Week 17

Time seems as if it's really flying by, I feel like just yesterday Frank and I were attempting to decipher whether there was an actual line on the HPT. It's hard to believe that baby has gone from this:

The size of a poppy seed at 4 weeks, to this:

A turnip at 17 weeks! Of course, Franklin is much cuter than this ugly, hairy turnip. I've been anxiously waiting to feel him move, and **think** that yesterday I finally felt what I'm comfortable calling a "tap" in there! It's still fairly difficult to determine baby movement from the normal rumbling in my tummy, but I am 99.9% sure that Franklin decided to give me a little tap late yesterday afternoon.

Frank has made fun of me during the entire pregnancy for using my doppler every night, and at first it took me so long to find the heartbeat that I didn't do it every day for fear of harming the baby in some way. Now, it takes all of 30 seconds - so I hear his little heart galloping away in there every single night! It's slowed down to range between 140 and 150 beats per minute, depending on whether he's moving around in there and the time of day. I always hear him wiggling around though, so I have no doubt that I'll have an active little monkey on my hands when he gets here in November (taking after his father, I suppose!). In any event, the daily reassurance that Franklin is warm, happy, and healthy makes me feel better, and I look forward to coming home from work every night and spending a few minutes saying "hello" to my little one.

Until this past weekend, I had not understood why everyone kept telling me, "It's going to be a long hot summer for you!" Well, I get it now. Poor Frank feels like he's being frozen to death in our house right now, while I unhappily sweat away on the couch. I'm looking forward to relaxing in one of these:

VERY SOON! Kiddie pool, here I come.

Next week, I go back for another look at Franklin, to get a few more pictures and hopefully a little clearer shot of his profile and "other things." He also will be a much cuter:

And lastly, I'd like to warmly welcome Scott Lloyd Davenport, Jr. to the world! Jamie, I can't wait to meet your little man! I'm so excited for you and Scott, I know you both are going to be fantastic parents. And baby makes three!