belly @ 17 weeks...!

i'm definitely starting to show now...
wow...i think i'm gonna get huge. i'm not even halfway there yet!

the best part of the day? after i eat dinner i lay on the couch and feel the baby kicking around♥
i've been feeling it everyday--it calms me down knowing that the baby is doing just fine.
i've been trying to get James to feel it but it's still too small and subtle to be felt from the outside.
maybe in a couple weeks!

monthly appointment...♥

so i had my monthly appointment with the OB last week!
took a pee test, got my belly measured, got weighed (yikes... i'm now 107lbs and gained close to 15lbs already!!) AAAAAAND i got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time♥
awwww it was the best sound in the world! the bpm dropped a bit to 148bpm. but otherwise still very normal!
i also asked the doctor about the weird "muscle twitches"i feel in my lower abdomen.
she confirms that it IS indeed the baby kicking around.
i feel it everyday at some point--it's a nice reassurance that the baby is doing good and jumping around♥♥ ***ooh! i just felt one!!***

but there is one concern....
i found out that i carry the trait for Beta Thalassemia.

i tried researching it but it's filled with medical terms, i don't quite understand it but it has something to do with being anemic. not being able to produce enough hemoglobins.
i don't have it myself-- i just carry the trait. (apparently a lot of asian people do).
the problem is, if Jamus has the trait also, then the baby has a 1/4 chance of getting Beta Thalassemia MAJOR.
he's getting his blood tested today and i hope it comes out negative.
doctor said not to worry, since it's very rare for Caucasians to be a carrier.

twitchity twitch...!

now i'm not sure....
i'll be 16 weeks tomorrow but starting yesterday i started feeling these weird muscle twitches in my lower abdomen. it's very random....
i wasn't sure if these were "baby kicks" since they are usually described as feeling like "flutters" and "gas bubbles".
so i googled "baby kicks & muscle twitches"
turns out, quite a few people have described their first baby kicks feeling like muscle twitches!
in the lower abdomen!
now, i'm pretty sure i'm feeling the baby bouncing around...!!
why else would i be feeling these odd twitches in the same spot throughout the day?!
WOW! i can't stop smiling♥