Our Scary New Baby

I had an ultrasound today at my OB appointment. They usually wait til 20 weeks to do the anatomy and organ check, but in light of my previous pregnancy problem, the Dr. went ahead and ordered one now, at 16 weeks to check the placenta placement.

The good news is that everything looked fine and so far, the problem I had before doesn't seem to be making a reappearance. Also, the baby seems to be developing normally and seems healthy. Archie really enjoyed seeing the baby squirm around. We could see the heart beating, legs, feet, arms, a face, ribs and spine. The only pictures the technician gave me to take home were of the face, which Archie says looks 'kinda scary'. He says it didn't look scary on the screen, but the picture is a bit scary. She took some really cool looking pictures but kept all those for my chart. I guess when I get the second ultrasound maybe I'll be able to get some better pictures to take home. Here are the ones the technician gave me:

The technician was able to determine gender, but I asked her not to tell me. In case any well-meaning family and friends wish to hazard a guess...please keep it to yourself. I haven't quite decided if I want to know before the birth or not. I've got another ultrasound in my future. Perhaps I'll change my mind by then.

I told my doc of our plans to hike part of the Appalachian Trail in May and he thought it would be fine. I am somewhat limited on the weight I should carry (about 20 pounds). He is apparently an avid hiker and didn't balk at all at our plans. He says I'll tire out more easily and I need to drink a bunch of water and keep my calories higher than I would normally. Basically, don't make it a race...stop to smell the flowers or climb on the rocks or whatever. So I guess I need to begin training pretty soon in Mount Airy. I'm very excited about it!