17 Weeks...Cruising right along

In typical Shannon fashion, I'm behind on my posts.  So for those of you that are following along AND doing math (you smarties, you)...just pretend I haven't started my 18th week already and we're back in last week.  Deal? Deal.

This week I had my monthly check-up with the doctor.  I heard the heartbeat with the doppler - steadily in the 150's, which is good!  Baby B must not have liked being investigated with the doppler because I also got to hear him/her swishing around, moving away from the doppler and giving a few swift kicks.  Speaking of movement, since about Week 15, I thought I was feeling movement but I wasn't sure.  When it's early it's hard to discern baby movement from...well, frankly...gas.  But I kept feeling the same types of little twitches, especially when I was lying down.  As the weeks have progressed, I have been feeling movement more often and a bit stronger, so now I'm sure it's the baby (and not...you know).  It's still early so it almost  feels like a fish flicking its tail rather than a kick, but Baby B has definitely been making his/her presence known.  According to the books I've been reading, the baby is moving around all the time. At this point, I'm only able to feel movements that are quite strong or in just the right place.  Every time it happens though, it's super exciting!  I'm looking forward to Baby B's movements getting strong enough so John will be able to feel them too.  Baby B did a lot of moving around this weekend while we were watching the NCAA tournament so I'm thinking I might have a sports fan on board - shocking!   Either that or it was all the Starburst jelly beans I was snacking on...

I also had a chromosomal screening test this week.  The test screened my blood for the likelihood the baby would have any chromosomal abnormalities such as Down's Syndrome or Trisomy 18.  The results were normal meaning the likelihood the baby has a chromosome disorder is very, very low.  While there are no guarantees, hearing that news helped put our minds at ease.

Finally, our 20 week ultrasound is scheduled for April 2nd.  And yes, this is when we get to find out if Baby B is a he or a she, if (and it can be a very big IF) he/she decides to cooperate.  Either way, it will be an exciting day! Stay tuned...if you're nice, maybe we'll let you know what we find out!