Settling In

So, I think I've finally reached the point when time speeds up, when every minute of every day is not spent worrying about how she is doing in there, when the wait between appointments doesn't seem like the longest, most dreadful wait of my life! We've had nothing but wonderful doctors appointments and test results, so it's time to relax!

I love, love, love being able to refer to the baby as "her" now instead of "it." We talk about her room, putting her in daycare, what things will be like when she gets here. Already she is such a wonderful, big part of our life.

The most exciting part of last week is that I popped! Up until then, my belly, though big, still fluctuated, depending on time of day, how much I'd eaten and drank, etc. Then, week 16 hit and that belly is all there, all the time! Even when I wear loose-fitting clothes, which before had just made me look fat, I now look pregnant. And I love it! I love this belly. Crazy, huh? TH loves the belly, too. He breaks into a huge smile every afternoon when he picks me up from work. It's like he forgets in the 8 (or 4, if we've had lunch together) hours since he saw me last that I not only am pregnant, but I look pregnant now, too! He randomly reaches over and rubs my tummy all the time, smiling to himself. He went to visit a friend of his last weekend in California, and he made sure to tell us both goodbye; when he came back, we both got a kiss hello. He is already so taken with her.

He was also delighted to learn that Ali can hear him now. One of his favorite things to do now is to lean over and talk to her. Sometimes he puts his lips directly on my skin, below my belly button, and whispers to her as if she were sleeping. Sometimes he deepens his voice, thinking the lower tone will help the sound waves break through to her more quickly. And sometimes he talks directly into my belly button like a megaphone. Silly man.

He has slowly, in his own way, gotten more and more excited about the ooshy-gushy baby stuff, as opposed to the analytical, financial, cut-and-dry details. He has signed up for BabyCenter emails, and was telling me at lunch today about the 7 Most Common Fears of Dads, and 10 Tips for Labor Buddies. When I asked him the other day what he was excited about doing with Ali, he said having little tea parties with her. I just about melted.

In the "cut-and-dry details" news, her crib is in! Now we just have to assemble it. But before we do that we really do need to get the chair rails installed. And to do that we need a miter saw. And someone who knows what they're doing. It's a good thing we still have a lot of time. :-)

I saw the following on another blog and liked the idea for keeping weekly (maybe monthly?) updates...a neat way to see progress in another form.

How far along?: 17 weeks, 2 days
Total weight gain: Nothing yet. Can you believe it?? At my last appointment I actually had lost the one pound I had gained. The doctor doesn't seem worried, and I think I've figured out that I'm probably just losing all my triathlon muscles. Boo. I'll just have to work hard to get them back.
How much does baby weigh?: About 6 oz.
Maternity clothes?: Still in that transitional phase--I'm still wearing the occasional old pants or shirt, especially to work, but am having to wear maternity more and more.
Stretch marks?: Nope--my mom said she never really got any, so my fingers are crossed!
Sleep?: Not bad! I typically only get up once to pee, and since getting my snoogle body pillow, have been much more comfortable and restful through the night. I love that thing.
Best moment this week?: I think I felt her! I ate a big sugar cookie yesterday after lunch, and I really haven't been eating many (if any) sweets at all. I'm pretty sure she got a total sugar rush, because it felt like there was a total party going on in my uterus. I felt a little bad for hitting her with all that sugar, especially since she isn't used to it, but it was still cool to feel her in there.
Movement?: See above.
Food cravings?: Not really. I eat more fruit than I used to, but other than that, my eating has pretty much returned to normal.
Labor signs?: Ha! No, thank goodness.
Belly button in or out?: In, but it is weird to be able to see the back of it getting shallower and shallower!
What I miss: Ice cold sweet tea
What I'm looking forward to: Feeling her move on a regular basis.
Milestone: I'm less than three weeks away from the half-way point! Yay!!