Well, it's been a year since our first insem and here we are: off the back of our second ultrasound with a healthy Baby Girl on board (the sonographer had trouble getting the perfect shot, as baby was being shy but we eventually got our view of those three little lines) We continue to have a relatively easy pregnancy and have started enjoying some of the perks: A being able to feel her kicks at 19w 6d as they become stronger and more frequent; and the friendly enquiries and fun we have as we begin to buy baby clothes and equipment. We have been truly blessed this year.
I am now 21 weeks along and baby is roughly the size of a papaya. I say 'roughly' because she currently measures a little under average for gestation - not that we're surprised. Babies on my side of the family (especially girls) tend to be on the smaller side. I'm still barely showing and have yet to give up any of my regular fitting clothes. At the scan, baby was moving a lot; she must have been reacting to the ultrasound because it was an unusual hour for her. One of the great things about this stage of pregnancy is that baby's periods of sleep and wakefulness are more regular. We have been able to track her more wakeful periods quite easily now she is kicking and punching with more force. She is most active just after breakfast, in the middle of the afternoon and somewhere around 2/3 in the morning (which apparently indicates that she's likely to be a night owl)
For the most part, this pregnancy has been treating us well and we've had few symptoms. I have however noticed an increase in my stress levels that seem to be more hormone related than anything else. Being more of an introvert, I've never been comfortable in crowds but as I've had years to develop coping tactics, it hasn't been an issue for a long time. Now I've started struggling to cope with demands made on my time. Five minutes of conversation can leave me feeling drained and close to tears. A has been pretty understanding about my need for space but at the same time, I think she is having trouble adjusting to how quickly I snap when she is just trying to spend some time with me. Hopefully, it gets easier with time.
I've been taking it easy these last couple weeks, after coming off my bike in traffic. I landed pretty heavily and for the first ten minutes, I was so dizzy from the adrenalin that I could barely keep my head up. The management team of the student letting office on the corner where it happened took me in and called the store for me to let them know what had happened. They even arranged a rapid appointment with our health centre for me once they found out I was pregnant. The doc who checked me out assured us (A had joined us after fetching me home from the offices) that everything checked out OK. He said that because I was carrying small, baby was still tucked safely out of harms way in the pelvis. Still, it was a relief to see her for ourselves at the scan later that week (she couldn't have chosen a worse time to suddenly go quiet)
We had our first baby related shopping spree this month. We'd originally gone to the top end of town to get baby's scan pictures put onto a memory stick so that we could send them as a birthday greeting for my dad. Whilst waiting, we browsed the charity shops in the area and found a newborn sleep-suit in near perfect condition for the price of a small coffee.
This does not mean to say that we intend to kit baby out exclusively in charity shop clothes; just that we have no qualms in using good quality used clothing whenever we find it. Properly washed, it's no different to hand-me-down clothing from older siblings, it's possible to score branded clothing at a fraction of their original cost and it has the added benefits of re-using what could otherwise be going to landfill and contributing towards various local charities. We've recently bought several outfits of different sizes for the first year that in total probably cost the same as two brand new ones from high-street stores.
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