27 Weeks

I'm one week away from being in my 3rd trimester! Wow! Already! Where has the time gone?

Here's what Baby Connection has to say about the 27th week of pregnancy:



How your baby's growing:
Your baby is really starting to fill up your uterus. This week he weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with his legs extended. He can now open and close his eyes, and he sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. He may suck his fingers, and although his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning -- with assistance -- if he were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn't bothersome to him, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Wonder what he's thinking?

• Note: Experts say every baby develops differently -- even in the womb. This developmental information is designed to give you a general idea of how your baby is growing.

How your life’s changing:
Your body is gearing up for the final lap, so you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all, and your uterus is putting extra demands on your circulation. (As your uterus expands, it puts pressure on the blood vessels that return blood from your legs to your heart and on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs.) Unfortunately, the cramps are likely to get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. Flexing your foot (by pointing your toes forward and then flexing them back toward your shins) stretches the calf and should give you some relief. Walking for a few minutes or massaging your calf sometimes helps, too.

It may be the furthest thing from your mind right now, but it's not too soon to think about family planning. You'll want to have made some decisions before your baby arrives. And in some states, if you're considering a tubal ligation during your hospital stay, laws require that you sign a consent form at least a month before delivery day. (You can still change your mind later.)

Thankfully, I'm not experiencing leg cramps (now, where's that wood? lol j/k). I am still having lower back pains whenever I do stuff like sweep and mop. I have to do a little at a time, take a break and so on like that until I'm finished (is it ever finished? really?).

I was looking up some stuff about tubal ligations. My sil, Jessica, said she's gonna get one after this 4th baby is born. Looks like Medicaid will pay for it and that its best to have it done shortly after the baby is born as the tubes are closer to the birth canal, easier to get to, for the doctors. I haven't finished researching all of that birth control stuff though. I am still looking at vascectomies. Supposedly, that's an outpatient thing and has a really quick recovery time. I think Medicaid may even cover that... like I said, I'm still looking into that. Of course, neither tubals nor vascectomies are 100%. Your body can repair itself over time and you can end up pregnant. On one message board I read that this man had a vas., recovered fine, then after a couple years, started having some soreness in his penis. Went to get it checked out, no infection, everything was fine and he was feeling better in not too long of a time afterwards. However, not much longer after that episode, his wife was pregnant and he got himself checked and found out that his body had repaired itself and the baby was for him! lol So, now his wife is getting a tubal and he's getting another vascectomy, just to make sure no more accidents happen!

Got Milk?

Looks like something is finally coming out! lol Clear for now; colostrum? Ursula said one side was yucky... and spit it out... lol But, that didn't stop her from nursing on the other side! I was able to squeeze some drops out... definitely not squirting anything out though! So, maybe she was indeed getting something out all this time? I have no idea.

Nose Bleeds

Crap, this morning I blew my nose and big blood clot came out. This is such a flashback to when I was pregnant for Calista. I'm just praying its not another nasal polyp! That was horrid! Now I'm going to be watching out for stuff in my nose. :(

Man, my left hip/buttocks area hurts... as well as my lower back; esp. after sweeping and/or mapping. The whole next day I suffer. I did some stretches last night... but man, its hard to stretch your lower back when you have a big belly!

25 Weeks and Prenatal Appointment

Baby's heartbeat: 147/bpm
My bloodpressure: 100/62
I'm measuring 27 cm
I've gained 17lbs so far.

Jeremy took off work to bring me and Ursula just loves *helping* Melanie listen to the baby's heartbeat :D She was so excited this morning when I told her we were going to hear it today :D heehee

Gosh, we sat there, waiting for soooo long... I don't wear much jewelry, so no watch either, so, not sure exactly how long... but, the baby was moving and moving. Usually I feel him the most when I'm laying down. Sometimes while I'm standing and cooking, he'll move, which is so strange feeling! hehe I told her I have those typical aches... and at that moment, my left hip was aching. All normal and will resolve themselves once the baby's born; I know from experience.

Melanie told me that she's changed the way she's working starting Nov. 1st. She'll only be in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She'll always have her beeper on her. And on the weekends, she'll be pulling 16 hr shifts at Lafayette's Women and Children's Hospital. So, more than likely, she won't be doing deliveries on the weekends. Both of my girls were born on the weekends... I did tell her that and I'm sure the likelyhood of another weekend baby was prolly far-fetched and that I was going to stick with her. She was letting all her clients know to give them the opportunity to find another doctor or midwife.

I also went ahead and did my glucose screening since I hadn't eaten since before 8pm last night and also to save Jeremy from having to take another day off of work... by the time I got to drink that yummy (ha ha - although it wasn't too bad) orange drink, it was 11:45... then that one hour wait... THEN, we went grocery shopping... something that we desperately needed to do. So, I didn't get to eat until about 3:00pm!!! Man! It wasn't soo bad until right before that one hour was up... I was getting so hungry!

My next appointment is in 4 wks.

(for Ursula, at almost 25 wks, I was measuring 24cm... blood pressure was pretty much the same and I hadn't gotten to 150lbs yet!)

Oh, and my hair wasn't finished drying in these pictures... it wasn't exactly fixed... but, good enough. Jeremy took the pictures... he didn't tell me when he was gonna shoot... so, that's why there's no smile or barely one... I wasn't ready for either one! lol

Concerning Aches

In my last post, I mentioned that I'm feeling aches and all, like most women. I try not to complain too much though. :D I think that I'm having more aches with this pregnancy because I'm heavier this time... I really believe it has everything to do with it. For Ursula, I swear, I had the perfect pregnancy! From now on, I'm really going to advocate getting in somewhat good shape before conceiving!

I had intentions on doing that (getting into awesome shape) before my next baby (this one), but then I looked up the Chinese Conception Chart/Calender, and according to that, I wouldn't have good odds on having a son until November of this year! And I didn't want to wait that long to conceive; I wanted Ursula and this baby a little closer in age then Calista and Ursula are. So, we did the deed and conceived exactly at the right time in April, apparently! heh heh heh

BTW, the Chinese Conception Chart was right for my other two girls, but we didn't plan them that way. Calista was more of an 'oops' and for Ursula, I was wanting another, but, not planning on trying to conceive until later in the year so that she would be a Spring baby... but, she came along one season earlier :)

I really do believe this is our last child together. I am getting older and all... lol

And I plan on getting down to 115 lbs after this baby is born :) I have my mind set on that!

24 Weeks / 6 Months

Here's 2 pictures I took tonight to show my growing belly. And, as always, Ursula wanted to get in the pictures :) hehe

Although I do have the common aches and discomfort that many women go through when pregnant, I still enjoy it. I love seeing my body change. I love feeling the baby move around in there, assuring me that he's doing well :) My belly is feeling more hard and less soft/fat :D heh heh heh

All these babies:

Out of 4 of us that were pregnant this year in my family, only 2 are left. Jeremy's brother, Jason and his wife, Tori had their firstborn, Carter, on May 10th, 2005. Jeremy's sister, Tasha and her husband, Jamis, had their 2nd baby, Korah on August 18th, 2005. My brother, Jared and his wife, Jessica are due to have their 4th baby around Halloween and I'm due around Christmas :)

Then, I have my neighbor, Julie, who is about 2 weeks ahead of me in pregnancy :)

Another friend, Sue, is also due to have her 3rd baby sometime soon.

And, lastly, 2 online friends from my APDueDec02 group are due, I believe, next month!

I really enjoy being pregnant with others :) Its pretty cool :)