I See You, Baby!

We are at 17 weeks, and we got to see the baby on Saturday! A local radio station hosted a baby expo at our church. Their biggest attraction point was a free 2 minute sonogram for mommas in their second and third trimesters. I wasn’t going to do it initially because 1) I went with my sister and I thought Denny should really be there also, and 2) I was really concerned they would identify the gender and casually comment, “There he/she is!” Once there, however, I decided I really wanted to see my baby, and, who passes up a free sonogram, anyway?! Denny said earlier in the week that he didn’t mind if I did it, as long as I didn’t find out the baby’s gender without him {really?!?!}, and I figured I would buy the CD so that he could see pictures of the baby too at 17 weeks.

So, when I tell you these free sonograms were the biggest attraction, I wasn’t kidding. I waited almost an hour and a half in line to see my baby. Thankfully my sister and nephew were there to keep me company, and the time flew by as far as I am concerned {side note: why can’t the rest of this pregnancy go by just as quickly…?}Because we had to wait so long, Denny was done with his morning errands, so I called him and told him he had about 20-30 minutes to make it to church and be in time to see the baby with us. He made it just in time, and we got to see our baby at 17 weeks and 1 day! So precious! We saw a perfectly shaped head, eyes, a nose, a mouth with lips, a little chin, elbows, hands, fingers, spinal cord, brain activity, its little heart beating… the ultrasound tech tried to stay away from the feet, so as not to show us anything we didn’t want to see yet, but we know baby has 2 legs, and hopefully 2 dancing feet, LoL J. I still can’t believe that our little once has gone from resembling a gummy bear to looking like a really tiny human being {see baby stats below for more accurate measurements}.

I had a weird pregnancy dream on Sunday night. I dreamt that we had a late-term ultrasound and that it showed baby didn’t have a nose! Not only did I wait around in agony to get the phone call telling me my baby’s nose failed to develop {probably because of all the bagels I ate!} but then they tell me that the only way to fix this problem is to conduct and in-utero rhinoplasty!! Um, what?! It may not sound like anything other than a normal side effect of being pregnant and all the fears/anxiety that comes with it, but I was pretty upset by it. That, and it was my first weird pregnancy dream, so I thought I would document it J.

Baby Stats—Onion

• Baby is about 5.1 inches long and weighs about 5.9 ounces.
• Baby’s rubbery cartilage is now turning into bone, and he/she is growing some meat on the bones and putting on some fat!
• Baby is growing a stronger, thicker umbilical cord too!

Cravings: Gimme’ cranberry juice!!

Baby Bump: It’s getting bigger and bigger! Those who know me and know what to look for have started commenting on how “cute” is. I think I may have finally started to embrace it. Still haven’t felt the baby move, though, but the ultrasound tech told me I have an anterior placenta, which basically means the baby is hiding behind it, offering him/her more cushion and momma less of a chance of feeling any movement just yet.

P.S. There is absolutely nothing to be concerned about. It just means the baby implanted toward the front of my uterus, so the placenta developed there. I have read that in most cases, it shifts to the back eventually.

Other Changes: I am hungry, all the time again!

One final thought. I think seeing the baby, even for just 2 minutes, has really helped me to feel more connected to him/her and to embrace the fact that there is life growing inside me, and that can not take place without a few adjustments and changes. I know I’ve gone on and on about how I’ve had a hard time watching myself get bigger and all. I don’t think I’m alone in this. But it’s difficult to have the right perspective initially, when everything about pregnancy feels “bad”—morning sickness, fatigue, headaches, weight gain, joint pain, etc. And I think it’s especially difficult for first time moms who have never experienced anything like it before. Sure, other women try to warn you and prepare you, but I feel it’s like trying to tell an alien about gravity. Anyway, my point is that now that baby is looking more like a baby, and I’ve seen it with my own 2 eyes, I am feeling better about the “negatives” because, really, there are so many positives ahead!