Twenty-Three Weeks

I’m getting the “hanging belly” now where my belly is hanging over my pants. This makes me feel like I’m definitely bigger than I should be at this stage. I’m fearful because I keep thinking I’m going to get gestational diabetes. The reason I keep having this fear is A) my mother is borderline diabetic; B) I have high cholesterol (also hereditary); and C) I seemed to have gained weight quite quickly.

One of my friends had it and I told her my concern. I said I had started to eat fairly well, but recently wasn’t. She told me to just eat to my heart’s desire until I find out because after that, there’s no fun in eating. This past weekend, my friend who is a month ahead of me, told me that she just found out that she has it. She said she cried when she got the news (I would too). She can’t have any white carbs (like bread and pasta) and if it’s whole wheat, the second ingredient can’t be sugar-based (such as fructose). She also has to watch her portions; she can’t have a whole mango or banana, just half. If she has yogurt, she can’t have the mixed fruit kind, just the plain and she can only add very little fruit or sugar-free jam. I don’t know what I would do if I was so incredibly hungry and had to watch what I ate. I told her that the positive side is she doesn’t have too much longer to go before 40 weeks, so the diet is short-term.

I was eating pretty well up until about two weeks ago and my diet went to crap. I started really to crave chips, popcorn, and chocolate. And I’ve been too tired to cook, so have opted to eating out.

Within this past week, I’ve noticed that at night, if I lie down on the couch after eating or a snack, I burp a lot. It feels like the baby is pushing my stomach up. If I drink a lot of water and I lie down, I get regurgitation (I know — gross).

The baby’s still moving as much as he has since the last couple of weeks. I read that I’m supposed to start getting a sense of his schedule, but I don’t really notice one. He’s definitely quiet when I’m on the move and more active when I’m not, like when I’m sitting down. He does move more when I’m resting on the couch at night. Luckily, his movements at night when I sleep hasn’t been enough to wake me up.

My energy has been lower than it was a few weeks ago. I don’t know if it’s me doing too much, or just part of the pregnancy. The swelling in my ankles/legs have also depended on the day. Sometimes I don’t have swelling and some days I do. My legs/feet definitely get tired a lot easier. I was out and about yesterday, and they were really hurting by the time I got home.

A funny occurrence is I don’t realize how big I’ve grown. Yesterday, I got some PJs (not maternity) and picked out a size small, which is what I wore pre-pregnancy. Well, obviously, when I got home to try them on, they didn’t fit. I also noticed that more often than not, I’m not pregnant in my dreams. I had this one dream where I was at a conference and really wanted some coffee, but told myself I couldn’t have any because of my pregnancy, but I didn’t look pregnant in the dream. (My poor subconscious in denial.) I did have one dream that was specifically about my belly, but it was very disturbing, so I’m not going to recount it.

A few friends have dropped off their maternity clothes, which has been really nice because it’s like having a completely new wardrobe. But I don’t have room for the clothes, so they’re strewn about in my bedroom in a box and a couple of bags. I’ve categorized them as “current,” “when I get fatter,” and “fatter still.”

I got a Neti pot this past weekend to help with the congested nose. It definitely takes getting used to, but it really has helped clear up the congestion. I started out by doing it in the AM, but now I think I need to add it before going to bed as well.

In the last few days, I’ve suddenly become very conscious of the fact that a human being will be emerging from my body soon. I’ve started to panic a little about having everything ready, the labor, and the incredibly short maternity leave. Sometimes I tell myself that everything will work out on its own, and other times I can’t believe how fast the weeks are going by.