We are so excited that we made it to this point because it means we're getting close to the finish line!! We are so ready to meet this little guy!!
I've been doing pretty good this week. However, I seem to be experiencing some first trimester symptoms again. The funny thing is that they seem to be worse this time around!! The most annoying returning symptom I've dealt with is nausea. Its gotten to the point where I can move or think until it passes. Thankfully, it hasnt made me vomit yet - but I've gotten close!!
Another thing that happens a lot now is very numerous bathroom breaks. I think it is because the baby is constantly pressing/kicking/squeezing my bladder. It must be THE perfect in utero toy for him to enjoy - fluffy, noisy, and comfy!!
I've had a lot of vivid dreams this week. Some dealt with my past - old friends, relationships, and important events as a kid and teenager. Others have been nightmares concerning boring life issues. But the most interesting dreams have involved our little one.
The other night, I had a dream that I went into labor at 6:56pm on December 23rd. I even remembered the outfit I was wearing (white pants, blue shirt)! Last night, I had a dream that Allen was able to take a peek of the baby while he was still inside my tummy. He revealed to me that our little boy had pitch black hair!! Anyway, I'm curious to see if any of these baby dreams are accurate.
Baby boy Lamb is doing great. According to the baby books, he's about 16 inches long and weights around 3 lbs 12oz. Seems right to me! He has very distinct sleep and active periods now. He likes to wake up really early and do an extensive, full body workout - kicking, punching, twisting, headbutting, and bottom-shaking. Its very amusing to feel his moves inside and outside simultaneously! He has hurt me a few times, mostly in the right side in my ribs and all over my bladder. Then, he sleeps on and off through out the day and does another exercise session near bedtime, right when Im trying to relax. Silly little guy!
Well, I better close. We are getting ready to drive up to Tennessee today to hang out with little boy Lamb's relatives - 2 sets of granparents, uncle and 2 aunts, a great aunt, and various other Lamb relatives. They will be showering us with gifts and lots of love. However, I'm most excited about just spending time daydreaming about our little boy with these very special people. Oh, and it will be kinda cool to see their reaction to my "Mommy-to-be" appearance. They are going to get a kick out of me (and baby, if they are lucky!).
Symptoms:
nausea, back pain, joint pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, fatigue, frequent urination, cravings (carbs, carbs, carbs and anything pumpkin!!), mood swings, vivid dreams, nosebleeds, stuffy nose
Total Weight Gained: 29 pounds
2007-10-11 (28 weeks)
78 Days to Go and Counting!
Wow, what a busy two weeks it has been! Believe it or not, I will be 29 weeks pregnant tomorrow. That means I have only 11 weeks to go!!!
Allen and I have been busy fixing things around the house and getting ready for our son's arrival. We are making progress, but there is still so much to do!! I hope we get it all done in time!
In my previous entry, I mentioned that I needed to add to my wardrobe. Well, I tackled that problem last weekend. I was able to find 4 pairs of flat dress shoes (3 black, 1 brown) and two pairs of tennis shoes (not that I really needed them, but I splurged on them anyway to temporarily satisfy my neverending shoe fetish!). I also found several long sleeved shirts and more comfortable maternity jeans. The only thing left is sweaters, which I dread. I havent seen any yet that compliment a pregnant woman's figure. Most of the ones I've found are too heavy and bulky, which is the last thing I want to wear on my already huge looking body. Hopefully, I'll find something suitable soon.
I also mentioned wanting to find a pregnancy wedge pillow. Well, I found one. It feels comfortable when I lay on it, but for some reason I am unable to fall asleep on it. Im not sure if its a mental thing or what. Thankfully, Im able to wedge a part of my body pillow underneath me, which seems to help me halfway decently. I just wish it would help alleviate my sore back!
Little boy Lamb is doing quite well. He has been spending a lot of time in my ribs lately. He is constantly kicking them and pressing against them with his feet. It doesnt hurt, but the pressure that I feel isnt all that enjoyable either. I dont mind too much though, because it lets me know he is growing big and strong for his Mommy and Daddy! It also seems like he is squirming a lot now, which means he is probably starting to run out of room. I often see my belly pop up or roll like a wave. This is a very amusing thing to watch!! In additon, he is very responsive to our touch and voices. He loves it when Daddy caresses him through Mommy's belly and when his Daddy sings him songs.
Yesterday, I went to my 28 week check-up. It was the least exciting visit I've done this entire pregnancy. I did the usual - urine test, weigh-in, blood pressure, belly measurement - and every thing turned out normal. The only new thing I had to do was a gestational diabetes test. This involved drinking 10 ounces of an extremely sweet orange flavored drink, sitting quietly for a hour, then and having my blood drawn after the hour was up. This little concotion made me dizzy for a few seconds and very fatigued for the rest of the day.
My next appointment is on November 6th - the last whole day of my 29th year of life. Im not sure what to expect at that visit. Maybe they'll let us do the 4-D ultrasound. That would be nice birthday present!!
Symptoms:
slight fatigue, difficulty sleeping, minor sciatic pain, abdominal ligament discomfort, back pain (especially after laying down for long periods of time), nosebleeds, fast nail growth, slight nausea, food and smell aversions (cat food, yogurt, certain veggies, orange juice), cravings (olives, pumpkin, eggs, bread, muffins, cookies, sweets, ice cream, fruit), bizzarre dreams about my past and nightmares about the present and future, get out of breath easier (lifting heavy objects, climbing stairs or slight inclines on my walks), mood swings, acid reflux, slight headaches, leg cramps, frequent urination, upset tummy
Total weight gained: 28 pounds . For what its worth, I read that the average pregnant woman gains a total of 11 pounds in this trimester alone! Eek!
UPDATE - 10/12/07
I have some great news! Today, on one of my many bathroom breaks, someone FINALLY commented on my bump of a belly! A quick background story on her: she was one of the few women in this office building who continuously complimented me on my weight loss journey (loss 60 pounds from Jan 2005 - July 2006 and maintained my goal weight until the day I found out about Little Lamb). My weightloss inspired her to lose weight and she is always thanking me for inspiring her. Anyway, she asked when I was due and I told her. She was shocked and said, "Wow! Congratulations! You must be all baby right there! That's wonderful! You did a very good thing losing that excess weight before becoming pregnant. You should be very proud of yourself!"
As a matter of fact, I do feel quite proud of myself! Go me!
2007-09-28 (27 weeks)
Let the 3rd Trimester Begin!!
Today is a very important day. Reaching this date in my pregnancy means that I've finally entered the 27th week of pregnancy, the 7th month, AND the 3rd trimester!!
If the baby is born now, he has a very high chance of survival. He weighs approximately 2.5 pounds and is 14.5 inches long. He will be gaining another pound and 1.5 inches by the end of this month. He is currently putting on all his cute baby fat, growing in his hair, eyelashes, eyebrows, and fingernails. His irises are a pale blue in color and with them he is able to explore his little home. He can now react physically to bright light, a gentle touch, and loud or comforting sounds. He still has plenty of room in his watery home, so he will continue with his acrobatics of kicking his mommy in the ribs, bladder, and intestines as well as continue to twirl and buck his entire body in every direction imaginable.
Sweet baby boy Lamb is getting sooo strong! I love it!! I am impressed with his vigorous movements and am actually a little nervous about what to expect down the road. None of his moves hurt yet (just surprising and sometimes nauseating), but I'm afraid that will change soon! One request my little Sweetheart - please be gentle on my bladder!!
The weather is getting cooler here, which means I will eventually have to get some fall/winter attire - long sleeves, sweaters, pjs (my belly has outgrown my stuff so I have been wearing Allen's pj bottoms to bed!) and flat shoes. I'm not looking forward to the shoe shopping (usually I'm a nut!) because I'm not a big fan of flats. The only "flats" I like are flip flops and tennis shoes! But I have to give in to them this year, since my high heels are essentially a health hazard due to my center of gravity shifting. Hopefully, I'll be able to find something cute!
I've been on a very emotional roller coaster this week, so I haven't done my best with eating. Last weekend, I made a huge pot of turkey chili and a chocolate fudge cake with homemade buttercream chocolate frosting to comfort myself. I know - a huge mistake! I ate that stuff for 3-4 days straight and only made an effort to exercise once during that time. Thankfully, both the chili and cake are gone now and was able to accomplish my first day of sensible eating yesterday. My weigh-ins weren't pretty all week, until today! Apparently, 2 pounds melt off overnight!! I think most of it was due to not having a dessert to scarf down and increased water consumption yesterday. All I have to do now is survive another college football weekend!
My main issue right now is quality of sleep. Ever since I found out about the pregnancy, I have been sleeping on my left side with a body pillow. This position is recommended by doctors as it maximizes blood flow and kidney function for moms-to-be. I was fine with this position until the last couple of weeks.
Laying on the same side all night has become uncomfortable and sometimes painful. When I wake up, my whole left side is sore as well as my lower back and left shoulder. Sometimes, the pain is so bad that it brings tears to my eyes! The only thing that gets rid of the pain is sitting up/walking around for at least an hour. I've read that placing a wedge pillow under my belly will help by correcting the realignment of your spine as well as even out the extra weight gained in the abdominal region. So, this weekend, I'm going to invest in one from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and hope it helps this problem. Of course, this makes me wonder what I'm supposed to do with my beloved body pillow. I do not think there is room for both in our queen sized bed. Sigh...
Anyway, I think the lack of good sleep has effected me emotionally as well as physically. I've been very short tempered lately. After expressing my temper, I begin to feel guilty, which makes me cry. I hate being short with people, but sometimes I cant stop myself. :o(
Also, when I don't get enough sleep, I tend to find things to worry about. This week, I started stressing out about becoming a parent. I worry about making mistakes (for those who don't know, I'm somewhat of a perfectionist) and being a bad mother. People say that instincts will take over once the child is born. I believe this is true for most people, but not me. I haven't had much experience with young children, so I'm afraid that things wont come naturally to me. I hope I'm wrong!!
Yep, I'm less than a 100 days away from my due date now. And tomorrow, I enter the 26th week of pregnancy, which is also known as the last week of month 6!!
This has been another active week for baby boy Lamb. I can almost set my watch to his movement schedule. He starts moving at approximately 4:30am each morning. He stays active for about 20 minutes before settling down again. Then, Monday through Friday, he'll have another quick spurt of activity on the way to work (around 6:30am). I think he is reacting to the requested stop chimes and overhead announcements on the bus. I don't like them either little buddy, especially when I'm trying to catch up on sleep!
Anyway, once at work, he'll settle down for a while and wake up again around 9am, which is about 20 or so minutes after I've eaten breakfast. Then he'll be quiet for most of the day and start moving around again when I get on the bus back home (dealing yet again with the loud announcement system!), which ranges from 3pm-4:30pm each day.
Then he goes back to sleep for a couple of hours and then starts up again around 6pm (right after I eat dinner) and seems to stay awake until 930-10pm. I try to go to bed at 9pm on weeknights, so sometimes he keeps me up later than I had planned (I don't mind though!). His strongest movements take place during this timeframe, so Daddy looks forward to feeling him buck, punch, and squirm right before he drifts off to sleep each evening.
I'm so glad Allen can feel him move now. I've been wanting him to have a way to connect to his son for so long. Allen also bonds with him by singing and telling him stories each night. So sweet! Seeing him do this makes me fall deeper in love with him. Im so blessed to have such a loving and amazing husband to be the father of my child! Sigh...
In other news, I had a bad eating spree for about a week following my last appointment. I saw a few low weights early on during the splurgefest, but unfortunately that trend stopped on Tuesday when I saw a 3 pound gain in one week! Since then, I've been more mindful of my eating and was rewarded with a slight loss today. It also helped that I have started going on walks again. The weather is finally cool enough me to handle a 40 minute walk each day. Yay for autumn!
In addition, month 6 and 7 are when babies start adding their cute baby fat to their little bodies. I'm quite sure that some of my weight gain has something to do with that fact. For the past two weeks, my belly has been getting noticibly bigger. Plus, it also seems that our little one is growing heavier a little more each day!
Anyway, I'm still hoping to stay within the recommended pregnancy weight gain for my body type, which is 25-35 pounds. I have 14 weeks to go, so realistically, I'll probably end up a little heavier than that. I'll be thrilled if I only gain a maximum of 40 pounds! Wish me luck!
Symptoms:
upper and lower back pains, difficulty sleeping, frequent urination, headaches, constipation, sensitive tummy, acid reflux, nausea, loose and sometimes painful joints, nosebleeds (especially my right nostril!!), mood swings, aversions (perfumes, smoke, mouthwash, toothpaste, cottage cheese, orange juice), cravings (chocolate, fruit, homemade bread, cereal, pancakes, biscuits, red meat, fried foods - especially chicken!) , and extreme fetal movement!
. For what its worth, I read that the average pregnant woman gains a total of 11 pounds in this trimester alone! Eek!