We have a squash!

So, I apparently count my weeks wrong. I am 29 weeks 1 day pregnant, which means I am actually IN my 30th week. Oops. Oh well, no reason to change it now. Just instead of what is happening now, all of these "growing" posts are actually what happened a few days ago. Oh well, no biggie.

I am definitely getting huge, fast. After talking to my cousin-midwife I am once again concerned about my protein intake. I failed my 1 hour gestational diabetes test, which isn't a HUGE deal, but it totally sucks. Even if I pass the three hour test, which I most likely will, it still means I had a spike in my blood sugar which isn't good for anyone. So my awesome cousin sent me this list and said the biggest deal is the protein. F. I hate protein. I am supposed to eat 80 grams per day. After working as hard as I could today to get more in my diet (yogurt, eggs for breakfast, peanut butter snacks, skim milk, etc) I am still only at 63 grams. Oh, and I am not supposed drink juice. Boo. All I am supposed to drink is water, milk and raspberry leaf tea--which tastes like green, not like raspberry at all. It is supposed to make my uterus stronger and prevent hemorrhage later. Awesome. So, I am trying to eat right and getting ready for the three hour diabetes test, which should be super fun. I almost threw up last time, so this should be awesome. I just hope I don't pass out from not eating for 15 hours and getting my blood drawn.

The baby is doing well, aside from him giving me diabetes maybe. He likes to move around a lot, more flipping than kicking. I feel him all of the time, sometimes it is painful, most of the time it isn't. At night it seems to hurt a lot, I am not sure why, maybe he gets stuck and then doesn't want to move, but if I am laying on one side and need to flip over because of hip pain I get intense belly aches. Or if I have to get up to pee, which is about every 3 hours. But it is sort of fun, I can kind of play with him. And when I talk to him, or Mike talks to him, he gets really active and moves around. I still feel him really low, like at my bikini line, which means that he is head up. It is not concerning yet, but I would rather him at least flip to head down sometimes. He mostly is head up or traverse.

In baby news, this is what Xavier was doing last week I guess :)

Baby's now the size of a squash!
Baby's energy is surging, thanks to white fat depositing beneath his skin. And since he's growing so fast (weight will triple by birth), things are getting kind of cramped in the womb. What all this means for you: Get ready for some more kicks and jabs to the ribs.

Your baby is about two and a half pounds and would be between fifteen and seventeen inches tall if he could stand. Your baby's adrenal glands are producing a chemical which will be made into estriol (a form of estrogen) by the placenta. This estriol is thought to stimulate the production of prolactin by your body, and the prolactin makes you produce milk. So even if your baby comes early, you'll still be able to breastfeed. Each passing week improves the likelihood that your baby will be born strong and healthy. His brain can detect rhythmic breathing and control body temperature, so he's less likely to need breathing assistance should he be born early. He's growing eyelashes, adding fat, and developing his brain. Because of brain wave activity, researchers have speculated that babies can even dream at this time!

And in mommy news:

Thanks to your ever-expanding uterus, it's time to welcome back the constant bathroom dashes. And try your best to forget about any emerging varicose veins -- they might be ugly, but they're harmless and should fade after delivery. Until then, avoid standing or sitting for long periods of time and make sure to get some exercise (it'll boost your circulation).

As the levels of prolactin increase in your body, your breasts may secrete colostrum, which can dampen your bra. Prolactin also has a sedating effect, and you may feel the need to take naps the way you did in the first trimester. Your uterus is now in a position where it exerts pressure on your bladder. Your frequent trips to the bathroom may also remind you of the first trimester. If you can, keep up your swimming, walking, yoga, or other non-weight bearing exercise, though you're not feeling as energetic (and as comfortable) as you did last trimester.

Fail

I did not show diabetes who's boss. I don't even want to post. That 3rd tri post was supposed to have words, lots of words. But now, I will probably not even edit it. BOO.

3rd Tri

Boring Week 27

Wow, the baby has been really active the last few days. I think he has decided he likes to chill in front rather than in the back where I can't feel it. I am not sure when he sleeps. He often wakes me up moving around and as far as I can tell he never really mellows out. I really hope me feeling sick doesn't affect him, but I am sure all of the sneezing, coughing, etc bothers him since it makes me stomach contract. Luckily I haven't had any more severe Braxton Hicks contractions, just a few little ones here and there. I am torn between really liking feeling him move and just wanting him to calm down for a few minutes. He is also really squirmy, and I am not a huge fan of that feeling in general, it is gross feeling, like he is slimy and slithery. I like it better if he just kicks or flips, even though it sort of hurts sometimes. I just hope I feel better soon so that I can pay more attention to him.

Baby's lungs are going through some major developments these days, which (combined with the opening of previously plugged nostrils) means he's now able to practice inhaling and exhaling. The lack of air in your womb means every "breath" is filled with amniotic fluid, but hey -- it's progress.
Your baby weighs about two pounds and is about 12 to 15 inches long, about the size of a small pot roast. If your baby were born now, he would have an excellent chance (85 percent) of surviving. He still isn't fully formed and would probably not be able to breath by himself. He would need to stay in an incubator to keep his body temperature regulated, and he would have a weak liver and immune system. (Fact: Babies have more taste buds at birth than they will have later in life. Newborns can sniff out and tell the difference between their mother's milk and someone else's.)

The weight of your baby is putting pressure on your back, which can cause shooting pains (sciatica) in your lower back and legs. Lifting, bending, and walking can make the pain worse. Warm baths, ice packs, and changing positions may help. The volume of your amniotic fluid is reduced by about half. With less cushioning blocking the view, you'll be able to see bony knees and elbows poking out of your stomach when the baby kicks and turns. As you grow, you may start to see stretch marks on your breasts and abdomen. You may also have a hard time bending over and tying your shoes. Your heart rate may have increased, causing you to feel flush and look winded with less exertion.

Trimesters

Trimesters in pregnancy are a giant scam. Or really bad math. Women are pregnant for an average of 40 weeks. That includes the two fake weeks at the beginning. Mathematically that is 13.3 weeks each, or 93.3 days each. It isn't like that though, at all. I totally understand this in the first trimester. Developmentally, the baby changes from an embryo to a fetus and major organs are formed. Medically this is significant. Women start to feel a little better, hormones stabilize, the chance of miscarriage significantly decreases and the baby can take more because risk to the brain and other organs is significantly decreased. So, I get the 12 week mark (even if you aren't even pregnant for two of those weeks). That leaves 28 weeks. Logicially, that should make the third and second trimesters 14weeks long. But it doesn't. Why? I have no idea. I have done a ton of research and there is nothing special that happens at 28 weeks that doesn't happen at 26. Nothing for mom or baby. In fact, there isn't even consensus on when the damn third trimester happens. Some things say I am already in the third trimester, but not my book or doctor. They say 28 weeks. Why do we say the third trimester starts at 28 weeks! This really frustrates me. It is just illogical. The third trimester should start at 26.6 weeks or at 26 weeks, but no, it doesn't. Lame. Oh well. My belly grows inches (literally) every day. It is getting huge. I had a really cute pic, but I accidentally deleted it. I took more. Here I am at almost 27 weeks, which is a completely uneventful week in pregnancy.

Possibly the Whiniest Post Ever

OMG I feel like shit. I cannot believe how horrible being sick is when you are pregnant. I had no idea. Yesterday I felt pretty bad starting around mid-morning. But I sucked it up and worked all day. By mid-afternoon I was thankful that I did not have kids at school because I don't think I would have made it. I went out for drinks with some co-workers from a previous job that I really wanted to see. Some of them I hadn't seen since Welby closed, so I was excited to see them and went even though I didn't feel well. On the ride home I started to feel really sick again. What is hilarious is that I just have a cold. I don't have flu or anything. I am not even that sick. I have a horrible stuffy nose, headache, my throat hurts and body soreness--more skin soreness, which is really common for me. In fact, my skin hurting has always been my complaint when I am sick. That is it. I don't even have a cough. If I breath really deep it hurts. Yet I am miserable. I may even be more miserable than when I had pneumonia, because when I had pneumonia the fever would make me delirious, I would choke down some pills, the fever would break and I would pass out for 4-6 hours, just to be awoken by the fever again. I literally just slept for three days during the worst of it. It was way more scary, and I totally felt like shit, but I was asleep.

Since I am pregnant I can't take anything. I get 325mg of Tylenol every 4-6 hours. That is nothing. So my headache, body aches and everything just remain. In addition to this loveliness, if I drink anything, including water, I get heartburn. Like all illness, it gets worse at night, so last night I was miserable trying to sleep. All of the pressure from blowing my nose was pushed into my ear causing a massive earache. Apparently that is normal too, but I have never had it. Advice online? Don't sleep on your side. What the hell am I supposed to do? I can't sleep on my belly, or my back, and now not my side. So I tried to sleep in the recliner down stairs and keep my head propped up with pillows, but now my back hurts like hell. My ear is better though, so that is good, at least it isn't a bacterial infection. Mostly I am just so tired because laying down causes heartburn or backache, so I am just trying to stay up until tonight when I can hopefully sleep. I suppose I need to eat something for gigantore, all I have eaten today is a bagel and fruit smoothie (both of which I regretted immediately due to the heartburn).

However, the most fun of all of this is the sneezing fits. If I am sitting down and I sneeze I am fine, which is good since I can't really lay down. However, if I am laying down to standing up and my body is extended the sneezing fits cause Braxton-Hicks contractions. For real. I was worried about it, but I looked it up. Sneezing can even cause labor if you are really ready to have the baby anyway. Crazy. It is just the force. But regardless, feeling like shit and having contracts sucks. Ohhhh, I feel like shit. Oh well, at least it isn't stomach flu or influenza.

26

Holy crap, I only have 14 weeks left! Less than 100 days. Shit!! I am feeling better overall because Colorado is no longer in the middle of an arctic cold front that prevents me from being outside for more than 10 minutes unless I want frostbite. Literally. I guess it was actually less than two minutes for exposed skin the other day. Don't get me wrong, I love not having to work because it is too freaken cold to heat our ancient building and kids cannot wait for buses, but it also means you have to stay inside. I get really depressed without the sun, and vitamin D isn't really the answer. So this weeks high 50s and Colorado's plentiful sunlight makes me a much happier person.

I am definitely getting HUGE and that is hard. Growing so fast is hard on your body--your bones, muscles, ligaments--really everything, are just not prepared for it. My belly hurts all the time, and the round ligament pain is sort of ridiculous. I also eat all of the time and am gaining the amount of weight I am supposed to in a month EVERY WEEK. However, I only have 14 weeks left, so I can do anything for three months.In baby news, he is finally a new fruit and is the size of an eggplant.
Baby's soaking up your antibodies, getting her immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and she'll soon be practicing the blink...perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes. Your baby weighs about 1 1/2 pounds and has undergone a growth spurt in the past few weeks. From weeks twenty to twenty-eight, he almost doubles in height and now would be about a foot tall if he could stand. This week marks a major milestone in your baby's hearing and sight. Your baby's hearing system (cochlea and peripheral sensory end organs), which began fine development during week eighteen, is now completely formed, and over the next few weeks, he'll become increasingly sensitive to sound. In about a month, you'll feel him jump if he hears a sudden loud noise. Sound passes easily into your uterus, which helps her ears develop. His eyes are almost fully formed. Did you know that all babies have blue eyes in the womb, no matter what their genetic inheritance is? A baby's eyes don't get their final color until a few months after they are born. The air sacs of the lungs, called alveoli, will be developed by the end of this week and will begin to secrete a substance called surfactant that keeps the lung tissue from sticking together.

In mama news:
Don't panic if your uterus suddenly starts tightening and relaxing -- Braxton Hicks contractions often begin around this time. They're simply your body's way of practicing and preparing for labor. (If the contractions are regular or particularly painful, call your doc just to be sure it's not the real thing.) Sleeping is definitely getting uncomfortable. Try sleeping on your left side. Your baby has to battle with your backbone when you're lying on your back, and sleeping on your back will also position your uterus over a major artery, cutting off blood flow. Between now and the next three weeks, you may be tested for gestational diabetes with a glucose tolerance test. This test requires you to fast for twelve hours and then drink a glucose-rich liquid usually in the form of a syrupy orange-flavored drink. After an hour, a blood sample is taken. If you do have gestational diabetes, you'll be advised to adopt a low-carbohydrate diet. Gestational diabetes is a temporary condition, which goes away after the baby is born.