29 Weeks

Sunday, December 30, 2012

How far along? 29 weeks 

 Due Date: March 17^th

Total weight gain: Up two pounds this week. Total gain of 22.8 pounds.  Better than three but still.  I am so over the holidays.

Maternity clothes? Yes.

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Sleep: Overall better sleep this week except for last night.  I’ve been enjoying the opportunity to sleep in as well.

Best moment this week: Christmas.  We were able to see most of our families.  We enjoyed our last Christmas to get spoiled since from here on out, it will be all about the kids.  And even Lucky got spoiled especially for someone not even born yet!

Miss Anything? Same old, same old…

What’s Baby Like? According to The Bump, Baby is now the size of an acorn squash.  Which makes no sense considering how much larger a cantaloupe is than an acorn squash.  But whatever.   Baby is going through a growth spurt and putting on some fat.  Let’s hope so considering the state of the scale this week and last.  Supposedly Baby will triple in weight before birth, so I have more of this to look forward to (can you tell that the weight gain is not my favorite part of pregnancy?).   The Bump says I may also be able to feel hiccups soon, but I haven’t yet.

Movement: About the same.  Lucky just seems to know when other people are anxious to feel his or her kicks and just stops.  And, oddly, he or she seems to already know that Christmas morning means waking mommy up super early and kicked pretty much non-stop that morning from 4 am to 6 am. It’s the only time that’s ever happened.

Food cravings: Still milk.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No.  In general I’m just sick of food.  I think it’s more of an overindulgence at the holidays thing than a pregnancy thing, but I just don’t ever want to eat.  So I go far too long between meals and get starving.  Which then makes me tired and crabby.   Which is fun for everyone. 

Gender: Surprise for everybody!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Tired legs and feet.  No noticeable leg cramps this week.  Noticing that I get out of breath more and more.  And getting easily tired again.  I guess I really am done with the second trimester…

Belly Button in or out? Still in but pretty flat.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on but feeling snug when I get really warm.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Either happy OR moody. Mostly good days but these last couple I have just felt over everything.  And overwhelmed.  And just done.  I usually get like this between Christmas and New Year’s because I’m just done with the holidays, ready for life to be normal, yet not ready for vacation to end because I didn’t get done nearly enough.  I think pregnancy is just exacerbating my usual late December state of mind…

Looking forward to: Spending my birthday morning getting pampered: pre-natal massage, manicure, pedicure, the works!  Maybe that will get me out of this funk I’m suddenly in…

28 Weeks

Sunday, December 23, 2012

How far along? 28 weeks and officially in the third trimester

 Due Date: March 17^th

Total weight gain: Up almost three pounds this week. Three.  What?  And I’ve still got the actual holidays to get through…  Guess I am making up for the relatively low totals of the last two weeks.  Total gain of 20.8 pounds.  Yikes.

Maternity clothes? Yes.  Although I’ve realized that true maternity pajamas are hard to find.  Most are more nursing pajamas and the shirts aren’t necessarily long enough to cover the bump.  I may be sleeping in Alex’s pajamas before long…

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Sleep: This week I’ve started sleeping well when I first go to bed, but after the first time I wake up to use the bathroom, I struggle to fall back asleep. Sometimes I lie awake until my alarm goes off.  Sometimes I toss and turn.  And most frustrating of all, sometimes I fall asleep right around 4:45… Just in time for my alarm to go off minutes later…  I’m grateful for the good sleep the first half of the night at least.

Best moment this week: Quite frankly, that it’s over.  This was an incredibly frustrating and stressful week, and knowing that I’ll never have to live through it again was about the only think that kept me going.

Miss Anything? Not feeling like a house…

What’s Baby Like? According to The Bump, Baby is now the size of an eggplant.   Continuing to show brain activity, practicing breathing, and putting on fat – so maybe at least some of that 3 pounds went to plumping up Lucky instead of Mommy!

Movement: The pattern of movement is changing a bit.  I used to feel Baby most in the evening and when I first went to bed.  Now I feel most of the movement throughout the day with almost no movement in the evening / nighttime.  It’s a little sad since Alex now rarely gets to feel his or her movement (or anyone else for that matter), but maybe it’s a sign that this smart little baby already knows that nighttime is for sleeping.  We can only hope…

Food cravings: Still milk.  Not so much the peanut butter anymore.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Gender: Surprise for everybody!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Tired legs and feet.  No noticeable leg cramps this week.  Starting to feel out of breath when I talk for long periods of time.  Which is fun for a teacher teaching in 90 minute blocks…  Still feeling pretty great though.

Belly Button in or out? Still in but pretty flat.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on but feeling snug when I get really warm.

Happy or Moody most of the time: It’s hard to say this week.  I was definitely in a foul mood for most of the week.  I think my ‘Viola Swamp’ personality took over at school.  But I also think, given the events of the week, I would have been in said foul mood with or without pregnancy hormones.

Looking forward to: Having over a week away from school.  It’s a much-needed break.  And having Alex home for a week of vacation at the same time.  Also, random, but I’m getting excited for Easter.  It will be our first official holiday with a baby, and I’ll get to pick out Easter outfits and an Easter basket…. Is a few weeks old too young for an Easter bunny picture? And yes, I fully recognize my baby will have no idea what is going on, and that’s ok because it will totally be more for my enjoyment than anything else.  When do the stores start selling Easter stuff?????

27 Weeks

Sunday, December 16, 2012

How far along? 27 weeks

 Due Date: March 17^th – 3 months away!

Total weight gain: Up a bit under .5 pounds this week for a total gain of about 18 pounds.

Maternity clothes? Yes.  And still searching for some comfy clothes and some workout clothes and probably a few more pairs of pajamas; I really only have one pre-pregnancy pair that is comfortable. 

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Sleep: Still sleeping well.

Best moment this week: Celebrating an early Christmas with extended family; passing my gestational diabetes test in time for Christmas cookie season!

Miss Anything? Christmas cocktails – Guess I’ll have to replace those calories with cookies…

What’s Baby Like? According to The Bump, Baby is now the size of a rutabaga and is showing brain activity.  Hmmm… Maybe that’s why my brain activity is slowing down…    Length is 13.6 – 14.8 inches and weight is 1.5 – 2.5 pounds.

Movement: Still going.  Most of the movement is down low near my bladder, so I think Lucky is still breach.  There is some movement up by my ribs, just not as much.  Maybe Lucky is punching or head-butting or just somersaulting around.  All in all, the movement is mild in my opinion.  So far, I have a pretty chill baby in there.

Food cravings: Milk!  And peanut butter.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Gender: Surprise for everybody!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: I made it almost the whole week with no calf cramps then was awoken Saturday morning by simultaneous cramps in both calves.  Sigh.  Legs and feet still always tired. Pretty sure that will never go away.  Generally feeling great though.  Given the torturous looking list of potential side effects listed on the internet, I have nothing to complain about.

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on but feeling snug at times, especially when I first wake up in the morning.

Happy or Moody most of the time: I don’t think I had any moody moments this week, and when asked at a party, my husband actually said that I have not been moody during this pregnancy!

Looking forward to: Last.  Week.  Of School.  Christmas.  My Birthday.  Snow.

26 Weeks

Sunday, December 9, 2012

How far along? 26 weeks

(Bug hasn't been fixed.  I hate Blogger.  No photo again.  Good thing Facebook can actually manage photos.)

Due Date: March 17th

Total weight gain: Up .5 pounds this week for a total gain of 17.5 pounds; clearly exercise keeps the weight gain at a much healthier level.

Maternity clothes? Yes.  The question now becomes: How much longer will my winter coats last me?  I really don’t want to invest in a maternity winter coat, but they are starting to get a little tight, and I do still have December, January, and February to go… 

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Sleep: Sleeping well.  A bit like a rotisserie chicken since I wake up several times a night to switch sides, but I fall right back asleep, so I can’t complain.

Best moment this week: Last night of this semester’s class!  And thanks to Baby’s mid-semester arrival, I have to take next semester off.  Darn…

Miss Anything? Sleeping on my stomach.  And snitching cooking dough while baking Christmas cookies.

What’s Baby Like? According to The Bump, Baby is now the size of a chead of lettuce.  Baby’s eyes are forming and will open soon.  The eyelashes are formed, and he or she is getting their immune system ready for the world (and I have pretty kick-butt immune system myself, so soak those antibodies up Little Lucky).  Baby is also practicing breathing (amniotic fluid, not air).

Movement: Still going.  No big differences there.

Food cravings: Peanut butter and milk.  Protein and more protein.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Gender: Surprise for everybody!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Calf and foot cramps still occurring some nights, but they are nowhere near as strong as the first night.  Again, thank you exercise.  At this point, deep breathing and stretching helps relieve them, and there is no residual soreness.  Also, my legs and feet are just really tired in general. They don’t hurt; it’s just a fatigue that never goes away.

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on but feeling snug at times.

Happy or Moody most of the time: It’s kind of weird, but I am very happy during the week, and then very moody on the weekend.  I think I set my expectations way to high on what I want to accomplish in those precious 48 hours, set myself up for failure, and take it out on the nearest living being.

Looking forward to: Two more weeks until Christmas break!  And Alex is taking a week off too between Christmas and New Year’s, so it will be nice to have some relaxing, together time.

25 Weeks

Sunday, December 2, 2012

How far along? 25 weeks, and Holy Moly it’s December, which means it’s almost next year, which is 2013, which is the year this baby will be born… It all suddenly feels so close!

(no picture this week because Blogger is trying to RIP ME OFF.  JERKS.)

Due Date: March 17th

Total weight gain: Up 2 pounds this week… For a total of 17 pounds…  Oh boy…  It’s definitely due to my limited ability to work out thanks to school obligations, but at least I only have one more night class, so that will be one more free evening a week.

Maternity clothes? Yes.  And I think I need to do some more clothes gathering.  The non-maternity workout shirt I pulled on for the gym Saturday morning was a little, ahem, short…  I focused so much of my maternity shopping on the jeans and work clothes I was outgrowing first that I have almost nothing in the comfy clothes category that fits suddenly.  I’ve been scouting around online for workout clothes, but none of the tops really look like something I would sweat in, so I’m sort of at a standstill…

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Sleep: Still no complaints here.

Best moment this week: Kicking off the holiday party season!  Our last one for a while without the need to fight the baby-sitter battle. Enjoying it while we can.

Getting a god start on the registry.  I’m sure I’ll add and change things still, but it feels good to have some decisions made.

Miss Anything? Open bar on a holiday party invite just doesn’t have the same meaning…

What’s Baby Like? According to The Bump, Baby is now the size of a cauliflower.   Baby knows the difference between up and down, is getting bigger, growing more fat, and growing more hair.

Movement: Gradually getting stronger and more frequent in there.  They are also spreading out over a greater area.  For a while it was all on my right side, but Baby must be getting bigger or moving around more (or both) because there is now movement to the middle and occasionally to the left.  Also, Lucky’s Grandma Seger got to feel the kicks for the first time!

Food cravings: At the moment peanut butter.  Even when I’m eating it, I can’t stop thinking about it.  My first real craving!  At least it’s something with protein…

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Gender: Surprise for everybody!

Labor Signs: No.

Symptoms: Apparently the calf cramps I wasn’t sure were real or dreamt a couple weeks ago are very, very real.  I woke up late Friday night / very early Saturday morning screaming.  Scared the bejeezus out of poor Alex since for a minute I couldn’t actually communicate what was wrong.  Worst leg cramp I have ever experienced.  It is still sore days later.  I did realize though that both weeks this happened, I was so busy with school obligations that I didn’t work out near as much as I should have been.  And frequent exercise is one of the recommendations for dealing with this.  Good thing my Thursday night class is ending soon, so I can focus a bit more on my real priorities.

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on but feeling snug at times.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Extreme highs and extreme lows.   Also getting emotional more often than usual.  Something happy?  Cue the tears.  Something sappy?  Cue the tears.  Something cute?  You guessed it – tears.  Anything involving babies or children or delivering babies?  Cue floods of tears.  Truly sad things that normal people would cry about?  Nothing.  Poker face.  I’m weird.  (Unless it is something truly sad or tragic involving a baby or a child. Then I cry like I may never recover.)

Looking forward to: One.  Last.  Thursday night class.  Fan-frigging-tastic.  I feel like next Thursday night I should do something to celebrate my freedom. To be honest, that will probably involve a good workout, a hot bath, and maybe pajamas before 6 pm….