I was at the doc's this past Friday and got to go over my blood work results: I'm super healthy. I'd figured nothing had come up too skewed as I'd not received a phone call with bad news. So no gestational diabetes, great thyroid and cholesterol levels, and no anemia. My thyroid levels are in such good shape that I don't have to go in to get them checked again until a month after I deliver. This means no further blood draws at least until September, which is fantastic :)
I also found out that I didn't gain any weight in the last three weeks. Which is crazy, because my belly has visibly grown. Doc still doesn't seem concerned, because I haven't lost any weight and my stomach is hitting the measurements it should. But I don't get it. I went out and bought some Boost/Ensure type drinks to supplement my caloric and protein intake, to ensure I'm up at my next weigh-in. KJ should be gaining a half a pound every week from here on out so there really shouldn't be another stagnant scale reading.
KJ feels like he's been growing, since his movements continue getting stronger. And every week I think he moves a lot, until the next week when he REALLY moves a lot. There was one night in bed as I was watching TV where he was moving nonstop for close to ten minutes. I would LOVE to find out what he's doing in there. When Kenny came to bed, he pushed on my belly in response to KJ's pushing, and KJ pushed back in that spot. I then started poking him in areas where I could feel him and he'd respond in kind. It was like a game and I loved that we got to (seemingly) interact with him.
My belly support band showed up early last week and it is awesome. I didn't think it would be nearly as effective as it is. It's a simple band that velcros in the front, low and under my belly, and comes up and over my lower back to provide a little lumbar support. It's fantastic and really helps support my extra weight in front.
Nothing else has been going on. KJ's kicking me in the ribs a little more each week and rearranging my organs but it's still nothing too uncomfortable. He has had the hiccups a few times which is cute, but he's also found my bladder, a rare couple of times, and I have the sudden and powerful urge to pee. The heartburn flares up and gets pretty terrible sometimes and is almost completely unavoidable when I'm lying down (even if I've had a day devoid of heartburn otherwise). I've not had any issues sleeping as I've gotten my body pillow placement down pretty well. I'm moving around with relative ease with only two real issues: getting up from a horizontal position (getting more difficult and strenuous) and shaving my legs while standing in the shower - bending over for a sustained period is proving tough. I'm still working out and it's giving me a chance to practice some measured and deep breathing. Things are going well overall.
Bonus pic: Kenny getting put to work :)
The online pregnancy calendar I subscribe to reminded me this week that I've started my single digit countdown - 9 weeks to go! Doesn't seem like a ton of time...Luckily I'm not super stressed as I think I've got pretty much everything on my pregnancy to-do list done or started. We still need to sign up for a baby first aid/CPR class, get the car seat installation checked by the local fire dep't, decorate the nursery, tour the hospital and a few other minor items.
New this week - if you asked Kenny, he'd tell you I was in full-blown nesting mode. I'm not convinced it's "nesting" and not some other driving force like delayed spring cleaning or rushing to get things done before August 24th. Whatever the case, Kenny's been put to work on all of his man chores (much to his dismay) and we're trying to knock out as many residual home improvement projects as possible before the baby gets here and we have no more funding for said projects. I had the carpet replaced this weekend, cleaned everything, twice, organized the kitchen and dining rooms, rearranged the downstairs furniture, spot-cleaned the upstairs and basement carpet, and hung pictures waiting to be framed and hung. I've definitely been cleaning a lot more, and maybe that's the nesting kicking in. Regardless of the inspiration, it feels good to be this productive. Kenny's complaints belie a differing opinion...
My pregnancy dreams are continuing (more small-baby dreams, weird but pain-free labor dreams) and I'm having one almost every night. I like them because I feel it's really healthy for my subconscious to explore these various concerns, and they're super vivid and I always remember them. The baby always seems to be moving and as he's getting bigger, his kicks are getting stronger, and they're spreading out. I'll get kicked simultaneously at the bottom right of my rib cage and punched in my lower left abdomen. He's supposed to be around 16 inches long now so I guess he can cover some ground in there. Also, he's supposed to start gaining about a half pound each week from now til the end. I look forward to him bulking up!
At the same time he's bulking up, my belly's getting heavier and it's putting a lot of strain on my abdominal and pelvic ligaments. I was commenting to my friend Mike that I need a counter-balance, like a tail. Just something to serve as a counter weight to the giant mass in front. My lower back aches slightly more each week, but hasn't amounted to anything too uncomfortable yet. My pelvic ligaments are getting rather sore - like I've pulled a groin muscle (maybe I have). It's exacerbated when I bend down with a wide stance or when I get out of bed in the morning. Bending down is slow going and my belly seems to be protruding ever more and getting in the way when I try and sit. I'm not used to my stomach and my thighs touching when I sit...kind of a weird feeling to have this rock of a stomach resting on my lap.
Still....(as usual) I feel pretty lucky that I'm as mobile as I am this far in and am still sleeping fairly comfortably, still getting to the gym (though tiring more easily) and still maintaining a normal level of energy. I do believe I've rather enjoyed being pregnant :) but hope I don't end up regretting that sentiment a month from now when I'm super preggers and super uncomfortable. But maybe that won't happen...maybe.
My next doctor's visit is Thursday. I get to review my blood work results (which I'm assuming came back fine as I never received a call to tell me otherwise), listen to the baby's heartbeat and get weighed. I should be up a few lbs at the least, if not because the baby's been growing a lot lately but because I've tried to ramp up on some higher-calorie dinners (and more ice cream...). I'll keep my fingers crossed :)
30 weeks pregnant seems like it should be pretty significant. But there's nothing new to report. My belly still feels like there's a 20 lb brick inside, but my support band is en route (thank you Amazon). Heartburn is so frequent, it's now just routine to eat a stack of tums a day. Back pain and mobility weren't too much of an issue this past week. I'm feeling slightly short of breath when working out, but that may be because my lungs are being compressed by a baby body. I did feel the baby up at the base of my ribcage a few days ago - a first - and the pressure was a bit uncomfortable. I was acutely aware of the discomfort potential in a growing baby's search for more womb space...Kenny got to feel a "real" baby movement the other night. The baby's been super active lately and the movements are getting a lot stronger. As I was observing this in bed, I grabbed Kenny's hand and placed in on my stomach just in time for him to feel one of the more intense kicks. The intensity caught him off guard (his eyes got a bit wide) and I think he seemed half-impressed with the movement, and half appalled :)
I've had two pregnancy dreams these last two nights, which is a rarity for me outside of the first trimester. I'd been trying to recall my past dreams for the post today, and realized that, for all my labor-related dreams, I never actually saw or interacted with the baby. I asked, and my subconscious delivered. That very night (last night), I dreamt about our baby...who was rather small; comparable in size to the Pilsbury Doughboy. Here's the thing about my pregnancy dreams: they're amazingly consistent in exploring my pregnancy-related fears and doing so rather directly and unimaginatively. There's really never any symbolism - just a head-on assessment of my potential concerns. In last night's dream, I had a pint-sized baby because I'm worried the baby won't grow to be as big as he could be. Go figure. Also in the dream, I kept misplacing the baby; exploring a concern that I'll be a responsible parent. Ironic thing was that I kept misplacing the baby because he was such a good, quiet infant and I couldn't locate him. Maybe there's a little wishful thinking in my subconscious...
Sunday night's dream was about going through the whole birthing process, and not remembering anything. A female friend or relative was there, trying to jog my memory post-labor, and I could only vaguely recall bits and pieces about arrival and admittance to the hospital and really nothing else. I guess that fear is manifesting because I want very much to be an active participant in my labor plan and to have some control in what goes down and how. I was also aware in the dream that I'd gone into labor a few weeks early (baby was not in any danger), and that I'd left all of my projects at work unfinished and undocumented. This is a very real concern of mine, though perhaps not a legitimate one, but I'm anal retentive (see: baby registry) and would really, really like to have things in order before I go out on maternity leave.
Other vivid pregnancy dreams I had (in my first trimester):
My first dream involved my sister and I going in for my first ultrasound. In reality, I'd had yet to go to my very first OB appt and was extremely anxious to go and have my pregnancy confirmed. In the dream, I went in and when the nurse was performing the ultrasound on my stomach, she couldn't find anything. In fact, the ultrasound was so powerful, it went straight through my stomach, through the building, and down into the sewer lines beneath the street. She was picking up rats and drainage on the ultrasound imaging, but no embryo in my womb. And then at some point the nurse turned around and saw my sister and said, let's try you (maybe to see if the ultrasound machine was working properly...) and discovered almost instantly that, even though she appeared thin and healthy, was 37 weeks pregnant. The family was instantly excited for her (though Jess wasn't sure what to think with labor in 3 weeks being sprung on her at the last minute) and I was left feeling rather dejected. Another straightforward dream exposing my fear that I might not even be pregnant.
Another dream I had early on concerned my appearance. I've ranted plenty about not looking the pregnancy part...and apparently, that's coursing through my subconscious too. In the dream, Kenny and I were at some social gathering and someone commented to me, "So, when are you due?" after noticing my pregnancy bump. And Kenny, in auto-response (since we were in the first trimester and trying not to disseminate the pregnancy news until at least 12 weeks), replied, "Oh, she's not pregnant." And I was instantly furious with him that he'd stolen my spotlight because 1. we'd just hit the second trimester and could start telling people and 2. I wanted the attention and he'd just turned away a captive audience. Back in reality, Kenny didn't appreciate that I was having dreams where I was mad at him...
Then there was a dream that was extremely straightforward in addressing my fear. In the dream, I was in labor, in my kitchen oddly enough, and my sister was again there (Jess showed up in quite a few pregnancy dreams). Labor was super uncomplicated and I did it by myself - my subconscious apparently thinks it'll be a cakewalk. At the end of the labor, my sister commented not on her new nephew but on the fact that I'd defecated while birthing the child. I hear this is a common fear among pregnant folks and my subconscious got that one addressed early. And in my dream, I was slightly embarrassed but also highly irritated for being judged (another concern - being judged about my labor plan and how I perform) and tried to redirect the focus on the new life I'd just produced. Oh, dreams...
Strangely, I've not had any dreams dealing with the pain of labor (maybe my subconscious is not yet ready to explore that one...)
In other news, the nursery has been put together. Took my time constructing the furniture this weekend and rearranged everything four times (thank goodness the crib's on wheels) before finalizing the layout. Looks good, but now needs decoration. I'm extremely pleased overall and can't wait to actually use the stuff. For now, the door remains closed so that I don't try and rearrange the furniture again or dwell on the fact that it's not decorated and try to purchase half the registry gifts myself...And Kenny thinks I'm obsessive compulsive...
I was at the doc's office yesterday for my glucose tolerance testing (screens for gestational diabetes) and other third-trimester bloodwork and am glad that's over with. Now let's hope I don't get a phone call between now and my next visit as that will mean all of my tests came back normal. I think I may pop for anemia, which wouldn't be the worst thing except that it would mean more bloodwork. And, as established in a previous post, I do loathe needles.
The part I was looking forward to was getting weighed. Per the doc's office scale, I'm up two pounds for the month. Which is crazy because I grew a legit belly this month and it FEELS like it weighs quite a bit more than two pounds...at least the way my body has been struggling to carry it. This two-pound addition puts me at a total of +8 lbs for the pregnancy; the suggested minimum is 25. Granted, I could gain a lot in these next 11 weeks as this is the rapid growth period, and my doc still doesn't seem concerned because the general goal is to gain weight vs. attaining a certain weight figure. And, again, most importantly, the baby's gaining weight and is right on target.
We still don't have a name picked out, but I think we're getting close. We've got the possibilities narrowed down to around five (for now) and Kenny gets to make the final call since I'm fine with any of them. A friend at work has started calling him "KJ" in the interim (Kenny Jr) and that seems to be a useful placeholder until then.
The nursery has yet to be created, but that's reserved for this weekend. I'm going to start putting together furniture and formally claim the space for KJ. It will feel good to mark something off my "residual-baby-stuff-to-do" list. I still need to pick a pediatrician. I've interviewed a few and am not ready to make a decision, but it's hard to tell what kind of medical advice they'll be doling out without a baby to receive medical advice. I'll probably just pick one that seems best now and change providers later if the fit isn't right. It's just proving to be another research project and I'm rather burned out on baby-related research.
Physically, I'm doing pretty well. My balance is off and it's getting harder to rock myself out of bed. I did buy a $10 Target body pillow and that seems to have helped the sleeping situation...for now. I'm having to pee rather frequently, and am up to twice each night - I won't be surprised if that number increases. My lower back pain is on par with last week with no increase in severity. I did get around to at least one round of yoga this past weekend and have been trying to watch my posture (more for the heartburn relief) so maybe that's helping. I'm definitely investing in a belly support band because my low-ab ligaments are working overtime and it's starting to be more than a slight pain carrying this boulder around and it's only going to get heavier...
Ever the cheerful optimist, I'm still feeling very fortunate to be this symptom-free this far in. I enjoy the baby's movements more and more as I can feel them more and almost make out what he's trying out in there. I've also been able to sleep pretty well this week, and am still active at the gym which I think is helping minimize many of my potential ailments. The only thing I'm really struggling with is...reality. Kenny commented the other night that I was seven months pregnant, and I hadn't put it into those terms - it seems like a lot. My team at work noted that I had two months and some change before going out on leave. That's so little time left! And mom was trying to make me feel better about Monday's bloodwork by pointing out that I only have one routine thyroid lab workup to deal with...which also just hit home how soon baby KJ will be here. I don't know exactly what I'm apprehensive about...but it's just crazy to think we're on the home stretch now (especially when I was complaining at times that it wasn't coming soon enough!)
I have to start going in for doc visits every two weeks now, solely because I'm in the third trimester. It's kind of a scheduling inconvenience, but at least I'll get to monitor my weight and listen to the baby's heartbeat more frequently, which means more frequent, formal health updates. Here's some generic info on the baby's growth in the meantime (he should be the size of a loaf of bread now): http://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/calendar/29-weeks-pregnant.html
Just got home from the 28-week ultrasound (to make sure my placenta had moved to it's appropriate spot), and got some pics of the baby.
He's supposed to be in between 2 & 3 pounds: he's at 2 lbs, 10 oz (system estimate). All organs and body parts were healthy and accounted for. I want to meet him so badly!!!!
At 28 weeks, I feel like I'm trying to hide a basketball under my clothes and I'm starting to wonder what I'm going to look like further into this 3rd trimester. I'm having trouble imagining really how big I'll get. This past month has definitely been the growth spurt I'd read about; I'm quite surprised I don't have any stretch marks yet. It's amazing how elastic skin is and how flexible my body has been with these seemingly rapid changes. I'm still so very fascinated observing (and being) this pregnancy science experiment.
This week is more of the same from last week, with gradual increases in discomfort from back pain and ab ligament pain. I think, at most, the baby weighs 3 pounds now and yet it feels like I've got a 20 pound brick in there when I'm laying flat. It definitely gets in the way now and I'm having to modify movements more regularly. My stomach also feels tight at times, like my belly is aching to expand, but can't. And the back pain has officially set in. I may have to give up my TV and laptop time on the couch at the end of the day because my back is just not having it. Even sitting at my desk today in my ergonomically-sound office chair with lumbar support caused some aches. Slouching led to back pain and posture correction led to more back pain (body not used to it...). I may have some awesome posture at the end of all this though - lengthening my torso and sitting almost stiffly upright helps the heartburn and fixes some of the torso cramping I get when I'm practically folded in on my belly. It's slightly ironic that almost as soon as I officially cross the 3rd trimester threshold, my body starts hurting :)
I have figured out how to sleep fairly well supported, but was on Amazon this weekend looking for some supplemental device to ensure I'll get some decent shut eye for as long as this pregnancy will allow. Several friends and colleagues highly recommended a Bobby pregnancy sleep pillow, but most are gigantic question mark shaped things that leave little room for a spouse. I think I'm going to get a small wedge pillow to place under my belly. I just need a little support there. I like a regular pillow at my head, and another regular pillow in between my knees, and will now add a small wedge to support the growing weight of my basketball abdomen. Switching sides during the night may be more complicated than going with a singular question-mark pillow as I'll have to adjust each individually, but that's the route I'm going and it gets me to sleep well for now (using a flatter, decorative pillow in place of the wedge at the moment).
I know I say this every week but I really do still feel generally good. Maybe it's because I know that many other women at 28 weeks have symptoms far, far worse than mine, or because I have a know that my symptoms will be more severe in quickly-approaching weeks and I should appreciate the relative normalcy I've got now. I do need to start yoga. That's a formal goal this week. I imagine it will help a ton in a month or two when my boulder is bigger and heavier and I'll wish I had stronger ligaments to help support it. Oh, and I'm going to start on the nursery set up this weekend. Kenny very graciously relocated to one of the bedrooms down the hall and it seems to be working out fine for him. It was at least a good excuse to clean everything, and now he's got a ceiling fan too. If you're reading this hon, thanks for making the sacrifice for the baby...it will be one of many...
As a side note, I'm really enjoying being pregnant in the summer. I may have different thoughts in late July, but I'm extremely happy for now with the current summer wardrobe I've amassed since being pregnant. I think I'm up to nine new dresses - mostly summery, strappy ones that I can cover with a cardigan and wear at work, and all made of flexible or flowy materials that easily accommodate a baby bump. They're not maternity dresses so I can wear them non-pregnant, but I just hope they'll last through the entire pregnancy and can accommodate however big my 9-month belly will be...
Stay tuned this week: I've got my next ultrasound this Thursday. Will post pics and baby stats then :)
