29 weeks!

Sorry for the late post... I have been in mourning over the election results. I can only hope that our baby girl arrives happy and healthy before Jan 20 so I can tell her Obama was the president when she was born. Now on to the regularly scheduled blog post...

"Hey stretch marks, guess what? You’re an asshole.

 

Stretch marks are cause when your skin stretches or grows rapidly and the protein that makes up the connective tissue in your skin (collagen) is disrupted.

 

You are more prone to them if you:

• Have a darker complexion
• Your mom had them (thanks genetics -- hopefully you inherited her child bearing hips and a low body mass index too) 
• You are young (your skin hasn’t already been stretched out by age and the perils of life yet) 
• You put on your pregnancy weight quickly

You aren’t alone though, even though up to 90% of pregnant women get them, 70% of women that aren’t pregnant have them and 40% of men have them too. You can get them during growth spurts in puberty, weight gain, and body building, just to name a few. Can you prevent them? Well, it can’t hurt to try. Most sites recommend that you try to keep your skin hydrated and well moisturized to help minimize stretch marks. Hey, if nothing else it will help the brutal belly itch you often get during pregnancy.

 

Trying to pace your weight gain is also recommended but I found that to be a tricky one seeing I was putting on loads of weight that didn’t seem to coincide with my french fry consumption – I think the body just packs it on when it’s ready – but that’s just my personal observation.

 

Hey, but you know what? You earned those stripes lady, I say wear ‘em with pride and strut them with the body builders." -Pregnant Chicken

Size/Info: According to my Nurture app she should be 15.2 inches long and weigh 2.5 lbs but according to Maternal Fetal Medicine she weighs 3.3 lbs! Yay for a big girl! She is the size of a butternut squash,  a Barbie car, a gallon of milk or a New England cottontail rabbit. Muscles and lungs are continuing to mature and her head is growing bigger to accommodate her developing brain. She is getting close to her birth length but has a way still to go in gaining weight.

What's new this week? Last weekend I noticed that she wasn't as active as she had been. I tried to calm myself as she was passing her kick counts but they were SO different. On Monday morning at 4 am I woke up to pee, had a glass of milk and held my belly so I could feel her move. But she didn't move. At all. I laid there for an hour before I decided to call my midwife. She sent me to Labor and Delivery for a non-stress test (NST). Jason had to work at 7 am so he got dressed for work and we drove separately. I sobbed on the way to the hospital imagining the worst. The NST showed her heart rate was completely normal and also monitored contractions (I wasn't having any). They also decided to do an ultrasound and everything looked normal but she had flipped over to breach. I still couldn't shake this feeling of worry.

 

We could see her heart rate as well as mine on the monitor

 

My appointment with Maternal Fetal Medicine was moved up to Thursday and during the ultrasound she looked great but I have excessive amniotic fluid. It may be no big deal but it also can cause all sorts of complications... Dr. Schafer said that I was just over normal and that maybe she had just peed so not to panic just yet. (Hard for me to do). I go back to see them for another ultrasound in 3 weeks. Excessive amniotic fluid explains why her movements  have been muffled. She has a lot of room to move around in there so although she is moving, she may not be making direct contact with the wall of my uterus.

 

 

 

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks are off the chart. I can't walk up a flight of stairs or around the block without having one. I have had increasing pain in my upper abdomen that I think is my muscles tearing - oh yay.

 

Food Aversions: Still no taco's

 

Food Cravings: Donuts, cake and more donuts.

 

Fitness: Lately all I am getting is my once a week yoga class. Damn Braxton hicks.

 

Bump: The belly is definitely growing and feels quite taut. No stretch marks yet but I think it is just a matter of time....

 

 



 

Medications:

7:30am: 6mg prednisone (down one more mg), 40mg Lovonox injection in the belly

9am: 1 Prenatal and 2 DHA

7:30pm: 40mg Lovonox injection in the belly

 

Baby Preparations: Just more nursery prep! Gifts have started arriving and I am torn on whether we should open them now or at the shower? We have a master to-do list that I created but that Jason is getting accomplished. He has been working so hard to get it all together.

 

 

28 Weeks!! 3rd Trimester!!

"Woohoo! Third trimester, baby!

Your baby is around 16 inches long and 2.5 pounds so pick up a random Chihuahua on the street to get an idea of what you’re dealing with. Yo quiero Taco Bell!

Have you thought about pictures yet? This was how pregnant Demi Moore was when she did her Vanity Fair cover that blew everyone’s mind and has been copied by every other Hollywood mother since.

You don’t have to get all artsy and naked if you don’t want to, but it’s kinda cool to document your pregnancy even if it’s just taking a couple of snaps yourself. Even if you’re not feeling that pretty, do it because you can’t go back if you regret not documenting it down the road.

You can find some creative ways to capture your bump here and here.

If you’re looking for a good giggle from some rather “unique” ways other people have immortalized their pregnancies, you can find them here and here.

Happy snappin’" - Pregnant Chicken

Size/Info: Our gal is about 15 inches long and weighs in at around 2.2 lbs (all the sites have different measurements). She is the size of a large eggplant, a rollerblade, a one lb basket of wings, or an even larger  head of cauliflower. Her newly opened eyes are sensitive to sunlight and with direct sunlight on the belly, she may see a glow. She also has a pair of eyelashes to go along with those opening and closing eyes. At this point, she begins to experience REM sleep so it is very likely that she is also dreaming... but about what I wonder?

What's new this week?  I had my 28 week appointment yesterday and my belly was measuring 28 1/2 weeks big! Jason was finally able to come to an appointment with the midwife so I was happy that he got to meet her. I also received my orders for my next Glucose test (yuck!) but I did get a handy sheet with alternatives to the nasty drink (yay!). She checked the baby's position by palpating my belly and determined that she is head down. Now let's hope she stays that way.

This past weekend, Jason and I moved all the hand me downs out of the nursery so we can slowly start putting it back - organized. I worked on the cover for the glider (while watching the Bronco's win) but it is still not finished - but it's really close. Jason put together this inexpensive TV stand we got from Ikea that is a perfect bookshelf/table for her room. He says that we have effectively maximized the small space we have to work with. He is going to work on the shelves for the closet this weekend and then we can put everything away!

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks, horrible back pain, intense acid reflux. Also, all the moles on my body have grown and I have quite a few new skin tags (they are tiny but I can feel them). I seem to be getting pretty tired again on a regular basis. I usually have big plans for sewing or organizing after work but little seems to be getting done. I just don't have the energy. Also, lots of weird sensations - I just assume everything is normal. And of course the never-ending night-time peeing. This is seriously the night-time peeing situation.

Food Aversions: Nothing new. But I am over taco's for the moment.

Food Cravings: I know I always talk about sugar and that is a given but I also drink milk often. I usually have a glass in the middle of the night, and usually one or twice more during the day. It probably is only about 14-20 oz a day but that is way more than I ever drank.

Fitness: I have been doing yoga at home 2-4x a week and tonight is my official pre-natal yoga class. I am really looking forward to it! Taking a few short neighborhood walks. I am so much better about getting out for walks when Jason is home in the evenings.

Bump: The comments on the bump are non-stop now. Today I was asked how close I was to my due date and then told I was going to be HUGE by the time I delivered. I also keep getting asked if this is my second (as that would explain my huge belly). Seriously people - I am not measuring that big! And I really love my bump and how I look. My thighs are huge but they need to be so I can carry around this baby in my belly!

Medications:

7:30am: 7mg prednisone (down one more mg), 40mg Lovonox injection in the belly

9am: 1 Prenatal and 2 DHA

7:30pm: 40mg Lovonox injection in the belly

Baby Preparations: Other than getting the nursery together, we are just waiting for our birthing classes to start at the end of the month. We are having the baby shower at our house so it gives me a good goal to shoot for to have everything organized. Here are a few pics of the nursery... We painted the glider and the dresser and I am in the process of recovering the chair (Obviously I have not finished the back cushion). We don't have any of the artwork yet and the daybed quilt will be different  - a white and light pastel.  I still need to hang the curtains too...