21 weeks 4 days The big ultrasound was this morning and baby is doing great! All of the measurements they did were within the normal range and because of my "advanced maternal age" they did a lot of them. They legally had to inform me that even though all of the measurements were "terrrific", there is still a chance of chromosomal abnormalities, but those risks are lower now, after seeing how the baby is growing and looking at the heart, spine, leg bones and brain. The ultrasound is the only diagnostic testing I chose to do.
shot of the spine
The doctor did a great job saying "the baby" the whole time, so there is still no inkling of whether it's a boy or a girl. The heartbeat was strong and the rate was 150bpm. Baby is measuring 1 lb 1 oz, which is right on target for how far along I am. Baby was flipping around a lot and grabbing his/her feet, then letting go really quickly, almost as if he/she was tickling him/herself. Very sweet!
I've been feeling pretty badly. The nausea is still ever-present...not a constant all day and all night thing like before, but I do have several periods each day where I just feel wretched. I've also been experiencing pretty severe heartburn and keep a bottle of Tums on my bedside table for the nights where it wakes me up out of a dead sleep. Sciatica comes and goes...was really bad last week when I was on my feet all day every day packing up the kitchen. My friend, who is a chiropractor, told me to sit on a tennis ball and roll around for a minute at a time, several times a day, and that trick has worked very well in helping to relieve the pain.
So I'm chugging along! Glad to be in the 2nd half of the pregnancy!
I was a little apprehensive about the tennis ball trick at first, but it brought me almost instant relief. And it's somewhat comical too, since Emmy Lou thinks I'm playing and tries to steal the ball right out from under me!