3rd trimester

Good morning peeps. So by most books/websites, I've just started my 3rd trimester (there is one website that annoyingly assumes I'm a week behind, even though they have my due date right) which is a scary thing to me. This whole pregnancy-I'm-gonna-have-a-baby thing is finally real. Don't know if it's a mental thing, or because physically I've ballooned in size and feel a lot of the negative nearing-the-end symptoms. I have less than 3 months. Seems that around this time of year, Christmas comes up really super fast. Well this year not only will Christmas bring the normal presents and happiness, but a baby as well (or shortly thereafter).

So of course my mind is trying to be in a thousand places at once. In addition to the two accounting classes I'm meant to be focused on, I'm thinking about the nursery, reading up on labor & delivery (and gosh darn it, I need to find some people who've managed to go without pain meds and see what their secret is), breastfeeding techniques, the first six weeks with baby, etc. etc. etc. Then I panic about the sleepless nights, because I'm one of those unfortunate souls that needs lots of sleep to function properly. So on two hours of sleep, what will I do with the baby??? I'm going to need supervision so I don't accidentally put the milk in the bassinet and the baby in the fridge!

So there's a lot going on in my head. And around the house. Derek and I are getting the inital prep work done in the nursery. It's painted, and I ordered border so as soon as that comes in we'll put that up. And we got the crib from my parents (THANK YOU!!!) so after the border is up, Derek can start putting that monster together. Right now the box is taking up half our living room. Sateen likes to stand on top of it and pretend she's in a dog show. :) And yesterday I cleaned out the closet (that was a biotch and a half). One step at a time.

And that's what's happening now. Here's a few more weekly pics; 25ish weeks, 26 & 27

baby at 23 weeks

25 weeks (both):

26 weeks:

27 weeks (trying on a halloween costume I wore two years ago.)

And speaking of halloween, here's Sateen's costume for this year (a pumpkin!):

yey for pg surveys!

Momma to Be- Laura
Age: 27
Birthday: 5/11
Birth Place: Annapolis, MD
Height: 5'1/2"
Daddy to Be: Derek
Age: 37
Birthday: 02/22
Birth Place: Bermuda
Height: 6'

FIRSTS:
Is this your first pregnancy?: Yes

How did you find out you were pregnant?: Home pregnancy test

What kind of pregnancy test did you take?: internet cheapie, then FRER

How many? 1 each...for like 5 days in a row. :)

What were your first symptoms? cramping at 4DPO, slight nausea, and then never getting AF! Of course, I tested at 11 DPO so I was a bit impatient!

Who did you tell first? Derek. he didn't believe it (it was a faint line).

Who was with you when you found out? no one...Derek was in another room.

Was baby planned?: meticulously

When was baby conceived? April 15th. What a way to celebrate taxes being due.

How far along were you when you found out?: 4 weeks

My BABY:
Due date: 1/6/10

Do you want to know the sex?: I did

Do you know the sex?: Yes

If so, boy or girl? girl!

Any names?: yup. It's a surprise!

Any ultrasounds?: just had a third one this morning

Have you heard the heartbeat?: at every appointment

Who do you think baby will look like? I think it looks like she's got her daddy's nose, but I'm hoping she has my eyes.

Will baby have any siblings?: future ones, possibly.

Have you and dad felt baby move? I feel her a lot now, Derek hasn't felt her move yet.

When did you start to show?: I started showing for real around 16 weeks. Anything before that could have passed as me getting a little chubby.

How long could you wear your regular clothes? not very long. By 12 weeks I was having to use the bella band, and now it's 100% maternity clothes.

Are you excited?: more excited every day.

MISCELLANEOUS:
Did you have morning sickness?: not a whole lot. for a couple weeks. I did, however, have many many food aversions until around 14 weeks.

Did you have any cravings?: Fruit and milk. not together. :)

Did you have any mood swings?: I'd say I'm less moody now than before I was pregnant! Not that I don't have emotional outburts occasionally.

Are you a high risk pregnancy?: Not yet. I'm assuming that could change if I develop preeclamsia or something equally serious.

Any complications?: nope.

Formula or breastfeeding? I'm going to put all my effort into breastfeeding.

Have you bought anything for baby yet?: guilty. My mom yelled at me cause I kept buying stuff off my own registry!

Who will help with the baby after it's born? mamahead

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant? Derek being extra nice, people not letting me do anything like heavy lifting or getting up much.

What is the worst thing about being pregnant? the recent back pain I've developed is probably the worst symptom I've had. It's killer.

What's one thing you miss doing since being pregnant? sleeping on my back and stomach, drinking smirnoff ice, eating deli meat, dye-ing my hair, walking at a pace faster than a snail. :)

Any days you wish you weren't pregnant?: not yet. Haven't gotten to the 3rd trimester yet, so that answer might change.

Are you ready for baby? ummmm.........yes, no, I don't know.

Do you have insurance?: Yes

How many kids do you want?: 2 right now....but I should reserve final decisions for after labor & delivery.

Do you talk to your baby?: sometimes.

Do you still feel attractive?: eh. not really.

Have you had your baby shower yet?: Not yet

Do you like kids? oh that completely depends on the kid (and how they've been raised)...

How far along are you now?: 24 weeks

progression of bump so far

Hey all. Thought it would be funny to see how the bump has progressed since week 4 (GOD I miss those abs). I'll do another picture progression when I'm really about to pop. And sheesh, is it normal to be having insane back pain already?? I don't know what my back is gonna do by the time I'm actually sporting a real basketball belly. Snap in half, maybe? Okay so here's a little more than half the pregnancy (week 4 through 23 and a half):

4 weeks:

5 weeks:

6 weeks:

7 weeks:

8 weeks:

10 weeks (lost a week):

11 weeks:

13 weeks:

14 weeks:

16 weeks:

17 weeks:

19 weeks:

20 weeks:

21 weeks:

22 weeks:

and finally, 23 weeks, 5 days:

That's it for now! Gonna go veg up in bed now and try to do some homework. Oh and this Tuesday coming up I have a third ultrasound...apparently they couldn't see the spine at the last ultrasound so they have to do another one. Yey for bonus peak at baby!

update on the bump-20 wks

<--- baby "Jezebel" waving hi

Well,

it's been a while since I've posted anything here. Figure I'm at the halfway point in the pregnancy, so I should record something. :) So let's see, well it would help if I knew the last thing I wrote about. Hmm let me go look real quick. Okay I posted at 1o weeks. hahaha insane. Maybe when I get close to the end I'll post more...right now it's not the most interesting.

Okay, so let's see. I don't have a lot of negative things going on. No morning sickness, though I still feel sick if I eat too much. The pimples have gone down to a more manageable level (never gone though, I'm not that lucky), I get cramps after eating sometimes. And my back hurts really bad when I try to flip from one side to the other at night. I have a feeling that's an old pinched nerve injury that's come back to haunt me now.

Every now and then my hands or feet swell a bit, guess it's a tiny preview of what's to come. And my belly is finally starting to get round. Not that I hadn't gained weight...it was just a bit lumpy. Now that the little girl (we'll call her Jezebel going forward) is getting bigger, I'm finally looking pregnant. yey!

Hmm, anything else? Food aversions are pretty much gone (yey I can eat salad and meat again), though I eat at least as much as Derek, probably more. And of course we know we're having a girl (aka Jezebel. Okay we're not really naming her Jezebel, though that's not a horrible name.) Next appointment is at 23 weeks I think. Her heartbeat was strong, and my bloodwork was good.

So, that's about it for now. We're in Canada, so time to update my journal with what we've done so far. Might post about that at the end of the vacation. It's going to go by too fast! But at least when we get home we can get my dog. I miss her, and feel so bad that we couldn't bring her. Adios for now!

update on the pregnancy

So, I didn't realize I haven't posted anything in nearly a month. Wow, that's kinda crazy, huh? You must be drowning in suspense, wondering what has happened to me? hahaha. Okay back to reality. Um, well since the last time I wrote, I went to the doctor's for my first prenatal appointment. Found out I had a swollen ovary, which was causing the pain. The pain, thank goodness, is gone now. I have occasional cramps, but I think that's probably just normal stretching. So let's see, what else? Well, other than weeks 5-7, I haven't had much nausea (knock on wood, where's some wood??? AGH!). If I eat too much, I feel sick. Luckily there's an easy solution to that...I don't eat too much. Last night I slipped. Had an icecream sundae from friendly's. I think the combination of eating too much and too much dairy was the killer. I'm still suffering ill-effects from that stupid icecream.

I was always an odd one. So instead of morning sickness, I'm plagued with acne! Like, seriously I can't believe so many pimples can exist on one face. I'm trying to do what I can, but I'm limited in what products I'm allowed to use. Basically....soap. bleh. So, instead of puking my guts out, I'm wanting to walk around with a bag on my head. I guess some would say that's a good trade-off, but those people probably never had to look like a pepperoni pizza face. hehehe. I'd almost rather vomiting. :) Almost.

Um, um, oh I'm sure everyone by now has seen the ultrasound pic from 9 weeks, but it's cute so here it is again:

And next Wednesday I have my next prenatal appointment. This time with a midwife! I'd really like to go that route, so hopefully we hit it off. Unlike with my regular doctor, who practically blew me off. I'm just a tad bitter about that. hehehe.

Um, I think that about covers things. 10 weeks today, so um, 30 more to go? Around there anyway. I think it's nap time. The one good thing about the icecream making me sick? I had to call out of work today, which means naps and catching up on emails. Yey! Okay, until next time, adios amigos.

explanation that fits

Well, thanks to my buddy Tami and the wonderful tool Google, I have some peace of mind about the pain I'm experiencing. I've been having horrible cramps, but not really cramps. It's like a burning stretching pain that takes my breath away and leaves me incapable of doing anything. I thought for sure something was wrong (and technically something could be wrong, but no sense worrying until I get back into the country and see the doctor). But, then Tami mentioned round ligament pain, so I looked it up, and for the most part it seems to fit. I discovered that when I do much walking, or moving, the pain is horrendous the next day. So on my lovely Bermuda vacation I've been confined mainly to the bed.

I also discovered last night that I can't lay on my right side. Not if I don't want to end up screaming in agony. Left side is okay, but back is the safest bet. The only thing that doesn't fit is the fact that I have burning whenever I need to pee. Not burning when I actually go...just burning in my lower abdomen when I have to go. And at immediate care they tested for a UTI and it was negative. No sign of infection at alll. So that's still a mystery. But at least now I have something that seems to fit, and isn't detrimental to me or the bean. I had been thinking ectopic pregnancy, but there's never been any bleeding. It sucks in a way, because if it is this, there's nothing I can do to make it go away, except inactivity. Ugh.

But, I'm going to atttempt the beach today. It's our last full day here, and I don't want to spend it in bed. Secretly I'm a bit happy to go home though. I feel bad having to request foods that they don't have, being the odd one out. Soup and crackers are my friends. :) The nausea is starting to come, but it hasn't' been horrendous yet. Just this nagging sensation, like I've been on a ship that's going through little swells. And I'm soooo hungry when I wake up! I've got a stash of really bland cookies by the bed, and the first thing I do is munch on a couple. It's a bit of a dilemma, because the thought of most foods isn't appealing, even sweets. But yet I get super hungry so I know I have to eat something. That's why I'm looking forward to being at home, where I can buy all the weird food I want and not worry about inconveniencing anyone!

Whew, this was longer than expected, but I figured someone would be curious about what I'm feeling at this stage of the game. I think my body missed the memo that I'm not supposed to get a belly until the 2nd trimester. Man is it sticking out...guess I'm retaining mucho water. I feel like a blimp already. hahaha. Oh well. I'd drink more water but I hate the burning I get when I have to go. It's a bad cycle. Okay, gotta go suit up. OH! One more bad thing....seems I can't drink coffee!! When I try to drink it...the cramps come on almost immediately! So....for the first time in...oh I don't know, 22 years or so, I won't be having coffee each morning. Tylenol will help keep the headaches away, but I'm gonna miss it. As soon as this stupid pain goes away, I'm jumping back on the coffee wagon. :)

Adios for now!

my positive test

<--shirt I wore to my parents house to share the news.

So just a quick post...got my BFP earlier in the week. I tested again yesterday morning and my line was darker than the control line, yey! The next 4 weeks will be a bit tense...but if I can make it to 8 weeks, the chance of miscarriage drops considerably. Fingers crossed & prayers requested!

my positive HPT from yesterday, 15 DPO.