Week 16

Tomorrow is the first day of week 16. I had my "16 week appointment" on Monday and Dr. Jaki said everything looked great! I was a little anxious to get on the scale because I knew that I had not really gained any weight, but I was hoping that the scale would prove me wrong and jump ahead! I was right, and I am still only +3lbs from the beginning. I was concerned about this and Dr. Jaki said I had nothing to worry about. She said if I was still feeling sick and nauseous then it would be a concern, but I have felt better for a few weeks now. I told her I feel like I am eating all the time and she said that's good, and to keep doing what I am doing. She said that it might be helpful to eat more protein because that helps some women gain weight...or I could just add a milkshake to my daily diet....hmmm meat or Wendy's frosty! Hehe for now I will just continue to do what I know how to do....eat whatever and whenever I want:) (For anyone who knows me this is not really any different from my normal pre-pregnant habits) One thing that might help a little is the Skyline Chili that Erica sent me in the mail! I am so excited to eat skyline, it has been 2 months and that is WAY too long:) Thanks Erica!

After I talked with Dr. Jaki for a few minutes she brought out the doppler (the part I was most excited for) and we listened to the heartbeat. As she was squirting the jelly on my abdomen she said "It may take a minute or so to find the heartbeat." The second that the doppler touched my belly you could hear a very nice and clear heartbeat! She said "Oh wow, that was easy! See Michele the baby has a nice strong heartbeat. Everything sounds perfect!" It was such a comforting sound to hear...Everything is becoming so real and so exciting:)

This weekend Derek and I are going to go to Babies R Us and start our baby registry. It is not often that we have a weekend off work together so we are going to try to tackle this project this weekend. I have started to research some of the basics that we will need. I just hope that we can find what we are looking for and not have too many choices...I struggle with too many choices and then it takes me forever to decide on something...

I have been doing a lot of research on Attachment Parenting and all of the benefits. There are many areas where I agree and it is kind of neat to learn these things. Most of it seems like basic natural instinct. Some things I don't think are necessary, like never letting a baby cry. I guess we will see if I am really able to do that:) I do believe in instinctive parenting--doing what feels right, and sometimes that falls under what attachment parenting advocates. Things like lots of physical contact, slinging, co-sleeping, and breastfeeding. The one area that I was not sure about was whether or not I want the baby to sleep in our room or not. I plan to breastfeed exclusively and know that I will not be sleeping much throughout the night. I think the best option for us is to get a co-sleeper to put beside the bed. Hopefully baby will only need to be there for 3-4 months, or until baby is sleeping longer periods through the night. I just don't want to end up with a baby who will not sleep in the crib away from us!

Another thing that I am interested in learning about is baby wearing and all the benefits...(I know, I know, just because I moved to California does not mean I am a hippie:) I am just interested in the research and think some of it is kind of cool! A friend of mine at work told me about this baby sling/carrier and she HIGHLY recommended it over the Baby Bjorn. She has both and said that this baby sling is the best...very worth it! It is called the Ergo Baby and she said her baby LOVES it and it is very comfortable for her and her husband to wear. I really want one of these!

That's all for this week:)

Baby Development This Week:

Baby should be around 4.5 inches and weigh around 3.5 ounces. The heart is now pumping 25 quarts of blood a day! (Maybe that is where all the extra calories that I am eating are going!) The legs are much more defined and are moving on a regular basis. Between now and the next few weeks I may start to feel the baby move inside me:) This week the baby is the size of an avocado...yum:)