Yesterday’s appointment was with the obstetrician, Dr. Harris, who was praising me on how well the baby was growing after answering all of the questions me and Brandon had. He told us which direction the baby was laying, we listened to the heartbeat and heard Peanut moving inside, and he discussed kick counts, travel, radiation from planes, and signing up for CPR classes. Then, he told me that he wasn’t fussing and started telling me about my weight gain. I had gained a lot of weight since my appointment in February.  Before February, I was on target for normal weight gain each month – 2 to 3 pounds.  Then after that appointment, I gained 6 pounds.  And after March’s appointment, yesterday's appointment, I had gained another 7 pounds.  I explained to him that I was very active before I had issues with my sciatic nerve. But after that started rendering me partially handicapped, I stopped doing my 30 minute walks every day.  I guess that is a good way to put on the pounds.  Anyway, he was saying that we didn’t want anything too big in there that makes it too hard to push out.  I don’t want a huge baby and I refuse to let this deter me, although it did hurt my feelings somewhat.  I will use this as motivation to do my walks, or something equivalent, in order to not have gained such a large amount of weight when I go back to the doctor on May 12.

Today, I had my last physical therapy appointment unless Dr. Zimmerman schedules me for more after my last visit with her.  I went through all of my regular exercises that I had learned during the last visits and got introduced to new ones.  This time, I worked with the resistance bands.  I am prohibited from using weights, but I can use these bands to provide some workout to my upper back, biceps, and triceps.  I was definitely feeling these exercises.  I plan on incorporating them into my workout after I am done with my walking.  Like I said, I refuse to have gained another 6 or 7 pounds by my next visit.  My limit is 2 or 3.  Otherwise, I will have to increase my workout to 2 times a day.  All of the books I read continue to reinforce how good walking is for you, so “time will tell” with this pregnancy.

I finally felt Peanut move Sat. April 12th around 8:40.  Before I couldn't determine with great certainty if I actually felt the baby move.. or if it was just blood pumping in my finger tips.  So, after Vetta called me into the room Saturday morning, I decided to get a little closer and take a listen...... next thing you know ... BAM!!!!!!! a bone crushing kick to the face.  I was stunned but not hurt...  then WHAM!!! another blow to the ear... At that point I was ready to reach for my belt but Vetta jumped in to defuse the situation.....

Man that was so cool....

Bran

Ok, let me share these so that I won't forget them.  We'll see if any of these hold true once Peanut arrives.  They were told to me in the last few weeks by several different people.

1. If you hold a baby and the baby cries, you are having a baby of the same sex.  If the baby is content in your arms, then you are having a baby of the opposite sex.
2. If the line on your pregnant belly goes all the way up, you are having a girl.  If the line stops at your navel and doesn't continue, you are having a boy.
3. The way you carry the baby reveals the sex.  If you carry high, it's a girl.  If you carry low, it's a boy.

I'll update this with others as the comments pour in.

Ok, Ok.  I know it has been a while since I last posted to my journal, but believe it or not, I have actually been busy doing so much other stuff.  I won't go into details right now.  Let me see where I should start.  Oh, with the physical therapist.  On April 1, I went to my 1st session of therapy.  It was with Scott.  Well, obviously, Scott was trying to test the waters by seeing what I was capable of doing in order to make my sciatic nerve mad. I went in with no pain and Scott wanted me in some pain so he could figure out how to relieve that pain.  Well, at 22 weeks into my pregnancy, Scott had me lying face down on the table trying to do press ups to exercise my back.  There were 10 reps of that.  I have to make special mention here...my baby did not like being squished by his/her mother trying to do some weird exercises.  He/She was in there kicking and beating my insides crying for relief.  Needless to say, I let Scott know, I wouldn't be doing those anymore.  I had to do toe touches.  I think it was 5 or 10 reps of those.  Peanut didn't have a problem with this exercise.  Then we moved on to some back bends or back stretches where I lean as far back as I can and hold it for a few seconds and come back to normal.  These are done while standing and I am supposed to do these every hour while at work.  At the end of my session, Scott recommended I order a SI belt from some website and then he introduced me to the woman who I would meet for the next two sessions.  He wanted me to do the Superwoman (I didn't even ask what this entailed) and some exercises on the stability ball.  This woman was standing behind Scott shaking her head and asking how far along was I in my pregnancy.  She told me that some of the exercises mentioned wouldn't be easy for me to do while pregnant so she wasn't going to have me do them...am I glad my next session was going to be with her.  And the website that Scott recommended had 2 different kinds of SI belts out there.  Since I didn't know which one to order, I didn't order either one.  This ended up being a good move on my part.

Ok, next appointment was Monday, April 7, with the masseuse/chiropractor/doctor/specialist - Dr. Zimmerman.  She was on top of her game.  She watched me walk and how I stood and how I sat.  She manipulated my spine (I guess that's what she was doing) and my legs and my shoulders with all of these weird movements while I was lying on the table.  Nothing was actually cracked like when you go to the chiropractor, so don't worry.  Then she asked me to get up and do a few hula hoop moves near the wall.  When I mentioned that I could still feel pain in the same area from the sciatic nerve, she asked me to get back up on the table and she begin manipulating my body again.  Then I had to get off the table and test out the hula hoop moves again.  Things felt much better this time.  She told me that she was going to prescribe a SI belt to help support the way I carry the baby.  Next thing I know I was standing at the check out desk being asked when I could come by to pick up my belt.  Best news: it appears that is covered by insurance, so I didn't or haven't had to pull any money out of my pocket.  Oh, and since I am seeing Dr. Zimmerman, I canceled some of my physical therapy sessions. They had me down for 2 sessions a week. I will reschedule them, if needed, after my last appointment with her. I don't know what Dr. Zimmerman truly did to my spine or sciatic nerve, but I felt so much better after I left.  Of course, by the time I made it home, that same area was too tender to touch with the bare hand, so I had to put the heating pad on it.

Again another appointment.  This time, Tuesday, April 8.  Since you will be charged if you cancel within 24 hours, I decided to keep this physical therapy appointment.  It was with a close talker; you know the type - right up in your face or pretty much their lips on your ears.  It was definitely an invasion of my personal space.  Trina, you would have had a fit.  I think she finally got the gist from my facial expressions and backed back a few inches.  She introduced me to several new exercises, like the dead bug, the dead roach, the bird dog, and some other name for the exercise where you slide down the wall with the stability ball on your back.  I was there with her for a good hour or more.  At the end of our session, she applied moist heat to my back to help with the soreness that I might develop from those exercises.  This was a great session too.  I was so relaxed when I left.  All that relaxation ended when I was 2 seconds from being involved in a pretty bad pileup on Hwy 70 on my way in to work.  Thank God for space and opportunity!  With a little space, I was given the opportunity to move the Honda out of the way in time to avoid crashing into the rear end of a PT Cruiser stalled in the fast lane; thus avoiding the pileup that occurred once I passed the stalled car.

That pretty much sums up everything that hadn’t been stated in the past two weeks.  I picked up my SI belt from Dr. Zimmerman’s office yesterday and was shown how to put it on.  After I tried it out, I instantly felt a difference in my back.  I think I should have been wearing this belt since February. 

I will be 6 months on Saturday, April 12!!!  This puts me at the end of the 2nd trimester.