4 Months...pregnant that is

As of Tuesday, June 30th, I was 16 weeks along. I am very thankful to have been blessed with a relatively healthy pregnancy so far. No morning sickness & no real scares, yet. I have experienced a lot of fatigue, a bit of a lower tolerance level (but that could also be due to heat), and unfortunately, an increase in headaches. On a funny note, I did not experience cravings much with Riley, but with this little one, I have mostly craved meat - hot dogs, tri-tip, cocktail meatballs, etc. It can be very distracting sometimes too! All in all we (the baby & I) are doing well.

It is a little strange being pregnant the second time around. I find that I have more concerns & anxiety, & I realized that most of my memories from my last pregnancy are from the later weeks (when there was constant kicking & movement being felt). I think the concerns & anxiety may have been absent the first time around because of the whole "ignorance is bliss" ideology. I learned as I went along, & was just thankful every time I got a chance to see the doctor & hear everything was okay. Also, no news was usually good news. This time I seem to question everything. Which is odd, because as far as I know, everything is going along just fine.

I guess the only thing that has been a little strange is that we still have not heard the baby's heartbeat. We have seen it & it is very strong, but the midwife has had trouble finding it with her doppler. At 12 weeks I understood. It was early & I just assumed the baby was hiding. At 16 weeks, it made me a little nervous. The good news is that instead of hearing the heartbeat, we got to not only see it in an ultrasound, but we got to see the profile of the baby's face, the spine, & watched the baby kick. So, the baby seems to be thriving.

Oh, that is the other thing that is a little strange. We do not know the gender of the baby. Which really is not that strange, because we did not find out about Riley until 20 weeks anyway. However, this time we are considering not finding out until the day I deliver. There are pros & cons to both options &, even though I had to get adjusted to the idea of waiting, I am actually excited either way. The weird part comes in referring to the baby. I do not like calling the baby an "it," but there really is no other good pronoun to use when you do not know the sex. I am a little concerned that it may hinder bonding with the baby; however, I can also imagine how incredibly exciting it will be to find out when he or she arrives.

I continue to thank God, praise Him for this new miracle he is forming inside of me, ask Him for a healthy baby, a safe delivery & for a sense of peace during the rest of my term. Thank you Lord, for another amazing blessing.