moi

updates:
here are three photos taken from my new iphone in our living room tonight, at 24 weeks. sans makeup! i'm so brave.
my belly keeps growing and so do it. we had another doctor's appointment today, and i've gained 5 lbs since the last one, which was four weeks ago. she said as long as i keep it at 1 lb a week i'm fine. she's very kind about weight gain ;) but i do want to be more cautious. i don't so much feel guilty for eating the amount that i do, because i don't find it to be that much more than what i had been eating. i more so want to walk much more often. twice during the day at work and hopefully once a night. though i feel like i'm hardly ever home so i need to make those work walks uphill just in case i don't squeeze in an evening one (how cool that i have uphill work walk options; not to mention all the deer sightings lately)
so, most importantly of all updates:
health: our baby is doing very well. her heart rate is good; not too fast, not too slow. she's a good size. if anything, a bit on the petite side. our doctor already has a 'gut feeling' that she won't reach 8 lbs but will likely reach 6 or 7. how she can tell that is beyond me.
gender: today's appointment was ultrasound # 2 to confirm the gender. just in case some anatomy was hiding last month. sure enough, we've still got our girl. it was nice to get the confirmation, and even better to see her moving around and hear her heartbeat
activity: she's a mover & a shaker. some days i don't feel much but when she's awake, it's very obvious. our doctor even commented on her kicking during the ultrasound (you could see her kick and then cross her legs at the ankles!!) and during lamaze class tonight i started to feel movement so i pulled my cardigan to the side and greg and i both saw a kick!
me: i've been having quite frequent discomfort in my upper stomach, below my rib cage on the left side. i figured it was indigestion. it's a burning feeling in the same area every time, and from what i could sense in a pattern, it happens after meals. our doctor believes it's 'stretching pain' which does make sense. it's all my organs pushing up and out, including the top of my uterus.
delivery: we asked whether i will be given the option of having an episiotomy (sp?) (where they cut you to prevent tearing...down there). She said she will definitely talk to me before doing anything, and it just depends on how i look down there before i'm getting ready to push. We also asked about how the conversation regarding an epidural goes during delivery, and she explained that she keeps a neutral position and lets it be our choice, and sometimes labor is quick enough that you're never given a chance (hmm, the idea of a quick delivery sounds great but too quick that you miss the epidural window? a little scary). We told her that we're leaning towards getting an epidural but still want to do research. i didn't tell her that in last week's lamaze while watching a video about the pros and cons of receiving the pain reliever, i almost walked out in hysteria because it was so overwhelming and scary.
nursery: we measured all the walls today and started conversation about where to place the crib and dresser, so that the rest can 'fall into place' in terms of smaller bookshelves, wall-hangings, etc. We'll also need to buy new curtains and purge the closet. bringing in the furniture will take place before we fly to austin for thanksgiving. i at least want the layout of the room confirmed before then, because once we return it's december and we all know what that month is like
to compare: today i also went and had routine blood work done to check my sugar levels and make sure that i don't have gestational diabetes. it's the 'glucose test' which proceeds as follows: go to the lab (there's one 2 mins from our house) have your blood drawn, drink super sugary, lukewarm fluid (fruit punch flavor) and by drink i mean chug it within five minutes, then wait in the waiting room (i took 3 magazines: they don't let you leave) then once the hour is up, have your blood drawn again. this is all after fasting, so it's a little scary not eating breakfast but i felt just fine.
anyway; to compare: while reading my mag and waiting, a girl came in and i saw her drinking the same juice and she sat down and we started talking and: she's due one day before me!! on feb 6th. so that was really fun, comparing notes. it's also her first baby, she's having a boy, hasn't felt a strong kick yet, and works at banana republic. we wrote down each others names so we can be facebook friends :)

ok, that's enough updates for now. i'm sure there's many more because i haven't written in awhile, but it's past my bedtime and i'm hungry but don't want to eat more so i'm going to go to bed.