29 weeks

Do I really only have 8-11 weeks to go? Unreal. The first trimester moved like pond water, but so far, I feel like the third is flying. I'm afraid I won't get everything done in time! We still need to put together the dresser/changing table in the nursery, put stuff in the walls, and purchase a ton of general items.

Yesterday, we tried to go for a 3d/4d ultrasound. Liam would NOT cooperate :( We tried desperately for 20 minutes to try to get him to move so we could get a shot of his face, but no such luck. The tech explained that he was so far head down, that she couldn't catch the light a certain way. It's funny because just the night before he was transverse (lying across my stomach) and he literally moved into what is technically the correct position the morning of the ultrasound. I can always tell where he is because of his hiccuping. He hiccups at least once a day, but usually 2-3 times. Luckily, we get to back in on Tuesday night and try again. I hope he cooperates!

I am finding that I am just as tired as I was in the 1st trimester :( I can really use an afternoon nap, and when I don't get it, I feel like a zombie by about 4 or 5pm. I'm typically sleeping through the night (have yet to get up to pee since about 10 weeks!) unless I wake up to switch positions. I think I may have to bring out the Snoogle again because I'm having a bit of a hard time getting comfortable.

Here's what's going on this week:
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

How far along? 29 weeks
Total weight gain: 19lbs
Maternity clothes? Mostly
Stretch marks? Nothing new, still only a couple on my butt on the left side.
Sleep: Ok. Feeling really tired, but typically still sleeping through the night with the exception of waking up to change positions
Best moment this week: Having the entire family see my belly move.
Movement: Constantly. Especially jabs, rolls, and of course, hiccups
Food cravings: Nada
Gender: BOY
Labor Signs: None. He's head down, very low, but nothing other than Braxton Hicks on occasion.
Belly Button in or out? The top part is threatening to pop, but it hasn't happened yet.
What I miss: Being able to jet ski.

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully getting a real glimpse of Liam on Tuesday.
Milestone: 72.5% there! Wow!




















29w

Glucose screening drama

I did the 1-hour Glucose Screening Challenge on Wednesday. I actually thought it was not that bad, and the drink tasted like a very sweet, flat orange soda. I sat for an hour (technically 54 minutes) and had my blood drawn and went home. I was under the impression that I had to be under 140 to pass, so when I was told I got 138, I thought I was in the clear. Then I was informed by my doctor's office that I needed to be under 135 so of course I was right in this weird area. I was not happy. I was told I needed to do the 3-hour test which involves 4-5 blood draws, fasting before hand, and basically sitting in the waiting room all morning. There was a woman there at my 1-hour who said that she was miserable and that she hoped I didn't have to do the 3-hour. I was not too happy about this, and downright frustrated that my doctor's office had a lower cutoff than normal.

After doing some more research online, I found that the screening challenge was supposed to be a 50g glucola drink. I had 100g. I was about fed up at this point and thought my doctor's office was pretty much setting me up for failure so they could make more money off of me, so I was going to give them a piece of my mind! I got on the phone with a nurse and explained that I thought it was extremely unfair to have me drink twice the normal amount, take my blood before the full hour was up AND not accept my score of 138 with those 2 factors. She then informed me that I was supposed to only drink 50g and that the lab screwed up my test!! In fact, in the 3 hour test, they have you drink 100g and they want your numbers to be under 180 after the first hour!! So, clearly, mine was way below 180. She said I was off the hook. YAY!

So, it looks like I do not have gestational diabetes (duh) and I can go back to eating my donuts, cakes and cookies (just kidding!!!)

28w5d

28 weeks

Ahh.... just returning from our Babymoon. What an amazing weekend. We went to a beautiful Bed & Breakfast: FiveGables - we got in on Friday, settled in, then had a tasty crab feast at TheCrabClaw. We were able to sit by the water, and enjoy large shrimp and king crabs.


After dinner, we stopped by this Ice Cream Parlor for a couple of cones:





On Saturday, we had a wonderful breakfast and then headed out for a sailing adventure on the oldest working Skipjack, the Rebecca T. Ruark, on the Chesapeake Bay: http://www.skipjack.org/
We had the entire ship to ourselves, besides for the Captain. It was absolutely incredible. B and I got to steer the entire time, and he actually put all the sails up, and took them down himself. I was rather impressed!

In the evening we went to dinner at Sherwood's Landing which is inside of The Inn at Perry's Cabin. It was a beautiful upscale restaurant within walking distance of our B&B. We had a wonderful meal of crab spring rolls, corn chowder, steak, salmon and a molten chocolate cake for dessert!




After dinner, we took my 28 week photo (which I will debut below) and just watched the ships off in the distance. This morning, we had another wonderful breakfast, and headed for home. I was super sad to have the trip behind us. This evening, my nephew and mother-in-law have arrived for a few weeks. It's nice to have them here :)

So, here is what is going on with my active little chicken this week:

By this week, your 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 open and close his eyes, which now sport lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before he's batting those beauties at you.

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain: 18 lbs. ? (hard to say, since I just weighed myself at night with clothes on) but I definitely ate well on the Babymoon!
Maternity clothes? Still wear some non-maternity shirts and a skirt or two, but mostly yes.
Stretch marks? none on my stomach or sides so far. Fingers crossed.
Sleep: Still good. Have yet to wake up to pee. Fingers crossed on this one too.
Best moment this week: Having a BLAST on our Babymoon!
Movement: ALL the time - hiccups occur just about every morning at the same time, too.
Food cravings: Still nothing.
Gender: BOY
Labor Signs: None. The baby is still really high up, too. The longer he cooks the better!
Belly Button in or out? No poppage yet.
What I miss: Being able to see downward...

What I am looking forward to: Baby shower in 3 weeks
Milestone: 28 weeks is a big milestone for Liam. The next one for me is 32, then 35, 37, etc.















28w

27 weeks

I'm still really enjoying being pregnant! I wonder when that will end. We had our all day baby prep class yesterday. It was super informative, which was way more helpful for B than it was for me. There was nothing new for me! I guess I am well informed ;) Even the birth videos didn't phase me, as I've seen probably 50 on YouTube. I will say that the forceps delivery was simply awful and I would absolutely refuse forceps. Same thing for an episiotomy. I believe that natural tearing is the way to go - your body will do what it needs to do. There are way too many medical interventions out there which are simply unnecessary. Actually, the one thing I did learn was that the epidural does not effect your baby whatsoever. I mean, I knew it wasn't harmful but I didn't realize it has no effect. So, to me, it makes a little more sense to go that route now. Not that I was against it before, but I was a little hesitant because I heard of "side effects" on the baby, but apparently those are just myths. The thing which scares me the most about the epidural is the catheter. I know you can't feel it - it just freaks me out to no end. They put it in well after your epidural is in place, and they take it out just before delivery (I guess so you can pee all over your doctor!) Either way, that scares me more than a needle in the spine...

Here's what's going on with little Liam:
This week, your 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, your 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, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

















How far along? 27 weeks

Total weight gain: 16 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Mostly but I wore a completely non-maternity outfit to a friend's birthday party on Friday night!
Stretch marks? nothing new

Sleep: Pretty good for the most part. Have yet to wake up to pee in the middle of the night.
Best moment this week: Sitting through an all-day childbirth prep class (including post-partum and breastfeeding) and realizing that I knew every single thing that was discussed ;)

Movement: All the time
Food cravings: Nada.

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: Not at all. Still grateful for that. Had a couple of more Braxton-Hicks, but nothing major.

Belly Button in or out? Hasn't popped yet.

What I miss: my skinny jeans.

What I am looking forward to: BabyMoon on Friday!

Milestone: 3rd trimester :)


27w

26 weeks (and a day, oops!)

Sorry for the late update. Way too much going on this weekend to post :)

Friday was a relaxing day, filled with casual grocery shopping, brunch with a friend and watching some TV/movies. On Saturday we were prepping for the BBQ and Hot-Dog-Eating Competition, which ended up being a ton of fun. My wonderful husband placed 2nd after thinking he wasn't going to participate and had already had several hot dogs, a burger, a few beers, and food throughout the day. I didn't know whether to be horrified or impressed that he wolfed down 4 dogs in 5 minutes. The winner effortlessly consumed 10 dogs in 5 minutes. He then went on to have dessert afterward...

Yesterday, we got a lot accomplished with the nursery! Our dear friends helped us paint and then B set up the crib! So much fun.

I've been feeling pretty good. I've gotten some comments lately that my stomach looks much bigger than before, so I guess little Liam is having a growth spurt! As long as he's healthy, that's fine with me. I still have only gained about 15/16lbs and based on the pregnancy weight gain calculator, the avg. is about 17.5 at this point so I still have room to grow. I feel confident I will gain at least 30lbs but am hoping I can stay right around that mark... I just have to remember to drink loads of water. It's hard sometimes because I feel like I am drinking enough, but I know I have to have a few extra glasses on top of that!

Here's a development update for this week:
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. 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. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.













How far along? 26 weeks

Total weight gain: 15/16 lbs.

Maternity clothes? Mostly
Stretch marks? a couple smaller ones near my butt on one side.

Sleep: Pretty good though starting to get pretty tired in the evenings again.
Best moment this week: B coming home from the scary place!

Movement: A lot - and tons of hiccups, too!
Food cravings: Nothing notable.

Gender: BOY

Labor Signs: Not at all, thankfully. If I spend a lot of time on my feet or outside, I tend to get some Braxton-Hicks (I think).

Belly Button in or out? Hasn't popped just yet.

What I miss: Not feeling like I am going to topple over when I bend down.

What I am looking forward to: Making it to the 3rd tri next week.

Milestone: 26 weeks - in a better safety zone!


26w1d

25 week OB appt.

I had my 25 week appointment today and all is well with the chicken. His heartrate was 148. It's so funny to think it was in the 180's early on, and how much it has slowed (which is normal).

My doctor was running late (by about 70 minutes, which caused B to have to go back to the car and feed the meter, causing him to nearly miss the appointment) and when my blood pressure was first checked, it was a little on the high side (130/84). My doctor (who is my favorite in the practice, and was my GYN for 2 years before I was pregnant) took my blood pressure at the end and it was 117/68!! This is definitely good for pregnancy :) Not at risk of pre-eclampsia at this time :)

I did manage to gain 4.5/5lbs since my last appointment so I'm up to about 15 total. I *think* I can make my goal of 30 total by the end of this pregnancy. Even if I gain 35, that's still ok too, but it just means more to lose afterward!

My next appointment is on the 31st and I'll be about 29ish weeks by that point. Then my appointments are every 2 weeks until 36 weeks when they become every week. I also have to schedule my 1-hr glucose test for 3 weeks from now. Let's hope I pass on the first try and that I don't have gestational diabetes!!

25w3d