17 weeks

We had our second ultrasound last Thursday, right at the 17 week mark. We were hoping the baby would be cooperative and we would have a little insight as to the gender of this child. But, he or she was extremely active (no big surprise there), and we didn't get a good look.


The best profile we got. Looks like a round forehead and strong jaw with lots of teeth.


Little alien face, straight on and sideways. You can see a little round tummy, and the black splotch inside is the heart.

The baby was measuring a few days ahead of schedule, which is wonderful news. Since I've been mostly healthy this pregnancy, I've been able to eat normal amounts of healthy food, and have even had the luxury of digesting it. Which means the baby is getting all the calories and nutrients he needs, and growing like a champion. He or she is about the size of a potato now, and getting stronger every day. I've been feeling tiny little baby movements for a few weeks now, but especially so this last week.


The heart was beating right along in the 160s.


Our baby has a spine!


And two tiny feet.

And so far, everything looks good. This wasn't the super thorough ultrasound that checks every detail of development, but it looks like the baby has all the right parts in all the right places. Praise be to God.

I've been having a few Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks now, and I had a weird little scare a week ago. I had what felt like a 3 or 4 hour long contraction, which was fairly painful. Drinking lots and lots of water didn't really help, and it was definitely worse if I was standing or walking. So I finally texted my midwife (ah the conveniences of modern technology), and tried a few things she recommended. Things eased up, and I kept my feet up as much as possible the next day. Within a couple of days things seem back to normal, even when I was walking around. We're very grateful we don't have to entertain the idea of bedrest.

Then this last Saturday, I woke up at 5 am throwing up. The first real morning sickness I've had in about eight weeks, which seems a little strange. And then I was really sick the rest of the day. I didn't keep anything down, and even the smallest sip of gatorade made me feel disgusting. By 8pm, I was really dehydrated. I'd lost about five pounds, and my pulse was 95. So I texted my midwife, and we discussed her coming over to start an IV. We decided to see how the night went, and praise God, I was able to keep some fluids down during the night. So I spent yesterday recovering, ate a few crackers, and only threw up a couple of times. Today I feel halfway normal, but still have a lousy appetite. I'm thankful I'm feeling better, and hoping it was just a weird fluke that will pass.

I was going to get a profile picture this weekend, but, well, that obviously didn't happen. We're hoping to have another ultrasound in a few weeks, and maybe we'll be able to tell if we need to focus on boy names or girl names.

Thanks again for all your prayers.