Since it’s happened every night (at 2:30 in the morning!!) for the past three nights, I think it’s safe to say I’ve finally felt the baby moving. It’s a very odd sensation. It feels like the baby is squirming around in there, trying to find a comfy position to sleep in…which is usually what I’m trying to do at that hour of the morning! I still haven’t noticed any movement during the day, although I’m sure it’s there. I’m at 17 1/2 weeks, which is right in the middle of the range of time you’re supposed to start feeling movement.
I had an appointment this morning to check the heartbeat. It was fast – somewhere between 150 and 160 bpm if I counted right. Supposedly, if it’s consistently faster than 140 (which it has been so far) that means it’s a girl. This is probably not much more than a slightly newer old wives’ tale, but it’s fun to guess anyway. Only another couple of weeks before we (hopefully) find out at our ultrasound! (I keep telling everyone that I might have a modest child in there – this is mostly so I won’t be disappointed if we can’t find out.) Yes, yes, I know, the ultrasound is really to check that everything is developing normally, and that a healthy baby is all that matters (although, what mother wouldn’t love her baby even if it were unhealthy?) but as long as we can find out the gender, we’re going to. (Can you tell I’ve gotten some flak about my decision to find out before the baby’s born?)