Baby This Week | 30 Weeks

30 Weeks Pregnant

Folks we are officially in the 30s!  The 8th month is right around the corner and I have roughly anywhere between 7-10 weeks left until baby is here!
The Facts - Baby is measuring close to 15 1/2 inches long and weighs about 2 1/2 - 3 lbs. He or she now almost fills up my entire uterine cavity, and baby’s arms and legs have grown much plumper, thanks to the continued growth of subcutaneous fat!  By 30 weeks, little one’s eyelids open and close. However, he or she will keep his eyes closed for most of the day though. When baby’s eyes are open, they will be able to track light inside of my womb, though baby’s vision isn’t “perfect” or 20/20. Lanugo, or fine hair that once covered little one’s body, will start falling off this week.  In the coming weeks, the volume of amniotic fluid in my belly will decrease as your baby continues to gain weight and take up more space.  Baby’s brain continues to develop at a rapid pace this week as well.  Another interesting fact: baby’s grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger.
Baby - I can tell little one is running out of room.  I feel this kid from right under my boobs to way down low and all in my ribs, even going around to my back.  The movements this week, while stronger, have changed since last week.  I feel really strong kicks, but they appear to be slightly more infrequent than last week.  This week its more all over movement and rolls.  This kid is getting settled in and I'm pretty sure is head down.  The stronger movements are definitely higher up, and lighter movements down low, but definitely still noticeable.  Baby is more active at night as well lately and early in the morning.  This is different from previous weeks when baby tended to be more active only when I was hungry or in the evenings.  Little one seems to like salty foods versus sweets, which is so funny since I have such a big sweet tooth.  Baby seems to respond to savory dishes, rather than sweet ones.  I'm okay with that, hopefully this kid won't get my picky appetite.  Little one is still very interactive, so if I poke or mash my belly he or she will usually jab or kick back.   The same thing happens if I lay on my side, baby will start jucking and jiving in there.  It's so cute!
Me - I really think my appetite is picking up this week.  I feel like I have been all day every day this week.  Unfortunately the portions are still child-size, but at least I'm feeling inclined to eat more instead of having to make myself.  Sleepiness is in full effect for sure, which is why I think I have started to eat more.  The more I eat, the less sleepy I feel and I'd rather stuff my face than feel sleepy.  I am really liking Reese's Peanut Buttercups this week.  I didn't know those bad boys had 5g of protein in them!  I did know that they are one of the most fattening candy bars out there.  I haven’t been into candy very much at all while pregnant, and I'm really only eating like one a day so far.  I'm not concerned, just surprised that my affinity for candy has returned all of a sudden.  Weight is up 1 lb from last week, so that puts me at 140 lbs pushing 141 lbs. I have gained slowly, but surely and I'm very happy with that.  Still no sign of stretch marks, thank goodness!  However, my belly is itchy again this week, so I have been slathering on the moisturizers.  Hair, skin, and nails are looking good...not major or drastic changes. No signs or swelling and I'm still wearing my rings and such. 
Hubs -  As usual Hubs likes to talk to the baby and provoke it by shaking my belly (lightly).  However, baby is starting to fight back at the most funniest times like bedtime.  One night baby was literally kickboxing on hubs' back.  The other night I turned over and was the little spoon and Hubs put his hand on my belly and the baby was going wild in there.  I love that he can feel the baby and interact with it.  Its so nice to see him bonding with our child already. 
The excites builds!  See ya back next week for 31 weeks – eekk! 8 months pregnant, can’t believe it, but I love it!

Happy bumping!
xxoo,

28 Week Appointment Update

This past Monday, I had my 28 week appointment. I must say it went much better than my 24 week one.  No issues with weight gain or anything like that, so that was definitely a plus.  I had all the standard stuff checked out, plus the 1 hour glucose test.  Basically, I drank the drink at the beginning of my appointment, got checked out by my PA, scheduled my next appt, then waited about 30 mins to go down to the lab to have my blood drawn.

Alright, so here's the rundown on my appointment:

Weight:  141 - according to their scale w/ clothes on.  I'm about 139ish on my scale at home with no clothes on.  This means I'm up about 4 lbs from my last appt, because I apparently only weighed in at 137 at my 24 week appointment.  I'm supposed to put on an lb a week, so again, all is well with that.

Blood Pressure:  108/60, its usually 100/60 so nothing out of the ordinary.  I had also just eaten my two eggs that I was supposed to eat about 30 mins before I had my BP tested.

Fundal Height: 29 cm, I was 27w6d at the time so I was measuring really good.  Yay for baby growing good!   Good baby grow!

Baby's heartbeat: 141.  Nice & strong.  Its been in the 140s lately, I take it that it will stay around there. SD:  Baby was so active that the PA had to chase the baby around to find the heartbeat, on top of the baby kicking and jabbing at the Doppler.

1 hr Glucose test:  Short and sweet...I had the fruit punch flavor, it was chilled and good and I didn't mind it at all!  Its been 4 days and my PA said she would call me the same day if ym results came back abnormal, no new is good news!  Yay for passing!

Other stuff:  We talked about taking the Dtap vaccine, but I decided to wait until my next appointment, since I was already having blood drawn.  PA asked me about birth classes, which I'm already signed up for next month.  I confirmed where I will deliever, as long as I'm in Va at the time, so reassurance with that!  Hubs & I would would kind of like to know where to go when baby decides it times to come.  My appointments will remain at being every 4 weeks until my next appt, so I'll have an appointment at 32 weeks and then they will start being every 2 weeks.  That's actually good news, because the less they need to see you, the better.  I asked my PA if baby was head down since she found the heartbeat low, and she said it probably was but that they aren't concerned with the baby's position until 36 weeks.  Reason being is that baby still has plenty of room to flip and move around until about that time.  Some baby's even flip even while mom is laboring, so you never really know until its time for the baby to actually come. 

That's pretty much the gist of everything that happened at my appointment.  I'll be updating you all gain at 32 weeks.  I can't believe I'll be in the single digits the next time I update, that's wild!

Happy bumping!

xxoo,

Baby This Week | 28 Weeks

28 Weeks Pregnant

Oh my goodness, here we are again!  Another week of pregnancy completed.  I can't believe little one will be here in just 12 short weeks! 

At this point baby weighs 2 1/4 pounds about the size of a large eggplant and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. He or she can blink their eyes, which now sport lashes. With eyesight developing, baby may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. Little one is also developing billions of neurons in their brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.  The hair on baby's head continues to grow. Muscle tone in little squirt's body steadily develops, and even though baby's lungs are now capable of breathing air, it would be difficult for him if they were born now.

Baby - Can we say super duper active this week!  I mean, I know I say this every week, but this little guy orgirl is getting stronger by the day.  Its the craziest thing, because I thought I had a pretty laid back little squirt in there, but nope!  To my pleasant surprise this baby is hyper like me, and a night owl too.  I'm really starting to think this baby doesn't sleep.  I can feel him or her all the time, and everywhere, up high, down low...all over the place.  I love it though and it is so reassuring, given the fact that I have no way of knowing what's going in on there outside of what baby tells me from the inside out.  Like me, this kid likes to eat and it the most active when its time to eat.  After eating, baby calms down a little, but a few hours later its back up and going.  I'm also starting to see baby's personality which is really funny.  I simply just look at my belly and laugh sometimes when I see the movement, because I seriously wonder what baby is really doing in there.

Me -  I have been good, good and tired lately.  Well more like sleepy in the afternoons.  I have been napping most days or dozing off.  Its like return of the first trimester tiredness.  Fortunately, its not that bad and I'm still able to function.  My belly as always is itchy, but that just means I'm applying more Palmer's to it.  No stretch marks yet, yay!  I'm still growing gradually so, I'm hoping that will be my saving grace.  My belly was measuring 34" last I checked and I'm up to 139-140 lbs, which makes my overall gain about 14-16 lbs.  With 12 weeks to go, I should gain no more than 30 lbs, so I'm happy with that.  I'm also still not having any signs of preterm labor, thank God! I do think I've been having some Braxton Hicks lately.  They mostly happen when I need to tinkle, so I try not to get into a tight.  It also helps the more active and mobile I am.  If I'm sitting or lying down for a long time I tend to feel the tightness.  Speaking of sitting down, I notice when I'm at work, sitting in my office chair for long periods of time makes my hips hurt.  I'm not sure if it bad ergonomics or what, but it gets really uncomfortable.  Overall, things are pretty uneventful, and I hope it stays that way.

Hubs - We celebrated his birthday yesterday by going for Cold Stone Creamery.  He had chocolate topped with strawberries (fancy I know, right?!).  It was nice to spend the day together and he was able to spend sometime harassing the baby too, lol!  He like to wiggle and poke my belly to make the baby move.  Most times the baby kicks him back.  He has even gotten kicked in the face by the baby, because he will be up close to it talking to the baby and the baby will kick.  Its so funny!  Hubs also told me that the other night whilst I was asleep, he placed his hand on my belly and the baby was moving all kinds of crazy.  I think he thinks its as funny as I do.  We're both getting more and more excited for baby's arrival!  The only thing we need to figure out is where we are going to be living, but that's a whole other conversation for another time.

Until next time...

 

Happy bumping!

 

xxoo,

Baby This Week | 26 Weeks


Baby is the size of a head of lettuce, or just an actual head lol!  I can't believe I have something that big inside of me, its crazy! Baby's eyelids separate and the eyes are starting to open. Lungs are beginning to develop surfactant, which allows them to inflate. Baby has begun to sleep for longer periods as well.  Little one is about 14 inches in length and weights almost 2 pounds.This week marks a major milestone in baby's hearing and sight. Little one'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 or she become increasingly sensitive to sound. Very soon, I'll be able to feel him or her jump if they hear a sudden loud noise. Sound passes easily into m uterus, which helps the ears develop. Her eyes are almost fully formed, although they are blue, because 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. 

Baby's lungs continue to develop, and she is taking small breaths of amniotic fluid inside your womb. These small breaths are getting little one in shape for their first breath of fresh air.  Veins are visible through baby's transparent skin, but soon that will change, as it begins to turn opaque. If baby is a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

Baby – Can we say super duper active!  I literally think that this kid is awake 24 hours even though they say the baby sleeps majority of the time.  I can tell baby has gotten bigger and stronger by its movements.  Sometimes they even startled me because they can be a little intense.  Baby definitely seems to be a lot more responsive to touch and noise, more to touch most recently.  Little one likes to hang out all over the place and I can’t quite decipher whether he or she is head up or down.  Sometimes I feel movement way down low and other times I feel it pretty high up.

Me – Sitting in an up-right position for long periods of time is uncomfortable.  I’ve put on about a pound from last, and the belly is getting bigger by the day.  No swelling, pre-term labors signs, or other crazy stuff going on, thank goodness!  Sleeping on the other hand can be a feat, and not because I still get up throughout the night to use the restroom.  It’s because my belly is getting bigger and I’m having to figure how to adjust to it.  I’m seriously going to start putting a pillow down and having that next to my belly while I sleep.  I have also noticed that I’ve gotten heavier, or rather my belly has so turning over and even standing up from laying down can be challenging at times.

Hubs – As usual he is doing good.  I think the baby shower made the baby a little more real to him and he’s even more excited.  I really think he would like for baby to come out and automatically be 3 or 4 years old so he can play with baby, go places, and dress him or her up to look like him.  Hubs is working more, so he’s not home at night much, but always calls to check on me and baby and make sure we’re okay.  He’s on dinner duty for the next two nights, so I know we’ll be getting some good grubbin’!

Until next week folks…

Happy bumping!

xxoo,

Pregnancy Update | 24 week appt.

I must say that this week has been quite trying. Unfortunately my 24 week appt this week didn't take away from that. Now I rarely post things that are too deep or emotional, because I like to keep my blog a light-hearted and happy place. However, I do want my readers to know that I'm a real person, with real issues and that I'll always be honest with them at the end of the day, despite whether its something negative or positive.  Okay, so there's the disclaimer...now on to the appointment.

 

This was just a routine appointment, nothing special.  If you have been pregnant you know what I mean! It's pretty much the same drill every time; weight, blood pressure, listening to the baby's heartbeat, asking if your feel movement and if your taking your prenatals. Very uneventful! Well, this is what I thought it would be. In and out, ya know. Not so much!

 

My PA comes in the room and immediately asks me why I haven't gained any weight, and not even in a concerned tone, but in an irritated tone. I was taken aback, because I know I've gained weight since my last appointment. She said I hadn't and that I weighed the same thing I weighed last time. Number 1 I had way for clothes on last time I went to the doctor. Number 2 I had just weighed myself in the morning and saw I had gained a pound. Whatever...I wasn't going to continue debating. I simply told her that I had been eating, and eating well at that. Se even asked my husband who was there with me and he said the same thing I said.

 

Anyhow, the appointment seemed to have gone down hill from there. When she went to check the baby's heartbeat she acted like she was having trouble finding it. Usually she puts the Doppler on and hears the heart beat immediately and listens for a couple seconds and that's it. This time she held the Doppler on me for at least a min and I had to ask what the heartbeat was. Usually she makes positive comments and says the baby is active or that the heartbeat was good.

 

One good thing about the appointment was that I got a copy of my chart and a printout of the ultrasound report from the anatomy scan. I also saw from the report that I have an anterior placenta. That bad boy is in the front acting as cushion for baby. I've felt movement since early on, so I never had an issue feeling baby move early on.

 

Alright guys, I'll spare you another paragraph. Thanks for listening (well reading!)

 

Happy bumping!

 

xxoo,