19 Weeks

I went to the doctor on Monday, and everything is fine. The baby has a strong heartbeat - 142 beats per minute. I was relieved to hear that. With everyone telling me that either I don't look pregnant or that I'm not showing much, I was starting to get concerned. Everything is fine though, which means I just have a really blessed pregnancy. No morning sickness, and no excessive weight gain.

I am having some chronic back pain though. The doctor gave me a pamphlet with some exercises I could do to help relieve it, and she gave her approval to get a "maternity massage" at a local spa. She also suggested that I wear a maternity belt for extra support. If it's still a problem, she said she would send me for physical therapy. I'm going to try all of those others things first, though, and hope I don't end up having to do the physical therapy.

I found a prenatal yoga dvd on Monday. I used it last night for the first time and enjoyed it. The Body Flow class that I've been taking at the gym is becoming more difficult each week, so my plan is to just do yoga at home with the dvd. Many of the moves we do in class are on the dvd anyway, and the dvd offers modifications for each trimester.

The ultrasound to find out the gender of the baby is scheduled for October 10th. I will be very glad to tell people whether or not I'm having a boy or a girl. I've lost count of how many times people have asked me that question! Interestingly enough, I've had two random people tell me they think I'm having a boy. One was a cashier at Wal-Mart.

She said, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but...are you expecting?" I smiled and nodded as I thought, Finally, I am showing! When she found out how far along I am and how much longer before I'll find out the gender, she said, "I think it's going to be a boy. Come back and tell me if I was right when you find out."

I thought that was a little odd and decided not to put too much stock into it, since she does, after all, have a 50/50 chance of being right. But I had someone else tell me the same thing today. I had to go back to Savannah today to get some bloodwork done--screening tests for the baby. When the nurse found out how far along I am, her eyes got wide, and she looked at me in disbelief. She said, "Well, you're wearing that baby well. Alot of women would like to be in your shoes." Then she told me about some other pregnant women she's seen who aren't as far along who are much bigger than I am. She said, "You must be having a boy. Girls make you gain a lot of weight, but boys don't."

I will be very glad when I do find out, so people will stop asking me that question and then sharing with me every old wives' tale they've heard!