Baby Update {16 Weeks}

Baby is 16 weeks today, and is the size of an avocado. He or she is about 4.5 inches long and weighs about four ounces.

I think I *might* have felt the first flutters of movement over the past few days, but I can't be sure. When I am sitting or lying still, I will get a vibrating feeling low in my abdomen, although it has been happening pretty frequently and lasts for quite a while at a time, so I can't be sure that's movement. However, there have been a couple of times while this was happening that I've gotten that brief, fluttering 'fish in a bag' feeling, which I'm pretty sure were limbs moving about. (And no, it wasn't just gas bubbles ;)

At any rate, I'm not really expecting to feel much for a little while still.

A couple weeks ago, my Centering Pregnancy group met for the first time at the clinic. These group meetings will take the place of regular check-ups, although we still get weighed, blood pressure taken, and measurements, as well as listening to the heartbeat. Baby is very active, and won't stay still long enough to hear the heartbeat for long. As soon as the doctor finds a heartbeat, the little stinker has to go and move!

Anyway, I think I'm really going to enjoy the group. There are six of us who are due around the same time, and we basically sit in a circle and discuss various pregnancy related things. Plus, there are snacks ;)

Today, we finally got around to kicking the cats out of 'their' bedroom, which is now the future nursery, and scrubbed down every square inch (except the walls, since we'll likely re-paint). It had been a little while since we'd cleaned in there, and it was pretty gross. We also kicked Loki out of our room last night, since it's starting to get even more difficult to sleep with her in the bed. Then at some point, we'd have the other cats come in during the night, and a ruckus would ensue (Loki still hates those two!).

the future nursery

But we couldn't just shut them out of the room, because they just spend the night pawing at the door, which is incredibly annoying. So we ordered a can of compressed air that has a sensor attached, and whenever they get close enough, they get sprayed with air. It feels really mean, but it didn't take long and they stayed away. Boy, did we get some sleep last night!

In other news:

The day after my last update, Karissa's little Eloise was born. She was 15 weeks early, and so very tiny. She's been fighting really hard, though.

And then several days later, Caitlin's baby girl Maryelle arrived. It sounds like everyone is doing well. Although we've seen photos, we can't wait to meet the two new nieces in person! I will refrain from stealing any of their pictures, so we'll just have to wait until we get to visit before sharing any pictures of them!

Also, our new living room tables were delivered this week. Our living room is finally starting to come together! There's a coffee table, entertainment console, and two end tables, which you probably can't really see...