My baby is the size of a:
Baby. Perhaps a small baby, but a baby none-the-less.
Her length estimate based on all the fun apps etc suggest that she could be about 19 to 22 inches. Cora was 20 inches so it could be that Ada has grown as much as she is going to length wise (my ribs would appreciate it if this is the case...)
Baby. Perhaps a small baby, but a baby none-the-less.
Her length estimate based on all the fun apps etc suggest that she could be about 19 to 22 inches. Cora was 20 inches so it could be that Ada has grown as much as she is going to length wise (my ribs would appreciate it if this is the case...)
Symptoms:
I'm beginning to feel the signs of her "dropping" which mostly consist of additional round ligament pain as the weight puts more pressure on them, the delightful "lightning crotch" (doesn't that term just make you want to be pregnant?!?) and trouble getting up from sitting on anything other than my big exercise ball.
Heartburn is here but could be worse (I've been reading my 38 and 39 week bumpdates (my personal fav horror story from pregnancy) from pregnancy with Cora to remind myself that it could all be worse - and unfortunately may be worse yet...)
Pelvic pain is an issue. It's kind of always an issue for me, even when not pregnant. I'm going weekly to the chiropractor and had considered going mid week because I'm usually *really* ready to see her come my appointment. Today at my Doula prenatal my Doula showed John how to help me do the Side Lying Release (a Spinning Babies Technique that promotes pelvic alignment & balance). I've read about it before but now that I've experienced it first hand I can say it works! My pelvis felt so much better after that technique and it won't replace the chiro but will certainly get me from week to week! If baby is posterior (back to back with me) it will also help her get into position and for her head to engage - I've been suspecting based on movement that she is occasionally posterior and I'd really like to not struggle with back labor so anything we can do to promote prime positioning I'm all for!
I'm having some contractions (likely Braxton Hicks). If I wanted to I could probably time them but I have no other signs of labor and the contractions aren't hard enough that I can't breathe or talk through them so I'm doing my best to ignore them. So far, no sign that I'll experience Prodromal Labor again (and let's pray that is the case!)!
Sleep:
I'm up at least twice a night for the bathroom. I'm a little anxious about labor/birth and that has been dominating my thoughts so when I wake myself up attempting to roll over I tend to think of that and it is hard to fall asleep again. I've put birth affirmations next to my bed where I can read them so hopefully that will help my anxiety about labor.
I'm beginning to feel the signs of her "dropping" which mostly consist of additional round ligament pain as the weight puts more pressure on them, the delightful "lightning crotch" (doesn't that term just make you want to be pregnant?!?) and trouble getting up from sitting on anything other than my big exercise ball.
Heartburn is here but could be worse (I've been reading my 38 and 39 week bumpdates (my personal fav horror story from pregnancy) from pregnancy with Cora to remind myself that it could all be worse - and unfortunately may be worse yet...)
Pelvic pain is an issue. It's kind of always an issue for me, even when not pregnant. I'm going weekly to the chiropractor and had considered going mid week because I'm usually *really* ready to see her come my appointment. Today at my Doula prenatal my Doula showed John how to help me do the Side Lying Release (a Spinning Babies Technique that promotes pelvic alignment & balance). I've read about it before but now that I've experienced it first hand I can say it works! My pelvis felt so much better after that technique and it won't replace the chiro but will certainly get me from week to week! If baby is posterior (back to back with me) it will also help her get into position and for her head to engage - I've been suspecting based on movement that she is occasionally posterior and I'd really like to not struggle with back labor so anything we can do to promote prime positioning I'm all for!
I'm having some contractions (likely Braxton Hicks). If I wanted to I could probably time them but I have no other signs of labor and the contractions aren't hard enough that I can't breathe or talk through them so I'm doing my best to ignore them. So far, no sign that I'll experience Prodromal Labor again (and let's pray that is the case!)!
Sleep:
I'm up at least twice a night for the bathroom. I'm a little anxious about labor/birth and that has been dominating my thoughts so when I wake myself up attempting to roll over I tend to think of that and it is hard to fall asleep again. I've put birth affirmations next to my bed where I can read them so hopefully that will help my anxiety about labor.
Weight Gain:
According to my midwife I'm up 8 lbs overall for pregnancy! That's not bad and I'm not complaining. That is down 2 pounds from my 34 week prenatal appointment.
Maternity Clothes:
Oh yes. and almost none of my shirts are long enough to reach my pants without either my belly showing or the band of my maternity pants showing. I'm pretty much past the point of caring about this too.
Movement:
She's passing her kick counts. I'm more aware of some of her stretches or jabs than I am kicks/hits. I suspect a few things: that she is just a lot more mellow than Cora was, I'm more accustomed to the movements so I don't notice them as much. The biggest suspicion I have is that although in both pregnancies I have had an anterior placenta (on the front of my uterus so between me and baby), I think it's lying differently this time than last time blocking me from feeling all of the movements. At my last appointment, my Midwife was holding the doppler for heartbeat and we could hear that she was kicking/hitting but I only felt it once or twice. When Cora would do that I would definitely feel the kicks. Then when she went to measure my belly for my fundal height (making sure baby is measuring okay in size) she had trouble getting a measurement because she wouldn't sit still. John and Kathy were commenting on all her movements because they could see her moving as I laid on the exam table but I could feel none of it.
Exercise:
We walk almost nightly, usually 1 mile and briskly up our hills working to get Ada's head to engage in my pelvis. Tonight we did 2 miles and I hope to make that the norm again.
John, Pepper (the dog) and Cora on our walk this evening. Cora gave up on the stroller about half way through mile 2. If she is going to walk regularly I'll have to make more of an effort for her to be wearing something other than a cloth diaper ;)
Cravings/Aversions:
Food is hit or miss for me right now. I'm usually not hungry but sometimes will be really ready to eat come meal time. I'm doing good to get one good meal down a day. Tonight we had spaghetti and I found it horribly revolting for no other reason than there was meat in the sauce. I'm mostly interested in liquids and fruit.
The other day I had some serious cravings, more than the passing "that sounds good" verses "that's revolting". I texted John I was craving Sushi (california roll so preggo safe!), Chili Cheese Fries and a snow cone. I fully expected him to either tell me to go get it myself or some passing "that's nice" comment. He was very sweet and came home with this surprise for me! My favorite snow cone place was closed on that day so we subbed in a sonic slush and I have to say that was an adequate substitution :)
I'm looking Forward to:
My Chiro adjustments and Doula Prenatals. They're kind of my weekly highlights at this point.
I miss:
Rolling over in bed without discomfort.
Best moment this week:
Tuesday was a very productive day, I had a chiro adjustment and my Midwife appointment. John worked from home so he could attend both (and wrangle Cora through them!). Then we made a huge payment on the Birth Center (our FSA card finally decided to arrive!),
Wednesday, Doula prenatal where I learned to get some actual relief from pelvic pain that I can do myself. We had lunch with Lauren today which was really nice! She and I have been busy and haven't seen each other in a while, I'm realizing that my socialization time will be limited here soon so I need to make use of the time with only one child in tow while I can!
Also my brothers and John have done a lot of work on the house and property the last couple of days and made lots of progress! (If we hadn't had so much darn rain (though we are grateful for our full lakes!) earlier this spring we wouldn't be so far behind on some of these projects and I could actually be of help. Robert asked me to go grab a tool "real quick", about the same time Jacob started walking to the same destination as me for a different task - he went the long way and still beat me to the storage building. Literally, everything takes me about twice as long these days... I'm lacking in the hurry or "real quick" departments.
Emotions:
I'm nervous about labor/birth. Mostly about the length. No one wants to power through the contractions for hours on end. I think in some ways I'm more anxious than I was with Cora simply because I know exactly what I'm signing on for in labor in terms of feelings/sensations. I also have more time to dwell on it, all the stress from work kept me pretty occupied last time around and filled my stress/worry quota.
I'm nervous about labor/birth. Mostly about the length. No one wants to power through the contractions for hours on end. I think in some ways I'm more anxious than I was with Cora simply because I know exactly what I'm signing on for in labor in terms of feelings/sensations. I also have more time to dwell on it, all the stress from work kept me pretty occupied last time around and filled my stress/worry quota.
I'm nostalgic about Cora being little and how much she has grown up, especially this last 9 months or so. She's just not a baby anymore! I'm a little anxious about the lack of sleep I'm about to experience with a new baby, nursing again (I find that honestly more demanding than labor/birth) and my biggest point of anxiety is how Cora will receive Ada and how to balance my attention and time between the two of them.
Some of my birth affirmations.
Goals for the upcoming week:
Make it to 37 weeks pregnant!! As soon as we make it to Saturday I'm officially cleared to deliver at the Birth Center verses the hospital (before 37 weeks there are concerns about lung development).
Here are my goals from the past couple of weeks updated to reflect that I actually do get some stuff finished but the list is ever-growing. Honestly though, I can't think of any reason that we're not "ready" for her if I went into labor tomorrow. I'm always going to have things to do, Ada isn't going to care whether or not I had time to go buy new bedroom curtains and get them hung. ;) (and this moment of clarity is brought to you by a 2nd time mom... 1st time around I would have flipped out about curtains!)
NEW LIST: Buy curtains for master bedroom & bathroom ~ make my rice sock for labor ~ Get master bedroom "guest ready" ~ Child proof the kitchen cabinets and drawers
...at least the list isn't rapidly growing!
In an ideal world it would also have things that I just find unrealistic right now, like finish painting our bedroom, stain the kitchen and master bedroom floor, re-roof the house etc. I just know those things aren't going to get done before Ada and I'm just going to have to have a peace about what we could/couldn't get done before her arrival.
Belly Pictures:
Past Pregnancy:
36 weeks pregnant with Cora
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