6 weeks...and counting

28 weeks on the Washington Coast

I cannot believe how fast and slow time goes when you're excited to meet your little one! I am 34 weeks 3 days pregnant today, which means only 5 1/2 weeks to go! I try not to count down because I know there's a high change of going past my due date... and that would just be torture... but it's just too hard not to :)

Pregnancy Symptoms:

I am feeling so great! It's the most amazing phenomenon to feel and watch baby wiggle around in there. I have been very fortunate to avoid some pregnancy symptoms like swelling, hemorrhoids, heartburn, and constipation...Knock on wood! Some symptoms and changes that I have noticed however are tiredness, fast growing hair, leg cramps, stretch marks, and back aches.

I have been tired to the point where about once a week I come home from work and just sleep the rest of the evening! But the Shayla in about 2 months from now would probably laugh at me, saying this is not tiredness, wait until you get up 9 times a night, that's exhaustion. :)
My hair grows noticeably faster, which is good for my head, but not as good for my legs and arm pits. So if you notice my hairy armpits, I mostly likely just shaved 2 hours ago!
The leg cramps. Ha. My calves cramp really easily and almost every day. Mostly when I'm lying in bed. One night a couple months ago I remember waking up in a panic and jumping off the bed, rocking back and forth praying "please go away, please go away" as my calf cramped up worse than I have ever felt. And I just wanted relief! When it wakes you up in a dead sleep you go into a panic because you don't know what's happening to you! Do first time labor contractions feel like that?? I asked Taigan later if he was laughing his head off at my reaction, but he kindly replied he was just concerned for me. I'm sorry, I think I would have been laughing. :D
My body is changing. It is so crazy for changes to happen out of your control. My breasts have lots of stretch marks, but that's probably more than you needed to know. I haven't seen stretch marks on my belly, yet, but I have plenty on my thighs and buttocks. Good thing I love this baby!
One day, at about 27 weeks, I went on a nice walk around our neighborhood. At the end of my walk my hands started feeling hot and puffy. I looked at them and almost screamed because my fingers had doubled in width size! Welcome to pregnancy swelling. I sat down and my feet swelled up too, feeling puffy and hot. After relaxing and drinking some cold water my limbs returned to normal. This hasn't happened again since. :) My wedding ring still fits, but it is getting tighter!
The last couple weeks I've felt some lower back pain, where it feels stiff and achy, but luckily nothing too major. My rib pain has been worse. As I sit hunched over at a desk all day, my ribs dig into my side can be really painful. Then Neibaby kicks my ribs and that just feels lovely! haha Luckily these pains come and go so it is bearable.
I am so so happy that I've been able to sleep through the night without pain or having to go to the bathroom. :) My belly is getting really heavy though so I have to sleep with a pillow under my belly. Supposedly you're not supposed to sleep on your back because the weight can constrict blood flow, but that has been really hard for me because on my back is the position that relieves pressure from my back and shoulders. I do what I can. This late in pregnancy, pillows are my friend as I use them under my belly, shoulders, knees, back, and anywhere else I need a pressure release. My therapist husband would say "I told you so" ;)

28 weeks on the Washington Coast

I have been able to stay somewhat active - going on walks, doing yoga, and swimming at least once or twice a week. I've been taking an Aqua Fit class at the University pool. It feels so good to take pressure off my joints and still get my heart rate up. I love being in the pool! I haven't been lifting weights as I thought I would throughout pregnancy, so I do miss my muscle tone, but hopefully I can get back into that after baby. I try to eat healthy, but that is easier said than done when sugar...and McDonald's call my name. :)

3rd Trimester Ultrasound - August 24th

 

(Left) Neibaby lying sideways looking at us.

That might be a big nose, but its hard to tell :)

(Right) Looking at the face from the below

Everything is looking great. Neibaby's head measured big at this point, I hope it balances out before labor. The rest of his or her body was below the 50% percentile though. Baby is head down, back on my right side. Based on the measurements, they estimated October 7th...(3 days earlier)...why did they have to tell me that!?!? I'm getting so excited! There are no more ultrasounds needed! Next time we see baby will be in the flesh!

Mom, Dad, and Neibaby are doing great. Taigan went back to school this week. He is happy that this semester shouldn't be as demanding as his first year of PT school, but still time to buckle down. I am so proud of all his hard work. We are both serving the youth in our ward at church and really enjoying it.

First day of 2nd year PT school

Alright, I think you're caught up now! Any pregnancy symptoms you enjoyed or not so much? What are some easy healthy recipes you'd recommend? Until next time...NightWolf out!