17 Weeks

John came along today, for my regular OB check-up. I'm 17 weeks now, and still barely showing. I have gained 4 pounds since my last appointment, when I was actually down 2 pounds from my pre-baby weight. If I had to guess, I'd say 2 of those 4 pounds are in my boobs. On Sunday, I thought I had found a stretch mark on my left boob, and I tweeted this:

Turns out, baby is not in my boobs. I know this because I heard the heartbeat today, perfectly clear, and still located in my lower abdomen. As soon as my doctor touched the doppler thingamajig to my stomach, we could hear the steady, strong, ka-cha, ka-cha, ka-cha that was our baby's heart beating. Today, it was 140-150 bpm, which they say means it's a boy. Although, the heartbeat was 160 at my last appointment, and 178 before that, both of which are supposed to mean girl, so now I'm just totally confused. I'll only be confused a little longer though, because we've scheduled The Ultrasound for February 10th, a little over two weeks away. I have never been so excited for something before in my life. Really. Never. 

Today we also decided to opt-out of the Penta Screen, blood-work to test for possible genetic problems like neural tube defects and down syndrome. We chose to forgo the test for a few reasons. First, we will not, under any circumstances, terminate this pregnancy. If a problem was detected through the penta screen, nothing could really be done but to terminate, or prepare. We will check for these genetic issues at The Ultrasound, so I am satisfied that if there is a problem, there will be a chance to catch it and prepare accordingly. False-positives are also possible, and could cause unnecessary anxiety and worry. I'm not willing to put myself, and my baby through that. PLUS, I like having blood drawn just about as much as I like paper cuts, so I wasn't too upset about missing out on all that fun.

In other news, my blood pressure was good. Position of uterus was perfect. OB says it's totally normal that I'm not showing yet, don't expect to until 20-24 weeks, especially since this is my first. I learned that I can use benzoyl peroxide for my breakouts and it's okay to take Tylenol daily for these headaches I've been getting. I also asked about traveling, since my family is planning a vacation in May and I'd like to tag along. I got the green light to travel up through the 36th week of my pregnancy as long as no complications come up down the road.

AND ONLY 16 DAYS UNTIL THE ULTRASOUND!!!!!!!!!!!

PS: I've been feeling...something...in my lower abdomen. I didn't want to say anything until I was totally positive, but my OB says it's likely that I'm feeling the baby. I notice it when I'm still, and then it's just a light flutter, like what I would imagine baby's movement would feel like. It's like, contact with my baby, and it's intoxicating. 

Either that, or it's gas.