26 weeks - Headed towards the third trimester!

How far along? 26 weeks, 4 days.

Total weight gain: I weighed myself on my scale the other morning and I think I may be up a total of 8 pounds now. I'll get confirmation next week at the OB office.

Appointments: May 9th, we have our first growth u/s at Maternalfetal Medicine to ensure that baby girl isn't getting too big due to da 'beetus. I can not WAIT to see her! I'm so curious about how she's positioned and hopefully we can see her kick when we get the u/s because I want to see that. She is such a kicker!  That same morning, I have a regular OB appointment.

How big is baby and what's new with her?

• She measures 14 inches long and weighs over 1.7 pounds.
• The feet are 2 inches (5cm) long. Hands are very active. (Yeah they are!)
• The baby's eyes begin to open around this time. Not much to see, though.

The fetal brain scan will show response to touch. Touching and playing with the baby is possible now, as they may respond to touch through the belly wall.  (I was just doing this with her. She definitely kicked my hand when I rubbed it in certain spots on the bump!)

Clothing?  Oh boy... weather's getting hot and I need clothes for it. I may be in trouble soon.

Sleep? Arms fall asleep from sleeping on them. Hips hurt when I sleep and wake me up. Peeing maybe 2-3 times each night. Still miss sleeping on my stomach so so so so soooo much.

Symptoms? Not really a symptom, but a 'what's going on'... She is kicking me and punching me and rolling around and doing the Cabbage Patch and Centipede in there. It's awesome. I love every single second of it. She's still not kicking when people put their hands on my belly though. She is being a bit more reserved in that regard. Mike did get to feel one thump though. :)           As for the not so fun symptoms, m/s has returned between the hours of 3 - 5 pm daily. :/   So not right. But I had a nice couple month reprieve from it so it's ok, I guess. My back and hips hurt a lot. I'm also having Braxton Hicks maybe once or twice each day.

Pictures: 

25 Weeks

How far along? 25 weeks, 5 days .

Total weight gain: Holding steady, I think. My bump feels bigger though so maybe up a lb or two from that. Honestly, I don't weigh myself at home. I just wait for the OB to do so at appointments. I would weigh myself if I were worried about gaining too much, but da beetus is keeping me at an ok weight.

Appointments: No appointments until May 9th - when we have the first growth u/s and another OB appointment.

How big is baby and what's new with her?
She weighs about a pound and a half and is about 13½ inches long—roughly the length of one of those recorders we all played in elementary school music class.

 

We've hit V week - the week at which the baby now has a good chance of survival if she were born now. That's not gonna happen of course. She still needs the remaining weeks to get all done and ready for prime time!

 

Her little hands are now fully developed, although some of the nerve connections to the hands have a long way to go. Dexterity is improving. She can make a fist. Exploring the structures inside my ute has become her prime entertainment. Fascinated by the amount of tactile stimulation a fetus gives itself; she touches a hand to the face, one hand to the other hand, clasps her feet, touches her foot to her leg, her hand to the umbilical cord. (I swear I can feel all of these things happening. Girl is BUSY.)

Blood vessels of the lungs develop. Her nostrils begin to open. The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now. Their swallowing reflexes are developing. She can hear sounds outside the womb and the brain cells are starting to mature also. (She seems to love listening to music. And Grandma already gave us the Sleep Sheep and she kicks like crazy when I play it and put it up against my bump.)

 

Clothing?  Still cool weather. Yay! Getting by with what I've got.

Sleep? Toss, turn, toss, turn, pee, toss turn, toss, turn, pee, toss, turn, pee....  (Same as last update)

Food Aversions? None. :)  

Symptoms? Back is killing me. I have to try to do yoga again. I gave it up after the first couple of months, but I really should do it to strengthen my back. I do feel really tired a lot now. My eyes feel red and tired often.  Nausea pops up here and there in the afternoon. SO not happy to see that return. It usually goes away if I eat some protein though. Still enjoying this time SO much compared to the 1st tri. Annie, Johnna, C, etc.... you were all SO right. It got better. :)   I thought you were all just lucky jerkfaces when you said that. So happy I was wrong. ;p

Pictures: A bit blurry. Sort of like how I feel today.

 

 

 

6 months, y'all!

How far along? 24 weeks, 5 days .

Total weight gain: I've gained a total of 4 pounds so far. Not bad! Thanks, 'beetus diet! (even though I only barely like you)

Appointments: Had two appointments on the 16th. One with Maternalfetal Medicine and one with the regular OB. The MFM appointment went well. My 'beetus numbers are still great and being controlled by diet (no insulin), although my fasting numbers are creeping up there. I may have to take an insulin pill at night eventually to control that number. We'll see. We also scheduled the first growth u/s for May 9th. I'm excited to see the little one and how she's grown since 18 weeks!!   The OB appointment was good. I'm measuring a week ahead, but that's no big deal. But I feel it. Oof is my bump a BUMP.

How big is baby and what's new with her?

• She's now gaining around 3 ounces (90 grams) a week.
• Right now, she weighs about 1.3 pounds and is 12 inches long.
• The eyelids can be seen very clearly.
• If born at this stage is officially considered viable, they may well be able to survive. (YAAAY! What an awesome milestone to hit.)

Baby's weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs. The body begins to fill out with its appearance increasingly becoming more like that of a newborn. Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing his or her distaste.

Little creases have appeared on her palms. The muscular coordination of the hands has improved as she sucks her thumb. Over the next week or so, the sweat glands will be forming in the skin. 

 

Clothing?  Many things are on 'repeat' in my wardrobe. I hate to buy more maternity clothes than I already have since it'll be getting warmer sooner than later and I can then wear some of the warm weather things that have been loaned to me. Tube top time!!!   ... jk ;)

Sleep? Toss, turn, toss, turn, pee, toss turn, toss, turn, pee, toss, turn, pee....

Food Aversions? None. :)  

Symptoms? RLP is pretty oucharific this week. Back is hurting. Stomach skin is stretching. Aside from that, not much going on symptom-wise.

Pictures: 

23 weeks - almost 6 months!

How far along? 23 weeks, 5 days

Total weight gain: I'll find out on Monday at my appointment. Don't think much of a gain though. Even though I feel like someone strapped a saucer sled on to my front side.

Appointments: Monday! (April 16th) OB and Maternalfetal Medicine appointments. YAY!

How big is baby and what's new with her?

Much of baby's development during the 23rd week of pregnancy focuses on preparing her for her first real breath once she is born. Here's what's happening this week:

• She probably weighs slightly more than a pound now, and she's about the length of an ear of corn.
• Her lungs develop rapidly this week as your baby prepares for birth.
• She is practicing breathing-like movements for practice, moving amniotic fluid in and out of her lungs.
• She actually looks like a baby! She still has little body fat and still is trying to fill out her wrinkly skin.

Clothing?  Still doing fine. Need a pair of dress pants though. Tried to wear a non-maternity pair this week with a belt and neither Baby P nor I were happy all day.

Sleep? Still sort of a drag. Seems to be getting progressively more and more uncomfortable. Oh boy. Makes me exhausted during the day. Zzzzz........

Food Aversions? None. :)  

Symptoms? Charlie horses in my thighs, still having pain in stomach where skin is stretching, back is sooooore if I take a long walk, still get a tiny bit nauseous if I don't eat every few hours. And this girl can KICK. Future soccer player? Dancer? This is what I picture her doing in there: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiehDcVZ-vA


Picture:

22

How far along? 22 weeks, 5 days
 
Total weight gain: Not sure. Is it bad that I'm just letting the OB weigh me at my monthly appointment? I'm not too concerned about gain due to the GD diet. Plus their scale reports such different numbers than my home scale that I can't be sure what's what.

Appointments: April 16th - OB and Maternalfetal Medicine appointments coming up. I can't wait!!!

How big is baby and what's new with her?

Little Miss P is measuring around 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound. She is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. Interesting milestones:

• Baby reacts to loud sounds.
• Baby starts having a regular sleeping and waking rhythm.  (Yes - she seems to be sleeping a lot when I'm at work. Wakes up on the ride home.)
• The mother's movements can wake her baby.
• Taste buds are forming on your baby's tongue.
•  Sounds from a conversation are loud enough to be heard by the fetus in the uterus. If you talk, read, or sing to your baby, it's reasonable to expect her to be able to hear you.

Clothing?  Still doing well with what I have. Yay for cooler Spring weather!  I do need some more hang out pants though. The one pair of maternity yoga pants I have aren't enough.

Sleep? Not the funnest time ever. Can't.get.comfortable!

Food Aversions? None. :)

Symptoms? Ab muscles stretching = ouch. There is one area right down the middle of my entire stomach that aches a lot. Things are definitely stretching.

Picture:Looking bigger?

21 of them weeks!

How far along? 21 weeks, 4 days
 
Total weight gain: Still not sure. I'm afraid I'm not gaining any, but trying not to worry about it. I'm eating as much as I can within the boundaries of the GD diet. Even figured out that I can have some ice cream (Lactaid variety of course) and peanut butter as my before bed snack. Yahoo!

Appointments: Nothing until April 16th.

How big is baby and what's new with her?

Little Miss P now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. She's practicing martial arts in mah belly. She likes to move and groove while I am sitting down at work and when I'm driving (and singing to her during these drives). She also likes to kick around while I'm listening to my nightly meditation podcasts on my ipod. We have a zen baby! Oh and they say that her eyebrows and eyelids are present now. :)

 

Clothing?  Doing well with what I've got. It cooled down again around here so I don't need to rush out and get shorts and ts yet.

Sleep? Sleep is still frustrating. The pee breaks happen every 2.5 hours. New thing going on is that my hands are asleep when I wake up during the night. I'm praying that this doesn't evolve into full blown carpal tunnel. That would be a drag.

Food Aversions? None!

Symptoms? Nausea has backed off again. :)   RLP isn't bad. Back hurts a bit more now as my bump gets bigger. You know what I do all of the time? Burp. I'm a burping machine.

Picture: You can't really see my bump in this shirt. It's there though. :)   Hasn't really changed size since last week.

Halfway there! 20 Weeks

How far along? 20 weeks, 5 days
 
Total weight gain: Not sure. I haven't stepped on the scale for a few days. I feel about the same though. Round.

Appointments: We don't have any appointments until April 16th now. Booo. I love hearing the heartbeat of the baby girl!

How big is baby and what's new with her?

She is getting used to all of her developing parts. She is moving around (and I can feel it! Like a little fishie swimming around in there. Coooooooool.)  She measures about 6 inches, about the length of an eggplant, and weighs about half a pound.  (That seems big! I'm sure it won't once she's the size of, I don't know, a bowling pin or whatever comes next.) Her hair and nails continue to grow and her limbs are well developed.

 

Clothing?  Now in need of t-shirts, shorts, and capris. It's such a warm Spring already!

Sleep? Don't need to sleep with the maternity belt right now - just the Boppy wedge under the bump and a pillow between my knees and ankles. But I do need to readjust all of those things when I get up to pee every 2 hours. Pee often = prep for motherhood. Well played, evolution or biology or what have you.

Food Aversions? None. :)

Symptoms? Nausea has come back a bit most days between the hours of 3:45 and 6:30. Rawr. Hoping this doesn't last long. RLP isn't too bad this week - nor is back pain. I'll take it!

Picture: