17 Weeks

Here is my belly picture at 17 weeks, I find that I have grown a lot since last week which is kinda insane but very exciting! I've been feeling pretty good lately, my nails are growing like crazy and I can actually stay up till 10 p.m. now which is amazing considering I couldn't stay up past 8 p.m. only a few weeks ago! Other than that I've been feeling a bit off balance, stumbling in places I normally never would and in general simply feeling a bit more clumsy than usual. 

How Our Baby is Growing at 17 Weeks: The baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord is growing stronger and thicker. The baby now weighs 5 ounces and is about 5 inches long from head to bottom. Baby can now also move his or her joints, and his or her sweat glands are starting to develop.

Life at 16 weeks

Today being veteran's day I had the day off work however I kept myself very busy. First I met with a doula to see if we would be a good match. I liked her a lot, especially since she is closer to my age than most doulas which are usually in their late 40's. However I have a few more doulas to meet so I won't be making my choice just yet. 

After meeting with the doula I had my second OB visit where I was weighed and found out that I have gained 4 pounds!! I was actually excited about this...definitely the first time I have been happy about gaining weight! lol. I then got to listen to the baby's heart beat and my doctor told me that the heart beat sounded like one of a girl!! Keep in mind this is not a science just a pregnancy myth. We will have to wait 4 more weeks to find out the actual gender of the baby. 

How Our Baby is Growing at 16 Weeks: According to all the books and websites I have been reading I should be getting ready for the baby to have a growth spurt in the next few weeks. The baby will be doubling in weight and will be adding inches to his or hers length. Right now the baby is about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long and 3 1/2 ounces. Also I should soon be able to feel baby moving around!! They say that earliest movements may feel like little flutters, gas bubbles, or even like popcorn popping. As the weeks go on these movements will grow stronger and I will be able to feel them much more frequently.