29 weeks

Whew.. what a week! Things got really crazy last week and they just haven’t stopped. Between classes, teaching, birthing class, family, friends, chores, sleeping and eating I have just not had any free time! Starting next week I have an exam or a baby shower every week until Thanksgiving, at which point I will be 37 weeks. On the positive side I will be so busy over the next 8 weeks that I won’t have time to just sit and be anxious for our little one to arrive. However I must admit that I am very nervous about keeping my stress levels under control and about staying on top of all of my responsibilities while making sure to take care of my body and baby. I have been encouraged that I am doing a good job, and at this point I just need to rely on the help from those around me to get through this time. Well, enough of the therapeutic venting of my worries and onto the update!

How far along? 29 weeks.

Total weight gain: Still hanging on right at 15 pounds. I don’t think this is a big deal since I went though quite a growth spurt during month 6. Also, my belly is definitely growing and baby is for sure getting bigger. I think that my decrease in appetite has just made me lose some weight in other places.

Updates on baby: (Thanks to What To Expect) How big is your baby this week? She weighs nearly three pounds now and measures about 17 inches. Though she’s getting pretty close to her birth length, she still has to chub out a bit. In fact, over the next 11 weeks, she’ll more than double — or even come close to tripling — her weight. And as she grows and the room in your womb gets tighter, you’ll be less likely to feel those big kicks and more likely to get poked by an elbow or jabbed by a knee.

Maternity Clothes:  I finally went out and bought myself a few maternity things. I have been so, so blessed to get some awesome hand me down maternity stuff thus far so I only needed to fill in a few things. I got some maternity workout leggings and 2 tank tops and they are SO much more comfy than my old shorts and T-shirts. If you are pregnant, or if you ever will be, take my advice when I say just go get maternity clothes. They are so much better than regular clothes! (of course, in these pictures I am wearing my old sweatpants… some stuff can still fit.)

Symptoms/Body Changes: The third trimester just kind of stinks. I have kept everything in perspective because at least I am not getting sick everyday, and this part of being pregnant is so fun and exciting. But I have to be careful lately to not push myself too much. Even though I am able to keep food in my stomach there are definitely other challenges that may not be quite as debilitating but may be more serious than I want to admit. I am aching… all the time. My back, sides, ribs, and legs. One time this past week my foot fell asleep while I was taking a walk with David.. weird! I am not sleeping very well, nor has my appetite returned. I think that the biggest symptom that I am bad about ignoring is fatigue. Sometimes I just feel like I need to lay down, and when I ignore that feeling I just go down hill from there. I have gotten lots of swollen ankles and headaches that I am pretty sure could have been avoided had I just rested. This is something that I really want to work on as I continue throughout my pregnancy.

Exercise: I have been pretty good about listening to my body on this front. I walked 4 miles one time early this week and I didn’t feel well afterwards. So for the rest of the week I walked at most 2.5 miles at a time. This left me feeling energized instead of exhausted, which is the point of exercising anyway. On Thursday I lifted weights but somewhere along the last few weeks I have gotten out of the habit of doing my pilates. A goal this coming week will be to add this back in to my routine!

Movement: It seems that right now our baby girl is at a prime time of moving around. She hasn’t gotten so big that she has run out of room in there, but she has gotten big enough so that I feel her all the time. I don’t know that she stops moving for more than an hour at a time during the day, and at night when I wake up (like every few hours) she is always kicking and flipping. I love it. I catch myself putting my hand on my belly all the time to feel her in there and I love that it is a moment just between her and I.

Cravings:  Water and milk. That is about it!

Aversions: I tried to eat Qdoba tonight… and I think I am back to food without strong flavors (like red onion and cilantro).

What I miss: Being able to be as productive as I used to be. Our schedule is must more difficult to keep now that I need more rest and can’t go, go, go all day every day. But we will figure it out and I will just keep doing my best, which is all I can do.

What I am looking forward to: Baby showers the next two weekends!! Yay! Also, this coming Friday I have my 30 week appt. with my doctor. David is coming and we hope to discuss our birth plan with the doctor, so I hope that goes well. Now that I am in my 3rd trimester I will start having appointments every 2 weeks instead of every 4. So exciting!

Time to go grade, or study for my midterm on Friday, or work on my Master’s exam… or maybe bake some chocolate chip cookies :)