19 Weeks, 6 Days

Juan les Pins, France on the Cote d'Azur

17 Weeks, 4 Days

As of last Monday at 16 weeks, 7 days… Jr is popping around my lower belly like a bag of popping corn.  I feel the little jumping bean kick and punch me daily now a few times a day especially when I devour a French cappuccino.  He started up his shenanigans on the flight over to France at regular intervals.  Maybe she was moving this whole time, I just wasn’t ever still at the right moments to feel her.  And Jr isn’t the only thing that’s popping these days, my lower belly is popping out like a pot belly pig.  I feel like a pot belly pig too.  My exercise routine was going great until Alexa and I came to France earlier this week… now, it is nil mostly because my life is completely revolved around Alexa at the moment.  Sure, I’ve gone on some long walks, a bike ride with Alexa on the tot seat, and lifted a little light weight, but nothing like the running I was doing.  I feel fat.  Maybe it’s the French pizza, bread, and gelato I’ve been eating also.  Well, baby likes it.

16 Weeks, 2 Days

I went for my 16 week check up on Wednesday and boy was it a relief to hear that little heartbeat again… thank God!  I was getting a bit nervous wondering how the baby could have escaped my uterus without me knowing.  Then, last night I definitely felt him move.  Definitely.  No doubt in my mind.  She rolled a bit in slow motion scraping the inside of my belly with her little knee or little butt or head, maybe.  She’s only the side of an avocado right now, so it’s pretty hard to tell from the outside what I’m feeling.  It’s important to note that many women don’t feel their babies move until 20 or even 22 weeks… but I’ve been freaking out cause I no doubtedly felt Alexa move a whole lot beginning at 13 weeks and this one has been quite a bit more sporadic.  All this is reassuring, but I’m still not out of the woods yet… I’m still nervous about this little guy’s health because I am going to be of “advanced maternity age” when the baby is born.  Yes, 35 is “advanced maternity age” apparently and has a higher risk of complications like down syndrome.  Eek!  I’ll barely be 35, but still!  I am waiting on the test results for the nuchal translucency screen and the plasma protein-A / HCG test which give me the “estimated risk”… I am supposed to hear by this Tuesday.

What is bothering me just as much as the lack of consistant movement, (little movement in comparison to uterine karate expert Alexa), is the fact that both my ultrasounds, conducted 4 weeks apart, showed this little guy lounging in a suspended invisible hammock.  Yeah, I know what you are sayin'... why is that worrisome? It was super cute the first time with his little hands behind his head, knees bent, just chillin’.  I wanted to give him a frozen cocktail to complete his experience.  But the second time he looked exactly the same in the ultrasound a month later, it concerns me.  Why isn’t he moving much?  Are his hands fused to the back of his head or something?  Maybe she’s just a more chilled out baby than bouncy Alexa was.  I asked the doc, she told me the baby is fine and to stop worrying.  I guess I will feel much better when I feel her move more, I get healthy results back from the down syndrome tests and when I see the baby in any other position besides hammock in the next ultrasound 4 weeks from now.