35 Weeks, Baby #2

35 weeks!  30 days until C-section day…it seems so bizarre, scary and crazy!  At this point, all of the baby's major organs should be nearly complete. Her kidneys are completely developed and her liver is functional and capable of processing waste products.  My baby app says she is about 18 inches long (the size of a honeydew melon) and weighs around 5.25 lbs.  I had an ultrasound today and they estimated her weight around 6 lbs 12 oz!  I am a little nervous about this because the app says at this point, the baby usually gains about a pound/week…which would make her 10 lbs at birth!?!  I have an appointment with the doctor on Friday so hopefully they’ll clarify and give me reassurance that she won’t be a jumbo baby!  My carpel tunnel/numb hands have started to bother me a bit.  I sleep with a brace on my right hand and just ordered one for my left hand.  It’s a very weird uncomfortable feeling…it makes my finger tingle and my elbows hurt!  I forgot to take a pic this week because we've had a full house with Justin's parents arriving on Monday for the week!

Week 34, Baby #2

This week the waxy protective coating, vernix, is becoming much thicker as the lanugo continues to shed and may be almost completely gone by now.  Inside the baby, the lungs are continuing to mature in preparation for breathing in the outside world.  She is about 17.75 inches which is about the size of an average cantaloupe while weighting in at 4.75 lbs.

I am feeling super-duper tired but have a really hard time getting to sleep every night!  I’ll lay down, toss & turn and itch like crazy!  I don’t itch at any other point in the day, so it is weird.  Once I fall asleep, I get up every hour or so to pee….but once 1 am hits, my body will finally go into a deep sleep until 6:00 am or so.  I still have the issue of my pelvis hurting and it seems to be getting more intense.  I read this might have to do with the baby dropping further down in preparation for delivery.  I get shooting pains which always makes for a fun time. 

We are 4 days away from Christmas and Addison is so excited!  I am just hoping she sleeps til 7 am…this is probably wishful thinking!  Here is another stellar photo from Addison this morning!  She's such a good helper!

Week 33, Baby #2

Over the next four weeks the baby will put on another half-pound per week. This rapid weight gain will slow by next month.  Her skeleton is also hardening although the bones in her skull will not fuse together completely, but will overlap allowing for continued growth all the way up until early adulthood.  She is currently about 17 inches, the length of a pineapple weighing in around 4.25lbs.  I feel like she is much bigger than that, but who knows!

This month my body will still gain about a pound a week. I have found that it is getting harder to get comfortable or sleep and I am feeling way more tired this month than the previous.  My fingers have started to tingle here & there which can be due to the extra fluid my body is retaining. 

I’m still feeling lots of pain in the pelvic area.  I am also getting crazy movement from baby girl throughout the day.  It feels like she wants to come out through my belly button most of the time!  I have an appointment tomorrow with the doctor to see if my diabetes pills have been working…news flash, they aren’t!  My numbers continue to be controlled throughout the day with diet, but my overnight fasting number and my number taken 2 hours after breakfast continue to stay high.  Insulin shots here I come!  I am just completely over being pregnant at this point and all that surrounds it!  There are exactly 44 days until my c-section…seems soo close yet so far away!  Here’s another pic taken by little Addison!

Week 32, Baby #2

The baby is really plumping up and will gain almost half her body weight by the time I deliver. This needed baby fat will help to keep the baby warm in the outside world. The layer of soft lanugo hair is also starting to shed.
Over the next few weeks the baby's real hair and skin will become soft and smooth.  The baby is currently around 16.7 inches, the size of a large jicama (no idea what that is!) and weighs in around 3.75 lbs.

I feel pretty good and am kind of getting the hang of my blood sugar levels.  I seem to spike first thing in the morning, which is my fasting number.  The dietitian seems to think it is my hormones and not the snacks I am having before bed.  I have an appointment tomorrow morning for my bi-weekly checkup, so we will see what the doctor says then.  Other than that, just trucking along counting down the days until Christmas.  I am pretty prepared for everything just in case something whacky happens!

Here is the photo that Addison took of me this morning!

November 2016

Week 31, Baby #2

This week the baby is gaining more weight as baby fat is filling in underneath her skin. Her color is also becoming less red and pinker in color.  By now, her irises can dilate and respond to changes in light.  She’s about 16.25 inches long, which is about the size of 4 navel oranges.  She weighs in around 3.3 lbs.  

Last week at my 30 week appointment, they measured me and I am back on the “normal” track.  I measured in right at 30 weeks.  I had my gestational diabetes appointment yesterday and learned all about counting carbs and keeping my blood sugar level low.  I got a lovely glucometer device, which I have to use 4 times a day…meaning I draw blood, 4 times a day!  I am hoping with a change in my diet, things can start to level out and I won’t need to take medicine or do insulin shots.

We had a very long 4 day weekend.  We celebrated Thanksgiving, took out our Christmas decorations, bought a Christmas tree and continued to fix the nursery.  Our tree only fell twice before we learned it needed some extra support at the base!  Our Elf on the Shelf come out and this is the 1^st year Addison “gets it”.  It is so fun to see her so excited every morning.  She wakes up and immediately wants to go see if the Elf moved.  She first named him Jack…then switched it to Mark.  I don’t care what we call him, it’s just a fun thing to do!

Week 30, Baby #2

30 weeks down, 10 to go!!  Seems very bizarre that we will have a baby in under 70 days.  
Currently, the baby is about 15.7 inches or the size of a cabbage.  Her weight is roughly 2.75 lbs.  I am feeling OK.  I still have pretty intense pelvic pain, but not much I can do about it. Addison continues to kiss & hug her baby sister...I really hope that lasts once she's out!

Week 29, Baby #2

Over the next three months the baby is in for a major growth spurt.  She is currently about 15.25 inches and weighs in around 2.5 lbs.  I’m currently measuring large so who knows how big she really is!  During the third trimester fatigue will start to set in again.  My body is working extra hard to carry oxygen and nutrients to your baby and my diaphragm will be pushed up by my still expanding uterus, causing me to feel short of breath. Fortunately, the baby will become very active and I can start to count the baby's kicks each day.

We’ve kind of been on a roller coaster ride these past few days.  I had an ultrasound last week just to make sure everything looked good in there due to her measuring big (29 weeks measuring in at 32). There were plenty of fluids and they said she looked good!  We then visited Rex Hospital Labor & Delivery this past Saturday due to bleeding.  They brought us in, monitored the baby and I for several hours and then we were released thankfully.  They don’t really know what caused the bleeding, but they ruled out a placenta abruption, placenta Previa and labor.  All good things, but still don’t know what the issue was.  They basically said if it happens again, I could be in the hospital long term until the baby is due.  This has totally thrown me for a loop and I am just praying everything can go smoothly from here on out.  I also received a call today saying I failed the second glucose test which means I have gestational diabetes.  This isn’t the end of the world, but just one more thing to worry about.  I’ll meet with a dietitian in the next week to change up my diet and learn how to draw my own blood.  I’ll basically have to bring in the test strips so the doctors can further monitor my blood sugar level.  If worse comes to worse, they’ll put me on a medication, but hopefully it won’t come to that.  So at this moment I’m just trying to push forward!

Week 28, Baby #2

I'm officially welcomed into the third trimester!  I'm also officially terrified!  I just received a phone call from the doctors office to say I have failed the 1-hour glucose test.  Your score should be under 140 and I was at 181.  I am scheduled for a 3-hour glucose test next week to see what's up.  I have an ultrasound today as luck may have it because I am measuring large for 28 weeks.  They want to check the fluids surrounding the baby and see if they can measure her to get a better idea of her size.  As of yesterday's appointment, we set the delivery date to January 27, 2017!!  Kind of exciting, kind of scary!  I feel like there is soo much to do with so little time!  I'm still trying to pace myself, but with the holidays coming up, I have gotten stressed easily and want to fit everything in sooner than later!
The baby's size according to my pregnancy app is 14.8 inches or the size of Chinese cabbage (whatever that is!), weighing in at around 2.25 lbs.  This probably is on the low side of what the baby is, but we will see after my appointment!  Her brain is developing more tissue and has formed grooves on the surface.  It is also likely she has developed a more regular sleep schedule in 20 to 30 minute intervals.  

Week 27, Baby #2

This week the baby looks like a thinner, redder, more wrinkled version of what she will look like at birth, but in the next few weeks more fat will fill out her appearance. The baby's immune system is continuing to mature as are the baby's lungs which are still practicing breathing amniotic fluid.

I’m feeling blah…my pelvic, rib cage & back pain seem to be here for the duration.  Not much I can do about it, except ice the pelvis and then take a warm bath for the other pain.  I am constantly exhausted and feel like I can’t even get words out by the end of the day because of it!  Should be a fun 3 months to go!

October 2016

Week 26, Baby #2

By now, the baby's lungs and brain are much more developed. In fact, the baby can likely detect light and dark through the optic nerve. She can now also hear more than just my rumbling tummy, such as outside noises like Justin & Addison’s voices!

The baby is roughly 14 inches in size which is about the length of a hothouse cucumber and weighs about 1.75 lbs.  I feel like she already weighs 5 lbs., but that probably isn’t right!! 

I have the most intense pelvis pressure/pain where it feels like someone has just been punching me there non-stop!  I’ll stand up after a long night’s sleep and have shooting pains.  Such a lovely thing especially when there is still roughly 14 weeks to go!  I’ve been icing my pelvis at night & popping Tylenol to help alleviate some of that pain, but not much helps.  We are looking forward to our Halloween filled weekend with friends!