17 Week Pregnancy Blog

Written on Monday August 4, 2014

How far along? 17 weeks 4 days

Baby: The baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — lifeline to the placenta— is growing stronger and thicker. Baby now weighs 5 ounces (about as much as a turnip or an onion) and is around 5 inches long from head to bottom. Peanut can move its joints, and the sweat glands are starting to develop.                  

Total Weight Gain: This week I am fluctuating between a 6-7 lb. weight gain . I've been making a big effort to eat healthy and not overeat and it seems like it's paying off with a slow and steady weight gain. I've also been staying active with lots of walking and doing the elliptical at the gym which seems to help.

Maternity Clothes: I finally got to wear some maternity clothes this week! Some people may not be excited, but I definitely was. I was fortunate enough to be given maternity clothes from 3 different women so far which I greatly appreciated! I am collecting a new wardrobe and that makes it harder to resist wearing. I found a few things that I fit into that show off my little bump well. Most of it is still too big, but I am using my belly band for my pants that still fit.

Stretch Marks: I have been doing well at using my stretch mark creams and oils in the mornings and at night. I feel very moisturized, so I hope this is helping with prevention! I have developed quite a collection of creams, lotions, and oils that will hopefully last me a long time!

Sleep: I'm sleeping wonderfully and very hard. I hardly remember laying my head on the pillow at night because I fall asleep so quickly and I barely wake up to my alarm in the mornings. I am still trying to nap more (took 2 this weekend!) which helps me catch up on sleep and feel more rested instead of dragging.

Miss Anything? Not this week! It was a good week and I am enjoying my pregnancy :)

Best Moment of the Week: Getting to wear maternity clothes and show off my little bump! Also, Josh and I went to Babies R Us on Friday night and it was fun (also slightly overwhelming) to look at all the baby things we are going to need. We are finally deciding on nursery colors and themes which makes me excited to start registering and painting the nursery!

Movement: I'm dying to feel movement and thought I had maybe once or twice. It hasn't happened since so I'm not sure if it was really baby movement or not. I can't wait to feel it for sure soon though!

Food Cravings: I really haven't craved anything in particular which is quite boring. I still love food (nothing has changed there) and am still really liking the fresh veggies with hummus and fresh fruit! I also have my moments of craving sweets.

Anything making you queasy or sick? No.

Gender: I am very up in the air. The first trimester, I felt like it was definitely a boy. But now, I'm torn. It could definitely go either way!

Symptoms: This week my symptoms were mild but included acne, tiredness, and a growing belly! I'm still moody and emotional (crying has become more common). Boobs have been slightly hurting again and I had some mild round ligament pain this week.

Happy or moody: Moody and irritable!

Looking forward to: The anatomy scan in 2 weeks! I can't wait to see our little Peanut again :) Also, I'm really looking forward to fall. For some reason, I have been like daydreaming about fall and all the fun activities, as well as, the cooler weather. Plus I'll be heading into my 3rd trimester at that point which is another step closer to meeting our sweet baby. Gosh I can't wait!

My First Trimester: Is This Normal?

So if you were one of those women who had an awful, head hanging over the toilet, nauseous every second, completely miserable first trimester...you might want to stop reading now. I'm here to tell you a little bit about my first trimester. I am 14 weeks, so I have officially cleared the first trimester and am headed into the second. While I am glad to be in the second trimester (because that's one step closer to meeting my baby!), I have to be honest and say that my body doesn't feel much different than it did in the first.

I was one of those freak of nature people or at least I thought I was. I'm learning that this is a little more common than I thought. I had very few pregnancy symptoms and might have felt nauseous twice for about 10 minutes total. I never threw up, never even got close. I didn't have any food aversions and wasn't ridiculously tired. My stomach looked very similar to how it had started out pre-pregnancy and I was never showing. I did experience some of the typical first trimester madness including sore/tender breasts, constipation, being very emotional, bloating/cramping, being thirsty all the time and one bout of dizziness/fainting a few weeks ago. These symptoms all came and went throughout my first trimester, so I never felt overwhelmed with all of them at once. I did battle some weight fluctuation and tiredness during points in my first trimester, but those were largely due to the fact that my thyroid levels were very off (hypo) and are still trying to get adjusted to pregnancy. For the most part, I felt normal. I carried on with life just as I had before I got pregnant and felt great while doing it. All in all, my first trimester was a breeze.

Fun fact: I craved greasy/savory foods during my first trimester. I wanted pizza, fries and breakfast foods (sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddles/breakfast casserole) which were very abnormal for me.

 Most people have said how lucky I am or how jealous they are. My doctor told me to just enjoy it! I must admit that I spent a lot of my time during my first trimester worrying. I was terrified that I didn't feel like crap. All I had heard were the horror stories from women about their first trimesters. I didn't know of hardly anyone who didn't spend the first 13 weeks huddled over the toilet and feeling nauseous the whole time. I tried to enjoy it, but it also scared me. I had always heard that if you are getting sick that means the baby is "healthy". So by logical deduction I could only conclude what it meant if I wasn't getting sick. Turns out, most of those myths are completely untrue and are first trimester misconceptions at their worst. I wanted to write this blog to encourage women out there who are going through their first trimester. Whether you are feeling awful or whether you are questioning if there is actually a baby inside you because you don't feel any different...every pregnancy is different, but most still result in healthy babies.

After I started telling people I was pregnant, the first question I got was, "How are you feeling?" When I said I had a really easy first trimester, I was surprised at how many women said it had been the same for them! I had no idea. I assumed something was wrong with me or my baby and spent so much time being scared and questioning the validity of my pregnancy. It seems like it's very common to hear about the horror stories and not quite as common to talk about the easy, totally doable first trimesters. If only women would talk and encourage each other more often, so that we aren't all left in the dark!

My faith was also tested and strengthened during my first trimester and I think that's something that stands out about the past 14 weeks. I've never depended on God so much. There is only so much I can do to make sure this tiny human life inside me is safe and healthy, the rest is up to Him. Pregnancy has brought out a lot of anxiety from within me that I am still battling, but it has also drawn me closer to God. I have seen how good and faithful He is. In those moments of panic, God gave me the peace I needed. I have to trust Him each step of the way. I know worrying about my child won't go away once he/she leaves the womb; in fact it will only get worse! I have to lay my baby's life in God's hands knowing that He will watch over and care for my baby throughout his/her whole life (before birth included). I know my child is in God's hands and that's what got me through the moments of doubt and fear so far in my pregnancy.

I'll be interested to see how the second trimester compares with the first and I'll definitely keep my blog updated on how it's going. But in the meantime, I just want to encourage those girls in their first trimester.

Don't freak out. Don't panic. Relax. Trust God. Everything will be okay. Try to ENJOY this!