Thursday, July 29, 2010

Week 28

Fruit/Veggie
Chinese cabbage (weight)

Size
Almost 15 inches, 2.25 lbs

Baby Changes (Source: BabyCenter.com.)
He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through the womb.

Best Moment this Week
This past weekend we went to Dallas & stayed with my uncle & aunt, visited our friends Jason & Paige, & got to see Chase & meet his fiancee Lisa. It was a fun weekend of hanging out, swimming, & eating yummy cupcakes. Oh, & I passed my gestational diabetes test, yay!

Gender
BOY! Elliot James.

Movement
Elliot is definitely getting to the size where his movements are starting to hurt sometimes. He sometimes, though fortunately not too often, kicks hard at my bladder. He pushes up against my belly button which hurts, & I've experienced a little soreness up near my lower ribs. He certainly is becoming a big boy! Last night Josh was talking to him & woke him up, then Josh put his ear on my stomach to hear what was going on in there (apparently he can hear gurgles of movement) & Elliot kicked him in the head several times. Josh loved it. I'm thinking that's the only time he'll love his son kicking him in the head. :-)

Food Craving
This week's fruits: Texas peaches, apples, strawberries, blueberries, pears. A slight craving for queso... we had some awesome queso at the taco place we ate with Jason & Paige at & I practically licked the bowl clean. Mmmm.

Sleep
I have been sleeping pretty hard lately, but definitely not enough hours. I'm so tired this week... I wonder if that is the new normal? Oh but I start to get uncomfortable in my hips toward the early morning hours, so that wakes me up.

What I am looking forward to
Not traveling anymore! We decided to make lots of trips this summer to visit people before life gets a little busier & less predictable, & it has been good & fun but we are worn out & ready to be here & have more relaxing weekends.

Symptoms
Nausea, exhaustion (more so), loose hips, back pain, icky stomach (besides nausea, I get full quickly then feel yucky & certain foods are not sitting well).

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Week 27

Fruit/Veggie
Head of Cauliflower (weight)

Size
14 1/2 inches, almost 2 lbs

Baby Changes (Source: BabyCenter.com.)
He's sleeping & waking at regular intervals, opening & closing his eyes, & perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, his brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning - with a lot of medical help - if he were born now. (Crazy! He's like a real-live baby now. :-) )

Best Moment this Week
Yesterday was a great day! I started the day off with some prenatal yoga, then after lunch I got an hour & a half prenatal massage. It was great! It hurt pretty bad when she worked hard on my lower back, upper back & shoulders, & they are sore today but I know they needed it. But the rest of it was very relaxing. Then I met up with my friend Angie at a coffee shop (that made a yummy iced decaf latte) & we chatted for 2 1/2 hrs, then my friend Lindsey called on the way home & we talked for over an hour! So it was very relaxing & full of good conversation.

Gender
BOY! Elliot James.

Movement
I can now feel body parts, although it's not always easy to tell which ones they are. Most of the time I think I'm feeling his rump over by my belly button, & the other night Josh & I felt something that was either a foot or an elbow. It's fun. :-)

Food Craving
This week's fruits: white nectarines, watermelon, mango, blueberries, apples, & bananas. I don't think I've really craved anything else.

Sleep
Sleep has been fine, except last night was horrible. For some reason I was waking up every 1 1/2 hrs or so, & was having trouble falling back asleep every time I had to go to the bathroom. I was having lots of dreams & couldn't get comfortable. Yuck. Hopefully that was just a fluke. Josh was gone too so that didn't help. :-(

What I am looking forward to
I feel like we're in the home stretch, which is crazy. From the fact that Elliot could be born now & survive (& look like a normal baby), to being in the last trimester & having my appointments every 2 weeks now instead of 4, I feel like this thing that has dragged along so many months is actually going to wind down! Crazy. We have lots to do! So that doesn't really give anything specific I'm looking forward to... but it is nice to be in this time now.

Symptoms
Nausea, exhaustion, back pain (mainly in my tailbone when I sit), hip pain, less stomach room, cramps when working out too hard, water aversion before about 5 pm every day.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Week 26

Fruit/Veggie
English Hothouse Cucumber (I've been told these are the wrapped ones at the store)

Size
14 inches, 1.75 lbs

Baby Changes (Source: BabyCenter.com.)
He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat.

Best Moment this Week
I had a great time in Austin with my friends eating tons of food & talking up a storm, & they threw me a surprise mini-shower & gave me super cute sleepers & books for Elliot, as well as his crib sheets & some bath wash. So sweet of them! Josh also made our shower look like a fancy-pants house shower (seriously, looks so good, I'll put up pictures once everything is cleaned & such). & I won that mei tai! Yay!

Gender
BOY! Elliot James.

Movement
I have started paying attention to where his movements are because I'm thinking he might be lying transverse across my belly instead of up & down. He does some switching around but this is what it seems to be most of the time. So I'm planning on asking about that at my next appointment & doing some exercises to get him head down so he doesn't get stuck like that.

Food Craving
This week's fruits: honeydew, white nectarines, strawberries, bananas, oranges. I had a hankering for queso a couple times this week too.

Sleep
Sleep has been okay. It hasn't changed much since last week. I still occasionally (about 3/4 times a week) wake up on my back & it HURTS bad.

What I am looking forward to
We start our childbirth classes in about 3 weeks. I know that is a weird thing to look forward to, but I'm more looking forward to feeling prepared & equipped for the whole ordeal. Plus I like to learn. Does that make me nerdy??

Symptoms
Nausea (I think it's coming back, it feels the same as the first trimester onset), exhaustion, back pain (though not as bad as last week), hip pain, less stomach room, having a harder time working out so I am trading one of my four workouts a week for prenatal yoga. It'll probably soon become two workouts. I think I need to start working out longer & less intensely. I'm definitely feeling third-trimesterish!

Monday, July 12, 2010

The TYSNFFTASOAPIRTPAB Post

That is, the "Things You Should Not Feel Free to Ask, Say, or Advise People in Regard to Pregnancy and Babies" Post.

The things on this list come from personal experience, so this is certainly not an all-inclusive list - I'm sure all women who have been or currently are pregnant could add to it. That also means that it may not apply in the next pregnant woman's life, as in it may not bother them, so take this for what it is - just my opinion. :-)

1. Asking "So when are you going to get pregnant?" or any version of said question (start trying, have a baby, etc.)
Okay, I used to be a person who felt the freedom to ask such a question, I'll admit. But as it turns out... it's not really anyone's business to ask. This question didn't bother me for a long time; I'm an open book, so I'd say what we were thinking about the whole situation. However, once we started trying, it seemed like such a personal ordeal. We didn't want everyone to know, because we didn't want to get asked every month if we were pregnant yet. So I never knew how to answer that question without blatantly lying (which I wouldn't, by the way; I'd just say something like, "who knows, we are waiting on the Lord"). At one point someone jokingly said something about us having 9 months to have a baby, & these comments hurt when you realize it's not as easy as just "deciding" you want a baby. Some people have to wait, & that wait was hard!! Harder than I expected. So, basically, watch what you say to people about getting pregnant. Sometimes you don't know what's really going on.

2. Telling a pregnant person a story about miscarriage.
The first trimester of pregnancy is an uncertain time (really the whole thing is, but relatively speaking, the first 3 months are the worst). So telling a story about miscarriage, whether personal or secondhand, to someone who is pregnant is a bad idea, not to mention not very encouraging. An acquaintance heard that I was pregnant, & asked how far along I was. I said 10 weeks. She proceeded to tell me about how she miscarried at 12 weeks, then struggled for 2 years to get pregnant again. This is not to discount her experience. I can't imagine going through that. I just don't think it's appropriate to tell someone who is pregnant & concerned for the life growing inside of them. It's too easy to worry - we don't need any extra reason to fear!

3. Telling someone "you aren't even showing!"
Most people know it's a bad idea to say something like, "you're HUGE!" "you're only 20 weeks? you look like you're 9 months!" I haven't had anyone say anything like that to me. But when I was first having to wear maternity clothes, maybe around 15 weeks, I had several people tell me I was tiny, that I wasn't showing at all. Now I realize this might not upset some pregnant women. But when I saw that I no longer had a waist & my stomach was pooching out, I felt like I was being told that I was poochy before I was pregnant & that nothing had changed! I wanted to hear that I was showing a little bit, not that I apparently needed to wear elastic pants pre-pregnancy without realizing it! Plus after 15ish weeks of feeling nauseous & exhausted, to finally be showing seemed to validate my pregnancy, so I felt like that was taken from me when people disagreed. Yes, I read into it big time - let's blame it on the hormones! But I finally got a perfect response from someone - "you look beautiful!" Now, how can that go wrong?? So just say that to a pregnant woman & you're golden.

4. "Eat that cake, you're eating for two!"
This one doesn't really bother me, but hello, 300 extra calories a day is not eating for two! That stuff goes on my thighs, not Elliot's! Silly people.

5. Anything except for "What a wonderful name!!" or some version of positive feedback when you hear what someone is naming their baby.
I actually haven't had any negative comments about Elliot's name (not to my face anyways!), so this one isn't personal but I know a lot of people experience it. There are so many types of names: traditional, modern, gender neutral names, old-fashioned names, names that are completely made up. Clearly some people do just have some crazy name ideas. But for the most part it's just a matter of what you like versus what other people like. Where people get confused is thinking they are allowed to share their opinion about someone else's baby's name. Nope. Not in the least. So, be encouraging! That name is special & chosen specifically for that child. That's a big deal!

6. Negative commentary in regard to a decision a pregnant woman/couple makes.
There are only about 927,461,854 decisions, give or take a few, to make in regard to pregnancy & parenthood. Doctors & hospitals, epidurals, C-sections, circumcision, breastfeeding, vaccinations, blah blah blah. & if other pregnant women are like me, they'll spend plenty of time thinking about everything & doing plenty of research about the options & praying about every decision. I am so thankful that Josh & I see so many of the issues the same way so it has been easy to make a lot of these decisions together. I try not to share a lot of these decisions with other people if they wouldn't know otherwise, because I know there are a lot of opinions. But I have had people ask me specific questions in regard to some of these things, or about cloth diapers which is not going to be a secret as soon as people see pictures of Elliot, & promptly tell me I am crazy or give me a look that says pretty much the same thing. Then let me enjoy my craziness, & you can make another decision for your child - that is okay, right??

7. Negative stories about pregnancy/postpartum/parenthood.
"You think you're tired NOW? Just wait!" Talking badly about their kids then saying, "Are you ready for that?!" "Your body is NEVER THE SAME." aka.... get ready for your life to end. Seriously people! What happened to children being a blessing? What happened in between "Congratulations on your pregnancy!" & "You don't know what you're in for!"??? For me, I have had a hard time with seeing my body get bigger, especially outside of the stomach area. I have felt yucky most of the past 6 months. But this is something I chose because I want children; we want children, lots of them! So it makes me sad to hear people say such negative things. & as I struggle with not being vain & selfish, I need to hear those positive stories instead of how women are still sad over what pregnancy did to their bodies or what having kids did for their lives.

You see a trend?? Negativity is BAD! Encouragement is GOOD! Pregnancy has been a crazy ride, & I have struggled through it so far. I have had to learn (& continue to learn) a new way of dying to myself, of letting go of things that don't matter, of getting over pride & vanity, of learning how to do what is good & right despite how I feel physically. I want to have an attitude that is pleasing to the Lord. I want to be a parent that is godly & leads her children to Jesus & takes them back to scripture in every situation. I need encouragement. I need prayer. So most of the above issues have made my struggle harder & pushed my thoughts away from trusting the Lord & resting in His plan for me & our family. I am blessed to have some people in my life who have been encouraging & wonderful through this time, & I am so thankful for them, so I don't want to make it seem like it's all been bad.

God still has a lot to teach me in the next 3 months, & I'm trying to learn as much of it as possible. I don't want to miss an opportunity or let this time pass by without changing me for the better. So, pray that that happens. Thanks. :-)

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Week 25

I do plan on writing up the TYSNFFTASOAPIRTPAB post in the next couple of days, so watch for it! (However I do reserve the right to not write it in the next couple of days if I don't feel like it. :-) )

Fruit/Veggie
Rutabaga (the weight of one anyways... not that I even know what a rutabaga looks like)

Size
13 1/2 inches, 1.5 lb (I can't believe something that long is inside of me!)

Baby Changes (Source: BabyCenter.com.)
He's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. He's also growing more hair - and if you could see it, you'd be able to discern its color & texture. (I'm betting he has dark hair like Josh.)

Best Moment this Week
We had lots of fun with great friends on the Fourth of July. & ate horribly, too! (well, it tasted great, but I can't imagine it was too good for me :-) ). I also got to lay out at the pool today with two friends - ahh, relaxing!

Gender
BOY! Elliot James.

Movement
It's so fun to watch my stomach move around. I'm looking forward to being able to distinguish which body parts are poking out. He does get into one position fairly often where I guess a knee or a foot is pushing hard on this particular spot on my stomach & it hurts! I have to get him to move so I can be more comfortable.

Food Craving
Still eating fruit like a crazy person. Watermelon, white nectarines, cherries, oranges, & honeydew this week. :-)

Sleep
So, the pregnancy pillow does seem to help, but apparently does not alleviate my back pain. Yesterday was really bad & today I have still had to be very cautious with my movements so I don't make it worse. Last night while I was trying to get comfortable I realized my hips were hurting... that's new. I just think the days of good, comfortable sleep are over until Elliot is sleeping in his room instead of in my belly.

What I am looking forward to
I'm currently bidding on a baby carrier (a mei tai) on ebay & I'll find out tonight if I win it! This weekend I'm heading off to Austin to spend time with some friends from high school which will be fun as always, while Josh & a friend of ours work on replacing the plumbing & re-tiling our shower. I'm really excited for that to get done!

Symptoms
Slight nausea, exhaustion, extreme back pain (the past couple of days anyways), hip pain at night.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Week 24

Fruit/Veggie
Ear of corn

Size
Over 1 pound & almost a foot long (he probably gained around 4 oz since last week)

Baby Changes (Source: BabyCenter.com.)
His body is filling out proportionally & he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is growing quickly now, & his taste buds are continuing to develop.

Best Moment this Week
See post below - "Weekend Getaway." That was great. We also got his two dressers (one has a changing table top) put together (& by we I mean Josh) & we get his crib within the next week.

Gender
BOY! Elliot James.

Movement
The thing that has surprised me this week about his movement is that he is taking up a much bigger space now, so his movements are spread out & it has gotten harder to tell what he's doing in there. Less kicks & punches & more squirming & readjusting. My stomach is dancing around as I type this.

Food Craving
Hmm... nothing really. Oh I did really want chicken & dumplings this week so I made it a couple nights ago... it was yummy.

Sleep
Due to how badly my back was hurting, I started sleeping with the pregnancy pillow. The downside is getting used to sleeping with it. It's not easy to turn over so I end up sleeping on one side until I wake up to go to the bathroom so my ear hurts. But it's been 3 nights now & I'm getting used to it. The good news is, it does seem to have helped with my back pain. So I guess it will be my constant sleeping companion for the next 3 months.

What I am looking forward to
This weekend should be fun... we'll (hopefully) get to go out on the lake (if it's not raining) then spending the fourth cooking out with friends!

Symptoms
Slight nausea, exhaustion, less lower back pain, & it seems I am fighting a sinus infection (the left side of my face & head starts to hurt when I get one... I'm hoping to fight it so I can deal without taking meds).