Doctor Appointment

We went to our half-way doctor appointment today! Today, I am 19 weeks 5 days, so just at half way through the pregnancy, very exciting.

I'm so happy that we switched doctor offices, I met the male doctor today and he is AWESOME. The office is a husband and wife team, both obgyns, and you see which one is available the day of your appointment and the day you go into labor. He did a great job of answering my questions and making me feel a lot better. And we got to hear the heartbeat again, going nice and strong. And thankfully, today it was up closer to my belly button, not down on my bladder where it was last time. This was the first time Jeff got to hear the heartbeat too. It was nice having him there!

The doctor reassured me that it is perfectly fine that I haven't gained much weight yet since my uterus is big enough and the baby seems to be fine. I have no idea how I only gained about a pound or two over the past month, my belly has doubled in size I think! So far I have gained about 12-13 pounds, not bad, especially considering I am half way there and it is ok for me to gain a total of 25-35 pounds so I still have plenty of room to grow before it becomes a problem. He also reassured me that my baby will not come out a mutant because I'm not eating very many veggies (cooked veggies kinda make me want to gag, still). I am concerned about this, but he said I should be fine, espcially since the rest of my eating is pretty healthy (no I didn't mention my obsession with the Valentine's day cookies mentioned in the post below).

We also talked about labor stuff. I haven't decided if I want to go natural or have an epidural, and I was figuring that I would just wait to see what it feels like and make my decision then. He said that is the best way to do it, and that they are fine with whatever I decide. That made me happy!!! I think he is definitely a good doctor match for me. So I think I will give the natural route a shot, see what it is like, try out the tub and shower and walking and those goodies, then if I can't take it just get the epidural :-) The hospital has an anesthesiologist on call at ALL TIMES, which is comforting. We will be having the baby at St Joseph's Hospital here in Tucson, which has a brand new maternity ward which just opened less than a year ago!!! Here is the link: http://www.carondelet.org/WomensCare/cb_intro.aspx . I need to start looking into getting us signed up for the classes, I'm really excited for that.

We have our big ultrasound on Tuesday morning, so we are really excited for that as well! We are both looking forwards to seeing the baby again and making sure that everything is ok. We COULD find out the gender... but we won't :-) I'm sure everything is fine, because I can feel it kicking a LOT more now, and the kicks are stronger and more frequent. It has definitely grown! I even felt a kick from the outside of my belly for the first time last weekend!!! That was wild. Jeff hasn't felt it yet, but he will soon enough. I love feeling the baby moving around inside of me, it reminds me that everything is ok, and it makes me smile in the middle of a busy day at work.

On a fun note, 2 people today said that I am "so cute" pregnant. Haha, strangers too! I love it that people can finally tell that I am pregnant and not just eating too much. I also love it that when I go to the gym, it is obvious that I'm pregnant and yes, pregnant women can still run and lift weights! It makes me feel so good and strong and healthy to be doing that. Even though I don't make it to the gym as often as I would like, I'm very proud of myself for still exercising as much as I do. And I'm amazed by the fact that my belly doesn't bounce when I run (the enormous alien things in my bra are a whole other story).

I started our registries last weekend, you can check them out at babiesrus.com and target.com. But they aren't done and I will probably take a lot off, so please don't buy anything yet! But if anyone has any ideas for us, please let me know! My favorite thing, though, is the stroller/carseat combo. It is RED! Here is a link: http://www.chiccousa.com/gear/travel-systems/cortina-30lb-systems/travel-systems-30-race.aspx . I'm super excited.

On a random note, apparently the base in Kyrgystan where Jeff was deployed, Manas Air Force Base, is closing. The country is falling under the pressure of Russia and kicking the US out. Here is a news story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/world/asia/06kstan.html?_r=1 .

I will try to get some pictures up this weekend, I promise!