Week 34

How far along: 34 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Savoy cabbage (19 inches, 5 pounds)

Milestones: The slippery coat the protects BB's skin from the amniotic fluid is starting to fall off and his immune system is improving. His lungs are reaching their final stage of development and he's continuing to put on fat to keep him warm outside the womb!

Best Moment This Week: My post-delivery work schedule was officially approved except that I have to work my hours from home at a particular time, not whenever I can get to them. It's a relief to have that finally locked down. I had my 34 week appointment on my birthday and BB's heart rate and growth still look perfect! My coworker made me a low-carb dessert that I ate right before my appointment, so BB's heart rate on the doppler was a lot higher than usual from the little influx of sugar lol. In two short weeks, we have our next ultrasound to see how big BB is and if he's in the right position. If he's over 10 pounds, they'll do c-section at 39 weeks, but otherwise, they'll wait until he comes naturally or induce me when my due date hits. I think he is in or close to the right position since I primarily feel his hiccups lower down, but I'll know for sure soon enough. Leif and I took a couple more classes this week - Baby Safety and Preparing for the Unexpected. Preparing for the Unexpected was pretty eye-opening, but I'm trying not to think about it too much. I was just shocked to find out that sometimes when you get a c-section, the surgeon sets your uterus on top of you to repair it! 

What I’m Looking Forward To: Even though I'm hoping to go into labor naturally, it's nice knowing that I'll have BB in no longer than a little more than five weeks from now. My friend just had her baby and she's been posting a lot about her extreme sleep deprivation on Facebook, but I'm hoping that Leif and I can tag-team it enough to keep me from hitting critical burnout.

What I Miss The Most: It continues to get harder and harder to control my gestational diabetes. My numbers have been spiking more lately, so my dietitian recommended eating the fewest carb servings allowed at each meal and see if that changes anything. So far, it has helped a little, so we'll see if it creates any long-term change. Still dreaming of the day when I'll be able to get back to eating my favorite desserts and snacks! 

Symptoms: As my belly gets bigger, it's definitely getting more tender from the strain. I also feel like my memory is starting to go a little (not that it was that great to begin with haha!) and if I walk too fast or for too long, I get random stabbing pains in my abdominal muscles. I had a moment where I felt like I was going to faint the other day, but my OB thinks that I had either been standing too long or was locking my knees, so she wasn't too worried. Other than that, it's been smooth sailing! 

Cravings: Thankfully, my family, friends, and coworkers have been really accommodating providing me diabetes-friendly birthday treats. I've been able to indulge in low-carb lemon-blueberry bread, lots of fresh fruit and some cheesecake.  

Week 33

How far along: 33 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Cauliflower blossom (19 inches, 5 pounds)

Milestones: BB is getting so close to being the size he'll be at full-term (which is 37 weeks, only four short weeks away!). He'll keep putting on about a half a pound a week until he reaches his birth weight. His eyes are almost always open when he's awake now (although I imagine the view can't be too interesting), and his bones are still a little soft, so they need more time to harden.

Best Moment This Week: Leif kindly built the majority of our baby furniture and spent some time further optimizing our space for all of BB's things. Now, I just need to arrange everything and put the few decorations that we have up! I still haven't received the final word from work, but it's sounding like my schedule will be working 30 hours a week (22 hours in the office and eight hours from home), so even though it's not ideal, I'm grateful that they were willing to meet me in the middle. BB will be at daycare those 22 hours, but luckily, I can clock out to nurse him throughout the day as my schedule allows. This schedule will be reevaluated after a year and I may go back to a regular schedule depending on how things go... but that's way down the line. I also got to attend a Mom's Night Out hosted by CR Mom's Blog, which was pretty fun. I talked to a lot of local mother/child-related businesses, listened to a helpful panel of experts answer common questions, and won a really nice car seat cover... one of the only items we were still missing!

What I’m Looking Forward To: Counting down the weeks until BB will be here! We have a few more prenatal classes scheduled, including Safety First, CPR, Medicated Birthing Options, When the Unexpected Happens, and a couple others. Our Labor and Birth Skills class went well, I learned a lot of ways to try managing pain without medication (it's hard to say if they'll be super effective, but good to know at least to help me stay calm) and learned about the different stages of labor. And, of course, we watched some footage of a few women giving birth! I was worried that this class would make me more anxious, but the way it was presented makes me feel better prepared and comfortable. St. Luke's provides a lot of tools to help make labor smoother too - aromatherapy, a jacuzzi-style tub, positioners, yoga balls, heating and cooling pads, and even comfort animals! I know that just having Leif there will make the biggest difference though, I can always count on him to make me laugh. 

What I Miss The Most: Still missing my pre-gestational diabetes diet a bit, but I've been able to branch out and eat a cookie and found a relatively low carb ice cream that I can have a cup of. I tested high a couple times this week, but it was due to not having time to take a long enough walk after eating. I've found that with dinner especially, I have to walk at a pretty good pace for at least 30-40 minutes. I feel like I'm getting into much better shape, though, and I'm hoping this will pay off with an easier labor! 

Symptoms: My belly is starting to feel stretched to the max! My skin has been really itchy on and off and even though I got away with not developing stretchmarks the whole pregnancy, they're finally starting to come in. However, stretchmarks are just one of the badges of motherhood, so they don't bother me too much. Many people are shocked that I still have about seven weeks to go since I'm popping out so much, but I'm guessing my frame just makes the bump look dramatic since BB is measuring normally. I haven't had too many other symptoms besides some occasional shortness of breath and rib pain.

Cravings: Loved the cup of ice cream I had the other day! Still eating a lot of meat and veggies, nut butters, cheese and crackers, and fruit.

Week 32

How far along: 32 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Florida pomelo (18 inches, 4 pounds)

Milestones: BB is sucking his thumb, sprouting hair, and continuing to make his way into birthing position. At this stage, most babies suck their thumbs so much that if it comes out, he or she starts scrambling to find it again lol. He has a full set of fingernails and toenails and is still practicing breathing and coordinated movements.

Best Moment This Week: It never gets old hearing sweet BB's heartbeat! It was in the 140s at my 32 week appointment and his growth is still right on target! My OB was happy with my ability to control my gestational diabetes with diet and exercise so far and BB and I had an overall good report! I lost a little weight after starting my new diet, so I was glad to see I gained a couple pounds back.

What I’m Looking Forward To: Now that I have a good feel for all the baby clothes we have, I just need to pick up a few more summer and fall items, which will be fun to shop for. This weekend will be very busy with our Birth and Labor class for five hours on Saturday and getting the crib and baby corner set up on Sunday, but it'll feel good to have everything finally done!

What I Miss The Most: Earlier this week, I had a really powerful craving for an ice cream cone, but I was thankfully able to overcome it. There are some other types of ice creams I can probably eat like Halo, so if it happens again, I might look into it! One thing my OB wanted me to work on is staying off my back when I sleep to prevent oxygen deprivation from the weight of BB on a major artery. I'm normally a side sleeper, but I switch sides during the night, so there's no way for me to tell if I've been on my back. Rolling up my robe and wedging it behind my lower back seemed to do the trick, so I'll need to make sure to keep doing that the rest of the pregnancy. 

Symptoms: I was pretty worried about BB earlier this week because he had another couple of "lazy days" where he wasn't moving as much without me waking him up. My OB said this is okay as long as I'm still able to feel ten movements in two hours during kick counts. However, today, he's been back to his energetic self, so that's a relief. I'm surprised I haven't had any back pain or many stomach issues despite my growing size, so hopefully that continues! Between the number of daily walks I take and my healthier diet, I've been feeling great!

Cravings: Since developing gastritis, I haven't touched many citrus fruits, but the other day, I had a couple Halo oranges and they were AMAZING! I had a little acid reflux afterward, but nothing too bad, so I might continue eating them in moderation. Still continuing with the cheese and Triscuits, fruit, almond butter and brown bread, and the occasional burger! Once BB is born and my blood sugar goes back to normal (hopefully), I will be having that ice cream cone! 

Week 31

How far along: 31 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Head of Lettuce (17 ½ inches, over 3.5 pounds)

Milestones: BB is about halfway to his birth weight with roughly three to five more pounds to go. His neck is becoming more flexible, so he can turn his head with ease, and his joints are also more fully developed now, making it easier to move every limb.

Best Moment This Week: With some of our baby shower money, I was able to order a few more things for our nursery corner like a lightweight rocking chair, a storage cart to keep diaper supplies organized, a storage cubby tower for baby clothes, a baby mattress, a set of glass storage containers that go from freezer to oven, and a couple decorative items. We’re getting the crib from our friend soon, so everything will come together in the next couple weeks. I’m really excited to get everything in place and do as much organization and preparation as possible before BB is born. A big thing I plan to do is make a bunch of freezer meals in advance so we don’t have to worry about cooking those first couple weeks at least. Time is moving fast now!

What I’m Looking Forward To: We have our Birth Basics and Labor Skills classes next week, so hopefully I’ll learn enough to make informed decisions, but not so much that I get psyched out! Actually, I feel surprisingly calm thinking about labor. I used to be terrified of the idea when I was younger, but I’d say it’s one of the less stressful things that I’ve had to think about during this pregnancy. Although, I’m sure this is all easy to say before I’ve even experienced it, so we’ll see what happens once the contractions start haha.

What I Miss The Most: The gestational diabetes diet has been going pretty well. I've already developed a lot of self-discipline from adhering to my gastritis diet, so this hasn’t been too horrible. I can’t say that I don’t crave an ice cream cone or some cookies once in a while though! It’s all worth it to keep BB healthy. I’ve been able to keep my sugars under control over 90% of the time, so the dietitian doesn’t think I’ll need to resort to insulin unless things change drastically. The key has still been taking at least a 10 minute walk after I eat. 

Symptoms: BB’s movements are pretty different nowadays, much more tumbling and stretching than jabs and kicks. Luckily, he’s taken a break from kicking my ribs and I only get pain once in a while when he hits a nerve or shoves me too hard inside. It’s taking longer and a greater degree of focus to turn over in bed and I get stiff almost instantaneously. 

Cravings: Been eating lots of berries, cheese and Triscuits, and almond butter sandwiches. I feel like this section is going to be a lot less interesting the last two months since my diet is pretty one-track now!

Week 30

How far along: 30 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Cantaloupe (about 17 inches long, 3.5 pounds)

Milestones: BB's lanugo or "furry coat" that's been helping keep him warm is beginning to fall off since he's putting on plenty of fat to survive without it. From this point on, he'll put on about half a pound a week until he reaches the end of his journey in-utero. His eyes are still developing and his eyesight will be fairly poor until some time after birth. In four weeks, he will have vision that's as strong as it will be at birth. By that time, he will also likely be able to track objects moving horizontally and vertically. He's also making his way into the head-down position he needs to be in for birth.

Best Moment This Week: This has been a week of ups and downs. My shower was absolutely wonderful, and I'm so thankful for all of the support and love Leif, BB, and I received. It was a whirlwind, but I'm glad I got to at least get in a little time with everyone who attended. I took my first gestational diabetes class on Tuesday and learned that there's a lot more that I can eat than I originally thought. Carbs are not only allowed, but required at every meal. I'm supposed to get between 2-4 15g portions of carbs six times a day. The tricky thing is finding the right combination of foods and activity that keep my blood sugar from spiking. The first day of testing, I had two high readings (I'm supposed to call the dietitian if I have three or more), so I removed pretty much everything with more than a little added sugar and started walking 15-30 minutes after eating. This has done wonders and I haven't had a bad test since. There have definitely been some moments of stress, but I'm getting used to it. If I'm unable to consistently keep my levels down, I'll have to start on insulin and get weekly ultrasounds to check BB's growth and fluid, but it seems like I've got a good enough handle on it (fingers crossed). I was told that with just having gestational diabetes in general, they won't let me go beyond my due date, so that rules out any later June birthdays! If the diabetes worsens, they'll have to induce me early.

What I’m Looking Forward To: More and more, I can't wait to meet little BB! I'm happy that I'm taking better care of my health and getting more exercise to help him develop optimally in these last couple months. This weekend, I'm finally going to go through all of the wonderful gifts we got at the shower and start organizing. We finally figured out a good solution to keeping our cats out of the bedroom/baby room - we're going to buy an extra tall pet gate (about 43 inches) that you can step through and if the girls can clear that, we'll stack another plastic baby gate on top. I'm really relieved since we were in limbo and all of our other ideas weren't working out. Once we get the gates ordered and set up, we'll start putting together the few pieces of furniture and equipment, then all we'll need is BB!

What I Miss The Most: Sometimes I miss not having to think about everything I'm eating, but I'd say the bigger pain is testing my blood sugar exactly an hour after my first bite of food. I'm a slow eater, and if I want to get a substantial walk in, I have to shovel everything down pretty quickly. At the same time, I like that my eating patterns have a more consistent rhythm, and I'm still feeling much better since cutting the sugar.  

Symptoms: Last weekend, I had a little scare when I had worsening upper right abdominal pain that they thought could've been preeclampsia. After running some tests, they couldn't tell exactly what it was but suspected that BB keeps repeatedly kicking me in that area. Thankfully, it hasn't been nearly as bad this week. My gastritis has been acting up a little most likely due to the growing pressure on my stomach and my pelvic muscles have been killing me, especially when I get up after lounging for a while, but otherwise, all is well!

Cravings: My favorite gestational diabetes snack has been one piece of whole grain bread with a few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter with half a sliced banana. I save it for my last snack of the day, so it's something to look forward to! Now that I've cut sugar for the most part, fruit is so much more delicious! I've also been eating more cheese and crackers and berries.

Week 29

*Wrote this last Friday... sorry that some of the information is outdated!

How far along: 29 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Pineapple (about 16 inches long, 3 pounds)

Milestones: BB is growing so big that he's starting to run out of room, so his movements are beginning to feel different (less uncoordinated kicks and more deliberate rolling and stretching). Other than that, he's continuing to work on muscle and lung development to get ready for his big debut.

Best Moment This Week: BB was really active the other day (to the point where I was actually getting concerned, if that even makes sense haha), so Leif got to feel him a bunch. I'm so glad I can depend on semi-consistent movements throughout the day as reassurance that things are going well.

What I’m Looking Forward To: I can't believe that my shower is almost here! I'm so excited to celebrate BB with everyone, but I know the party will be a whirlwind. I see that there's snow on the forecast, but hopefully it doesn't make driving conditions too dangerous for anyone. I chose April since I thought we'd be past all the cruddy weather but it's been a weird spring (even for Iowa)!

What I Miss The Most: As some of you already know, I was officially diagnosed with gestational diabetes last Tuesday, so I have to begin taking nutrition classes and monitor my blood sugar. From what I've read, the risk of complications is pretty low as long as it's managed properly. So far, I've been instructed to cut all sugar from my diet and space out my meals a specific way to prevent blood sugar spikes. I've already been feeling a difference. Despite the inconvenience (especially right before my shower!!... although cupcakes do freeze well...), I'm staying positive since this will only help me eat healthier and be more active. Apparently, between 10-20% of the population gets gestational diabetes and the majority of the time, the cause is ultimately unknown. I'll do my best with it and hopefully develop some new lifelong healthy habits along the way! 

Symptoms: I've been feeling especially heavy lately - I thought getting out of bed was hard last month, but now I have to always hook my foot under the bed and use all of my arm strength! Crouching down is also problematic... there was a time at a store when my legs could barely lift me back up. I've also been getting some different feeling round ligament pain, kind of like a shock or snap in my side muscles. I'm pretty sure some nerves are getting pinched too since once in a while when I bend my arm, it feels like electricity runs through my thumb, but that could also be my carpal tunnel acting up. Other than those things, everything is going smoothly!

Cravings: My new diet hasn't been too rough so far - I can still have cheesy popcorn and am allowed to have peanut butter sandwiches as snacks! I can have certain fruit, so that helps with my sweet cravings and I don't think I'll have to change my main meals that much since they're usually veggies and meat anyway. The only really problematic meal was my instant oatmeal breakfast with bananas and milk, but if I want to make it healthier, I just need to switch to steel cut oats, berries, and plant milk.

Week 28

How far along: 28 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Coconut (16 inches long, 3 pounds)

Milestones: Officially made it to the third trimester! BB's wrinkles are starting to disappear as he continues to put on fat to help him regulate his body temperature. He's also developing millions of neurons in his brain and spends his time blinking, sleeping, practicing breathing, and making more coordinated movements. I distinctly felt him have the hiccups many times this week so that means his repository system is functioning well! 

Best Moment This Week: The 28 week ultrasound went really well, everything looked perfect! He's three pounds, landing him in the 67th percentile, and he's growing right on schedule. I was grateful to hear that my placenta has shifted out of the way, so I won't have to worry about that as a possible complication. During the ultrasound, he was bottom-side-up, so it was hard to tell what we were looking at most of the time. The sonographer managed to get some shots of his face from an extreme angle, but BB didn't make it easy! He was holding his fists in front of his face, so the sonographer had to nudge him a bunch to get him to cooperate, and he started gasping in protest. I can already tell he has a big personality! There were a couple moments when his eyes were open and he looked incredibly mad that he was being spied on. Combined with his chubby cheeks, it was a pretty comical juxtaposition.

What I’m Looking Forward To: My friends and I had a final planning meeting for my baby shower a few days ago and I'm so excited to celebrate with everyone. The hosts have really gone above and beyond to make the day really special and I'm so thankful to everyone involved.

What I Miss The Most: The ultrasound part of my 28 week appointment went well, but I also found out that I failed my initial glucose test and am low on iron (requiring me to take a supplement). Additionally, I got my DTaP shot which is recommended for all pregnant women to protect the baby from whooping cough, and ended up getting pretty sick from experiencing all three events in one day. It was the first time I've thrown up in months and I felt completely wiped out over the next two days, but fortunately, I feel back to normal now. However, I have to take the three hour glucose test this Tuesday, meaning I have to consume twice as much sugar and have my blood drawn every hour. With any luck, I'll pass this one, but if I don't, then my diet will look very different for the rest of the pregnancy. We'll see what happens, but either way, I just want to do what's best for BB!

Symptoms: Rib pain has continued to persist, but it's a little better now that I stretch more every day. I've been feeling a little more emotional off and on and get hit with debilitating round ligament pain from time to time, but nothing terrible. BB is definitely putting on more muscle since his kicks wind me sometimes, and Leif was even shocked the couple of times he's felt them lately. He's reacting more to light and sound now, but his favorite is still me putting my hand on my belly. 

Cravings: Even though I'm still craving the same old junk food, I have to be more careful from now on! I'm trying to incorporate more salads and low-carb snacks like popcorn into my diet. I know that sometimes gestational diabetes has more to do with genetics than diet/lifestyle, but I still want to do as much as I can to help improve my blood sugar levels. I just need to make sure I still get all of the calories and fat I need to maintain proper weight gain!

Week 27

How far along: 27 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Bunch of bananas (15 inches long, over 2 pounds)

Milestones: BB's brain is developing rapidly at this point, and it's beginning to send more signals to the rest of his body. He is now opening and shutting his eyes regularly, dreaming, and coughing. Regulating his own body temperature and controlling his lungs are a couple other skills he's working on at this time!

Best Moment This Week: Feeling BB flipping around and more defined body parts poking through has been very surreal. He seems to like to poke out his head (or bottom?) whenever I touch my belly, which is really cute and makes me wish I could just hold him in my arms. There were a couple days when he wasn't moving as much and I started getting worried, but I had to remind myself that he might be facing a direction that makes it harder to feel kicks or he's just resting. Thankfully, the last few days he's been more active than ever!

What I’m Looking Forward To: My 28 week ultrasound is this Wednesday! So excited to see how everything is looking and to get some more pictures. I can't believe I'm so far along that the 20 week ultrasound pictures are now outdated. I'll find out if my placenta has moved... so we'll see what happens! If it hasn't, based on some research I did, they'll probably do one more ultrasound around 32 weeks and then decide the course of action. I'm at peace with it going either way - I'm just grateful that they're aware of the situation and providing BB and me with the best care they can.

What I Miss The Most: Each day, it takes more and more effort to find comfortable positions to sit and rest in, but at least I'm still sleeping decently and don't have to do a lot of strenuous tasks.

Symptoms: The rib pain is still persistent. BB has selected my far right side as his lounge and loves kicking the area. I get really sore after sitting at work all day and have to recline in specific positions to take the pressure off the area at night. Most people I've talked to said they had bad side pain as well and one of the only things that helps is stretching. I'll mention it to my OB next week to see if she has any other ideas to keep it from getting worse. I've also been waking up pretty sweaty, which I read is usually due to hormone fluctuations.  

Cravings: Getting enough calcium has been a challenge for me throughout the entire pregnancy since my vitamin doesn't have much and I don't eat a lot of dairy because of my stomach. BB is taking a stand because I've been having intense cravings for cow's milk, so I've been drinking more than I have in a long time. Luckily, my acid reflux hasn't been too severe in reaction!

Week 26

How far along: 26 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Butternut squash (just over 14 inches long, about 2 pounds)

Milestones: BB is busy gearing up for birth, from borrowing some of my antibodies so that his immune system is best suited to my environment to packing on more fat to regulate his body temperature. His eyes, which have been sealed for months now, are starting to open and he's becoming responsive to light. At this point, most of his development simply involves putting on height and weight.

Best Moment This Week: Spending time with Leif feeling BB kick has been a favorite activity of mine for some time, but lately, we've been able to do it more since he moves around a lot more. He's still pretty shy at first when Leif touches my belly, but if we wait long enough, he comes around. It's also really sweet when Leif talks to him about all of the fun things they'll do together in the future.

What I’m Looking Forward To: Still looking forward to my shower, even though we had another hiccup. Toys"R"Us/Babies"R"Us announced that they're closing most if not all of their stores, and even though I've read claims that this won't affect online baby registries, I created a backup one at Target that I'm directing people to. Also, we have another baby class this weekend - this one's for breastfeeding. The last one we took was Baby Basics, which was very helpful. It covered bathing, changing, burping, comforting holds, safe sleep, and even baby massages. The best things were getting hands-on practice and receiving a ton of informative hand-outs which I'm putting in an easy-to-reference binder. I adjusted my registry after learning about the different products and items they use at the hospital, and feel a lot better about my selections now. I know breastfeeding is usually challenging to get the hang of, so I'm grateful to be attending a class to get a head start. We'll see how it goes!

What I Miss The Most: I can't say that there's anything new that I really miss this week, I feel like everything's going pretty smoothly for the most part. Occasionally, I have to miss out on certain foods and activities due to my restrictions, but it's nothing bothersome or different than usual.

Symptoms: A new one recently has been rib pain. It seems like BB prefers to rest against my right side, so it's made the area very tender at times. It helps to make sure I'm sitting up straight and avoiding leaning on my left arm which strains it. My belly muscles in general have been pretty sensitive and sore at times, and I've had an intense sinus headache off and on. I've also been getting a little more emotional from time to time. Nothing that's unbearable though!

Cravings: You guessed it - Cheese-Its have still been my go-to snack. Blueberry yogurt, apples, figs, meat and veggies, twice-baked potatoes, peanut butter cookies, and sweet potatoes have also been on the menu a lot this week. We also picked up a banana caramel pie from Aldi, so looking forward to having that tonight!

Week 25

How far along: 25 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Napa cabbage (14 inches long, 2 pounds)

Milestones: BB's lungs continue to develop and his nostrils are starting to open. His hair is thickening (although, there's a chance he might be a bald baby like me!) and he's developing a sense of balance, which will help him rotate toward his birthing position eventually. Based on the way I feel him move, it seems like he still prefers lying sideways like he's in a hammock.

Best Moment This Week: Lately, I've been feeling different movements such as an individual limb shifting back and forth and what I believe to be flipping. There have even been a couple times when I swear he was spasming. I was a little worried at first, but saw online that a lot of people experience this sensation and it can anything from BB's developing nervous system causing him to twitch to a case of the hiccups... so it's totally normal.

What I’m Looking Forward To: I'm excited to send out all of my baby shower invitations this weekend. I meant to get them out earlier, but I changed venues at the last second and had to redo the invitations. You should be receiving yours soon! Originally, we booked the library since it's one of the only free locations in town, but it didn't end up having enough space to fit everyone. Thankfully, my friend told me about the Raygun Community Room and it's so much nicer and has pretty much everything we need. The seating and tables are eclectic and there's all of this great photography of local musicians hanging throughout the space. It's perfect, and I'm so grateful for everything my friends and family are doing to help make the day memorable.

What I Miss The Most: As time goes on, everyday tasks become more difficult. The other day, I lifted a relatively light bag of laundry and ended up pulling a muscle and hit the bottom of my belly on the table when I sat down for dinner. No harm was done, but it's challenging being so conscientious of my shape and limitations all the time!

Symptoms: Getting some aches and pains in my belly muscles and for a couple days, I was severely exhausted to the point where it felt like I wasn't even getting enough oxygen. I attribute this to the growing pressure on my lungs and BB taking all of my energy to grow. I checked my blood oxygen and that looked good, so even though I'm feeling winded, it's not as bad as it seems. Also, getting a little nausea from time to time, but that's also probably from BB starting to push on my stomach. Friday at work, everything started to smell overpoweringly perfumy and I thought that it was all in my head when one of my coworkers said she didn't detect anything. I began to chalk it up to sinus issues or a phantom smell, but I checked with another staff member downstairs and she said an individual was dosing herself in perfume near the lobby, so I was just picking up on it from second floor. My nose hasn't been very powerful since first trimester, so I was surprised the super sense of smell came back so strong! At least I wasn't imagining things.   

Cravings: White Cheddar Cheese-Its have been my go-to, but I've also been eating figs, apples, bananas, and a variety of desserts. One of my favorite sweet treats this week was coconut cream pie! Still working on eating lots of healthy protein and fat to help fuel BB's brain development!

Week 24

How far along: 24 weeks – began September 11, 2017.

Size of Baby: Eggplant (13 inches long, 1 1/2 pounds) 😮

Milestones: BB's lungs are starting to produce the substance that makes them inflate when he has to breathe on his own, and his taste buds are developing, which means he'll soon be able to taste the stronger flavors of the foods I eat through the amniotic fluid. These first exposures to flavors can contribute to his food preferences, so trying to eat healthier foods is that much more important at this point... Each week, he puts on a little more fat and is starting to take regular baby-shape and the appearance of capillaries is giving his skin a pink glow. 

Best Moment This Week: It was a big week for us! We had my 24 week appointment which went well, BB's heart rate was in the upper 140s-lower 150s and he was moving so much that my OB had to chase him around with the doppler monitor lol. I'm measuring exactly on target and at my next appointment, I'll finally have my glucose test and another ultrasound to see if my placenta has moved. My OB said she's pretty confident it will move by 28 weeks, so we'll see what happens! Leif and I also began our long line of prenatal classes/visits yesterday. We began with a tour of the St. Luke's Birth Center. I was impressed with all of their offerings and feel like BB and I will be in good hands there. The nurse who gave us the tour was very thorough and walked us through every step of what to expect when the big day comes. They have a well-equipped NICU and the rooms are homey. Next Saturday, we'll be taking the Baby Basics class, so I'll let you know how that goes!

What I’m Looking Forward To: Can't wait until my 28 week ultrasound to see how BB is coming along. Based on other photos/videos I've seen from around that time, he'll look somewhat close to how he will when he's born. At the Birthing Center's NICU, they have a "wall of fame" featuring photos of premature babies side-by-side with how they look years later to help comfort parents in that situation. The youngest baby was about 25 weeks and was pictured cuddling with a Beanie Baby that was a little bigger than him. I can't believe that BB could already survive on the outside!  

What I Miss The Most: As my bump continues to grow, it's getting more challenging to pick things up off the ground and get out of the car and bed. I just have to take it slow and it's fine, but it's easy to forget my limitations and feel like an upside-down turtle. There have been a few instances where Leif's had to help me up when I crouched down to get something at the store, and I know it will only get worse!

Symptoms: The kicks continue to intensify! If I look at my belly when they're happening, I can usually see ripples and sometimes shifting. BB is still on a pretty set pattern of activity, so that makes it easy to detect is anything is off with him. I was told I can begin counting kicks since I feel them so well, so basically once or twice a day when he's active, I'm supposed to count how long it takes for him to kick ten times, and if it takes more than two hours, it could be a red flag. Otherwise, I've had a couple bouts of nausea, but it seems to have been related to getting overheated, so my OB once again advised to to drink more water. Still pretty tired every other day and have some back pain from time to time, but nothing too bad.

Cravings: Working on cutting down on my sugar intake a little with the glucose test coming up... easier said than done though. Multiple people have told me that they failed the initial glucose test because they ate something sugary and had to go through the three hour test and ended up passing because they were more careful about what they ate prior. I've been eating a bunch of Cheese-Its, figs, and nuts for snacks and same-old chicken and vegetables for most meals. Still love gyros and burgers when we're able to get them!