Monday, March 31, 2008

Third Trimester: 28 weeks!


Your pregnancy: 28 weeks


How your baby's growing:By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.See what your baby looks like this week. Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing:
You're in the home stretch! The third and final trimester starts this week. If you're like most women, you'll gain about 11 pounds this trimester.At this point, you'll likely visit your doctor or midwife every two weeks. Then, at 36 weeks, you'll switch to weekly visits. Depending on your risk factors, your practitioner may recommend repeating blood tests for HIV and syphilis now, as well as doing cultures for chlamydia and gonorrhea, to be certain of your status before delivery. Also, if your glucose screening test result was high and you haven't yet had follow-up testing, you'll soon be given the 3-hour glucose tolerance test. And if the blood work done at your first prenatal visit showed that you're Rh negative, you'll get an injection of Rh immunoglobulin to prevent your body from developing antibodies that could attack your baby's blood. (If your baby is Rh positive, you'll receive another shot of Rh immunoglobulin after you give birth.)Around this time, some women feel an unpleasant "creepy-crawly" sensation in their lower legs and an irresistible urge to move them while trying to relax or sleep. If this sensation is at least temporarily relieved when you move, you may have what's known as restless legs syndrome (RLS). No one knows for sure what causes RLS, but it's relatively common among expectant mothers. Try stretching or massaging your legs, and cut down on caffeine, which can make the symptoms worse. Ask your caregiver if you should try iron supplements, which can sometimes relieve RLS.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Focusing on the Good

I've decided that in order to life a happy, healthy and successful life it's important to focus on the good. I am the type of person that gets caught up in the bad - so much so that it can consume me and physically impact my life. You know that feeling... the one in the pit of your stomach? The one that warms you of some sort of impending doom? Yeah, that's the one. I get that when I'm stressed and focusing on the bad. I did it yesterday, twice. And you know what? I realized that there's not a whole lot I can do to change things and my attitude and physical well-being impact another being, one wholey dependant on me, so I better shape up. It's just not worth it to worry about things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of life. I'm healthy, happy, supported and loved. And I'm growing a beautiful baby boy that I will get to meet in just 11 short weeks.

So when my disillusioned self realizes that when you put yourself out there you will sometimes get burned? Well, let it sting for a bit, and then come to terms with the fact that that chapter is closed (YAY!!!) and those people truly weren't your friends to begin with. It's a sobering thought. Friends have always been fairly difficult for me to find and keep. It always feels a bit awkward with me, and I don't really let myself open up entirely to people in general. I'm pretty good in social situations, I can schmooze with the best of them. However, when it comes down to being a friend, maybe I'm destined to have just a few really good ones in life. Family has always meant more to me than friends. Family may drive you crazy, but they are always there, always supportive in the long run, and don't judge you for the choices you make in life.

So, it's time to pull myself up by my figurative bootstraps, officially close the chapter and just be happy knowing the truth about myself, even if so many others have a different idea. I've got bigger and better things waiting for me in my future and I have my best friend in the whole world to share it with.
I love you PB.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

27 weeks (or 3 months left)

Wow. Life really does come at you fast - isn't that how the commercial goes? Anyway, I've been MIA for the last 6 weeks or so, with very good reason.


A quick update. PB and I finally made it official on 2/22/08. We had a beautiful wedding just the two of us in the mountains of CO. I couldn't have been happier with how it all turned out. Perfect. That's really the only word that comes to mind when I think about marrying the man that is my best friend, confidant, lover and the father of my (soon to be here) baby boy.

Some pictures from the best day of my life (so far!):
We have also been to Minneapolis (work and play) and Phoenix (play) as well as accepting an offer on The house that will never sell. Well, guess what??? It actually did. We closed on it yesterday and while it hasn't totally sunk in yet, I'm sure that it will. I can say at the very least I feel a huge amount of relief - life a 65 lb weight has been lifted off my shoulders. So, we moved this past weekend (again!) and are now staying somewhere fairly temporary while we resave some money (getting out of the house wasn't cheap) and plan to buy our own house.
We are also about 3 months away from the BT's arrival - and I'm getting bigger everyday. I've been trying to be good - but with all the traveling and then the moving - it's been difficult to keep my eating and excercise on track. We're in week 4 of our Bradley classes and I'm really enjoying them. I've scheduled our hospital tour, will soon be attending La Leche League classes, and am trying to read like crazy all the natural child-birth books I have. It has become so important to me to do this naturally. Today I'm headed off for my standard glucose test, so I've been extra careful the last two days on my diet, hopefully that test will go well.
Other than that, we had a wonderful baby shower when we went home to AZ and I'm soooo glad that PB was there with me. We had three extra bags that were all 48-49 lbs each - just shy of the 50lb limit for paying extra :). There is absolutely no way I could have done that myself. So this weekend, we'll try to get settled in a little more, go through all the baby stuff and see where we need to think about filling in the blanks. I know work will have a shower for us as well but to my knowledge that hasn't been scheduled.
Well, that's enough of an update for now.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Month 6: Eggplant


Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Week 24 Appointment

Weight Gain so far:
8 week - 12 week appointment= 2 lbs gained
12 week - 16 week appointment= 0 lbs gained
16 week - 21 week appointment= 10 lbs gained (eek!)
21 week - 24 week appointment= 4 lbs gained
Total= 16 lbs gained

Heartbeat:
8 week appointment - only saw heartbeat through internal ultrasound
12 week appointment - found heartbeat with Doppler immediately and was strong in 150's
16 week appointment - found heartbeat with Doppler immediately and was strong in 150's
21 week appointment - found heartbeat with Doppler immediately and was strong in 150's
24 week appointment - found heartbeat with Doppler immediately and was strong in 140's