Up All Night Sophia is most active at night when I lay down to go to bed. This doesn't bother me at all, but it does keep me up a bit later than usual. I just can't help it, I lay there and pay attention to all her kicks, scratches and rolls. I try to imagine where she is, what it is that's making that movement. I can tell that she is getting bigger because sometimes something (a baby bottom, head, elbow?) will jut out from my stomach and just sit there for a while.
I think that her movements may put Dean to sleep though. He puts his hand on my belly and before you know he is breathing deeply. Maybe he's just really tired these days, but he has always complained about how long it takes for him to go to sleep. Speaking of Dean and sleep, I should say that I'm not the only one dreaming of Sophia. He's had a dream where he helped deliver Sophia on a farm and another more recently where Sophia was born walking and talking (because of the great job I did taking care of her in my womb). Of course all this walking and talking made all our friends very jealous.
Tomorrow is our next doctors appointment. We are meeting with a different Dr. this time. This way, if Dr. Howell isn't able to deliver Sophia, we will be familiar with at least one of his possible replacements. I am hoping that Dr. Neville will be able to tell us what position Sophia is in, because I am extremely curious! I also have to take the dreaded glucose test tomorrow. I have heard that the stuff I will have to drink is VERY nasty. I am guessing that they will check my iron levels too. I'll give an update then.
2008-01-22 (28 weeks)
A Cousin is Born! Dean's brother David and his wife Beth became the proud parents of Isaac Alan Forshee on Saturday, January 19, 2008. Isaac was born weighing 8.8 lbs and measuring 20 inches. He is also the first baby I have heard of that was born on his due date! Perhaps this is the first sign that Isaac will be a punctual person.
Dean and I are very happy for David and Beth and we can't wait for Sophia to meet her cousin. Hopefully, Beth has had a chance to catch up on her sleep (she was in labor for 24 hours and I'm not sure that she got any sleep during that time) so that she can enjoy Isaac as much as possible. I hope that you will join Dean and I in keeping the new parents in your thoughts and prayers.
2008-01-18 (27 weeks)
The Nursery Many people have asked about the Nursery lately. Have we started setting up the Nursery? Do we have a crib? Have we painted? The answer, I'm afraid, is no to all of the above.
However, we do know what we want the nursery to look like and I uploaded a picture of the nursery collection "Alphabet Soup" to the photo album. If you want to see just how many adorable things there are in this collection, I recommend visiting this web site: http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/coc/coc711033.html
That being said, I think I'll start trying to get Dean's help in picking out a paint color for the nursery. Maybe we'll even try to get a crib!
2008-01-18 (27 weeks)
Puff Mommy Last night I noticed that my left ankle was feeling kind of funny. I thought that maybe I had scratched it on something because it felt a little uncomfortable, but not painful. When I finally got ready to go to bed, I noticed that my left ankle was puffed up like a marshmallow! I immediately looked at my right ankle and saw that it looked perfectly fine. I knew that swelling ankles is a symptom of the last trimester, but it didn't make sense to me that only one would swell. I called my friend Allison who told me that it was perfectly normal and that I probably had too much salt that day and my feet hadn't been propped up.
I drank a bunch of water and went to bed. This morning, the swelling had gone down and my ankle looked normal again. So I am going to have to be more diligent about drinking water, watching my salt intake and keep my feet propped up when I can. Hopefully, I can avoid becoming a puff mommy. Somehow, I had begun to think that all of those symptoms weren't really going to happen to me. I guess I was wrong.
Today also marks the first day of the 29th week of my pregnancy. According to WhattoExpect.com, this is what is happening with Sophia this week:
Your baby is almost 17 inches tall now (nearly as tall as he or she will be at birth), and close to three pounds (a weight that will likely more than double — and may even come close to tripling — by delivery time). His or her wrinkled skin is smoothing out as more fat is deposited under the skin surface. This fat, called white fat, is different from the earlier brown fat that your developing fetus accumulated. Brown fat is necessary for body temperature regulation while white fat (the fat you have, Mom) actually serves as an energy source.
Which explains why your energizer baby feels so…well…energized! Space in your baby's living quarters is now at a premium, so you'll be feeling jabs and pokes from elbows and knees mostly. But those kicks will be more vigorous than before (and also less erratic) because your baby is stronger and excitedly responding to all sorts of stimuli — movement, sounds, light, and that candy bar you ate half an hour ago.
