We are now 18 weeks and 2 days into this pregnancy. We’ve come a long way, baby! I’m now at that stage where depending on what I’m wearing, I either get from strangers an endearing look of “Aww look, you’re pregnant” or “My god girl, you need to lose that beer gut!” Either way, I don’t care. It’s harder to look in the mirror now, but it makes me happy to know that baby is growing and healthy, preparing for the big debut in July.
In other updates: the early ugliness of pregnancy has worn off except for the cruel joke of constant constipation. In fact, I’m thinking of recording a new version of that Kady Lang song, “Constant Craving” and filling in with my own situation. I’ve not really had the cravings these other women speak of, just really urgent feelings of hunger when it’s time to eat, and this annoying weight of being backed up all the time.
I forgot to warn you that pregnancy pretty much kills all shyness to speak of bodily functions. Out the door they go.
Speaking of movements: I did feel the baby move two weeks ago while sitting at my desk at work. I swear to you it was NOT gas, unless you think that gas is normal above the belly button. There was this constant tapping just below my ribs and I started thinking, “why do I feel my heart beat so low in my abdomen?” before I realized, duh! It’s the baby!
But low and behold, I have not felt the little bugger since then. So now I wonder what the heck that really was. Maybe that particular part of the womb is a little thinner than other parts and (s)he was simply exploring a nook never before seen?
So on to the point of this post: the big tease. We had a great sonogram this week in which they investigated the chambers of the heart, the kidneys, fluid in the womb, placenta, all that stuff. And the verdict is that all is looking really good so we are extremely thankful for that.
The disappointing part, though, was when they took a look at the baby’s private parts to try to determine whether we have a little lady or gent. The sonographer immediately said, “I think it’s a girl” as she thought she spotted the three lines of the labia. But by the end of the exam, she felt more unsure of the reading and ended by saying “80% chance of a girl” (as if our kid is a rain storm on the horizon). This made Mekuria laugh as he wants the mystery to loom. But I’m a gal who likes answers so I was not so amused.
Whatever it is, of course we’ll love it. I just don’t want it to have to go through the first year or so of life wearing all green clothes because of the gender association we all put on the color of clothing. Somehow green remains neutral. Not sure why. And in fact, I love the color green. But I also love variety.
So there’s the update for now. I’m going to continue writing on the blog more often now so that we all can feel a part of these early days of “Baby G”s life.