We are 16 weeks along! I haven't got much of a baby bump to show...maybe next post 😉
What's new: At our 13 week ultrasound, my doctor had some concerns. "We saw something on the ultrasound." Again??
I'd been through this before, with Grace. We ended up doing genetic testing at 19 weeks with her to rule out genetic abnormalities, notably Down's Syndrome. Genetic testing came back clear, and the abnormality (a bright spot on her heart indicating an echogenic intracardiac focus), had closed by the time she was born.
This time, the concern was thickness of the nuchal fold, the back of the neck. It was still within the normal range, just on the higher end of normal. Again, my doctor urged me not to worry. So of course I did. And she didn't tell me not to do too much internet research this time, probably because she knew I would. I did. And what I found actually eased my anxiety. Lots of lots of cases where the nuchal fold was much thicker and baby was born perfectly healthy.
At any rate, it was an easy decision to move forward with genetic testing again, and luckily it took far less than 8 days this time to receive the results. All clear!
Any symptoms? The headaches keep coming! Every few days, I'll feel one start to come on, and it will last for 2-3 days. I'd finally had it and scheduled myself a prenatal massage with the same masseuse I used with Grace and Edith. It was amazing and I haven't had a major headache since. I also started drinking more water. I knew the cause of my headaches was not only holding tension in my neck, but because I drink like a hummingbird. So I got one of those bottles that tell you how much you should've had to drink by a certain time of day. It came to no surprise that I've been drinking about 25% of the amount of water a pregnant person should be drinking. And whatdoyaknow....no more headaches.
I also switched up my Prenatal vitamins. It took alot of convincing on my part because I've used these same vitamins through 2 healthy pregnancies and I didn't want to change what wasn't broken. But seriously, if you've only been pooping every 4 days for 4 months straight, you're willing to try anything. So I've:
- switched my prenatals to something that contains no Iron, since Iron is the cause for the slow in digestion. I still get it from other sources, but damn if the switch has not helped one bit. Still irregular.
- started taking Metamucil. I feel like a 75 year old woman. But I honestly think it tastes good lol, so this has not been a problem for me. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be helping.
- even drinking more water or eating more fiber rich fruit hasn't seemed to help!
Any more suggestions?? I'm all ears.
Food cravings: My food aversions definitely eased up as I entered my 2nd trimester. My appetite seems to be back to normal, and I don't think I'm craving anything in particular. It really is appearing more similar to my second pregnancy than my first. Admittedly, I have been more liberal on food restrictions. I was pretty strict about not eating cold deli meat or raw sushi when I've been pregnant before. But when I truly trust my source, it hasn't stopped me from eating salmon or the once-in-a-blue-moon cold cut. Still, I've been extremely picky about how often I'm doing this (I think so far only 2 or 3 times).
Million dollar question- do we think it's a boy or girl? I am still leaning towards boy because my trusty Chinese calendar haha! I can't even say that it's because this pregnancy feels different, because my pregnancies have been sooo wildly different and this feels like my second. My grandmother is also set on boy, and Mathias is also leaning towards boy. Grace, on the other hand, has formed an opinion.
Me: Do you think mommy's having a boy or a girl?G: Umm...a girl.
Me: A girl? You think you're getting another little sister?G: Well I hope so!
Her answer used to waver. But now she's definitely Team Girl!
