Pregnancy Update-- Week 19

How far along? 19 weeks 6 days 

Size of baby: A tomato (6 in, 1/2 lb)-- although at week 18 the baby was a sweet potato and visually that just seems bigger to me than a tomato! 

Total weight gain: About 8 pounds. 

Maternity clothes: Dresses, skirts, and maternity pants (although they are still too big for me-- but my normal pants are definitely too tight at this point haha). 

Sleep:  The past few days, I have had difficulty sleeping. Once I fall asleep, I usually sleep for a few hours and then I am woken up. I still think it's baby moving around :) So although its hard to fall back asleep, I know its the baby just making itself known. I have had slight abdominal discomfort, which can also make it challenging to fall asleep. Many people have suggested the body pillow, which is on my list of items to purchase this week :)

Best moment of the week: The best moment of this week was when I felt the baby for the first time! It happened on Tuesday, and I just knew it was the baby. I haven't really felt the baby move as distinctly as it did Tuesday, but I guess that's fairly normal?   

Movement: See best moment of this week!!  

Miss anything? I miss knowing what size I am! I also miss being able to shop at my normal stores. I honestly didn't know that shopping for maternity clothes would be so challenging. I don't know how big I will get, so it is difficult for me to buy clothes (I am trying to save as much money as I can right now). I have also found that maternity clothing can be very expensive. I find very cute, stylish dresses, shirts, and pants at the Loft for example, but I am not willing to pay those prices! I have purchased some items at Old Navy, but their selection isn't as large as I wish it was.   

Food cravings: Pretty much everything! I am more about meals than I am about snacks right now (which is not very good for digesting and my bloating issue!)

Food aversions: No real aversions still (I know I am lucky!)

Symptoms I have: Bloating, leg cramps, and headaches lately. 

Gender Predictions: Still thinking a girl. 

Looking forward to: I am looking forward (nervously) to our follow-up ultra-sound appointment tomorrow. We meet with our doctor to review the ultra-sound. While most of the baby's anatomy looked normal, they were not able to determine whether or not the spine is normal. I have to go back in this week to get a second ultra-sound to hopefully get a good picture of the spine so the doctors can make sure that the spine is okay. I have to be honest-- I am afraid. Getting a call from the doctors explaining that we needed to schedule another ultra-sound because the spine pictures were "inconclusive" made me nervous. They started talking to me about making sure that there were no neural tube defects, and while I will absolutely love and care for this baby no matter what the results, it is still scary. The unknown is scary. I will let you all know the results when we hear back. Thank you for all your sweet comments.