Twenty-Seven Weeks

Note to self: Don’t look at the Victoria’s Secret catalog at any stage of your pregnancy.

Those in my prenatal yoga class haven’t been very talkative until recently, towards the end of our session. Some of the women are due while we’re on break before the next session and we all wished them luck. It’s been interesting to see how our bodies have changed in the past several weeks. One woman is in her 20th week and came in just as she passed her 13th week. I think she looks the same! On the other hand, another woman who’s at the same stage definitely looks pregnant. One woman is one week behind me and has a tiny pooch in comparison, but I noticed her hips have widened. My friend who is a month ahead also doesn’t have a big belly like I do, but is wider. However, our symptoms are all fairly similar. We had an interesting discussion about pregnancy brain (it’s proven and we all have it!) — comparing stories on spacing out.

Since we are all first-time mothers, our yoga instructor took some time to impart some wisdom on us. She has four boys, including a set of twins. She said that no one talks about this, but it’s important to know: the husband sometimes gets jealous of the baby. I was a little shocked by this! She was speaking from personal experience and then discussing this with her girl friends years later when the kids were older. She said husbands can get jealous that their wives no longer have time for them and that they have to compete for the wives’ attentions. She also said that the husbands have to learn to be self-sufficient and it’s hard on them. She did say to let husbands learn from their own mistakes. So, if they put the diaper on wrong — don’t yell — just let them learn.

Twenty-Six Weeks

The coworker who is obsessed with my weight asked me the other day how much weight I had gained. I told her I didn’t think that was a question to ask any pregnant person. Then she asked, “Are you overweight? Did your doctor tell you if you have gained too much?” What kind of question is that? I told her my doctor didn’t seem concerned and it was none of her business. (Yes, I work with a lot of strange people. But that’s a total other blog to start.)

So far, I’m still feeling pretty good although I was very tired on Saturday, which I now attribute to lack of water. We went to Ikea to look at cribs and I promptly fell asleep in the car on the way home (like our baby will soon) and napped for the entire afternoon. I could tell that I hadn’t had enough water because I could barely take off my wedding band.

Sleep has never been the same since I found out I was pregnant as I was suddenly struck with insomnia, waking up every two hours and also having to pee. Well, now the new problem is that if I want to change sides to sleep on, it’s a major chore. I can’t just flip over like I used to. I actually have to hoist my body up and move over, then get comfortable, and try to fall back asleep (which is hard when there’s a snoring hub beside me). Sometimes I’ll get very sore on one side and refuse to flip over until it’s unbearable. I guess this doesn’t help with the aches and pains.

I’m pretty sure I don’t have sciatica — although I’ve heard it thrown around to explain back pain for pregnant women. I used to get sciatica pre-pregnancy from running and this feels different. It happens when I bend forward, such as to pick up something. The left part of my buttock near my spine just really hurts. It’s not a shooting pain, but more like a long ache. (This must be what it feels like to be really old.) I haven’t figured out what causes it and what I can do to make it better other than getting the hub to massage it.

Twenty-Five Weeks

It’s hard to believe that I’m three weeks away from starting my third trimester and I have done NOTHING to prepare. I read that pregnant women get the nesting bug in the second trimester. I’ve definitely got it, but it hasn’t helped me be productive in terms of preparing at all. (Although I started knitting baby socks… I think that might count for something.)

In the pains and aches category, I’ve actually started to feel better after a low period. For awhile, I had been suffering from this strange back ache on the left side of my back while at work. So I have positioned my chair and keyboard sideways to the right, and haven’t had the aches since. The swelling hasn’t been as bad as previous weeks and I’ve been making a conscious effort to drink more water to help combat it.

My energy’s been better this past week where I actually feel good and normal. I also finished a somewhat complicated programming project yesterday (albeit a couple of brain farts). However, I picked up an unfinished knitting project that I had left awhile back and started it again last night, hoping to finish by the end of the evening. Well, a few knits in, I realized that I royally messed up by knitting inside out and have to basically take the thing apart. I guess I can only complete one project a day now with my pregnancy brain.

Fourth OB Appointment

I had my monthly check up last week. It was pretty uneventful — kinda like last time. I was weighed (I’ve reached another atrocious number). The doctor came in and asked how I was feeling. I told her about the swelling and she didn’t seem too concerned — just said to drink plenty of water and try to move around during the day. I told her I was concerned about the weight gain and she measured the belly and said I’m measuring at about 26 weeks, but nothing to be concerned about. She said the weight usually levels off. That’s what they told me last time and I don’t see any “leveling”!

We took a listen to the heart beat and she had a hard time getting a lock on it because the baby kept moving! “He moves a lot!” she said. I couldn’t feel him moving and the doctor said I will eventually when he gets bigger. I hope he’s not hyper…

The doctor said I’m on target and everything looks good. At the next appointment, I get tested for gestational diabetes. I find it strange that they told me I don’t have to fast prior to the test. What if I have pasta — wouldn’t that throw it all off? They gave me the glucose soda to drink ahead of my appointment. The hub, who loves soda, asked me if he could have a taste.

Twenty-Four Weeks

Last month, two of my friends emailed to ask if I wanted to go up to NYC for a girls’ weekend. So we planned it that I would go up from the 22nd to the 24th. When I arrived, several of my friends from California had flown in to surprise me! And it was all arranged by the hub! I was definitely surprised — and shocked that the hub managed to pull it off and keep it a secret. He did say that he let out a few slips that I didn’t catch. Must’ve been my pregnancy brain.

Anyway, I had a great time with my friends. The hub had planned lunch and dinner for us for the entire visit and took care of the bills. My friends told me how sweet the hub is — to which I replied, “Well, I am having his child.” We all agreed that the other hubs would have a hard act to follow for the next one who gets pregnant. We also all agreed to do something relaxing, like a spa.

In this group of friends, I’m the second one to get pregnant. One friend already has a son. We both thoroughly frightened the others about pregnancy… but I always believe it’s better to be informed than not!

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.

Happy Valentine’s Day

My ankles have temporarily returned! I think my cardio kickboxing class helped last night. Then I came home and put my legs up. By 8:30 PM, I noticed that my ankles had reappeared! I was ecstatic — telling my ankles how much I missed them and to never disappear again. I also made a conscious effort yesterday to drink plenty of water. So, at least I know this swelling is somewhat preventable and is temporary.

I used to be very anti-Valentine’s because I consider it a Hallmark day. But having a baby on the way has made me somewhat emotional and sappy, as well as thankful that my baby is healthy and will soon bring joy to my life. Especially considering my post from yesterday. When I found out that someone had lost their baby, it broke my heart. I hope everyone has a lovely day today thinking of their loved ones. If you’re pregnant with your first child, enjoy the last Valentine’s Day with your hub before life changes dramatically. If you’re married with kids, enjoy the day with your children and hub because the love you’ll get from them is unconditional. If you’re single, enjoy the day and be thankful for friends, family, and carefree days to enjoy with whomever you want.

Twenty-Two Weeks

The swollen ankles and legs still persist. I have put my legs up after getting home from work, made a conscious effort to drink more water, and tried stretching every hour at my desk, but my ankles are still not the same. At night, when I take off my work socks, any designs from the socks are embedded in my calves. If I wear ankle socks, they leave a deep mark from the elastic and my ankles look like sausages. It’s not painful or anything — just unsightly.

A friend of mine suggested I called the OB because some of her friends who had swollen legs early had to go on bed rest. I called the OB nurse to ask if it’s a concern. She asked how swollen were they and I said I didn’t know what to compare it to since I’ve never had swollen ankles/legs. She asked where I was swollen and I told her ankles, legs, fingers. Then she asked if I had any headaches and I said no. She said to keep my legs elevated if possible (yeah, right), walk around every hour (yeah, right), and drink lots of water. If I started getting headaches, call back. I have my next appointment in two weeks, so she said they’d take a look then. My acupuncturist said it’s probably just hereditary. I know my sister’s legs swelled during her pregnancies, but I assumed it was the hot and humid Dallas weather that contributed to it. *Sigh* This is very disappointing. I certainly hope I don’t have to go on any bed rest.

The congestion in my nose has worsened. I’m not sure if it’s the dry indoor heating (it’s been very cold here recently) that has contributed to it, the dog’s recent shedding, or it’s just part of the pregnancy. It used just be bad in the morning and then level out throughout the day. But lately I’ve had to constantly blow my nose all day.

I’ve also started to get pretty unproductive around 3 PM again. I get very tired and sleepy. So, I definitely don’t get any work done after 3 PM.

Very Behind

Right around when I first found out I got pregnant, I received two requests for fairly extensive programming projects. (I do some programming for the web.) I went to the meetings and took requirements, but I was pretty much non-functional for three months, which meant I got nowhere with these projects. And in most of the meetings, I was too busy thinking about what I could eat than pay attention.

Although I’ve started to feel better, I still feel like my mind is still in a haze. As I suspected, pregnancy brain is not a myth. The normally organized and sharp person I knew (that’s me) was slipping away as I was forgetting many things — not just at work — but in my personal life as well. I once found myself walking into my bedroom not remembering why I was there. I’ve had to ask the hub to remind me of things, which you know is a desperate situation when you rely on a man who can’t remember what you said two minutes ago and can’t multi-task. (However, I still think I remember more than he does despite my pregnancy brain.)

Twenty-One Weeks

When I went to my monthly check up last week, the nurse asked me if I had any swelling. “No,” I said. “Just a little in my fingers.” I was thankful that I didn’t experience any in my legs. In prenatal yoga, I had seen many of my fellow pregnant classmates with really swollen ankles. I have been lucky to be blessed with nice legs, which I inherited from my mother. To this day, my mother’s legs can double for a 20-year-old’s.

Yesterday morning, as I was selecting which shoes to wear to work, one pair that I tried on seemed tighter than usual. “Great,” I thought to myself, “My feet are swollen.” Then last night, I had a really hard time with my knee socks. They left dark welts in my calves. When I took them off — to my horror — the interior part of my ankles had disappeared. Yes, enveloped by a mass of swollen flesh, I no longer have inner ankles. I lay on the bed and cried while the hub tried to console me. “They’re not cankles!” he said. But it didn’t matter. The ankles I have always known were now gone. I didn’t think this could happen to me since I’m pregnant in the winter. I had heard it gets bad in the summer. Will my ankles return? I sure hope so.