Week 17 and Feeling Pretty Good

Finally, at the beginning of my seventeenth week, excitement is starting to take over as the lead emotion in this crazy mind of mine.

My belly is definitely beginning to grow. My gut is not terribly obvious yet to outsiders, but to me, it's blindingly clear that a baby is taking over my body. And surprisingly? I am loving my newly rounded belly. I was certain I would hate getting larger, but instead I find myself constantly touching and rubbing my tiny baby Buddha belly. When people point out that my stomach is apparently large for how far along I am (although I really don't think I look that big for it being my fourth month, but then again, I'm clueless), I actually feel happy and proud about it. Although, I must say, I really could do without the insinuations regarding me having twins. Not funny. Seriously not funny, people!

My nausea is almost all gone. I still feel a little pukey if I don't keep something in my stomach or when I get really tired, but it's nothing like the nausea I experienced the past two months. I'm still tired and my energy is low, but I haven't been falling asleep at my desk anymore. I'm beginning to get more backaches, but I kind of enjoy being able to ask Stephen to give me a backrub without my feeling guilty in return. After all, it is his child giving me these backaches, right? The only really annoying "symptoms" I still have are heartburn and lack of appetite. The only things I really seem to enjoy eating these days are Salsa Verde Doritos and Ritter's pineapple custard with the special sprinkles like Sycamore Ice Cream (from our hometown) uses.

Also, and this is just more of a maybe, but I think I've been starting to feel Baby Neener squirming around a bit. People have been trying to describe the feelings of what "fluttering" or "quickening" feels like, and of course, every single description has been different. I say, "So-and-so told me it felt like this to her when she first started feeling her baby move." And the response I always get is, "Really?! That's weird. Didn't feel like that at all to me - it's more like this kind of a feeling." So far, my cousin Kiley has given me the closest description to what I've felt - she ran her fingertip across the open palm of my hand and said it feels like that inside your belly. The sensation I've been having is sort of like that, but feels more like that weird feeling you get from sticking your finger deep in your bellybutton and wiggling it around (sadly, I know what this feels like because my mom has always delighted in torturing my sister and I by poking her finger deep into our bellybuttons and wiggling it around while we would squeal both from the tickling and from the horrible heeby-jeebies it would give us), only it's not in my bellybutton but inside my lower abdomen. I really hope this is Baby Neener I'm feeling. Otherwise, I don't know what the funk is going on down there.

We've begun setting up our baby registries, as well. Sure, it may be a little early to do so now, but considering how indecisive we are about things, we need all the time we can get to figure out what we want. So far, we've registered at Babies 'R' Us, Target, and Wal-Mart. You know, not because we want to register for everything under the stars, but just because we want to give people plenty of options if they so generously opt to purchase a gift for Baby Neener. We're only thinking about giving people options and convenience, you know. Stephen's love of obsessively researching various things for hours on end has usually gotten on my nerves in the past, but I have to admit I'm very much appreciating his sweet research skills right now. It's very overwhelming looking at all this baby stuff and not knowing what's needed, what's good and what's crap, and what the hell some of this stuff even is!

Now for the most important news: Baby Neener update! Baby Neener is about 6 1/2 inches long and weighs about four ounces. The ears are fully formed and in their final position (which I pray are on either side of his/her head) so, therefore, the sense of hearing is developing. Baby Neener is also beginning to form fat tissue. Wonderful. I just knew I needed to be eating more pineapple custard with sprinkles. We will be going to the doctor this Friday for our third prenatal exam. I don't think anything major will be taking place at this visit, other than hopefully getting to listen to the heartbeat again (our baby has a beating heart, how cool!!!) and I'll be having some bloodwork done to test for abnormalities with Baby Neener.

And now for the highly demanded belly pic! Um....looking at it....yeah, I kind of do look big....(eek!!!!!)