Hello

I was 19 weeks, 2 days pregnant when I felt the first definitive "hello" from my girls.

And this time, when I expected it to be weeks from now, the first unmistakable thump (followed by a somersault) came yesterday at...

...19 weeks, 2 days.

Kinda' neat, huh?

And with the thump and the roll, came a kick or two...and this morning that oh-so-familiar feeling of little feet kicking mommy's cervix...which was the girls' favorite pastime while in-utero. What I am feeling is certainly either very low or very high, so I can kinda' picture this big ol' pillow in-between (my placenta) since I just am not feeling anything in that middle area.

So now I feel this little one...for certain. But does it make this whole pregnancy real finally? Maybe a little more than before, but still, it's something that I have to remind myself of at times.

If I'm wearing Robert's shirt and my slouchy yoga pants...no one would really know by looking at me and maybe that's why I so often don't realize it myself until I am wearing real clothes, going somewhere, and I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and say,

16 weeks

19 weeks

"Oh yah, I AM pregnant."

All in all, it's been a rough week though. I've had all kinds of irritability which started about a week ago Friday, and just never quite let up. I wavered on going in to see my OB, when on Wednesday, I was slammed with food poisoning or a 24-hour stomach bug. Let me tell you...THAT is not fun when pregnant...oh no. After becoming pretty dehydrated, I thought it might be time to make the call. The nurse on the phone was concerned that I couldn't keep water down and thought I might need hospitalization, but by the time I made it to the office and saw the doctor, I had held down water for about 3 hours. I felt better...heck, I even drove myself to the doctor. The appointment was quick, baby doing fine, and it was pretty clear that I needed some meds. My urine was peach/pink colored (which was from dehydration and trace amounts of blood...again). This time my OB put me on a fairly strong antibiotic to make sure we get rid of anything lurking. Another urine culture was sent out and some other samples taken. NICE. I am feeling better, but also like I did the mega abdominal workout. The irritability has died down, but it's still not completely quiet and that bothers me. I am trying to do some things around the house and clearly my uterus is not having it. So the couch it is for me.

I'm supposed to wait until December 2nd to see my peri for a cervical check, but I'm leaning toward popping in to see him next Wednesday just because of all that has happened in the last week. I want to know if any damage has been done, so to speak.

So here we stand at 19.5 weeks....with 20 weeks right around the corner. I can't quite believe we're almost to our third milestone and am so happy. But in the same breath, I am terrified of the next four weeks. I told my peri already that I fully intend on being extremely high maintenance for the next month or so. I then promised that after 27 weeks (God willing we make it past that mark), I won't bother him until the baby comes. :)

And thankfully, he just smiled and said, "For you, anything."