Yesterday, I went to the dentist to have her repair a filling that got knocked loose. She didn’t use Novocaine because it was just a small little cavity. I’ve had enough dental work to know that the Novocaine shot hurts! I was glad to skip that and the several hours of numbness. Honestly, it didn’t hurt.

I tried to distract myself by focusing on our honeymoon when we were on a cruise ship and woke up in Juneau, Alaska. So peaceful! Such pure air! The total opposite of dental work.

I consciously relaxed my body and tried to hold as still as possible while thinking about Alaska. Next thing I knew, it was over. Piece of cake.

While in the chair, Baby was moving a LOT. I don’t know if it was because I was sort of reclined and holding still (and more in tune with my body at the time), or if he was dancing to the music on the radio, or if he could tell that I was stressed and was reacting to that. He was a nice distraction.

Shane likes to talk at and sing to my belly. The baby responds to his voice now, and starts wiggling! I don’t know if he can hear sounds or just senses the vibrations, but it does seem to do the trick.

I’m researching childbirth classes, and I’m pretty sure I’d like to take a Bradley Method course. I need to do more research on the class, but it sounds like the best option for what we’re seeking. Bonus: Our insurance will reimburse us 100 percent for this expense! Oh yeah!

We’re trying to get things more organized around here by getting rid of junk, selling stuff on eBay, and getting things in order. I’ve been dabbling in “freezer cooking” and it’s gone well. We added just a few items to a registry at Target, and I’ll need to update that.

Trying to pick out the “best” car seat, crib, and other baby gear is a bit overwhelming, especially considering we have no idea what we’re doing. We have a small car with an even smaller backseat, and we’ll need to find a car seat that is no bigger than 23 to 24 inches from the back of the back seat to the back of the front seat. Good luck to us!

I need to just take one thing at a time so my brain won’t explode. I’ll research car seats for awhile, and pick one, and move on to cribs and research those…and then move on. If I try to get it all done at once, it won’t be pretty.
Here’s what’s up according to BabyCenter.com:

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like he’s practicing martial arts as his initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to his activity as you get to know him better. In other developments, your baby’s eyebrows and lids are present now.

I’ve been feeling him move since about 16 weeks (I think), but it wasn’t until just a few days ago that Shane was able to feel movement with his hand.

I know Baby probably has no idea I exist as a person (and not just as his house) but every time I feel him move, it’s like him saying, “Oh, hi. I’m OK!” or maybe he pretends he’s Borat and thinks “High five!” with every little thump. Or maybe it’s “Uh, is this place getting smaller or am I getting bigger? I’m claustrophobic! Halp!”

Or maybe he’s not thinking about anything at all. After all, he only has had a brain for a short time. Maybe he doesn’t have anything to think about right now except, “Just keep growing, growing, growing…”

Whatever it is, I’m so thankful I can feel him moving. I know some first time moms might not feel movement until they’re at 20 or 22 weeks or so, so I’ve been pretty fortunate in that regard.

Shane and I were talking about names this weekend, and after I said one name, I felt a strong punch (don’t remember the name now…whoops). Didn’t know if that was a “DonchuDARE call me that” or a “That’s me!” So um…hope you like whatever we pick for ya, Behbeh!

We’re leaning toward more traditional names. Haven’t nailed one down yet. We’ll probably just need to see him before deciding for sure, ya know?

From BabyCenter.com:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He’s also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby’s legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the “crown to rump” measurement. After 20 weeks, he’s measured from head to toe.)

He’s swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He’s also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you’ll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

If you saw my last post, you saw my belly pop out. It’s still there! It looks different throughout the day though. Sometimes it’s a little smaller or bigger. My belly button is already going crazy and is getting more shallow.

I went to the OB today and found out that I have gained some weight! I’m at 134.25. I’m close to my pre-pregnancy weight (it was 136). I’ve got about 19-23 weeks to gain 25 or so pounds. I’ll do my best! I sort of feel like a wrestler, how they have to gain or lose weight in a short time.

I think I will stay with my OB instead of switching to a midwife. Even though I’m really concerned about unnecessary interventions, with baby #1 I think I might be more comfortable with having a surgeon attending the birth. I don’t expect anything to go wrong, but I’ve read enough scary stories to freak me out about all the “what ifs.” I guess I just feel more at peace with sticking with what I’ve got this time around.

However, I am going to hire a doula to help us through the labor and delivery. I’m still researching them, but studies have shown that when doulas are present, labor is easier on the parents and less interventions are needed. I feel like having her around will lower our stress levels considerably. She’ll be with us for the entire thing, versus labor & delivery nurses who are there for 8 or 12-hour shifts.

I found out that I’ll be needing another ultrasound, since the technician didn’t have a good view of his heart during the last one. Nothing to worry about–he was just laying in a funny position and you could only see so much. I’m excited! I’ll get to see my little boy again in 3-4 weeks.

What BabyCenter.com has to say (this snippet has girl pronouns, but I’m changing them all cuz we know he’s a boy!)

Your baby’s sensory development is exploding! His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear your voice now, so don’t be shy about reading aloud, taking to him, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom —about the size of a large heirloom tomato.
His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on his skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

I’ve heard some women say that they’ve gone from a small, relatively flat stomach to an all-out baby bump in a day’s time.

Shane and I went to our ultrasound today, and the technician saw everything she needed to see. He’s healthy and he’s sort of face-down and folded in half, with his legs sticking up over his head. Doesn’t look too comfy, but whatever works!

The ultrasound pics are hard to make any sense out of. I might try to scan and post them a little later.

The poll results were really close! For awhile, “boy” was winning by a wide margin, and then “girl” took the lead.

The final tally before I took it down this morning: 50 girl to 48 boy. Thanks for voting! It was fun for me to watch.

For the record, Shane and I both thought he was a little boy, and we told my mom that right before we went to our appointment to make it an official guess. No keeping our guesses to ourselves and then saying, “I knew it!” hehe.

The old wives’ tale quizzes were right, as were the Chinese numerology calculators that I tried.

Anyways, things are good and it was fun to take a peek at him. We have no ideas on names, but we’ll work on that and honestly, we’ll probably keep it to ourselves until he’s born.

It’s not too often, but it’s really neat! It’s like Baby is saying, “Hi!” or “Eat some more Reese Cups!” — not sure which.

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I told Shane that the baby has no reason to think there is anything more to the universe than it’s tiny home. I guess that means that I am the baby’s universe, heh. For all Baby knows, it’s the only person in existence. Something about my observations of babies and toddlers leads me to believe that once they’re born, they do see other people, but are still convinced the world revolves around them, lololol.

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I’ve been reading Your Pregnancy Week By Week and I’m really enjoying it.

This week, the authors write, “By this time, expanding or maternity clothing is a must for comfort’s sake.” WHATEVER! I fit in my regular clothes just fine. I’m starting to shop for maternity wear because eventually I’ll need it, but not today. Not tomorrow, either.

Maybe that’s a good thing: Maybe I can avoid the need for summer maternity clothes and just jump into fall/winter stuff.

And now, a belly pic:

You can see it, right? Use your imagination if you have to. I still am not convinced a person on the street would think I’m growing a baby. How big I look depends on what I’m wearing (I changed into pj shorts for this pic. Regular shorts came up higher and got rid of any round look I’ve got going), and the time of day. At night, I puff out more but by morning I shrink.

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I’ve always thought the number “7″ seemed significantly greater than “6.” To me, the sound of being 17 weeks pregnant sounds much more impressive than 16. Seventeen is almost 20! And that’s a half-cooked baby. Just 8 more weeks until I’m 25 weeks pregnant. It’s comforting to know that babies born at 25 weeks have a 63 percent survival rate. I’m hoping to stay pregnant until at least mid-December, though.

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From BabyCenter.com:

“Your baby’s skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she’s around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.”

I don’t feel too different from last week. Feel fine, but still need naps. I think I just like naps.

We had a name for a girl that we both really liked, but now we’re not sure if we’re going to use it. Don’t have a boy name yet, but in just a few weeks, we should be able to find out which we’ll get to use!

I bought Baby’s first packs of diapers the other day. It was a bizarre experience. Baby won’t get to use them for at least six months, but likely a little longer since I bought size 1 diapers (not newborn size).

I’m probably going to try to buy a pack or two per week so I can have a giant stash of diapers for cheap. Thanks to drugstore deals and coupons, I’ve been able to collect 142 diapers for like $5. That’s less than $0.04 each! What a deal, especially considering diapers can run $0.20 each at their cheapest.

I’m going to hop over to CVS later today (I hope) and buy a pack of Huggies. The jumbo packs are $8.99 this week, which is supposedly as low as you’ll be able to find them anymore. I have a $2 off coupon and $3.50 in Extra Care Bucks to use, so the pack will be like $3.50. Not bad.

I hope I can keep this up!

I’m keeping track of my diaper inventoy in a spreadsheet. My plan is to have a few packs in the smallest sizes but put the bulk of my stash in size 3s, where babies supposedly are for a long time. I can share that spreadsheet online, and if my mom (Hi, Mom!) wants to buy diapers for Baby, she can see what sizes I have and what I might need a bit more easily.

What Baby is doing, according to BabyCenter.com:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he’s about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too.

The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren’t recognizable yet. He’s even started growing toenails. And there’s a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

I haven’t gained weight since my last appointment. Um. The doctor wasn’t too concerned and said to keep on eating well and often and the weight will come on.

I scheduled my big ultrasound for Saturday, Aug. 2! Yay! That’s the one where we get to find out if it’s a Bertha or a Billbert ;p. Three weeks and two days to go. I hope we get a clear view!

I want to look into switching to a different health care provider because I just don’t like my doctor’s bedside manner. She barely has time for my questions. I got to ask one today, and she didn’t give the answer I was hoping for. I had others, but whoops! Outta time. I know I’m not her only patient, but good grief!

Rather than asking how I feel in detail, she tells me how I’m probably feeling.

I’m sure she’s a skilled doctor (and surgeon), but she’s just not someone I want to deal with when I’m at my most vulnerable state.

I guess I shouldn’t have high expectations from her. After all, I chose her name off a list of HMO preferred providers–not a referral from a trusted friend.