Pregnancy Update: 16 and 17 Weeks

How far along: 17 Weeks, about 23 to go.

Showing: Yup. Some days it feels bigger than others. I'm starting to have a hard time getting up because I can't lean forward all the way.

Weight Gain: According to my home scale, I'm fluctuation between four and five pounds. I'll find out for sure at my next OB appointment on Thursday.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. I need to buy more shirts because they are starting to not meet the tops of pants very well. I had an eighth grade girl tell me that my "stretchy panel" was showing last week.

Food I'm Eating/Craving: Nothing in particular this week. I'm not craving sweets though which is weird. I think that's why I haven't gained much weight yet. For example, usually when Steve buys Oreos, I have to hide them or I will eat an entire sleeve in one sitting. Right now, they don't really appeal to me. I'm still eating sweets, but just enough to taste them instead of repeatedly eating them.

Things that Make me Sick: Last week I was still throwing up a ton. In fact, the morning after my birthday I ate a slice of birthday cake for breakfast (ironic after my last statement, I know) and ended up throwing it all up, twice. However, I haven't thrown up as much the past few days. Once in the middle of the night, but I think that was because I took my vitamins without enough in my stomach. Smells still bother me a bit.

Other symptoms: Round ligament pain, itchy breasts and stomach, some minor anxiety, SUPER hot!

Pregnancy Brain: So today I had a really funny one, but now that it's time to write it down, I can't remember it at all. It was super funny too. Sigh. I guess that's my example right there.

Miss anything? Energy. Not wanting to take a nap every day after school. And being cough free. That's getting better, but I'm still coughing.

Best moment: Feeling the baby move for the first time last Tuesday!

Movement: The first time I definitely felt the baby was Tuesday of last week. Steve and I were laying around watching TV when I jumped because it was the most definite kick ever. It actually made me tear up with emotion; it was so cool. Since then I've been feeling the baby move pretty often; some days more than others and some days stronger than others.

Gender: We find out on Thursday. I still think it's a boy, but I will be completely happy with either. I also feel a lot more relaxed because we've settled on names for a boy and a girl.

Happy or moody most of the time?: Overall happy, but I'm struggling with a short temper. It's a good thing school ends this week because my students have less self-control and I have a shorter temper. Sigh. I'm also still experiencing mild anxiety when I'm with a lot of people or when I'm really hot (which seems to be almost all of the time). When it happens I get hot, fidgety, or sometimes I feel this overwhelming feeling of homesickness or vulnerability. It's weird.

The past two weeks also contained an adventure with our dog. While I was still at work on Friday and he was at home with my sister, he decided to "play" with a groundhog, during a thunderstorm. When the groundhog didn't like his playing and attacked, Finn's instincts kicked in and he kind of killed the ground hog. Katie said she felt bad yelling at him because it was the first "real dog" thing he'd ever done. 

Anyway, by the time I got home, she had bathed him and we discovered a scratch on one side of his face, a gouge right under his eye (to think a half an inch higher and he could have lost his eye!) and several small cuts under his jaw. The small ones were bleeding quite a bit, I think because they were close to bone, and every time he shook after his bath, blood sprayed everywhere. I had to wash all the walls. It was so gross. Thankfully my mom and sister were there to help with cleaning his wounds and the bathroom (they did most of the work) and my grandfather disposed of "the body." On top of all that, we found a tick on him and had to make him stand still long enough to yank it out. The joys of owning a dog!

He was really anxious after all of this and kept hiding in his crate or under beds. Not sure if it was because of the fight, our reactions, or because he was in pain. It was weird; between that and the cuts I felt like he wasn't the same dog. He's back to normal now though, and currently snuggling next to me on the couch. He really is such a good dog, and I know he will be so good with the baby. I'm so excited for him to have a kid to play with and for the baby to have the perfect dog.