Today's doctor's appointment

I met Dr. Carie D'Agata this morning, one of the 10 OBGYNs who may deliver this little sucker in July.

Looks like I'm up to a weight gain of about 8 pounds since pre-pregnancy, ultrasound results from a couple of weeks ago look good and baby's heartbeat was 120.

I asked about the variations in heartbeat over the past few appointments (160, 143, 120), and Dr. D'Agata said variatons are good, as they indicate the baby is progressing through different stages of neurologic development. Any heartbeat between 110 and 170 is perfectly normal.

Then the regular litany of questions: Bleeding? No. Swelling? No. Pain or discomfort? No.

And a new one: Have you started to feel the baby move, yet? To which I answered honestly, "I don't know." I have felt some things down there over the past week or so, but the gurgley bubbly feeling could be attributed either to digestion or the baby. Apparently that's normal, and she said just to be aware of movement down there, as I'll probably start to know the difference before my next appointment.

Dr. D'Agata said the Med Center starts measuring the belly with a tape measure around 20 weeks, but at just shy of 21 weeks today she could feel the top of my uterus right at my belly button, so there was no need to measure. Measuring tape will, however, come out next month.

She sent me home with the now standard pee cup and a new, one-time special treat: my ultra-sugary orange drink, which I have to down an hour before my next appointment so they can take some blood to see how my body processes sugar. Some women hate the gestatational diabetes test, some say it's not too bad. I'm just glad I can drink the stuff at home rather than wait around the hospital for an hour.