17 Weeks

As of today, Chocolate Chip is the size of a pomegranate (or a large onion, depending who you ask).  He or she is measuring 5 inches from crown to rump and approximately 6 ounces.  The baby is starting to suck or swallow, is developing fingerprints, and is moving around a lot.

This week I have felt some little tiny kicks!  I know Baby is moving a lot, but the baby and movements have been too small for me to feel them.  This week I was sure I felt flutters a few different times.  Soon enough those flutters will turn into roundhouse kicks to the ribs.  

I have been feeling well over the past few weeks and even had a few night that I slept really soundly.  In the past week or so I have noticed that the hernia has become more pronounced and feels a little different.  This Tuesday is my next OB appointment, so I will ask the doctor about it again.  It's possible there is no action to be taken at this point, but I want to make sure I am keeping an eye on it.  

We need to start thinking about purchasing furniture for the nursery.  Gavin's furniture set too about 14 weeks to arrive and Elsie's took a bit longer due to the pandemic.  Because there have been ongoing supply chain issues, I would like to have something ordered around the 20-week mark.  So we'll take measurements of the walls and head to Suite Dreams to see what we can find.  

I submitted my FMLA Request Form to HR this week, so the only thing left to do from the HR perspective is to have my doctor fill out the FMLA paperwork during the last trimester.  We have many student teachers at KA right now, so I'm hoping I could get lucky and one of them would accept my long-term sub position.  

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch (Iowa Orchard) today.  It was exactly one year ago that we took Elsie for her first time.  And next year at this time we will take Chocolate Chip for his or her first time!  So many family memories to be made.