16 Weeks

A quick (or maybe not) update for you guys:

How your baby's growing

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

How I’m feeling: Except for that brief interlude at the beginning of last week when I was exhausted, I’ve been feeling pretty normal.

Workouts: I got back on track after Tuesday last week but then sorta fell off the wagon a bit this past weekend. Not because I didn’t have the energy for real exercise, but because I was just feeling lazy. I finally redeemed myself a little on Monday with backyard boot camp and some jogging intervals up the street and back. I think I did that 6 times so I wonder how many neighbors saw me and wondered what had gotten into me.  I also went to boot camp at the Y on Tuesday and ran (okay, jogged) for 53 minutes on the greenway at the Museum of Art on Wednesday.  I did have to walk a few times, which probably added up to 10 minutes at the slower pace all together.

Food cravings/aversions: Still no specific cravings, but I feel like carbs in general are harder to resist than they used to be. Chips, candy, crackers, chocolate, the breadsticks from Olive Garden, cereal…

Sleep: Same as before – I’m very tired by bedtime and have been sleeping really well for the most part. I’ve even been able to make it through the night without a potty break, which is wonderful.

Movement: Nothing yet but I’m anxiously awaiting feeling it for the first time.

Belly button in or out: In, where it’s supposed to be.

Rings on or off: On and in no danger of not fitting so far.

Maternity clothes: Not yet. However, I finally went through the clothes Bri gave me and I’m confident I really won’t have to invest in any casual clothes (Thanks, Bri!), which is good since I’ll need to get a decent work wardrobe built up. But can I just tell you how awesome maternity jeans are? Like I told Bri, if I’d known how comfortable those things were, I might’ve let the McHusband knock me up sooner!

Recent fun or interesting things: I guess this qualifies as interesting. I had a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday and found out that my iron level is good, the baby’s heartbeat is strong, and my uterus is where it’s supposed to be. Yeah, I was real worried about that last thing. This definitely isn’t fun but I suppose it might be interesting to some of you: According to the doctor’s scale, I’ve gained three pounds in the past four weeks, which means three pounds in eight weeks since my weight was the same from week 8 to week 12.  Still, seeing the scale go up was tough to swallow even though I knew it was going to happen eventually. And those three pounds are just the beginning…

New baby items: Nothing yet but I did scope out the car seats, strollers, and diaper bags in Target the other day.

Miss anything?: Wine. Staying up past 11:00 on the weekends and not feeling like I’m going to fall asleep on my feet. My pants fitting the same at the end of the day as at the beginning.

If you’ve made it this far, here’s a picture for your viewing pleasure.  I took it in the bathroom at work yesterday morning.  With some effort, my middle could look flatter and with not as much effort, it could look rounder.  This is me just standing normal – good posture and core engaged.

I’ve taken a few other pics along the way so one day I’ll do a comparison post.  Not sure I’m looking forward to that…

TGIF!  The weather here this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous, and I can’t wait to enjoy it, starting with my lunch today when I’ll sit outside with my book