!!). I seriously grew just over yesterday...it was painful. I'll take a pic in the next day or two so you can see the difference between 16 weeks and 18. Ouch!

I can very rarely feel the baby on the outside. Last night, I was laying in bed and s/he was pretty active. I put my hand on my belly and was immediately kicked! I had Hazen put his hand on me, and sure enough, he was given two big kicks. It was fun to see his reaction. He faked feeling it once with Ian and I knew he wasn't telling the truth. The time he really did feel it, I could tell it was genuine. These times were definitely genuine--he would gasp or say "wow!" at exactly the right moment, without me having to say "Did you feel that?". So cool!!

The Cabbage Test

So, there is a gender test out there known as the cabbage test. The gist of it is this: Cut up a purple cabbage into tiny little pieces. Boil some water. Put the cabbage in the water and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1 part cabbage water to 1 part urine. If the water turns pink or red, you're having a boy. If it's purple, it's a girl. Here are my results (I did this around 13 weeks, I think, so awhile ago...I'm just that awesome at blogging).

On the counter (purple):


In the window (reddish):


Going down the sink? Purple. So my interpretation? I'm having a boy or a girl. ;)

17 weeks, 5 days

Almost 18 weeks...this pregnancy is flying by! I have my next appointment on November 2 and am very anxious to get my ultrasound scheduled and find out if we're having a boy or a girl.

I'm feeling better. I'm still at my pre-pregnancy weight, so hoping to start gaining pretty soon. I looked back at my info from Ian and I was down almost a full pound at this point with him, so at least I'm doing a little better. And I ended up gaining 30 pounds and having an 8 pound, perfectly healthy little boy that time. I'm sure the same will happen this time. :)

If I take Unisom the night before, I don't have to worry about morning sickness. I have tried not taking it a few times, but everytime I throw up. Really not fun. I'm going to try and go without it again this weekend...hoping soon I'll be ready to give it up!

The fatigue is better. I don't have to take naps everyday anymore, though I still appreciate the ones I squeeze in! By bedtime I am beat, but it's alright. I'm sleeping well, and that's the important thing.

So, finally for some belly pictures. I've taken a pic about every three weeks. I may start doing every two soon, but for now three weeks between seems to be a good comparison. I'm taking a while to really pop out again, same as I did with Ian. It's all about the long torso, I guess. ;)

3 weeks, 3 days (day I got my BFP! End of the day and a little bloated):


10 weeks:



13 weeks:



16 1/2 weeks: