Baby update and pictures: 18-19 weeks

Well, last Monday was my 18-week appointment and if you've been pregnant or know about this kind of thing, it's a big deal because if you want to, you get to find out the sex of your baby. This is VERY exciting news because up until this point most women haven't felt any fetal movement, haven't gained much weight, etc. So you may not feel all that pregnant until you find out the sex of the baby, which of course we did. IT'S A BOY!!

Here's what he's looking like now:

The thing by his mouth looks like a foot/hand but it's actually his umbilical cord (see, there's no bone in there).

The above shot is proof of his, er, status... it's basically a shot from the butt up. There's a leg on the left, his thing and then a bit of his other leg there. Like I said, this may be inappropriate to send to the world, but c'est va.

It was really amazing for M to be there for this ultrasound because he missed the 13-week one, so he hadn't seen the baby since the 8-week ultrasound and he was literally the size of a kidney bean back then. So M and I were so excited to see him. And, not to brag, our son did not disappoint. He put on quite a show in the beginning with his acrobatics, his punching and kicking, and moving all around. After about 20 minutes, he started to calm down and decided he was done cooperating. Thankfully we had already found out the sex, because he decided to curl up and take a little nap. Despite the tech's insistent pushing and jiggling my belly to get him to move and lay straighter for his measurements, he was insistent on sleeping.

Since the ultrasound, I've been wondering when I'd feel him move. Even though "they" say not to compare yourself to other women, everyone does. And all of my currently-pregnant friends had either felt movement by now or are publicly showing. I was neither, so I kept on pushing and prodding him each night hoping he'd kick me back. Well, at 3am the other night, he finally did. YEAH!! I got one swift kick in the side. Not too much since then. I tried to get him to kick me again last night and I think I got a small tap with his elbow or hand, but I'm not certain.

I'm still not really showing, my belly is the opposite of my friend's bellies right now, even though 99% of us are having boys. They all have little beach-ball bellies that stick straight out and are cute. Mine is still more of a pitcher's mound, just rises slightly and you can't really see it in my clothes. I actually look more pregnant after a meal because the top part of my belly (which seems like my regular stomach now that my uterus has grown all the way up to my belly button) rounds out more.

But finally one person did ask me, politely and in a roundabout way, if I am pregnant. So cute, she said, "Um, so do you have any news for us?" Clearly she knew. But I was happy to hear that she didn't think I just gained weight. She knows I run (or used to) and am conscious about what I eat/do as she is. So when her co-worker said, "well maybe she's just gaining weight." SP said, "nope, not LG, she doesn't do that." YEAH!! I love you SP.

When all is said and done, I'm really happy with how this pregnancy is progressing. Although I was concerned with my small size, my midwife has assured me that baby boy Dixon is right where he should be size-wise and his health couldn't be better. I've gained 10 lbs so far, and given that I'm 19 weeks now (almost halfway there) I am pleased, if not disconcerted at times to get on the scale.

Here's to hoping that I've only got another 15 lbs to go! Even if he gains 6 or 7 lbs, I'm hoping that'll do it.