fifteen weeks!

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bump watch: whoomp! there it is! i had to break out my demi-panel maternity jeans this week, and they feel glorious. at work, i've still been getting by with some looser fitting pants, but there's an undeniable bump there now that just can't be squished into the more form-fitting pants. 
little peanut: is four and a half inches long, weighing two to three ounces -- apparently, the size of a navel orange! baby can now sense light from the outside and react to it (usually swimming away).  the ovaries or testes are fully formed and external sex organs are beginning to take shape (which explains why elective "gender ultrasounds" prior to this date are notoriously inaccurate!). cutest of all? baby's growing eyebrows!
Image result for 15 weeks pregnant babycenter
image credit from Baby Center

best moment: feeling the first kicks! i didn't feel movement with Greta until 17 weeks, and while it's typical to feel movement sooner in subsequent pregnancies, i was prepared to not feel anything for several more weeks due to my anterior placenta. technically i think i felt the first flutters toward the end of week 14, but they were so faint that i couldn't be sure it was actually the baby. the kicks i'm feeling now are sporadic but unmistakable! my favourite feeling in the world. 

symptoms: a little more energy! i had a great time at our national PA conference in San Antonio, TX, this week, and while i did take a nap one evening, i was able to keep up the pace pretty well (conference sessions all day, visiting with friends until midnight). i've had no food aversions recently, and i'm definitely hungrier than usual, which probably explains why i gained 5 pounds in the past 2 weeks (for a total of 10 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight). i'm hoping some of that is water retention from flying, but i definitely need to work in some more exercise and focus on protein and fiber to fill me up! 

 cravings: Ruffles hot wing chips. couldn't possibly be contributing to the weight gain and water retention. and i'm still on a peaches kick -- our local farmer's market opened up for the summer yesterday, and a homemade peach pie practically jumped off the table when i walked past. so good! 

 what i miss: beer. we had dinner and drinks at a dueling piano bar in San Antonio, and i had a sip of Jon's Belgian white beer while we sat outside in the warm night breeze. it was like manna from heaven. or water from the rock, which i suppose is a more apt comparison. there's just nothing like that flavor. 
looking forward to: the anatomy scan! i still have to schedule it, but we'll likely do it the week of June 12, when i'll be 19 weeks. i'm so excited to get another look at Little Peanut, and hopefully find out if Greta will have a little sister or a little brother! (my gut still says boy ... only time will tell!)

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