20 weeks

Halfway today!! Here is my 20 week belly pic:


Thought I'd start to do a few different shots to start to see my belly from different angles as it grows. I've also done one for a comparison - here it is with the last couple of shots:

Looks to me like it is getting more rounded and coming out more from the top. It seems to have gotten a bit bigger in the last two weeks, but I don't really know how much - I haven't gotten that feeling like I'm really popping out more again yet.

Today also marks the day when I am officially on holidays from work for Christmas - two whole weeks off! It's been a year since I have had any time off work so I'm really looking forward to it. I'm all set to get off to a great start this morning with a facial, pedicure and manicure at my favourite beauty salon, courtesy of my darling husband.

20 week OB Appointment

I had my appointment at the OB yesterday afternoon as a follow up to the scan last week. I think I was in there all of 5 minutes. I wasn't expecting it to be a highly exciting appointment though, considering that everything went so well with the scan last week, there's not really much that had to be said. So far my pregnancy has been going so smoothly so I have no concerns that I needed to bring up with him either.

One thing that did come out of the appointment was he told me that my placenta is positioned at the front of my belly, explaining why I have still not felt any movements. With being nearly 20 weeks and having other people and books telling me I should be feeling the baby move, it was starting to get a bit disheartening that I still hadn't felt anything. Apparently it could still be another month before I really start to feel movements. While it's a bit sad that it will probably be a while before I will get to have that bonding experience, I feel so much better knowing that there is a good reason why it is taking longer for me to feel the baby's movements.

Other than that, it was the usual blood pressure & fetal heart rate check, opportunity for questions and a thanks very much, see you in 4 weeks.

19 week morphology scan

Finally, the 19 week scan was today!! I have been just so stressed about this scan. Particularly the last week I have been really worried about something being wrong. It's been keeping me up at night and I've been in a panic a few times about what might happen at the scan. I've always gotten really nervous before a scan, but the further along in the pregnancy it is, the more worried I seem to get. Doesn't make any logical sense considering that so far the pregnancy has been very smooth and the further along we get the less risk there is. But I think from an emotional perspective, the further along I get, the harder I think it would be to recover if something went wrong.

But, everything went absolutely perfectly!! Bub is doing so well, in fact is actually now measuring a week ahead of my original EDD. Bub's growth is at 75.5% where 50% is average and 90% is a really big baby so def developing well and looking like it may be a bit of a chubber!! Bub now weighs about 334g and the sonographer guessed the length at around 20cm. Everything else with bub was exactly what they wanted to see, the placenta is sitting beautifully up the top and my cervix is exactly as it should be.

Bub was a bit shy with the 4d face close ups, but we still managed to get some great pics! It is truly amazing what technology can do. I had seen heaps of 4d images before, but it was different again seeing OUR baby in the same sort of detail, just incredible!! They have to mail us out the pics and the report cause of a network problem, but we were able to take the DVD home with us and I've grabbed a couple of images off that. This one is probably my fav:

What a grumpy little pose!! So cute with the hand rubbing the eyes. Here's a couple more that I love:

Like I said, bub didn't really like those face shots, but I'm so happy with the images that we have. It was a fantastic place where we had the scan done too, could not be happier with it. Beautiful rooms, lovely staff, comfy bed with a plasma tv directly ahead of me on the wall to see the baby, hubby had a comfy couch to sit on as well. A bit more expensive for the pleasure, but well worth it. I'd go back there again in a second.

I'm going to make a real effort now to not worry as much about everything and just try to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy. Now that I am nearly half way through, I am just starting to see how quickly it could go by looking back and I'd hate to feel like I missed it because I was worrying too much.

18 weeks

18 weeks today!! Still waiting for those first movements from bub. I keep trying to concentrate on my belly trying to feel something, but nothing yet. Hopefully won't be too far away. Only one more week until our morphology scan - starting to get nervous already. I'm excited about seeing bub again, but I can't help getting nervous before a scan.

Here's my 18 week belly shot:

and here is the comparison with the 16 week shot:

I think hubby is right with the opinion that my belly hasn't really grown a lot over the past fortnight, but it has changed shape.

The main pregnancy symptom I have been struggling with lately is back pain. I really didn't think that I would experience this so early in the pregnancy, but for the last week especially I am finding that by the end of the day my back is extremely painful. I am making an effort to try to have correct posture when sitting, and I now put a pillow into the small of my back when sitting on the couch which I am finding is helping. I ache a lot after sleeping as well, or what little sleep I get seeing as how this sleep problem is turning out to be an ongoing problem for me.

Good news is that I started my new job today. I asked my workplace for reduced duties so that I can be based in the office rather than on the road on my feet in the heat of summer. I have been placed in a wonderful office, very close to home with a fantastic group of people. I couldn't be happier with the way it worked out. I feel really good about my decision, knowing that the most important thing for me is to put my baby and my body first.

Maternity clothes - pics

As requested! :)

The red shirt says "Guess? Boy or Girl" and the black shirt says "Caution I Kick" Very cute :)

Maternity clothes

I finally went and did it on the weekend - I went shopping for maternity clothes. For some strange reason, this job has been something I have been very skitish about. I have no idea why, but I have been putting off even looking at maternity clothes for a while, and was really worried about my first experience in a maternity shop. I even asked my hubby to come with me for moral support.

But it all went really well! I went to a new maternity store in my local shopping centre - they had a great range and the salesperson was just fantastic. She pulled out heaps of clothes for me in my size (my pre-pregnancy size too!), co-ordinating different tops and pants and making sure that the fit was right, testing with a fake belly. The first thing I noticed as I was trying these clothes on was OMG, they are sooooo comfy!!!! They feel like I am wearing trackies!! But you would never know they weren't just like normal clothes cause they have a hidden elastic band inside the waist and they just sit really low at the front under my belly. I ended up with a whole wardrobe of pants, tops & a gorgeous new set of PJ's. I don't know how I am ever going to go back to wearing normal clothes again!

The best thing about getting the maternity clothes is my renewed appreciation of my body. When I have been wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes, it has been very hard not to just feel like I am getting fat in the first half of the pregnancy - as I get bigger, the clothes look less and less flattering. The maternity clothes do the opposite - they highlight my bump and make it look beautiful, and the bigger I get, the better they are going to look! This is the first time that I can really say that I am loving the look of my bump!

16 weeks

16 weeks today! Only 4 more weeks, then I am halfway through this pregnancy! It's hard to believe how far along I am now, but on the other hand the pain of waiting for this time is still very real. Even in the early stages of the pregnancy, I can still feel each day seeming like 3 days while waiting for the next blood test or scan. Sometimes I still find time dragging while waiting for the next milestone.

Anyway, here is my 16 week belly pic:

and here it is compared to the 14 week shot...

Feels like I am popping out more and more every day. People at work seem to keep a close eye on my belly - it is strange hearing people say how big you are gettting, and even stranger when they make you stand on the side so they can stare at your belly. It's hard not to feel like I am constantly on show.

I caved the other day and bought some new bras - I'm now a whole cup size bigger! I also bought my first maternity outfit - a dress that you can also wear as a skirt. I really need to go shopping for some summer clothes as I'm running out of things to wear. But it's hard at this in-between stage. I'm still too small for maternity outfits, but too big for 'normal' clothes.

Oh and I finally managed to get a pic of the nursery manchester that I bought last week - this is the main pack:

There was also the fleece blanket that I bought seperately, it is green with the same style of embroidery on it. Hopefully our new shed will be up this weekend, then we can look at getting the cot into the nursery and start getting everything together. I finished my 'baby list' the other day and am just tweaking it now with the advice of some very helpful mummies. Seems overwhelming looking at such a big list, but I keep telling myself that we have heaps of time. And hey, if I can pull off a beautiful wedding by myself in 11 months, I can handle baby prep!