Pregnancy Journal: Entry 6 (32wks)

Total weight gain:  5-10lbs (depending on day since it fluctuates constantly) if we just go from pre-pregnancy... but I lost almost 15lbs in the first 16wks and gained all that back plus the extra over ... so???

Maternity clothes: Yes I have a couple pairs of pants (for work), couple pair of jeans, and a few capri pants along with several shirts - although I only really started needing anything besides shirts at about 26wks... and I can still wear some of my non-prego pants (I love my prana hiking pants!!!)...

Stretch marks: Not yet... or rather no new ones I should say since I've had marks for years from growth spurts in childhood... although I think they are just around the corner because the skin around my belly button has been itching some recently!

Sleep: Sleep has been hit and miss, some weeks I get great sleep - other weeks not so much, specially when I get all these crazy dreams or get really hot!!!

Best moment of this week: Watching you start to make big movements that are visible!!

Miss anything: Eating big breakfasts thanks to gestational diabetes... otherwise, not missing really anything!

Movement: Stretches, rolls, punches, kicks and I'd swear headbutts too!!

Food cravings: Not really... and if I am it's only cause of being told I can't have it! Stupid Gestational Diabetes!

Anything making you queasy or sick: No... 

  

Gender: Boy according to 20wk ultrasound.

Labor signs: No...

Belly button in or out: In..

Wedding rings on or off:  On..

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy Happy Happy... unless someone pissed me off!

Looking forward to: Holding my little one soon, but not too soon of course... I'm just super excited to see this little life we created!!! I'm even getting a little apprehensive about wanting it to just be me and J holding him... I almost want to make it mandated that no one else can hold my child before we do!!!! 


So some of the stuff that has come up in the last few weeks... 1st and foremost getting switched to the High Risk clinic and getting Dr Alison Grajkowski as my newest in the line of medical personnel.  I didn't get to see her until I was almost 30wks and she didn't make a great first impression, but I think we'll get along now that we've had a moment to hash things out - first things said was that due to hypertension and GD, I'd be induced in the 36-38wk frame... not happening unless they have more to go on than one lab test for glucose and the chronic white coat syndrome high blood pressures... but like I said, we hashed things out and I expressed my feelings on the subject - we agreed that as long as nothing abnormal showed up on any of the tests and monitoring stuff that she has ordered, then we'll progress with caution... I'm ok with being monitored (kinda), I'm even ok with taking caution approaching that time frame - but I'm not ok with them jumping the gun without looking at the overall picture! So she ordered lab work, we compared my BP cuff to theirs (mine showed a slightly higher number than theirs so she's fine with me using mine to record a log), she measured the belly, listened to the heart rate, pulled out the ultrasound machine and looked at everything, blah blah blah... everything looked great - but she wants to make sure it stays that way so I'll be having lots of labs and lots of monitoring appts from now on... Grand! Two days later I was getting another ultrasound, for growth measurements (I'll have a follow up one at 36wks)... little one was 3lbs 3oz, so right on target and everything looked great - he was even sucking on his toes and fingers!! So cute!!! Follow up appt the next week was along the same lines, labs looked perfect, GD numbers were good, and even BP was normal but I think that was cause I was so freaking exhausted from lack of sleep that I just didn't have the energy to get anxious about the appt... I have 2 more growth ultrasounds scheduled (one next week considered 32wks check and then another around 36wks), plus NST (Non-Stress Test) twice a week, plus regular doctors check up appts, plus still having to report GD numbers... ugh... too much stuff going on all at once!!

Weird moment of the last couple of weeks was that I expressed colostrum all the way across the bathroom just by massaging some vita E lotion onto my boobs... WEIRD!!!

And if I didn't already love the fact that I've learned some amazing yoga poses/stretches that helped before this belly got bigger, they are simply beyond amazing now to give little one more room to stretch out and move which means he's not constantly in my ribs... LOL - a few minutes in various stretches depending on where the discomfort seems be at currently and I feel so much better!! Seriously I have to say that having a private yoga instructor come and work one on one with me was an awesome decision!!!

Cont'd... Birth Classes

So "Coach's Role" class wasn't really about that subject - IDK what the real subject was but it sure didn't impart anything in regards to the Role!!

Watched a bit of a movie "Knocked Up" which is a cute movie and there was something sort of tangible to it in the loosest sense of the term but come on!! We aren't in this class to watch film after film!!! We discussed the movie *rolling eyes* tallying up the good and bad points for what the "coach" did in the movie, then we had exercise and relaxation time which we reversed roles - coaches all relaxed on the mat while us pregos massaged and rubbed on them. Yup, that was class 3...

Class 4 was a small group - hubby didn't make it because he was catching up on some work, which honestly I'm kinda glad he didn't come, so it ended up being me and two other couples... One of the other couples called out sick, the momma with the deployed husband had already stated that she wouldn't be making that class. We watched another film about a woman in labor (film was from like 1970s or 80s judging by the hair and clothing), she was pretty calm throughout the entire thing until the end - just like we're supposed to be trained to do... blah! Then we "practiced" some "contractions"... again blah!! I know how to lay on my side, I know how to sit on a ball and rock my hips, I know how to do the "labor dance"... how about ACTUALLY showing me something I don't know!! Grrr... After contractions practice we played a game called Labor Jeopardy, I won btw - but I didn't learn any of the stuff that she was asking questions about through her class, I learned it all from READING A DAMNED BOOK!!! It really made me proud of myself given one of the girls in the group is not only a mommy to two kids already but is also a doula - I just felt that my having gone out and REALLY tried to learn as much as possible these last few months showed through and it made me excited that I really knew the information!! My prize for winning... Gripe Water? Glad to have it, would have bought it anyways, but is that some sort of indication of something? LOL Am I griping too much about this class...???

Honestly I don't think I am since I've talked to not only Hubby (who's ready to call it quits), but one of the other military couples is also wanting to just say to hell with the class - I just really don't feel that I've gained anything but personal satisfaction from winning a stupid game!!! Kinda sucks...

Oh well... 

This week's class I believe is 1st and 2nd stages of labor?? we'll see how this goes... I'm not holding out much hope for this to be any different though...

Birth Classes - Ummm, I'm not so sure how this is going to go!

Bradley Method birthing class is supposed to be very natural, very "team" oriented with the team being mommy and spouse (although sometimes it's a doula or friend or whatever that is the coach in place of the spouse)... which is exactly what I wanted - I wanted me and J to be a team in this, I wanted us to be able to say that we both involved in bringing this child into this world... basically I didn't want the only real contribution to be sperm and then the child get handed to J, I think that he should have to be involved with the actual birth in some way besides a spectator. I'm not downing anything that he has or hasn't done to this point, just stressing my feelings... I didn't make this child alone, I shouldn't be alone in the experience of bringing this child out of the womb.

Anyways - so first meeting was supposed to be a combination of class 1 and 2 which is Exercise and Nutrition, since I'm gestational diabetic nevermind that I've been doing my yoga for months now, this seemed like an unbelievable waste of time. The instructor explained the exercises, we did the exercises... then went into relaxation mode - which is prego mommas laying on a mat, on our side with a pillow between our knees that allows the hip/knee/ankle joints to all be level, then coach's rub and soothe us into relaxation... it's nice but doesn't need to be 1/4 of the class in my opinion. 
2nd meeting went about like the first but we had a video of a woman in labor to start with, then went over our study guide questions. This class was supposed to be "Pregnancy", basically an overview of the body and how it protects and provides for growing baby along with the changes that occur - by this stage in the game if we aren't all aware of that, it's SAD!!! I'm sorry but with all the technology available to us, you have no excuses if you haven't looked up at least the basics of this sort of thing by now!!! Crap... most of this stuff I learned in either elementary, middle school or very least junior/high school! 

So what did I do, I composed a letter to my instructor after hearing my husband vent the exact same.. ummm.. we'll call them worries as I had about the class. My letter expressed my concern with more or less wasting my time, wasting my husband's time, wasting money, whatever it is that we are doing in this class it just wasn't meeting my expectations - so could she kindly help me with making sure not only that I don't lose interest but more importantly that my husband doesn't lose interest. Her response comes and I reply to it with an even longer and more detailed email stating LOTS of not only personal information but goals and plans and how everything should be working in my mind... I did apologize somewhat because I don't want her to think that I'm criticizing her or her teaching methods, I just didn't know what to make of these early classes - even though I knew what the topics would be, I wrongly assumed that there would be "more" to this... what that more was I'm not sure but I knew it needed to be more something! Her 2nd response was thanking me for opening up and a half-assed attempt at making a conviction statement that "hopefully tonight's class will be better"... I'm unsure and just hoping that something will come from it that will help both me and J to feel a little more confident in my choice of birthing classes! 

I will admit that I wish I'd just waited until the other instructor I had lined up was available...

Anyways - tonight's class 4 which is about the coach's role... I guess we'll see what happens next...





I found this article while surfing around today, it kinda talks a little about natural birthing and would fit well with the ciriculium from class 1 and 2 in my opinion... so I'm posting it with this - just for reference maybe one day soon!
http://www.motherrisingbirth.com/2012/06/how-rock-a-long-hard-home-birth.html

Pregnancy Journal: Entry 5 (28wks)

Your Pregnancy @ 28 wks

How does your pregnant body feel?
Less clumsy, less alien although I'm sure this will change again... I feel more sure of myself in some things, less in others... but mainly it's just an over all feeling of peace when it's just me, when the rest of the world wants in is when I seem to feel less sure! I've become more defensive...

What changes have you noticed? 
Belly is definitely bigger - I feel like baby has shifted positions so that everything feels like it's "dropped" lower, can no longer comfortably wear a majority of my pants and jeans even with a belly extender, kinda frustrating to say the least but only because it's so hard to find pants that fit my long legs!

How do you feel about your belly?
About the same, protective of it - but it's becoming a bit "out there" so I tend to notice it a lot more recently than I have in the past!

Have you done any preparation at home for baby's arrival?
Organized closets, put up curtains and black-out blinds, normal nesting stuff mainly...

Will baby be in a separate nursery or sharing your room? I think initially baby will be co-sleeping, but will probably transition to the nursery once a sleep pattern is better regulated (hopefully I'll be lucky and kiddo will be sleeping 5-6hrs a night like my niece's two kids did by 3 months)


I've started the baby scrap book sorta, hopefully I will continue to update it - I used the following as a guide to what I should include:

• A series of photos of your belly as it grows
• Ultrasound photos
• Photos or a handdrawn floorplan of the nursery setup
• Photos of yourself and your partner so your child can look back and see what you looked like the year they were born (I also have some photos of Grandparents to put in... although I would really prefer to take new photos of the grandparents when they visit!)
• Photos of any pets
• Photos of where you live, your house, your street and so forth

Lets see, what's happened of note in the last month? Baby has gone from mainly rolling with a few kicks, to rolling and stretching with a few more kicks specially to my ribs it seems and always the right side! Bradley Method classes were started on the 23rd - I really need to write a few posts on that too, I keep forgetting. I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes which didn't upset me nearly as badly as being told one day that I wouldn't be recommended to the High Risk clinic if my numbers stayed in the normal range, to being told that I would have to be in the high risk group which totally destroyed my day! My next appt is Jun 10th which will actually be closer to 30wks than 28wks...

Oh... I did get a wrap that I've been obsessed with...

Pretty huh!

And here is a progression off shots from 20-28wks pregnant... love seeing how much the bump has grown:

Gestational Diabetes... cont'd

So I had my meeting this morning with the group for GDM - to say I'm annoyed is an understatement... and what kills me is that it's not so much the foods that I eat as much as when I choose to eat those foods that is the problem.

I love my big breakfasts... I've been told pretty much all my life that carbs (of course added with protein) are for the morning, protein and veggies for afternoon to maintain a healthy weight gain - not true for the world of GD or diabetes period, in fact it's pretty much the exact opposite according to the guidelines I was given today... I'm so confused!

Anyways - so now I get to check in with someone every week to report my results...

I swear I'm going to starve!!!!

Stupid Gestational Diabetes!

Okay, so I knew it was coming - I was just really hoping to have lucked out... I didn't!

I took my 1hr glucose test yesterday morning and got results today, my level of 209 puts me over the marker for a retest (small thanks there)  by 9pts but also puts me square into the land of GD!! I'd like to thank PCOS and my bodies inability to regulate androgen (testosterone) production for this lovely honor - since PCOS and high androgen production are leading causes high glucose levels. 

I have been *trying* to do everything right, not saying I don't screw up and should have done a better job of not allowing myself to have those bowls of ice cream or extra couple of rolls at dinner... 3 months, I can do this for 3 months... after all it's just a matter of stopping that extra carb and sugar intake. I'm just pissed off at myself for knowing it was coming and still indulging as much as I did, I took for granted that the scale wasn't climbing for the first 16wks because I was doing all the things that I knew I should be doing instead of allowing myself to indulge. Grrr... Not that I don't eat, I just "temporarily forget" I was supposed to be eating like a diabetic every single day!  So being lazy about my food has got to stop... no more stopping for breakfast, no more french fries for dinner because it's quick, no more just cause food...

Doc did say a few really good things though... she said that since baby has been measuring perfectly normal at every appt, there has not been any protein (or ketones or excess glucose) for any of my urine tests, and I only have gained 5lbs (at 24wks appt) compared to pre-pregnancy weight that she's not overly concerned at this point.  Of course I know that I dropped about 15lbs between finding out I was preg and 16wk appt, and have gained every single pound back in the last 8wks plus a few more... although I'm currently sitting at exactly the same weight as I was prior to getting preg right now.

I'm just frustrated and a little freaked out... I HATE THIS!!!

Pregnancy Journal: Entry 4 (24wks)

Your Pregnancy @ 24 wks

Today is May Day... and Viable Pregnancy day!!! Yeah for 24wks!!!

How does your pregnant body feel? Unbalanced and clumsy at times, but this seems to be more when I'm tired and not focused than just normal day to day stuff.

What changes have you noticed? More movement, belly is getting bigger, my energy levels have been kinda in flux as is my appetite, fewer round tendon pains but more back aches... I believe that maybe some of the back ache comes from a major change in posture, I need to focus more on keeping my shoulders rolled back and back straight specially at work.

Are you showing? Most definitely!!

Have you had to buy any maternity clothing? Bought some shirts, been looking to buy pants/jeans since about 21/22wks and finally found some jeans (and a pair of khaki pants) that are long enough and don't look like spandex! Now that I've got the ok from HR about clothing options though I'm going to be looking for some nice capri pants to throw into the mix. Have I mentioned how great and understanding my work is!?

How do you feel about your belly? I've got an alien in it!! LOL - I'm still protective but the movements have gone from tickling sensations and odd pokes to the "fluttering" kicks, to now more defined kicks several times a day - so I feel amused at the little one roaming around and treating mommy as a punching/kicking bag.

Have you felt baby move yet? What does it feel like? Most definitely feeling movement!! LOL - Little one loves to roll, kicking/punching is less frequent but still often enough to amuse me... the rolling not as much since it sorta makes me feel a little motion sick if I'm driving - not very nice there little one!!! When baby does get on a tear about kicking, it makes me giggle usually since it tickles sorta - that is until baby connects with the bladder or cervix, and as I found out this weekend something in my back is pretty tender to be part of the punching bag experience. J still hasn't been able to feel the kicks and honestly since little one doesn't usually kick really hard but maybe once or twice a day, it's even a little difficult for me to feel from the outside - and the best way to describe the feeling is more of a vibration than something solidly connecting.. I'm hoping it'll happen soon though!

Have you found out the gender of you baby? Still not telling just yet... :)

Have you done any preparation at home for baby's arrival? Preparations at home have remained the same, the nursery is painted and has the furniture in place but that's still the extent of what we've done. I would like to finish removing the clutter from the nook upstairs (most of which is mine but there is a good deal of J's stuff too), clean out and reorganize the garage (specially were we have a spare fridge in there that isn't being used), and then finish cleaning up my bedroom and bathroom. I need to go through all of my clothing/shoes and toss some more stuff into the donation box, put away all of my winter stuff (obviously with WA weather you need to maintain your light layers for availability but the heavier stuff needs to go be put away), figure out what I might can continue to use throughout this pregnancy and basically store it differently than the rest of my clothing for the time being! Otherwise, I think most of the house prep will be just basic cleaning until little one gets a little more mobile then I'll rethink some of the needs.



Tuesday was the 24wks appt (technically I was 23wks 6days but who's counting, my next appt is June 6th and I'll be 29wks 1day or something... LOL) - Fundal height was approx 23cm so right on target pretty much... baby didn't want to cooperate with the doppler wand again, kept moving and kicking making me giggle which didn't do much for the nurse trying to get a steady heartrate reading (it was above 140 though). Discussed all the normal stuff about how I'm feeling and whatnot, what to expect in the coming appts, what labs I need done between now and my 28wks appt, etc..  I do have to get a glucose test done soon, Blah!! I don't wanna...

I also inquired about switching over to the midwife program... so my next appt will be with a midwife instead of NP Holland, sad but I'll be happy to finally meet someone who will be on the delivery team potentially!

Lets see.. what other news is worthy of the 24wk update?? Ummm.... I'm getting my gender reveal photos done this weekend along with the second set of progression photos... that's about it I think...???

Weekend catch-up...

Well... to start - here is my weigh in today... so I guess that huge weight jump I had between 16 and 20wks has slowed, which makes me happy.

Now to chat about the weekend(s):

1st off weekends usually don't get much mention since usually all I really do is laze around reading/playing online, go shopping or clean house with occasional trips to visit friends or out to eat... kinda boring humdrum stuff since it's "Normal" - and even this weekend really wouldn't have made much of a splash (haha, this is funny since I made a nice splash this weekend - more on that in a second) if it hadn't been for J actually mentioning doing something that didn't somehow center on fishing/hunting. However, the two weekend before really should have been mentioned... 

Anyways, back to the April weekend catch ups... 

Weekend of the 5th and 6th - Two major things on Saturday: 1) Nursery furniture was delivered and 2) I was given free tickets to go see Cavalia Odysseo... Furniture was a huge thing because other than maternity clothing and a few books or knickknacks, this is the first thing that we've purchased for the baby and it was a huge purchase. So having it in the house finally kinda made a lot of things for J seem more real and for me it made it seem a little less futuristic I guess is how I should say it?? I mean hearing the heartbeat and feeling the movements have been wonderful in making it real for me but it still seems like I'm in the beginning rather than over halfway through this pregnancy... so the furniture getting moved into the house and set in place was a real big thing for both of us in different ways. 

The show Cavalia Odysseo, while good, was a let down of sorts for both of us... lets just say that I expected much more out of the entire production and to quote the hubby "If we'd paid for the tickets, I'd be pretty pissed off!"... that says a lot in a few words! Now that doesn't mean that we didn't enjoy the show, it just means that I think we were both expecting a much different experience... the horses were beautiful, the staging was very interesting and awe inspiring at times, the theater production with the characters (such as the tribal acrobats and aerial circus stunts) was fun and entertaining, and some of the riders were very good - however, if you took just the horse and rider performances it fell WAY below what I was expecting and at times was so dangerous for the riders that I felt that the performance was in bad taste! Honestly I expected something more in line with the Lipizzaner show than something that could have been performed at the local County Fair... not to say that when the Lipizzaner came on stage that it was anything less than beautiful, but only if you just watched the horse... the rider gave too many over exaggerated cues to make it a fully enjoyable show. Overall I'm glad that I had the opportunity to see it, but if I were to ever have the chance I'd make sure to point out all the flaws to the manager/owner of the show - specially ones that involved stunts like the one where the guy was pulled from the saddle by the back hoof of one horse!

2nd row from stage seats... 

 

Weekend of the 12th and 13th - Saturday was typical lazy day. Sunday J went out fishing, leaving the house sometime between 4 and 5am. He ended up catching a nice Spring King Salmon (and then found a really good recipe for baking it using honey, olive oil, pepper and spicy mustard) so he was pretty thrilled. I goofed off at the house, cleaning and organizing stuff, took the dogs for a walk... just stuff until it was time to head up to Auburn to meet up with my friend Elizabeth. We'd made plans to go to a baby wearing swap thing and just hang out - I love hanging out with her, very down to earth and friendly but has no problem telling you were you stand which I adore about her! Too many people in my opinion are afraid to say what they feel really, so it's refreshing to see someone stand their ground. Anyways new mommy that she is, we've not had much time to really hang out (I'm really hoping that we can change that) between me wishing to let her have her space to become accustomed to being new mommy and all of her visitors so finally having a day to spend with her was WONDERFUL!! Icing on the cake was getting to see her interact with her new son and go to the wrap class/swap to get to learn all about baby wearing! Speaking of baby wearing, I'm addicted to the idea of wrapping and more specifically to this one design - I'm just sad that that design was a specialty and very limited quantities were made. But I still loved learning about the different styles of wraps, slings and soft carriers... I think a sling and a wrap are going to be on order VERY soon! 

This was the wrap that I fell in love with.. Motherhood Zen by Oscha

Weekend of the 19th and 2oth - This last Saturday was spent with me shopping for some clothing and shoes... I am finding that my balance isn't all that great in heels taller than about a inch (inch and a half) and that if I stand/walk for very long in anything that isn't low heeled or flats (and super comfy) that my lower back goes to aching pretty bad pretty quickly... so some new shoes are a priority since most of my summer shoes are either higher heeled (clogs, wedges, strappy heels) or too flip-flop looking to be considered professional enough for a law office. I have cleared it with my HR office as to what will be considered acceptable for me to wear, so now to just find something since Saturday was a pretty big bust! I did find some pants/jeans and a couple of skirts when I took off Wed the 16th (birthday gift to myself) which was a good thing but shoes are elusive creatures apparently!

Sunday we got up early and headed to the beach for some clam digging (btw here comes the story about the splash)... luckily I brought a chance of clothing with me because if you haven't already guessed it, I got soaked - partly due to damn rough and unpredictable waves, then partly due to me falling over in about a foot of water in the surf... I got caught not paying attention when another of those stupid big waves came on surf and lost my balance in the force. No biggie though, while the water was pretty chilly it wasn't horribly unbearable due to the fact that I had on a couple of layers!!  After getting about 25 or so clams (we had only about 2hrs of time available and with the waves it was hard to keep the areas marked or even find/dig up one clam between waves), we had to give up the hunt. We had decided to make our way to Forks (home of Twilight) and then on around the coast of the peninsula... so about 2 hours later J's pants are dry and we are seated in a nice little cafe in Forks. We then went down the road to La Push and enjoyed the beauty of the coastal islands along the area for a little while before continuing on down the road toward home... all in all it was a nice and fun day with the husband!!

J in the process of drying his pants...

My Skip - GTH Farewell

 

So yesterday we had a farewell (retirement) for the wonderful lady pictured above with me... This is Skip O, the receptionist at my Tacoma office for the last 27 years (and the face that welcomed me first to the company just shy of a year ago). 

I cannot express how disappointed and saddened I was by her abrupt departure last month without a word, even though I do understand her desire to leave without fanfare. It was hard to come in expecting her wonderful voice and smile greeting me as I walked out of the elevators, only to discover that her final day was the previous one. She has been missed as I walk around the building doing my work since I could always count on her quick smile as I walked past her desk... So seeing her yesterday was so wonderful and then receiving the photo from her this morning that showed her pretty smile made my day!!

BTW - the expression was of her asking how baby was and being so excited that everything was still going really well... such a beautiful lady inside and out!!!

Weight Gain - Normal or Abnormal?

So being my normal crazy self - I freaked out this morning when I weighed myself... Why? Because I'm so close to being back to my prepregnancy weight... I was so excited (and befuddled since I wasn't ever sick) when I lost between 10-15lbs before 16wks, but I've been slowly climbing back up the weight scale the last 4wks and the almost 10lbs gain scared me. So now my goal is to try and maintain close to this weight for the next couple of weeks through exercise (walking, light cardio/yoga, etc) only - no I don't plan on starving myself, I don't have that kinda will power! LOL

Maybe I'll be lucky and make it to my 24wk appt without gaining anything else???

Anyways, I looked up two pregnancy weight calculation websites... below are the results from each website:

http://www.indiacurry.com/women/pregcalc.htm

I really like the above website since it gives you a chart to be able to visually see what is the minimum, normal, & maximum gain every 2 weeks - plus it shows an approximate weight you should be close to... If this is correct, hopefully I'll still be under 200lbs when it's time to deliver this little one which was the original goal when I found out I was preg - I don't want to go over 200lbs cause then I'd weight more than my husband, unacceptable! LOL

Your Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator Results

Where Do I Stand With My -2 lb Weight Gain?

Based on your pre-pregnancy weight of 192 lbs., we calculated your BMI to be 29.2, which is considered overweight according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. This information is important because BMI is how it is determined how much weight you should gain during pregnancy. This week you should weigh between:

198 and 201 lbs

You are 8 pounds under the lower end of of your target weight range. During your first trimester, you should gain between 2 and 4 lbs. Thereafter, you should be gaining between 0.5 and 0.77 lbs. per week until the end of your pregnancy.

At full term (40 weeks pregnant) you should weigh between:

207 and 217 lbs 

Total Target Weight Gain: 15 to 25 lbs.

http://www.thebabycorner.com/tools/pregnancy/calculators/weightcalculator.php

Either way - I found out that a weight jump between 15-20wks is normal even if I think that almost 10lbs is abnormal... now maybe I can quit obsessing about it and just kick my butt into gear and start walking or doing some other cardio to help keep the gain to a healthy gain!!

I played with the app for a bit changing my weight to reflect the various different weights I've had during this pregnancy... and all but the absolute lowest that I weighed around 14wks still reflect that I'm within the "Normal" range, with the absolute lowest weight showing that I'm only 1lbs over the maximum gain for 20 wks. However since I'm almost at 21wks now, even the lowest weight still shows I'm in the Normal range... that makes me happy!

Pregnancy Journal: Entry 3 (20wks)

Your Pregnancy @ 20 wks

How does your pregnant body feel? a little clumsy and off balanced at time, but otherwise fine.

What changes have you noticed? nothing too major, a little more bump is the biggest change.

Have you had any morning sickness? No

Are you experiencing any strange cravings? Or are there some foods you can't stand any more? No cravings still... and most of the food aversions have disappeared.

Are you showing? When did your belly become obvious? Yes I'm showing, but it seems to have only become really obvious that it's preg bump in the last couple of weeks.

Have you had to buy any maternity clothing? nothing bought since the few shirts around 16 wks, although I have a feeling it won't be too much longer before I need some pants - seems baby and belly both hit a growth spurt in the last week making putting on my normal jeans/pants slightly uncomfortable even with using a belly band or waist extender.

How do you feel about your belly? Protective still - amused somewhat by the limited interactions/movement I've felt. It's starting to get a little in the way for normal activities and I'm finding that I have to shift a little differently to get out of bed so I don't put a lot of pressure on my belly.

Have you felt baby move yet? What does it feel like? Still really only feeling the slight tickling sensation mainly, although I have feel something like precise pressure points off and on - not like a kick or punch, more just like baby is stretching something out until it touches.

Have you seen baby on ultrasound? What details were you able to see? How did it feel to see the little being growing in your belly? Just had the Anatomy Ultrasound the 31 of March... sleepy baby but got to see hands/fingers, feet/toes, face, nose, mouth, organs (including blood flow to the different organs), and gender... I just loved getting to see sleepy baby get jiggled and the hands come up to the face to rub eyes or to suck on the hand/fingers. I really wish I would have recorded the session cause it was cute!!

Have you found out the gender of you baby? What were your reasons for deciding to find out / not to find out? We did find out but we're keeping it a secret for the time... the husband wanted to find out cause he just had to know, I didn't care either way at this point but I knew I would have liked to know before baby was born.

Have you done any preparation at home for baby's arrival? Painted the nursery and ordered crib/furniture set.


Note: The weight has started to come back slowly in the last 4 weeks... I was down from my pre-preg weight about 15lbs at the house at one point (from 192lbs-177lbs) around the 16wk mark, but now I'm sitting about 186lbs-188lbs so I've gained back about 10lbs in the last 4wks. I'm going to blame that on the chocolate cake that I made for a going away party (and easily can claim to have eaten half) and the junk food that has been eaten in place of me of J cooking for dinner because we've both been getting home SO late at night in the last couple of weeks - the cake is now gone, the junk food I am trying to put on halt, and the sun has been out more often so we'll see how goes this next 4wks... I'm really hoping to try and stay under the 15-25lbs gain, specially where I'm already so wired up about gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia presenting possible issues down the road.

Also tomorrow I will start getting some photos taken... I've decided that I want to do progression photos - I wanted to start at 16wks but that just didn't work out, so we're starting at 20 weeks and will take a photo every 4wks until birth.  I've also got it worked out that we are going to do a gender reveal thing toward the end of this month or beginning of May (I can't wait to get that done) for the Virtual BS (babyshower)... the Maternity photo shoot will be done in late June or July, I haven't decided yet which but I'll probably put off the decision until those months get a little closer.

It's all getting a little more real every day... still can't wait for the baby's movements to become more noticeable - more importantly I can't wait till they can be felt from the outside so that J can feel it too!!!

Baby R - 19w 5d Anatomy Ultrasound

So we had our Anatomy Ultrasound today... little one measured about 11oz, I wish I would have asked about the length measurements... but little one looked to have some pretty long legs.  Baby was still trying to sleep, so there was lots of yawning and rubbing the eyes - some putting hands to mouth so it looked like baby was sucking on a thumb, hands or fingers.. but other than that, not too much activity which meant that the ultrasound tech had to keep jiggling my tummy to get baby to move into the correct positions and such to get certain angles of like the heart or head or limbs... although when it came to showing us what gender, baby had no problem there... LOL - But for now that will remain a secret between me, J and the medical staff... 

Anyways.. here are some images..

 Yawn….

The little feet…

Sleepy baby rubbing eyes… 

Nursery & Paint..

So since we got the nursery furniture ordered - the set is supposed to be delivered the 5th of April... so that meant that we needed to get the room straight and painted. 

We made lots of good progress this weekend...

The paint color is called "Mother Nature"... kind of a sage green...

 ... we'll see in a few days how many coats we'll need??

Anyways, I'm pretty pleased with how it looks so far... I think we both got a little "paint high" even with the windows both open. I can't wait to get the furniture next weekend and see how it all looks put together.. maybe after the anatomy appt tomorrow morning I'll get some of the other stuff order for the decor. I'm planning on ordering a wall decal tree to put in the corners around one of the windows, or maybe around the crib??

If it's a boy we won't make any additions to the decor, if it's a girl then I'm getting some butterflies.. I guess I'm really finally getting excited... LOL

Eeek!! I bought something...

Yup... we bought the nursery furniture!!! I can't believe we bought it... kinda pissy with myself for buying it early, but OMG it was too good of a buy to pass up...

Anyways, should be delivered to the house in the next two weeks... so next weekend is probably going to be dedicated to getting the room in order and painted... 

Yoga Time!

So tonight I had my first Prenatal Yoga session with my instructor... She's great and gave me a lot of really great information along with all the modifications that each pose requires for each trimester!

Anyways - Here's a couple of pictures from the encounter... apparently Mimic is a yoga dog... LOL

Mimic and Michelle doing a side stretch

Not sure what pose this is, but it looks comfy and relaxing!

http://bkshealthyoga.blogspot.com/2011/05/supta-baddha-konasanareclining-bound.html
http://www.pregnancy-yoga-resource.com/side-plank.html
http://www.wildyogi.com/seated-pigeon-pose.html
http://www.fitsugar.com/Strike-Yoga-Pose-Double-Pigeon-253780

Pregnancy Journal: Entry 2 (16wks)

Your Pregnancy @ 16 wks

How does your pregnant body feel? Mostly the same, a little off balance sometimes.

What changes have you noticed? A few odd aches and pains, finally have an actual bump.

Have you had any morning sickness? Not at all... just headaches...

Are you experiencing any strange cravings? Or are there some foods you can't stand any more? No cravings still unless you count the desire to eat at a certain place due to a commercial or someone mentioning a particular food... still having trouble eating chicken and steak, although I get to add potatoes to that as well and on occasion breads.

Are you showing? When did your belly become obvious? Starting to show some, for a while it was off and on - one day mostly flat, the next day obvious rounding... but it's leveled off a little more on the rounded side now.

Have you had to buy any maternity clothing? I've bought a tank top and a couple of shirts... the first buy was a very pretty Boho white button up with blue stitching, very cute and very spring/summer look! I think once the weather gets a little more on the warmer side, I'll start hunting down some different stuff like maxi skirts/dresses instead of pants... and maybe some capris cause you can always make capris look dressy if you do it right!

How do you feel about your belly? Still really protective...

Have you felt baby move yet? What does it feel like? I think I have, but only a couple of times... feels like this odd tickling sensation... Doc explained that it's the baby displacing fluid and that it will become more pronounced until the bones solidify so you can feel the real kicks/punches/rolls!

Have you done any preparation at home for baby's arrival? No - still putting off getting things ready, just working on baby registry mostly and trying to figure out what all I would like to have while weeding out what I don't need..

Here is a picture of my belly around 13-14wks:

Please ignore the fat and the dirty mirror...

And here is belly at 16wks:

NOTE:

Just got out of 16wk appt and back to the office - funniest thing ever though, Doc is trying to listen to heartbeat and all of a sudden you hear a loud thump and the heartbeat sound fades out, doc looks at me then down at doppler and says "Your kid just kicked my doppler!" I burst out laughing... So hilarious!! But everything else was really good including blood pressure for once: baby heartbeat was about 155, blood pressure was 110/79 (lowest I've ever seen it in a doc office), and my weight hasn't changed since last appt (last appt there was a 5lbs loss)...

Doc is pleased with how everything is progressing - very pleased with my overall health as well as how active the baby is and the very strong heartbeat.  She approved Claritin and Zyrtec for allergies, approved Icy Hot style topical gels for pain relief and approved all my plans for yoga and acupunture... she is very thrilled with my already having gotten in with a Bradley Method coach. 

HAHA - Shower Debate decided!

Yes, it's back to this!! The Dreaded BABY SHOWER...

However, I've figured out an answer... and I'm so excited to have figured this out because it means I have a quick and decided answer for all the people that are still bugging me about when I'm going to have a shower ~AND~ probably more importantly, the family is all getting included somehow in celebrating this child!! I'm having a virtual or web baby shower!!

How cool is this idea!?

The basics are that all the information that is normally presented with a typical snail mail shower invite will be included as an electronic invite via Facebook Events (there are several websites specifically designed for hosting Virtual Parties, but I thought this might be easier), then once the invites have been sent out and the event group site started you can begin to have online guessing games, web scavenger hunts, polls, etc.. basically every game that can be done at a in person baby shower can be modified to fit the Virtual World. I will be posting photos along the way of ultrasounds, belly bump photos, video tours of nursery as it's set up, maternity photos, whatever comes to mind I'll probably document it in some way via the event group (and on my lovely blog too). The winners of the games will receive a small token prize... maybe a gift card would be easiest, but we'll just have to see? 

I was also entertaining the idea of publishing my skype ID so that anyone who had skype could request a video chat.. although I'm kinda thinking this might be reserved for those friends and family members that want to see us open the gift they send - or - instances like where my mom is having several of the family members over all at once to celebrate??? IDK, I've got time to decide that...

The last thing that I was thinking would be included would be a video version of a gender reveal... publish that the final 24 hrs of the event, or maybe set a specific time for that to be published so everyone knows to be available at that time??? IDK, I think this part might be decided on how well either of us can keep our mouths shut! HAHA

Anyways - its a way to give the information that everyone has been asking for, a way for everyone to be included, and even though I'm hosting it technically (kinda have to) I'm specific about it being a celebration of this new life instead of getting gifts.

http://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/baby-registry/articles/registry-101.aspx
http://www.babycenter.com/102_baby-registry_10378735.bc

Baby Window Shopping

Oh good Lord! So we just got back from J's first real look at baby stuff (we went to Babies'R Us) - that was an interesting experience!! LOL Poor guy got so frustrated!! We started out just looking at Infant car seats, which he just couldn't ever come to terms with understanding that they are the only car seat that have a base that you can clip into so we looked at the convertible car seats to compare.. he didn't like them at all cause they don't have a handle, so back to infant seats. Then moved onto strollers - We test drove the Chicco and Babytrends Jogger, which he liked the Chicco a lot until he tried to fold it (and looked at the price tag) and then he wanted to know where the ones that folded up tiny were. This brought up a whole other round of explanation of the different type of strollers. Playpens were next - totally confused by the different levels, how small they were, and what the bassinet and charger attachment were... then he freaked out and we had to go back to keep a tally of how much things cost total, before we even got to the cribs he's manage to estimate about $1000 dollars half of which were things that he was just totally sure we needed when the baby came home. Cribs brought about a whole other round of explaining - that crib doesn't convert to a toddler or full bed, that bed set doesn't come with that crib it's just there for decoration, mattresses are a separate purchase, etc... I'm giggling the entire time as he's getting more and more frustrated and confused...

Family woes...

Let me start this out by saying that I love my family - blood or marriage, I love them because somehow they are family to me...

I have my parents, my sister, nieces and nephew (along with my oldest niece's two children), aunts and uncles aplenty, and so many cousins I don't know that I could even tell you who belongs to which side of the family sometimes... my grandparents unfortunately have passed away... but with that many people as my blood relations, there are bound to be a few bad seeds or causes of chaos...

Now... my husband's family is a mixed bag - I don't really know if his biological father's parents are still alive or not, how many siblings that man has or if they are alive, etc... J's mom, due mainly to my having always tried to maintain contact with her, I know a good deal more about her side of the family... but J's never been one for keeping really good contact with his family outside of his mom, dad and siblings born to his mom... siblings born do his dad are a different story. None-the-less.. I'm very supportive of J and any contact that he wants to keep with any of his family - biological, adoptive or otherwise... And because I love him, I love them - even if they are worthless pieces of trash for humanity (I've got my own worthless trash family too, so I can't say I wouldn't do for his family what I'd do for my own)! 

Where this gets tricky is me having to deal with all this family... so onto the Woes:

1st... my sister, I love her, I do - but she has always managed to make me totally insane with the way she acts sometimes.  Luckily, so far she has been very "happy" for me but usually follows that us with something of her own drama... usually that includes money or the kids or the latest guy in her life, and right now it's mostly money because she just doesn't have the money to be able to be here to support me when I need my sister. Love ya sis, but your support really isn't needed.

2nd... my mother-in-law... between her and my sister, sometimes I wonder who is worse about over dramatizing the negative! Right now MIL's favorite thing to be negative about is child birth, but a close second is her ability to freak out about the due date... love her, but the filter needs to be put in place and stay there cause I firmly believe that if the negativity continues then her place in the delivery room (if she's here for that part) is seriously going to be reconsidered.

3rd... J's dad (notice I don't refer to him as father-in-law, it's cause I don't like him)... wow, that pretty much sums this side up! I can't stand the man - he's rude, crude and inappropriate 24/7. But he's J's biological father, and of course for the last 15 years or so, the man that he actually considers "dad"... I kinda keep hoping that I could lump him in on the same category that I do my sister, that of not needing to be here for any of it - but that's not fair to J. He wants both of his parents to meet this child, so I'll do what I can to make sure that it happens - even if that includes offering to pay for the mans flight here. 

4th... and this is kinda minor in reality - but I'm kinda nervous about A: my parents not being here in time for the birth.. B: if they are, I'm kinda nervous about my list of "allowed" cause I'm really not going to want a crowd.. if my mom is here, she's on the list no ifs/ands/buts along with J and possibly a doula.. the rest will probably get kicked out of the room out of frustration or annoyance..


So anyways, that's my woes for the moment.. nothing crazy and over the top, just things that I'm pondering and kinda feeling a little tension over.. I'll probably continue to complain about all of this in some way, but it's good to get it out in what I see as a logical chain of thought!