17 Weeks

photo taken at 16 weeks, 3 days

+ today I'm 17 weeks! (thursdays are my turn over days)

+ baby GIRL is the size of an ORANGE (or an onion. but orange is cuter.)

+ three words: round ligament pain. i started out just getting the pain when i would sneeze or stand up too quickly, but it's become more constant and keeps me up at night! i'm learning that with pregnancy, if it's not one thing, it's the other. this is the new normal!

+ this week was so exciting because we finally found out the gender and finally got an ultrasound on Tuesday! we went in at 16 weeks 5 days for the gender ultrasound and it was amazing! it was so cool to watch her wiggle around in there and we got so many good shots. her little profile is my favorite picture ever. i am so excited to finally start planning for this little girl!

+ appetite has, for once, been surprisingly regular! this whole week has been pretty normal for food, but i'm usually basing what i eat off how it smells, so there are still some things that keep going back and forth (all of the sudden, guacamole smelled rancid and i couldn't stand to sit by it, let alone eat it, when last week i was eating avocados and chips and guac every day!) but, i've been eating a curve ball from ernies just about every chance i get! which isn't too different from pre-pregnancy, since their sandwiches are amazing, so who can tell if that even counts!

+ having tons of fun planning all things baby girl. we've got a few names we've been throwing around for quite awhile, and trying to match them up with different middle names is what gets tricky! we have always loved the idea of picking any name we like as a first name, but keeping the middle name a family name. we want all of our kids to have middle names, that are family names. so with limited options, we have to get creative! so far, we've resolved to not settle on any one name until baby girl gets here. we want to meet her and see her first and make sure we pick a name that fits her just right!

+ next appointment in a month will be the anatomy scan and we'll get to see how accurate my due date is and make sure baby girl is growing just right! i also plan on getting the alpha-fetoprotein blood test to check for signs of things like spina bifida and downs syndrome in the baby, which of course i'm a little nervous for, but it's not like it will change anything! we are already so in love with this little lady.

+  listen i'm 17 weeks, i'm like, a month into the second trimester, and i'm still waiting for it to be glorious...? haha i didn't feel a huge increase in energy, although my morning sickness has gone away (hallelujah!) but... everyone says this is supposed to be the best?! maybe it's the RLP (round ligament pain) keeping me from enjoying all this but seriously.