Week 17

Well, another week behind us brings some good news. All the blood they've extracted from my arm over the last two months has proven useful. The baby apparently is healthy as can be. A sweet sigh of relief. They'll be able to double check things when we do our next ultrasound in March.

I had a joyful moment during a meeting tonight when I felt the baby kick for the first time. I was leaning over - bored to tears, head in hand. I guess I must have been squashing the poor thing cause all the sudden I felt this weird popcorn popping feeling in my stomach. I sat up straight, a little surprised and put my hand on the spot where I had felt the popcorn .... and I felt it again, right under my hand, a little tiny kick. I could hardly contain my smile, and I felt a little bit of the heebee-jeebees too. I'll enjoy it while I can, because as the baby grows, those kicks may not be so sweet and cute.

The baby is now 5 ounces and 5 inches long, about the size of a large onion. I, on the other hand, and feeling like a baby giraffe -- a bit off balance and awkward with my growing belly.

The "Blizzard of '06" missed us for the most part, we only got three or four inches whereas my folks got more than a foot in NoVa. Hope everyone is doing well.

Happy Valentine's Day!!