I love seeing my belly get bigger by the week.  I love wearing maternity clothes.  I love feeling the baby move.  I love the attention I get from my co-workers.  I love that I catch people staring at my belly.  I love that suddenly people offer to help me do things.  I love that I have an excuse to buy a slice of cake at lunch.  It's all so much fun!

I remember how rough the first few months were, and I keep hearing how rough the last few months will be - but right now, I'm really enjoying being pregnant and I just wanted to share!

I went for my 22 week appointment this past Monday.  I’ve gained a total of 17 pounds now – Yikes!  Thankfully, it’s mostly in my belly, although my face looks a little chubbier to me.  I don’t appear to have gained much anywhere else, though…thank goodness. J

The doctor didn’t do much of anything at my appointment this month.  She measured my belly/uterus (22 cm) and we listened to the baby’s heartbeat.  While we were listening, the doctor noticed that the heartbeat was pausing a little.  It would beat “normal” for about 5 or 10 seconds, pause for a second, and then do it all over again.  She said that it was probably nothing to worry about, but that she was going to refer us for a special sonogram to look at the baby’s heart.  She said that she had heard the same thing with a handful of other women and it always turned out to be nothing, but it wouldn’t hurt to check it out.

Immediately afterwards I was totally paranoid that something was wrong with my sweet baby.  I managed to calm myself down some though.  The way I look at it is this:  (1) How precise can that little device be anyway?  It doesn’t look that high tech to me.  (2) The baby was moving around the whole time we were listening.  He kept kicking the Doppler thingy wherever she had it placed on my stomach.  It seems pretty likely to me that that would have an effect on how well we heard the heartbeat.

I've been feeling more kicks and wiggles lately.  I'm beginning to be able to distinguish now - what's a kick and what's the baby rolling around.    It's so much fun.  I love to just sit and feel him move.  It's one of the most amazing feelings

Like I said before, he's still not moving really regularly.  It varies from day to day.  For example, on Thursday he was moving ALL DAY LONG.  I don't know what was going on in there, but he was crazy active!  Then yesterday, I probably only felt him a handful of times.  It always makes me kind of sad on the days I don't feel him much.  It's so easy to get caught up in work or life and forget that I'm "growing" a baby.  When he kicks, it's like a little reminder...

  "Hello!  I'm still here, getting bigger and stronger every day!"  It's so amazing.

On a different note, I've been having strange dreams the last few weeks.  Last night I dreamt that I had already had the baby.  I didn't remember delivery or anything, but there was the baby.  The only thing is, it was a girl - and I'm having a boy.  I remember being really confused in my dream, especially since I couldn't remember actually HAVING the baby. I checked my stomach for cuts or stitches and didn't find any, so I knew I didn't have a c-section.  But, I wasn't at all sore or bleeding from a vaginal delivery either.  I just couldn't understand it.  I felt like there was this whole conspiracy going on.  Plus, I remember feeling sad that my pregnancy was over and I wouldn't get to feel the baby kicking me anymore.  It was weird!  I have no idea what the meaning was behind that dream.  I've read about other pregnant women having crazy dreams while pregnant, so I guess it's something I'll just have to live with for the next 4 months or so.

Well, I hope everyone else's pregancies are going well.  Until next time...