Week 17 - Great News!

More news from the most recent doctor's visit, which I wrote about a bit last week. When Andy and I went in for my 12 week appointment, we were told that I was being tested early for Gestational Diabetes because both my weight and my PCOS history put me at elevated risk, and I should schedule my next appointment so I could stick around for one hour. So last week we had the 16 week appointment, and I got to drink the Fruit Punch glucose stuff (infinitely better than the Orange-flavored crap I've had to take before), meet with the midwife, and sit around until my hour was up. I finally called to get my results since I hadn't heard from them, and I got an all clear. So I don't have to take the 3-hour test, and I don't have to retest until the third trimester. Awesomeness. Good thing they didn't want to test me this week. I've had so much leftover candy because of my co-workers bringing it in that my blood sugar is probably more than a tad off right now.

Another result of the visit is that we're waiting a bit longer than we expected to find out if Little One is a boy or a girl. Until right before Thanksgiving. And if I'm feeling really, really mean, I'll wait until the last appointment of the day, just to drive my mom nuts. Granted, this might not be in my best interest because she will ask every time we talk if I can move up the appointment/find out sooner/buy a sonogram machine so she can fly out and do it herself/etc/etc. (Hi Mom! Thanks for following me. Sorry if I said anything that pissed you off...)  Looking over the order from the doc, I realized that I'll be getting a 3-D ultrasound along with everything else. I once heard someone describe the images as looking like dead aliens...and I kinda agree. Maybe I'll feel diferently when I'm seeing my own child, but fer cryin out loud, the faces look so distorted! Creepy, I tell you.

So I'm almost at the end of my fourth month. Kinda freaky really. Also sad is the realization that I haven't had much wine for the last 6 months. I went to a great wine tasting in May, and some wine tasting in June for my birthday, but that's been it. I had no idea I would miss it so much. Sparkling cider has been nice, but I remember it feeling it much more special when I was a kid. My mom doesn't drink, so we never had wine for holiday meals or champagne at New Year's Eve, always sparkling cider. But I'd gotten used to the joy of picking out just the right wine to match a carefully planned meal, or trying to find the perfect balance of dry and sweetness for toasting at midnight. (Cava is the way to go, in case you're interested). I think my alternative will be to try making mocktails, like cider and pomegranate juice, or eggnog and...eggnog, because the only stuff I like to add to eggnog is Kahlua or Bailey's. Andy does brandy, but that doesn't really do anything for me. I wonder if I can count eggnog as a source of calcium? Probably not, unless it was part of a steamed milk. Mmmmm, steamed milk with peppermint syrup, that's yummy too. I must be hungry, because this all sounds really yummy. Thank heaven for Christmas drinks at Starbucks.

Little One is about the size of my hand. Apparently the pregnancy books can only come up with fruits for the first trimester. Still a mango? I can't even think of fruits near that size. Maybe a zucchini? I know, not a fruit, but it's about right for 5 inches and 5 ounces. Oh the places I can go with that bad line. And I'm still not sure if I'm feeling anything that I can be sure of as movements. But apparently, if there's a sudden noise, Little One might jump. And Little One is figuring out to suck his or her thumb. How precious is that?