Pregnancy Week 28

This post has been sitting in my edit box for, oh, about 2.5 months now and I'm finally getting around to finishing it thanks to a very busy spring!

 
Week 28 for Baby: We are officially in the third trimester of this pregnancy as of February 22nd! Our little girl weighs 2.25lbs and measures about 14.8in. She now has lashes and can blink her eyes. Her vision is developed enough that she can see light as it enters the womb. Aside from adding more body fat, she is also continuing to develop more neurons in her brain.

Week 28 for Mom: This period marks the start of doctor appointments every two weeks. I had my glucose screening on February 21st and I am very happy to report that I passed! That means I don't have to do the three hour test, yay!  I have been experiencing some Braxton Hicks contractions, but usually after being at clinical. The pelvic pressure is still present, annoyingly present at times.  Weight gain this week was about 1lbs, putting me at 220lbs with a total gain of 14lbs. We booked our placenta encapsulation specialist this week and I am very much looking forward to working with her. If you haven't heard of placental encapsulation or my personal account for wanting to try it, my good friend Emily at Baby Dickey featured a post I wrote as a guest Placental Encapsulation. I vowed I would not feel the way I felt after having Trayton with any other children we have (emotionally or physically); I was drained of energy and the imbalance of hormones while my body was trying to adjust after baby made me feel terrible. We will have to sign a release at the hospital that we are taking the placenta and will properly dispose of it (in our case prepare it in capsules) and the specialist will come out to our home to complete the encapsulation for $250. She is inspected by the Food and Drug Administration and brings all of her on equipment for the process. In other news, I am looking forward to spring break in order to get more trim done on the house and things washed and organized for our girl!

Week 28 Baby Girl

Wishing you a pot o' gold, and all the joy your heart can hold. Thanks for reading!

Pregnancy 27 Weeks

Baby Girl: our little girl weighs +/-2lbs this week and measures 14.5 inches long; I can't believe how fast she is growing! She's opening and closing her eyes and sucking her fingers. She is also sleeping/waking in cycles - I can definitely tell as she is more active at certain times every day! Her brain tissue is very active and her lungs, though still immature, are capable of functioning outside the womb (with considerable medical help.) 

Mom: This is the last week of the second trimester, yikes! I still have so much to do, both at school and at home. I have not experienced any leg cramping that characteristically occurs around this time but the sciatic pain and pelvic floor pressure have become more annoying. Also, her sleep wake cycle mentioned above - when she's awake she is no longer squirming like a little butterfly, she gives me full, hearty kicks! She's most active around 8:30AM, after lunch, about 6-8PM and 3-4:30AM. So on top of the pelvic pain while trying to sleep, I wake up periodically to her trying to kick Ryan in the back!

I had an appointment this week on Valentines Day and we got to see her via ultrasound. Dr. confirmed her gender and her anatomy scan looked great - all the right parts and sizes in the right places and functioning! I was a bit floored when the doctor said he wanted to talk to me about my weight as I had gained 12 lbs since my last appointment. Um....EXCUSE ME? How is that possible you ask? Well, the nurse who checked me in and weighed me did not work in his clinic and was a fill-in. She had me leave my Carhart coat on and my boots, plus I had my purse in hand. I told him I had not changed my eating habits and that she didn't weigh me like his regular nurses have in the past. So we took a trip back to the scale and guess what, I only gained 5 lbs since the last appointment, much better. I had my synthroid dose changed because my level was on the low end and scheduled my glucose screening for 28 weeks. The last time I failed the first test and had to do the 3-hour screen. I asked about the pelvic floor pressure and Dr. told me it was just from my growing uterus and loose muscles/ligaments. He offered no advice about anything I could do to possibly relieve the pressure so Ryan made me an appointment with our chiropractor. He worked wonders! The sciatic pain disappeared, most of the pelvic pressure disappeared AND he helped my heartburn! I also got the contact information for a good masseuse that he felt would be able to help further with the pelvic pressure. Thank goodness for alternative and holistic practitioners!
Weight: 219 (up 13lbs total)  

Week 27 Belly

Wishing you a pot o' gold, and all the joy your heart can hold. Thanks for reading! 

Pregnancy Week 26

I've let myself get a little behind again on the weekly updates; week 26 rolled around February 7th.

Baby Girl: she is measuring about 14 inches and weighing approximately a pound and two-thirds! The network of nerves in her ears are continuing to fine-tune and she may now be able to hear Ryan and Trayton's voice aside from mine! Trayton is starting to get the concept that something is in mommy's belly and he will talk to her when prompted! Our little girl is inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, practicing for breathing in the outside world and she's continuing to plump up with adipose tissue.
Mom: welcome back pressure, thanks to my growing uterus which has been pressing on my sciatic nerve - ouch! Also, where did this pelvic floor pressure come from? I notice it is worse after I have been on my feet all day for clinical but it sometimes comes in the morning too when I first get up. It feels as if my uterus and little girl are pressing down or already engaged. My pelvic bones also feel loose, especially when I turn over in bed or have done a lot of walking. I know progesterone likes to loosen things up but I'm definitely going to ask my Dr. about it at my appointment next week. Hiccups are something I started feeling around this time with Trayton but not yet with our little girl. I remember being able to feel them on a schedule with him, usually after lunch and later around bedtime :) From here on out my uterus height will grow about 1/2 inch per week; I'm already starting to feel a little cramped on the inside!

Weight: 217 lbs (up 2 lbs since last week)
Feeling: sore, heartburn in the evenings around 8 PM every night, and my left glutes are feeling some sciatic pain now and then.

We finally managed to get the brackets and rods up in all three closets this past weekend, yay! We used conduit for the rods (I have 10+ foot closets and closet kits of this size are ridiculous and never come in the color I want) which I still need to paint but I'm finally able to hang coats and some of Trayton's clothes! I also convinced my mom and dad to help make a barrette/bow holder to match the nursery, and I got all the materials for $25!     

Wishing you a pot o' gold, and all the joy your heart can hold. Thanks for reading! 

Pregnancy Week 25

Baby Girl: Her total length is now about 13.5 inches and she weighs about 1.5 lbs. Her skin will begin filling out as she adds adipose (fat) tissue and her hair color/texture is now distinguishable - if she doesn't have curly hair like her dad and mom, I will be shocked, I have no idea how to style straight hair!

Mom: I've noticed my hair seems fuller now too and I'm not looking forward to losing it after she arrives. Braxton hicks contractions started around the 1st of February and come and go as they please; I'm hoping they help make as much progress as they did with Trayton. I was induced on my due date already being dilated 4cm and 90% effaced with a station of -1. My belly is definitely larger and my uterus is growing out of its soccer ball size, on most days it feels like a basketball and she is sitting right out in front. Baby Center asked if I had started thinking about names yet....well....I haven't actually. Ryan and I have had no time to just sit and peruse names and there is only one we kinda sorta like, so I need to get on this sometime soon! 

Week 25 Belly

Weight: 215lbs (up one from last week)
Looking forward to: our next appointment, making a barrette/bow holder and getting the closet fixtures up!

Wishing you a pot o' gold, and all the joy your heart can hold. Thanks for reading! 

Pregnancy Week 24

Our little girl has gained 4 ounces since last week so she's a little over a pound +4 ounces and measures almost 12 inches, about the size of an ear of corn. She is plumping up as she continues to build fat reserves under her still translucent skin, her taste buds are continuing to develop and her brain is growing quickly. Now that she is 24 weeks she has a better chance of survival outside of the womb if she would be born prematurely due to the growing bronchi (branches of the respiratory tree) in her lungs and cell that produce surfactant, the substance that helps her alveoli (air sacs) inflate.
24 Weeks - Mom: my uterus has grown slightly above my umbilicus and is just a little bigger than a soccer ball. Sometime between now and 28 weeks I will have to undergo the glucose screening test for gestational diabetes. While pregnant with Trayton I did not pass the first test and had to undergo the more extensive 3 hour test for closer monitoring, which I did end up passing. I'm not looking forward to this test even though I haven't been spilling glucose in my urine constantly like last time. I have my next appointment on February 7th so I'm not sure if my doctor will have me take the test at that time or later. Besides the occasional edema, sciatic nerve pain and heartburn, I've been feelin relatively well. Now is the time to start paying attention to the signs/symptoms of preterm labor. Hoping this little girl stays put until she's completely done baking; her brother was content to stay in my belly right up until his due date at just 1.1 ounces shy of 9lbs!

Weight: 214lbs (same as last week)
Looking forward to: our next appointment; even though I know the gender we will have an anatomy scan and I'm looking forward to seeing how she has grown!

Wishing you a pot o' gold, and all the joy your heart can hold. Thanks for reading! 

Pregnancy Week 23

Baby girl is just over a pound this week and measures a little over 11 inches; she's about the size of a large mango! Blood vessels are developing in the lungs for gas exchange/breathing and her ears are continuing to mature, picking up more sounds than ever. I vacuumed a ton with Trayton (the nesting instinct kicked in early) and after he was born I could run it, the dishwasher and washer/dryer without any fuss. Sometimes they even lulled him to sleep! Our little girl is starting to get just as acquainted with these machines.
23 Weeks - Mom: Edema (swelling) is a common symptom in the lower extremities starting around this time and I've noticed  little in my feet on my longer clinical days, despite the extra water I drink and running around. I've noticed baby girl moving around a lot more in the early morning and late evening but Ryan hasn't been able to feel her yet. I can usually see her move in the bath water but it has been hard outside of the tub. I've also noticed a little sciatic nerve pain, ouch! I have tried stretching but may have to make an appointment with my chiropractor. Last time I got away with none until I had Trayton and this time its on the opposite side.

Weight: 214 (+1 from last week, 9lbs overall)
To-do: work on getting the rest of the trim done in the living room, leaving only 2 windows in the new part of the house and some trim in the old part of the house.
   

Wishing you a pot o' gold, and all the joy your heart can hold. Thanks for reading!