29 Weeks!

[Note: I wrote this blog entry on March 29 & 30 when I was 29 weeks, but I suck lately at timely blogging and didn’t go back to put the pictures in to finish the post until this morning (April 2). Everything still describes 29 weeks, even though I’m now technically closer to 30 weeks. Oops.]

The third trimester arrived last week and boy, did it announce itself in a big way, haha. I’m feeling much better now, but in between weeks 27 & 29, I thought we were regressing to the first trimester all over again. Up until a few days ago, I was beyond exhausted, feeling queasy at night, my face broke out, and I was super cranky. I’ve also been having waves of anxiety at all hours of the day and night, regardless of what I am doing or thinking about. Hormones, man. I could suddenly feel them crashing over me, making me feel greasy and giving me uncontrollable bouts of sleeplessness and anxiety. They also gave me a weird super energy last Saturday, when I walked for 3 full hours at a pace I haven’t been able to get up to in months – and still felt great afterwards. The anxiety is the worst, though. I could be sitting on the couch watching TV with a completely clear mind and no current worries and it’ll just creep up. I was wide wake from 4 a.m. onward last Sunday morning and since I haven’t had this issue since August, I’d completely forgot my old tricks to control it and make it go away. It’s the only symptom I’m still powerless over.

But enough about that because no one wants to hear me complain when I really don’t have a lot to complain about! This is about updates, which I’ll try to do more frequently now that things have actually started happening. This past Saturday night, Baby G figured out how to flip over and for the evening, he was facing outwards instead of in towards my spine like he usually is. It’s the first and only time that I’ve been able to feel all four extremities poking me at once and it was weird/awesome at the same time. He was super hyper for some reason and came out swingin’ haha, though maybe he is always like that I just don’t feel it because he kicks and punches inwards. One thing of note was he kept punching this same spot in my belly button as I was trying to go to sleep. After watching my belly button pop up and down for a good 10 minutes, I am fairly positive it was a little fist and not a heel because there were times when it was strong enough that I could see the outline of it. Luckily for me, all has been “quiet” since I woke up on Sunday morning and he’s back in his “usual” position.

My favorite thing to do lately is drink a glass of cold water then lay on my back and feel him move around. I try to figure out how he is positioned and what he is doing. It’s so cool to me and it never gets old. It’s why I’ve slacked on blogging, TV, exercise, etc. lately. All I want to do with my spare time is that.

Let’s talk bump. It changes every single day. It’s crazy how all over the place it is! I know it doesn’t look like much in pictures, but it’s definitely there. I never really woke up with my stomach having “popped” out but the bump grows steadily every day. Honestly, the focus on how a woman looks is crazy. People around my office building have been staring at my abdomen area in the hallways for months, to the point where I want to joke, “My eyes are up here!” I really have been showing for a while, even though it’s just looked like I drank too much beer, lol. I get very uncomfortable when people make bump comments to me because I just don’t know how to answer it. I feel guilty for not having a more defined bump, and therefore, constantly feel compelled to justify it. I’m not doing anything crazy; I just got lucky this time around. Actually, here’s my “secret” – I have never been super thin. It’s always been a combination of knowing how to dress my body and being fortunate enough to carry my weight well. Always buying clothing that masked any imperfections paid off for me in the past, just as they just continued to do with my bump. Also, genetics. My mom and grandma both say they were not big pregnant people. My mom mentioned she didn’t show much until almost 7 months and my grandma told me she remembers that she “didn’t really ever look very pregnant.” So, long story short – being a woman and feeling like you always have to be aware of or explain how you look sucks, haha. Please, now roll your eyes at this entire paragraph if you think I am being ridiculous and need to shut the fuck up. I just did that to myself, so feel free to join in. Moving on.

We bought the paint for the nursery! Jay and Jack are going to paint it later this week while I am at work. We cleaned out most of the extra bedroom, but still have to move some storage bins that were under the bed up into the attic. I’m not a big decorating enthusiast, but I am excited to get it done. I’ll make a post later this week when the nursery is painted to show the before & after. I think I can handle at least getting that done in a timely manner. [Famous last words.]

Stats:

Weight gain: 16lbs. I know that’s pretty good for 29 weeks, but I still cried at the ob’s office on Thursday morning as soon as the nurse left us alone and shut the door. Then, I felt guilty and selfish for crying over it. Hormones, man, hormones.
I officially cannot eat large meals anymore. I have to eat several smaller meals or else I have a terrible stomachache for the rest of the night and half the next morning. The term “eating for 2” is a lie and an insult; there is not enough room in there to eat for one half the damn time!
Baby G’s heart rate has been steady at 146 bpm for his past two appointments. We start going for appointments every two weeks now.
Turns out eating what the doctor recommends pays off. My iron levels were low at my 24 week appointment, so my ob said if they weren’t raised by the next appointment, I’d have to start iron supplements (which isn’t a big deal). I ate a lot of spinach and eggs and what not for those 5 weeks in between appointments and this past week, got the word that my iron levels went up to 10.9. They’re supposed to be at 11, but that was close enough for my doc to say to just keep up the iron-rich foods intake for now. Yay!
I passed my glucose test with a 132 out of 139. No gestational diabetes for me, thank goodness.

Pictures:

The first sets show how my bump changes every day. They were taken the week of March 24, in between 28 & 29 weeks. Forgive how bad I look in all of them. This was when my face had broken out, I was having trouble sleeping, and I wasn’t feeling energetic enough in the morning to even bother to put on make-up, lol.

From Monday, March 24. Shirt down: