I hope this isn't indicative of her character...

The 18 week ultrasound and all is well. She has a good lookin heart, beautiful spine, distinctly un-clefted palate, looooong fingers and toes...and is apparently an exhibitionist.

The technician asked us if we wanted to know the gender. 'YES! yes yes yes yes...please', and almost instantly 'It's a girl!'. As you can see, the baby was most helpful in giving us an immediate and (extremely) clear view of what we were looking for.

I like how they gave me an arrow for my own reference. Uh, thanks... but in this case it's kind of obvious what I'm looking at...

You don't LOOK pregnant

Okay, I give. It's starting to bother me now.

What the eff do you MEAN I don't look pregnant? Are you insinuating that my belly looked like this prior to pregnancy? Because I can assure you it most certainly did not.

I'm small, I've always been small. But yes, there is a baby in there... I'm going to eat the next person who says 'you're so tiny! Are you sure you're pregnant?'

In other news, The Captain and I toured the Maternity ward at Hoag Hospital where we'll be having the baby. I chose this hospital specifically because I'm not a fan of hospitals. They generally skeeve me right out. They are epicenters of infectious disease, viral playgrounds, bacterial carnivales. I am fully aware of how neurotic I am. It's part of my charm. RIGHT!?

I believe this is why the universe gives us each two parents. The Captain is my counterpoint in this regard, relaxed and circumspect, a Pisces to the hilt. Anyway, I chose this hospital because First, the Maternity Ward is located in the Women's Center where only health issues pertaining to women are dealt with. This means that the general populace does not go in there with Swine Flu or Ebola or the Black Plague. Also, every time I've been there, to visit a new mom or an ill friend I've been impressed by how very un-hospitally it feels and what a calm and reassuring environment they've created there.

The Tour was a relief valve for me. The nurses we met were amazing. The rooms were large and comfortable. Most importantly, their approach to childbirth combined with my OB's is a relief to me. Essentially their attitude is, as long as there aren't any complications to take into consideration you can do whatever you need to to be comfortable and actively participate in birthin your babeh, i.e.: shower all day long, roll around on a birthing ball, bring in your own music/blankets/pillows, disco dance to songs from Mamma Mia, whatever... AND The Captain can stay with me the whole time I'm in there. There's even a couch that turns into a bed for him to sleep on. There was an overall sense of competence and care that made me relax a few more degrees into this intense experience I'm going to have. Excitement during pregnancy happens in stages. After the tour I was able to get to that next stage of excitement.

Of course next week is our 18 week ultrasound to check the baby's size and make sure that everything else is proceeding normally.

And of course, I'm really nervous...

Week 17

I am, apparently, carrying a Ninja in Training. In my 17th week and there is LOTS of movement in there...

It's difficult to concentrate on conversations at work while there is a scene from Kill Bill going on in your uterus. Very difficult

It actually feels more like there's a little fish swimming around in there most of the time, but several times a day there's quite a hard little right hook or left kick ...it feels exactly like someone poking you... but from the inside.

I have to say, although I know eventually as the baby grows this will probably become tiring and painful, this inner ass-kicking that I'm taking, but for the now the novelty and reassurance of feeling that baby move throughout the day is pretty damn awesome.

So practice those moves little Ninja, I'll get you back when you get out by making you eat this

boom.

Week 15

And I'm at that awkward stage where the people that don't know I'm pregnant are giving me sidelong glances that say 'whoah, maybe she shouldn't have that bag of candy bars at her desk'...


I haven't gained any weight yet because I lost a few pounds in the first trimester, mainly because I lost all my booze calories, but also because nothing sounded tasty to eat.
But now I'm definitely starting to show around the middle and I have these serious cravings for something sweet. The Captain asked me to bring our leftover Halloween candy into the office to foist it on my coworkers. They haven't seen a single Sweetie. I've been horking my way through it ever since.

I'm trying to be be healthier than I was pre-pregnancy, but last Wednesday I had a Crunch-Wrap supreme from Taco Bell ( a bewildering 'food item' I can only describe as a tostada wrapped in a giant flatbread tortilla, formed into a discus shape, then squashed in a george forman-like grill so it's been panini'd. We make commercials for taco bell, I have to eat their food sometimes... HAVE TO) and ate FOUR mini Nestle Crunch bars... I had a salad for dinner that night and enjoyed a gigantic helping of guilt for the next three days...

Please tell me that you've cheated on the healthy food on occasion during pregnancy.