32 Weeks

Baby is the size of a squash.

• She's getting ready for her descent -- she's likely in the head-down position now.
• And she's probably feeling a even more cramped.

Due date: August 16, 2013

Next appointment:  June 27, 2013

Gender:  Girl

Total weight gain/loss:  31 lbs.

Exercise:   I only went on one walk this week.  I feel very ashamed of this and I know I need to get out there, even if it's for a short one.

Stretch marks:  None that I've noticed.  Still putting lotion on my belly every morning.

Swelling:  Not that I've really noticed.  Maybe slightly swollen ankles.  

Maternity clothes:  Wearing stretchy shorts and an over-sized tshirt at home.  I am down to about three tops and two bottoms for scrubs that still fit.  On the weekends, I wear my Old Navy maternity jeans rolled up into capris and my maternity shirts.

Belly button:  In, but looking tiny!

Sleep:  Not good.  I had some rough nights this week.  I would lay down, finally get into a comfy position and then just lay there wide awake.  Then I'd wake up every couple hours to pee, then go back to bed and lay there wide awake again.  It's been rough some nights.  Thinking God created it this way though so when the baby comes, I am used to being up all night.

Food cravings/aversions:  Loving juicy fruits, Vanilla Coke, and about everything else.  No aversions.

Symptoms:  Exhaustion, achy back and belly, no heartburn (yay!) not being able to bend over to tie my shoes, the regular.  New this week is that I've had a few sporadic Braxton Hicks contractions.  I will be sitting at work and all of a sudden my whole belly tightens up.  It does not hurt at all, only feels weird and definitely noticeable.  

Movement:  Most of the time she is positioned with her butt shoved up into my right ribs and her feet kicking around my left side ribs.  I can see and feel her move, especially in the area between my belly button and ribs.

Labor signs:  Braxton Hicks, if that counts.

What I miss:  I could sure go for a margarita at El Torro.

What I'm loving:  I love rubbing my belly and just feeling her moving (as long as she doesn't get into any uncomfortable positions!)  I especially like it when I can feel movement all over, almost like she's doing a dance in there.

What I'm looking forward to:  Can't wait to go on a little mini vacation to Effingham next week.  We will be gone Thursday-Monday, which will be a nice break from things.  Looking forward to seeing my sissy, Mom, Dad, Taffy, and Shawneetown family.

Best moment this week:   Getting a surprise gift off our Target registry - our glider and ottoman for the nursery!  Thank you, Lynn!!

 I love seeing how much my belly has grown!

31 Weeks

Baby is the size of a pineapple.

• She's going through major brain and nerve development.
• Eye development, too. Her irises now react to light!
• All five of her senses are in working order.

This was an awesome week!

*Good doctor visit - nothing new to report.  I will continue with a visit every other week.

*Anniversary - Red Lobster with my sweetie of 4 years and 4 of my favorite colored roses.

*Work baby shower

*Church baby shower

I wrote about my recent symptoms in the previous post, so I thought this week I could just share some pictures of the fun I've been having with celebrating the baby on the way.

My work baby shower was Friday, June 14.

We celebrated by bringing in lots of delicious food for lunch.

My friend Alexa made me a baby carriage made out of fruit.  It was a big hit!

My coworkers got Kyla lots of fun clothes, diapers, wipes, bath stuff, medical kit, etc.

and a big gift card to Target.

 

 On Saturday, June 15, my friends from church had a shower for me.

Brittany Adams was the amazing hostess and we had it at my house.

She did a fabulous job and we enjoyed eating funfetti cupcakes, veggies, chips and salsa, and punch.

The ladies from church blessed us with lots of cute baby girl clothes, a blanket, lots of nursing/feeding supplies, and other cute girly things like hair bows.

Now I'm enjoying looking through and putting away all the new things baby girl received this week.

She is so spoiled already!

Diary of a 31 Week Pregnant Woman

Diary of a 31 Week Pregnant Woman

Thursday, June 13, 2013

 Our anniversary.  4 years ago, I married my best friend and true love.  It was the best day of my life!  So today we celebrated by going out to eat at Red Lobster.  I just wanted to write a quick note though about how my pregnant self felt today.  It is hard for me to admit these feelings in writing because I like to convince myself that I truly love being pregnant even when it doesn't feel good, but in reality, today was the first day where I thought I didn't really want to be pregnant anymore. 

Yesterday, I had the day off work so I basically slept in and then relaxed all day just due to lack of energy.  I still managed to take a walk with Matt when it cooled off around 9:00 pm and made it through just fine.  Last night I did not sleep well.  I could not find a comfortable position, couldn't fall asleep for a long time, then we had storms roll through that woke me up. 

This morning I felt so exhausted.  Almost like I hadn't even slept at all.  I felt shaky and weak when I got to work.  I felt a little better after I ate some snacks, but then the rest of the day my back hurt and my stomach felt so swollen it could burst apart.  (especially after eating lunch) The baby likes to move around a lot now and sometimes she pushes so hard on my lungs that it makes it hard to breathe.  

I actually had the thought, "what if every day is like this for the next 9 weeks?"  If so, it will be a struggle to make it without having a few meltdowns.  I know that there will be bad days like today but I just didn't realize that all these symptoms would hit at once.  Of course I am emotional so even thinking about how much I ache and how tired I am makes me want to cry, but I don't have the energy to produce tears.  In times like these, all I can do is rely on God to give me the strength to get through the day and pray for a good night's rest and a better day tomorrow.

(PS- I am using my blog as an open confessional today so that I can look back and remember times like these.  I don't complain often, so I will probably forget I even had a day like today by the time I want another baby.  I need a good reality check every so often.)

30 Weeks

Baby is the size of a cucumber.  (Not sure how this is a logical comparison.  Maybe the length?  She certainly weights for than one.)

•  Her skin is getting smoother.
• But her brain is getting wrinklier -- to make way for all that essential brain tissue.
• She's now strong enough to grasp a finger!

Wow, what a milestone to have reached for this pregnancy.  30 weeks have gone by since we conceived our baby, and now she only has ten weeks or less to cook until we get to meet her!  I'm pretty excited to be at this point, and I am definitely ready to be holding a sweet bundle of joy in my arms.

SYMPTOMS:  I have been struck by the third trimester exhaustion pregnant women talk about.   I can go to bed early, fall asleep in five seconds, sleep off and on all night, and wake up and feel like I need a nap already.  I get tired doing easy things like going for a walk or doing dishes.  I take naps whenever I feel like it because well, I just can't keep my eyes open.  I blame this is partly on pregnancy but I'm sure it can mostly be blamed on the exhausting work schedule I have had the past two weeks.  By the end of the work day, I am ready to rest in the recliner for the remainder of the evening, then go to bed.  I have not really had any other symptoms other than increased discharge and sore ribs. The nausea has come back once in a while and I even had a random throw up one night (I do not miss that and I hope it is not back to stay until the end).  I did not gain any weight this week.

NURSERY PROGRESS:  The painting is finally done!  Wow, it only took a month to do it and we will never paint another room again but I'm so glad it's done.  I love the color.  The crib and bedding are all put together and looking beautiful.  I did some organizing of all the things Matt's sister brought over and put light switch covers back on.  I also bought two drawer bins for the changing table from Target.  It's coming together.  I will post more pictures as it looks more like a nursery.

APPOINTMENTS:  I did not have any appointments this week.  My next check up and ultrasound is this coming Tuesday.

UPCOMING EVENTS:  This next will be exciting because we have a doctor's appointment, our 4 year anniversary, and two baby showers before the week ends.  Can't wait!

 A progression picture.  20 weeks was the only week I missed taking photos in the sun room, but I still found a bump picture my Mom took when she was here visiting that weekend.  It goes from tiny, to noticeable, to huge. It's fun to look back on pre-pregnancy pictures.  Makes me feel like I was pretty skinny even if I felt fat back then.

29 Weeks

Baby is the size of an acorn squash.

• She's getting a little cramped in there, since she's growing so fast. But you probably already realize that, since you're getting all those jabs and kicks.
• She's growing white fat deposits under her skin, and her energy is surging because of it.
• Feel a subtle twitch? It might be baby hiccupping.

This has been a good week.  We got to visit with Matt's mom, dad, three sisters and their babies for Memorial Day weekend.  Mindy brought us a ton of her daughter's hand me down clothes and toys for our baby when she arrives.  We are very appreciative of that!  It was great to see all the babies as they are now 7 and 10 months old already.  They grow so fast.  We went shopping and Mom Focht bought the baby some new clothes.  We had a very fun weekend.

As far as pregnancy symptoms go, I have been getting tired a bit more easily from things like walking around shopping for a couple hours or doing a ton of housework in one day.  I'm still working on putting together the nursery...just waiting on some finishing touch up with the paint and then we'll put the crib together.  It's coming together nicely as we add more things for baby girl.  

She has really been punching and kicking me, especially near the ribs.  I haven't had any really painful kicks yet, but sometimes I feel extremely uncomfortable when she is moving around, getting into a different position.  Sometimes it makes it hard for me to catch my breath.  Also I can really tell when she is near my bladder because it gives me a sudden urge to urinate or a weird tingly feeling.

As far as aches and pains, my pubic bone was really sore off and on for a couple days this week.  My lower back on the right side is really stiff off and on.  Still no stretch marks and I still have an innie belly button.  Heartburn wasn't nearly as bad this week, and acne is still gone.  Yay!  I have noticed that my body has decided that it needs to store excess fat in my legs and butt (up to 27 lbs all together).  I'm not a fan of this, but it will give me an even better reason to get back in shape after baby arrives.

I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday with Dr. Guy.  He said everything is looking great and "she is really growing now".  He is very encouraging and such a good Christian influence.  I wanted to make sure that too much work-related stress would not be harmful to me or the baby and he reassured me that mental stress does not really cause problems with baby's health.  He reminded me to pray always and post some scriptures around my desk to stay focused during the work day.  What an awesome guy!  Now my check up appointments will be every two weeks. 

 Not much else to update on this week.  Looking forward to hitting the next big milestone of 30 weeks for my next update!