What I'm Wearing 3, & 18 Week Update

Time for another update!  Today I had my 18 week appt. with Sherry.  All is well, and we were able to hear baby's heartbeat right away this time.  His/her heart rate was in the 140s-160s.  Sherry said I'm measuring right on target (18 cm fundal height).  My b/p was 130/70, and my weight is up 3 more lbs, for a total gain of 12 lbs. so far.  I had hoped to not gain more than 12 lbs. by 20 weeks; we'll see if I can keep it right around there for the next 2 weeks. :)  

Here was my outfit for today.  I feel like I look really big in the first picture, and skinny in all the side pics!  Weird.  I think I am slouching against the post in the first pic, which probably is making my belly look bigger.  Maybe?  Or it could just be the way the shirt is draping.  Anyway--love this outfit!  Although I could have gone with capris today, as it got rather hot in the afternoon.

 I am just loving how green everything is around here.  Sigh . . . I love summer. :)  Well, at least the "everything is pretty" part--not so much the heat!  But so far we have been having lovely weather, not much humidity yet, so I can't complain!

 The bump doesn't look much different than my last post--I'm not growing super fast (yet :)).  

Outfit details:

Halftee from halftee.com (LOVE this and would buy a few more if they weren't so expensive!)

Green/white top: Secondhand (Old Navy)--I love the length and drape!

Jeans: Goodwill (Old Navy) and adapted to maternity by yours truly (using an old bella band)

We discussed a few other things at my appt. today, including Rhogam and prenatal screening.  Sherry had given me a DVD on prenatal screening to watch (available free on Youtube here, if anyone's interested) and I thought it was really interesting.  We have not done screening with any of our previous pregnancies, and won't be with this one either, but I appreciated the overall tone of the film (not saying I necessarily agree with all the viewpoints expressed, of course) and how they gave questions at the end to help people determine if screening would be a good choice for them.  (To be clear, this film was only about screening for Down syndrome, Spina Bifida, and Trisomy 18.)  For me, doing the screening wouldn't really be helpful because I wouldn't choose to have further testing done (such as an amniocentesis), since I am not comfortable with the risks of those tests.  And we wouldn't choose to abort our baby, regardless of the test results.  It was just interesting to see the different viewpoints of the parents interviewed on the film.  Many really wanted to know ahead of time if their child would be born with a disability--so they could prepare mentally--and I can understand that and even relate somewhat.  But I found myself identifying most with the mom who didn't know ahead of time that her first child had Down syndrome, and later chose not to have screening done for her other two pregnancies, because as she said, it wouldn't have made any difference in her decisions.  At any rate, we are trusting God with the health of our baby and if there are any issues, we will handle them one step at a time with His help.

Regarding the Rhogam shot (I have an Rh- blood type), I am still thinking that one over.  I have the option to get it at 28 weeks, but I probably won't.  I didn't for either Julia or Josiah, and the risks of issues from not getting it then are pretty small.  If the new baby has a positive blood type (as did Sam and Josiah), then I will get it within 72 hours after giving birth.  Anyway, like I said, still thinking about that decision, but I still have 10 weeks to decide. :)

And I guess that is a long enough update for today!  Next appt. will be July 14!