Week 25: June 8-14

Fetus at 25 weeks from  ehd.org

I got the picture here and they have some cool pics for each week - you might want to check it out! There is also a neat video covering these weeks on this page at at babycenter.com. 

So Sprout is getting awfully big, and he is a crazy active, insane boy! He does have his quiet moments, but when he is moving around it's several minutes of non stop action. It makes me wonder what he will be like when he comes out of there! 

We've been talking a lot about names and are narrowing them down but the process has been a lot more difficult than it was with Kian. The middle name especially is giving us fits, as Brian doesn't like the one I love and he doesn't have any great ideas of his own. I hope we get it figured out before he's born :).

Though my OB appt was technically in week 26, I am happy to report that all is well, with a heartrate of 158. I am still measuring a couple of inches large, but that is 'normal' for me. I went to get my blood drawn FINALLY, figuring the gestational diabetes test was coming up and I needed to do them separately. Come to find out, I could have done them together :(. Oh well, one more blood draw won't kill me I suppose. The other interesting note is that I only gained one pound in the last month. Dr D gave me a kind of funny look and I told him it makes a difference when there's no trip full of amazing food in the month!

That means I am +16 pounds for the pregnancy, which is actually on the lower end of normal. Let's not talk about the fact that I am THREE pounds away from my Kian delivery weight. Eep. I am not really worried about it, but it does make me cringe just a tiny bit. Brian was asking me how much more weight I anticipate gaining, and of course it's really hard to tell. But I gained 29 pounds with Kian, and I have 14 weeks to go, so that's close to a pound a week and probably not too far off. We'll see!

The other big news is that I am finally getting a referral to a physical therapist for my back issues, thank goodness. I should have pushed to talk to Dr D himself when I called about the issues, I guess, because his front desk staff is not very good. The woman I spoke with supposedly talked to a tech and said I could see a prenatal massage therapist but had no recommendations and I didn't get very far trying to track one down. I feel much better about a doctor recommended, insurance covered physical therapist who specializes in peri-natal therapy. Phew!

In other news, I have started papercrafting again. Being able to get to  my desk makes a huge difference! I've made 4 cards in the last couple of weeks, and it is such a nice, peaceful past time. I didn't realize how much I had missed it. Now, if I could sit at the craft desk for more than a few minutes without back pain that would help! But luckily it's something I can do a bit at a time. Part of it has been learning some new coloring techniques, so Kian and I color together and it's pretty fun.

Let's see what else? Brian has his official orders and has put in a request for packers/movers. They come this week to do a weight estimate on our house. Yikes, I hope we come in under the limit! Especially since we're about to buy MORE bedroom furniture in Alabama and will have to move all that too next year :).

We have an appointment set with a realtor this week as well to discuss options. It looks like we will likely do a short sale, but we'll see.

I am trying to plan Kian's birthday party and I think we're going to do Chuck E Cheese. Now I just have to try to estimate how many people will come, without getting RSVPs because I need to reserve the space. Umm... ok. Well it will be an adventure, anyway! We are getting Kian a trampoline in AL at his 'second birthday' - we are asking family to send gifts after the move, and playing it up that he gets TWO birthdays this year. The last thing we need is more stuff to move!

All in all the pregnancy continues to be a difficult one, and my main stuff right now is the back pain (tailbone and rib/mid back), insomnia and heartburn. I am hoping some stronger meds on the latter two and the PT on the former will make me more comfortable. It's more real that there's really a baby coming, but I wish we all had more energy, time and focus for him. I feel like all the STUFF going on and the move take a lot out of us, and that it isn't really fair. Poor little Sprout. So I am trying to take some time each day to talk to him and think about him and get excited for his arrival. Right now I just keep focusing on and dreading the logistics, and my heart needs to overcome my brain!

Sleepless Nights

The pregnancy insomnia has hit an all time low and I just can NOT sleep. Two nights in a row I barely got 3 hours of sleep, and last night I ended up actually getting up and crafting for a while because I couldn't stand the thought of tossing and turning for another minute. We're talking up from 12:30-4:30 and then waking up with Kian at 5:30, with restless, light dozing in between, It's awful.

I am also still having major back/rib/tailbone pain and the combination is making me totally grumpy. My poor family!

Last night I finally went and got some Tylenol PM, which is what my OB recommended I start with. I only took 1 (the dose is 2) and as Benadryl usually does, it knocked me right on my butt. I woke up a handful of times but quickly fell back to sleep. Once I had to go to the bathroom but dozed back off before I hauled myself out of bed. Disaster averted - I went the next time I woke up - but I probably should not take 2! I don't really love the heavy feeling of medication induced sleep, but I really needed some respite. I don't intend to take it every day or anything, and I hope that this will reset my cycle so I can sleep tonight naturally. We shall see!

The other side effect was some really bizarre dreams. I have been having a lot of anxiety/nightmare dreams and there were none of those. Just... odd. One in particular was a dream that Sprout was really big in my stomach and he felt so strange moving around in there. At one point he turned around, like his head was sideways and he went vertical then horizontal again and it felt like his feet were up in my throat. A completely bizarre sensation and I have no idea where my mind came up with it! It is likely partly because he is SO active and getting bigger all the time. No more butterflies, bubbles or popcorn - there are feet and hands and the pressure of a little head pretty distinctly. I can definitely see my stomach move when he kicks hard now, and it's pretty rare for me to go any length of time without him pummeling me. At least he's still pretty small!

Today I have to go get the bloodwork I've been avoiding done. I know I am just going to have to go back to do my glucose test, but I keep telling my OB nurse that I forgot to get it done. So while Kian is at school, I am biting the bullet. Wish me luck! *faint*

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!

I Suck At This!

Big surprise, right?

To be fair, the weeks leading up to our Big Trip were totally overwhelming and I still intend to write up a whole trip report of our cruise and surrounding Florida fun. I feel like this pregnancy, in spite of being far more difficult than the last one, is going way too fast. I think it's because of all the other stuff going on in our lives. So today I am going to write up this last week (#23) and then go back to fill in later. Maybe.

Weeks 16-18: April 6-26

From the Texas Department of State Health website

Baby Center has some awesome info including a video about this stage of development  if you're curious.

By the end of week 18 (from smartmomma.com):

Week 18 shows the baby measuring about 5 ½ inches long, with a weight of almost 7 ounces. Along with the lanugo (downy-like hair covering baby’s body), the baby has accumulated vernix (a white cheese-like protective coating) on his body. This protects the baby’s skin by keeping it moisturized in your amniotic fluid.

This is the time when his vocal cords are forming, and he begins to practice vocalizing. Hhe will begin to cry, although without air, no sound will escape her. This is strictly for practice.

If you have a pregnancy ultrasound this week, the technician should be able to make out the baby’s heart well, including the ventricles and chambers. His brain is growing rapidly as well, and all the major areas will be differentiated. He is starting to respond to stimuli, and in the coming weeks, he will love hearing your voice.

An ultrasound will also now reveal your baby’s sex, unless he is shy and has his legs crossed. A girl will have her uterus and Fallopian tubes formed, along with her genitals and a boy will have pronounced genitals as well, visible with an ultrasound.

Weight: At my April 12th appointment I was up 5 pounds (total) and now at the end of week 18 I am up 6-7 depending on the day. According to the doc, that's all totally normal especially since I am really showing now. He would be happy with 5 pounds of gain every 4 weeks, and typical weight gain at 17 weeks is 5-13 pounds so I'm right where I should be. Phew.

Symptoms have been weird and I think I am getting the shaft this pregnancy! Off and on over these weeks I have had bouts of nausea that don't seem to be related to anything. My doctor theorizes it's just hormone surges, which may continue throughout the pregnancy. Does someone have pom poms I can borrow? One day it was bad enough that I had to pull over and vomit on the side of the road. That was definitely a low point. The last week it seems to be mostly better, though slight queasiness in the afternoon isn't unusual.

The round ligament pain continues, and is another thing that will likely remain throughout the pregnancy. I am learning how to make it a little less likely when rolling over and getting up and things, but it still gets me sometimes. My tailbone is way worse though, and sitting in an actual chair pretty much always means standing up will be extremely painful. Not looking forward to a cross country drive this summer!

Sleep is still either elusive or overwhelming. I don't seem to sleep very soundly at night and tend to get my best sleep after Brian is awake and there aren't two restless people in bed. Naps are also hard to come by some days, even if Kian lays down I can't always get to sleep myself. I tell myself it's just practice but I spend a lot of time pretty worn out.

A new symptom is mild Braxton Hicks contractions. I thought it was just weird pressure, but one happened during the ultrasound and the tech told us what it was. She said my body is just going to be super ready when the big day comes! It's not painful, just uncomfortable so no big deal.

I am definitely feeling movement regularly now, both pressure/rolling sensations and little feet and fists. Brian has felt some of the larger rolling movements but I can't seem to catch a kick so he can feel it. Since I sit with my hand on the baby a lot, I have felt a few from the outside, so it's just a matter of time.

Let's see... April 13th we took Sprout to his first air show, and Kian had a great time. We got to see some cool aerobatic stuff I've never seen before so that was fun. That evening my MIL Becky came in to town and stayed for four days. We went through the Saguaro National Forest, finally made it down to Tombstone, and had a date night to go see Hunger Games. All in all a really fun weekend! It's great when Kian gets to spend some real quality time with a grandparent, but always makes me wish we lived closer.

I have been spending a lot of time planning, researching and preparing for our big trip May 7-19, which includes a trip to Florida and our first ever Disney cruise! I am quite certain that it would have been a fun time with far less planning, but I've (mostly) enjoyed the research. Now we're coming down to final details and I'm starting to be anxious but I am sure we'll have an amazing time. It's sort of like a babymoon! Time to focus on Kian while he's still an only child.

The ultrasound gets its own post when I scan the pics in, but suffice it to say that all is well and Sprout is officially a boy! Though I am still not great at keeping this silly thing updated, here we are, all caught up. :)

Week 15: March 30-April 5

Baby at 15 weeks

Baby at 15 weeks:

Your baby is a about the size of an orange by pregnancy week 15, between 4 and 4 and ½ inches long and weighing more than 1 ½ ounces. This week your baby will start producing lanugo, which is fine hair that will cover your baby's body up until a few weeks before birth.

Your baby's bones are starting to get harder during pregnancy at 15 weeks and will continue to do so throughout your pregnancy. Your baby is spending most of his time practicing breathing, by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid. This helps your baby's air sacs develop during pregnancy.

Your baby continues to form taste buds at this point in time. Your baby’s legs are longer than his arms at this point. Eyebrows and hair may appear, and if your baby is going to have dark hair the hair cells which color it will start to produce their color.
(From http://momswhothink.com)

Weight: Vegas KILLED me on my super amazing no weight gain track record. I gained 5-6 pounds on that week, and though I thought I might shed a bit, I totally didn't. So, up 4 pounds!

The week after Vegas I was totally exhausted. I am sure part of it was due to the trip, but I firmly believe a big part of it was explosive Sprout growth. My abdomen is trying it's very best to stretch and grow appropriately, making for tons of round ligament pain as the ligaments thicken and strengthen to support the growing weight of my abdomen.

I also had a day with heart palpitations this week, which is a first for this pregnancy. It wasn't bad at all but I was a little dizzy and a lot tired. Dandruff is in full force, and the tailbone is still really bothering me. It's not too bad when I am sitting still (a little stiff or sore sometimes), but then it's excruciating to get up or walk. So reclining is best. Poor me, right? XD

I thought I might have felt a few tiny flutters of movement this week, but nothing significant or consistent and let's be honest, it could be digestion! I am eagerly awaiting the days of movement, because it still seems pretty unreal that there's a baby in there. In spite of all the other symptoms, I mostly just feel like it's been a really long and bizarre sickness. It isn't that I'm not happy, I just still can't wrap my head around the end result.

Brian flew nights most of the week, which just wreaks havoc with all of our schedules. He is home until 12 (or in some cases as late as 2pm) and then doesn't get home until midnight or later. It's hard on Kian when he finally leaves, for one thing. For another, I don't sleep as well without him here because I wake up at every tiny sound - and there are a lot of sounds in our house! This is hilarious because he generally sleeps like the dead and doesn't wake up to Kian screaming his head off, so on a normal night if one of these tiny sounds was a burglar or something, we would all be toast. :P Then he gets home in the wee hours and though he's quiet he almost always wakes me up. He turns on the TV, he can't get comfy, and then when he does he snores (sorry honey). And of course with or without pre-school, Kian is up no later than 6:30, which cuts my sleep short and interrupts Brian's cycle too. It's just not ideal and we have another week of it ahead!

The other big side effect of Vegas is that Brian took several days off and Kian was totally spoiled and stimulated almost every day! They went to the desert museum, they had a picnic on Mt Lemmon and played in the snow/went hiking, they spent a lot of time at the park and they went to a baseball game. They talked about going to Phoenix for ice skating and I think Brian is glad they skipped it because it was a lot for everyone concerned. The boys had a blast but Kian has been needy, bored and cranky all week. Having B here in the early day makes it rough too, like I said, because we are creatures of routine normally.

No suprise

It should be no surprise to anyone that I haven't posted in a month. Oops, bad me. I have been spending a ton of time trip planning, both for my Vegas trip and our upcoming FL trip/cruise combo, and my tailbone is killing me if  I sit in a chair for too long so my computer time has been limited.

Having said that, rather than trying to catch up I am going to make the next post about the past week, and then I will try to post some Vegas stuff. :).