28 Weeks

(All photos are clickable) (Above photos courtesy of http://www.babycenter.com/)

Baby:

- This week, baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels.
- He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes.
- With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through the womb.
- He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Mom:

- The third and final trimester starts this week!

- I now start the every 2 week doctor visits.

- Lots of foot/ankle/leg swelling this week (as you can see in last Wednesday’s post). The swelling has been so bad it hurts to walk or wiggle my toes. When my feet are flat on the floor my toes don't touch the floor anymore! I contribute most of that to the terrible sunburn I got from going to the beach last weekend for our 1st wedding anniversary.
- Around this time, some women feel an unpleasant "creepy-crawly" sensation in their lower legs and an irresistible urge to move them while trying to relax or sleep. If this sensation is at least temporarily relieved when you move, you may have what's known as restless legs syndrome (RLS). I have been experiencing this but I just contributed it to the healing sunburn, we will see if it sticks around once the sunburn is completely healed.
- Not much else to report, the headaches I once had on a regular basis have subsided. The back pain hasn’t been too bad this week and I have only had the nerve pinching pain a few times.
- Lots of crazy baby movement all the time!
- My weight: 146 lbs according to the wii.

Other News:

- I had the rhogam injection last Monday and it wasn’t too bad.
- All of last weeks blood work came back fine. I passed the glucose test!

- We started our childbirth class on Wednesday. It’s a 2 hour class that goes for 6 weeks. The 1st class went well; the instructor seems really nice and informative. She went over basic hospital information, how the body changes during pregnancy, the role of the support person, an over view of delivery, and we did some stretching excursuses. We also did an activity using a balloon and a ping pong ball to show how the uterus contracts to help push the baby out, which was interesting (and quite funny)! Lots of babies ping pong balls bouncing around the room. I wish I had pictures! We go back next Wednesday so that should be fun!

Wordless Wednesday

27 Weeks

(All photos are clickable) (Above photos courtesy of http://www.babycenter.com/)

Baby:

- This week, baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended.
- He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers.
- With more brain tissue developing, baby's brain is very active now.
- While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now.
- Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him.

Mom:

- I’ve been having some back pain, mostly with the more walking/standing I do.
- I have also been getting this nerve pinching pain in my back which is different than the regular back pain. It happens if I move wrong or step wrong or something like that. Not that I’m necessarily moving/stepping wrong I guess the normal movements just push things around and cause this little pain. It goes away right away usually and isn’t consistent with any 1 activity or movement.
- The swelling is still there, it seems to be worse in my left leg/ankle/foot but nothing major.
- My weight: 144 lbs at my last appointment.
- Blood pressure: 117/72
- Baby’s heart rate: 159 - 161 bpm

Other News:

I had my 27 week doctor’s visit on Thursday 6/17 along with the 1 hour glucose test. The appointment started out with me having to drink that nasty orange flavored ick of a thing they call a glucose drink.

The instructions were to drink the whole (small water bottle size) thing as quick as I could. Now, I don’t require much liquid intake under normal conditions as it is, I can go all day without a drop of liquid to drink and be perfectly fine. (I, of course, have been forcing myself to drink more since being pregnant.) But anyway, back to the drink, I did manage to drink the whole thing in a very short period of time which surprised me! It was, in my opinion, NOT like drinking orange soda at all (which I don’t like either) and it burned my throat! I was worried that I was going to throw it all back up after finally getting it all down! The lady said that it has happened but not very often. I didn’t want that to happen because then I would have to start all over on a different day and I did NOT want to have to do that. After that ordeal I went back to the weighting room and a few minutes later I was called back for my regular check up. They said I’m “measuring big”, I was not impressed. Big = not good well I mean it IS good but not good if you know what I mean. Everything checked out fine. I asked about the rhogam shot, apparently they had forgotten I would need it and that’s when I learned I would have to have my blood drawn TWICE in the same day. *cringe* ~ I hate having my blood drawn ~ Well I didn’t have to have the 2nd one done the same day but I was already there so why not just get it over with. So after my check up I still had some waiting to do before I could get my glucose blood draw done so we waited…and waited then the dreaded blood draw time came. And I thought the worst part of the day was the orange drink (lol). I normally don’t look during this procedure and today was no different except I didn’t need to look to know what she was doing, she wasn’t very smooth about the process and I could feel everything move and shift each time she switched tubes…I did manage to survive in the end. After all that we went next door for the 2nd blood draw. I’m still not clear on why I had to go next door to have more blood drawn for an antibody test before I could get the rhogam shot. Couldn’t they just get the information they needed from the first 3 gallons tubes of blood they took??? Anyway, this lady was much smoother with her technique and also 2 other ladies were talking to me while the 1st lady was collecting the blood so that took my mind off of what was happening a little bit. I’m also not exactly sure on what they are looking for in this antibody test because they told me to come in Monday morning for the injection (they didn’t even have the results back, why did I need the test if I was getting the injection anyway?? Another mystery.) So that was our eventful doctors appointment for this month, as usual, we did manage to keep ourselves entertained with outlandish shenanigans during all the waiting. Also, my appointments are every 2 weeks now instead of once a month so I will go back on 7/2 for more fun and games!!

26 Weeks

(Click to enlarge) (Above photos courtesy of http://www.babycenter.com/)

Baby:

- He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.
- And he's continuing to put on baby fat.
- The network of nerves in his ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear voices as you chat with people.
- He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air.

Mom:

- Around this time, your blood pressure may be increasing slightly, although it's probably still lower than it was before you got pregnant. (Typically, blood pressure falls toward the end of the first trimester, and it tends to reach a low at about 22 to 24 weeks.)
- Having some back pain these days, usually after standing or walking for a while. Apparently I can thank can thank both my growing uterus — which shifts my center of gravity, stretches out and weakens the abdominal muscles, and may be pressing on a nerve — as well as hormonal changes that loosen joints and ligaments. Plus, the extra weight I’m carrying means more work for my muscles and increased stress on joints, which is why I probably feel worse at the end of the day.
- The swelling hasn’t been as bad as it was a few weeks ago, it’s still noticeable though.
- My weight: 144 lbs according to the wii.

Wordless Wednesday

p.s. Happy Birthday!!

25 Weeks

(Click to enlarge) (Above photos courtesy of http://www.babycenter.com/)

Baby:

- Head to heels, baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches and weighs about a pound and a half - not much more than an average rutabaga- Baby is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week.

- Beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he’ll start to look more and more like a newborn.

- He's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Mom:

- Baby's not the only one with more hair — your locks may look more full and lustrous than ever. It's not that you're growing more hair, but thanks to hormonal changes, the hair that you'd normally shed is sticking around longer than usual.

- It’s getting a little harder to move around these days.

- The swelling has become pretty regular now.

- My weight: 141 lbs according to the wii.

Other News:

- The name has been determined! Well actually we have known for a few weeks now.