28 Weeks. Hello, Third Trimester!
Hello, third trimester! Lovely to see you again. Some doctors/websites consider 26w6d the third trimester, some consider it to be 27 weeks, some consider it to be 28 weeks. So no matter what, by anybody’s count, we are officially in the third trimester! I am so thankful to have had a healthy pregnancy thus far. I know many many women who gave birth before this point, so to be here and showing no signs of premature labor is wonderful.
I had another good doctor appointment on Monday. I had to take the glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes, and I had forgotten how much I dislike the Glucola they make you drink. It doesn’t taste horrible, but it is INCREDIBLY sweet and carbonated and burned going down. It also gave me killer heartburn and the jitters for the better part of the day. But all is well. I passed the glucose test, and I should get my iron and Vitamin D levels back by the end of this week. I’ve tried to eat healthy this pregnancy as best I can, so hopefully that helped me get past the GTT in good shape. I have gained 15 pounds, which is about what I was expecting. I think that is pretty good so far, but I will definitely be watching it a little more closely for the final trimester. I gained a bit too much with CJ and it never came completely off, so I would rather not dig a big hole this time around. But I’m not too worried about it. As long as I’m growing a healthy baby, I will take the weight gain. My fundal height is measuring right on track, and Little Brother’s heartbeat was strong and his movements vigorous, according to the doctor. So all good things. I will be going back in 4 weeks for another appointment, at which time they will start monitoring the baby’s growth via ultrasound to see if I have a chance of a VBAC. If he is as big as CJ then I probably will not attempt a VBAC unless I happen to go into labor the week of my due date. My loose plan is to schedule a RCS for September 19, which is my due date, and will give me one final full week at work. If the baby starts getting too big and I start to dilate or show other signs of going into labor on my own, I will probably move the date up to the week before. I will ultimately cede to my doctors’ advice because they know more about when it is and is not safe to attempt a VBAC, but I am glad they are at least open to letting me try if conditions are favorable.
Can I just say that I love having a 2-year old? CJ has been such a ball of hilarity these past few weeks. He has always been ahead of the curve as far as his speech is concerned, but I feel like his language skills have just exploded over the past several weeks. He communicates exclusively in full sentences and can say anything that we say and know what it means and use it later in context. He loves to sing songs that he learns at school to us. We let him watch a couple of little short cartoon clips before bed in the evenings, and he is absolutely obsessed with this cartoon character called Pocoyo. As soon as he sees him, he starts giggling. I ordered him another little birthday present today, a Pocoyo plush doll that I think he will love. CJ is so sweet. He will walk up to me and say “can I hold my Mommy?” Oh, I die. If we want him to do something he doesn’t want to do, he will say “but I’m still doing this,” or tell us that he is still doing whatever he is doing, like coloring or painting or playing with his toys. It makes me giggle.
Love the Ergo. Such a lifesaver.
This guy loves his Daddy!
We sure do love our boy!
This evening we are doing a 4D ultrasound session. I am SO excited to see this little guy again. I can’t wait to see his sweet little face and see if he looks like CJ. In my mind he is a complete clone of his big brother. I can’t imagine him looking any different. We are bringing CJ with us to the appointment. Hopefully he will behave himself and enjoy getting to see his little brother as much as we will. But we will have some cartoons loaded onto the iPad to keep him occupied, just in case. :)
From BabyCenter:
“By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He’s also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.
You’re in the home stretch! The third and final trimester starts this week. If you’re like most women, you’ll gain about 11 pounds this trimester.
At this point, you’ll likely visit your doctor or midwife every two weeks. Then, at 36 weeks, you’ll switch to weekly visits. Depending on your risk factors, your practitioner may recommend repeating blood tests for HIV and syphilis now, as well as doing cultures for chlamydia and gonorrhea, to be certain of your status before delivery. Also, if your glucose screening test result was high and you haven’t yet had follow-up testing, you’ll soon be given the 3-hour glucose tolerance test. And if the blood work done at your first prenatal visit showed that you’re Rh negative, you’ll get an injection of Rh immunoglobulin to prevent your body from developing antibodies that could attack your baby’s blood. (If your baby is Rh positive, you’ll receive another shot of Rh immunoglobulin after you give birth.)
Around this time, some women feel an unpleasant “creepy-crawly” sensation in their lower legs and an irresistible urge to move them while trying to relax or sleep. If this sensation is at least temporarily relieved when you move, you may have what’s known as restless legs syndrome (RLS). No one knows for sure what causes RLS, but it’s relatively common among expectant mothers. Try stretching or massaging your legs, and cut down on caffeine, which can make the symptoms worse. Ask your caregiver if you should try iron supplements, which can sometimes relieve RLS.”
I have a bit of RLS on a normal day, and yes, it has worsened during this pregnancy. It was really bad in the first trimester, but seems to have leveled off. I still have antsy legs, but it doesn’t keep me from sleeping anymore. I never had any Rh issues with CJ so I’m assuming that I am fine this time around. I didn’t hear anything to the contrary at any appointments so far.
How Far Along? 28 weeks!
Total Weight Gained/Loss? 15 pounds.
Maternity Clothes? Yep. Stretchy and comfortable.
Sleep? Still get up to pee, still get leg cramps. And I’ve been really tired this week. Little Brother must be going through a growth spurt.
Best Moment of the Week? It will be tomorrow evening, when we get to see our sweet baby’s face.
Movement? He definitely goes through distinguishable periods of sleep and awake. Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night I have a hard time getting back to sleep because he has woken up and decided to hae a dance party.
Food Craving? None really to speak of this week. I could still eat a salad, and I’ve had a couple of sandwiches. But nothing that I just HAVE TO HAVE.
Food aversions? Whatever has previously made me vomit.
Morning sickness? Nope.
Symptoms? Leg cramps, back pain, HEARTBURN.
Gender? All boy, and proud of it!
Labor Signs? None, and hopefully none until September. Stay away!
Belly Button? I’m predicting it will be flat by 32 weeks.
What I miss? Sleeping on my stomach.
What I’m looking forward to? Seeing our sweet baby tomorrow evening, a long holiday weekend.
Milestones? Getting to be pregnant another week, reaching the third trimester.
Please vote for me. I'll love you forever.
Filed under: Life As We Know It, Thankful on Thursday | 2 Comments »
*************
