Pregnancy - Week 21

I will start off with this pregnancy because it's been entirely different from my first. Julien, my son who is now 4, was an easy pregnancy. It was long at 42 weeks + 2 days but overall I had no problems. This time around there was minor complications at 5 weeks which required an ultrasound, more pain from my ligaments than I remember there being and then my appendix decided to go at 18 weeks. That was 3 weeks ago! This baby is active and seems unaffected by all the goings on outside it's environment but I still wonder if the ordeal of surgery and the cocktail of meds will have a lasting effect on it. We had our ultrasound on Sunday and the baby was active and looked great! All limbs were present and as the tech pointed out, the stomach was full, bladder was full, kidneys were good, bones were good and it seemed that all it's limbs were there. I did have some worries about deformities because of tiling the bathroom with a product that clearly states on the side "This product has known to cause birth defects in the State of California"! Of course we are not in California as Claude pointed out but i don't like taking uncalculated risks. So after the scan, I feel better and more at ease with how this baby is inside. I am also over the morning sickness now and most of the crazy cravings are gone. I started throwing up at 8 weeks and it lasted until week 17ish. This time I would be sick before I even ate and then was fine for the rest of the day. This was GREAT! My cravings were things that I could eat and would soothe the feeling of nausea. Food such as; apples, pickles, olives, fresh veggies especially cucumbers and cheese. I have also curbed the coffee drinking, i couldn't cook dinner for the time when I was feeling ill (Claude did it all) and I had to eat before doing dishes or picking up cat puke. The joys of motherhood. I felt "quickening" at 14 weeks which is very early but I remember it being 15 weeks with Julien. I was laying in bed and felt a distinct kick just above my bladder. I was SURE! I am pretty sensitive with movements and it helps when my placenta is at the back so by whole belly is free to feel any slight movement. Also at the ultrasound I asked the tech if Braxton-hicks contractions were common this early on and sure enough she says "yeah you're having one now"! "I knew it! I knew it!" I exclaimed because I had had a few already and they felt weird! Like a tightening around my waist and I felt almost short of breath. I was so glad to have validation of those feelings and what it was. I love technology and ask a lot of questions but as a result I know a lot too! It helps with my schooling and I'm sure will be helpful with my clinical when I get to that point. So this baby seems happy for the moment.