Day 14: My Little Onion (18 Weeks)
This morning we had a doctor appointment to check up on our little girl!
I thought I would combine a pregnancy update with today's 31 Days post, since there are always things I am learning to be content about while pregnant and this seems like the perfect time to share them. :)
Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: After our "16 week" scan they let us know that the baby was measuring a week behind from my original due date based on LMP. This was the second ultrasound we've had and both times were consistently a week behind, so they pushed my due date back to March 19th. It's always a bummer to have to "repeat" a week of pregnancy, but I'd rather have an accurate due date so that the likelihood of an unnecessary induction goes down. Currently I am 17 weeks, 6 days (I went ahead and rounded up for this post!) Size of baby: Baby #2 is the size of an onion. Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 7lbs. Maternity Clothes: I'm mix and matching right now. Wearing a lot of jeggings and my post-Micah, non-maternity pants that are a size bigger, and looser fitting tops. Still too small for a lot of my maternity pants/tops (except the one pictured above - that is one of the small maternity tops I grew out of fairly quickly with Micah!) Needless to say, clothes are just hard right now. Gender: According to our 15 week ultrasound... it's a GIRL! (Will be confirmed this Wednesday, Oct 16th) Movement: I felt the first little flutters on September 23rd at 15 weeks! I was eagerly anticipating them or I don't think I would have noticed them at all. Since then, I feel movement every few days or so. Not consistent yet. It's my favorite part of pregnancy, so I'm waiting for those big jabs! ;) Sleep: Sleep is still going good! Not at the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy yet and I have a 13 month old who lets me sleep through the night. Nothing to complain about here! Cravings: Hm, I really don't know. I have a few cravings here and there, but nothing that's been consistent or weird. I would say I'm craving sweet and salty foods the most these days. Symptoms: Biggest symptom I've been having since I found out I was pregnant is heart palpitations. I'm getting used to them, but they are mostly just annoying. Also, a little heartburn this week. Not as bad as I remember it with Micah, praise the Lord! Best Moment this week: Hearing the baby’s heartbeat at the doctor’s earlier today! It was 135bpm. Lower than Micah's ever was! I think the whole heartbeat theory is definitely being proved wrong in our case. :)
This pregnancy has definitely been flying by. I can't believe I'm almost to the halfway point! I can honestly say, it's a lot different being pregnant the second time around. My body isn't adjusting as drastically as it did the first time. I barely notice my growing belly! But I have a feeling it will start to "pop" soon.
As far as the emotional aspect of pregnancy... well going through it a second time isn't any easier. Maybe even a little bit harder, since I'm not as naive as I was about the real possibility of heart defects, etc. There is so much to worry about. And I'm just trying to do my best to keep my hands pointed up in surrender to God.
We'll be having another ultrasound done this Wednesday to check out our baby girl's heart for any problems that may need addressing. This could possibly even be a factor in what hospital we deliver at. Today at my check-up they told me my belly was measuring "small" (16 weeks instead of 18 weeks) and of course, just another reason to worry. But we could very well be walking out of our appointment Wednesday with amazing news that our baby is absolutely healthy and growing normally, so why even worry about something we don't know yet?! That's what I keep telling myself.
Being content in all things has been my prayer and focus this month. On this blog and in my heart. I just want to learn how to be content in Christ alone. I want that to be what others see when they look at my life. Not because I want to appear like I have it all together - in fact, I hope they see that I don't - but that Jesus is the glue that mends and holds my life together.
Sometimes that will mean walking a hard road, I know. And sometimes, that could mean showing God's blessings and answer to prayers.
But above all, I hope I can learn to be content in whatever circumstance.
This post is part of a series I’m writing for the month of October entitled “31 Days of Being Content.” See all other posts in this series by clicking here. Or enter your email address in the sidebar on the right to subscribe to this blog and receive posts straight to your inbox!