Getting There: 16 Weeks 3 Days

Thanks for everyone's great feedback on my blogging attempt.  I have to say, I wish I could email more personal notes, set up more time for coffee or lunch, and have lengthy phone calls with people, but this eases my mind a great deal.  So thank you!

Ginger Snap This Week

Specs: ~5" (head to boom-boom), and ~3.5 ounces

True Fact: "Your baby has learned to breathe. This is apparent from the regular movements of his/her chest, inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid. These actions help the lungs to develop and grow. More developed facial muscles may lead to various expressions, such as squinting and frowning. The baby can grasp with his hands, kick, or even somersault. Baby hears external voices, sleeps and dreams." http://www.baby2see.com/development/week16.html 

We've started having long conversations, Ginger Snap and I, on my commute to work, and kind of just about anywhere in between! Sam and I went to the midwives/birthing center yesterday, and the heartbeat is strong and steady. Just like a bongo drum! If any curious person would like to hear, let me know, and I'll upload the recording/video we took.

Me This Week:

I'm sewing more. I mowed my grass this weekend. I'm sleeping really well, and feeling even better.  Told my big-boss man today that I feel "a million bucks." I'm having a good week.  I started sewing a maternity dress with extra fabric, my seeds have sprouted in their pods, and the dogs (still) appreciate their walks! Braxton Hicks kicked in - they are serious business, let me tell you. Called my midwives and they told me to get more rest (evidently mowing and doing laundry and cleaning the house and weeding the garden) was a bit too much, too fast. I guess I will relax more - the couch is my friend! I need to start sipping my mocktails (ginger ale and lemonade) and kick my feet up more often. Oh, and guess what? Started feeling bubbles this week - Ginger Snap is floating, dancing, swirling around in there, making Momma proud already! Such a cool feeling.  

Praises for Dad (Sam AKA "S"): 

One of my close friends brought to my attention that last week's post "Beginnings" looks like "Dads" instead of referring to (Dad) Sam as "S."  Caveat: Ginger Snap's daddy's name is Sam.  So I'll call him S.  He was such a fantastic note-taker at the midwives appointment - finished my sentences/questions, asked questions I had forgotten to ask, and recorded the heartbeat. He brought me a fantastic container FULL of homemade chili and cornbread yesterday. His cooking abilities far exceed mine.  S is a happy person - it's contagious, welcomed and appreciated.  

Experiences:

This past Saturday, my dad, roommate (T) and I ventured across the Bay Bridge to a maternity/baby/kid consignment store.  I am needing a larger variety of maternity clothing (more than 1 pair of crop jeans), and figured it would be a fun field trip.  Well, it was a small store, but it still didn't ward off the anxiety I felt after an hour of trying on maternity clothes. My body is ever-so-changing, and it's not going to stop anytime soon. (T warded the one woman off! Thank you!) Acceptance is key, you see, because I'm really not in control anymore. At. All.  The woman in the store told me she "milked it for all it was worth" when she was pregnant, and she was impressed at how active and positive I am.  I'm not viewing pregnancy as an excuse to be lazy, gluttonous with my diet or complain all the time for attention. Now, I will rest, I will eat more per day, and I will have melt downs, whining attacks and down days. But I hope I don't regress as a person - this is an opportunity to grow in character, because it's not always easy. So, thank you lady in consignment store, for reminding me to not give up, and not to milk this for all it's worth. 

Thank God It's Friday! 

-Michelle