Friday, June 1, 2012

Week 23: May 25-31

At this point some of the pictures start being pretty crazy. Technically, some babies survive if born at this point so you end up with a lot of pictures of teeny preemie babies with all of the life supporting equipment they require. A big part of pregnancy at this stage tends to be high anxiety, which I have, and looking at all of those pictures is freaking me out. So no pictures, but you can Google it :).

Essentially, Sprout is pretty much all put together but his brain and lungs need lots of time to develop, he needs to get bigger, and he needs to put on weight. He's pretty much proportional though, just small and skinny.

Babycenter.com says:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

This week has been awesome because my parents have been here. They got in on Friday afternoon and just left this morning for the next leg of their trip. The week really flew by! We swam and just spent time together, we cooked and ate too much food, and they got to drive around with me trying to get my car emissions tested so we could register it. Long story short, I have a faulty sensor that makes my engine light come on, and if you have the car parts place clear it, the emissions test knows you did that, and you don't pass. Plus no A/C while you wait in line (twice) in 100 degree weather, yay! We're going to pay the $8 late fee and get it sorted next week sometime instead.

I am feeling more movement all the time! I don't think Sprout could really get a lot more active, so it's probably just that he is getting bigger and stronger so I feel more. There are times during the day when he is quiet, but there's a pretty consistent sense of movement at least if not actual thumps, bumps, or kicks. If I am laying still and he isn't, I can actually see his harder kicks through my skin, which is awesome. My mom has gotten a lot of time feeling him roll and kick and 'play with Grammy', but my dad has a harder time feeling him. Still, pretty cool!

Symptom-wise, I am totally having the anxiety that I remember from last time. A little is baby-based, a lot is move-based, and some is just random overwhelming anxiety for no reason.

My tailbone continues to plague me and is definitely hurting pretty much anytime I am sitting in a chair, or on a bench, even if cushioned. My couch is good, and sitting cross-legged seems to help as well as some stretches my mom showed me. Usually if I can get that bit comfy, my mid back hurts. We think I might have a rib that's doing something weird because it really hurts both near my spine and near my sternum. It's been giving me fits for a few months now, but the pain is officially constant this week and getting worse. I have the names of a few prenatal massage therapists but it's causing me (get ready for it) anxiety so I haven't called yet. I guess I need another day or two for the pain to outweigh the discomfort of having a stranger touch me, either in some place I've never been, or to have said stranger in my house. I can't decide which is worse.

I am big enough now that my balance is all kinds of out of whack, and when you combine that with the back/tailbone issues, it's a real hoot watching me get up and down. Or at least that is how it seems, since everyone keeps chuckling at me! There is also an occasional waddle sneaking through, and it's just going to get worse!

Sprout is taking up too much space in my abdomen now, leaving less room for food. I'm still eating plenty I am sure *eyes the scale* but sometimes I stop because my skin is stretched more than because my stomach is full. And if I do eat too much, Sprout lets me know, lemme tell you! He kicks and squirms and pushes, either because he doesn't like being squished or I am just able to feel him better with the extra pressure. Based on how he reacts to people pushing on my belly/doppler/ultrasound/etc, I am betting it's the former.

I haven't weighed myself today and I ate a bunch of oatmeal, so I'll just report the findings at the BEGINNING of this week. Which is that I lost 2 pounds of the 6 I gained on the trip. That puts me up a total of 12 for the pregnancy, and just 7 tiny pounds away from my delivery weight with Kian. I am, of course, not using that as a goal. And my OB said my weight is just fine! My appointment was the day before this 'week' started, but I'll just also report that I am measuring 2-3 inches larger than 'average' at this point. Since that was how I carried with Kian too, and I have had 2 ultrasounds, she said it must just be my body. But I am bigger than a lot of other pregnant women at this stage - it's not in my head!

Other highlights of the week included Family Fun Day at Purple Heart Park with Kian, Grammy and Papa on Saturday, brunch at Sweet Tomatoes and The Avengers with just the adults, and my 10th anniversary! Grammy and Papa watched Kian so Brian and I could go see Dark Shadows and go to Melting Pot for dinner. All in all it has been an awesome week in spite of all the physical discomfort. And yeah, I know I can't whine if I don't call the massage therapist to do something about it. Kian had his last official day of preschool a week ago and is now doing 'inter-session' classes. He's still going 3 hours a day, 3 days a week but a bit later in the day. Which means I have to pack him a lunch, so we are going to get him a real big boy lunch box this weekend!

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