18 Week Appointment

I had my 18 week appointment today, all went well. Weight was good, not sure why I was worried, blood pressure still under control, and Baby T's heart rate was about 155. It took forever for the doctor to find the heartbeat though. Every time he would get it, the baby would move and he'd lose it. I was a little nervous, but since it was there from time to time, I just needed to be patient. After a few minutes, he found a good spot to hear the heartbeat and it sounded good. You could also hear every time the baby moved, which was pretty cool.

The nurse scheduled the next ultrasound for Sept. 29th! They'll measure all sorts of stuff and check every part of Baby T to make sure it all looks okay and he/she is growing correctly. I'm really excited about it, but a little nervous. This will be our first chance to really check and see how the baby is doing. The doctor told me the ultrasound tech can't tell us anything though, which is a little frustrating...he said not even the gender of the baby! They apparently used to be able to tell you the gender, but now aren't even suppose to tell you that. So we won't actually know what gender the baby is until Sept. 30th. I can call the doctors office the next morning to find out, but might wait until later in the day, but either way Zach and I will be in different places when we find out, so that kind of stinks... They'll also tell me if everything else looked okay so I don't have to wait until my 22 week appointment.

I asked about flu shots today. I've never had the regular flu shot but my OB recommends it so I will get one this year. I also asked about the H1N1 shot, I was originally thinking maybe not get it just because it is so new and they don't really know if there are any adverse effects on the baby, but my doctor said I should get it. Based on all of the information gathered so far, they highly recommend all of their pregnant patients get it. So I guess I should I follow the advice of professionals, but I will admit that I am slightly unsure about it all. Working with germy, dirty students all day though, it's probably better in the end. So I have a few shots in my future and then its keeping my fingers crossed that they actually work and I can avoid getting sick this winter.

I think that was about it for todays appointment. I felt good afterward though and feel like so far so good :) Ultrasound 9/29, Next regular appointment 10/16.

Oh yeah, and today is exactly 5 months until the due date!!! Super exciting! :)