Today: 17W2D
Nyeek - Halloween and its piles of chocolate and the beginnings of holiday celebrations are wreaking havoc on my willpower. I am usually able to regulate by reminding myself that whatever I eat has a direct impact on baby - now and in the future. (I read that if you consume a lot of sugar during pregnancy, babies show a preference for sugary tastes when they're born.)
The most exciting news I have right now is that as of sometime last week, I'm now able to feel baby MOVE! I can usually feel him fluttering about if I lie flat on my back and put my hand on my tummy about half an hour or so after a meal - it feels like a small tap or series of taps on my hand. But sometimes even just sitting or standing still, I can feel him tumbling away. It's a very slight sensation, usually just a few flutters or taps before he settles (or, I don't know, moves away?)
MS is all but gone, but I do still get tired easily esp during my afternoons at the chocolate shop. I try to sit as much as possible (I read that standing too long during pregnancy is bad for you - I wonder if I read too much) but still by the end of my relatively easy shift, I am beat. It's good to be out of the house for those few hours a week, though.
We did our follow-up blood test for spina bifida, which came back negative (yay!) and are looking forward to next Monday's anatomy scan and the hospital tour that we have scheduled later this month. Been having issues with our condo association and plumbing matters, and every time I feel my stress levels climbing I try to remember the only thing that matters is our family. At the end of the day, money is only money, other people's words and opinions are theirs and not ours to worry about, and we have these countless blessings to cherish.
And the holidays are upon us! Last year I PROMISED myself and Scott that we would do the holidays right this year. We had a three-year slump after Mom passed, and last year was worst. Absolutely the last straw. We did absolutely nothing to celebrate - didn't clean, bake, decorate the house, nothing. This year, I'm getting my Mom pants on early and we're all following my lead. I already baked my first pumpkin-flavored dessert and am planning what our living room Christmas decorations are going to look like. We're dressing up, we're getting a tree, we're going to church, we're accepting invitations and extending some of our own as well. No more icky dreary Christmases. We are moving from upstairs to downstairs, and I think that will help. I think half the time, the living room is a mess because it's largely unused. (Right now it's just storage space for all the awesome baby stuff that people have been giving us.) But once we move downstairs and are regular users of the living room, I'm sure there will be much more motivation to get in the holiday spirit and spruce it up (ha, pun intended).
