Hiccups

Yesterday's ultrasound was a fun one -- long and informative! We got to see the baby's face (although it took a few times before Chris could decipher it) and watch it kick and wave and have the longest case of hiccups ever. When the ultrasound tech was trying to measure the heartbeat, the poor little one kept hiccuping and hiccuping. At least it doesn't hiccup the same way I do..."Hic-OWWW!....Hic-OWWW!..." (Yes, when I get the hiccups, it hurts. A lot.)

Everything looks great with baby hill. The main thing we are monitoring is the baby's size, because gestational diabetes can cause the baby to grow too quickly. According to the ultrasound, the baby is in the 22nd percentile for weight, which is great. That means it's small, but not dangerously so. All of the parts and pieces are accounted for and developing normally, and we even saw hair! It was spiky, like Chris'.

The baby weighs about 4 lbs now and is doing blue steel in the ultrasound images we got: puffy lips sticking out, chin pulled into chest. Either that, or we snapped the shots just as the baby was mid-hiccup.

I haven't gained any weight over the past month, but the doctor said that's normal for women who switch to the ADA (American Diabetes Association) diet during pregnancy. She said that the baby is growing as it should be, so I am probably losing weight elsewhere as my belly gains it. I'm already doing weekly check-ups, and starting next week I will be doing a weekly Non-Stress Test (NST) as well. This is to monitor the baby's heart rate and activity levels to ensure that it is receiving adequate oxygen and nutrients.

So baby and I are being well-monitored! Weekly appointments, glucose monitoring 2-4 times a day, insulin twice a day, precisely 3 meals and 4 snacks daily (spaced 2-3 hours apart, including the middle-of-the-night snack I have to wake up for). It's busy, but I've settled into a pretty good routine.

Now we just have to get the Lady Space cleaned out and turn it into a nursery! I guess we'll call it the Baby Space from now on.

And no, we did not find out the gender in yesterday's ultrasound either.