Fifth Month, The Beginning.

I realize I haven't talked about our last doc's appointment yet. Probably because it was over so fast, and there was nothing really new to report - Baby is doing very well, it's measuring on the spot on where it should be, and my belly aches and stabs are perfectly normal, nothing to worry about. It's the ligaments, and since my uterus has already reached the size of a small ball, there's some enormous stretching and supporting going on, even if my tummy isn't quite big yet.

Here are the facts:

Baby's head diameter as of 15 weeks and 5 days: 35.14mm
abdominal diameter: 28.93mm
femur length: 19.26mm
my weight gain since the beginning of this pregnancy: 1.5kg

(fotos of baby and my belly have been uploaded to my ringo.

Another little factoid: I do have an anterior placenta, meaning: it has implanted at the front, which will make me feel Baby's movements a little later than could normally be expected, because it's like Baby is kicking into a pillow. I am a little bit upset about that, considering that I already thought I have felt a tiny little flutter about a week ago, but now have to realistically attribute that to gas, or stomach activity. When I am looking at my baby during an ultrasound, it is very hard to believe that I cannot feel anything at all, it's kicking so much, and jumping around quite a bit.

Geo finally had a chance to come with me to the doctor's office. I will never forget the look on his face - it was the first time he has seen our baby move and kick, the first time he has seen it "live" ever since it does look like a real human being. The last time he has been to an ultrasound with me was when Baby was a mere 4mm "long", so the change is quite drastic. The photos I am getting after every ultrasound really never do the "real" thing any justice, so I was very glad that he could see our child like that.

More changes are happening, too. People are commenting more and more on my baby bump, so now there is no more denying the fact that I am pregnant - not that I would, anyway. This makes me very happy, and I have kind of stopped to stand sideways before the mirror every chance I get to try to determine if my tummy still looks like a large fat roll, or already like a real pregnant belly. Sure, I am flabby, but the flab is taking on quite the characteristic shape, which I am very glad about. :)

Also, I am noticing a more drastic change within myself too. I am observing, without being able to do much about it, how I am becoming less and less interested in my "normal" friends and their whereabouts, and more and more turning towards people who understand what I am going through better. That's not only my acquaintances from my fistball team (most of which have already had children), but also my new online friends from my babyforum, which I seem to be really putting quite some effort into. We have managed to set up a real life meeting for next Sunday, and if all goes well we'll be three pregnoids (- and all of them quite exactly as far along as I am!) and two or three mothers of toddlers. I am insanely looking forward to that, and it was only my sister's flabbergasted question of "Since when are YOU meeting with strangers???" that made me realize what is going on with my social life. I hope I won't end up upsetting my "normal" friends with this, but let's be honest: even though I try to keep it to a minimum, there is only so much baby-talk a childless person can take - and I know that from own experience. I am afraid of turning into that friend-that-used-to-be-cool-but-now-only-talks-about-puke-and-diapers-anymore lamo, so currently I feel better surrounding myself with people who know.

I am putting special hope into one of the girls I have met through my forum. She's quite the youngie (at least in comparison to me), but you'd never think so talking to her. She's smart and witty and funny, and I have spent many an evening chatting with her, completely losing my sense of time, until I realize that it is midnight and that I have to go to bed. She is a few days behind me as far as her pregnancy is concerned. I never thought how the simple fact of growing a baby inside can be connecting.

Moreover, her and another girl and I are thinking of going to preggo-yoga classes together. Really looking forward to that too, but I have no up-to-date information on that yet.

All that said, I have now started my fifth month of pregnancy... my 17th week... and the halfway point is rapidly approaching, with dizzying speed, almost. Didn't I just pee on a stick here at the office? One blink and I'll go into labor, if things keep on progressing this quickly...