Family Friday: 17 Weeks

Warning: Family Friday posts are an open and honest update of our pregnancy.  There will be references to lady parts, internal organs, and bodily functions.  There will also be photos of baby bumps and ultrasounds.  If any of this bothers you, please stop reading now.

17 Weeks

THE BABY:

 -  is about 5 inches long

 -  is growing a stronger and thicker umbilical cord

 -  is gaining muscle and fat

 -  is starting to develop sweat glands

 -  has hair filling in his/her head, eyebrows, and eyelashes

WEIGHT:  almost +4 lbs total.  I'm starting to get used to this 1 pound a week gain, but I still have to remind myself "I'm pregnant, it's okay to gain weight" every day :)

BODY:  Despite gaining weight, my body didn't change at all this week.  My waist is still at +2 inches, my lower belly is still at +2 inches, and my hips are still at +.75 inch.

THE GOOD:  I feel almost completely normal!  I have tons of energy and all nausea and food aversions are gone.  I honestly hated being pregnant in the first trimester because I felt so awful all the time.  Thank goodness it was only temporary!  I think I can handle this for another 23 weeks :)

THE BAD:  The only bad this week was headaches that come and go often.  Now that I'm out of the first trimester, I'm going to try some massage therapy and a chiropractor soon.

FOOD:  My old eat-almost-anything self is back :)  I'm still craving pancakes.  I found a pumpkin pancake mix by Archer Farms sold at Target that is SO good.  I also had an angel email me a pancake recipe made from scratch that uses applesauce, oatmeal, and whole wheat flour - it is healthy and delish!

     Multi-Grain Pancakes
     1 cup pure apple juice
     1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
     2 egg whites or 1/2 cup egg substitute
     2 cups of multigrain or whole wheat flour
     1/4 cup oats
     1 tsp baking powder
     1 tsp baking soda
     1/2 tsp cinnamon
     1/4 tsp salt
     Honey or other sweetener to taste if desired

     Combine wet ingredients, then add dry ingredients. Add more juice if the batter is too dry.

Whatever pancakes I make, I always cook up a full batch and freeze the leftovers. You can pop them in the toaster later to make them hot and crispy again!

EXERCISE:  I finally have my energy back so this was a great week for exercise!  The first thing I did was go jogging.  It felt great and I wasn't even sore the next day.  It made me realize that I've retained more of my fitness level than I thought despite taking it easy for so long.  The base fitness center is only a half mile from our house so I started attending some of the classes offered this week.  One class I went to was Cardio Kickboxing.  I loved this class and it was a great workout.  Another class I attended was Zumba.  I actually didn't like this class at all.  I've been to many Zumba classes elsewhere that I did like because they were dance/aerobic classes that were easy to follow.  This class however was complicated National-Geographic-type tribal dancing... that's not for me.  I'm looking forward to trying some of the other classes offered soon.

OTHER NOTES:  I had a doctor's appointment this week!  Everything is still going well.  The baby's heart rate was in the 150's.  Our next appointment is in 4 weeks and is the big ultrasound!  Luckily, Johnnie will be home for that.  Apparently it is an in-depth ultrasound to check the baby's growth and make sure it's developing normally.  Gender is not something they specifically look for, but if it's easily seen then they will let you know.  We definitely want to find out if Baby G is a boy or girl!

*******

"Feeling fat lasts nine months but the joy of becoming a mom lasts forever."

~Nikki Dalton

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Announcement	21 Weeks	32 Weeks
11 Weeks	22 Weeks	33 Weeks
12 Weeks	23 Weeks	34 Weeks
13 Weeks	24 Weeks	35 Weeks
14 Weeks	25 Weeks	36 Weeks
15 Weeks	26 Weeks	Maternity Photos
16 Weeks	27 Weeks	The Birth
17 Weeks	28 Weeks
18 Weeks	29 Weeks
19 Weeks	30 Weeks
20 Weeks	31 Weeks