Babycenter:How your baby's growing:
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.
How your life's changing:
Your baby's very active now. Your healthcare provider may ask you to spend some time each day counting kicks and will give you specific instructions on how to do this. Let your provider know if you ever notice that your baby is becoming less active. You may need a nonstress test or biophysical profile to check on your baby's condition.
Some old friends — heartburn and constipation — may take center stage now. The pregnancy hormone progesterone relaxes smooth muscle tissue throughout your body, including your gastrointestinal tract. This relaxation, coupled with the crowding in your abdomen, slows digestion. Sluggish digestion can cause gas and heartburn — especially after a big meal — and contribute to constipation.
Your growing uterus may also be contributing to hemorrhoids. These swollen blood vessels in your rectal area are common during pregnancy. Fortunately, they usually clear up in the weeks after giving birth.
If they're itchy or painful, try soaking in a sitz bath or applying cold compresses medicated with witch hazel to the affected area. Avoid sitting or standing for long stretches. Talk with your provider before using any over-the-counter remedies during pregnancy, and let your provider know if you have any rectal bleeding. To prevent constipation, eat a high-fiber diet, drink plenty of water, and get some regular exercise.
Some women get something called "supine hypotensive syndrome" during pregnancy. This happens when lying flat on your back causes a change in heart rate and blood pressure that makes you feel dizzy until you change position. You might notice that you feel lightheaded if you stand up too quickly, too. To avoid "the spins," lie on your side rather than your back, and move slowly as you go from lying down to sitting and then standing.
Alphamom:
Your Baby:
- Is big and strong enough to resemble a sinister alien thrashing around your abdomen, as my husband kindly pointed out recently, upon noticing a rouge pointy elbow jabbing up and down around my belly button.
- Is sucking up every drop of calcium you can provide as his or her bones continue to harden and become more…uh…bone-like.
- DID I MENTION THE POINTY JABBING? WITH THE SHARP LITTLE BONES?
You:
- Might start noticing a resurgence of first-trimester-type symptoms like heartburn and other gastrointestinal issues. Things are getting a BIT crowded in there, and the lack of room means slower digestion and more gas and constipation and woe.
- Are gaining weight. I don’t know or care to look up what the “recommended” amount is at this stage, but most likely you are starting to notice a steady upward movement of that little thingie on your doctor’s scale. If you’ve been using pregnancy as a dietary sweet tooth free-for-all, now might be a good time to start reining it in and focusing on healthy foods and portions instead of “BABY NEEDS CAKE AND A TUB OF FROSTING ON THE SIDE.”
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But, after making myself sit down and face the numbers, it looks like it will just continue to be a fantasy for a while. Dear Hubs agrees that me not working would be for the best, but for now, Mama still gotz billz to pay. Poo. And alot is still riding on my working, namely me carrying health insurance for 4 people (soon to be 5).
So that means working out how much 'maternity leave' I can cobble together. It's looking like 12 weeks total, 6 weeks Paid Leave, 4 weeks Advanced Leave and 2 weeks LWOP. I hate the idea of going that far into the hole with Advanced Leave, with anticipating future baby sick days and doctor appointments, but when you are taking LWOP, you have to pay your insurance premiums. Which are not cheap.
And then there's daycare... I don't even know where to begin. There seems to be one at a church just up the road from us that is $110/week, which seems very reasonable for an infant but I am wondering what the catch is. I'm not opposed to daycare entirely, I mean I grew up in daycare and had a lot of great experiences associated with it; it's more that I just want to me a mother that is around and is there to witness all the milestones and be there. And not just hear about it from the daycare provider. It's soul-crushing, but what can you do? For now, just set a new goal and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
I had the 1-hr GD test a little over a week ago, and then got the results a few days later that my levels were elevated and I had to go back in for the 3-hr GTT (glucose tolerance test). I took that last friday morning. I had to fast starting at midnight, and then arrive for my 8:30 am appointment, drink the orange goop again, and then they would draw my blood several times over a 3-hour period. This time I had to drink the whole bottle, not just half like before. That was not fun, drinking this pure sugar drink on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. Then they drew my blood for a CBC (still had the bruise on my arm from the previous test) and then did 2 finger sticks. Those weren't so bad, they just felt like hitting your finger really hard with a pencil or something. And then they did more finger sticks every hour for the next 3 hours. Lots of women came and went from the Lab waiting room; I overhead a phone conversation from a young women that was upset because her boyfriend or brother had been arrested several days ago, was released, and now she couldn't locate him.
This 3-Hr GTT wasn't as bad as the 5-Hr GTT that I had had last year when my GP was investigating some strange symptoms in me. That time they actually were drawing blood over several hours, and not just the finger sticks like this time. That time they started running out of veins and I looked like a junkie with all the bruises and bandaids.
So I was hoping the 3-Hr test would rule out that I had GD, and I've read that it usually does. But I just got the call from the nurse, saying that I failed that test too, and that I do, indeed, have Gestational Diabetes. Double poo.
I have to call the Diabetic Center at the hospital tomorrow to set up an appointment to learn all about counting carbs and testing my blood. So looking forward to this.
What is so ironic to me, is that I really haven't had many cravings, don't indulge in sweets all that often, and still consider my diet to be reasonably 'low carb'. Around 100-150 grams of carbs per day, I'd say. And now I'm supposed to be eating less than that?
So now I'm just worried about everything.... having to continue to work at a job that I'm not exactly thrilled with... daycare.... what's going to happen with this diabetes thing.....
Oh well. On the bright side of things:
1. I have no stretch marks and totally was anticipating them.
2. It's supposed to be cooler this week, like highs in the 60's this thursday?
3. Nursery is almost done. Crib arrived today and I need to go pick it up. Crib, crib set, mattress, changing table dresser and two armoires are scattered everywhere, just need to put them all together! One more payment on the glider from BRU and it is mine!
4. He's been kicking less and moving around more, from side to side. I can feel and tell which side he is 'laying' on, but still can't differentiate between a head and a rump. It's still fascinating.
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