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 I can't believe I'm so far along that the 20 week ultrasound pictures are now outdated.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!
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!
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!
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!
