Last Friday I hit the milestone of 16 weeks. On this Friday I will officially be 4 months pregnant, because I have to finish out this week fully. All of this math and when the first trimester is over and the second begins is confusing even to us preg-ites.

I visited a website that gives weekly updates on the size of the baby and this week is an onion-- an average baby size of 5.1 inches. That is a pretty big onion, but I am happy that our baby is growing to a more realistic person size, instead of being a peanut, or an apple seed any more. Our baby now has hair, eyebrows and unique fingerprints. Our little one can swim and kick-- and I may have felt the baby, but I can't be sure with all of the weird goings on inside of me right now.

I am somewhat over my morning sickness, although strong smells and standing leaning over can make me nausous. Also, if I have a frog in my throat and try to clear it, if I keep coughing this can trigger my reflexes to try to rid everything from my body that I have ever eaten. My other common issues are round ligament pain, muscle spasms, tiredness, dizzyness and a weird metallic taste in my mouth that apparently is common, but I never heard of as a pregnancy symptom.

My appetite is beginning to come back, but I still feel soooooo hungry and then halfway through what I was intending to eat I am stuffed. I trust that the holidays will help put on a little weight, and for once I do not have to worry about eating all of the treats that I want to-- aside from the sugar.

Some days I think, "I'm huge!" and at other times I wonder if people in the mall of elsewhere can tell that I am pregnant at all. Possibly they haven't because I have been blessed to not have strangers come up to me and rub my stomach so far.

These are all pretty common complaints for the May mom's group I am involved in online. Thankfully I am not working a full-time job like many of them so I can fill my days updating you on my mission to grow a human. I was surprised and excited to learn that in my online group there is another mom who is due about a week after me from the next Twin Cities suburb over who is half-filipino! Her mom came over after she and the woman's dad were pen pals. It is wonderful because we thought that there was no one in the state from the Philippines, nevermind in a suburb we would consider living in. I am researching filipino Christmas traditions this year so that hopefully they can be brought into our lives when the baby is here, so that he or she will have a greater appreciation of that aspect of his/her heritage.

Ummm-- what else can I update you on? Oh-- we have begun the search for baby stuff. we've found a fe things that we like, but haven't made a registry or anything. Part of the issue is that the sheets, highchair and the crib we like is at IKEA. However, IKEA doesn't do registries that we have found. But they have such cute stuff! They have a lot of great crib sheets that are priced really well, and toys and feeding tools for when the baby is a little older. Oh well, we have plenty of time for that.

We don't even know the sex of the baby yet! However, we hope to find out on December 15 when we have "The Big Ultrasound." This is the one where they look for genetic abnormalities, development problems and if the baby is a Ma'am or a Mister. Before I was pregnant I never wanted to know-- and now I am so excited! And it is more considerate from Grandmas and grandpas who want to get a cute little outfit for their new family member. Also shockingly, just 4 weeks after that ultrasound, the baby is considered to have an 85% chance of survival if it were delivered. It is crazy that the medical world can have this baby live if I gave birth in January! However, this baby is staying put until it is completely done baking in my oven.

That is all I can think of now, but I will have to take some picks of the downtown skyscraper that my OB/GYN's office is located in, and Jim and I on our walk to there through downtown skyways. It is really kind of a hoot coming from a small town like Portage.