22 weeks and 11.5 pound gain

I had my 22 week appointment today with the midwife. When I first lay down on the table, you could see that the baby was all the way over on the right (where he has been from the very beginning) so much so that my belly was lopsided! The midwife saw him kick and even said that she could tell that I was having a uterine contraction based on the way my uterus rose and fell. I was like, "huh, and here I thought I was just breathing." So the second the midwife put the Doppler on my tummy, I could immediately hear the baby's heartbeat. There was no searching, it was just...BLAM...right there. It hovered around 145-148, which the midwife called "perfect." So the baby appears to be very very healthy. And my blood pressure was great - 95/65 - which is on the low side for me.

I asked the questions I wanted to ask:

Why haven't I been able to sleep through the night? Answer - that's normal. It's due to the hormones in your body, including the cortisol in your brain.

When is the next ultrasound? Answer - not until week 34 when they check to make sure the baby is head down. That was kind of a bummer answer because I would love to see the baby sooner than that, but given that this is a "normal" pregnancy, I don't want to be a pain in the ass. And now that I'm feeling the baby move, I don't get nearly as anxious in between my 4-week appointments.

How should I pick a pediatrician? Answer - find someone who is not more than 10-15 minutes from your house. The midwife preferred a practice that was all-inclusive...had a large pediatric practice, pharmacy, lab and covered parking close to the building. So I think I'll try the Wellesley Harvard Vanguard. I went there for one IVF treatment and it seemed very convenient to home and a nice facility. I feel that I've been treated very well by Harvard Vanguard and so perhaps I'll continue that trend with the baby.

In other news, my husband was able to feel the baby kick last week for the first time...just before the start of week 22. I think he was really happy to feel included and it was really nice to see the reaction on his face when he felt the baby. Last night, he said, "I think the baby just high fived me!" Now the baby is kicking all the time. I feel like he is doing somersaults in me! Yesterday, on the train home from work I started laughing out loud because the movements felt so funny.

Apparently, from now until week 32, the kicking will feel the strongest because the baby has a lot of room to move around. After week 32, the movements will feel more like waves because the baby doesn't have the room to punch me in the gut!

And so now I wait another 4 weeks for my next appointment at which point I'll be doing the sugar test to make sure I am not developing gestational diabetes. And then I see the midwife/doctor every 2 weeks after that since apparently after 28 weeks, they see you every 2 2 weeks instead of every 4 weeks.