week 17

sorry for the lack of posting lately. I promise two posts in the next week - friday we have our 17 week appt and on sunday we're doing a triathlon! what, you say? fear not though, it's the easiest / make-what-you-will-of-it triathlon I've ever done (or heard of). instead of an outdoor swim in a crazy cold lake, it's indoor in a pool and instead of being distance based, the swim and bike are timing based. as in, swim for 15 minutes and you get credit for how many laps you swam instead of how long does it take you to swim half a mile type of a thing. and the bike is poolside, on a trainer - which is good because my doc nixed biking because of the leaning over (which you don't have to do while on a trainer) and becasue of potential crashes (which can't happen on a trainer either). then there's the run, or in my case walk. it is distance based but it's only 2.8 miles so it may take me awhile, but I'm doing it gosh darn it. blake, heidi (blake's mom), brianne and jackie (remember them from my wedding, they were my bridesmaids) and jackie's fiance dave will also be competing. I'm sure they'll be going farther than me in the given time, but it will be fun to do together regardless. so I'll post about that too and that will make 3 whole posts in a week. :)

but for now, here's my standard weekly post for week 17 (tomorrow)...
- 5 inches, size of a baked potato or turnip
- 4 oz
- the babies are working on their sucking and swallowing reflexes
- fingernails and toenails are starting to grow
- skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone
- starting to develop sweat glands

movement... possibly. I think maybe I can feel them move. hard to say for sure, but a couple nights in a row as I've been lying down I've felt what I first though was my pulse. but... why would I be feeling my pulse right below my belly button? perhaps this is the butterfly/flutter feeling others describe? so I'm not sure, but since it's happened more than once I'm excited to think that soon I'll feel more!

happy st patty's day!