16 April: Big Changes in the Second Trimester (Jen)

I can feel the baby (or, babies?)!!! HOORAY!!! I first felt movement on Sunday, April 6th, but I didn't really believe that it was the baby. Ben and I had just had a big meal and were in bed for a nap. I felt something like marbles being pushed outward -- three of them. Then it stopped and I felt nothing until this past weekend. I kept thinking "it must be gas moving around, but I don't feel gassy!" Then, at our most recent appointment with the midwives, Monday the 13th, while we were listening to the baby's heartbeat, I felt that same gassy movement feeling and then the heartbeat stopped. She asked if I had just felt the baby move and I told her that I felt something, but didn't know if it was the baby or not -- and she said "that's it! That's your baby!" That made me soooooo very happy!! I usually only feel the baby once a day -- if that -- and it's usually at night when I'm trying to fall asleep. I can't feel the movements on the outside of my belly yet, but I still sometimes tell Ben to try to feel the baby anyway. He's so sweet and massages my belly and puts his head on it, and even kisses my belly! He's the best!!
Other changes include my feeling better overall -- no more cold! Lots of blowing my nose still (and lots of minor nose bleeds), but more energy and no more pressure in my ears, and no more coughing (that's the best part!)! I've also started to notice more blood in my body. When I get headaches, I can often hear a pulse -- the midwives said that this is very common -- pregnant women often claim that they can hear their blood flowing. CRAZY! On Sunday night I was on the phone having an extremely stressful conversation, and I could feel a strong pulse in my neck, then my chest, and then my belly. I guess that as my body went into "fight or flight" mode, all that extra blood overloaded my core! I was so worried that night and the next day that the stress might have hurt the baby, but the next day was the appointment with the midwives, and the baby's heartbeat was its normal 160 bpm, and my blood pressure was normal, too. Phew! I also find myself sitting a lot, and almost sighing when I sit down, like I didn't realize how tired I was until I let myself rest. BabyCenter.com says, to moms in their 18th week (like me), "Your heart has to work 40 percent to 50 percent harder now to support your pregnancy." No wonder I get pooped so fast!  :)

Oh, and at our visit on Monday, the midwife said that the top of my uterus (the fundus!) was more than an inch higher that it had been the week before, and that its size is more on track with a uterus of woman two weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy (the fundus is now exactly half-way up my navel, so in the next couple weeks my "innie" should become an "outie"!). So she tried to listen for two heartbeats. She found strong heartbeats on both sides of my belly, but since they were the exact same frequency, she couldn't say anything for certain. Our ultrasound is only 12 days away, and boy are we excited for that! Oh, and even my maternity tops seem to want to roll on up my belly to rest below my breasts and above my belly. It's kinda fun to be able to feel the effects of the growth of my belly, but really annoying when I'm in public!  :)