Pregnancy

17 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

Hello! Another pregnancy journal update since I’m now 17 weeks and 2 days! Things have been up and down as far as how I’ve been feeling but there’s been a general upward trend so I’m hoping that it’s something that continues!

The biggest update, in case you missed it, was that we found out last week that we’re expecting a boy! I’m so glad we were able to find out before our 20 week anatomy scan and it was fun keeping it between the two of us for a few days. We had a small gender reveal with our family on Saturday to share the news which I recapped in my Gender Reveal post.

baby gender reveal party, husband and wife, it's a boy!

17 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

Lovenox update

I’m going to start here because this has been the biggest hurdle to jump in the last 2 weeks. Technically I’m not taking the brand name “Lovenox” – which is a blood thinner administered into the stomach/love handles area – but I am taking the generic name same drug. The last time I posted, I had just taken my first shot which wasn’t the best way to gauge how this particular journey was going to go for me. I did that one fairly quickly because I had 2 nurses staring at me to do it for the first time. The first shot didn’t hurt to give but I felt it strongly burning for the next couple of hours and then had a generally odd sensation for the whole day. The next day really hurt to give the shot and I actually got a huge bruise from that one that only just cleared up yesterday. The trend over the next week or so was that it would hurt/burn for a good 15-20 minutes after taking the shot and that first bruise was the only one to stick around. 

I’ve had 3 fairly significant melt-downs over this new reality; one the first day during bedtime chats, another a couple days later while trying to give myself the shot, and the final a week later while trying to give myself the shot. The most recent breakdown was on Sunday and it was because I had so much anxiety built up around giving myself the shot and I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It took me over an hour of sitting there staring at my skin to finally get it done. The next day it took me over 20 minutes. So by the time Tuesday came around I was like, “I cant keep doing this!” and I got it done in under 5 minutes. Yesterday was probably a couple minutes and today I did it almost immediately. 

Honestly the burning pain has died down a lot and doesn’t really last too long but I have started bruising more. None as intense as the first one I got but I have a few small bruises around my abdomen at the injection sites. It’s gotten so much better and getting over the mental hurdle has been huge – hopefully there isn’t any regression as far as that goes. 

Lovenox Shot before and after

Size of Baby

Our baby boy is now the size of a turnip (5.1 in) and weighs 5 oz, twice as heavy as he was 2 weeks ago! I don’t know if that’s it but my belly finally feels like it’s popped and I’m definitely looking more pregnant.

Weight Gain

I’m finally around, if not still a tad under, my pre-pregnancy weight so I suppose I technically haven’t gained any weight yet. It’s not too concerning for me because I had extra weight to begin with and I’m eating much more regularly now.

New Developments

My OB asked me last week if I’d started feeling any flutters or movements and I still have yet to really feel anything. I think I was willing myself to feel something a couple days ago and I might have had “popcorn popping” feelings but I’m really not sure. It was that day that I had a few drips come from my right nipple which was a surprise but a little exciting to have a big change in my body like that! (Sorry if that’s TMI!)

Symptoms

I thought the worst of the nausea was behind me but a couple of days ago I had one of the worst days where I felt sick from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed and it only got worse as the day went on. It was my sister-in-law’s birthday that day and her favorite PF Changs was not a favorite for me that evening. ๐Ÿ™ 

I’ve started having slightly more heartburn but it hasn’t been any kind of consistent too horrible at any point yet. Still, I’m sure it’s not a good sign in months to come. 

Food Aversions

I don’t think I’ve had any aversions that are too different from what I mentioned in my last update. My main dietary restriction has been “foods with flavor” meaning that if there’s any spices or seasonings beyond salt then it probably will make me sick. In other words, most meals have been pretty plain and focus on basic ingredients like bread, peanut butter, veggies, potatoes, cheese, etc… I did have an Indian pizza last night which was surprisingly fantastic and went down pretty well but I did have some stomach reactions to it later in the evening. 

Cravings

A week ago I was at work watching someone eat this delicious looking homemade salad. I was so tempted to just take it and eat it myself because it looked so good. When I got home that evening, I pulled out a couple of heads of romaine lettuce and made a little bowl of lemon, olive oil, and salt dressing. I completely downed both heads of lettuce and drank any remaining dressing and it was amazing. Yesterday I saw a food video of a gnocchi alla Sorrentina and it’s all I could think about for the next hour plus. It must have been pretty intense because I think I started daydreaming and I felt like I was eating it and could actually taste it for a moment. Writing this really makes me want it for dinner tonight… Steamed broccoli has tasted pretty good too so there’s definitely some kind of love affair going on with veggies.

Exercise

I’ve still been so exhausted/nauseous that it hasn’t been at the front of my mind but I did have a strong urge to have a good workout yesterday so I know it’s coming. So the plan is still the same as it was a couple of weeks ago, I’m going to look into strength exercises, prenatal yoga, and a lot of walking once the weather starts to cooperate. 

Maternity/Baby Purchases

I bought a super cute elephant outfit at Target last week after we found out that we were having a boy! I picked it up in a 3m but I think I might also get it in a 6m as well so that he can wear it longer. I just love how sweet it looks.

Overall Feelings

I’m tired and I’m willing nausea to be gone for good. Otherwise, I’m really excited to be in this new phase where I’m really getting to feel him grow and hopefully start feeling movements soon! One of the things I really enjoyed last summer was going backpacking and lately, I’ve been a bit down that it’s probably not going to be a reality for a long time. I might talk with my doctor and see what she thinks about it and maybe depending on comfort level, we can plan a couple of last trips in the mid to late springtime. 

So that’s all for today! Like I mentioned in my most recent post, I would like to post an update at least every other week and hopefully start peppering back in some other parts of my life posts as well. Thanks for reading!

Previous Updates:

15 Weeks – Pregnancy Update

Baby #1 Gender Reveal!

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