Category: pregnancy, week-by-week

Viability week! 24 weeks down; 16 to go … and for anyone wondering, we’re nowhere close to a name yet! It was so hard to name T — I honestly think we discussed every name out there. And by “discuss,” I mean I threw out name suggestions and D shot them down because they “just didn’t feel right.” After not coming up with any suggestions of his own, in the end he finally agreed to my top pick, since he knew I loved it. At least he picked the middle name. Honestly the worst part about finding out we were having a boy was knowing how hard it would be to come up with another boy name we like! And so far our name conversations seem to be following a similar pattern. I actually do have a couple favorites, so if he doesn’t start coming up with ideas soon I’m going to be picking the name by default again — which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world (after all, I do like getting my way!), but I’d really love it if he felt strongly about a name! I’d probably agree to anything he loved, just because he loved it. But I guess we have a little more time.

At 24 weeks…

Baby: is the size of a cantaloupe now. His once translucent skin is becoming more pink and opaque. He’s still moving like crazy. T has even felt him kick a few times. Or at least I think he has. Sometimes he’ll lean on my tummy and exclaim “baby is kicking my head!” (even when baby is being perfectly still).

Mama: is starting to slow down. I just feel larger these last couple weeks and I’m noticing that while my energy level is actually pretty high, I overdo it easily. I’ve never been the type to be able to sit still, especially on weekends, my only time to really get stuff done. So after a weekend of running around nonstop I usually spend a day or two stiff and sore. Interestingly, actual exercising doesn’t wipe me out the way a day of running errands or vacuuming do — although exercise is getting progressively harder. I missed my barre class last week so we’ll see how this week goes. I’m officially resolving to make it to my class twice a week from here on out. I’m worried if I fall out of practice I simply won’t be able to pick it back up. I’m still getting that weird side cramp/stitch feeling, which I’ll be sure to bring up with my OB this week. I have a checkup Friday, and will also take the gestational diabetes test at that time. Here’s hoping my candy cravings haven’t sent me to a diabetic state!

Weight: up one pound this week, for a total gain now of 13 lbs.

Cravings: fruit and sour candy. Or fruity sour candy. I discovered these last week and they’re amazing!

23 weeks – just one week from viability! 24 weeks is when the medical community recognizes a baby’s likelihood of surviving on the outside, so it’s a pretty big milestone. And while those odds are still only 50-70 percent, that’s a lot higher than they are at 23 weeks (20-35 percent). In fact, between this week and next, baby’s chance of survival increases by 3-4 percent every day. Obviously I’d prefer to keep him baking until 40 weeks, but there’s something about reaching viability that makes this nervous mama breathe a huge sigh of relief. Just one more week!

At 23 weeks…

Baby: is still somewhere around a foot(ish) long and between 13-21 oz. I think this is the stage of pregnancy where babies start to really vary in their measurements, so the pregnancy websites start backing off a bit on those stats. Though one site told me this week he was the size of a grapefruit, which I’m trying to wrap my head around since I’ve never seen a footlong grapefruit. Maybe they mean by weight? Anyway, he’s getting bigger. And he’s now forming nipples (what’s the evolutionary reason for those on males?). His face is now fully formed and just needs a little more fat to fill it out. His pancreas is kicking into gear around this time, and lungs are also undergoing some major developments, which plays a huge role in viability.  I also suspect he may have flipped to be head-down (more on that in a minute), but we won’t be able to confirm until our next appointment, and doesn’t really mean anything at this point since he can still move around quite a bit. I do wonder if last week‘s inner ear developments have given him the sense of balance to figure out which way is down and to start getting into position.

Mama: is feeling a ton of movement, and the kicks are getting stronger. In fact, yesterday I felt him stretch and push his foot out so hard, that I could actually feel a hard lump on my upper right side (at least I’m pretty sure it was his foot, hence why I think he’s head-down now). I pushed back on it and he kicked my hand a few times and stretched out again. I pushed him in again and he did the same thing. It was like a fun little game (I was probably annoying him).

In addition to movement, I’m just feeling a lot more of everything these days. I’ve started having the occasional Braxton-Hicks contractions (normal and painless, if just a bit uncomfortable – I started having these with T around this time too). Heartburn started up this week too. The sciatica comes and goes, mostly when I overexert myself, but overall still isn’t as bad as it was when I was pregnant with T. New this week are these weird side stitches, like you get when you run, only they’re not quite in my side — they’re about halfway between my side and my belly button. Then again, maybe that’s where my “side” would be if the belly wasn’t stretching everything out. Similar to side stitches, they seem brought on by exercise (or in my case, walking), and when I stop, they stop. I’m trying to drink more water to see if that helps. Could also be round ligament pain, though I thought that was usually lower. Pregnancy is weird.

On the emotional front, I’m feeling pretty good and just realized I haven’t used my doppler in about 2 weeks. I definitely think the constant movement helps.

Weight: No gain this week. Still holding out at 12 lbs.

Cravings: Starburst jelly beans. And oranges.

Another week down, 18(ish) more to go! Not a lot new to report this week, so let’s get right to it…

Baby: is now close to 12 inches long and weighs about a pound. About the size of a coconut or an ear of corn, depending on the website you’re looking at. The websites say he’s sleeping about 12-14 hours a day, but I have a hard time believing that since he is constantly moving! His inner ear is now developed to the point where he should have a sense of balance, and can also hear a fair amount. Funny, we were visiting our friends Sunday night and they have two girls, and the little one kept screaming (in play). Every time she would screech, baby would jump around.

Mama: is feeling streeeeetched. Hard to believe I’m only a little over halfway, because my belly feels like it’s going to burst. You know that really full, uncomfortable feeling you have after a huge meal? Multiply that times 100 and that’s how I’m feeling right now. I wonder if my abdominal muscles have reached a certain threshold now and that’s why I’m noticing it or something. Maybe they just need to get used to it and then the stretched feeling will subside. I haven’t been to Barre class in almost two weeks so it will be interesting to see if my abs have been rendered completely useless when I go again on Wednesday. Thankfully I’m not experiencing any swelling in my hands or feet, which a lot of the websites say I may be experiencing by now. We’re having a mini heat wave and I think I’m getting a preview for how uncomfortable this summer may be, though! Belly button has started to pop out, depending on how I’m sitting/standing. Really hate the outie belly button stage of pregnancy, but certain clothes hide it better than others. I just learned of a product today called the Popper Stopper that is meant just for that – ha! Don’t think I’ll be buying that though. Oh, and you know how I’ve been saying how much bigger I feel, so much faster this time around? On Saturday night I was at a friend’s party and there was another pregnant woman with this teeny cute bump. I figured she was probably due in September … maybe October? Nope, July. So she’s a full month ahead of me and looks far less pregnant.

Weight: up 2 lbs. this week for a total gain now of 12 lbs. Exactly where I was at this point with Theo.

Cravings: nothing really, this week. Maybe fruit.

Last week we had our anatomy scan and I’m happy to report everything looks perfect! That was a big relief, to have checked off that major milestone, and to see baby again since we hadn’t seen him since 13 weeks. I think we got kind of spoiled in the beginning with the weekly ultrasounds. Pros and cons of being mostly “normal” now, I guess! I am kind of bummed that we didn’t get very many good images to take home with us. We didn’t even get the classic side profile shot that always looks so much like a real baby. The only face shots we got were head-on, and those always look so alien and scary. Our next appointment is at 24 weeks, where we’ll do the glucose test (for gestational diabetes), and then at 28 weeks we’ll get another ultrasound due to my slightly increased risk of IUGR (according to the repeat loss testing we had done early in the pregnancy).

At 21 weeks…

Baby: is about 10.5 inches long, and the ultrasound tech had estimated his weight around 13 ounces last week, which is right on track. So hopefully that means the risk of IUGR is low, though I don’t think that usually starts presenting itself until later, anyway. This week baby continues to produce meconium and his skin is wrinkly, since it will eventually fill out with fat. He’s still pretty skinny, compared to how he’ll be at birth. At 10.5 inches he’s already about halfway there in length, but his weight will probably increase tenfold before he’s born!

Mama: is feeling pretty good, but definitely slowing down already. The sciatic pain flares up every now and then, mostly after I’ve done something to strain it, like vacuuming the house. I think I overdid it this weekend as I ran a million errands, grocery shopped, vacuumed top to bottom, bathed the dog and put the finishing touches on our bathroom remodels (hung towel hooks, a shower curtain, artwork, etc.). When I got out of bed to pee in the middle of the night Sunday I almost collapsed from the back pain and had to shuffle my way to the bathroom. When I got up for the second (and third) time to pee, it was a little better, and two days later I’m back to normal. Belly is definitely getting bigger, and my skin feels really tight. Still hoping I can mostly avoid stretch marks again. With Theo, I didn’t notice any while I was pregnant, but after I had him, I noticed two faint little parallel marks, each about an inch long, on the left side of my stomach. I’ll count myself lucky if I can get away with just that again, as I know some women’s bellies get completely destroyed from pregnancy.

Weight: up 1 lb. this week for a total gain of 10 lbs. now.

Cravings: still loving sour candy!

Happy halfway! It’s hard to believe I’m halfway done. So far things are still looking good. We have our big anatomy scan on Thursday, which I’m really nervous and excited about. I still am terrified every day that something will go wrong, and in some weird way I almost feel like I’m an impostor with this pregnancy. Like it’s not really happening. But there’s no denying the belly I’m sporting these days, or the party that’s happening on the inside. Here’s what’s going on at 20 weeks…

Baby is about 10 inches long and now being measured head-to-toe instead of head-to-rump. He consumes multiple ounces of amniotic fluid each day and is growing tooth buds, lips, eyelashes and eyebrows. He’s also beginning to produce meconium, or what will be his first poops, though they’ll just sit in his bowels until after birth (or sometimes shortly before).

Mama is still feeling pretty good, relatively speaking, though the sciatic pain seems to have reared its ugly head again. Definitely feeling like I’m handling the pregnancy better this time, though, despite the fact I’m getting bigger faster. I took a peek at my 20 week entry from T’s pregnancy and I was dealing with quite a bit of hip pain with him by this time. Haven’t had much of that this time, minus the couple nights we spent up at our cabin while we had some work done on our bathroom. Not sure whether it was the mattress itself, the lack of a mattress topper, or the fact that it was a full-sized bed and I didn’t have room to surround myself with pillows like I do in our king-sized bed, but I woke up with achy hips both nights. But my hips haven’t bothered me at all since, and even though the sciatica has crept back up the last week, it’s definitely been less bothersome than it was with T.

Weight: up 1 lb. this week for a total gain now of 9 lbs. I was up 8 lbs. at this point with T so I’m feeling okay with that number.

Cravings: Still sour candy. Still “snashing” it in my car. Speaking of cars, we bought a mini-van last week (gasp)! I always swore I would never own one, but D actually talked me into it and it’s sort of awesome. I’m going to really love those automatic doors when juggling a toddler and an infant seat, and we can fit two kids, two dogs and all our stuff in there when needed — and we won’t have to remove car seats to put friends or family in there either. Gotta say, sometimes functionality trumps ego (though I was sure get the black exterior and leather interior because it seemed the least “soccer mom” to me!).

I slacked on my weekly update last week, so this week’s will be a combined update. As of today, I’m 19 weeks pregnant. Almost halfway done! We have our big anatomy scan a week from Thursday, which can’t come soon enough. Even though getting the early bloodwork means we aren’t waiting on the anatomy scan to reveal the sex of this baby (which is what people typically associate with the big anatomy scan), this very important ultrasound will tell us whether everything is in working order. They’ll be looking at the brain, heart, kidneys, stomach, liver and will be taking numerous measurements to make sure everything is developing as it should. They’ll also check to make sure my cervix is staying closed tight as it should. While I have no reason to worry at this point, I think I’ll breathe a lot easier once we can confirm all looks good still. It’s been a while since we got to see baby.

Here’s what’s going on at 18-19 weeks:

Baby: went from about 5.6 inches last week to 6 inches this week. He’s now about the size of a mango. Last week’s big accomplishment was yawning, hiccuping and swallowing. This week his brain is developing his senses: taste, smell, hearing, sight and touch. He’s developing a layer of vernix over his skin, which will protect him from marinating in all that amniotic fluid for the next 4.5 months.

Mama: is feeling baby a LOT more. I even felt my first kick from the outside today. I’m actually really happy to say I haven’t used my doppler as much these last couple weeks because of all the movement I’m feeling. He throws a dance party 2-3 times per day, lasting several minutes at a time, and will give me the occasional nudge or kick throughout the day as well. Dare I say, I’m actually feeling pretty good right now, physically speaking. I’m working out more with this pregnancy than I did with T, and I think it’s paying off. I started taking barre classes just before I found out I was pregnant, and I’ve managed to stick with it, even though it’s getting harder, not easier as time goes on! And while the numbers on the scale are continuing to rise and my middle is getting thicker, I’m noticing my legs and arms are looking more fit, and the sciatica has eased up in the last couple weeks, which has been a huge relief! So while the ab work I’m doing in barre class seems pointless at times (no flat tummy or six pack in my near future), I do think perhaps a stronger core is contributing to less back pain. Hooray!

Weight: up 3 lbs in week 18 (yikes!), then down 2 in week 19. Total gain now of 8 lbs.

Craving: sour candy. Funny story: my sister-in-law coined a term, “snash” a while back (snack + stash), and it’s been an inside joke ever since. I texted her today to tell her I totally had a “snash” of sour jelly beans in my car console and lemon heads in my desk at work.

Here’s a picture from around 18 and a half weeks:

Another week down and things are still going well. This period of time between appointments seems to drag on forever, though. Our next appointment/anatomy scan isn’t until April 6th — I’ll be 20 weeks and three days. Our last appointment was March 2nd, at 15 weeks and two days. So that’s more than five weeks in between appointments. The gap feels especially long since we saw the RE weekly during the first trimester and, then I had OB appointments at 13 and 15 weeks. If all looks good during the 20 week scan, I will keep going monthly until 28 weeks, and then the bi-weekly appointments start up. Then weekly appointments start at 36 weeks. Hard to believe I’m almost halfway done!

Here’s what’s going on at 17 weeks…

Baby: is approximately 5 inches long (head to rump – legs don’t count for some reason) and 5-6 oz in weight — about the size of an onion (or an iPhone). Big developments this week include the ability to swallow and moving his joints. I’m definitely feeling more of that movement now, which is fun.

Mama: is definitely feeling bigger. Yesterday I got my first public comment from someone assuming I was pregnant — which seems ballsy to me, considering I still think I just look like I’ve had too many cheeseburgers. I mean, you’ve got to be reeeeaaaally sure someone is in fact pregnant if you’re going to comment on their pregnancy! I’m almost 100% in maternity clothes now and I’m finding some of the pre-pregnancy clothes I thought I could make work just don’t cut it. I should have known better – this isn’t my first rodeo. And even though I have a very large maternity wardrobe, thanks to my pregnancy with T (and some friends who have passed down some clothes), I’m finding a lot of my clothes aren’t the right season now that we’re headed into spring. (And let’s face it, these clothes are 3 years old, so not everything is still in.) So I may need to do some shopping. My belly button is getting shallower already, which I don’t remember happening until quite a bit later last time. Not looking forward to the inevitable outie – AKA the belly nipple. Having a pretty good week as far as the PGAL brain goes, but I still use my doppler almost daily, just for that added reassurance. I’m also finding that now that we’re mostly past the risk of spontaneous miscarriage, I find myself worrying about things like incompetent cervix or premature labor/rupture of membranes. I really have no logical reason to worry about these things, but it’s like we’ve been through so much that my brain can’t comprehend that things could go right, so I’ve got to move on to the next thing to worry about. Shut up, brain!

Weight: Up 1 lb. this week for a total gain of 7 lbs. now.

Cravings: Fruity and/or sour candy.

12 weeks – a big milestone and it still doesn’t really feel real. Our next appointment is on Thursday at 13 weeks. Normally this is when I’d be getting the NT scan, but like last time, we’ve opted out. On the one hand, I’d love to have the extra ultrasound and get another look at baby, but I don’t like that the testing only gives you your chance of chromosomal abnormalities and not an actual diagnosis. In other words, you could be told you have a 1 in 10,000 or a 1 in 40 chance of having a baby with Down Syndrome or one of the other trisomies. I feel like any odds they could give me, I’d just worry over. So like last time, we’re moving forward on the optimistic assumption that everything is okay. We’ll find out more at our anatomy scan on August 20, anyway. I guess I’d rather just live in ignorant bliss unless/until I’m given reason otherwise.

In other news, I’ve decided to tell work after our appointment this week. Originally I was going to wait until after I figured out what was happening with my job — I’m currently on a 1-year contract but a permanent role opened up on my team and my boss is encouraging me to apply — but I’ve heard the hiring process can sometimes take months. Hiding it for a few more weeks until I have an offer in-hand would be one thing, but there’s no way I can hide it for much longer. I already have to be careful about my wardrobe. Case in point? I thought this wrap dress was loose enough, and black is slimming, right? Then I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror…

Yeah…

Baby: This week baby is the size of a plum, about 2.1 inches. Most critical systems are formed, and he/she is about to enter the growth and maturation stage. Baby now has reflexes and will move if you poke him/her. In fact, today I was wearing some pants that were a bit tight in the waist and I was sitting, which means they were digging in a bit, and I could have sworn I felt a bit of fluttering against the pressure of my waistband. I think it’s probably too early and it was just gas or something, but it really felt identical to baby flutters and it got me excited.

Mama: Other than feeling fat, I’m feeling pretty good. Still peeing multiple times per night, and my boobs have gotten sore over the last few days, but all things considered, I think I got lucky that the first trimester is almost over and I never really got morning sickness that bad this time. My biggest complaint these days is that my legs are so itchy!! I honestly have no idea whether that’s a pregnancy symptom, a thyroid symptom or completely unrelated, though.

Weight: Up 1.2 lbs this week for a total gain now of 3 lbs. I feel like I look more than 3 lbs. heavier, though.

Cravings: Nothing specific or consistent, but I’ve come to realize I’m just easily influenced in pregnancy. Like someone mentions something and I just HAVE to have it. Sometimes it’s ice cream. Sometimes it’s cheese. Sometimes it’s pickles. But it’s always urgent!