I'm not pledging to be consistent about this, but I do feel like there's more detectable stuff going on in this trimester than there was in the last two, and I feel compelled to write it down.
Weight Gain: Not sure. My next appointment is Wednesday and I still haven't weighed myself since we moved. I'm a little worried I'm gaining weight fast, but we'll see.
Weight Gain: Not sure. My next appointment is Wednesday and I still haven't weighed myself since we moved. I'm a little worried I'm gaining weight fast, but we'll see.
Symptoms: Belly button, please stay right where you are. Don't pop out. Please? Because you're starting to look... strained.
Also, cramps and contractions. My legs want to cramp up if I'm not careful, and the ligaments or whatever in my lower abdomen - right above my hips - have given me a couple of "yeee-owch!" moments, when I moved too fast or tried to roll over in bed. And on one recent hot morning I got another round of quickly repeating, mildly painful contractions while I was walking to work. I drank a bunch of fluids and sat down as soon as I got to the office, and they went away immediately.
And... is this pregnancy related? Mild headaches. They come and go, and they're in my right forehead, just over my eye. I'm telling myself this is related to digestive issues and not pre-eclampsia.
Oh, and stretch marks on my thighs. It's interesting what bothers me (essentially, stretch marks anywhere else) and what doesn't. I guess I've never found my thighs to be overly pretty, so this is not really a thing.
Also, cramps and contractions. My legs want to cramp up if I'm not careful, and the ligaments or whatever in my lower abdomen - right above my hips - have given me a couple of "yeee-owch!" moments, when I moved too fast or tried to roll over in bed. And on one recent hot morning I got another round of quickly repeating, mildly painful contractions while I was walking to work. I drank a bunch of fluids and sat down as soon as I got to the office, and they went away immediately.
And... is this pregnancy related? Mild headaches. They come and go, and they're in my right forehead, just over my eye. I'm telling myself this is related to digestive issues and not pre-eclampsia.
Oh, and stretch marks on my thighs. It's interesting what bothers me (essentially, stretch marks anywhere else) and what doesn't. I guess I've never found my thighs to be overly pretty, so this is not really a thing.
Cravings/Aversions:Sometimes I want ice cream, a lot. Or chocolate. Apparently craving sweets is some kind of pre-eclampsia warning sign, so I'm trying to down a lot of protein and keep moving around a lot. But sometimes I do just eat the ice cream. Still not down with canned mushrooms, but I love fresh ones now.
I am loving: The occasional cool day. Wouldn't mind if they stick around!
I miss: Being able to roll over in bed. It continues to get more complicated, and it's when I'm sooo tirred and just trying to get comfy.
I'm freaked out about: Just gonna say it: pre-eclampsia. This is the first time I've been a little nervous about an upcoming midwife appointment, what with the (mild!) headaches. Please, please, please let my urine screen be OK this week. I'm not really swelling and I'm consuming more protein than I did when I was triathlon training... but I'm right around the same stage in pregnancy that my sister was when they gave her the bad news, and having a sister who had it means my chances are higher than the average mama bear.
If I can make it past this week's appointment, my next one will be at 36 1/2 weeks, which is a lot closer to full-term and would make me less concerned about horrible interventions.
I'm actually not sure which element of pre-eclampsia makes me more nervous: the prospect of having an induction/c-section forced on me, or the prospect of caring for a premature baby while recovering from a c-section. Regardless, I hope everything is cool on Wednesday so I can just take a deep breath and focus on fun stuff, like my brother-in-law's wedding.
If I can make it past this week's appointment, my next one will be at 36 1/2 weeks, which is a lot closer to full-term and would make me less concerned about horrible interventions.
I'm actually not sure which element of pre-eclampsia makes me more nervous: the prospect of having an induction/c-section forced on me, or the prospect of caring for a premature baby while recovering from a c-section. Regardless, I hope everything is cool on Wednesday so I can just take a deep breath and focus on fun stuff, like my brother-in-law's wedding.
I'm looking forward to: my brother-in-law's wedding! It's in less than 2 weeks, which boggles my mind because I remember thinking "I'll be the size of a tank at that wedding!" I think that means I'm approaching tank-size...
Milestones: Those weekly e-mails I get are now comparing the kiddo to some pretty large fruit. This week: cantaloupe!
And this isn't a baby milestone, it's a parent milestone: we found a pediatrician. She's within walking distance of our apartment, she's fairly young (but she's been practicing for 10 years), she has two kids of her own, and her general philosophy is very similar to ours. I expected we'd just be settling for someone OK, but we both like her. And her office offers free classes on different parenting topics, which is cool. So that's a big task off the to-do list.
Movement: Still good. Sometimes when I'm sitting on the couch, he stretches out such that I have to lean way back to give him room or else his whole leg is in my ribs. A few times he's kicked me so hard it did actually hurt. Watch it, kiddo.
Exercise: After months of walking and doing the same yoga video, I was craving something different, so I checked out the cheesiest pregnancy workout DVD from the library. It was originally filmed in 1988, and it has the unitards and legwarmers to show for it. And the music was awful. But I kind of got an OK workout following along with it. Then on Tuesday we went back to the library and I checked out another workout DVD: FitMom. Holy crap, this lady is hard core. And the workout was filmed some time within the last 5 years, so it's way less 80s. So on good days, I take a long walk and then do 20-30 minutes of the FitMom workout. And then I sleep!
Sleep: This is a new category, partly because it's the number one question I get: "are you still sleeping?" I've been surprised, really, at how this is everyone's first question. For the most part, my sleep is OK, though it's becoming more common that I'm awake from about 3-4AM. Sometimes I wake up to pee, sometimes to get a snack, but then I can't fall back to sleep too quickly. This is why I'm trying to work out more, as it seems to help.
The other funny sleep thing is that I'm apparently making wacky noises when I am asleep. One early morning this past week, DH woke me by asking, "is he kicking?" And I muttered, "no", and I was annoyed that he was waking me up, but he mis-heard me and put his hand on my belly anyway. Not really a big deal. But then we were talking about it at breakfast and he told me that I'd apparently yelled, "WHOOOOO!" in my sleep. Real loud-like, as if I'd just gotten pummeled. I have zero memory of that.
Diet: Pretty OK. We're eating home-cooked meals pretty much every weeknight these days, which is awesome. I'm all about desserts, but I've mostly been turning to cereal to kick the sweets craving, so that's not too bad. But I'd be lying if I said I don't have ice cream 2-3 times a week. It's so good! I'm such a stereotype!
The other funny sleep thing is that I'm apparently making wacky noises when I am asleep. One early morning this past week, DH woke me by asking, "is he kicking?" And I muttered, "no", and I was annoyed that he was waking me up, but he mis-heard me and put his hand on my belly anyway. Not really a big deal. But then we were talking about it at breakfast and he told me that I'd apparently yelled, "WHOOOOO!" in my sleep. Real loud-like, as if I'd just gotten pummeled. I have zero memory of that.
Diet: Pretty OK. We're eating home-cooked meals pretty much every weeknight these days, which is awesome. I'm all about desserts, but I've mostly been turning to cereal to kick the sweets craving, so that's not too bad. But I'd be lying if I said I don't have ice cream 2-3 times a week. It's so good! I'm such a stereotype!
Something nice: The experienced-mom network is awesome. A woman I worked with on a conference in January, who is located in DC, is sending a box of baby stuff my way. She has four kids and isn't having any more babies (and her youngest is the cuddliest squishy-cheeked little guy ever - he joined her at the conference), so she's excited to get rid of the stuff and I'm happy to have it. This is in addition to the box of clothes (including a dozen pairs of itty bitty socks!) I got from another woman who's worked with me on an annual conference - that one came from Iowa. I'm getting free stuff from all over the country! I spent some of the weekend sorting out all the new clothes, bath towels, and other things we need to wash, and I think we're more prepared for a newborn than I originally thought, which is great.
Also, I keep holding things up and telling DH, "this is SO SMALL!" Last night it was newborn diapers. They're tiny! Whose butt would fit in that? Awwww.
Also, I keep holding things up and telling DH, "this is SO SMALL!" Last night it was newborn diapers. They're tiny! Whose butt would fit in that? Awwww.
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Be nice, now.