Ugh. Back Pain.

Sharp pains in my lower back (like sciatica pain) continues, and tends to be worse at night and upon waking. As I get up and move through my day, it tends to relax and improve. Outside of that, I feel pretty good. I get a little restless in the evening. Kath & I went to Babies R Us to register for things we want and need for when baby comes (Ray has NO interest in doing this with me). Only a few more days until the ultrasound! Ray has always wanted to know the gender of the baby and has all these logical reasons why we should find out. I have purely emotional ones (no logic necessary) as to why I don't. I have this image of hearing "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" in the delivery room... and I know it's out of a 50's movie. But it appeals to me. Also it doesn't really matter to me what we have, so why find out? I'm okay picking out gender neutral stuff... not naming the baby until we meet it. But it's SO important to Ray, that I give in. We won't have the same level of opportunity to plan after baby is born.

Growing and Moving

During my 18th/19th week, Kathleen and I are busy with the final rehearsals and performance for Britten's War Requiem with the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus. Performances were on Friday 3/14 and Saturday 3/15 at DeVos Hall. The piece is an intense statement on the horrors and sadness of war, and pulls from the poetry of Wilfred Owen, a poet who was killed in the final weeks of World War I. It's a powerful (and difficult) work. So while on stage Friday night - I think I feel the baby move for the first time (how can I be sure?) It felt like a wiggle. I'm eager to get confirmation by feeling it again, but by Sunday, I still hadn't felt it again. However... by the 25th, I'm starting to feel baby move more consistently. What a relief! Only one more week until the ultrasound where we can see baby for the first time in 12 weeks.

Heartbeats...

At the OB visit on March 12, we got a great listen to baby's heartbeat. Says Dr. LaGrand when he finds it: "There it is, baby on board." (Ray LOVES this, it reminds him of Kevin Nealon's character in Happy Gilmore). It was strong and beating at about 140 beats per minute. Says Dr. LaGrand: "All that proves is that the baby is human." He refers to the fact that may people believe that the baby's heart rate can tell you if it's a boy or a girl. While we were listening to the heartbeat, Ray called Effie at work so she could hear it. Just before she picked up, baby moved and we lost the sound of the heartbeat. Dr had to go "fishing" for it again, and managed to find it by the time Effie picked up... "Thanks bud!" Dr LaGrand said that was a first for him, transmitting fetal heartbeat by cell phone from the office. My weight gain at this point was about 3 pounds and everything seemed to progressing well.