Baby Blessing: Weeks 15 & 16 & 17

In my last pregnancy update (which was quite a while ago - I wish I was doing better with weekly pregnancy updates!), I wrote about the concern I was feeling about the health of the baby.  Knowing that the concern was unfounded did not fully alleviate my anxiety; but having an appointment at the 15-and-a-half-weeks mark with Barbara, one of the lovely midwives, did.  She found the heartbeat, marching along at a strong and steady 147 beats per minute; and oh, what a lovely sound!  I had to confess to her that I had been worrying some about the baby and that Jeff had even suggested during the week prior to my appointment that I call into the office and see if I could come in to check on the baby.  I told her that I felt ridiculous for even worrying when I had no reason to, and so I didn't even consider taking Jeff up on his offer for me to go in for an extra appointment.  But Barbara, being so kind and reassuring, informed me that some women, particularly those who have had miscarriages, do go in for a quick weekly check, just to hear the heartbeat and have the reassurance that comes from knowing that a little heart is still ticking away inside.  The wonderful thing about Barbara--well, besides the fact that she delivered Tobin and helped so much to make that birth experience so incredible--is the fact that she gave birth to five babies who are all grown and now she has lots of grandchildren.  So for any situation that arises, she seems to have a personal story to share about it.  And what's more, she actually takes the time to stay in the room and share it, not rushing out to the next patient, but calmly taking her time and making each woman feel valuable and heard.  Barbara is a gem.  

That appointment was on Wednesday, October 19; and I left the office feeling joyful and grateful that all was well.  I was also hoping that the peace I felt would stick with me for a while so that I wouldn't have to be one of those women who worries so much that they have to go in for extra checks, just for peace of mind.  :)  Blessedly, my next dose of reassurance came only three days later.  Saturday night, October 22, I sat here at the desk where I'm now sitting; and as time went by, I began to be vaguely aware of rumblings in my abdomen.  At first, I subconsciously attributed it to hunger, which makes sense because I often get hungry before bedtime and need a little snack to fill my tummy.  But as I began to focus more on what I was feeling, I realized that it was not hunger pains; and I rejoiced in the knowledge that it must surely be my baby.  Joy!  That was the day I turned 16 weeks; and since then, I haven't necessarily felt movement every single day, but I've felt it often enough to rest easy in the knowledge that my little one is growing and kicking in there.  Usually it's the late evening when I feel the most movement, but maybe that's because it's the time of day when my movement slows and I am able to notice the gentle sensations inside me.  Sitting here at the computer seems to be an ideal position for feeling the baby's movements; I surmise that the way I'm sitting makes things crowded enough to make motion obvious.  All of this reminds me that in late pregnancy, sitting in one spot for too long feels awfully cramped; but for now, it's both comfortable and comforting.  What a good gift God gave us women who carry new life inside us when He made it so that we feel the kicks and punches and turns and squirms of our precious little ones!

Even though I'm no longer fearful about how the baby is doing, I am very much looking forward to my next appointment--November 16--with the midwives, because that is the day when we'll have the ultrasound to find out whether this is a little man-cub (which I strongly suspect) or a girl-child.  With our first three children, we knew right away that we wanted to find out which to expect, so we excitedly counted down the days until we could have the ultrasound that told us the answer.  And then, to change things up, we decided to not find out during our fourth pregnancy, so until the day he was born, we didn't know that Shav was Shav!  With the first three, I LOVED knowing who they were.  With Shav, I LOVED not knowing.  This time, I really want to find out.  Funny how each situation is different and how, having done it both ways, I'm so satisfied with our choice in each pregnancy.  Only 13 more days until we know!!!!!  :)

Typing that makes me realize anew how quickly this pregnancy is zooming by.  It doesn't seem possible at all that I'm nearly at the halfway mark, and I'm hoping that the second half of pregnancy slows down a little.  :)  I do want to savor every moment and delight in the gift of being pregnant again; but ironically, I think the very fact that this pregnancy has been so easy means that it's also easy to almost "forget" about it.  Not that I'm wishing I was plagued with awful morning sickness, just so I would be reminded of the baby every time I found myself hanging onto a toilet!  I'm grateful--very much so!--that this pregnancy has been free of any significant problems.  Even the INsignificant ones haven't stuck around for long!  Like heartburn, which I mentioned in my last pregnancy post...I don't think it's bothered me since.  A few times, I've had some pain in my right lower back, but it doesn't stay for long.  One day, after doing some outside work that was more strenuous than my usual routine, I started feeling some Braxton Hicks contractions, but since then, none.  I have several friends now who are pregnant (which I love because I always think it's fun to go through pregnancy together!), but unfortunately they're having a much harder time physically with it.  Hearing their stories reminds me to thank God for the ease He's giving me as I grow this child.   

I'm sure another factor in how easy this pregnancy seems is the four other children I have who keep me busy and focused on other things.  With Josiah, I certainly did my fair share of first-time-mom over-analyzing of every little ache and pain and symptom and what-have-you.  How can a first-time-mom not do that?!  But now, with other needs to devote my attention to, I don't have much time for navel-gazing...and maybe that's a good thing.  ;-)

I do have time, however, for saying thank you to God for this wonderful gift of the child within me!

And now, a few pictures...  The first one is an action shot, which doesn't really show my bump, but does show that I raked some leaves.  :)  It also shows a "Baby" t-shirt that, when I wore it for the first time this pregnancy, Josiah said, "I really like that shirt!!"  :)

I'm not very good at taking pictures of myself, but I'm putting my perfectionist tendencies aside and posting this anyway.  This one definitely shows my bump.  ;-)

Last but not least, I finally got a pregnancy ticker put up, right below the main area of posts.  You've probably seen it already, but I mention it here because the fact that I didn't get one on the blog until here in my fourth month shows another difference between this pregnancy and my first.  With Josiah, I probably signed up for weekly baby updates from BabyCenter as soon as I saw those double lines on the pregnancy test!  This time, I'm much more laid-back:  I didn't sign up for any updates, I'm not reading a pregnancy book, and I just now got a pregnancy ticker.  What is the world Davene coming to?!  ;-)