22 Weeks Appointment

22 Weeks Fetal Development

Already past the halfway point of my pregnancy! It is unbelievable how fast it has been going by, even though I have been trying to slow down time and enjoy every moment of it.

Yesterday I an appointment with one of the midwives, and I was happy to have the company of my good friend Lauren. Everything is going well. I seem to be gaining weight at a great rate and the distance from my pelvic bone to the top of my uterus is exactly 22 inches which is also good (generally this distance should correspond to number of weeks along in your pregnancy you are). Mattimeo's heartbeat was nice and strong, and she said his heart rate was perfect at 140 bpm. I'm so glad everything is continuing to go well. I had been getting worried that I wasn't eating enough food, so I was relieved to hear that I am on the right track. I really don't eat much more than I did before I was pregnant, but I do need to snack occasionally which I never used to do.

This week at my appointment the midwife (Kirstin) talked to me about water births. At the birth place there is a tub in every room, so everyone has the option of having a water birth. She told me that they have had very good success with water births and have never had any complications. However, she did tell me the risks associated with water births such as a chance of infection from all the gunk in the water (you also have a chance with infection on dry land though) and just the general lack or research conducted on safety of water births. She told me that some women go through their whole pregnancy saying they want a water birth, but once they are in labor and sitting in the tub they find that it isn't for them. On the other hand, some women don't want water births but use the tub to help ease pain and find that they don't want to leave the tub and end up having a water birth. Finally, she went over some circumstances in which they won't allow me to have a water birth which include if the baby poops before leaving my uterus (then they will have to clear his throat immediately to prevent infection) or if his heart rate is concerning (then they will need to monitor it more closely which you can't do in the water). I didn't really know that much about water births prior to that conversation so it was all very interesting information to me. I suppose I won't know what kind of birth I want until I get to that point, but it's nice to be informed about different options.

One last thing to note is that I can feel little Meo kicking now, sometimes like crazy! Officially, the first time I thought I really felt him kick was on February 21 (week 18) when Robbie and I were lying on the couch watching The Fellowship of the Ring. Before that I sometimes felt like there was something going on, but the books say its hard to distinguish the first flutters of a baby from gas in your stomach. I have never had gas bubbles that felt like what I was feeling, but then again, I've never been pregnant before so who am I to know what pregnant lady gas bubbles feel like! During the last several days though, Meo has been kicking up a storm at times, and now I feel confident that I am feeling him. His favorite times to kick seem to be in the morning when I am feeling sick after breakfast (yes, I still have morning sickness occasionally), at night when I am trying to fall asleep, or during the day when I am laying down reading a book. I guess when I am laying down and relaxed my uterus is more open so he has more room to move around and when I am active, my movement probably rocks him to sleep. It's really fun to feel him moving around! Robbie was able to feel him move for the first time two nights ago, and he really enjoyed that. From the outside, it is still difficult to feel, but Robbie can definitely feel him on occasion now.