18 Week Update

I think I am declaring week 18 as the week it really starts "getting real", in some good ways and some not-so-good ways.

I have started feeling little kicks here and there and I am now 95% sure it is actually the babies I am feeling. That's the good part of getting real (at least until they kick me as hard as a soccer ball...then this might go over to the "not-so-good getting real" category).

And one more for the good category: I am finally past morning sickness (knock on wood)! I haven't thrown up in 2 weeks! Still can't drink milk or eat ice cream without getting sick though :o( But no throwing up is reason enough to do a happy dance!

As for the not-so-good, I am getting more and more uncomfortable by the day. I couldn't sit all the way through an hour long church service yesterday, even though I tried to put my legs up on the pew occasionally. It was hard to breathe and my legs were so uncomfortable and hot (thanks a lot, compression hose). I ended up ditching after about 45 minutes and listening to the last speaker from a soft rocking chair in the mothers' area and propping my legs up on the diaper pail (luckily it did have a cover on the top). Yeah, gross I know, but you do what you gotta do! I figured the diaper pail was better than ditching church altogether.

Speaking of legs, they are getting increasingly purple and blue with lovely spider and varicose veins. Painful ones. Compression hose have now gone from a nuisance to the only way I can walk without pain. Okay, I admit, they are still a nuisance...but a necessary one.

Breathing is getting ever more difficult, especially when I lie down at night. I think my recliner will soon take over as my place of nighttime slumber since that is just about the only place I feel somewhat comfortable now.

And lastly, my heart. Oh how it pumps. And pumps. And thumps. I can feel it in my neck, hear it in my ears. It's working overtime, that's for sure! But as long as it keeps my babies healthy this is one thing I can handle. My doctor just wants me to keep an eye on it just to be careful. He says I may have to meet with a cardiologist at some point. But it's been a little better the past few days so I'm hoping it continues.

And to think...14 to 18 MORE weeks to get uncomfortable by the day. At least there will be a BIG payoff in the end! I can't wait for three little boys to kiss and cuddle.

My 18 week appointment went well. The boys are all growing. Baby A and B are up to 9 ounces from 5 ounces and 6 ounces, respectively. Baby C is up to 7 ounces from 4 ounces. They were kicking and moving like crazy in there. The tech thought I must have had something very sugary for lunch, and when I told her I hadn't eaten yet, she said "Wow, I wonder what they'll be like when you DO eat!"  It was so neat, though, watching them cross and uncross their arms, touch their faces, and kick. And it was also fun seeing their "little penises", as the ultrasound tech kept calling out: "There's Baby A's little penis, there's Baby B's little penis..." and so on. It cracked me up.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, is my 18 week belly shot. At 16 weeks, my OB said my belly was measuring the same as a 26 week single pregnancy. I'm sure it's more like 28 now, because I can tell I've popped out some in the last 2 weeks.