Real movement!

I felt the stereotypical baby motions for the first time today. It was at work, so I sent The Hottest Computer Scientist in the Universe email about it:

I am eating lentil soup ... (kinda high sodium I think, but it's got bacon and lentils, lots of protein) and I was helping a grad student and I felt him/her/it big time! Not the fish-spinning thing but it was either hands or feet because they were beating 1-2 1-2 really really fast. That's the "fluttering" [people] mentioned I guess. But it was really focused
in one spot [two immediately adjacent points] - whereever his hands and/or feet were. I am guessing it was feet because a baby's arms aren't long enough to reach beyond his head and it was clear over on the [left] side of my abdomen.

Or else the kid hates lentils and was having a tantrum. Or a seizure? :( I thought of that and was worried for a minute...

My best friend's mom had told me about two weeks before that I could feel the baby move by lying on my belly on a firm surface. "You'll feel the most magical fluttering!" she said, delighted. I'm not one for terms like "magical fluttering," but feeling two tiny feet kicking me for all they were worth, and realizing all of a sudden that those are little feet, did send me into some sort of a zone for a minute.

It's only happened the once while I've noticed/been awake. Soon enough it'll be less cute and more uncomfortable, I imagine.

Working moms' dismay

"Breast is best," etc. Straight men everywhere probably agree that boobs are better than no boobs or even less boobs (no, I don't mean fewer).

The categories of Women who identify as women and Straight men who like boobs together probably encompass a significant pro-boob majority of the population.

None of those people work at the IRS:

Acne Cream? Tax-sheltered. Breast Pump? No.

The headline oughtta read:

IRS keeps boobs from babies, increasing preventable diseases in yet another generation.

I haven't gotten one yet, but I know there are cheap breast pumps and nice breast pumps. Women at all levels of the pay scale benefit from a breast pump that is fast, and doesn't rip your nipples off. That doesn't come cheap. From the caption:

A breast pump and various accessories can run about $500 to $1,000 for most mothers a year.

I would say that "most mothers" are at the low end of that scale, and that's not a strictly annual cost - that's including the cost of the pump itself which hopefully will last the duration of the time you nurse your child. Kids with allergies may need to be nursed till age 2. That's a long time to either a) have your nipples ripped off by a crappy pump or b) get permission from your employer to be gone for stretches of time each day to pump with a second-rate pump.

3rd Prenatal Visit

I clock in at... 146 pounds! (almost - a couple of ounces shy I think)

Heatbeat was at.... 148-150! (same as last time)

And I am supposed to eat lots and lots of protein.

Tonight I substituted an entire tray of oatmeal raisin cookies.

Wiggly baby!

That title's just for clarity. You'd never guess this was a baby. It feels sort of like a fish, or other Unidentified (Floating) Object that spins suddenly, the wiggles off.

18 weeks.

I can feel this (small) Sweet Potato when he/it spins right in the middle. Last night, The Hottest Computer Scientist in the Universe was already asleep and I experimented. Lying on my back, I put my hand over where the spinning was and just waited. Two times I could feel it with my hand from the exterior (not just the interior). But it would take a good 45-1hr of motionless waiting to guarantee THCSITU would get to feel something. So it wasn't fair to wake him for that.

I am still a little freaked out by the nuchal scan ultrasound. The Guajolote was just lying at the bottom of the placenta, which was at the bottom of the uterus - and flopping like a fish out of water. Not floating, not wiggling. Definitely flopping on his/its side.

Our next prenatal appointment is tomorrow. I am hopeful that I will have surpassed my previous lifetime max weight. Looking at my behind and thighs, it seems a sure bet.

More brains

Well heck. "What to Expect When You're Expecting" has a list of foods that cause gas. Onions are on the list. They make me burp for like 2 hrs now. But.... Mexican food has onions. There's no way around it.

After a childhood spent hating onions, I have embraced them in most forms. Maybe I was right all along and they are the enemy??

I woke up sometime, then went back to bed at 4:30. At 5:30, I gave up. I was too hungry to sleep. But this egg-and-toast has left my stomach feel all burn-y. Salt and black pepper - I have that on an egg every day!

I guess I'll brush and floss again and see if I can ignore the burning and fall asleep...