16 weeks and....

How far along: 16 weeks





Size of baby:  4.5 inches. The size of an avocado. In the next few weeks, my baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. 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 my baby continues to develop.




Weight gain: 0 pounds!! 



Maternity clothes: I am wearing mostly maternity pants now and a few of my maternity shirts.  Still trying to get use of my normal shirts for now.


Gender: Our Peanut has a peanut... between his legs!!! Yep that's right, we are having a BOY!!  See story below.



Movement: I am feeling movement much more lately.  Even a few kicks here and there.



Sleep: I can sleep pretty easily but am having a hard time with staying on my left side.  I get really sore and uncomfortable on that side but if I am  on my back or right side I sleep great!  I guess I need more practice and one of those great pregnancy pillows!




Symptoms: Still getting nausea occasionally but it's nothing I can't handle.  Heartburn and headaches are what I am fighting most right now. 




Cravings: Everything!!  I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving!  All that yummy food! I can hardly wait!



Best moment this week: Well first it was getting the doppler in the mail (Thanks again Holly! You are awesome!) and listening to Peanuts heartbeat and movements.  Then yesterday at our appointment with Dr. Sanders, he decided we needed to try to see what the baby was before Thanksgiving.  Peanut was standing on his head so Dr. S wasn't sure if we could get a good look but he is pretty confident that our Peanut is a Mr.!!!  He kept going over the area and seeing what he called "a third leg".  We have a couple of pictures but nothing worth scanning.  Peanut was really active and kept moving around but Dr. S checked a few different positions and from each one Peanut looked all Boy!!!  Dr. S also did a measurement of our little guy's femur bone.  When they measured Avery's femur at 19.5 weeks it measured at around 14 weeks.  Peanut's femur bone measured 15 weeks 5 days at 15 weeks 6 days so I pretty much breathed a huge sigh of relief and cried some tears of pure joy.  We will still be going to St. George in 2 weeks just to make sure everything looks good and Dr. S wants us to do a Quad screen to test for Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida and a couple of other things.  I don't really want to do that test but he was really pushing it so I guess we will.  But as of right now I believe there is a healthy baby boy in my belly and I couldn't be happier!




What I am looking forward to: Shopping for my little guy and eating lots of yummy food next week.